Handbook of Nothin'

Thought for Today
"Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day."
--Henri Nouwen

Suggested Reading

Book: Handbook of Nothin'
Author: N. K. Wright

About the book

Straight from the middle-late 20th century comes the tale of a teen always on the cusp of trouble!
The year is 1972. Against the stormy backdrop of a nuclear arms race, Watergate break-ins, the Vietnam war, and indescribable acts of terror, a teenage boy lives out his simple, rural life. But despite his seemingly tranquil farm life, “Nothin’ Right”—as he’s known to many of his seventh-grade classmates—faces trouble on numerous fronts and against several adversaries. Can a resourceful farm boy solve his own epic problems when the often-violent world around him is on the verge of self-destruction?

Handbook of Nothin' is a 1972 snapshot of rural western America as told through the experiences of a 13-year-old junior high boy and the scrawled pencil drawings in his school notebook.
Handbook of Nothin' could be considered a higher-end middle grade book, but is a fun read for all ages.

This was such a fun book! No matter if you are 10 or 100, this is a story we can all relate to in some way. "Nothin' Right" is a lovable character and his experiences totally cracked me up. Very entertaining read!
Handbook of Nothin' is available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-of-Nothin-ebook/dp/B00DT7YLIS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377399958&sr=1-1&keywords=the+handbook+of+nothin

I Say Again, We Are That We Might Have Joy

With all the things going on in the world today, it is so easy to allow negativity to cloud our view and bring us down about life. Yes, there is misery everywhere we turn, but there is also beauty and joy, and so many things to be grateful for. We should never turn a blind eye or close ourselves off to the affairs of the world, but we do need to remember that we are meant to have joy, which means being grateful for what we have been given in this life, living the best we can, and doing what we can to make the world better by being here. Yes, there are moments when we all complain, and that is okay because we are human, but the trick is to allow ourselves that moment, then move on.

Everyone's circumstances are different and some of us are far worse off than others, but there are people who possess little and still smile each day simply because they are alive. True, I've never walked in anyone's shoes but my own, but I have worn many different pairs of shoes in my life. Some have been pretty comfortable and some have hurt like nobody's business, but I've learned something about myself while wearing every pair, and I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything, because each was a different lesson in learning to be happy while reaching to attain something more.
Thinking outward brings inner joy. And therein lies true happiness.
Here are a few neat little quotes on finding joy.

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other about with us in our minds wherever we go. --Martha Washington

We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same.--Carlos Castaneda

Resolve to keep happy and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.--Helen Keller

To get up each morning with the resolve to be happy…is to set our own conditions to the events of each day. To do this is to condition circumstances instead of being conditioned by them.--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Suggested Reading
 Book: My Lady Coward

Author: Jaimey Grant

About the Book
"My Lady Coward" debuted as a serial romance, each installment posted somewhere online as it was written. "My Lady Coward: An Episodic Regency Romance" is a compilation of those ten installments. They have not been changed from the original postings, merely formatted into one file for those who desire to have the whole story in one convenient place.
 
A lady knows her place, no matter what...
With Maria's vows came a title and security. At her wedding she gained a position amongst Society's elite. With her marriage Maria acquired everything a young woman could possibly desire. 
Except love. 
Going about her day-to-day activities, all Maria wants is Richard's love, the attentions he lavishes upon his mistress. But can she set aside her ladylike training long enough to tell him? 

The Legacy Excerpt of the Week

Thought for the Week
 "Self pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in the world."
Helen Keller
"Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world making the most of one's best."
Harry Emerson Fosdick

Excerpt for the Week

Book: The Legacy

In my twenty-two years of life, I have seen and suffered things no one should have to. Having been raised by an alcoholic mother and an abusive father, childhood was nothing but miserable for me. From the age of six to twelve years old, when other children were laughing and playing and sharing secrets with their friends, I was a woman-child, barely surviving and telling my secrets to no one. In the afternoons after school when I should have been busy being a child, I was subjected to the screams of my mother as my father beat her. And at night while other children were safely tucked in their beds and sleeping, I was forced to endure the sickening presence of my father in my room as he abused and defiled me.

One day my mother finally found the courage to leave her husband. She packed our things while he was working and moved us from Charlotte back to her hometown of Asheville. Unfortunately, the move was too little, too late, for my life had been permanently scarred. And it didn’t help that every man my mother moved into our home seemed to think I should be part of the deal.

Throughout my life I felt dirty and cheap, but more than anything, I felt alone. There was no one I could turn to and share my painful burdens. Later in life, that loneliness guided me to make decisions that only added to my misery, bringing even more shame upon me.

A single tear slips down my cheek as I remember the days and nights of endless partying, each episode filled with drugs, alcohol, and sometimes immoral conduct. When I was younger, my father made it his solemn duty to tell me repeatedly that I was worthless and only good for one thing in life. It seemed his comments found a permanent place in my mind and heart. My father had foreseen my future and helped as much as he could to make that future happen. But I know in the end the choices had been my own, just as the choice to finally change my life had been.

