Carved in the Heart of Memory

When my son Daniel died, I feared many things. One was that no one would remember him. He was only four and hadn't learned to read or tie his shoe.

Often in the still of the night, I would stand on my deck and look up toward Heaven. I focused on the distant stars. In the summer evenings, I'd watch the brilliant sunsets, the purples and marigold----painted brushstrokes across the clouds.

I asked God, "Why?" and "How do you expect me to live on?"

The ache in my heart was wider than the sky.

One evening, as I sat on my deck and wondered about remembering and forgetting, suddenly, as if through the spring air and from the sky, came these words:

"Who will remember those who no longer sing on earth?

We, who hear their songs from Heaven."

I wrote the verse down and immediately felt the comfort from the sentiment. Later, I had it printed on cards. I sent the cards to those, who like me, missed their loved ones. People asked to purchase the cards, so I offered them online and at conferences.

When my husband first carved the verse into a piece of red oak, it was as though a big soft blanket wrapped around me. I shared the plaque with others and then there came the requests from fellow bereaved mothers and fathers. "That's beautiful. I want one." "Can you make me one, please?"

Who would have thought that the verse that came to me over twelve years ago would now be bringing solace and hope to others?

Thank you for coming into my life, Daniel. Thank you for the reminder that you live on, and when I listen, I can hear your songs from Heaven.


Visit our Etsy Shop to see this plaque and other products all carved from wood.

Surviving the Tinsel: 11 Tips to Get Your Broken Heart Through the Holidays

That holiday-pang hit my stomach the first October after Daniel died. Greeting me at an arts and craft shop were gold and silver stockings, a Christmas tree draped with turquoise balls and a wreath of pinecones and red berries. What was this? And was "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" playing as well? It was only October.

I had anticipated that Christmas and the holidays would be tough. In fact, I'd wake on those cold mornings after Daniel died in February and be grateful that it was still months until his August birthday and even more months until Christmas. I dreaded living both without him. I would have preferred to have been steeped in cow manure. At least then I could take a hot bath with sweet smelling bubbles and be rid of the stench. But bereavement isn't that way. As those who had gone on before let me know, you have to live through it.

Christmas came. I did live through it. It continues to happen as do the other significant days of the calendar year. Daniel never arrives at any of them although his memory lives on. By incorporating him into these days of festivity, I can cope.

Some of you have your child's birthday and/or anniversary day within the November through January season. These days, in addition to the holidays everyone else is celebrating, make the season even more complicated and painful, I'm sure.

I offer eleven tips I've used to survive the holidays. Some are my own suggestions and some are borrowed from the many who walk the path of grief.

1. Know you will survive. Others have done it and you will, too. Keep in mind that your first Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day will not be easy.

2. Find at least one person you can talk to or meet with during the holiday season. Perhaps this person has gone through a few Thanksgivings and Christmases before and can give you some helpful ideas that have worked for her.

3. Things will be different this holiday season and perhaps for all the rest to come. Don't think you have to do the "traditional" activities of years past when your child was alive. Your energy level is low. If no one in your household minds, skip putting up the tree. Forget spending hours making your holiday cookies.

4. Spend the holidays with those who will let you talk about your child. You will need to have the freedom to say your child's name and recall memories, if you choose to do so. Your stories about your child are wonderful legacies. Tell them boldly again and again.

5. If going into the mall or stores brings too much pain, shop for gifts online or through mail-order catalogs. Thinking everyone is happily shopping at the malls with intact lives while your heart is crushed is terribly tough. Go easy on yourself.

6. Getting away from the house is an idea that worked for my family. The first Christmas without Daniel we went to a nearby town and lived in the Embassy Suites. The kids enjoyed the indoor pool and breakfast buffets. Christmases that followed were spent at a rented cottage on the shore and the Christmas we rented the beach house, we were able to invite extended family to join us. We all shared in the cooking.

7. Create something to give to those who have helped you throughout the year. I made some very simple tree ornaments with "In Memory of Daniel" stamped on them and gave them to friends that first Christmas.

8. Decorate the grave. Put up a plastic Christmas tree with lights. Sometimes being busy with decorating the grave gives a feeling of doing something for a child we can no longer hold.

