Debbie Kaufman

Please, join us as we welcome our friend Debbie Kaufman here under the tulip tree.  For those of you who don't know Debbie, here is a bit of background information.

Debbie Kaufman has always found a good book to be a great escape.  Years ago she failed to heed her mother’s advice when told to get her nose out of a book.  Instead, she parlayed her reading addiction into writing award-winning fiction.  Originally a Kentucky girl, Debbie now lives in Georgia with her own romance hero, her husband of over thirty years.  Her first novel is a Love Inspired Historical titled The Doctor’s Mission (Nov. 2011).

Debbie writes:
How do you write a missionary romance without readers ending up with 288 pages of a sermon? That was the question facing me when I wrote The Doctor’s Mission, a November release from Love Inspired Historical books. Because, when it comes to preaching, I prefer my sermons on Sundays at church—not in the books I read for pleasure.

The conclusion I came to was that you still write people. After all, if your hero was an architect, it wouldn’t be necessary to teach readers how to design a house or a convention center. So why does a missionary have to preach on the page?

He doesn’t! It doesn’t mean faith issues are absent completely, but you keep them in the context of the story and the character’s issues. And Pastor William Mayweather and Dr. Mary O’Hara do have their issues…

She squared her shoulders and tilted her chin higher than her five-foot four inches normally allowed her to see. “The Mission Board sent letters. Weren’t you informed of the impending arrival of Mrs. Smith and myself?”

His eyes flashed disbelief and despite his polite tone, she could see the resolve of his answer in the set of his jaw. “I was indeed informed of the arrival of two new mission workers, Miss O’Hara, one a physician. I just did not expect the Board to send women because of the deadly history of the jungle interior. I’m afraid you’ve been sent to the wrong place. I simply cannot take someone so delicate and unsuitable for the dangers to the compound at Nynabo.”

Unsuitable? She wanted to laugh at the irony of being found lacking after having just left a front line mobile field hospital for this man’s dangerous jungle. She took a deep breath to steady her voice. It wouldn’t do to sound shrill and create a negative opinion of herself. She needed this position; was, in fact, desperate for it.

“Obviously, Pastor Mayweather, we are both surprised to find someone whom we did not expect. But I assure you that while your opinion is no different than most other men in society, ones who do not carry Bibles at their ready, it is entirely unwarranted.”

As you can see, inspirationals may not be known for their explicitness, but they don’t have to pull their punches when it comes to conflict. And they don’t need to banter scripture in their dialogue.

Have you ever read an inspirational novel? If not, what’s stopped you from picking one up? If so, did you like it? Why or why not? Hey, go for honest here people! I love hearing about and understanding other people’s viewpoints. Besides, leaving a comment gets you entered into a random drawing for a copy of The Doctor’s Mission!

For more about Debbie and The Doctor’s Mission, check out her website: www.debbiekaufman.com or follow her on FaceBook at www.facebook.com/debbiekaufmanfanpage or Twitter, www.twitter.com/debbie_kaufman

A Computer for My Parents or How I made a BIG MISTAKE!

I probably made the biggest mistake in my entire life last weekend and I thought I would share it with you. I decided to purchase a home computer for my parents. It is to be a Christmas present. Now, at seventy-four and seventy-five, they have never owned a computer and have never seen the Internet. My mom gets exasperated when people ask her for her e-mail address, explaining to them that she doesn’t have time for such nonsense and that the world will one day be very sorry when all this “electronic mess” goes down the toilet. My father just smiles and nods; he knows better than to have an opinion. It is for him that I purchased the computer because he has said time and time again that he would like to surf the Internet. I am more than positive that my mother will also send e-mails, something I am sure I will regret for years to come.

