This is a blog link-up where we not only allow you to share your past posts but we encourage it. So share away!
This week our temps were beautiful where I live in the beginning of the week. Last night they dropped 20 degrees, reminding us yet again we are in autumn. So I am under a blanket as I putting the finishing touches on my blog post.
This is a hard post to read but it is a very important read to understand what really happened in N.C. and why that area was hit so fast and that it is even worse than what the news has shown (which honestly is very little in my opinion). Keep this family in your prayers.
I’m so glad you are here and participating in our weekly link-up of family-friendly, fun, educational, interesting, crafty, fashionable, and whatever else posts. I hope you’ll tell your followers about our post (feel free to copy and paste the graphic) and visit the blogs in the link-up.
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago. You can share up to three links each week.
We are always looking for additional hosts so let us know if you want to help out and we are also looking for more links from fashion bloggers so let your fashion bloggers know!
Yay for sun because that’s what we’ve been having lately in our little neck of the woods! I hope you have had some nice weather where you are as well.
I’m so glad you are here and taking part in our weekly link up of family friendly, fun, educational, interesting, crafty, fashionable, and whatever else posts. I hope you’ll tell your followers about our post (feel free to copy and paste the graphic) and visit the blogs in the link up. I know I have met some very fun bloggers that way!
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago.
Also, please take the time to visit the other blogs on the link-up and meet some new bloggers!
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago.
Also, please take the time to visit the other blogs on the link-up and meet some new bloggers!
Who of you had a chance to see the eclipse this week?
It was too cloudy for us so we watched it online.
Then we had one day of sun and the rest of the week was gloomy and depressing. That one day was glorious though. We sat on our front porch and read books and did our schoolwork.
Let’s get right to the most clicked posts for the week.
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago.
Also, please take the time to visit the other blogs on the link-up and meet some new bloggers!
I hope everyone who is in the right location for spring is having a nice spring. If you’re entering into another season, I hope that it is going well for you too.
Let’s get right to our most clicked post for this week and some of the posts I decided to highlight.
The most clicked this week were three from Thrifting Wonderland:
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago.
Also, please take the time to visit the other blogs on the link-up and meet some new bloggers!
I’m going to preface this post with a clarification – I am not whining about not making money or book sales. I’m just rambling to blog friends about some disappointments I’ve experienced and lessons I’m learning along this writing and life journey.
I have a love-hate relationship with social media and lately, that relationship has tipped into the hate category more than the love.
As a self-published author, I need to have some sort of presence online if I want to sell books and that includes social media. I started writing my fiction books for fun and to escape anxiety and depression. I shared them here on the blog, chapter by chapter, again, as an escape and for fun.
Selling books was secondary. When I saw that I might be able to provide a tiny amount to the monthly family income, I became more interested in selling. Unfortunately, to earn any money as an independent author you need to be willing to put out more money than you earn at first and when you already don’t have a lot of money, that’s a definite challenge.
I’ve been pushing posts and sharing about my books fairly consistently for five years now (while also trying not to always be pushing books) and in the end it really hasn’t mattered. Every month I make about $40 on book sales. Previously I would make between $10 and $20.
I work hard for that $40 but it’s really not a good return on all the time and money I’ve put into my books. A lot of it’s been – dare I even say it – a waste of time. One of those things are the posts I make and share to Instagram.
I have a lot of fun making memes, laughing over them, sharing them, and meeting people on social media through them. I don’t find everything I’ve done online a waste of time.
I’ve met some of the coolest people.
I’ve had some amazing opportunities.
I’ve found a way to distract myself from depression and anxiety that doesn’t involve drinking or eating myself into oblivion.
There is some good that has come from the time I’ve spent online.
A lot of good.
But I’ve also spent way too much time on things that haven’t mattered and aren’t helping my soul.
Balance is definitely key when it comes to social media.
Spending too much time on there can eat up your soul.
Spending too little time means you can’t connect and meet more people who might be interested in buying, or at least reading, your book.
This weekend I decided my soul was more important.
Now, this isn’t an announcement that I’m leaving social media, never to return. It isn’t even an announcement that I’m taking a break (even though I’m taking a small one that doesn’t involve going cold turkey but does involve backing off a bit). It’s just me sharing some thoughts about how social media has changed so many of us, how draining it can be, and how it steals a little part of our soul when we get too wrapped up in it.
I have seen people change as they become more popular on social media.
They’re more willing to compromise their values and morals as they become popular.
They often seem to be more interested in gaining followers, pats on the back, and overall attention than they are in sticking to their beliefs on a variety of issues. I get it. That shot of endorphins when someone likes a post or a lot of someones likes a post is addicting. Been there. Done that.
I have just decided I’d rather be unknown and poor than have to pretend I am someone I am not, to completely overshare every aspect of my personal life, or to compromise my integrity to get those likes.
The bottom line about my relationship with social media is . . . it’s complicated but I have my lines drawn and I intend to do my best to stay within those boundaries.
Family-wise things have been a bit hectic, but I’ll share more about that in my Saturday Afternoon Tea and Chat post.
