RIP, Dolly.
I’m down this week because Dolly Parton, one of my favorite folks I never met, passed away. May she rest in peace. Every time I see my grandkids’ books from the Imagination Library, I smile at her memory. I have read that 850,000 children a month receive books from her Dollywood Foundation. I understand she sold 100 million records, won many awards, and starred in movies, but whenever I hear Love Is Like a Butterfly, I have to sit, listen, and smile. Her philanthropy and thoughtfulness for others’ needs was astonishing. If you work at her theme Park, Dollywood, and want to go to college and are accepted, the theme park pays the bill for you. (retrieved from Oladipo, Gloria (February 10, 2022). Dolly Parton’s Dollywood to pay full tuition for employees pursuing college”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077) And the list goes on and on of her help to others. Look up her online biography; you will be stunned by her achievements. She is one of the few very wealthy people who did good in the world. The world will miss her.
Stepping away from that sadness, what else has been going on? Well, we brought in our third cutting of hay. We had a week of 70-degree weather; that was a nice break, but we are heading into the 90s again for this coming week. I’ve been canning food for winter, and Dan’s been going over his farm machinery and settling some back for its fall/winter rest. I published a new book which will be on special this week; I’ve set up five weeks of specials this time. I am working on the new Beyond the Veil Christmas book; I’ve re-edited two books and ordered new covers for them, bringing them up to date, adding more content. I hope to have those done for September. I completed a new devotional for next year’s winter. And here is the list of specials just for you; by the way, we added another 700 people to our newsletter list so far this month! Thank you, everyone! Now, back to the specials: there is something for everyone, and all of them are 99-cent downloads:
Aug 31 – Sept 6 Say What? My Parents Are Amateurs?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHYPYR47
Will be a 99-cent download on Amazon!
Parenting doesn’t come with a manual, but this book gets close. Babies don’t come with instructions, but now you do. Your secret weapon for raising a happy, healthy child even if you’re feeling like an ‘amateur’ at parenting. As a great-grandma, grandma, mother, professional social worker, and parent educator, I saw a need for a simple, understandable, and sensible book about parenting your child in a stress-filled, worrisome world. Our children are 1/3 the population, 100% of our future, and they depend on us to help them grow roots strong enough to carry them through their futures. Ideal as a gift for new parents or grandparents, the mysteries of everything from potty-training to obedience are explained, as well as sticky-wets like when a kid really needs a cell phone, according to real research and not the other kids. You need this if you have kids; and your kids need you to have it. Get your copy now for yourself or someone you love.
Sept 7-14 Life’s Flashbacks-poetry https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HG8G3JRK
Our latest book is special this week at just 99 cents for an Amazon download.
I welcome you to wander with me in the realm of poetry. Let’s relive some of the events that shaped our world. Grab a cup of tea, some shortbread, and relax. Sit. Sip. Remember what matters. Escape from the noise of your life into the quietness that descends like a fuzzy blanket over your heart. It’s safe and friendly here for a visit. From the thoughts of the small to the musings of the old, the road is not far to a friend’s heart. I’ll be glad to have you. We can rest from the rumbles of life, gain strength, and be ourselves again. Share your child/grandchild pictures, sit a spell, tell me what you think; won’t take long to rest. I can’t wait to hear from you.
Sept. 15-22 The Sage, the Swindler and the Sheep will be our 99-cent special this week!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSTQHF5K
Colossians is one of those letters that got Paul in trouble. From an old bachelor trying to advise on family relationships to a struggle between truth and hidden mysteries, Paul is fighting for his life while trying to lead his flock 1,300 miles away. As a prisoner of Rome, he walked a narrow line between what he could and could not say in his letters. He loved his people, he loved his God, and he died for both but not before leaving us a library of letters full of advice, frustration, and encouragement. He forced diverging views to deal with each other; he spearheaded the movement to allow non-Jewish people to join the Christian church as equals; he championed women’s rights as delicately as he could in his time; he fought against subversive philosophies; in this letter specifically, Gnosticism. He urged all his people to stay true to God and sort out the cults that were rapidly forming around the Man from Galilee and His legacy of salvation and truth. It’s up to us to decide if he was an interfering old grump or a farseeing prophet.
September 23-30, our bestseller, You Can’t Make this Stuff Up, book 1 of the Social Work Memoirs series, is out with a 99-cent download special. Over the 28 years I have been in professional Social Work, I’ve met people from the privileged to the poor and most of their relatives. It gets greasy, gritty, gracious, and no way glamorous; heart, chaos, and comedy; uncensored. Real lives, real laughs, real heartbreak; it’s all in here! Social work: wilder than fiction, funnier too. You need a copy of this book for those days when you can’t believe people can get any odder. I can vouch for that.
September 23-30, our bestseller, You Can’t Make this Stuff Up, book 1 of the Social Work Memoirs series, is out with a 99-cent download special. Over the 28 years I have been in professional Social Work, I’ve met people from the privileged to the poor and most of their relatives. It gets greasy, gritty, gracious, and no way glamorous; heart, chaos, and comedy; uncensored. Real lives, real laughs, real heartbreak; it’s all in here! Social work: wilder than fiction, funnier too. You need a copy of this book for those days when you can’t believe people can get any odder. I can vouch for that.
October 1-8 Firebird Simmers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FB4XJT67
This is the first special of October and maybe the last “normal” book going on special, and we start our Christmas specials next week! But for now, this is our 99-cent special for the first week of October.
Join me as we travel this twisted path to creatures once known and now living in legends and myths. Folklore is based on something that once was there or still is, seen only by those judged safe to trust. This and the next 2 books in the Hidden America Series are about the Firebird, who brings storms and fire and protects the people. What legends live where you live? Have you seen something slide behind a boulder, seen only as a blink out of the corner of an eye? Do you wonder at things that slip by in the darkness? Are you ready to confront the things hidden in plain sight?
And that winds it up for this week’s letter. Welcome to all our new friends; I hope you all find time to leave a review of whatever you’re reading, and stay safe! Remember the kids are out there riding school buses and walking: keep watch out for the small fry.