So Saturday, I enlisted the help of my computer-savvy husband along with my sister, not so computer savvy. She and I are of the same opinion: machines hate us and we return the favor. Our destination was Best Buy because I wanted to purchase it from a place where my parents could go and ask questions if they had a problem (for this I shall probably be banned from Best Buy once my parents get their computer). The first decision was whether to purchase a laptop or a regular home computer. My husband said that a regular computer would be fine to start with because he really didn’t want to get into the business of explaining WiFi to my parents. The best idea would be to keep them chained to one spot and not allow them to wander all over the country with a laptop.

We settled on a nice computer and then got a salesgirl to come help us. She went back and looked up the computer – nope, not in stock, there were none in the warehouse and there would be no hope of getting one before Christmas. I started to ask then why is it out on the display but my husband said we would just get another one. We went through three different computers before she finally said we would be able to get it before Christmas. This did not bode well. The computer gods were already mocking us. We purchased extra software, a year of Geek Squad help and some other sundries for the computer. Then we went to wait in line, for thirty minutes, to pay for the blasted thing. By then I was so cranky I just wanted to leave. I had to endure listening a nerdy Aussie behind me complain about Americans and how slow we were. I couldn’t take it any more and told him that if he was so fast how about practicing it and getting the H*LL back to Australia. He went to another line. This computer business is going to get me banned in other places as well. I never did want to travel to Australia; they have those awful small-eyed brown snakes…

The computer is supposed to come in next week and we are going down to set it up for my parents. They live about two hundred miles from me. However, I can’t be running down there to fix whatever problem they have with it once we have it installed (Thank you God!). Yes, I called my mom to tell her what we had done so it’s not a surprise and, though, she was pleased with the “nice present,” she couldn’t possibly get a space cleared for the computer this week. Her garden club was coming for tea and she just did not have the time. Then she started complaining about: the logistics of getting Internet set up; that my father would waste all his time on it; that no one better expect her to spend a lot of time e-mailing; that other old women might send her pictures and stuff but she didn’t want That to start; yada, yada, yada… By the time I got off of my cell phone, my blessed sister was rolling with laughter in the back seat. If we hadn’t been travelling at sixty-five miles per hour, there would have been a sister fight, complete with hair pulling.

So here I sit, waiting for the computer to come in – kind of like waiting for Doomsday. What was I thinking? I have been having nightmares about hours of conversation trying to explain the workings of the mouse. Good thing I bought the tech support from the Geek Squad. They will rue the day they ever got interested in computers when my mother gets a hold of them…

Have you ever started off doing something that you thought was a nice gesture only to discover that maybe you made a big mistake? Let me hear your story.

She Walks Around Town With a Suitcase in Her Hand

Every town has a Delta Dawn. (You remember. "She's forty-one and he daddy still calls her 'baby'. All the folks around Brownsville say she's crazy." Etc., etc., etc.)

Well. Crazy is a relative term and used often when eccentric would do better. Having never spoken to Delta Dawn, nor being a trained professional in such matters, I can't speak to her case, but I have my opinions. I'm sure that comes as shock to everyone.

It wasn't enough for my town to have a Delta Dawn We had three, though I am pretty sure that by the time I took notice of them, they were a good bit older than forty-one and their daddy was long dead. They didn't look enough alike to be triplets but they were almost certainly stair step sisters.

They were tall and thin, and roamed around on foot wearing mid-calf length shirtwaist dresses and turned down white socks with canvas tennis shoes. (This was before the nineties, when it became the Muffy Matron thing to do to wear white Keds with summer cotton Laura Ashley dresses.) Their hair—mostly gray—curled at the tops of their shoulders and was held back with cloth stretchy headbands, though sometimes they wore French twists. Usually, they carried plastic flowered umbrellas to keep the sun off them. I once saw them carrying stacks of boxed Madame Alexander dolls. What was up with that? I wondered a little, but not much. Not enough to ever even discuss it with anyone I knew. I was busy dating, running the streets with my friends, then dating seriously, planning a wedding, and buying Keds and Laura Ashley dresses. Who had time?

I only remember having one conversation about them with anyone. I was in the checkout line of my little neighborhood grocery store and they were in front of me, each buying a stack of magazines.

