Real Life is Better Than Fiction

By Shelley Hitz About the Book: A Life of Gratitude: How to Overcome Self-Pity and Negativity During a season of transition in my life, I found myself overwhelmed with negative emotions like self-pity and a complaining spirit. It was as if a dark cloud had descended over me. I prayed and asked God for wisdom on how to overcome these negative emotions. As I did, I sensed Him leading me to do a 21 day gratitude challenge. Over the course of the 21 days, God began to change me as I spent intentional time being grateful for all I had been given. I did this through writing in my journal each day and also sending a hand-written thank you note to someone different each day. This also led me to writing out 21 prayers of gratitude and compiling 21 stories of gratitude. I want to share what I learned with you in the pages of this book which includes: 21 Days of Gratitude Challenge 21 Prayers of Gratitude 21 Stories of Gratitude What to Expect On Each Day: Read my personal st

“Only two more days till Christmas!” Hope danced around the kitchen chanting while getting underfoot. She was good at getting underfoot, but she was not always a whole lot of help. “Yes, we know!” Hope’s twin sister Faith said, while frosting some of the cookies she had baked earlier in the day with their mom. Hope picked up the cookie as soon as Faith put it aside to let the frosting set. “You didn’t burn these did you?” “I haven’t burned anything in a long time!” Faith said. “Yeah, it’s been at least a week!” Hope said sarcastically, taking a bite out of the cookie. “We’d get more done if you helped a little more besides eating everything,” the girls’ mom, Karin, said to Hope without looking up from what she was doing. “I’m taste-testing,” Hope said with her mouth full. “And taking pictures.” She held up her other hand, which contained a camera. It was an older camera that used film, but she found taking pictures enjoyable and she was good at it. She used her tal

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card author is: Jerry Eicher and the book: Katie Opens Her Heart Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2013) ***Special thanks to Ginger Chen for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jerry Eicher’s bestselling Amish fiction (more than 210,000 in combined sales) includes The Adams County Trilogy, the Hannah’s Heart books, and the Little Valley Series. After a traditional Amish childhood, Jerry taught for two

Prologue It’s said that the way we are raised forms who we are as adults. It’s all the experiences we have had in life that make us who we are. Mom was no different. Her experiences definitely shaped who she was. I learned at an early age that it was my mom’s goal in life to feed everyone. She believed that food connected people and made them happy. Many of my own most vivid memories come from when we were sitting at the table eating with friends and family. Besides just inviting friends over for dinner, Mom would have someone over to eat in payment for a good deed. Mom would always make a meal for someone who was sick or in need. If she knew that someone was depressed, they would be the recipients of a plate of cupcakes. It was her signature touch of love that made all her food special. Mom never failed to include a card along with the food with a few words of encouragement. If dessert was given, it was always presented on a pretty plate intended for the receiver to keep. Mo

Ever since I was a child I have always loved writing. My mother also enjoyed writing and she would help me tremendously by taking me to writer’s conferences and introducing me to people who could teach me things. Over the years I have tried my hand at many different genres of writing and I enjoy many of them.    One thing I always wanted to do was write a novel. I have started many, but finished few. I think the problem was my method of writing. Writing blindly doesn’t work for me. Structure and organization are my style in life so it would seem obvious that it would be the same in my writing. I found a new way to write by organizing everything first. While the kids were out of school one summer I was bound and determined to have something to show for my efforts. Almost every day I would take the kids and friends to the pool. While they played I wrote. By the end of that summer I had a completed the first draft of my novel. Yes, it still needed a lot of work, but the base was there.

People often ask me where I get ideas for writing. Quite frankly, it’s real life. Often times I run into characters, I mean people, who make me smile or cringe. Those are the kinds of characters I like to include in my stories. I got the idea for Come Eat at My Table when talking to a friend of mine. She had some dreadful things happen to her as a child. Then she made a comment that set my imagination in motion. Many of the little scenes throughout Come Eat at My Table really took place. I’ll give you one example, Karin tells of a time when she got a sliver in her shin. Yup, that really happened to me. It was about 4 inches long and it got infected. My mom and my brother had to hold me down while my dad dug it out. (We didn’t go to the doctor’s for every little thing when I was a kid.) I incorporated that into my story with a few additions and subtractions.    Don’t forget about looking to the kids for ideas. One of mine, who will remain nameless, once put a tissue in a ca

