Debbie and Me is one of the sweetest little books you could get anyone you consider a friend.

It tells the fictionalized account of the friendship between the two authors. It might seem like an unusual friendship but after you read it, you’ll see they have much more in common than they do differences- and aren’t we suppose to celebrate the differences anyway?

The book can be purchased on Amazon at this link; you can also purchased signed copies locally by contacting either of the authors on Facebook.

If you’re blessed to still have your mama, call her! She needs to hear from you. It’s OK to give her a gift for Mother’s Day, but the main thing she wants is to hear from you.

If she wants to give you something, let her. If she wants to buy your lunch, let her. If she just wants to talk to you, TALK to her.

Don’t be too busy…. because one day it will be too late.

Call ya mama.

 

Once upon a time there was a little boy who loved trucks, and he loved animals too. So one day his mama found a book called The Happy Dump Truck Man.  The man owned a truck and stopped to let some of his animal friends ride.

The little boy loved the book so much that his mama read it to him ‘most every day. She read it so much that she read it to pieces, and they had to buy another copy.

The little boy grew up and had little girls of his own. His mama still loved him very much, and now she had his sweet girls to love too.  One day while his mama was looking through some boxes, she found the copy of the book, so she took it to his house so he could see. Now he can read it to his little girls, who also love animals!

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As I’ve said before, books are a treasure- make sure you invest in your kids’ and grandkids’ lives by finding great books to share and build memories around…

What books are you sharing?

Sometimes people want to know how and when I got started in this business; and to be honest, it wasn’t where I originally wanted to go in my professional life. But I believe this is where God intended for me to be.

I lost my job at a local university, but while I was there, I had learned about writing code and designing webpages. In fact, the man who was the technical person for our department taught me and actually asked me to help him create and maintain webpages for each staff member and department.

Since I had enjoyed it so much- both the design and the coding itself – I decided to start my own business.

About a year after I started, Dimple McInvale called me – she’d been in a beginning computer class that my sister-in-law Joanne had taught. She had written some books and needed someone to set up a website for her, and Joanne pointed her to me.

She was faithful to refer new customers to me and she encouraged me greatly.

And then the day came when she called me and told me that she really felt like I needed to help her get her books straightened out. She had been working with a local print-on-demand company, and was not happy with the arrangements.

After much strong encouragement on her part (as in she dragged me kicking and screaming), I decided to begin helping authors publish their books.  This wasn’t something that I had ever felt I could do, but again, with her encouragement, I have slowly and gradually built up a clientele of authors who might not have been able to work with a traditional publishing company.

As I tell prospects all the time, I don’t work like a traditional publishing company. I work with my customers to see what services I can provide and I help them publicize and market their book. They pay me for the services I provide and when the work is done, they don’t have to pay me any more money. They receive all the proceeds from the sale of their book, and they have complete control over the entire process.  I think it’s a process that benefits everyone, mostly the author, and I’m blessed to be a part of it.

I’m very happy with the business I’ve built over the past ten years- I don’t think I’m through growing, of course, but I am pleased to be where I am. God has been faithful to lead me where I needed to, and one of the biggest blessings in my business has been Dimple McInvale.

Congratulations to David Tadlock on the release of his book, Mistaken Identity, on Smashwords. All eBook versions are available for purchase.

I think you’ll enjoy it! David has a very unique sense of humor and is a great story-teller.  You can also visit his blog to read more of his stories and poems.

Just a quick note to wish all of you a merry Christmas. I pray that you get to spend some times with people you love. If you’ve got family coming, consider inviting some of your neighbors as well- they may not have anyone to spend Christmas with.

And if you’re not spending time with family or friends this year, I pray you’ll find someone you can bless – take a meal to them, or invite them over for coffee and cake. In blessing them, you will be blessed yourself.

And for those of you who celebrate another holiday besides Christmas – I pray your holiday is as wonderful as you can imagine. I hope your arms are filled with family and friends who love you, and that you get to see joy on at least one child’s face. Children know how to celebrate the holidays and we could take a lesson from them.