9. Do something in memory of your child. Donate to a charity or fund in his memory. Volunteer. My oldest daughter Rachel and I volunteer at the Hospice Tree of Remembrance each December and share memories of Daniel as we spend this time together.

10. If your bereavement support group has a special candle-lighting service to remember the children in your area who have died, attend it. Doing something in memory of your child with others who understand the pain these holidays hold can be therapeutic.

11. Spend time reflecting on what the season is about. Everyone around you may be frantic with attending parties, services, shopping and visiting relatives. Perhaps you used to be the same way. Now you may want to avoid some of the festivities. Give yourself permission to excuse yourself from them. Light a candle in your favorite scent. Record some thoughts in a journal. This is great therapy, too.

One day you will wake up and it will be January 2. The holidays will have ended. You will have made it. If you are like me, you will find that surviving the tinsel has made you stronger and although you may cry, somewhere within you, you will feel that core of new steel.

~ Alice J. Wisler
[First published about twelve years ago, about four years after Daniel's death.]

Cooking With Author Cheryl Colwell!

Readers, today I have a treat for you. Author Cheryl Colwell is here to tell us about her new novel, The Secrets of the Montebellis, and share a favorite meal.

First, a bit about her book:

Lisa Richards is caught in an abusive relationship and devises a clandestine plan to build her dream and escape. In league with the secretive Montebelli Corporation, she grasps her one chance to gain financial freedom and fulfill her dream to bring new life to the town her ancestors helped settle in the Pacific Northwest.

As a stranger to town, Steven Taylor distrusts Lisa's suspicious behavior and sets out to expose her. Instead, he discovers the truth and becomes one of her few allies.

With attacks coming from many directions, they set out on a gripping course, working against time and the traps set in motion to break her. Imminent threats, at work to crush her efforts, thrust her to the edge of destruction.

I asked Cheryl to tell us what she likes to cook.

Cheryl said, "Here is one of my favorite meals, set in a dramatic moment in the book."

Thomas spun around from taking off his jersey and glared at her. “I don’t know what you do all day, but it’s clear your interest isn’t here.” He threw his clothes against the mirror.

Angry tears stung her eyes, but only served to increase his ranting. “I left you a message telling you we have company coming for dinner. Steven Taylor was on the mountain and I invited him and his daughter to join Jesse and us at seven o’clock. It’s six-thirty right now. What do you propose to do?”

With her heart racing, Lisa opened the freezer and blessed Jenny for organizing it this week. She grabbed two packages of filet of sole and the pound of shrimp off the middle shelf, turned on the oven, and stuffed the shrimp and fish into the microwave to defrost. Next, she dumped jasmine rice into the rice maker.

After pouring the shrimp into a metal bowl, she tossed in cayenne pepper, mayonnaise, and garlic salt, then wrapped each filet around a scoop of shrimp. Over the top, she sprinkled lemon juice and breadcrumbs, then dribbled each with melted butter and set them in the oven to cook. "Okay, what’s next?"

Now that sounds like a good meal! Thanks, Cheryl!

Cheryl's website, where she reviews books, is here.

To read reviews and order The Secrets of the Montebellis at Amazon, click here.

Moms Need This Free E-book: a time to reflect and write

Today I drove my youngest to a few shops so that she could buy a birthday gift for her brother. Since it was a nice afternoon, I waited for her in the car, having brought a book to read. I rolled the Jeep window down a few inches, relaxed, made sure that I had a view of a color-filled robust tree, dug out my reading glasses, and began. During that half hour, I aborbed the pages. The book was one written for writers, so it was highly interesting for me and caused me to reflect on my hopes and dreams. As I read, I paused to write out a few choice reflections and then even penned a prayer. (Luckily, my glove compartment is always stocked with a notepad and extra pens.)

I needed that time. That time energized me.

As moms we can run around thinking we need to hoist the world on our shoulders. But the reality is, if we don't take care of ourselves, then what good are we for anybody?

Last year I put together an e-book for moms of all ages. The blurb about it reads:

A journal designed for moms of all ages. Filled with Bible verses and prompts to guide you, this book is a companion to carry and use to rejuvenate you from your busy life. Writing is a wonderful gift from God and has many benefits for the mind and body; use this journal to draw closer to Him.

