Three, Two, One, Blast Off!
It's book launch month, which means this week saw a welcome hint of spring.
God’s Little Flowers launched into the world this week, and it has been such a delight and a joy to see friends near and far respond to it. Thanks to those who have posted reviews on Amazon and Barnes and Noble (only five stars so far! Feel free to add yours!).
I have a couple of interviews scheduled later this month, and hopefully these, too, will help the book get into the hands of even more readers who need it. More soon!
Some updates
I was checking Amazon ranking on launch day, and captured this moment when the book was #5 in Amazon Catholic New Releases, just behind the pope (in three different formats) and the brilliant Dr. John Bergsma. Wild. Proof that this is the Holy Spirit’s project much more than it’s mine!
What I’m reading
I’m finishing The Dry Wood by Caryll Houselander this week, which was the first volume in CUA Press’s Catholic Women Writers series. Next up for me, The End of the House of Alard by Sheila Kaye-Smith.
What my kids are reading
My daughter and I recently finished Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards and much preferred it to The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. We haven’t picked our next read yet, though I have a few in mind. I’d welcome suggestions for a good read for a nine-/ten-year-old girl.
Something I love
Board games with my kids, especially as they get older. Once the little ones are down, we’re finding we have time for Scrabble, Bananagrams, and Floats McGoats. All super fun. I’m not great at getting outside and playing in the yard; I’m much better at finding time for and enjoying games like these.
What I’m creating (knitting, lettering, embroidery, etc.)
I’ve been knitting! It doesn’t look like much now, but it will. Someday. There are so many life lessons in knitting, but I’ll spare you. Let’s just enjoy how beautiful this shade of green is, shall we?
Where my work is
WINE: “Trying to be Be Christlike”
The Beacon: “Children’s book urges girls to use unique gifts to serve others”
Dappled Things: “Friday Links”
What I’m working on
My favorite volunteer job at my kids’ school is writing the basket titles and descriptions for our annual (epic) tricky tray. I lean heavily on eighties/nineties music and puns. I’m in the midst of it now; here are a few of my favorites:
For a Nespresso machine: “This Is How We Brew It”
For bottles of whiskey with a smoker: “Whiskey Me Away”
I’m also working on a bonus post for later this month, highlighting small publishers producing excellent books. There will be a giveaway, so stay tuned!
A quote to sit and sip with
Men forget. They cease to understand what the Incarnation meant, what God means by it, it has to be proved to them over and over again, in each successive generation. This is what the saints do, they live Christ’s life again, prove His longing to be loved again in the medium of the particular people they live among, so that once again, men can see how God loves them and in responding to Him, lay hold of their own happiness.
—Caryll Houselander, The Dry Wood
Book recommendation - our family recently read "The Magic Mirror: Concerning a Lonely Princess, a Foundling Girl, a Scheming King and a Pickpocket Squirrel" by Susan Hill Long and we really enjoyed it!