The day finally arrived! Words of Wisdom in Swansea, Illinois hosted our book launch. I’m waving around my wonderful green nails and I’m not quite sure, but is my co-author, Marty Lintvedt clutching the tablecloth?
Blender
Brenda, at Words of Wisdom along with Nancy put together this amazing treat and give away station. Marty and I love that they used a blender to collect the entry forms.
We shouldn’t have been worried, soon our fans had us laughing.
A lot of delightful people stopped in to support us.
Green and white dotted nails
Yep, those are the green nails with white dots. So me! Next time I’m adding sparkles.
How can one person keep so many important things circulating without them crashing all around them?
I don’t know.
Sorry, you thought I had a real answer to that question? Ha! So many times my life gets unbalanced and all of the things I love get pushed aside. Right now I’m battling keeping my eyes open and warding off odd looks because I wear a sweatshirt on 100 degree days. Hypothyroidism isn’t a problem, unless your medication becomes unbalanced. Mine has.
Being unbalanced has made me refocus on what is important to me and what brings me
I’ve also realized that without a daily jumpstart
from those who love me, pray for me and just tell me to get off the couch I’d be lost. Sadly friends and family do not start with the letter ‘J’ so I can’t name all of you. But I do thank you for your support these last months.
And for more a2z visit Patty Wysong! posted by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer
Host of KFUO’s Morning Essentials, Paul Clayton asked Marty Lintvedt and I to co-host last Friday morning. I’ve never been on the radio live before. There really is a sign that flashes ON AIR in red! The mikes are huge. See the sign in the corner?
My co-author is a radio natural. She’s been on KFUO on Fridays for several years giving the Friday devotion.
Paul asked us questions about We’re Not Blended-We’re Pureed A survivors guide. He also interviewed my husband Ed, along with us.You can hear that herelook for the book cover and click on the mp3 file.
LOOK at that mike it’s so big! I said that on air. Yep, it’s true you can’t see radio.
Watching Paul Clayton do his job is like watching a well tuned orchestra. He does the news, answers the phones, hurls questions at the co-hosts and can even leave the room for a quick drink of water and make it back to the mike before the 30 second commercial is finished. I however, was afraid to move from my chair–no, I was afraid to move at all! posted by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer
The camera that brought so much joy. It came one Christmas after a lot of begging for a real camera. I didn’t even know what to ask for, only that I HAD to HAVE a camera of my own.
There is a song song by Merle Haggard (related to my son Andy by the way) where he says he puts on an “instamatic grin.”
I took a lot of those type of photos. And some of my shoe and other odd things that kids take photos of. My grandmother used the flash cubes with glitter to make ornaments for the Christmas tree.
I love the name of the camera. Instamatic. I couldn’t imagine a time where I there would be such a thing. A camera where I could see the photo before I printed it. I would have save a lot of money and had photos of things I really wanted. So many times I would take one of those shots knowing I had captured something amazing, then weeks later it would come back from the photo place and what I’d tried to catch on film was above or below where I aimed the veiwfinder.
Yes, digital is great, but there was something about the excitement of waiting for those priceless photos of my brother doing strange things that I miss. for more a2z visit Patty Wysong’s blog.
Let’s chat with novelist Janice Hanna Thompson, author of Love Finds You in Groom, Texas (Summerside/Guideposts, June 2011).
Janice Hanna (also published as Janice Thompson) has published more than seventy novels and non-fiction books. She has also published more than fifty magazine articles and several musical comedies for the stage. Janice makes her home in the Houston area near her children and grandchildren.
Janice Hanna (also published as Janice Thompson) has published more than seventy novels and non-fiction books. She has also published more than fifty magazine articles and several musical comedies for the stage. Janice makes her home in the Houston area near her children and grandchildren.
Please tell us three random things we might not know about you.
My dad was the president of the University of Houston Cougar Cagers Club, so my birthdays, holidays, etc. were spent at basketball games. Our family traveled to Mexico with the U of H Cougars to watch them compete, which was great fun. When I was eleven, I got to play (for fun, of course) with the Harlem Globetrotters, who came to Houston for a visit. To this day, I love a good basketball game.
I once lied to a fellow camper at church camp, telling her that my dad (Billy Hanna) was William Hanna of Hanna/Barbara (Flintstones) fame. That lie still haunts me, though, to his credit, my dad did eventually work as a movie producer on our co-authored movie, Liar’s Moon. (Yes, it’s true. I got to meet and work with Matt Dillon. Eat your heart out, girls!)
I occasionally bake wedding cakes. In 2009 I baked a lovely four-tiered white cake with strawberry filling and cream cheese frosting that toppled less than an hour before the wedding. I managed to piece together two very messy/ugly layers. Thankfully, the bride did not murder me. It made for a great scene in a later book. (Nothing ever gets wasted, not even a mashed piece of cake.)
Please tell us a bit more about the plot of Love Finds You in Groom, Texas.
Always the groomsman, never the groom… It’s 1914, and Jake O’Farrell has gained an unusual reputation among the locals: He’s played the roles of groomsman and best man in all four of his older brothers’ weddings, but he’s never been able to find the woman to capture his heart. And now with the upcoming wedding of his best friend, Jake will become the last single man in the town of Groom.
Anne Denning has made the difficult decision to move with her sisters to Texas, but a train derailment forces them to seek shelter in Groom, near Amarillo. Mrs. O’Farrell, hopeful that Anne will catch her youngest son’s eye, invites the girls to stay at her home until the train is repaired and ready to pull out. Anne has no idea of the blissful chaos that lies ahead!
