Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Adams Point in Print

Hi, Everyone!

At last, the print edition of the third book in the Legacy Series, Adams Point, has been released and is up on Amazon.com. The publisher is Write Words, Inc., imprint Cambridge Books. The following is a brief look into the novel:

The strange spirits who, without rhyme or reason, or so much as a 'by your leave', had suddenly inhabited The House On The Bluff and caused a multitude of problems.

It was not only that people were disappearing, which heightened their trepidation, but the menacing, almost threatening manifestations it showered on the human residents, while relegating the "harmless" spiritual entities into their own inescapable prison. A prison, which was so deep within the recesses of the house, they apparently couldn't or didn't dare attempt to escape or leave.

The new entities had taken control of the Inn On Adams Point and were bound and determined to bring everyone into its clutches. But Jacob, one of the resident spirits, did try to break the hold that bound him and his compatriots only to fail in his attempt to warn Ethan, Abigail and or Tony.

Best,
Elena

Monday, March 10, 2008

Guest Interview With Deborah Thomas

Debbie Thomas, author of Brekleby Press, is touring with me in March 2008 and you will get to learn much more about her and her book.


A little bit about Debbie Thomas: A couple of Deborah's favorite yet infrequent past times are drawing and gardening, Deborah has penned short stories and poems for many years. Some pieces did find their way to blogs and other writers' sites. As a random act, she took part in a writing challenge, National Novel Writing Month (NANO - www.nanowrimo.org), and she penned her first novel length story. Later, a few friends encouraged her to attempt to publish it. Deborah Thomas lives with her four children in a small suburb outside of Springfield, Ma.

eddb: Today we welcome Deborah Thomas a new author on her first book tour. Good morning, Deborah, welcome to my stop at your book tour. I'm sure my readers would love to get to know you a little better.

Deb: Good Morning, Elena. Happy to be here.

eddb: 1) So, let's begin. Where are you from? And what inspired you to write this book?

Deb: I'm a single parent living with my four kids in Chicopee, a small town in western Massachusetts. The Brekleby Press part of an effort of writing a longer story in my early efforts of participating in NANO. It was a fun piece to write.
eddb: 2) The name of your book is intriguing. Is it a take-off on a real publishing company of just a play on words?

Deb: No. The title didn't actually come to me until I was almost finished with the book. The title was kind of play on words. The idea for the book came to me from a combination of a couple of old (late 60's and 70's) television shows. Dr. Who, The Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits.

eddb: 3) What in your background helps you to write a book such as this? And why did you decide to write this particular book?
Deb: I'd say that it has been a childhood hobby, starting with short stories and poems then later with longer pieces. My first novel length attempt from the participating in a website that challenged you to write a 50,000 story in 30 days, the National Novel Writers Month. The Brekleby Press is a result of year two for participation. My writing is still growing and developing. I'm still learning and growing right along with it.

eddb: 4) How do you take the reader from the past to the present or the present to the past?

Deb: There are two means upon which the reporters travel from the past to the present. The first one, actually ones are The Passage and The Tower of Babel. The Passage is an entity kind of like fate, with all the knowledge of any words and acts that has or ever will be. The Tower of Babel is the channeling portal upon which the reporters go thru time in. To access this tower, the reporters enter a room where the methods of how history were recorded thru time are stored. You have fabric or skins scrolls, stone tablets, hand scribed books, the old moveable printing press, old fashioned typewriter and the modern computer. When it's time to go to that period of time, the method of the time glows and captures the reporters and transports them to that time.

eddb: 5) Your book sounds interesting, a group of reporters jumping back and forth in time to become guardians of the "word". a) What word is it that they are attempting to protect, or it is words that have been spoken from the beginning of time to the present? b) And why?

Deb: The word in that even the smallest of pebbles can lead to bigger things. We are all witness to the everyday or the mundane. We can chose to notice and possibly savory and learn from these little tidbits or not. A cause and effect or repetition of the same acts. We all are stewards of the word whether we realize it or not.

eddb: 6) If the reporters do not have control of the Time Machine how are they able to transport from one dimension to another? And if they do, why would the Time Machine be the ultimate prize?

Deb: The passage determines the when and at what point the reporters will appear and disappear from that particular period of time. They are capturing that moment of time (the three minutes of fame). Now one of the crucial elements of this is that they can't interfere with time, no the catch twenty two is that is in real time for the period so they have to get the facts down and get back within the time it is suppose to have actually occurred. They don't, they have interfered with time. There are no excuses for this, whether infighting in the group or an outside force of a former employee/guardian. This former guardian wants to not only interfere with history but totally destroy the passage and tower.

eddb: 7) Is the heroine of this group, the only female member or does she have a "sister" to help her fend off the male members of the group?

