 And if you find yourself puzzled about presents, just remember:
Books make good gifts! (And e-books save shipping!)
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Happy St. Nicholas Day!
I think you can call St. Nicholas the prototype of Santa. St. Nicholas was born wealthy and his parents died while he was young. He committed to obeying Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor” and used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. (If Scrooge was his guardian things might not have turned out so well.) There are many legends of his good deeds, and some include him tossing coins of gold into the windows of needy families, which landed in their shoes/stockings that were left in front of the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 6* and children leave shoes or stockings outside of their door or on the hearth. The next morning, if they were good, they may find a coin or simple gift, and often a candy cane (which represents his crozier, or staff/shepherd’s crook). Do you celebrate St. Nicholas Day? *Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, observed on 5 December or on 6 December in Western Christian countries In the world of Indie writers, there are a wealth of well-written books -- as well as some that are not so good. The Indie BRAG Medallion awards were established to help readers find talented self-published authors. To get one of these honors, the book is reviewed by a team of independent readers who rate it and decide if the book is worth the award. I'm pleased to announce that my second novel, Unexpected Impact, has been chosen for a BRAG Medallion! See it and read more about Indie BRAG here.  About the novel:
After selling her sports car for a hybrid and choosing her career over a long-distance relationship, Sophia’s life unravels. She’s laid off from the job she loves, then finds her sister is getting married. To complicate matters, her sister’s prospective in-laws are not thrilled with the match and she’s counting on Sophia to help win them over. Sophia manages to land a new job, but what appears to be a glitzy public relations assignment turns out to have unexpected challenges. A mercurial CEO and difficult vice presidents complicate her assignment. And danger lurks when she gets too close to the truth behind the profits. With a cast of colorful characters, the plot unfolds with action, humor, and a touch of romance. This is the second book in the Scoops and Schemes Series but can be enjoyed as a standalone novel. Check out Unexpected Impact and some of the other great books on the site! Thanks for reading, Nancy I'm playing with some social media posts for my new novel, Andromache's Story: What Really Happened in Troy. Which do you like best? This is number one:  This is two:  And this is number three.  They all go to my book page in the Kindle Store.
Andromache's Story grew from my early fascination with mythology. When I was in middle school, I found a copy of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology in the bookcase at the top of the stairs in my parents’ house. Being a bookworm, once I opened it, I was delighted to delve into a whole new world, all the gods and goddesses, their powers and foibles. Though I enjoyed the Iliad, I always felt sorry for Andromache, Hector’s wife. The fact that Homer describes her conversation with Hector about her worries gave me the idea that she was more vocal than the usual Trojan woman of her time -- and there was much more to their relationship and her character.  But the idea for this book lay dormant until about five years ago when I tried voice-dictating the original manuscript. If you have ever used voice dictation, it doesn’t always record your intended words and the result can be confusing but sometimes amusing. And at least it was a start! Once I finished the Scoops and Schemes series, I finally decided it was time to finish this draft. While working on it, I found myself thinking about things like: how did an ancient city stand a long siege? Why didn’t they give Helen back? Why did they let Hector, their prince and champion, remain outside the gates to fight Achilles alone? How did Achilles die from just an arrow to his heel? These questions, along with helpful feedback from my husband, daughter, sisters, and writer’s group helped to make this a better story, one that is about love, loss, loyalty, resilience, and misplaced trust. I hope you enjoy reading it! I'm reading Overstory by Richard Powers.
I'm at the part where they are trying to save giant Redwood trees. Now the trees are threatened again, and the enemy is fire and #climatechange. But firefighters are trying to save these living gems. They have wrapped the base of the world’s largest tree in a fire-resistant blanket as they tried to save a famous grove of gigantic old-growth sequoias from wildfires burning in California’s rugged Sequoia national park. You can read more here: https://buff.ly/2VSdXqQ Have you read Overstory? What did you think of the book? I looked at my minion tee shirt today and noticed it said 2013. That makes it 8 years old. I can still remember when I bought it; we were looking for curtains at JC Penney's (which I think we didn't buy). The tee shirts were hanging facing the isle and caught my eye. Since I loved minions, the rest is history. It's not by any means my oldest piece of clothing, and that started me thinking about the comfort of old clothes, their stories, and how some items stay with you. How old is your oldest tee shirt? Does the shirt have a story?   My new novel, Andromache's Story - What Really Happened in Troy, is a twist on the classic Greek tale.
The narration brings the old story to life with realistic characters and a touch of humor. You won't want to miss it! Join my email list for announcements and advance previews or pre-order today on Amazon. The annual summer sale at Smashwords.com is on this July! If you like to read e-books, this is a great opportunity to load up your e-reader with free and discounted books. Most e-books have options for online reading as well as .pdf, .epub, and .mobi (Kindle compatible). My novel, The Essence, is on sale -- free -- this month so this link is a good place to start: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1922 Here's an excerpt from the novel:  Happy Reading! May 25th is National Wine Day. In honor of the day, here are a few quotes from famous authors: "Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing." – Ernest Hemingway "Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know." – John Keats "Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle." – Paulo Coelho, "Brida" In my books, the characters love wine as well: In "The Essence", Sophia avoids red wine. But she loves champagne and has some really good vintages in "Unexpected Impact". Quotes thanks to : https://www.ibtimes.com/national-wine-day-2021-quotes-12-sayings-celebrate-ancient-beverage-3207941
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Nancy MacCreeryInsights on writing, characters, humor and other tidbits from the author of the "Scoops and Schemes" series of novels. Join the conversation on Facebook !
Nancy's books are available for Kindle, Nook and other e-readers. Find retailers here.
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