Tell us something interesting about the town of Groom:
Groom boasts a nineteen-story high cross. More than 100 welders worked together to erect it in 1995. Now you can see why I toyed with the idea of writing a contemporary novel! I wanted to include the cross. Because I went with historical, I decided to give the heroine a small cross necklace to wear, one that symbolizes her faith (and alludes to the “bigger” cross to come).
Why will readers enjoy your novel?
In spite of the lead character’s tough situation, the story is filled with comedic elements. Anne’s two younger sisters are a hoot. So is Maggie (the hero’s mother). She’s an Irish spitfire! I think readers will appreciate the romance between Anne and Jake. It’s filled with all sorts of sweet and comic moments.
What are readers saying about this book? Have you had any feedback so far?
So far the book has all five-star reviews on amazon (which makes me smile, of course). Here’s a review I found that really got me excited:
5.0 out of 5 stars: A Delightful Read
This delightful tale of romance which emerges out of tragic circumstances is set in a wonderful town called Groom in the panhandle of the great state of Texas. It is a story of tragedy, love, and God’s divine hand of providence that enters a situation just at the right time and changes everything. Young Anne finds herself on a train heading to Dallas with her two younger sisters after the loss of their father. When fate intervenes, the trail derails and their future is forever altered. And then there is Jake, the last available young man in Groom who finds himself to be the recipient of many jokes about his situation, especially from his brothers. Jake’s mother, Maggie, embodies everything wonderful that Anne remembers about her own
mother before she died. Throw in the mixture of the antics of Aunt Bets and the perceived sternness of Uncle Bertrand, and you have a story of new revelations and delightful outcomes.
How absolutely wonderful, in this day and age when problems seem to loom on every side and people have lost faith and hope, to read a story that is all about faith and hope. It is refreshing to read a story set in an era when one’s words meant something, when prayer was the first course of action, when faith ruled our very existence, when people looked out for one another even during hard times. Perhaps after reading this book, your faith will be renewed, as well. – Cherri Taylor
Where else can readers find you online?
I love to connect with my readers at the following places:
Love Finds You in Groom, Texas can be purchased at any number of online stores, as well as my website:www.janicehannathompson.com(front page).Readers can always join my VIP bookclub and get the locked in price of $11 (no shipping) by contacting me directly atbooksbyjanice@aol.com.
Thanks for spending time with me! I had a blast!
And now for the give-away information! Leave a comment with your email please by July 16 midnight CST. One winner will get to choose a book from www.janicehannathompson.com
Today it is going to reach 100 degrees. It’s the 10th day this month that it has been above 90.
This is my husband, Ed. He works outside. He does hardscape–pretty much by himself. He likes to work alone.
Hardworking Hero
He picks up lots of bricks and makes them into pretty things by cutting them. He’s even worn off his fingerprints. Good thing I can identify him.
LOOK NO FINGERPRINTS
This is a circle pattern in front of a horse arena. The sand hasn’t been put in yet. He said I had to tell you that it isn’t done yet.
The horses are going to live here. Pretty nice isn’t it?
And while he’s been working here laying over 5,000 square feet of pavers, he’s also been building these walls. There are two of them–very tall walls. He’s been working 14-16 hour days. And he’s not done yet.
Retaining Walls
He is my hero. He does all this while I sit in my cold house and let my fingers race over the keyboard.
I think he’s earned the title of Hardworking Husband.
I read the back of the seed envelopeand it didn’t sound too hard. Use loose soil, put out the seeds and cover with dirt. Leave them alone for 70 days. Not that easy for me. The seeds are so small it was impossible to plant one or two seeds at a time and I kept pulling them out to early Still, I gave it a try and they taste so much sweeter out of the garden! I will replant them again this fall.
I also learned a few other things about planting them. Thinning them out is the trick along with planting them next to radishes.
We haven’t had time to GET-AWAY in a long time. Ed is working 14 hour days. When he is home it’s because it is raining.
But…this was a holiday weekend and it was sunny! With not a lot of time or money to be had we took a day trip to the southern end of Illinois.
We stopped here. It’s my first ever covered bridge.
I was able to make a panoramic photo for the first time too using photoshop elements 9.
It’s rained a lot here in Illinois and the creek that goes under the 1854 Mary’s River Covered Bridge in Chester, IL was rushing like a large river cascading over a cliff.
The bridge was originally a planked toll road between Breman and Chester (home of Popeye) and now it’s historical place for a picnic. Except we didn’t bring one!
Get-aways don’t have to cost a lot and you don’t have to go far. Exploring our state is fun and do-able in a day.
Yes, it’s an empty plate. I had fudge. Great fudge made by the best fudge maker ever.
But before I took a photo I ate it.
All of it.
So my choices were an empty plate or a photo of my extended stomach. You should be happy. The plate won.
Fudge is one of those memory joggers in my life. My Aunt Valerie made fudge when I was little and it was a mysterious thing. I wanted to know how she did it. Still do.
I’d try but it only turned out like my aunt’s 50% of the time. Was it because: the humidity was too high, I didn’t own a candy thermometer, or I thought water from the tap was cold enough to test for the magic threads which let you know when it was time to take the fudge off the stove?
Or was it because I was impatient? Those that know me well are now nodding their heads yes at this one. I can persevere, but it’s because I have to considering how many times I jump ahead trying to finish something, only to have to start over.
I kept trying through the years, my brother and I would twirl the taffy like fudge onto a spoon to eat it. Sometimes we needed the ice pick to break off a section. We were troupers never giving up on eating it no matter how it turned out.
Then something wonderful happened. I met Janice through our church. She makes fudge. Great fudge and my most favorite kind of all: white chocolate fudge!
So not only is ‘F’ for Fudge it’s also for Friend, she is now my Fudge Friend. She get’s this title because when I told her my sad tale of having eaten my fudge without taking a photo, she drove over to my house with this: