Photo Friday: Pride

November 14, 2014Leave a comment

One team. One dream.

That’s what you’d see if you drove past my neighbors’ house. They – and many other people in our area – have a sign in their yard with those words scrawled in blue and silver marker. And for all the Rebel fans out there, that dream is only one game away from becoming reality.

I don’t normally get worked up about sports, but when it comes to my home school district, well, that’s different. I’ve spent the last twelve years bouncing between the two (big) towns in our school district. I grew up in one, I moved to the other. Moved back to my hometown, then moved back to my adopted hometown. I am a proud Rebel.

Our football team made the state playoffs this year. We played the first two playoff games at home and won big, then traveled last week for the quarterfinals, where we won again. Today we played at the UNI Dome in the semi-finals and won. The team we played today? We beat them 43-0 back in September. The win today wasn’t nearly as big, but it was a win, and we haven’t been to the finals in ten years.

Stand up! Be proud! Say your name! Out loud! WE ARE THE REBELS!

Prior to that, it had been decades since we were in the finals. Our school district as it is now didn’t even exist then.

So to say I’m proud of our boys in blue today is something of an understatement. I am beyond thrilled that we’re in the finals. I’m already praying for another win, because one of the teams we may face is undefeated (we’re not). Go big blue!

The picture above is from last night’s pep rally (sadly, I couldn’t go to today’s game, though Seymour took the kids, who I’m sure are ecstatic). I think the caption says all that needs saying. 😀

Okay, I lied. I’m going to leave you with the lyrics to our school song, because it’s going to be running through my head all day now. And if I can find a link to a clip of our band playing it, I’ll share that, too.

School Song by Gerald Ramsey

We are the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Rebels,
As proud as we can be!
Gladbrook-Reinbeck Rebels,
Fighting for victory!
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Win that mighty battle,
That is our Rebel cry,
It’s on to fight!
Win!
Victory’s ours,
As we lift that banner high!

Go Rebels!

Cover reveal: The Fifth Watcher!

November 14, 2014November 13, 20147 Comments

image for website One of the best things about participating in blogging events is all the awesome people you meet. I met fellow author Melissa Barker-Simpson back in April during the Blogging 101 challenge, and have enjoyed getting to know her a bit. Melissa fills her days with language and words so she doesn’t get lost among the clouds. She is an interpreter by day, and a pen-wielding conjurer by night. Of course the only thing she conjures belong between the pages of a book, but it doesn’t make them any less compelling.

Her most important job, as far as she sees it, is being a mother to two impish teenagers. They keep her feet firmly on the ground, are a huge source of joy (despite the rampant emotions) and allow her to live out her fantasy of being a musketeer!

She spends her time living between different communities, one of them being the (mostly) online writing community and giving back the magic that has touched her life.

Melissa runs a series of blogs, has a thing for collaboration, and enjoys to support others as often as possible. She’s got a new book coming out soon, and you know me – I love to help an author out. So it’s with great pleasure and much excitement that I present to you the cover for Melissa’s latest book, The Fifth Watcher, Book One in her Worlds Apart series!

Behold, the pretty, pretty cover …behind the cut!

Just in time for the holidays…

November 13, 20149 Comments

mark-in-gear-edited My friend, Mark Hunter, is having a books signing at the Noble County Public Library in Albion, Indiana. He’ll have copies of all his books on hand, including his latest, The Notorious Ian Grant.

The library is at 813 E. Main St. in Albion, and the event will be from 3:00-6:00 p.m. on Monday, November 17. Stop by and pick up some great books, chat with the author, and maybe even learn a thing or two about the history of Albion.

For more information, check out the Facebook event page or Mark’s blog.

Photo 365 #98: Warmth

November 13, 2014November 14, 20142 Comments

I used to go to a lot of horseshoe tournaments. My ex-husband played in as many tournaments as he could get to (still does), which meant I spent the summer baking in the heat at tournaments all over the state. It was a lot of fun, if you don’t mind the heat and the humidity, and sometimes I miss going. It was fun sitting around chatting with the other horseshoe wives (the ones who didn’t also pitch), and sometimes I’d go exploring whichever town we happened to be in.

The tournaments that were probably the most fun were at the state fair. They hosted tournaments everyday, with the state championships on the weekends. The horseshoe courts there used to be in a high-traffic area right across from the nicest bathrooms on the fairgrounds and close to food, so it was about as perfect a location as you can get.

One Last Conversation on the Courts

But eventually, the fair board decided something else should occupy the space next to Little Hands on the Farm, something more farm-related than an old farmers’ game, and the horseshoe courts were relocated, making way for an animal nursery. It’s a very nice nursery, but I do miss the courts being centrally located.

