 Do you remember the author of Simple Abundance? Her name is Sarah Ban Breathnach. She was on "Oprah" eleven times and sold 7 million copies of her book. She quickly began spending the money like it was a never-ending fountain, buying lavish homes and other extravagances.
One day she awoke, literally and figuratively, to discover that she was in so much debt that creditors were threatening to expose her to Oprah if she didn't pay up. On top of all this, it turned out her second husband was a gold-digger. Everybody wanted a piece of her. Finally, she was forced to flee England and landed at her sister's house in California. Is this a tale of woe? Financially? Yeah! In the ways that really count? Not at all! This whirlwind ride forced her to face her personal demons. It was even more poignant because the reason for her rise to wealth was a book about self-nurturing and appreciating life in all its forms to create peace and harmony in one's life. It's bad enough facing your demons, but when it's on a public stage, it can be devastating. However, it seems that Ms. Breathnach is working to turn her life around: she wrote a newer book called Peace and Plenty, which may reflect a greater understanding of gratitude. She is no longer seeking wealth: she is seeking peace. Peace is an inner condition. Wealth is an outer manifestation. If we do not have that inner peace, that inner confidence, we can still force wealth into our life experience; however, what we have to fight to get, we have to fight to keep. With inner peace, our prosperity is drawn to us through the things we do. I am trying everyday to be aware of my inner demons, those parts of me that don't believe in the potential that exists for me. I try to keep them at bay when necessary and talk them into the fold when I can. So I see Breathnach's tale as a blessing in so many ways. She may prefer the abundance of money in her life, but now she is building a stronger foundation to support that prosperity when it comes.  Book two in the Wee People series, House on Bo-Kay Lane, combines a haunted house, a magic mirror, parallel universes, and two Geralds to give you a “Stay up all night to finish reading it” mystery/adventure.
Gerald and Vernon believe their time with the wee people came to an end after returning to their home world but begin to wonder when strange things start to happen at an abandoned house in their neighborhood. Ghostly images of familiar faces from the wee people village are seen in the windows, echoes of voices from the past haunt the boys’ dreams, and an undeniable curiosity draws Gerald and Vernon to investigate the mysterious haunted house. What they find takes them back to the world of the wee people, and a new adventure begins. House on Bo-Kay Lane, Book 2 in the Wee People Series Kindle – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AJUEXBS/ Universal - viewbook.at/houseonbokaylane Be sure to subscribe to the Sweet & Sassy blog, so you never miss out on any of our posts!  An Apprentice Firestarter in the Village of the Wee People
Greta: Hello, Alyson. I’m glad you’re here. I hope I didn’t take you away from anything important. Alyson: No, ma’am, I wasn’t busy. (She adds in a whisper) Actually, I was glad to get away from Sheila. Don’t get me wrong. She’s a wonderful person and all that. But as a teacher, she’s a monster! Greta: A real taskmaster, huh? Alyson: And how! Who cares about the first Far-seer way back when or how to respectfully address an elder far-seer master. Gerald and Vernon don’t have to bow, curtsy, or say ma’am or sir. (She places her hands on her hips and taps her foot on the floor.) It’s not fair. It’s just not fair! Greta: Calm down, Alyson. You do realize that Gerald and Vernon have to go to school in their world just like you do. I believe they’re freshmen in high school. Alyson: Oh well, I don’t know what a freshman is, but I guess it’s about the same as being an apprentice – Boring!!! (Big sigh) I’d rather be doing my firestarter training. I’m getting pretty good at it. At least I haven’t burned down any more buildings. Greta: Any more buildings? Alyson: Only one – my father’s barn. Boy was he mad - but it really was an accident, you know. I was cold and thought about how nice it’d be to have a little fire to warm my hands. And um, it kind of just happened. A far-seer master was visiting our farm at the time and bundled me off to the training compound here in the village. At first, I didn’t like it (her frown turns into a mischievous smile) until I met Vernon ... Oh yeah, and Gerald, too. Greta: I think you have a crush on Vernon. Alyson: Oh no, no, not me. But he is adorable, isn’t he? And he says cute things like, “That’s cool,” or “Uh oh, we’re in deep yogurt.” I never understood that last one, though. Greta: I heard that you’ve spent a little time in their world. Alyson: Yeah, it was an accident, too. You see, there was a really interesting mirror in one of the unused rooms in the training center. I knew Sheila would probably yell at me, but I just had to get a closer look at it and touch it, and well, somehow, I wound up in Gerald and Vernon’s world. That was really scary. Ohhh ... just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. Greta: Don’t tell us what happened. We need to read Gerald and the Wee People and House on Bo-Kay Lane to find out. Right? Instead of answering my question, Alyson peers over my shoulder and utters, “Uh oh.” (Sheila, a master far-seer and Alyson’s long-suffering mentor walks in, stops right in front of her student, and wearily shakes her head.) Sheila: There you are, young lady. I’ve been looking all over for you. (The agitated far-seer master continues her lecture as she quickly leads her wayward student back towards the training center.) Didn’t you know our lesson on reading weather patterns started 15 minutes ago" … Be sure to subscribe to the Sweet & Sassy blog, so you never miss out on any of our posts!  This was written after the death of my husband. Not having a loved one in your life creates so many emotions that affect every area of your life.  Did you know there was a phenomenon referred to as summer-learning-loss? During their summer break, kids seem to forget lessons they had learned during the prior school year. On average, student achievement scores decline by one month’s worth of learning. The sharpest declines are in math and spelling, and the extent of loss increases as the grade levels advance.