The all new revised edition of The Legacy will be available this weekend in paperback and Kindle format on Amazon.com

Nobody's Perfect

Thought for Today

We all have days that we compare ourselves to others, thinking we don't measure up or we are not as good a person as someone else. There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve in various

areas or wanting to be a better person. But while we are reaching for these things, we need to remember that no one is perfect. And the sooner we come to understand this, the easier we will be on ourselves. We all have our faults and problems, and no one can truly know what is going on inside another person.
But God does know, and that is what is important.
So stop comparing and do your best. That is all any of us can do:-)

Have an awesome day!

A Good Mormon Girl Mystery by Michaelbrent Collins

Suggested Reading

Book: Blood Relations: A Good Mormon Girl Mystery
Author: Michaelbrent Collins

About the Book

Lane Cooley is the best Homicide Detective on the LAPD. But she isn't anything like you'd imagine. She's no fast-talking femme fatale... no, she's a Good Mormon Girl who doesn't smoke, drink, cuss, or even watch R-rated movies.
But that doesn't mean Lane misses out on all the blood and guts. Especially now. A new serial killer is in town, one who knows all the cops' tricks, all their secrets. One who is targeting young girls, killing them, and cutting them to pieces.
Now, Lane has to race against the clock to find the killer. Because the murderer has chosen his next victim. And it's Lane's little sister.

This book was definitely not what I expected, and I mean that in a good way. I read a little mystery every now and then and I can usually take it or leave it, but Blood Relations was one that threw me for a loop and I had a hard time putting it down, though there were moments when I had to stop because my heart was pounding so hard. The story is not only about a police woman trying to catch a psychopathic murderer on the loose, it's also about family, unconditional love, and trying to keep your sanity in an impossible situation. It's a great read and not for the squeamish, but it is one I would highly recommend to fans of murder mysteries.
Blood Relations: A Good Mormon Girl Mystery is available in paperback and Kindle format on Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BVCGOWO/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1F0P6BS7048TDJ4MHSAW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846

Coming March 29th - A New YA Novel by Amy Harmon

A Different Blue is an amazing new novel by Amy Harmon, a beautiful and very talented author. I'm a total fan and just adore her writing style.

About the book

Blue Echohawk doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know her real name or when she was born. Abandoned at two and raised by a drifter, she didn't attend school until she was ten years old. At nineteen, when most kids her age are attending college or moving on in life, she is just a senior in high school. With no mother, no father, no faith, and no future, Blue Echohawk is a difficult student, to say the least. Tough, hard and overtly sexy, she is the complete opposite of the young British teacher who decides he is up for the challenge, and takes the troublemaker under his wing.

This is the story of a nobody who becomes somebody. It is the story of an unlikely friendship, where hope fosters healing and redemption becomes love. But falling in love can be hard when you don't know who you are. Falling in love with someone who knows exactly who they are and exactly why they can't love you back might be impossible.

 

This story pulled my emotions in so many different directions, my daughter walked in while I was reading it and thought I was losing it. Throughout the story my heart just went out to Blue and I completely fell in love with Wilson, except for the times during the last quarter of the book when he was being an idiot. But I loved him then, too, and I experienced Tom Hanks moments from Castaway where I found myself yelling, "Wilson! Wilson, come back!" Oh, my heck, the story is so emotion-driven, I couldn't think of anything else and I read it in a day! And the mystery of Blue and her past keeps you locked in until the very end.

A Different Blue and Amy's other novel, Running Barefoot are sure to be two of your favorite books.

To learn more about the amazing Amy and her books, visit her Amazon page.

http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Sutorius-Harmon/e/B007V3HXUY

Son of Liberty

Thought for Today
“It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.”
—Robert Benchley

Suggested Reading

Book: Son of Liberty
Author: Daron D. Fraley

About the Book
If the love of a parent can make a young man brave, then Alexander Martinez should have been a selfish coward. For almost sixteen years of his life, Alex had never felt that kind of love. So after new foster parents take him in and teach him what it's like to have a real family--a loving family--and Alex finally experiences the joys that life can provide, he discovers a strength of character buried deep within his soul.

But Alex's dream of family doesn't last. Instead, he finds himself in a society suffering from the aftermath of total collapse, and he realizes that he has to make a choice: Will he choose to protect the liberty and freedom of others, even at the peril of his own life? Or will his own fears and lack of confidence cause him to remain on the sidelines, only to witness the complete and utter destruction of America?

SON OF LIBERTY is a story of post apocalyptic possibilities. It's a little bit "Prepper". Certainly gun friendly. And absolutely patriotic. Long live the Sons of Liberty!

This was a fun story to read and is one that gives you a lot to think about. It is a quick read that the entire family will enjoy and should definitely be shared. If you hold conservative views, you will love it -if not, the scenario will be an eye opener:-)
Order your copy of Son of Liberty from amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Son-of-Liberty-ebook/dp/B00BDFFUDS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1362711340&sr=1-1&keywords=son+of+liberty