The Mom Spa Journal can be yours today for free! That's right----free! All you need to do to get this book of writing prompts and scripture is to follow the directions pasted below.

Simply go to my Smashwords page by clicking here. Once there, add The Mom Spa Journal to your cart and then upon check-out, enter this code TZ94Y to get the coupon, making the e-book free! Yep, free!

Then sit back, and make some time for you!

Gift Idea: Send bread in a can!

Christmas is coming. Instead of fruitcake, why not send bread in a can?

Yes, this offer is back again this year!

I like modern technology and that includes the oven and range, but when it comes to making bread, I don’t mind being old fashioned. Neither does Ashlyn. She’s the sheriff’s daughter in my new release, Still Life in Shadows. Ashlyn makes bread. Not just any bread, but bread steamed inside a can.

Generations ago when there were no stoves and only fires to cook over, bread was made this way. A coffee can was used to pour flour, milk, and other ingredients into and then the can was sealed and steamed in a kettle of water. As the water boiled, the bread inside the coffee can, baked.

After two hours, the can was removed from the pan and if greased well, out slid a round bundle of bread. Often known as Boston brown bread due to the color of the flour and the molasses, some cooks also added raisins as an ingredient.

The recipe Ashlyn uses has molasses, buttermilk, raisins, cornmeal, whole wheat and rye. It’s truly a tasty and healthy treat. Her finance Luke, an ex-Amish man who left the Old Order lifestyle and now works as a car mechanic, likes it when she brings the bread to his shop.

Sound good? It is! Slice a round of this bread, warm it in the toaster oven or microwave and serve with butter or a dab of cream cheese. Tastes great at breakfast!

If you like the flavor of gingerbread, you'll love bread in a can!

Orders for Bread in a Can will be taken the whole month of November. Place your order by November 30th. The bread will be packed and shipped to you or to a friend's and arrive between December 11th and 15th.

Simply use Pay Pal or send a check to the address below. Also, you can order a round of bread and a copy of Still Life in Shadows. Pricing is as follows:

* 1 delicious loaf (actually in the shape of a round coffee can) of bread -- $14.99 (includes priority shipping)

* 1 delicious loaf plus an autographed copy of Still Life in Shadows -- $27.99

* Order four loaves and get one loaf sent to you or to a friend's for free! (Five loaves for the price of four!)

PAYMENT
Send check to:
201 Monticello Avenue
Durham, NC 27707

OR
Use the PayPal tab below

Bread in a can

Bread in a can $14.99 USD Bread in a can and Still Life in Shadows $27.99 USD Two loaves of bread in a can $29.98 USD Three loaves of bread in a can $44.97 USD Four loaves of bread in a can and one free loaf (five total) $59.96 USD Still Life in Shadows (1 autographed copy added to options 3-5) $15.00 USD

Is Your Workspace Killing Your Creativity? Eight Tips to Get the Muse Back

When I was a little girl, I wrote anywhere I could. I lived back in the dark ages, so there was no computer with which to create my stories on and the only typewriter was in my dad’s home office where we weren’t allowed unless something was on fire or bleeding. A notebook and pencil were my faithful tools. I wrote when commuting to elementary school on the train, wrote at the kitchen table while Mom made dinner, and on nice days, wrote outside underneath the trellis in our back yard.

Now, a full-time author and workshop instructor, I have my own laptop. I also have a work space set up in the home office. Well, I did, up until three months ago when my eldest came back to live and gained my office (her old bedroom) once again. After this change, I had to set up on the end of the dining room table. While that was an adjustment due to having to move a lot of my writing gear (desk calendar, notebooks, notes, etc.) down stairs, the experience has taught me a lot.

At first having a new work place increased my writing. I chalk that up to the view from the dining room windows. Who wouldn’t be inspired by a butterfly bush with delicate purple blooms and a colorful butterfly stopping by every hour?

But after a month I was back to spending more time on Facebook than actually writing. Writers block? No, because I don’t believe in that. However, I do believe there are things that keep us from productivity and steps that we can take to avoid or deal with any form of lack of creativity that can come our way.

1) First, make sure your desk is in a comfortable location. This doesn’t mean it has to be in a posh office, it just has to be accommodating to you. The chair has to feel right and the desk able to hold your computer or stack of books, resources and other paraphernalia.