A 2008-2012 summer-learning-loss study using data from over a half-million students from second to ninth grade discovered that students lost 25 to 30 percent of what they learned during the school year over their summer holiday. Why? Summer vacation breaks the rhythm of instruction and leads to forgetting. So, when it’s time to reengage in the daily grind of reading, writing, and arithmetic, it requires a significant amount of review to get students up to par before tackling new material. How Do We Fix It? This has been an ongoing dilemma researchers and educators have been studying since 1909, and a multitude of suggestions have been introduced to combat the problem. Yet, basically, it all boils down to keeping our children’s young minds stimulated with exciting and fun summertime endeavors that’ll motivate their little gray cells to continue soaking up knowledge during their time away from formal learning. How Do We Get Kids Enthused About Studying During Their Holiday? When I was a kid, the last thing I wanted to think about during the summer was doing schoolwork. I’m sure that hasn’t changed! The secret is to suggest activities which promote thinking, reading, and learning in a nontraditional way, so the kids associate it with summer fun instead of its being educational. Being a pollinator enthusiast, I naturally gravitate towards activities like the Xerces Society’s X Kids Program. It’s a super cool way to get kids outside to explore their own backyards and discover all the creatures living just beyond their doorstep. The X Kids Program is led by a butterfly named Blue. Children aged 8-11 learn all about bugs – a subject most kids find fascinating! Using a downloadable book, the children complete projects and receive a badge when all the activities are completed. Along the same lines are citizen science projects that combine a little bit of science with a little bit of observation, and a whole lot of fun for the entire family. Many of the projects are simple, yet the activities stimulate those gray cells to absorb all kinds of new information. How about taking 10-15 minutes in the evenings to count fireflies? https://scistarter.org/firefly-watch. If you’re more into counting squirrels, try https://scistarter.org/project-squirrel. Do you like picnics? So do ants. With https://scistarter.org/ant-picnic, you and your child prepare six types of food you think ants might like, wait an hour, and then record the number of ants attending your picnic. There are also more complicated projects, such as NASA’s Globe Observer: Clouds for middle grade and high school students. On https://scistarter.org/, you can find citizen science projects for all ages and interests, ranging from archeology to zoology. If you and your child aren’t interested in citizen science, here are some other games and activities that’ll keep young/middle-grade/teenaged minds active:
It doesn’t have to be anything complicated or time-consuming as long as it stimulates those little gray cells to think, make decisions, and learn. How are you and your family going to spend your summer vacation? Be sure to subscribe to the Sweet & Sassy blog, so you never miss out on any of our posts!  Brita Madison's venture into the darkness with Zachary Tyler in Chasing Shadows has brought her to a new relationship with her paranormal abilities. Solving the murders of five women and nearly losing her own life has changed her world dramatically. Her new friendships with Chief of Police James Weston and Roger Dawson, her romance with Sam Jenkins, and her new circle of paranormal writing clients and friends has given her a new confidence in herself as a woman, a medium, and an editor. She no longer feels ostracized from the world.
In Shattered Hearts her newfound courage is pushed to the limits. A ghost boy she encounters in Phoenix while at a gathering of her new writing clients, who all possess and write about paranormal abilities, ignites an adventure that drags everyone in her world into the dark underbelly of a pedophile ring. Trying to rescue the children puts all of them in the crosshairs, including her boyfriend Sam and her unofficial partner, James Weston. Many hearts will be shattered before this case is put to rest. Shattered Hearts - Book 2 in the Brita Madison Paranormal Mysteries series Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Hearts-Madison-Paranormal-Mystery-ebook/dp/B01N7K0R2P Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Hearts-Madison-Paranormal-Mystery/dp/1542366259 Universal Link: http://viewbook.at/ShatteredHearts  Latest Release What draws you to an historical fiction story? For some, it’s an existing passion for a particular era – the clothing, the manners, the traditions. For others, it may represent an escape from the problems of modern day or being able to slip into a different milieu, what they perceive as a simpler time.