After they had gone, I said to the clerk, "Do you know who they are? I've seen them all over town forever."

She said, "No, but they come in every month and buy the new Vogue, Mademoiselle, and Glamour. They all get a copy of each one."

"Why don't they just get one and share?" I asked her. That's a fault of mine. I ask people questions I know good and well they don't know the answers to. I can't help it. I keep thinking I might get lucky. And really, wasn't the bigger question why fashion magazines? I guess it made as much sense as Madame Alexander dolls.

It's been a long time since I've seen these women, a long time since I've thought about them. I'm not sure what made me think about them today. But I sure wish I knew their story. I'm going to ask around. I'll get back to you.

Whose story would you like to know?

Rhonda Nelson's Yummy Portuguese Bread

I bet this bread would be great to eat while snuggled up on the couch with a cup of tea while reading Rhonda's newest release, THE SUVIVOR.  The heat from the book would probably keep your bread and tea warm!

Rhonda writes:

Because the weather has turned cooler and nothing says fall like the smell of homemade bread cooking, I thought I’d share this recipe with y’all today. I made this myself over the weekend and it turned out so well I’ll definitely be making it again. It’s a very tasty, sturdy bread, which slices well and, as I discovered on Sunday morning, makes excellent French toast. This recipe is for a bread machine because the other way is too intimidating for me. Also, I don’t like to get my hands sticky and flour-y. *shudders* If you don’t have a bread machine, then I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I have no idea how to tell you to make it the way they did in the olden days, before bread machines. (Jean might have a suggestion, though.) Have a good weekend!

Portuguese Sweet Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk

• 1 egg

• 2 tablespoons margarine

• 1/3 cup white sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 3 cups bread flour

• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

1.) Add ingredients in order suggested by your manufacturer.

2.) Select "sweet bread" setting.

Rhonda Nelson Confesses

Please join us in welcoming Rhonda Nelson to our blog as she shares about her moral struggles and her  latest Blaze release, THE SURVIVOR.  Rhonda is giving away two copies of her book to lucky commenters tomorrow so please sure to comment to day, keep your fingers crossed, and check back tomorrow to see if you are one of the lucky winners!

Rhonda has also supplied a yummy recipe for tomorrow so be sure to come back and visit with us.

A Confession…


Y’all, I have something to tell you and I’m not proud of it.

For the most part, I think I’m an easy-going, kind-hearted and generous person. I’m quick to share my time, to take a meal when others are sick, to offer a word of encouragement. I donate to various charities, can’t walk past the Salvation Army buckets at Christmastime without feeling guilty, even if I’ve already given that day. According to the abbreviated version of the Myers-Brigg’s test my personality type is called “The Nurturer.”

Given that, one would think that I wouldn’t be stingy about anything, right? And yet, I am, y’all. When it comes to one thing, I completely lose my cool and any sense of sharing, even with those I love, those I care about.
And you know what that thing is? It’s…French Fries.

*hangs head in shame*

Yes, you read that right. It’s French Fries. I would gladly give the shoes off my feet to a total stranger if they needed them, but you let a friend or loved one try to sneak a French Fry from my plate and I become stingy, greasy-fingered b*tch. Seriously. I’m horrible! It’s not like I’m going to eat all the fries, or I’m in danger of starvation, or am never going to get another French Fry.
So…why? What is it about French Fries, of all things, that bring out the absolute worst in me? What does it matter if someone gets one measly fry?

Please tell me I’m not along in my stingy fry shame. Tell me there are more of you out there. We can form a self-help group. Create our own twelve step program.

Confess in the comments and I’ll pick two winners for my latest Blaze release, THE SURVIVOR, which is on shelves now.

Special thanks to Jean, Stephanie, Kathy and Cheryl for having me here today!

Regaining Balance

Life forces us to put things in balance. That balancing act happens whether we're ready or not.

