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At Home with Sandra Walton-Ball


Blog Photo - Artist Sanda Painting side viewThis awesome post includes amazing monarch butterfly paintings! ~ Bette A. Stevens

Cynthia Reyes's avatarCynthia Reyes

David Walton-Ball opens the door of his summer home, east of Toronto, and is greeted by a child looking up at him:

“Can Sandra come out to play?”

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra and David in Orchard

Sandra — you may be surprised to hear —  is not a child.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra's Studio Wall

She’s David’s wife, a talented artist whose work hangs in galleries in Canada and Mexico.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra Painting of Island

Blog Photo - Artist Sanda Painting side viewNeighborhood children gravitate towards her and she loves them. So she teaches children to create their own artwork.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra and Student

She and the children have developed a system at her small studio at the summer house.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra stands at work table

If this sign is up, Sandra can’t come out to play.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra's Sign

In Mexico where she and David spend the winter, Sandra teaches art to children whose parents can’t afford to pay for lessons.

“We put on Andrea Bocelli and the children sing along.”

San Miguel de Allende is home to many artists from Canada and the U.S.

Blog Photo - Artist Sandra and Leonard's painting

Years ago, Sandra…

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Meet the author: Shirley Harris-Slaughter


A warm welcome to Rave Reviews Book Club Member and author Shirley Harris-Slaughter. Shirley’s got a special guest post for us today. Let’s listen in. ~ Bette A. Stevens

I’M A POLITICAL JUNKIE!

Shirley Harris-Slaughter is the author of OUR LADY OF VICTORY, the Saga of an African American Catholic Community

Shirley Harris-Slaughter is the author of OUR LADY OF VICTORY, the Saga of an African American Catholic Community

Hi, I’m Shirley Harris-Slaughter and I’d like to thank you all for having me today! Besides being a published author, here’s something else you probably didn’t know about me (if you know me)… I’m a Political Junkie! I have a love/hate relationship with politics. Another passion is my involvement in my local community. These two things keep me busy most of the time.

Politics – One thing for sure is the fact that I love to be in the know, because ignorance is no longer bliss. It could spell disaster if you are not informed on the issues, especially with what is happening right now.

Case in Point – Voting rights are being tampered with and compromised. I hate to say it, but there are some bad folks out there that are up to these shenanigans. If we don’t pay attention, we might wake up one day to find that we are no longer able to vote. In fact, that is already happening in urban communities in several southern and eastern states. One Party has succeeded in gerrymandering so many districts that your rights to representation is being challenged and compromised in the courts.

Voter laws are being challenged right now by the Department of Justice. Boy, do they have their work cut out for them.

But beware! It’s coming to a neighborhood near you.

The results of our last mid-term elections can already be seen in a dysfunctional Congress made up of these gerrymandered districts, virtually guaranteeing that these do-nothing incumbents will be re-elected. And guess what? Do-nothings affect all of us and our way of life. It doesn’t care if you are white, black, Asian, Hispanic; whether you live in the city, suburbs or rural areas… you will be affected negatively by this congress sooner or later. Look at what is happening to health care in North Carolina. Our crumbling infrastructure is another prime example of a dysfunctional government.

THAT IS NOT DEMOCRACY!

Please listen… You don’t have to be affiliated with Democrats or Republicans or even Independents to know there is cause for alarm when one group feels that the only way they can win, is by cheating and gerrymandering districts. Not only are your legislatures passing these draconian laws to make it harder for you to exercise your right to vote, they are also passing restrictive laws on women’s health choices and denying you the right to choose quality health care that your tax dollars are paying for.

I’m thrilled that the Justice Department has finally gone after the banks – CitiBank in particular; and making them pay back billions of dollars for their part in the economic meltdown that cost people their homes and their jobs across the country. What a sad chapter to the American Dream.

Another passion is my involvement in my local community. I got involved in hometown politics and helped elect a good friend to the Oak Park School Board. That paved the way for me to run for a position on that same school board later. I couldn’t turn down the offer because I wanted to be part of the solution. I wanted my property values to remain stable; and I wanted to play a part in providing a good education for our children who are the future.