Blog-wise I’ve been busy writing reviews of books and shows.
Writing-wise I have finished Cassie, which will release in August and have started brainstorming for the third Gladwynn book. I’ll announce a title for it at a later date.
Let’s get right to our most clicked post of the week:
I always love Debbie’s decorations and how she pays attention to detail and focuses on that detail for us in case we miss it while looking at the photos. These setups must take a very long time and her patience to create them always impresses me.
I really loved this sentence: Then we look up, not into the eyes of our friends and family, but into the precious Word of God and realize that spring is here, not because it’s actually spring, but it begins to feel like spring because we’ve allowed ourselves to be comforted by the Word of God and His Spirit.
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago.
Also, please take the time to visit the other blogs on the link-up and meet some new bloggers!
There have been some lovely reviews of Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing over the last week and a half.
I’m going to share a couple today and also remind you that you can enter to win a copy of the paperback of the book and a $50 Amazon gift card HERE.
This one from Devoted to Hope was so nice:
Step into the nostalgic embrace of Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing, a delightful haven for lovers of vintage charm and heartwarming mysteries. With its retro flair and cozy atmosphere, this book invites readers to immerse themselves in a world where classic style, old-fashioned values, and the timeless allure of small-town life reign supreme!
As you journey through the pages, you’ll be swept away by Lisa R. Howeler’s storytelling, which effortlessly transports you to a bygone era filled with quaint cottages, a bustling town, and the comforting aroma of freshly brewed coffee. With every twist and turn of the plot, you’ll find yourself captivated by Gladwynn’s spirited determination and unwavering resolve as she unravels the mysteries lurking beneath the surface of her beloved community.
The intriguing storyline and the rich tapestry of characters who populate this enchanting world will steal your heart. From Gladwynn’s endearing quirks to her grandmother Lucinda’s timeless wisdom, each character is infused with a warmth and authenticity that feels like a welcoming hug. As you follow their journey, you’ll find yourself becoming deeply invested in their lives, eagerly anticipating each new revelation and heartfelt moment.
Read the rest of the review and find other amazing reviews of Christian or clean fiction books HERE.
There have been so many nice mentions or reviews of the book since last week and I truly do appreciate those who took the time out of their days to read the book and then share about it or leave reviews on their blogs, Amazon and Goodreads. It really does mean so much! The tour ends March 25.
What: Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot – a chance for bloggers to link up their posts that are related to fashion, DIY, food, and anything else that is family-friendly.
When: The link goes live Thursday nights at 9:30 PM EST/United States time.
Why: To connect with other bloggers and bring more traffic to your own blog.
My 9-year-old daughter wanted me to read my book—Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing to her a couple of months ago and then again this weekend. Since it is a very clean book, even with the mystery element, I started to read it to her. I didn’t think she’d be interested but she asked me to keep reading so I did.
This week she asked if she could use my old Kindle and she downloaded my book and began to read it on her own. I thought she’d get bored fairly fast but 20 minutes in she ran to me from where she’d been sitting on the couch in the dining room and declared, “I just got to Lucinda and I love her. She is my favorite character.” She then quoted something Lucinda had said and, in the most adult way, said “She is heeelarious.”
I can’t lie – the whole situation made me weepy. I imagined other people reading my book and enjoying it and always thought that would be so amazing but I never thought about how amazing it would be to have my own family like what I write.
Some might say that it is normal to have family and friends say they like what you have written, but I have not had one friend from high school, college, or in my adult years read my books or say one thing about them to me over the last five years I have been writing.
I have not been able to gush with them over my characters like I hoped I would be able to.
My mom and my husband have both read my books so I can gush a little with them, luckily.
My daughter is only 9 and I really didn’t think about her reading my books or even caring about them, but I am grateful that my books are clean so she can read them and not be shown things she shouldn’t be shown or exposed to at her age.
My dad is not a reader but he has now read both of my Gladwynn Grant books. He literally took the time to read a couple of my chapters of my books each night and that means the world to me. If you could see me right now you would see me with tears in my eyes, knowing that my non-reader dad took the time out of his day to read my books and even left me a review on my Facebook. Dad has not always been a supporter, exactly, of me writing fiction so I was shocked when Mom said he was reading my book.
Dad felt like I needed to have traveled more and experienced more to be able to write fiction and he may be right in some ways, but his comments were somewhat discouraging to me when I started writing fiction for fun in 2018.
Here is the review my dad left me:
I am not much of a reader at all and very seldom read fiction and I watch very few movies.
Like who wants to read about something that is not . Lol Evidently a lot of people.
Anyway I got into the first Gladwyn mystery and found it intriguing and starting this one I find it more so.
Sometimes I think wow, I never knew that lol ; you see Gladwynn Grant,a mixture of intelligent, ditsy curious, and almost cunning, was my mother’s name.
Okay off to store a few more clues and along the way of the town theater find out what happened to Samantha.
Well, anyhow, I just thought I’d share all that today because it was on my mind as I started to write this post today.
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago.
Also, please take the time to visit the other blogs on the link-up and meet some new bloggers!
