It's Release Day! Mr. Portly Finds His Purpose

“Come on, Mr. Portly,” the Lady said. “You can do it!”

“Can I?” he thought glumly. “Aren’t Pugs Useless, after all?”

Many of you have been waiting for this day for some time! Thanks for being patient with me and for cheering me on as I navigated the tricky (for me!) waters of children's book formatting. What a true delight it is to present to you this new title today!

When Miss Cat-Next-Door informs Mr. Portly the Pug that he is Useless, Mr. Portly is heartbroken. He decides to find out for himself whether or not the Cat is telling the truth...and discovers that everyone - even the most seemingly-useless among us - has worth.

A sweet and encouraging read-aloud story for children, the childlike, and all pug-lovers!

This book is available in paperback only, and it is currently available exclusively through Amazon. My hope is that sharing and reading it with your children or grandchildren will bless you with sarcasm-free, humorous enjoyment that also encourages each of us to be thankful for the worth God with which our Creator has endowed us. :-) 

Find MR. PORTLY FINDS HIS PURPOSE here (clickable link):
http://amzn.com/1518861482

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Grace and peace,
Alicia

First Friday: November 2015

What a month of activity October was! :-) From helping my dear sister and her family move halfway across the country to finishing up the launch of All Our Empty Places, October fairly bulged with hustle-and-bustle. But here I am, in one piece :-) -- and looking forward to what this new month holds.

What am I looking forward to in November? 

What am I doing now?

THE SENSES
Scents: The new sharpness in the air as the last leaves drift from the trees / the smell of roasting turkey and pumpkin pie / the dusty odor of the earth as we finish tucking our gardens and yard to bed for the winter.
Sounds: The late fall rains against the window panes / the melodies of hymns our family sings at Thanksgiving / the happy laugh of the robin when he lands in our bare crab-apple tree
Sights: The joyful, well-loved faces around our holiday table / filled boxes for Operation Christmas Child (click to find out more) / the clear skies of a late autumn night

IN LIFE
Bible: I'm reading the Book of Judges - written so long ago, yet with messages so pertinent to my life today.
Books: I'm still reading Gold by Moonlight (taking my time to mine it well) and am also reading Living Water by Brother Yun, a Chinese house-church pastor and survivor of intense persecution. His book is truly excellent - Every Christian should read it. Expect to hear more about this one soon. :-)
Writing: I finished up the main work for "the pug book" -- Some of you may remember that I ran into severe formatting issues last year with it and never finished it. Well, I decided to try again :-) and am happy to say that this little fun read-aloud about a pug who *thought* that he was useless should be ready for release within a few weeks, Lord willin' and the crick don't rise. :-)
I'm also working with intensity on A Time of Grace Book 3. If I come to your mind, would you keep my writing on this one in your prayers? Thank you! <3

What are you looking forward to, friends? :-)

Grace and peace through Him who died for us,
Alicia

Writing Update: In Which I Discuss Sequels, Themes, Pugs, and Regency Books :-)

THE SEQUEL

Well, I promised you all a writing update this Friday -- particularly one about The Sequel to The Fragrance of Geraniums! :-) {Just typing that makes me smile... :-)}

I'm loving returning to these characters - Yes, even though The Sequel is {planned to be} a stand-alone {i.e. you shouldn't have to read The Fragrance of Geraniums before reading this one to understand what is going on in the story}, there are several returning characters whose stories are not quite finished yet. :-) Thus far, Sarah, Grace, Sam, and Paulie are all "making the cut" - These four are the main focus of The Sequel.

The story begins shortly after the funeral described near the end of The Fragrance. Earlier this week, I began writing, intent on packing away a goodly number of words by Friday.

That did not happen. About 1600 words in, I realized that one of two things was going to happen:

1. I would write more slowly and "figure things out" as I went along -- and probably publish this one in the mid-to-late summer or fall.
2. I would stop now and plot/outline deeply and thoroughly -- and probably publish this in late spring/early summer.

I chose the second option. Which means that you won't be seeing that "word count meter" on the sidebar of this blog moving much - if at all - for a week or so as I complete my outlining process. :-)

But I would like to let you in on a key theme for The Sequel. It comes from one of my favorite devotional authors, and I felt that the Lord really pressed it on my heart as I've been praying and thinking about this sequel:

NOW ABOUT THAT "PUG BOOK" ...

I said it would be out in January...

That changed to February...

And now I'm thinking March might be the month of publication for Mr. Portly the Pug Finds His Purpose. 

But I'm not promising anything! ;-) The formatting for this one has been a steeeeep learning curve for me, and it's still not finished. {I thought that I had it "right" a few weeks back - and then I found that, quite simply, it won't work the way I thought it would.} So, I'm persevering and will alert you when the book is ready to go. Everyone who is waiting for this one, thanks for being so patient with me! :-)

AND JEMIMA?

The second book will probably be out this summer. :-) I'm very enthused about getting back into the Sudbury family's home!

Grace and peace,

Alicia

COVER REVEAL: Mr. Portly the Pug Finds His Purpose

I'm so glad to reveal the cover for the new book {That makes me smile!} which my dear husband and I have been working on. Inspired by our own darling ;-) and often malfunctioning puglet, this story chronicles what happens when The Next-Door-Cat informs Mr. Portly that he is "useless." What follows is the tale of how everyone - everyone - everyone has a unique purpose - the trick is, finding out what that is. :-)

So, without further ado, I present to you the cover for Mr. Portly the Pug Finds His Purpose: A Read-Aloud Story about Embracing Individuality

Release Date: February 2015, Lord willin' and the crick don't rise! :-)

I'd love to hear what you think of the cover!

Grace and peace,

Alicia