I didn’t know much about ADD and all these other disabilities that our children are now being afflicted with. And everywhere I turned, everyone was acting like this was a normal thing. Where was I when this was going on? I was not in the public school system so I guess I missed something—something huge.

So there you have it, my greatest passions, because I love children and I care about my community and my country.

Thanks for listening!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Our Lady of Victory, the Saga of an African American Catholic Community

Our Lady of VictoryI wrote about local history while growing up in a Catholic Community. My love of history and tradition propelled me into this forum. While serving on the school board, they tried to take away the music “Pomp and Circumstance” played at every high school graduation and I got visibly upset over it. Were these people for real? I felt like a stranger among strangers.

So, writing this book was no exception to who I am and what I stand for. It was a natural outgrowth of my community activism. Besides, no one else was going to do it. I didn’t understand at the time, that I was the chosen one.

Little did I know the “can of worms” I was about to unleash. But I needn’t have worried…no one was ready to challenge my findings. They just pretended like there was nothing to be concerned about. And so I wasn’t taken seriously, for the most part, with the exception of a few close friends. And then Nonnie Jules crossed my path and I joined Rave Reviews Book Club and excitement for my book and my message, was re-ignited.

I am a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club—the place for Indie Authors!

 

 

This is an awesome trailer! Please take a look:

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/aF3ZBZFn3AY

Five Star Review of Our Lady of Victory by Nonnie Jules “Seal of Approval”

 

CONNECT HERE…

Tour Lineup Page: http://wp.me/P43s9i-2g

Author Page: http://wp.me/P43s9i-1m

Email: sharrislaughter@gmail.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sharrislaughter

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/historybuff

 

Purchase Links…
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/kindle/dp/B00KDO1MSM/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_eos_detail
Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/4751309
Limited Editions: http://rememberourladyofvictory.com/about-the-book/

 

SHIRLEY’S BLOGS…
http://shirleyslaughterblog.wordpress.com/
http://rememberourladyofvictory.com/

 

 

 

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Teachers as Storytellers


Teachers are everywhere, not just in the classroom. I was fortunate to have many wonderful story tellers in my life. ~ Great post, Ivon Prefontaine! ~ Bette A. Stevens http://www.4writersandreaders.com

ivonprefontaine's avatarTeacher as Transformer

Think of the people we call teachers, not just in classrooms but in every facet of our lives. A quality they share is storytelling. They connect with our hearts and minds. We laugh, cry, yell, and carry on in every imaginable way with them. We remember them not because of what they taught us, but what they revealed about themselves and helped us discover about our self.

The best teachers are the best storytellers. We learn in the form of stories.

~Frank Smith

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Historical Mystery & Romance at its Best


TBOD-frontcover

“M.C.V. Egan twists truth and fiction until you question your perceptions…it is a story of real love, triumph and search for self.” – Beckah Boyd @ The Truthful Tarot

On August 15th, 1939, an English passenger plane from British Airways Ltd. crashed in Danish waters between the towns of Nyk?bing Falster and Vordingborg. There were five casualties reported and one survivor. Just two weeks before, Hitler invaded Poland. With the world at the brink of war, the manner in which this incident was investigated left much open to doubt. The jurisdiction battle between the two towns and the newly formed Danish secret police created an atmosphere of intrigue and distrust.

The Bridge of Deaths is a love story and a mystery. Fictional characters travel through the world of past life regressions and information acquired from psychics as well as archives and historical sources to solve “one of those mysteries that never get solved.”

Based on true events and real people, The Bridge of Deaths is the culmination of 18 years of sifting through conventional and unconventional sources in Denmark, England, Mexico and the United States. The story finds a way to help the reader feel that s/he is also sifting through data and forming their own conclusions.

Cross The Bridge of Deaths into 1939, and dive into cold Danish waters to uncover the secrets of the G-AESY.

Learn more about this book and the special 75th anniversary re-release at http://thebridgeofdeaths.com/

TBOD-comingsoon

Join us as we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the crash of the G-AESY?and the start of World War II with a month-long history-laden event that will entertain, educate, and enlighten you! As part of this event, a revised version of The Bridge of Deaths,?this award-winning and highly-acclaimed account of the events of that fateful day in 1939, will be re-released.