I remember when my very first book came out. It was a devotional I had written with two of my friends. We worked for months writing devotions and then sharing them with each other. We labored long and hard over that first book and I still see many things I would go back and change. I guess that’s the way it is with many authors – the book is never good enough. Anyway, we were patting each other on the back for our accomplishment and dreaming of all the books we would sell and the speaking engagements we would get. I nonchalantly said, “I’ll just sit at the book table while you guys do your thing.” You see, they had both had several invitations to speak before we actually wrote the book. I figured their chances were way better than mine at getting an invite.   Me and my big mouth! It wasn’t a week later that my telephone rang and someone asked, “Have you ever done any speaking before?” This terrified me a little bit. I wasn’t at all sure it was something I wanted to do. Aft

One of the themes running through my book is forgiveness. There are so many people out there who are waiting to receive forgiveness or waiting to have forgiveness asked of them. Maybe you are one of those people.   God is just waiting to forgive you for ANYTHING you may have done. All you have to do is ask.   If you are waiting for someone to come to you begging forgiveness on bended knee, don’t wait any longer. Forgive them anyway. You will be better for it physically, mentally, and emotionally.   I have chosen a song from Casting Crowns as the theme song of the book. If you have never heard the song before follow the link below to listen. If you are familiar with it, listen again. Close your eyes as you listen to the words.    Is there someone in your life who needs forgiveness? Forgive.   http://www.christian-best-music-videos.org/Christian_video_8.php       http://ruthoneil.weebly.com/books.html Don't forget to earn more entries into the

Here are some of the questions you guys sent me. You had some good ones! Although I think my life is really an open book, I hope you learn something new about me. How long have you been writing? Professionally for over 20 years, but I began writing little stories long before that. I remember writing a story called “The Hunchback Bug” when I was little. I was so excited that my mom let me use her typewriter. Somehow what I had typed out came up missing. Years later, after my mom passed away and we were helping my dad clean some things out of the house, we found our baby books. Dad said we could have them. Guess what I found in mine? Yup, my story. Mom had saved and treasured it all those years ago. I think I was about 9 when I wrote it.    Who was your greatest inspiration for writing?   That’s easy. That was my mom. She also enjoyed writing. She belonged to a writer’s group when I was in high school. She brought me to all the meetings and did everything she could to enc

As promised, I will be giving away some prizes in order to entice you into being a part of the contest this month in honor of my novel Come Eat at My Table . I tried to think up prizes that actually related to the book somehow. There will be a couple of vases, framed art, and of course a book (or two or three). A grand prize winner will win one of everything.    In case you can’t remember, or didn’t see how you can win entries, here is a blurb from yesterday’s post:   You can earn entries for the drawings by first of all following my blog if you haven’t already. For those of you who already follow – you get a bonus entry! You can also earn entries by commenting on the posts and sharing them with your friends. You can share through Facebook, Twitter, or however else you want; I just need to be able to see it. You can also receive entries by pre-ordering the print edition (You get free shipping if you pre-order, too!). Yes, you will also receive an entry by ordering an ebook co

My February calendar is filling up at an extremely fast pace, so much so that I am reminded of a phrase from the Rugrats cartoons that my kids used to watch: “Hold onto your diapies, babies!” Thank goodness for a calendar to write things on and keep close at hand!   This month is an exciting month for me. My first novel is coming out in print. It came out around Christmas time as an ebook, but now comes all the big marketing campaigns and the reality of being able to hold that book in my hand. That never gets old! In honor of my newest book, I am going to be posting a little more than usual this month. I am also going to be hosting a contest with prizes up for grabs. You can earn entries for the drawings by first of all following my blog if you haven’t already. For those of you who already follow – you get a bonus entry! You can also earn entries by commenting on the posts and sharing them with your friends. You can share through Facebook, Twitter, or however else you want; you

There are so many things a new parent doesn’t think about. Praying for your new baby’s future is probably one that you don’t think of as imminent. However, it’s never too early to start praying for every aspect of your child’s life. In her book Parenting on Your Knees – Practical Guidance for the Preschool Years Vicki Tiede gives suggestions on exactly how to pray for your children during the most formative years of their lives. She focuses on social skills, behavior, character development, and most importantly the salvation and spiritual growth of your little one. New parents or parents of young children can often feel overwhelmed and unproductive. This book humorously helps put many things into perspective. Some parents may even believe that Vicki had a camera monitoring things that go on in their home as the stories she tells are so relatable.    Each chapter includes a suggested prayer where you can fill in the name of your own child. She also leaves a space where parents c