 

A few years ago, one of our local churches’ kids’ group sang a song I wasn’t familiar with, called “When I think of Christmas“, (this video does not feature the kids I know, but it’s sweet just the same) with each verse building on the last, very much like the “Twelve Days of Christmas”. It’s become one of those songs that gets hung in my head – I find myself singing or humming it often, even when it’s not Christmas.

And while this little song talks about all the things that happened that first Christmas, it also reminds me of things from when I was a child.  Some of my favorite memories are peeping through the dining room room into the living room and seeing what Santa might have left. One year it was a tin doll house – the people were only about as big as my pointer finger; it had all kinds of furniture, as well as a stove and fridge, a tub and really everything you’d need to set up housekeeping.

Another year, I got a record player and some records  – one had musical fairy tales on it and my favorite was Rumpelstiltskin – spin, spin, spin straw into gold!

I think one of the best gifts I got as a teenager was a real stereo system – it had big speakers and you could play records: 45, 33, 16 and 78 rpm, so anything we had at the house would work. It also played cassette tapes and the newest thing – 8-tracks. I was really uptown! That year I got a Freddie Fender album and I think I wore it out.

I also have a lot of good memories of meals eaten together- my dad’s parents always pulled out the fine china and glassware and we ate at the dining table, squeezing in as close as possible so everyone fit; dessert was always layer cake and ambrosia- which took hours to make by hand and was delicious.  At  my mom’s parents there was also had a big crowd- we just ended up sitting wherever – living room sofa, den recliners, on the floor- just wherever we could “light” as my grandma used to say. Lane cake and fruit cake was a big thing at her house.

So – when you think of Christmas, what do you think of?

For as long as I’ve lived in Crenshaw County, I’ve made it a point to come to the Christmas parade; it’s on the first Saturday in December at 11 every year.

After all the floats, fire trucks, beauty queens, football teams and scout groups march through, the toy run starts. It began about 26 years ago, when three guys heard about some kids who weren’t going to have a very good Christmas; so they gathered their friends and headed out with a bunch of toys. They just happened to fall in behind the parade that first time, and ever since it’s been a tradition.

One of the guys who started it just happens to be my youngest daughter’s father-in-law. I can remember taking her as a little kid and she would get so excited about the motorcycles that she would scream. She absolutely loved it- I guess I should have known then that it would play a big part in all our lives.

So I was very pleased and honored when Spyder and Ed asked Randy and I last year if we’d be willing to take it over and sponsor it. Both of them are no longer able to be there like they want, and of course we were thrilled to be asked.

It wasn’t as big as we’d have liked- sometimes the weather keeps folks away. But our dream is to build it up to be the biggest toy run in the southeast US.

Randy and I both believe in dreaming big and we both believe in working for what we want. I imagine God’s put us in this position for a reason and we’re going to do our best to make sure that Spyder, Ed and JR are pleased with our work, and God too!

When I was very young, our class learned to sing some songs about Thanksgiving. One of them was:

Thanksgiving Day is a happy day, and we say thank you, God!
Thanksgiving Day is a happy day, and we say thank you, God!

Another one that we all loved was “Over the River and Through the Woods”, although I’m pretty sure none of my classmates rode a sleigh through the snow to Grandma’s house.

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving memories?

From the time I was an older child/young teenager, I always felt like I was on the outside of most things, looking in.

Don’t get me wrong- I’ve always had friends, but I always thought I was a very “forgettable” person.  If I ever suggested an idea, or shared a story, folks could remember it, but they never seemed to remember that I’m the one who shared it.

I do have an awesome group of friends now who support me, believe in me and love me just as I am. When I’m with them, I never feel like I’m standing in a doorway, watching a party I know I can’t join. I know how fortunate I am to be a part of that “tribe”.

Please don’t take this post as a cry for attention, or a complaint, because it’s neither. I’m just being transparent about how I feel about myself, and I how I think others see me.

I’m sure others must feel the same way about themselves; and sometimes I do feel bad about it. I don’t really feel sorry for myself, but I do wish that I didn’t feel that way.

As an adult, I believe that those feelings are part of the reason I work so hard to make an impact on the world around me.

So, I’d like to challenge you- if you feel like an outsider, wear it like a badge of honor. You know what it’s like, and you can help someone else who’s coming along behind you- let them know they’re in good company!

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