2) Think about clutter and distractions. Everyone is different. Sometimes the messiest desks belong to the most prolific. However, if your desk is piled too high and it takes you twenty minutes to find anything, then the clutter distracts from your work. Spend a day cleaning up to create a workable environment. Place necessary items needed every day like a desk calendar to your left or right.

3) Take a walk. Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Wallace Stevens, walked over two miles to his office each day. During that time he composed poetry, claiming, "I write best when I can concentrate, and do that best while walking."

4) Put on music. I like Celtic music without words so as not to distract me when I write my novels. But on bleak days when I need energy, U2 gets me going. With or Without You.

5) Head out to a coffee shop. Get there before the lunch crowd so that you can chose a table removed from a busy counter.

6) Find a secluded park bench. This works best when the weather is ideal, like a day in the spring or fall. Don’t neglect what the outdoors can do for your writing. D. H. Lawrence called trees “living company” and preferred to write beneath their shade.

7) Mix it up a bit. If you normally use a computer, spend some time writing by hand and vice versa.

8) Know thyself! Know when it is time to get up and get moving to a different room, a new view or a new place. Ask yourself the important questions: Am I too distracted or lacking when I sit here? What can I do differently so that I can be productive? Know what you need and make sure you get the most out of your writing hours.

Try these tips to enhance your work space and watch how that demon known as writers block is erased like an over-used adjective.

~*
Alice J. Wisler dreams of writing in a woodsy cabin with multiple windows. She is the author of five novels with a new one on the way next year, and the grief and loss devotional, Getting Out of Bed in the Morning: Reflections of Comfort in Heartache. She teaches writing workshops both online and at conferences. Read more about her workshops here: http://www.alicewisler.com

God's Waiting Room . . . Revisited . . . Again and Again

But those who wait on the Lord
shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings as eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)


I used to think that the person who would do all of this soaring in the sky was doing it AFTER his waiting was over. So as a waiter, I sat and hoped and prayed. Weary, I read how one day I would run and walk without the burdens of wondering and waiting.

The other night as I sat under a crescent moon on my porch stoop, I saw it all differently.

Now.

Because although we do have to wait, and often painfully long, God is a God of now.

He is calling us to live now.

Even in our waiting, He doesn’t go on vacation or cease to listen to our cries or leave His throne.

He grows us.

We grow while we wait.

In fact, my waiting has produced some of the best growth and spiritual character. In spite of waiting I can still live today. I can still experience joy and contentment (as the Apostle Paul wrote of). I am learning in the waiting room of God. I cling to Him. I have also felt the needs of His people, praying often for others who must wait, dear friends old and new who have asked me to pray for their really tough circumstances.

Last night I promised God that when He answered one of my prayers in this waiting room, that I would not feel as though I was done with needing Him or trusting Him. I promised that I would not grow cocky or overly proud or think I had accomplished anything. I told Him that I would still love Him, still seek His face, and still know desperately that I need Him. Always. And that I can do no good thing without Him. I told Him I would never want what He has taught me to be taken away from me.

I felt as though the clouds of my mind had parted. It was a growth spurt.

Today, as I was going about my usual writing and wondering when God was going to act, I received a wonderful surprise. I received an answer. I was given a writing assignment from a publishing house to write for them! I rejoiced. I wanted to run, to soar.

Hallelujah! At last!

Happy, I was eager to celebrate with a hunk of chocolate or drink that special tea or even open the bottle of champagne. God had heard my cry, God provided me with work!

Yes!

But the truth is, this is not my first time to have to cling to God and wait nor will it be my last. I still have other areas of my life to wait over.

Yet this time around, instead of wanting to hurry up the wait or push it aside or hold my breath until it leaves, I'm learning that waiting upon God is not at all ONLY a season. The truth is, it is a way of life.

Before I thought once my prayer was answered, I could kick up my heels and I'd be done with waiting. (I used to be young once and I think youthful minds think this way.)

Now I see the value in waiting, the beauty in growing, the honesty of a cultivated-by-God heart.

Dear God, I am your servant. I belong to you.

And I wait.

Because you are a God worth waiting for.

~*~

Are you waiting?
What are you waiting for today?
What do you want to learn as you wait upon Him?

[First posted on the Broken Psalms blog on October 3, 2013 with the title: Why is Waiting on God a Way of Life?]

