“Stevens’ skill with dialect also makes this book unique. She doesn’t overdo it, but lets it flow like spring water or rain in the forest.“
Dog Bone Soupby Bette A. Stevens is available for only 99¢ beginning on Black Friday (November 25th) through Cyber Monday(November 28th). This 1950s and 60s coming-of-age novel (ages 11-adult) has been likened to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn by more than one reviewer. You’ll find one of those reviews below.
Grab a copy…or two…or more of Dog Bone Soup while the Countdown’s on at YOUR AMAZONhttp://bit.ly/1HGpCsZ. You’ll be glad you did!
The Finer Spirit
“This is a wonderfully engaging and thought-provoking story. Bette Stevens’ young boy growing up in poverty in 1960s America, reminds me of another child, adrift on a raft on a mighty river, and the issues illuminated by that author of social stigma, individual resilience, and integrity. Huckleberry Finn is also poor and an outsider, and yet becomes a symbol for the equality of all humanity, and the finer spirit in all of us, in Mark Twain’s hands. I felt a similar quality in Stevens’ distinctive book.
“Stevens’ skill with dialect also makes this book unique. She doesn’t overdo it, but lets it flow like spring water or rain in the forest. Her descriptions take you into the scene and the characters’ minds. I felt I was in the family’s cabin, fishing by the river, riding a bike into town, being bullied and ostracized, and ashamed of a parent’s bad behavior. This book is a rare treat. I highly recommend it.” ~ Mary Clark, author
About the author
Inspired by nature and human nature, author Bette A. Stevens is a retired elementary and middle school teacher, a wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys reading, writing, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and families, for childhood literacy and for the conservation of Monarch butterflies—an endangered species (and for milkweed, the only plant that monarch caterpillars will eat).
Stevens is the author of AMAZING MATILDA, an award-winning picture book; The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too!, a home/school resource incorporating hands-on math and writing; and PURE TRASH, the short story prequel to her début novel, DOG BONE SOUP, a Boomer’s coming-of-age story set in 1950s and 60s New England.
Wishing everyone a “Happy Mother’s Day” and sharing a poem written in 2014 to celebrate my beautiful mother on her birthday. ~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator
It will be nine years ago on August 8, 2007, when I called Mama to wish her a Happy Birthday and, as usual, we talked for hours. It was the last birthday we got to ‘celebrate’ together. Mama left us for her heavenly home the following April and there hasn’t been a day since that I haven’t thought about her and missed her. Mama’s strength of character, her poise, wit and unconditional love live on within all those whose lives she touched. The photograph (circa 1951) of Mama and me was taken in California.
“A Window into a Baby Boomer’s Saturday.” ~ Christina Steiner
“A child’s perspective in everyday cruelty captured beautifully…” ~ Maria Catalina Egan
PURE TRASH, a short story adventure (ages 11–adult) by Bette A. Stevens, Maine author
#FREE eBook (Limited Time) FEBRUARY 6th – 10th
In this short story adventure set in New England in the 1950s, two young boys set out on a Saturday adventure you won’t want to miss! Experience the joy of a carefree Saturday and the blistering pain of feeling not quite good enough as you hop on a bike and ride into town with two delightful young boys who find adventure at every turn. Shawn and Willie Daniels live in the woods with no indoor water or plumbing. Dad spends most of his hard-earned money on beer. Prejudice, class division, alcoholism, poverty, injustice, and bullying are cleverly woven into this 1950s adventure short. PURE TRASH is the short story prequel to DOG BONE SOUP, Stevens’s début novel DOG BONE SOUP.
Hello, and welcome to the 4th day of my BETTER PARENTING, BETTER KIDS Blog Tour! I’m so happy to be here today with Bette Stevens as she is a favorite of mine from Rave Reviews Book Club, where she serves as one of our most supportive members! Thanks for having me, Bette! I’m excited to be here!
