MISSION OF HOPE, MORE THEN I COULD HAVE HOPED FOR

Wow, wow, and triple wow. MASKED BY MOONLIGT was the first book I read by Allie Pleiter, and it blew me away. I’ve since read the Kentucky Corners series, and though they were good, I longed for another MASKED BY MOONLIGHT. When I heard she was writing a sequel, I was overjoyed.

The cover captured me immediately and being a historical, well I just had to read it. But what I hadn’t expected was that THIS was the sequel to MASKED BY MOONLIGHT. You can’t imagine my excitement when I made the discovery.

MISSON OF HOPE was amazing! From the first page I was hooked, and from there it never stopped. There are books that you can barely make it through…ugh. There are books that you fly through. And then there are those like MISSON OF HOPE…ones you read purposefully slow, absorbing EVERY word because it’s that good.

As an inspiring writer I was blown away by Allie’s writing, the plot, and the wonderful characters. All of them captureD me, so realistic as if they would suddenly step out of the pages. I'm in awe of how she writes so completely different from the Kentucky Corners, to a Historical.

MISSON OF HOPE was based on the same concept as MASKED BY MOONLIGHT, though Allie was able to create a completely unique story with just the right touch of MASKED BY MOONLIGHT to connect the two.

I will miss Quinn, he’s such a neat characters.

CRAIG MORGAN, AN AMAZING ARTIST, SONG WRITER, AND MAN

I have Blake Shelton to thank for introducing me to this amazing man. You see, it's because of their bantering that I discovered Craig Morgan. What an amazing artist and song writer he is.

THIS AIN'T NOTHIN' is just one of the many amazing song by him.

We could all learn something from this song.



This Ain't Nothin'

He was standing in the rubble of an old farmhouse outside Birmingham
When some on the scene reporter stuck a camera in the face of that old man
He said tell the folks please mister, what are you gonna do
Now that this twister has taken all that's there to you
The old man just smiled and said boy let me tell you something, this ain't nothin'

He said I lost my daddy, when I was eight years old,
That cave-in at the Kincaid mine left a big old hole,
And I lost my baby brother, my best friend and my left hand
In a no win situation in a place called Vietnam
And last year I watched my loving wife, of fifty years waste away and die
And I held her hand til her heart of gold stopped pumping,
So this ain't nothin'

He said I learned at an early age,
There's things that matter and there's things that don't
So if you're waiting here for me to cry,
I hate to disappoint you boy, but I won't
Then he reached down in the rubble and picked up a photograph
Wiped the dirt off of it with the hand that he still had
He put it to his lips and said man she was something
But this ain't nothin'

He said I lost my daddy, when I was eight years old,
That cave-in at the Kincaid mine left a big old hole,
And I lost my baby brother, my best friend and my left hand
In a no win situation in a place called Vietnam
And last year I watched my loving wife, of fifty years waste away and die
We were holdin hands when her heart of gold stopped pumping
So this ain't nothin'

He said this ain't nothin' time won't erase
And this ain't nothin' money can't replace
He said you sit and watch your loving wife fifty years fighting for her life
Then you hold her hand til her heart of gold stops pumping
Yeah boy that's something,
So this ain't nothin'
No this ain't nothin'

WRITING FROM THE SOUL, NOT THE MEDIA

God is so great in how He brings things into our lives just when we seem to need it…and even when we didn’t realize we did. For all you writers out there, here’s a great video about writing. I so agree with all Jack speaks of.

Though there are rules you need to follow, I too believe in following what’s in your heart. What God had placed in you to write, no matter what’s popular, what will bring in the “big sales”, what the current trend is, what we’re “supposed to write”.

No, I believe in writing from the soul!

I fully agree that writing for the reasons I stated above that were NOT good reasons to write, will often lead to disappointment and ultimately leave you empty. As with anything in life, if you’re not doing it for the right reasons, it will not prove to be what you thought it to be in the end.

So go with your heart, not the media. Go with what God has placed in your soul, the passion He’s given you.

Instead of EAT, PRAY, AND LOVE, how about PRAY, WRITE, AND THANK THE GOOD LORD ABOVE.

A SONG THAT INSPIRES

Every now and then, or maybe more than that, a song will inspire a story within.

Eric Church’s LIGHTNING, is one of them.

I was actually on the way to my writing mentor’s house when this song came on. And though I’ve heard it many times, its words penetrated deep, and a sudden story idea came rushing over me. I pulled out my spiral notebook and pen and quickly jotted it down before it left me.

Prison Ministry is my passion, my calling in life, so this song has intense meaning to me. You see, I visited the very room where they lethally inject inmates. I can’t begin to tell you all the feeling that washed over me as I entered the room, and the whirlwind of thoughts that filled my head.

People so often only see the criminal, and the victim and their family…they rarely think of the silent, hidden, unspoken victims. The family member of the criminal. Yes, they too are victims. Victims of embarrassment, hurts, and losses. After all, what had they done wrong?

I’m an aspiring writer and thus far have written contemporary romance but I know without a doubt that God will use me to write about my calling in life…the Prison Ministry, whether in fictional or non-fictional form.

And I see this song inspiring one of them.

A SIMPLE AMISH CHRISTMAS

A SIMPLE AMISH CHRISTMAS is simply delightful, and my first ever Amish read. I’m not sure why it took me so long to finally read one but I’m certainly glad I did. I grew up watching LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE and have always felt drawn to the “simple life”. So why not the Amish.

It’s hard to believe this is Vannetta’s first book, it’s that well written. As an aspiring writer I found myself rereading several parts in hopes of the words sinking in enough to emulate later in my own writing.

A SIMPLE AMISH CHRISTMAS is a sweet story with characters you’ll love, and a plot that will keep you turning the pages. You feel as though you’ve entered into the world of the Amish. The glossary in the back was helpful, though it didn’t take long to figure out the meaning of the words as you read along.

The ending was uniquely amazing. I just LOVED what Vannetta did with it. It nearly took my breath away. It gives me goose bumps just to think of it.

Vannetta Chapman is a name to look for in the future.

IF ONLY...ANOTHER LESSON IN WRITTING

From what I'd been hearing THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE was a must see movie. I thought often about purchasing the book, and reading it first. I thought often about seeing the movie. My busy life didn't allow me to get to the movie theater, and the stack of unread books I have kept me from purchasing the book. Besides, I'm growing leery of reading a book prior to a movie. At least right before I know a movie is coming out, and it's in book form. When a book is so fresh in your mind, and the movie makes some major changes, and or leave some amazing parts out, its' hard to take. It's a whole other circumstance when I've read the book, and some time later, usually years; it comes out in movie form. I then HAVE to see it...if the book was good, of course.

While at the library the other day, I spotted THE TIME TRAVERL’S WIFE and didn't think twice about grabbing it. That very night I watched it.

After seeing the movie, though I know books are ALWAYS better, I'm glad I didn't purchase the book and read it. I believe I would have been thoroughly confused. But more than that I was a little mystified of what the story clearly missed in my eyes.

Why was he traveling back in time?

The movie was good in that it kept you interested. The acting was great. I even cried, yet I felt I was cheated. Cheated out of knowing the meaning to his travels. Why the author didn't make that know is beyond me. Or maybe it's me. Maybe I missed something. I just feel that if there was a clear reason for his travel, the story could have been hugely powerful; instead it left me wondering what'd it all mean. Why...

I'll still rate this movie high, and tell others that it was a good movie...just not great. Not great because the author missed their chance to make it great in my eyes. What a shame. But it was a unique romance if nothing else.

Maybe it's just writer in me.