(Jean showed off some of her Halloween decorations and I thought, Scooby Dooby Do! Why not post my front door display to show how I'm restoring the balance in my life.)



Balance is a juggling act, one that entails dropping one thing for another, without upsetting the balance of the whole. You cannot have Ying without Yang, Abbott without Costello, or happiness without pain.

According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase And Fable, A Treasury of Words That Have a Tale to Tell, by E. Cobham Brewer, Balance symbolizes 'the ancient zodiacal "Libra" constellation between Scorpio and Virgo. It's the 7th sign of the zodiac, which now contains the constellation Virgo, and which the sun enters a few days before the autumnal equinox.'

There's nothing like lunch with a friend that includes a pumpkin cookie to restore balance to the soul! Ah, balance. Heavenly day!



And in keeping with Persian mythology, balance comes at 'the Last Day. It will be a huge balance, as big as the vault of heaven, displayed. One scale pan will be called light, the other darkness. In the former, all good will be placed, in the latter, evil, and everyone will receive his award according to the verdict of balance.'

Managing time becomes critical when life is out of balance. I learned this best while experiencing severe headaches and neck pain the past two years. Now 9 weeks post-neck surgery I'm beginning to feel myself again. My love for homemaking and crafting is returning fullforce. Laughter comes easily. I'm feeling the urge to bake, create, and explore. More importantly, the clearer my mind gets, I'm rediscovering my passion for writing.

Check out this cornucopia I made to sit on top of a quilted leaf runner. Perfect balance, isn't it?


And as with any of these, skill is a practiced art that must be utilized or lost. Upsetting that balance, upsets the whole, body, mind, and spirit.



Did you sign up for NaNoWriMo, which started November 1st? The month long accountability process can be an excellent way to regain balance and structure in a writer's life. Ultimately, I didn't sign up for this 50,000 word-in-a-month challenge, but instead have concocted one of my own to squeeze out time needed to create a balance between life and writing.

What do you do to keep your life in balance?

Zombie Apocalypse - Your Government is Ready!

As I am writing this on Halloween night, I pause because the animals are acting strangely. I hear faint scratches on the front door then pounding. The door is shaking and about to give in to whoever or whatever is outside. Too afraid to get up from the computer, I peer out the window and…. ZOMBIES! All over my front lawn! What to do, what to do? I nervously wring my hands and pace the floor until I remember: the federal government has already figured this one out for me! I turn to my handy-dandy zombie handbook and relax. I am already prepared. Now all I have to do is head to the basement, barricade myself in and wait on those guys from the CDC to figure this whole mess out so I can go back to my writing (yes this is fiction – who ever heard of the government figuring something out? LOL).




Seriously, the CDC issued a Zombie preparedness document on their blog website. See: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp
It is full of interesting tidbits on how to prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse. I was at first incredulous that the federal government, in a time of down-sizing and cut-backs, would waste money on making handbooks, getting a comic book written and publicizing about a possible Zombie apocalypse. But then I thought about it. This was a very smart marketing ploy to get people to be prepared in the case of an emergency, such as a hurricane or tornado. Actually it’s also kind of cute. The comic book is well done and would speak to a lot of people who would not read about emergency preparedness in any other circumstance. After all, you have to be prepared for a zombie emergency, wouldn’t you? See: http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/documents/11_225700_A_Zombie_Final.pdf This comic takes a while to download but it's fun and worth the wait.





Last April, Alabama was hit hard by a tornado outbreak that lasted all day long. Thousands were without power and basic essentials. Creating a handbook, which in reality speaks to emergency preparedness, like this is a very clever idea. Maybe more people will read this and then have the essentials in-stock if we, God forbid, ever have to live through another disaster.

Now that I am prepared, I just worry that if we were to suffer through a zombie outbreak how would I be able to identify them? We have a lot of locals around here who might be iffy…

So are you prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse? Did you have your emergency preparedness kit ready on Halloween night? Did you see any zombies? I am sure there is a link on the CDC blog to report one if you did.