Save Your Reviews On Paper

I believed that everything on the internet remained there forever. I have discovered this is not true--at least for some things like the reviews I received for the first edition of SEA OF HOPE. Most of the reviews on that book have vanished. Only a few are left. However, since it was my first published book, I printed out many of the reviews and saved them. Unfortunately, I cannot put them on Amazon. I am reduced to begging for new reviews on the second edition. 

Still, I had a wonderful time reading through the old reviews I saved. I even discovered the book had won another award which I had completely forgotten about--The Clara Award.  Sadly, that award no longer exists, but I do have a wonderful document proclaiming my achievement. 

Some of the websites where reviews for my book first appeared are still there, but the reviews for Sea of Hope have long since disappeared from their archives. 

Here's a snippet of a review written by Robin Peek at Romance Reviews Today, "Ms. Marzec has created a poignant and inspirational story of faith and trust. Her characters are in-depth, emotional people who hide their true feelings, but through faith, learn to forgive and trust. SEA OF HOPE is a truly inspiring romantic tale for readers of all ages." 

Clara Durfee, also of Romance Reviews Today said, "SEA OF HOPE is a well-written journey into two peoples' hearts."

Cindy Penn wrote, "Author Penelope Marzec appropriately chooses a modern day fishing village for this gentle inspirational romance that allows these strong-willed characters to rediscover faith. Like the disciples in the Bible, these characters struggle with painful circumstances to build love for God."

I found the Blue Iris Journal online, but not the review written for Sea of Hope. Here's a little of what Elizabeth K. Burton thought of the book, "This is a solid inspirational romance where the romance and the inspiration are superbly well-balanced. Faith here is not ethereal moralizing, but a pragmatic element of the characters' daily living. Even those who under ordinary circumstances don't care for having a religious thread in their romance will find Sea of Hope first-class entertainment."

I spent a lovely evening reading through these and other accolades for the book. My advice to other writers is to save your reviews on paper and file them safely away. Some things on the internet do not stay there forever. 

Available at AMAZON, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, and iBooks. 

Forgive! It's Good For You.

If you want to get to heaven, you need to forgive just as you have been forgiven. That's Biblical truth. However, even the Mayo Clinic says it's good for you. (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/forgiveness/art-20047692) Holding onto a grudge is likely to raise your blood pressure, make you depressed, and ruin your enjoyment of the good things in life.

I know a bit about forgiveness. I've been married for forty-one years. I have forgiven hubby many times for various infractions of perfection and hubby has forgiven me, too. I've forgiven parents, children, and plenty of other people for things they did or said. Fortunately, for the most part, they've forgiven me as well, because sometimes I've said or done some really stupid stuff.

For instance, when we first moved into our present home, there was a really ugly, shag rug in the family room. It had a geometric pattern of orange, brown, and off-white. I didn't like the colors. I didn't like the pattern. Most of all, I hated the shaggy surface. It was difficult to keep clean with three young children running around.

However, hubby thought it was fine. In addition, he was worried about finances and didn't want to spend any money on a new rug. I figured there was tile underneath the rug. There had to be. The kitchen had an off-white tile and the family room was right off the kitchen. I could live with tile. It's easy to clean. Still, hubby did not want to rip up the old rug.

Around that time, hubby's parents came to visit with us and get to know their grandchildren. They didn't know about our rug argument. That same week, hubby had to go on a business trip. While he was gone, I asked his parents to help me rip up the rug, which they did. Underneath the rug was an ugly black and white asphalt tile floor, not the simple off-white I expected. It was hideous, but I shrugged and figured I could at least keep it clean.

The garbage collectors carted the old rug away. Hubby's parents left to return home.

Hubby came back from his business trip. He was really, really angry when he realized the rug wasn't there anymore. He didn't talk to me for about a week. One of our good friends laughed and said he probably wouldn't have talked to me for a month if I had ordered a new rug.

But eventually, hubby let it go. While I was not fond of black and white tile, I didn't ask for a replacement. A long time afterward, we bought beige ceramic tile. Hubby and I replaced the black and white tile on our own. It was a lot of work, but that floor is still there and blessedly easy to clean.

Should I have ripped up the rug? Should hubby have been a little more willing to compromise? Probably, but we are both stubborn. Nevertheless, we managed to get over it. And that's the way it has to be. Forgiveness is healthy, it keeps marriages together, and it's what the Lord expects from all of us because He forgave us first.

Great Blue Heron or great blue heron?

Last week, Daughter #2 and I went for a walk along a bridge over a marsh. Daughter #2 spotted a Great Blue Heron. It was a cold, blustery day but that didn't seem to bother the heron. I was lucky enough to get this photo before he flew away to the safety of a tall tree. 

Later, in looking up the habits, diet, and other particulars about bird, I noticed that most references did not use capital letters for the name of the species though some did. Hmmm. 

The Great Blue Heron is a magnificent bird. Shouldn't his name be capitalized? I found a blog post, http://penelopedia.blogspot.com/2010/12/bird-names-to-capitalize-or-not.html, which went into great detail concerning this topic. The truth is some folks do not capitalize bird names, but the International Ornithologist's Union is of the firm opinion that bird names should be capitalized. 

So I'm with the International Ornithologist's Union. Give this amazing bird capital letters for his name. 

Special Introductory Price!

The newly revised, second edition of SEA OF HOPE is now only $1.99 until the end of March! It is available online at most ebook distributors. SEA OF HOPE won EPIC’s eBook Award for Best Inspirational Novel in 2002. Originally published by Awe-Struck Publishing, I have now reissued it with an awesome new cover designed by Taria Reed.

You can read what’s inside by going to the Amazon page for the book and clicking on the book cover. Try it here: http://a.co/7zgTI4o

Challenge Complete, Contract Signed, My Cowboy Finals, and Spring Is On The Way

Raritan Bay and the mouth of Whale Creek as seen from Cliffwood Beach's Middlesex County side. 

It was a busy, though short month--and fortunately a mild one as far as the weather goes. Our little part of the world got plenty of rain, which is fine with me because I didn’t have to shovel any snow. The snow fell a few times, but the weather was so warm it all melted quickly. There were several incredibly lovely days and whenever the sun is shining I enjoy going outside to take photographs at one of our wonderful parks or at the beach. I'm always looking for another scene to put on canvas--the photo above might be one of them.

I am happy to say I finished the JerRoWriMo writing challenge. In fact, I finished two days early. For now the title of the book I worked on is Home Somewhere. It’s a contemporary romance and needs a ton of revising, but writing it was lots of fun. I had the basic plot and characters planned before I started the challenge, but much of it was done in the seat-of-the pants style of writing—which for me is a glorious delight. Some writers like to have everything carefully worked out before they start writing. I just like to let it rip—and the challenge helps me do that by forcing my internal editor to keep out of my way. I held myself accountable to write enough words everyday to get to the finish line.

There were days when I didn’t get many words down. My mother-in-law wound up in the hospital and then went to rehab. Friends bought hubby and I tickets to see a show with them. (It was a fun show!) And we went house hunting with our daughter and her husband. Still, several dreary, rainy days were a boon to my word count. The weather helped me even the score for the days when I was unable to get much writing done. In addition, hubby (God bless him!) is not a stickler for an immaculate house and we frequently go out to eat, which is a big help when it comes to writing.

While I’ve never made a lot of money from all my writing, I have received some accolades, which have been very, very sweet. The Cowboy’s Miracle, which won 3rd place in the Ancient City Romance Writers' Heart of Excellence Reader's Choice Award also became a finalist in EPIC's eBook Awards. It's not a Pulitzer Prize, but it gives me joy. 😊

Most of all, I am happy to say I've signed a contract with the Pelican Book Group for Patriot's Courage, which is the third sequel in my Patriot books' saga. 

Oh yes--and spring is coming. The daffodils are daring to reach toward the sun as are the chives and my beautiful Lenten roses.  Along with spring comes EASTER! I can hardly wait to sing all the Alleluias!

Another Writing Challenge!

I’ve written a quite a few books—not as many as some authors—but the ones I’ve written are important to me. I wanted to write them. I had a story to tell and I wasn’t happy until the book was finished. All along, I have been self-motivated. I set goals for myself. I hold myself accountable for writing every day. I don’t watch television, I don’t play games, and there’s lots of dust in my house. Nevertheless, I am not a hermit. I go to writing workshops, I crochet with my prayer shawl group, and I have fun making oil paintings. Hubby and I enjoy the company of our friends. I like to try new recipes, but I enjoy going out to eat as well. My daughters aren't far away and we see each other often.

Like many others, I’ve found there is no end of things to do even though I have been retired from teaching for quite a while. I am busy. I have a schedule, but sometimes that schedule intrudes upon my writing time and I wind up not getting as much done on my work-in-progress as I would like.

However, the New Jersey Romance Writers hold an event every February they call JeRoWriMo—which stands for Jersey Romance Writers Month. During the month of love, everyone who signs up is encouraged to write 30,000 words. Cheerleaders offer accolades to the writers who report in every evening to note their day's word count.

