Monday, July 27, 2009

Scout Day For Mom

Well, I'm off to scout day camp with my ten-year-old this morning, to share a fun-filled day of little boys roaming here and there, splashing through water, doing scout activities, and getting dirty. What better way to spend the day, right? I'm sure I'm envied:-)

Have a great day!
Suggested Reading
Book: Love Comes Softly Author: Janette Oke
Faith in God and the determination of youth sustain nineteen-year-old Marty after her husband is killed on their journey westward and she is forced to face the uncertainties of the frontier alone.

This was the first pioneer story I ever read. I have read it over and over and it never gets old:-)


Also, download your free copy of The Journey and Place In This World today!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The Gift and Power of Choice

One of the things my husband and I try to teach our children each day is how important and powerful the gift of choice is. We try to help them understand how vital each choice we make in life is and that consequences follow each one. Choice is a fickle thing. From this freedom we learn many lessons and gain important experiences than can shape who we are. But if we don't use that gift wisely, it can rob us of many blessings.

I found some neat little thoughts on the importance of choice.

"In every single thing you do, you are choosing a direction.
Your life is a product of choices."
Dr. Kathleen Hall, from Alter Your Life


"Life is a choice - as is how you handle the pitfalls along its bumpy road."
Julie Donner Andersen, from What My Widowed Husband Has Taught Me

"I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it's only a choice of attitude."
Judith M. Knowlton

"And in life, it is all about choices we make.
And how the direction of our lives comes down to the choices we choose."
Catherine Pulsifer, from HONESTY. . . A Core Value?


All the blessings yet to come depend upon the choices we make now. How grateful I am for this precious gift!

Suggested Reading


Book: The Hourglass Door
Author: Lisa Mangum

The Book
His past. Her future. Can love bring them together in time? Abby's senior year of high school is going according to plan: good friends, cute boyfriend, and college applications in the mail. But when Dante Alexander, foreign-exchange student from Italy, steps into her life, he turns it upside down. He's mysterious, and interesting, and unlike anyone she's ever met before. Abby can't deny the growing attraction she feels for him. Nor can she deny the unusual things that seem to happen when Dante is around. Soon Abby finds herself drawn into a mystery whose roots reach into sixteenth-century Florence, and she uncovers a dangerous truth that threatens not only her future but the lives of those she loves.

All I can say is move over Edward Cullen because Dante Alexander is in town!
I totally loved this book and I'm already anticipating the next one. This young-adult novel was a page-turner and I finished it in a day because I couldn't put it down. It is definitely one of my favorites:-)
Get your copy of The Hourglass Door today.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Place In This World Is Now Available!

My new book Place In This World, the sequel to The Journey is now available! To download your free copy, click on the link to the right.

The Book
Beautiful, strong Elina is forced to flee for her life and wonders if she will live to see another day.
Nilan, an Inchant warrior, is leaving a kingdom, convinced there is no hope for the citizens there.
Then Nilan discovers the battered human woman lying in the snow and is given a reason to hope once more.
In a kingdom where good has been driven away by evil, and right is made to look wrong and wrong is accepted as good, these two souls find their destiny in each other-and are chosen for a calling only they can fulfill.

Here is an excerpt from this new young-adult fantasy!

Did you see it, Master?” the short, bald, wrinkled man asked as he approached the figure sitting on a throne in the darkened hall. The only light that existed was the candle the small man held in his leathery hands. The flame illuminated the eyes of the large meenabird perched on a golden stand by the throne. The master's hand repeatedly caressed the bird's feathered back.

Of course I saw it, you imbecile,” he replied with a calm voice.

The man should have known better than to ask such a foolish question. Of course his master saw it. He saw everything, and until the young woman's escape, he'd never missed anything. Though the man had nothing to do with that particular event himself, he had still been one of the many recipients of the master's wrath. His shoulder still carried the bruise of a wooden club, the result of being unfortunate enough to cross the master's path at the wrong time.

He knew better than to speak again unless the master spoke to him, so he stood between the two large stone pillars on either side of the red carpet that stretched to the throne and waited in silence, glancing briefly at the fearsome shadowed figure before lowering his eyes. If he were to lose his eyesight tomorrow, he would never forget that haggard, hideous face. It was imprinted in his mind every waking moment. It haunted his dreams at night. Every deep line. Every huge pockmark. Every oozing open sore on his forehead. Even the ones that oozed beneath the scraggly strands of hair on his dome-shaped head. No, each and ever feature of the master was branded in his mind. The creature that in no way resembled a human anymore had seen to it.

Are you not going to ask me what I intend to do?” the master asked, pressing his gnarled hands together, his index fingers straightening to make a steeple beneath his chin. “Are you not curious about what action I intend to take?”

Knowing he needed to choose his words carefully, the man hesitated only for a moment. Daring to raise his eyes, he answered, “I need not ask, Master Thenoch, for I know you are wise and have no need to satisfy the curiosity of one so lowly as myself.”