Our Universal Fear-----Death

Tyreic Hemphill died in a car accident on Friday. He was sixteen.

My husband said that I didn't know him well enough to write a blog post about him. Most of the time, my husband is right.



But as I went on my daily walk today I couldn't avoid the push that I felt within my aching heart to write. Writing is my therapy, and after my walk, I knew I needed to put my anguished thoughts into written words. In fact, as I saw kids playing in the side streets and as I crossed Hope Valley Road, all I could think of was how frail we all are and how fleeting life is.

Whether we like it or not, death is present in every day of our lives. The fear of it can coil around us. Each time a loved one dies, we are reminded just how short life can be and how we have no control of when or where our last breath will take place.

True, I didn't know Tyreic. But there are things that I do know. I know what it is like to have that universal fear---death. I know what it is like to bury a child gone much too soon. Sixteen years ago my own son died at age four.

My youngest two, Ben and Liz, went to school today wearing red in honor of Tyreic. I thought of them and the other kids at Jordan High School having to go through the day without Tyreic. "How was the day?" I asked when my children came home. "It was depressing," Ben said. "Each class was quiet and solemn."

I ache for Tyreic's parents. I wish no parent ever had to be part of this parental bereavement club. It's one of the clubs no one wants to be initiated into. I remember meeting Tony, Tyreic's father, at Rogers Herr where my kids went to middle school. And I recall driving Ben to Tyreic's birthday party back when they were both in middle school. It was a paintball party and Ben had fun. Tyreic did, too. And Tony enjoyed being part of the party; he got covered in paint and laughed a lot.

I hate that Tyreic will never have another birthday. I hate that every fall from now on his family will have to recall the days before his last one. NC Highway 55 will no longer be a regular road, but one that will forever be a reminder of death. They will never be normal again, that has been stripped from them. All in one split second. Gone.

I hate that death has now separated them from their son.

I wonder how they will survive.

I wonder how any of us survive without our vivacious, funny, loving, and bright children.

Others might think they are exempt from death because they eat vegetables or wear seat belts or never stay out past midnight. We like to believe that we can sidestep death. "The death of a child happens to other people," we think.

We also like to believe that parents who lose a child can be comforted in knowing their child is not forever gone, but having passed through death to life, to a forever life in Heaven. While this belief can be solid and of solace to many, to the parent who has to live without his or her son or daughter, it doesn't replace the desire to hold a child. No parent should have to outlive a child. We parents expect to grow old with our child, continuing to share our lives with each other.

There is no way to make the death of a child right or good or happy. I don't understand why some try by quipping thoughtless platitudes. "He's in a better place." "God only takes the best." "You'll see him again in Heaven." I have heard them all.

What can we do as maneuver through the next weeks? We can reflect on Tyreic's life. We can be grateful that he was with us, that he lived and loved and taught us and was a son and brother and friend. We can let his parents know that he will be remembered always.

One day we will be able to focus on the fun memories of him. One day we might be able to laugh.

But right now, we just need time to grieve, to ponder, and to reach out especially to those who love him, those he has left behind. Death separates us from the ones we cherish, but the power of our love keeps us strong in spite of our frailty.

~ Alice J. Wisler

Lasagna and a Birthday: Memories Around the Table

So the other day Katelyn's mom, my good friend, Jane, told me that there was a mistake in Memories Around the Table. I felt a pain rise in my stomach and then a sensation like hot liquid pour over me. Katelyn's birth date was incorrect. In fact, it's today, September 21-----not September 2 as printed in the cookbook.

Ugh.

Ugh.

Like anybody else, I hate making mistakes.

Especially this kind.

Jane reassured me not to worry about it.

So of course I am all about wanting to rectify the situation. I have two ways I would like you to help me in making things "right". The first is: I ask you to be sure and pencil-in a number 1 after the 2 in your copies for Katelyn's birth date. Next, I ask you to think about your loved one and do something in his memory today, something unique, something that embodies part of who she was here when she was with you.

I never had the privilege of meeting Katelyn, but I am told she was generous. Her mother has taken her legacy and is one of the most giving friends I know. She has supported me and my workshops and books in ways that are so awesome, I see God's light and love shine through her. And I see the love she has for her baby girl.