A similar event occurs in November--National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo, but the challenge there is 50,000 words and it's in November. Thanksgiving happens in November as well as other Christmas preparations. I've never attempted NaNoWriMo because I doubted I would ever succeed.

But what happens in February? There's winter, where gloomy weather often makes a perfect writing day for me. There's also Valentine's Day, a great holiday where I get treated to dinner at a restaurant. No cooking for me! No cleanup! Plus there are gifts of chocolate. It's great to write while eating chocolate.

Also in February there's our Presidents' Birthday holiday, Ash Wednesday, and Lent. In other words, there are few social events. It's a great time to put other things aside and pump out words. So far, this month I've put down 16,451 words on a book I initially began writing five years ago, but set aside to write something else.

I have too many ideas. 😜 But it's fun. I'll be doing some spring cleaning in March, but for now it's time to write.

The Immigrant Saint

Many years ago, Daughter #1 chose Frances as her confirmation name--after Francesca Xavier Cabrini. She wrote a brief biography of the saint, as all confirmation candidates must do for the saint whose name they have decided upon. But it was a short biography with little more than the facts.

Recently, my daughter decided to delve deeper into the history of her chosen saint. She found the book pictured here on Amazon and purchased it. She was delighted with the book and loaned it to me.

The book is well-written and engaging. It is not a dull tome about Mother Cabrini. The book details the saint’s fortitude and belief in her mission. At a young age, she fell in love with Christ and longed to be a missionary sister. However, due to her ill health, she was not accepted into any religious communities.

Eventually, after toiling in an orphanage, she was allowed to set up her own community, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. She had always longed to go to China as a missionary, but Pope Leo XIII sent her to America. She worked with indefatigable zeal to set up orphanages, schools, and hospitals in New York, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, and in South America as well.

She and her Daughers went down into the mines in Colorado to bring hope to the immigrants who had not seen the inside of a church since they left Italy. They nursed people through outbreaks of yellow fever and smallpox. They begged for money to set up more hospitals, schools, and orphanages.

In her sixty-seven years, Mother Cabrini accomplished more than many successful business men.

Whether you are a Catholic or not, I highly recommend this biography of a truly remarkable woman who did all she could with love to guide her.

The Walled Garden

Last weekend as the shadows lengthened in the late afternoon, I saw the remains of this brick walled garden on the grounds of the Township of Ocean's Historical Museum. It was off to the side of the more famous, ornate water tower at that site. The garden must have been magnificent at one time, full of fragrant, rare blossoms. Now it is only a sad ruin. I'm sure if I return in the summertime, I would find a profusion of weeds, but no roses--or any other delicate prized blooms. Unless someone takes a fancy to the garden, it will never be returned to its former glory for it would cost far too much.

And yet, it’s delightful to imagine sitting on a bench inside the sturdy wall surrounded by the scent of sweet flowers and the steady hum of bees busy at their tasks. I believe this is why I enjoy historical romances so much. It’s delightful to go back in time and see things in their former glory. I cannot fix the garden, but I can envision it as it was in my mind.

Close your eyes and picture it with me. Perhaps we’ll have some tea in fine china cups and a few scones, too. Imagination is wonderful.

Hibernating With A Book

It's cold outside. It's been well below freezing for over a week. I feel like hibernating, which for me usually involves reading a book for hours on end and forgetting about all the other chores I should be doing.

The temperature does not seem to bother the Canadian geese in the park. They don't even huddle together as they sit serenely on the snow. I took this photo from the window of the car. I didn't want to get out of the car.

Today it is supposed to warm up a bit--reaching nearly thirty degrees. Hubby and I plan to remove the Christmas lights which we draped on the bushes before the holiday. Tomorrow we're supposed to have a huge storm and then it will continue to be bitterly cold for a while longer, which is fine with me. I'll huddle under my afghan and make a dent in my To-Be-Read pile of books.

What do you plan to read during this cold snap?

#99cents until December 31st

"This one will keep you on the edge of your seat till the end." Long and Short Reviews

Buy it now at http://a.co/d8d1sKR

FREE at SMASHWORDS

Mark your calendar so you don't miss out on this deal. Go to www.smashwords.com

Christmas Bread

Many years ago, one of my coworkers gave me her recipe for Christmas bread and since then it has become a family favorite in our home. It really is scrumptious, so I thought I would share it. Give it a try. You'll enjoy every morsel.

Christmas Bread

Measure into a large bowl:
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Add 2 cups scalded milk. Cool to lukewarm.
Add 2 packages yeast softened in 1/4-cup lukewarm water.
Add 2 beaten eggs and 4 cups flour. Mix well.
Add 1-cup raisins
And 2 cups mixed fruitcake fruit.

