My Blessed Backyard Creatures

I am blessed with a backyard that is a haven for animals. My dining room, the favorite part of my house, is where I enjoy my animal kingdom.  I start and end each day here with Lexie Lee in my lap.  By day, this light-spilling Florida sunroom offers a panoramic view of my outside world and of my personal paradise. In this room, I appreciate light and revere nature. The open and airy room has five sets of colonial windows on the room’s northern and eastern side. A French door leads to a courtyard on the southern side, and another French door leads to the backyard and patio on the northern side.

I watch the screeching blue jays take their morning bath. The neighbor’s rabbit hops across the patio and disappears into shrubbery in search of breakfast. A squirrel captures my attention as it scurries successfully along the utility lines. Later my bushy tailed friend performs acrobatics from the arbor much to my delight.  A stray cat passes through to drink out of the swimming pool. A chameleon sunbathes on the back of a patio chair. Vibrant orange flowers punctuate the lush tropical vegetation.

At night the room becomes enchanted. Hundreds of white lights illuminate the courtyard, gazebo and patio. Landscape lighting showcases fluttering palm trees around the kidney-shaped pool. A sun dial magically reflects and dances in the pool. The night creatures, such as raccoons and opossums, visit.  A soft breeze blows through the room, and I hear wind chimes lightly striking on the patio. I turn off all the interior lights and just sit there in awe and listen to the fascinating and calming sound of nature emanating from my blessed backyard sanctuary.

Without fail, this room feeds and centers my soul by connecting me to God’s sacred animals.

How do you connect with animals?

Bountiful Blessings!

A Week in My Author Life

Many of you have asked, “Just exactly what do you do now that your book is out?” I actually think that is when the real work begins. Like maybe writing is 10% of a book and marketing it is 90%! Others have asked “When are you going to write another book?” Today’s blog will answer the first question!

When Tatianna was published, I committed to a minimum of one daily task to market the book or further my writing career.  Sometimes, a micromovement like drafting an email or returning a phone call is all I can manage—especially if I am in the middle of grading exams. Other days my journal list includes several items resulting in a couple dozen accomplishments by week’s end.   

Last week I:

·         Wrote copy for a  two-sided flyer for Florida Library Convention

·         Worked by email with graphics artist on flyer design

·         Emailed graphics file to printers

·         Picked up flyers from printers

·         Assembled a package of flyers, Tatianna book, and bookmarks

·         Mailed package to Florida Library Convention

·         Wrote Seattle Post-Intelligence blog—Name That Kitty

·         Wrote Web site blog—National Library Week Cat Story

·         Got name of hotel gift shop buyer while there for breakfast

·         Wrote a 500 word essay “When I Felt Like a Star” for a contest

·         Made publicist appointment

·         Sent handwritten note to a reader in Missouri

·         Wrote letter to Rural Missouri magazine for story idea

·         Autographed and mailed a book to a reader in Missouri

·         Entered Tatianna book in Beach Book Festival Contest

·         Emailed colleague about sponsorship for Cat Writers Association

·         Emailed reader in Iowa who is grieving the loss of her cat

·         Read Red Hot Internet Publicity book

I wrote Tatianna one word at a time, and I connect with you, the readers, one activity at a time.

Bountiful Blessings!

National Library Week Cat Story

In honor of National Library Week, April 13-19, I wrote the following cat story.

Lexie Lee is excited today as I have just told her we are going on a jaunt to the Village of North Palm Beach Public Library. While I attend the Friends of the Library annual awesome book sale in the Thelma Obert Room in the lower level of the library, Lexie Lee gets to explore the upper level stacks. She loves to go there since she does not get out of the house anymore except to go to the library or to the veterinarian. She much prefers the library!

Lexie Lee wants to read Cleveland Amory’s book, The Cat Who Came at Christmas. She thinks it sounds like a great book since she is the cat who came to my Florida home after Hurricanes Jeanne and Frances in 2004.  She wants to compare her outdoor adventures with Polar Bear’s. I wish she could record her journey to me. When this beautiful Norwegian Forest Cat appeared on my patio after the storms, I could only imagine what she had endured.

After Lexie Lee purrs over Polar Bear’s extraordinary story, she turns her attention to another book,   Tatianna—Tales and Teachings of My Feline Friend. Lexie Lee is quite familiar with this book as she spent a multitude of hours on my lap while I finished writing this tale. She loves to prance around the library telling everyone on my behalf that they just have to read about Tatianna and her buddies including Noelle, Taittinger, Marnie, and Katarina.

Lexie Lee settled into domestic living quite naturally after being blown into my yard from somewhere. She loves warm fuzzy blankets and voluminous feather beds. She likes to gaze outside from high vantage points of our tri-level house. Lexie Lee is a window sill and sun seeking cat, so after her library adventure, she is ready to crawl into a sunlit soft chair to catch some sunbeams. What would be even better is if she can crawl into my lap and rest her head and front paws on my chest! But for now, I am busy carrying boxes of treasured reading to my car.

Later, when I come to find Lexie Lee, she runs to me the minute she sees me. I reach down and gather her up in my arms and tell her about all the special books I just found at the library sale. She has always loved her new name, and I show her a hardcover book by Nicholas Sparks, True Believer.

“Look Lexie Lee, I found another book for you to read.  You are named after the leading lady, Lexie, who by the way is a librarian!”

I muse on the significance of the True Believer title and the relationship Lexie Lee and I share. As I rub her on the top of her head, my precious hurricane kitty purrs.

I softly whisper, “Linda loves Lexie Lee. Let’s go home my love.”

Bountiful Blessings!

Tatianna Wins Award

I was recently notified that Tatianna was a semi-finalist in the Reader Views 2007 Annual Literary Awards in the memoir as well as the spirituality and inspiration categories.

 

“Reader Views reviews more than 2,000 books per year from budding authors who have worked hard to achieve their dream of being published,” Reader Views Managing Editor Irene Watson says. “Our Annual Literary Awards recognize the very best of these up-and-coming authors, all talented writers who we know have very promising writing careers ahead of them.” The awards program was established several years ago to honor writers who self-published or had their books published by a small press, university press, or independent book publisher.

 

Imagine my delight a short time later when I learned Tatianna placed in both categories.

 

Memoir: Second Place

Spirituality and Inspiration: Honorable Mention

 

The Reader Views Annual Literary Awards are granted in 20 fiction and 30 nonfiction categories, as well as 15 specialized, sponsored categories. The entries are judged by Reader Views reviewers, all avid readers with a wide range of experiences, considered experts in the respective fields.

 

A couple weeks later I received black and gold award seals to place on the cover of my book! If you have a copy of Tatianna and would like a seal for the book, please email me.

 

Bountiful Blessings!