If you would like to be a part of the month-long anniversary event from September 1 to September 30,?please go here:?http://bit.ly/TBOD75Event.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MCVEganM.C.V. Egan is the pen name chosen by Maria Catalina Vergara Egan. Catalina was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1959, the sixth of eight children, in a traditional Catholic family. From a very young age, she became obsessed with the story of her maternal grandfather, Cesar Agustin Castillo–mostly the story of how he died. She spent her childhood in Mexico. When her father became an employee of The World Bank in Washington D.C. in the early 1970s, she moved with her entire family to the United States.

Catalina was already fluent in English, as she had spent one school year in the town of Pineville, Louisiana with her grandparents. There she won the English award, despite being the only one who had English as a second language in her class. In the D.C. suburbs she attended various private Catholic schools and graduated from Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland in 1977.

She attended Montgomery Community College, where she changed majors every semester. She also studied in Lyons, France, at the Catholic University for two years. In 1981, due to an impulsive young marriage to a Viking (the Swedish kind, not the football player kind), Catalina moved to Sweden where she resided for five years and taught at a language school for Swedish, Danish, and Finnish businesspeople. She then returned to the USA, where she has lived ever since. She is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Swedish.

Maria Catalina Vergara Egan is married and has one son who, together with their five-pound Chihuahua, makes her feel like a full-time mother. Although she would not call herself an astrologer she has taken many classes and taught a few beginner classes in the subject.

She celebrated her 52nd birthday on July 2nd, 2011, and gave herself self-publishing The Bridge of Deaths as a gift.

Find M.C.V. Egan and?The Bridge of Deaths?at www.thebridgeofdeaths.com.

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22 tips from Stephen King


king_fearGreat advice on writing from The King! ~ Thank you, Kim Hooper. Reblogged on http://www.4writersandreaders

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once upon a time…..


Reading fairy tales with the kids is FUN-damental! ~ Bette A. Stevens

beth's avatarI didn't have my glasses on....

redbubble.com“if you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.

if you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

― albert einstein

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How to Get your Kids to Read


Happy reading with kids ~ It’s FUN-damental!  ~ Bette A. Stevens, Maine author/illustrator http://www.4writersandreaders.com

Nicholas C. Rossis's avatarNicholas C. Rossis

GatewaySuccessStory-JeffGunhusFoil._V350981886_I found a lovely post on Amazon by Jeff Gunhus, and just had to share! Jeff details how he started his Jack Templar book series as a way to get his two young boys to read. This is what he has to say:

“My son Jack was smart and outgoing. He got great grades. But he liked reading books about as much as he liked walking behind our two yellow labs on clean-up duty. He was way more interested in movies, TV, video games. At first, I wasn’t too worried. But his vocabulary and writing skills began to slip. I decided to do something.

I created the Early Morning Book Club. That was my name anyway. To Jack, I’m sure it was the Early Morning Torture Club. The plan was that we’d get up early and Jack would read out loud to me for an hour. Luckily for him…

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410. The butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly. ~Ponce Denis Ècouchard Lebrun


Thanks, Sacred Touches, for this Amazing Monarch post! ~ Bette

nataliescarberry's avatarSacred Touches

Black atennas twitch
as the caterpillar
strips the last green leaf
from the naked milkweed.

Image

Striped flesh shed,
the green skin below
becomes a jade pendant
rimmed in gold,
hung by a black thread.

Image

Nature, that green magician,
arranges a slight of hand.
The fat worm in a striped suit
slides into a chrysalis
naps for a fortnight
wakes,
draped in orange,
ready to dance.
~Tere Sievers

Image

He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. Daniel 2:21  ✝

Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you save, you heal, you restore, and you reveal Your Father’s heart to us! You have captured me with grace and I’m caught in Your infinite embrace! Like Saint Hildegard Lord, may I too be a feather on your holy breath and spread, like seeds, the gospel abroad.

Poem first posted at:…

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MEET THE AUTHOR: multi-talented Sherri Rabinowitz


It’s my pleasure to welcome Sherri Rabinowitz to 4writersandreaders today. She’s here to tell us about her soon to be released children’s book Different is Beautiful. Let’s find out more about this talented author.