Beat in 4 more cups flour.

Place dough in very large bowl, cover and let rise until double.

Punch down and knead on floured board.

Shape into 2 loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and let rise again.

Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes.

Brighten Someone's Day

A long time ago, in my other life as a preschool teacher, I came up with the idea of decorating rocks with paint. I needed a project to help the children remember the sound of "r." We had already painted rainbows, which was fun, but I concentrated on one letter every week and with five days in most weeks, I had to come up with something else. 

All I needed to do was walk on the beach in my old hometown, which had plenty of rocks. Voila. I picked up a bunch of rocks, washed them, gave my daughters some paint, and we decorated the rocks. Those were simply samples to show the children in my class. The rocks my preschoolers decorated didn't look like any of the rocks in the photo above. That didn't matter. The children had fun with the paint and the rock. Most of them remembered the sound that "r" makes by the time the week was up. 

Now someone else has come up with an idea of what to do with rocks. THE KINDNESS ROCKS PROJECT is a wonderful way to spread a bit of hope to others. The project has only two goals:

GOAL #1: INSPIRE OTHERS THROUGH RANDOMLY PLACED ROCKS ALONG THE WAY… 

GOAL #2: RECRUIT EVERY PERSON WHO STUMBLES UPON IT TO JOIN IN THE PURSUIT OF INSPIRING OTHERS THROUGH RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

Simple, but awesome. Who doesn't need a bit of inspiration?  

There are hundreds of ideas on Pinterest to illustrate what quotes to use and how to decorate the rocks. I started my own Pinterest board of rock ideas at https://www.pinterest.com/penelopemarzec/inspirational-painted-rocks/

Then, since I'm a writer, I started to wonder if maybe I could make up some rocks with famous literary quotes. Or maybe rocks with quotes that might inspire someone to pick up a book and read it. Of course, the quotes would have to be short unless someone found a very large rock. But there are plenty of short quotes like the ones below.

The one on the left is my own quote. 😁  Maybe after a few hundred years, it will be more popular. 

At any rate, go to the beach, pick up some rocks and have fun. You might brighten someone's day or inspire them. You could make the world a better place. 

Satellite Dish at Infoage Museum

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Daughter #2 wanted to see this historic satellite dish-- the 60-foot TIROS satellite dish. It's part of the the Infoage Museum in Wall, NJ. (http://infoage.org) The museum docent was awesome. She gave a great talk about the facility and turned the dish around twice--once toward the sun where the computers measured the temperature of the sun, and then she turned it toward an orbiting satellite, which was looking down on us. We saw a photo generated by the orbiting satellite. 

A model of Telestar was inside the museum as well as a model of the Vanguard 1, an early satellite. I was surprised at how small it was. 

There's so much to see at the Infoage Museum! You should go there. We've been many times and still haven't seen it all. It's truly worth the trip. 
But now--I wonder if I should write a science fiction book. 👽

Book Birthday for THE COWBOY'S MIRACLE!

I'm celebrating the birthday of my book, THE COWBOY'S MIRACLE, with a video. Enjoy!



Available at http://a.co/gjM1IN5

My Latest Prayer Shawl

There are times I push away from the computer, stop writing, and get busy with my crochet hook. Last week I finished another prayer shawl. I stopped counting how many I've made a while ago. I totally enjoyed working on this one. I loved the color. I loved the pattern, which was The Rosary shawl (https://www.girliescrochet.com/rosary-prayer-shawl.html). It uses the puff stitch. I changed the pattern slightly by adding a scalloped border instead of the fringe.

Daughter #1 thought I should make something a bit more subdued or more masculine in case a man is in need of a prayer shawl. I went out and bought some soft, brown yarn and I'm now working on a rectangular shawl using the Simple Three's pattern. (http://www.shawlministry.com/Crochet%20Patterns/simple_three_crochet_pattern.htm)

Crocheting is calming to me, which in this hectic, crazy world, feels good. I started a prayer shawl ministry at our church and it's been a wonderful experience. The women are all very talented and create beautiful shawls. We're wrapping others in warmth along with prayers.

To find out more about the prayer shawl ministry go to http://www.shawlministry.com.

My Sweet Romances

Need some sweet love for your Kindle? I have five sweet, inspirational romances at www.prismbookgroup.com Two are historical romances set during the Revolutionary War and in the year following that conflict. The other romances are contemporaries set in our troubled times, but always containing a message of hope.

You can find all my books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, Scribd, iBooks, and other book distributor sites. Sit down tonight with a sweet read and warm your heart.