My tour this week has been designed to bring more, desperately needed attention to the plight of today’s children. We have children killing children. We have children raping, joining gangs and blowing up buildings, at an alarming rate. This is our wake-up call! This is the moment that we must all stand and band together and say, “OK, enough’s enough!” If we want to make a positive change in society, which will make a huge impact on our children, we, as adults need to be willing to engage in a discussion for this change. We, as adults, must not be afraid to speak on that, which is destroying our society as we have known it. We must make this growing epidemic of “poorly parented” children our top priority as we work to make it a thing of the past. WE MUST BE THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE IN THIS WORLD.
Today I’m going to do something a little differently from my other stops. I am going to answer the TWO questions I get asked the most as a Parenting Expert and it is my wish that it gives you a bit more insight as to why this mission is my top mission. Here goes:
1. What made you want to write a book about guiding parents who are raising kids?
My daughters are both so very well-behaved, kind and manner-able, the epitome of (almost) perfect daughters, and I pray that a world left behind by me would be filled with more people just like them. The only way that this will ever happen, is for each of us, parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, adults in general, to band together and work from the same blueprint. Only then can we build a world free of hatred, jealousy, greed, selfishness and just plain ugly. So, although my reasons initially were very selfish for writing this guide, I look around and the majority of the poor behavior that we see adults exhibiting today, is probably because there was a lack of proper parenting when they were kids. So for that reason, I’m glad this book is out there now. And I have to say, it’s doing very well on its own merit. Hopefully, we can get even more attention to it if we all just care enough to spread the word about it. There are so many parenting guides on the market, but we needed one that was easy to understand and one that has been actually PROVEN to be extremely effective. THE GOOD MOMMIES’ GUIDE TO RAISING (ALMOST) PERFECT DAUGHTERS,” 100 Tips On Raising Daughters Everyone Can’t Help But Love! is that guide.
2. Do you have parents contacting you for advice?
Parents contact me for advice ALL the time. I am so honored when they do and I am very humbled when parents expect that their kids behave in a certain manner around me. That to me says that they respect my opinions, but I think it’s more of the fact that they see my children and the way they are and behave, and on some level, as I have been told by many parents, they wish their kids could be more like mine. This is a top of the line compliment for me and I thank GOD that he has put me in the position to where my influence and opinion matters to parents who want the best for their kids, and who want THE BEST kids. I can say from my deepest place, that I love all children and it warms my heart immensely when I see or hear of some child excelling and doing well. We all have a purpose for being here, and GOD made children my purpose.
* Side note: Parents have asked for a forum where they can ask questions directly and so I’d like to invite you all to my blog called “ASK THE MOMMY”where parents are able to direct questions and have them answered. Do take a look around there once you land!
Enjoy this EXCERPT from the book:
“So many times, when our daughters take the wrong path, we wonder…”What is wrong with HER? What is SHE doing wrong?” We fail to look inside at our own parenting skills where sometimes, the majority of the blame just might lie. Have you ever stopped to think, “What did I do wrong?” “What could I have done better?” and going a step further, “Where did I fail her?” So many Moms are busy focusing on themselves these days, when what they should really be focused on, are their kids…especially their daughters. I was blessed enough to be a stay/work-at-home Mom for both of my Angel Daughters. They never had to attend daycare, they were never latch-key kids, and I was always, always there for them. But, even if I had not been there, even if I had no choice but to go out and become a part of the workforce again, I would have still made them my top priority. It is my deepest belief that if we spend more time nurturing, focusing and guiding our children, and less time trying to amass material things which will never be a direct reflection of us as parents, we would have more daughters and sons who are (“Almost”) perfect.”
Do the world a favor and pick up your copy of “THE GOOD MOMMIE’S GUIDE TO RAISING ALMOST (PERFECT) DAUGHTERS.” If your kids are grown and gone, gift it to them for their kids. If you don’t have kids, gift it to the young mom next door or down the hall who could use the wisdom between the covers of this life-changing little book. And, if you’re just in the mood for a really good read, I can guarantee, this one is a joy! It has been said over and over again, that the tips inside the covers of this guide work just as well for sons.
