EBOOK SALE

Beginning Monday, June 30 at 8:00 a.m. PST until July 3 at 8:00 a.m PST, Heartsong by Nicola Furlong will be on sale at Amazon for .99. This is only at Amazon and only for those days. If you haven't read this book yet, now is the time to get it for less than a dollar. I recommend this book, not because I published it, but because it is a very good book. After you have read it, please leave a comment on Amazon. I don't think you will regret paying this small ammount.

                                                    


Some families have hope. Others have faith. The Shepherds of rural Oregon have Faith, Hope and Charly, three quirky sisters whose lives change forever when they reluctantly answer a personal calling to help other make amends. 

Thirty-something single parent Charly Shepherd is satisfied with her life raising two children and thousands of plants in her family owned Sweet Shepherd Nursery. Then tragedy strikes. As she and her siblings struggle to keep the nursery going, Charly begins to believe her family’s destiny is greater than raising flowers. When the three sisters reluctantly delve into family secrets to help their ailing father fulfill a promise, their lives change forever as they pursue a new inspirational path of discovery, heartache, humor and redemption. 

ONE LITTLE GIRL

I've become acquainted with a little girl about three years old whose name is Georgia. This girl has big eyes and a ready smile. She also encourages me more than I can ever say. Let me tell you what I know about Georgia.

Last year, Georgia was diagnosed with kidney cancer. At age two, she had one kidney removed and began chemo. A lot of things happened and she was in the hospital much longer than she should have been. You know how when you meet someone with difficulties you tell them, "You're in my prayers." Then a lot of times you forget about it. Well, Georgia steals your heart. You remember her and all the problems she is going through for one so young.

Kids have a way of bounding back, and Georgia has. She is growing and smiling. She doesn't talk much to us, but I'm sure she will in time, and it may take several trips to McDonald's for her to do that. Her family has been through a lot, but they have not blamed God. They have remained strong in their faith.

As Georgia ate her second bag of french fries, I thought of what a wonderful little girl she is. Her hair is beginning to come back in and it looks to be curly. She won't be wearing the scarf much longer. She's trying to play with the other kids and laughing. It's such a wonderful thing to hear a child laugh and much better when that child has been through so many trials.

God has certainly blessed Georgia and her family. He's also blessed me by getting to know her. I see optimism in her little face. I see a future. I see love of her family and love of God. I have been blessed to know this little girl with the big eyes and bright smile. I also got a hug and a kiss.

I can't wait to see her again Wednesday. I want to see another smile.  

SALE GOING ON NOW

That's right, Mantle Rock Publishing is having a big sale on two books. The sale begins today, June 13, 2014 and goes through Sunday, June 15, 2014. I will close the sale at 10:00 p.m. Sunday night.

Susannah's Hope and Heartsong are on sale for $10.99 each. That's a great price. You can order them through Mantle Rock Publishing. Go to www.mantlerockpublishing.com and click on the "more" button, then on the "store" button. Proceed with the ordering and I'll get them out to you asap.

These are two very good books and you can't buy them anyplace else at this price. So, scoot on over and get some great books at a discount.

BOOK NEWS AND MORE

This past month seems like a blur. So much has happened in our family and with our publishing company. I really don't know where to begin.

First, Mantle Rock Publishing now has a store. Yes, a store where you can order the books we publish. I think I may have written this before, but I'm not sure. You can go to www.mantlerockpublishing.com and click on the "more" button. Under it, you will find "store." Three books are listed so far, but I will be putting another one on later this month. It's a good way to help our authors get their books out.

On May 3, I had a wonderful booksigning at one of our local stores, Shop-A-Rama. It's located about three miles from where I live in the community of Draffenville. Shop-A-Rama advertises to have 50,001 items in their store. They now have 50,004 because three of my books are sold there. It was a fun day and I met a lot of nice people.

Heartsong by Nicola Furlong was released May 16. This is such a good book. My husband's words when he read it were, "I like that book. It wasn't full of gushy romance." It is a good contemporary lighthearted book. I liked it a lot! Good job, Nicola.

May 17, our oldest granddaughter, Savannah, graduated from Goodpasture Christian School. She will enter David Lipscomb University in the fall on a music scholarship. She is very talented, but she wants to use her talent to help others. She wants to be a musical therapist. This is a fairly new field, but very rewarding.

We came home on the 18th after enjoying a "Senior Lunch" at the church she attends. Northside church of Christ did a wonderful job honoring their seniors. It was so much fun to see the pictures.

As soon as we got home, I began getting ready for surgery on the 19th. This was the tenth abdominal surgery for me and I pray it is the last. I'm tired of belly pain and surgery. I'm so thankful I found a doctor who has been willing to help me through all of this ordeal. Really check up on doctors who you do not know. I wish I had checked more ten years ago. I wouldn't be having all these problems now if I had.