Happy Birthday in Heaven, Katelyn!

Here is her recipe for Microwave Lasagna from Memories Around the Table.



Katelyn Latta
September 21, 1985 ~ December 7, 2002

1 pound ground beef
1 (32 ounces) jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 lasagna noodles

Brown ground beef; drain. Add sauce and water. Mix all together and set aside.

In a bowl mix: 1 egg, pepper, ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese. Layer 1/2 cup sauce on bottom of 2- quart oblong dish, then add 3 uncooked noodles, 1/2 cheese mixture, 1/2 sauce, 3 noodles and cook on high 8 minutes, then medium low (50%) for 32 minutes.

Uncover and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

^*^*^

Katelyn prepared this lasagna recipe as a very young child. She loved to eat and she would eat almost anything. The weekend before her accident we celebrated her birthday with a group of young teen ladies by making Christmas chocolates and candies.

This recipe is simple and yummy. We used to use cottage cheese instead of ricotta and she never really measured anything. We would use homemade spaghetti sauce which already had the ground beef in it.

She arrived in Heaven 12/7/2002 and I don’t think we have made this recipe since. Maybe now is the time. We miss you baby girl!

~ Jane Latta

To order a copy of Memories Around the Table, please go to this blog post.

When Your Novels Go Out of Print

I remember . . . I recall how when I first started in this writing business the way I felt. I started with a two-book deal my agent Kristin got for me. That was at the beginning of 2007.

My first novel arrived, smelling of fresh paper and anticipation.

Rain Song did exceptionally well for whatever reason. It sold over 40,000 copies within the first year. I was too young in the industry to realize what a good number this actually is. There was a publishing snafu with the cover for my next book (book two of the two-book deal) and How Sweet It Is ended up at the last minute with a new cover (the one it has now). Believe it or not, covers do affect sales, as the VP of Marketing at Bethany House tried to explain to me.

But this post isn't about snafus or sales or . . . Well, it is about sales. Because after my next two-book deal in 2009, I found out that Rain Song was going out of print. How Sweet It Is followed. "They are available in e-book format," my editor told me.

Yikes! My babies, out of print? Why now, why me?

Years earlier, I'd read about how other authors were dismayed because their books were out of print. Now it was happening to me. And I didn't even own a Kindle or Nook, but obviously readers did. And they liked to purchase e-books.

The sale of books for electronic devises has become really real for me this month. Rain Song is at #6 today on the Christian Contemporary Romance rank on Kindle. How Sweet It Is is at #20, also on Kindle. But Amazon has no copies of either book in print to sell. And I do have readers who are like me and actually enjoy an old-fashioned book.

So, I have learned a few things.

1) People like their Kindles and Nooks.
2) People like print books.

What exactly is this post about?

Good question! I answer with:

1) How novels do go out of print, regardless of how authors feel about it.
2) How if you are smart, you can still get a print copy, and even one signed by the author!

Y'all can all be smart today because I am offering How Sweet It Is to you in print. This means that you can smell the fresh pages, turn them with your fingers, and use a bookmark which I will also send to you. Remember, there are not many of these paperback books around anymore.

How Sweet it is when you get a book for only $9.99! (Yep, no shipping costs either!)

So that is what I am offering to my readers this week. Hurry and send a check to the address below or use the Pay Pal button and purchase a real print copy (signed) of How Sweet It Is. Offer good in the USA only and only until September 15, 2013.

Order a copy or two or three! The more you order, the more you save.

From School Library Journal
"Atlanta chef Deena Livingston returns home to the North Carolina cabin she inherited from her grandfather to start a new life far from the heartbreak she suffered in Georgia. But instead of becoming isolated in self-pity, Deena finds her grandfather's will also stipulates that she work with local middle-school children. Written with a seasoning of Southern charm and populated with richly drawn characters, Wisler's second novel (after Rain Song) mixes romance, humor, and drama and tackles such issues such as child abuse and self-image. Sure to appeal to fans of Susan May Warren, Lisa Wingate, Angela Hunt, and Rene Gutteridge."

1 copy for $9.99
2 copies of $16.99
3 copies for $20.99

Send check to Alice Wisler at:
201 Monticello Avenue
Durham, NC 27707 USA

OR

use PayPal

How Sweet It Is

One copy $9.99 USD Two copies $16.99 USD Three copies $20.99 USD

Cooking with Author Lorilyn Roberts!