New Jersey Romance Writers' Conference 2017

Writers' conferences are amazing! As you can see above, I received a bunch of free books at the New Jersey Romance Writers' Conference this weekend. I actually could have gotten more, but I didn't want to be too greedy. 😇 

However, there's more to a writers' conference than free books. There's enthusiasm and encouragement along with a heaping dose of helpful, practical information about the business of writing and marketing books. The workshops at NJRW's conference ran the gamut from a beginner's class on point of view to round table discussions with other published authors concerning the state of the industry.

My top tip this weekend concerned Amazon ads. I had tried signing up for an Amazon ad more than a year ago, but my ad did not seem to work for me. As it turns out, other authors have found the ads successful by using their own extensive and exhaustive lists of keywords. 

One of my favorite workshops was given by Eileen Dreyer titled "His Brain/Her Brain: Why It Took Moses 40 Years to Get out of the Desert." Ms. Dreyer put together all the facts concerning the differences in men's brains and women's brains. As soon as I returned home, I showed my notes home to my husband. He studied them with some bemusement. I don't know if he'll understand me any better, but I believe I'll understand him far more now that I know the facts. 😂

I was looking forward to Tracey Lyons talk titled "Keeping the Sexy in Sweet," but unfortunately Ms. Lyons didn't show. Still, I did get a copy of her book The Heart of an Agent, and I've already started to read it. (It's GOOD!)

Of course, the best thing about a writers' conference is simply being with other writers and meeting authors from all over the country. As romance writers, we are invested in hope. Our stories have happy endings and sometimes a happy ending is all you need to BELIEVE. 

My Swedish Meat Balls

A long time ago, I was the bride-to-be in an age where bridal registries were not what they are today. Among my many gifts I received at my bridal shower were three slow cookers. I gave one to my mother and kept the other two.

At first, I rarely used the gadgets, but as time went on I found their usefulness went beyond stew. For instance, they were excellent for keeping mulled cider hot at a party.

Still, a recipe my family and I enjoyed early on was one for Swedish meat balls from a booklet that came with one of the slow cookers.
These meat balls are not like the famed Swedish meat balls served at IKEA. What I like in particular about this recipe is the addition of dill in the sauce.

Give this one a try--and double the recipe so you'll have plenty of leftovers.

SWEDISH MEAT BALLS

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons shortening
1 can beef broth
3/4 teaspoon dill weed
1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. Soak bread crumbs in milk for 5 minutes.

2. Combine crumb mixture with meat, eggs, and next four ingredients. Shape into balls about an inch in diameter.

3. Heat shortening in skillet and brown meat balls.

4. Place meat balls in cooker and add broth, dill weed and pepper.

5. Cook on low 4 hours.

Yield: 3 dozen meat balls.

In Life and In Books #ActionsSpeakLouderThanWords

For my parents' sixtieth wedding anniversary in 2007, we celebrated with a backyard party. Dad put a garter on my mother's ankle. Everyone donned flower leis and there was a bit of champagne as well. It was a small affair--just family. Two years later my mother died and last year my father passed away. They were good people and I was blessed to have them as parents.

Everyone in our family--and in our extended family has been rather loquacious. They have all loved to talk. Any gathering was guaranteed to be boisterous, but fun and always memorable.

While all my parents' words have faded away, there are many things they did that remain embedded in my memory. My father never failed to tip his hat when he passed a church. Dad spent forty years working for the Jersey Journal and took pains to get the stories right. He was unfailingly honest. Whenever my parents argued, my father bought flowers. He bought flowers for other occasions, too. There was never any doubt that he loved my mother.

When one of the neighbor's children became ill, my mother made a huge batch of cream puffs and gave them to the family. When another neighbor needed a ride to the train station, my mother drove her. If someone was hungry, Mom gave them food. One mentally disabled young man often came to the door for cookies and my parents bought cookies just so they would have them for him.

My parents treated everyone with respect. They were the good guys.

When I'm writing a book, I know there will be times the characters may say something they don't mean. Talk is--after all--cheap. But a protagonist must do the right thing, no matter what. The protagonist will go out of their way to help someone in need. Of course, the antagonist may play along and say the right thing, but he or she will invariably do the wrong thing.

This may sound rather simplistic, but to put it another way a leopard can't change his spots. Most folks behave in a certain manner all the time--like that aging uncle who invariably hands out a lecture on the same topic every time you see him. He's a good man, but he can't remember where he left his car. A detail like that conveys more than pages of description. It doesn't take much to paint an accurate picture readers won't forget.

Actions do speak louder than words, in life and in books. I know the good guys goof up sometimes, but they always learn from their mistakes and when the time comes for the hero or heroine to show their true mettle, they do. I write fiction, but in many ways it's not that far from the truth.