As we were leaving the fairgrounds after the last tournament at the old courts, I snapped this picture of the scoreboards. The way they were all out there in the middle, I had the feeling they were a bunch of old friends, standing around discussing all they’d seen in the past ten days: all the ringers, the near-misses, the celebrations and heartbreaks. Despite its bittersweet quality, this is one of my favorite pictures ever; it just feels so dynamic, as if the scoreboards had really come to life.

Photo 365 #97: The natural world

November 12, 20149 Comments

Living in a rural area is nothing if not fantastic for capturing wonderful moments in the life cycle of nature. As evidenced by my deep and abiding love for skyscapes, I’ve got no shortage of inspiration for nature-based images. And since it’s hard for me to choose just one, here are several!

Beautiful…and treacherous.

Our yard is littered with pine cones.

“Come into my chamber,” said the spider to the fly.

Just another beautiful summer day.

Tasty harvest. 🙂

This is completely unacceptable at this point in the year.

These are only a handful of the nearly two thousand pictures I’ve taken of the world around me this year alone. I feel blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

Photo 365 #96: Landmark

November 11, 20146 Comments

I pass this barn every day on my commute. Something about it stirs my soul; it just seems so forlorn sitting there among the weeds and dilapidated old farm equipment.

It’s a landmark for me because it means I’ve nearly reached my destination, that safety and friends are just a few more miles down the road. It’s strange how such a sad old building can convey such comfort.

It’s all about the people, people!

November 10, 20143 Comments

I just got the most awesome, profound comment from Justine Manzano on my post about connection. Click the link to read the whole thing, because it’s a fantastic comment.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a snippet:

Seeing people is important. It makes us kinder. It makes us wiser. And it makes us open our hearts to different people.

See? Toldja it was awesome. 🙂

Also, you should totally follow her blog because she’s a rockin’ author and a fantabulous friend. Trust me, you won’t regret it. 🙂

Photo 365 #95: Connect

November 10, 201415 Comments

Connection in a digital world. It’s an interesting concept, isn’t it? All the social networks urge you to connect with others, though how deep that connection really is really varies. For me, connection is about emotion, how those “friends” on Facebook and Twitter and Google+ and all those other places make me feel on a visceral level. I’m happy to say that those friends most often make me feel a wonderful sense of community, that I’m part of something larger than myself. So many of those friends help celebrate highs and sympathize with lows, and it’s hard to imagine life without them.

connection

I almost posted this image last week…

Photo 365 #94: Crossed lines

November 9, 2014November 10, 20146 Comments

It’s been almost a week since the elections here in the U.S. and I’m still upset. I’m not upset that my candidate lost (even though he did), or that two more years of Congressional gridlock are likely in store. What has me so upset is political action, believe it or not, action like this:

politics

This is a flyer I received somewhere around the first of the month. I actually received it twice, presumably because I have more than one child, but that’s no the point. It looks legit, right? I didn’t notice the return address till after I’d opened it and started reading.

This flyer didn’t come from my local county health agency.

Continue reading →

First page critique blog hop!

November 8, 2014November 18, 201432 Comments

The lovely and talented Michelle Hauck is running a blog hop to critique first pages and I am super excited to be taking part! If you’d like to join in the fun, here’s the post with all the details. Methinks the first page of The Price of Mercy could use a bit of help, but I’m not entirely sure where, so if you’ve got ideas on what would take it from blah to AMAZING, please, drop ’em in the comments below!

***

Revision (The revised version is a bit longer than 250 words (think ~280), but I wanted to include everything I covered in the original entry, so you get an extra thirty words of fun). 🙂

Adult Fantasy

“Please, your Highness, have mercy. I beg you.”

“I would very much like to, sir,” Prince Vegin said. Light filtered into the gallery through twin rows of stained glass windows, exaggerating the poor farmer’s haggard appearance. “I sympathize with you, but drought or no, you’ve still got taxes to pay. I cannot simply let you go.”

“Your Highness, I’ll do anything – anything at all – only let me go back to my family.” Dirty tears carved grooves through the layers of grime on his face, but hope shone in his eyes.

Before Vegin could reply, the chamber’s heavy wooden door burst open. The prince flinched as his father stalked into the room, the queen trailing behind him. King Tol’s gaze swept the room as the court fell to its knees. The guards scattered about the room stood a little straighter, not wanting to provoke the king’s famous temper. The peasant trembled before him, suddenly afraid for his life. The prince groaned inwardly – he hated fighting with his father, especially in public.

“Vegin!” Tol’s voice boomed through the chamber. “If you’re not going to sentence this man, I’ll be more than happy to do it for you.”

The prince’s eyes narrowed.