Who doesn't love reading a cookbook? From the time I was a little girl, I enjoyed looking at my mother's cookbooks with all the colorful pictures of recipes. The afternoons spent turning the pages and reading recipes were magical. My love of cooking started with those early days.

Food for Thought: Simple and Easy Recipes for Homeschooling Families by Lorilyn Roberts is a cookbook with tasty recipes. As the title indicates, the dishes are simple and easy to prepare. From the section, "Easy Meals for Young Cooks", one of my favorites is Sweet And Sour Edamame Salad. I am a big fan of edamame (must be my Japanese upbringing). I also made the chocolate chip cupcakes and for an extra kick, added butterscotch morsels to the batter in addition to the chocolate chips.



Each recipe comes with an encouraging quote or verse from the Bible and a photo of the prepared dish. As author Lorilyn says, "My hope is for homeschooling families to make fond memories in the kitchen that will be remembered long after the food is eaten. The best recipe of all is love from the heart wrapped in prayer."


Get your copy of Food For Thought today!

~ Alice J. Wisler has published three cookbooks in memory of loved ones---Slices of Sunlight, Down the Cereal Aisle and Memories Around the Table.

Show your favorite authors some love!

Once again my publishers placed my first novel Rain Song as a free download on Kindle. The rankings on Amazon were great. For two months, Rain Song was on the top-sellers listings on Amazon. There were days it was at #34 and then at #53. It was even #1 in Christian romance and contemporary. Free, of course. So in reality, my novel wasn't "selling" at all because how do you sell something if it is already being given away for free?

As of September 1, Rain Song is no longer free. I was certain that it would no longer be on the top charts of Amazon either.

Because it's true, people love free. People will take free over paid.

So I wrote the following yesterday:

Some readers are only willing to "purchase" a book if it is free. I think the logic behind the marketing department of a publishing house is that a customer will get the free book, read it, like it and then want to read other works by the author. In theory that sounds great. Many wrote to tell me how much they enjoyed Rain Song, people I didn't know before. As a result I have lots of new Facebook friends. Some said that they would be reading my other novels, now lumped together on Amazon as the Heart of Carolina Series.

Reviews went up, too. There were only 184 reviews two months ago and after my novel's two months of freedom, there are now 291 reviews. I imagine some are good in order to keep it at a four-star rating, and I know some are poor. (I have given up reading reviews because my reactions to the bad ones made my husband crazy.) I have found that many times when a book is free, readers don't treat it as an investment (because it's not) and might lightly scan it, not bother to get into it, but feel free enough to add a "not so favorable" review based on the one or two pages read.

I like seeing my books on any top chart, free or not. I thrive on hearing from readers. I like meeting new people.

But when folks ask what is next for me and when my next book is coming out, I want to say, "You know, you can't keep writing just cuz you want to. An author has to make money with her writing in order to continue to be picked up by publishers."

If you like an author's work, why not help an author by actually spending money on a book? If you like her writing style and story lines, why not promote her so that others can also be introduced to her work?

Rain Song is no longer a free Kindle read on Amazon. Free is over and with it, all the hype it generated. Now it goes back to being a book that you need cash to purchase. Even so, it's only $2.60.

The way I see it, if a reader really wanted to show me some love, she or he could skip the second cup of morning coffee at Starbucks or at the Circle K and buy Rain Song. Or any one of my other four novels--How Sweet It Is, Hatteras Girl, A Wedding Invitation and Still Life in Shadows.

And I just might be able to continue to write and make my publishers (Bethany House and River North/Moody) happy.

Update, update!
Today I checked my babies (i.e. books) rankings on Amazon and lo and behold! Yes, lo and behold. What did I find? Rain Song is being bought! By Amazon readers! It is now on the top-sellers for Kindle Paid Books. #8 in Christian contemporary fiction. How Sweet It Is is at #13 in the same category.

Did somebody get the word out that writers need to make a living? If that was you, thank you!

I hope the great rankings continue, but I'm not holding my breath. For right now, I am surprised, grateful, pleased, and ready for another cup of Earl Grey tea.

Rain Song on Amazon.