While it is necessary for the setting of a novel in this genre to take place during an authentic period in history as well as in an authentic locale, the latitude arises when it comes to the plot. Real and fictional events can be blended as long as the social norms and customs of the period are maintained. The characters can be fictional certainly, but they must also use the vernacular of the time and the country. Historical fiction with strong plots and characters helps the reader recognize that personal expectations and relationships haven’t really changed that much over the centuries despite technological developments. Traditions, especially between sexes and classes have manifested in different ways, but the emotions, the hopes, and the dreams of those involved are not so different from today. Of course, at one time, success might have meant owning a herd of goats and today it might mean owning a Fortune 500 business, but the intrinsic desires are the same. Experiencing the journey of the historical characters, even if on a different scale, can help a reader to better understand their own struggles. Humans tend to have preconceived notions about anything and anyone not in our own generation and much more so for those from another century. I was just thinking the other day that as a Senior Citizen now, I wish I could have truly understand how my parents felt about themselves at my current age instead of making assumptions about their viewpoints of life. It would have totally transformed our relationships. I know you’ve all heard the expression by Edmund Burke: "Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.” For this reason, historical novels, despite the fictionalized aspect, can help readers better understand how people in the past dealt with successes and failures, fairness and prejudice, science and mysticism, and other dichotomies of life. This understanding can highlight parallels in our own time and perhaps resolve erroneous thinking. I will be the first to admit that there are some historical novels that are so heavy on details about the period and too light on character development and plot that I can’t say they are enjoyable reads. However, there have been plenty which were. Recently I have read several of Julie Klassen’s historical romances. I am not a huge romance reader, but she is so adept at setting and bringing in the spirit of the times that I literally devoured The Silent Governess, The Apothecary’s Daughter, The Secret of Pembroke Park, The Ladies of Ivy Cottage, and The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill. How do you feel about historical fiction? Be sure to subscribe to the Sweet & Sassy blog, so you never miss out on any of our posts! I consider myself an avid reader. I am addicted to the written word. Like others afflicted with the same disease, my obsession manifested itself at a young age. When I was a teenager, I greatly annoyed my mother whenever we had company. No, I didn’t hide in my bedroom and read, even though that’s what I wanted to do. Instead, I sat on the couch with my nose buried in a book, paying more attention to it than to our guests. And to this day, the urge to hide behind the pages of a book and ignore monotonous chatter is still there. However, I have it under control – most of the time. What kind of sickness is this? The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) quantifies an avid reader as someone who reads 50 or more books a year. Wow, that’s almost a book a week! Sorry, I read a lot but not that much. In a 2017 survey, the NEA discovered that not many people do; only five percent of readers met that requirement. A more straightforward definition describes avid readers more realistically. It states that people suffering from this addiction read as much as they can, whenever they can. That’s more my speed. A few months ago, I saw a comment in a Facebook reader’s group that insisted an avid reader should also be well-read. She questioned the validity of one reading only sci-fi or Harlequin romances as being equal to another person reading “real” literature such as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Les Miserables, or Frankenstein. She went on to say that readers need to have a selection of classics included in their “have read” collection alongside a mix of modern novels and nonfiction to be considered an avid reader. Pardon me, but is there some kind of competition no one told me about? Does a person have to read Jane Austen or Louisa May Alcott to join the ranks of booklovers? How do you prove it? I could claim to have read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and no one would know if that were true or not. Actually, a 2013 study uncovered that more than 60 percent of people lie about reading classic novels. Fortunately, in this case, I’m not one of them. I really did read Frankenstein. Other than that, though, I’ve been fickle in the traditional literature department. In high school and college, I waded through Moby Dick, Scarlet Letter, The Red Badge of Courage, The Brothers Karamazov, The Great Gatsby, and other required reading. However, I don’t remember one thing about them. For pleasure, I’ve read an assortment of books by Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, and many other famous authors. Yet again, I couldn’t tell you anything about the books. While researching this article, the idea occurred to me that maybe I should reconsider the types of books I devour. Instead of the cozy mysteries, fantasies, or historical fiction I generally turn to, perhaps I should try a classic or two. According to expert opinions expressed on the worldwide web, the older literary works open a window to different worlds, cultures, and historical perspectives from the past. They’re more challenging than modern-day fiction and will make me feel better about myself once I have completed something more thought-provoking. So, on a whim, I uploaded some old classics to my Kindle. Little Women and Jane Eyre were pretty good. In Little Women, the dialog was unrealistic, and the plot moved along at a snail’s pace, but that was the writing style during the late 1800s. Jane Eyre was faster-paced and more interesting. At any rate, I did enjoy the stories. One thing annoyed me, though. The attitude towards women bothered me immensely. So, when the same demeaning behavior repeated itself in the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice, I gave up on these classics and went back to solving crimes with Detective Chief Inspector so-and-so in my five-volume whodunit series. I haven’t completely given up on the classics, though. I still have a few old tomes stored in my Kindle waiting for whenever I get the notion to expand my mind and dive backward into a forgotten dimension of time. Until then, I’ll stick to my modern novels for my evening’s relaxation and entertainment. Be sure to subscribe to the Sweet & Sassy blog, so you never miss out on any of our posts!  |
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