“Sherri Rabinowitz is not only an author, she is a terrific BlogtalkRadio show host and the creator and producer of Sherri’s Playhouse.”

Sherri Rabinowitz introduces her wonderful nww children's book ~ DIFFERENT is BEAUTIFUL.: a love note to the children of the world.

Sherri Rabinowitz introduces her wonderful new children’s book ~ “DIFFERENT is BEAUTIFUL, a love note to the children of the world.”

Tell us a little about yourself, Sherri.

I have been writing for years—in fact, since I was a young child. I am inspired by Ray Bradbury and Agatha Christie. I always have loved writing, but I have had to make a living in a variety of ways. I have worked as an actress, a travel agent and in several venues of customer service. My passion though has always been writing. I love reading and writing fan fiction. I also love the classics, mysteries and science fiction.  My novel Fantasy Time Inc. was nominated for a Global Ebook Award. I am also the host of Blogtalk Radio’s Chatting With Sherri and the creator and producer of Sherri’s Playhouse.

What type of writing do you normally do? 

I write in many genres. So far, I have two books published and I am working on several more. I have also written a play that I’ve produced and directed. I have written several articles and host several blogs.

Can you give us a brief synopsis of your latest (July 2014 release) book?  

Sherri's new book for young children teach children that love is the way and that it is their differences that make them special.

Sherri’s new book for young children teaches little listeners that “love is the way” and that it is differences that make everyone special.

My latest book is a picture book for young children planned for release at the end of July. The title is Different is Beautiful and it is my first children’s book. It teaches children that love is love—that we should not judge others by outward appearances, but by what is in their hearts. The inside is what’s important about each one of us. The outside really does not matter. Different is Beautiful teaches that love is the way.

What prompted you to write a children’s book?

All of the violence that comes from bullying, whether it drives those who are bullied to hurt themselves or to hurt others. I want to teach children that love is the way and that it is their differences that make them special. It’s not about how they look, what they wear, how they worship or whom they love.  It is what is in their hearts that means everything.

Do you have a favorite line from the book?  

“When you are special, you are beautiful.”

What was the hardest part about writing a children’s book?

I have never written a children’s book before or used in-story illustrations, so I did not know the logistics of it. It was all new to me, but proved to be a lot of fun.

Do you do anything besides write?  

I host a radio show called Chatting With Sherri, where I interview guests throughout the arts. I also have sub-show called Sherri’s Playhouse which presents a new radio play once a month.

How can my readers get a copy of your latest book?

You can check out my website I will let you know when it is available on Amazon at the end of July.

What’s next for you, Sherri?

Let’s see, I do have several projects in the works. I am working on several books—a sequel for Jane Eyre, a thriller, a murder mystery, a youth adventure series and my memoir. I also will be appearing at a couple of conventions. One will be the San Diego Comic Con and Conjecture. I am still working on this season of Sherri’s Playhouse, and of course, my radio show Chatting With Sherri.

It’s been great having you here with us today, Sherri. I can hardly wait to get a copy of your children’s book. I sounds like a wonderful way to get our little ones started on the path of love and respect for self and others. ~ Bette A. Stevens

 

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COVER REVEAL + Manuscript of my debut novel should be ready for the editors this week!


Here I am reading, editing & rewriting one more time…

Dear Readers,

The manuscript for my debut novel (current Work-in-Progress title: DOG BONE SOUP, A Boomer’s Journey…) is almost ready to go to the pros (professional editors). I feel like I’m making progress. Wanted to share my latest cover design with you.

I would love to get your thoughts on the cover design and on the back cover blurb. Simply click on the image to enlarge.

The more 'eyes' the better. Thanks so much Marilyn and Dale for heads-up on changes. You're awesome! ~ Bette

Thanks for reading & comments. APPRECIATED. The more ‘eyes’ the better. Thanks so much Marilyn and Dale for heads-up on changes. You’re awesome! ~ Bette

For the latest updates on my novel, free chapters, excerpts, notices of author giveaways and other freebies, I invite you to sign up for my bi-monthly author updates at http://eepurl.com/t-7JP

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

I look forward to reading your comments.

Happy reading, writing & all of those other amazing things you do,

Bette A. Stevens

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