Surgery has been good, but I'm still low on strength and stamina. I'm having good days and bad days, and gradually beginning to work again. Not much, but a little. I think I've worked too hard on feeling better. Sadly I've overworked myself. We all become impatient.

I'm beginning to work on a novel. It's a mystery and I've had a hard time getting it started. I don't want it to be too sad, but I can't have it too lighthearted. I'll let some friends look at it in the next few days.

The next book will be released June 28. It's a picture book, Babbs is Back, by Sandi Rog and Arielle DeMarco. The price will be $8.99, but it is on Amazon in ebook form now for $2.99/

After this. . .I think I'll leave that for later. Can't dump too much information on people. Anyway the next book is wonderful. I love it. Until later.

GREAT NEWS

Today our store opened on www.mantlerockpublishing.com. You can purchase books we have printed directly from our store and shipping will be much easier. I've wanted to do this for some time, but hadn't figured out how to do it. It's an exciting day here at the office. More books will be published as we print them. Also, keep in touch for sale items. I put an ad on Facebook that will start tomorrow. It's a trial to see how it goes. Please "Like" it.

Plenty of things are keeping us busy. Our oldest granddaughter graduates from high school May 17. Where did the time go? I remember the first time I saw her. She was a long, scrawny little thing. She's still long. Very tall and looks like a model. Of course, that's Grandma's observation. I am so proud of her. She'll enter David Lipscomb University in Nashville in the fall and will major in music. I'll try to put pictures on next Sunday night.

Why Sunday night instead of Tuesday or Thursday? Monday morning, May 19, I will be having another abdominal surgery. My ninth. Not many more places that don't have scars. This one is not as bad as the last one in October. I have a small hernia, which a friend has named Henrietta. Henrietta has been causing me a lot of pain. It's hard to sit and walk up steps. My surgeon says he can "fix it." I pray he can. I've had ten years of torture.

My hospital stay should be short, but I'll have about six weeks recovery. When I have surgery, my eyes go haywire. I have a hard time adjusting to words. Everyone has told me I'll have time to write, but when you can't see what you've written, it's hard. I will regain my vision in about two weeks. Thankfully, I can adjust my fonts on both my Kindle and my tablet. I have downloaded a bunch of books to read.

The booksigning went well at Shop-O-Rama. That is such a fascinating store. You can buy anything from clothes, decor, tools, hardware and even a galvanized bathtub. I appreciate all the nice people who visited me there. I hope to get a picture up soon.

Hoping all mothers have a wonderful Mother's Day. We're having a breakfast at church on Saturday morning. It should be enjoyable. Happy Mother's Day!

NOT MY BEST DAY

Everyone has bad days, but they don't always come in bunches. Mine do it seems.

For some time I've been plagued with diverticulitis. Not fun, but when I had the last surgery the doctor said it looked good. We had been given a tree of pecans and my husband gladly picked them up and shelled them. I gladly made pecan pies. You did see the "s". That's plural meaning more than one. Maybe five or six or more. We had pecan pancakes, pecans in salads, pecans everywhere. I love them. That is until my belly begins to hurt.

For the past three or four weeks, I've had bad spasms when I get up from a chair and going up the two steps in my family room. It became much worse and I could not touch my belly. My doctor thought as I did that it was diviticuli. Guess what? It wasn't. It was another hernia.

When I had the last surgery in October, my doctor assured me I should not every have another hernia. I was hurting in the same place after surgery, but thought it was the mesh. It wasn't. It is a hernia.To say I was discouraged, is putting it mildly. I was down right mad!

Today I have an appointment with my surgeon. He won't be glad to see me. I think I'll ask for galvanized pipe. He'll wish now he'd put that zipper in when I asked him. Oh, well, this is life.

So much is going on right now. Besides reading a book to see if I want to make a contract for it, my oldest granddaughter is graduating from high school the middle of May. I want to be there to see her and encourage her for her accomplishments. She received a good music scholarship from David Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. We are so proud of her.

I'm working on my newsletter, and yes, Maxie, I have you down. I hope to ship your book out today. The newsletter will be a little about me and some things you aren't looking for. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Have a wonderful day.

WINNER AND A NEW BOOK

The winner of Susannah's Hope is Maxie. I"ll email you for your address. Congratulations and I hope you enjoy the book.

Nicola Furlong's book, Heartsong, will be released in May. It is up on Amazon in ebook for sale now. The cover and blurb follows.


Some families have hope. Others have faith. The Shepherds of rural Oregon have Faith, Hope and Charly, three quirky sisters whose lives change forever when they reluctantly answer a personal calling to help other make amends. 

Thirty-something single parent Charly Shepherd is satisfied with her life raising two children and thousands of plants in her family owned Sweet Shepherd Nursery. The tragedy strikes. As she and her siblings struggle to keep the nursery going, Charly begins to believe her family’s destiny is greater than raising flowers. When the three sisters reluctantly delve into family secrets to help their ailing father fulfill a promise, their lives change forever as they pursue a new inspirational path of discovery, heartache, humor and redemption.