Thanks so much for stopping by. LET’S CHANGE THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT AND MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE!
AUTHOR BIO:
Nonnie Jules is the mother of two beautifully kind daughters, who along with the help of her husband, have turned out to be two of the greatest assets to this world. THE GOOD MOMMIES’ GUIDE TO RAISING (ALMOST) PERFECT DAUGHTERS is her first published piece of work and two weeks after publication, it hit Amazon’s Top 100 list, where it reached the #7 mark. With all the violence which is being exhibited by some children today, it is her vision and goal to get THE GOOD MOMMIES’ GUIDE…into the hands of everyone who breathes around a child. She feels the only way we can make this happen, is if we are all working from a common blueprint. Ms. Jules strongly believes that every opportunity we are given with a child, should be a teaching one for us and a learning one for them.
So far, Nonnie has authored two other books: a novel which she released in November of 2013, entitled “DAYDREAM’S DAUGHTER, NIGHTMARE’S FRIEND” and “SUGARCOATIN’ IS FOR CANDY & PACIFYIN’ IS FOR KIDS!” where she shares her no-holds-barred style of teaching us all about support and social media. Her second parenting guide {THE GOOD MOMMIES’ GUIDE TO BULLY-PROOF KIDS} is due for release the beginning of January, 2015 and the sequel to her debut novel, DAYDREAM’S DAUGHTER, shortly after. (Both have been delayed due to her extensive workload with RRBC).
She is a fan of the well-written word, and so along with 3 partners, she started 4WillsPublishing Co. in November, 2013 to assist other writers in putting out their best work ever. By December, 2013, she had founded the RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB where in less than a year, the membership has rapidly grown to well over 500. If you’re not a member yet, this is your personal invitation to JOIN US!
As you can see, she is an Author on the move and if you’re interested in keeping up with her, here is her contact info (and a good pair of running shoes would help as well):
My dear friend Michelle has honored me with a Field of Flowers Award. I invite you to stop by Michelle’s blog http://michelleclementsjames.com/where you’ll find outstanding book reviews on Book Chats. Books for reading or gifting that you won’t want to miss!
Thank you for your continued support and encouragement, Michelle. Can’t wait to find out about your latest read.
THE FIELD OF FLOWERS AWARD
This is a fairly new award meant to show appreciation or say thank you or just to brighten someone’s day. You can read about it here or share the love and pass on your own field of flowers.
Rules :
Thank the blogger who nominated you
Place the award on your blog
Nominate 7 other bloggers and write a little something about why you would give these bloggers “A Field Of Flowers”
Let your nominees know that you nominated them
I would like to give a FIELD OF FLOWERS TO MY BLOGGING FRIENDS, Because…
I would like to give this award to all of my blogging friends because you are all so wonderful and have been so supportive of my blogging efforts. However, I am supposed to choose just seven (this is the really tough part) to nominate for this award. Here are seven of the many great blogs I follow to inspire you! ~ Bette A. Stevens
1) Serendipity. Marilyn Armstrong is the author of The 12-Foot Teepee and blogger extraordinaire. She always leaves me with a smile and posts and photos that I can’t wait to share.
2) http://cindyknoke.com/ Love to travel? Tour the globe with Cindy and find out all about her Homestead Holler too. Photos and posts will leave you wanting more!
“One concern parents have is how to inspire their children to meet challenges with patience and persistence. This is the plot of a new book, ‘Amazing Matilda’.”
“Matilda’s story is my story. It’s you story too. It’s everyone’s story. Meeting the challenges of life at every stage of life is no easy task. Matilda and her friends encourage readers and listeners to meet those challenges.” (Bette A. Stevens)
Welcome to 4writersandreaders
I’m a writer inspired by nature and human nature. You’ll find great books, authors, writing tips and more right here. I advocate for kids & families, childhood literacy and the protection of monarch butterflies and their habitat.Happy reading & writing!~Bette A. Stevens, Maine author
Written
on 11/25/2016