Deb: Natalie isn't the only female but there isn't any type of sisterhood among the other females in her group. Natalie does have a "big brother" figure that helps her try and piece together what is going on. She is like this awkward person who has to grow into not only her "motley crew" of fellow reporters but into what is expected of her in respect to the passage.

eddb: 8) Will this be the only book in this genre, or are you planning on a sequel or series to it?

Deb: Yes, I have started two sequels to Brekleby, both untitled. They will be going into a little more background of the passage, and the two main characters.

eddb: 9) If you didn't write this book, what genre would you like to write in? Why?

Deb: I really don't gear my writing to any one genre. When the idea hits me, I just let it run its course. I mean I have two other projects right now that maybe classified as mysteries. One is a little further along than the other. I just don't consciously say it has to be this way.

eddb: 10) What are you working on now? And how far along with it are you?

Deb: I also have an urban fiction book called Ninomytus which the MC is a martyr for the condemned. He is a restless eternal soul. A reporter come in to interview him after the last attempted to kill him thru lethal injection fails. I am editing it right now with an anticipated release date of late summer or early fall.

Deb: I have a second book that will be available soon, 2 glances, published by CreateSpace that was an entry in the Amazon Break thru Artist contest last year. The MC is a therapist who helps people face and cope with their various idiosyncrasies. It's also helps him deal with his, being around people.

eddb: Thank you for joining us today, Deborah. It was a pleasure having you here. I trust my readers will have enjoyed getting to know you.

Deb: Thank you for having me. I've enjoyed talking with you and making me feel at home. I want to thank you for giving me the chance to talk about my book and look forward to doing this again http://inspiredauthor.com/promotion/Debbie+Thomas

Elena

Sunday, March 9, 2008

For Moms and Soon To Be Moms Everywhere

The Invisible Mom: - This was in my email, this morning, and I was asked to share it with all the Moms everywhere. I don't know who the author is, but this is too precious not to pass on.

My favorite sentence is: "You're gonna love it there."

I'm Invisible

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking , 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands;I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a
car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.
It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at > > my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was > > clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be
covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over.

You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.' At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong,stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime, because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and dresses all th e linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. Great Job, MOM!

Share this with alloms you know... I just did

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

A Book to Improve Your Business, Success & Life

What Can a Dentist Teach You about Business, Life and Success? Discover Secrets to Total Success!

As a personal favor to a friend of mine, I am posting this blurb about a special book for anyone who might be interested in obtaining it for their own.

"This is one of the best books around on success and spirituality that you can add to your personal library. What myself and lots of other people are doing is spreading the word about this book so that as many people as possible will buy it over the next 24 hours. This helps to bring the book to national attention. When a lot of book sales take place within a 24-hour period the book moves quickly up the charts of online bookstores.

http://www.joecapista.com/amazon.htm

The reason I want this book to reach the top of the charts is because of what people will learn from it. This is not some pie-in-the-sky success book. It is one of the best books you will ever get your hands on that will teach you success principles that can give you a life of abundance, health, happiness and great relationships.

What Can a Dentist Teach You about Business, Life and Success? Discover Secrets to Total Success! contains the very principles that have allowed Dr. Joe Capista to become a multi-millionaire and live a life of Total Success! He is in the top 3% of revenue generators in his industry in the United States, has been happily married for over 34 years, is in top physical shape and enjoys a life of massive contribution.

This is a very powerful and realistic book that can give you wonderful insights to make you more succesful and happy in your life and business. I am tired of the type of a business books where the author talks down to the reader, Dr Capista talks to the reader.

As an added incentive for buying the book today you will receive over $2,551 in bonus gifts from experts around the globe including a one hour "by invitation only" teleseminar with the author.

So if you are ready to add a wonderful book on success and spirituality to your personal library, have access to dozens of great bonus gifts and have the opportunity to hear success speaker and author, Dr. Joe Capista, order your copy right away.

http://www.joecapista.com/amazon.htm

To your success."

Elena

Cell Phone Directory

Most of us have never thought of this.......

One lady has changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile
phone after her handbag [which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc] was stolen.

Twenty minutes after the theft, she called her hubby from a pay phone telling him what had happened. Her Hubby told her "I received your text msg asking about our Pin number and sent it to you a little while ago."

They rushed down to the bank but all the money in their account was already withdrawn. The thief had used the stolen cell phone to text "Hubby" in the contact list to request the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.

Moral of the Story: Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked for by text, confirm the request by calling back and voice ID-ing the person requesting the info.

Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them some where, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you can't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet "family and friends" who text you.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON

Elena