Climbing and Frank Peretti - two things to be excited about!

My reader numbers have been climbing.  Not just a little.  They've climbed a lot!  And, I have no idea why.  I only know .... woohooo!!!!  I'm THRILLED about it!

I also noticed an increase on the Hub as well, and I'm just as puzzled about it happening there too.

At best guess, it's a God thing.  That really is the best guess I have.  I don't have any other ideas to account for it.

To my knowledge, I haven't suddenly morphed into a super-writer-extraordinaire.  I'm still simply laying it out the way I feel "how" to, and hoping for the best.  But, whatever it is, something has changed, and in a good way.

Frank Peretti, Novelist

I finished and published a review earlier this evening, on my very favorite Christian fact and fiction author, Mr. Frank Peretti.  Peretti writes from one zone to the other, in reference to the age of his readers, and he always writes fearlessly and out of the box. 

I've read nearly every bit of work Mr. Peretti has ever had published, and I've never been disappointed with any of it.  Not once.  Each book is written by a master word smith, who's been affectionatly nicknamed, "the sanctified Stephen King."

I'm a Stephen King fan too, but my admiration for Peretti's work rates right up there with my love for the U.S. Marines.  (It just doesn't get much higher than that.)  His work doesn't take a back seat to anyone's, other than perhaps the biblical scribes, lol.

Every generation has those extraordinary contributors.  Peretti is one of ours.

If you can manage a bit of time to stop by the Hub and read my review, I'll be most appreciative.  I love to shout it out when there's excalibur work about, and Heaven forbid you miss out on  Mr. Peretti.

Available at
frankperetti.com

While I was finishing up his latest novel, Illusion, during my down-time on the night shift, S.Elf brought my attention to something regarding St. Patrick's Day, that I never remember learning.  She said the reason behind a clover leaf representing the holiday was because St. Patrick, during his ministry, used a clover to represent the Holy Trinity.  One leaf with three distinct parts.  I also noticed they seem to make three hearts that join at the center of the leaf.  I wish I could be so brilliant. Smart guy, that St. Pat. 

S.Elf - St. Patrick's Day 2012

And, true to form, S.Elf was in her holiday-trappings element making us smile with her deco and holiday-wear.  S.Elf is of Irish descent, so she was really doing it up big in her honoring of St. Pat. 

Green is my favorite color, and I was amazed when I got to work, saw S.Elf dressed accordingly, and realized I'd worn NOTHING green.

Therefore, I did what I do ... I whined about it.  S.Elf was totally prepared.  She started digging in her bag, produced a smaller bag, and pulled out a necklace for me, and said, "There ya go.  Now you've got green."  I ended up with an "Ooooooo - SPARKLY!!" clover leaf necklace that nearly matches my eyes.  You know it.  I was beaming! 

My St. Pat's necklace, compliments of S.Elf!

Monster Zero and a green-leafed necklace with sprinkles on top does a happy femme make!

I'm so impressed with peeps that seem to think of everything.  S.Elf's one of those sorts of people.  She's got this special gift in looking after folks, and somehow she anticipates what they might be needing before they realize they need it, or want it.  I think, when I grow up, I wanna be a whole lot like her. (Grin!)  Joking aside, she's got some wonderful qualities that all of us would do good to adopt if we don't have them ourselves.


I love to walk in and see her parked at a station near mine.  And, I have an equal amount of separation anxiety when she leaves in the morning before my shift finishes out.

Dr. Darla and S.Elf
I get a really big smile every time I see this pic. :)

With all the photo-taking I do of the girls, I've been proud of myself for maintaining S.Elf's anonymity.

We have to get a little creative, but we manage to pull it off.

Of course, if I keep putting her pic up in my blogs and she may end up with a brand new stalker.

However, I have so much fun getting shots of them, that I can't seem to help myself.  So, they'll just keep on getting included until they make me stop. 

Lethal Leprechaun,
this one's for you. :)

I'm getting much better with my camera ops, however, I'm still no match for my sister.  And, that's ok.  I'm not in competition with her, just having some fun and adding a little color to my writing.

Time is flying by.  My birthday will be here soon, and I STILL don't have even ONE of my book projects completed.  However, I've at least made progress and they're not stuck on a shelf getting dusty and covered with mold. 

Writing articles and blogs is a fast process for me.  Writing fiction is a whole 'nother story.  As I said to Alastar Packer, I actually have to work at it, because I have to think through a great deal of it, rather than the words simply flying from my head to my hands and onto the keyboard.

When I finish a chapter, I'm so exhuberant I feel like I should throw a party, even though I have loads more chapters to go.  Word by word, graph by graph and chapter by chapter will eventually get me there.  That and a whole lot of folks who love me enough to pray for God to help me with the effort. 

It pays to have friends who care enough to pray for you consistently. :)

Up a tree ....

The last photo I've included is simply to show you what it probably looks like through the eyes of a Texas squirrell in my backyard, heading up a Texas Oak.

I must say, I'm glad I'm not a squirrell.  I'd be the only squirrell in the yard wearing a parchute.

This tree is really tall.  In fact, there's over five feet of it that you're not seeing because I was standing when I took the picture.  I get a bit dizzy just looking at it.

Hope your weeks off to a great start.  And, hope you'll take a little time to check out my article, and then dive into some of Mr. Peretti's work, if you haven't already.  And, if you have, but haven't snagged his latest addition, Illusion is a phenominal read that I highly recommend.  Also, in the comments section at the bottom of the article please take a moment to have a look at author Sunnie Day's comment.  I laughed out loud when I read it.  And, I'll bet after reading it yourself, you'll never get another shot without thinking of Sunnie Day! 

His books are available for purchase through links in his website and are available in both printed version as well as e-reader.  When it comes to e-readers, I'm going to recommend a Nook over the Kindle.  In event you haven't used one, Nook lets you turn the pages.

Of course, my best recommendation would be to get the printed version.  I'm alwayssss going to recommend you get the printed version, lol.

Now then, there's rain, thunder and lightening going off outside.  And, as much as storms make me anxious, I've gotta call it a night.  Things have calmed down enough outside that I believe it's safe to snooze for a while, and I'm whipped.

So, God bless you, thank you for reading, and don't forget to thank a Vet at your next opportunity!

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