A gravelly rumble resonated from Thenoch's chest. “How true. However, I will answer the question that you are too spineless to ask.” He paused and smiled.

The little man knew that smile. He had seen it hundreds of times, and it definitely wasn't the kind of smile that warmed the cockles of one's heart. No, it was quite the opposite. It wrought fear in those who were unfortunate enough to be recipients of it.

What will you do?” he finally asked, figuring he had nothing to lose at this point.

Thenoch laughed. “Located a little backbone, have you? Well, if you really must know, I intend to do . . . absolutely nothing.” He smiled at the startled expression on his pitiful excuse for a servant's face. “There is no need for me to do anything right now. The time will come soon enough for me to show everyone that Inchants are not as immortal as we have been led to believe.” His eyes narrowed. “No one takes what is mine. And before the blood-red sun has risen seven more times, I will not only have my property back, but Nilan's heart on a platter as well.”

Kill an Inchant? Impossible! The man silently reasoned.

You think it impossible?” Thenoch asked, apparently reading his thoughts. “Well, Lucius, my unbelieving servant, I tell you it is not. And soon I will prove it.” He stood and stared down at the frightened man who immediately bowed his head. “The life of that winged man will soon be prematurely terminated.”


Download your copy of book two of the Enchanted Legends series today!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Blog Review: Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day. The freedoms I have always enjoyed in this country are very precious to me. Sadly, we are quickly losing those freedoms, and hopefully the holiday has renewed the fighting spark in all of us and ignited a burning flame to do what we can to get back the freedoms we've lost and hold on to the ones we still have. It is, after all, a God-given gift, and we must show God our appreciation for that gift by fighting for it.

Book Spotlight

This past week I had the privilege of reading A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi. For those of you who like a good psychological murder mystery with a touch of the paranormal, this is the book for you. The story kept me glued to my seat and biting my nails. I couldn't put it down, except for a couple of times to calm my thumping heart down:-) The characters were exceptionally real and believable, and you could definitely see the knowledge and psychological background of the author through the entire story. It was also interesting to learn a little of Hindu beliefs, but I can't say anymore about that. You'll just have to read the book:-)
The novel has even garnered a ringing endorsement from Judge Judy Sheindlin!
"The seminal work of this fine author kept me glued to my chair until the adventure was over and the mystery solved. A great read!"
See, great minds think alike:-)

The Book
The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. With the murderer on the loose, the police desperately look for any clues to lead to his identity. Meanwhile, a psychiatrist in a nearby hospital is also in a desperate search to find the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings' devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya's parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope. When these two situations converge, they set off an alarming chain of events. In this stunning psychological thriller, innocence gives way to evil, and trust lies forgotten in a web of deceit, fear, and murder.

Preetham was kind enough to answer a few questions for me and I'm excited to share his answers with you!

Jewel: Tell us a little about yourself.

Preetham: I was born and raised in the southern city of Bangalore India. I then
immigrated to the United States from Bangalore, India to pursue a
career in child and adolescent psychiatry. After my graduation from
Yale I have been the chief of service for House 5 at Bronx Children’s
Psychiatric Center here in the Bronx NY city. I am devoted to helping
young children gain insight into their emotional and behavioral needs
and empower them to maximize their inner potential. I also have a
private practice and reside in Westchester County, New York, with my
family.

Jewel: When did you begin writing and why? How did you come up with
this amazing story? Was any of it from personal experience?

Preetham: It was a few months post 9/11, and I was looking at the biographies of
the people who had lost their lives. I began to wonder if there was a
larger meaning to their lives. All of a sudden, a story flashed into
my mind, and I quickly wrote it on a piece of paper. I knew then that
I needed to write a story that was larger than life. It needed to
communicate the essence that there is a bigger purpose and meaning to
our passage on earth.

I knew that in order to capture and convey such a message, the book
needed to be captivating, interesting, and thrilling. I realized that
a story based on the work I do would be the right place to begin. I am
a child psychiatrist and had just started a new job. During my
fellowship, I worked with children with numerous psychosocial issues
and had many life stories to tell. It was at that moment that I
decided I could write a book that would capture all these thoughts.
That was how A Circle of Souls was born.

This book is what you can call "fictional realism." A lot of the book
is from real life experience. But of course, only I know which is fact and
which is fiction. This book will keep you on the edge until the very
end and will leave you thinking about the larger sense of individual
purpose and destiny.

Jewel: Are you working on any other writing projects now?

Preetham: I have many more ideas and will begin working on my next book soon and
once A Circle of Souls is off the ground.

I really appreciate Preetham taking the time to allow us to get to know him better. A Circle of Souls can be purchased from Amazon.com, Cedarfort.com, or your local bookstore. To contact Preetham or learn more about him, visit his website at www.acircleofsouls.com

Only 7 more days until the release of the Place In This World ebook, the sequel to TheJourney!
If you haven't requested a free copy of The Journey ebook, click on the link to the right and get your copy today!