Carl Sagan Quote

Holiday Book Fair!!

Holiday Book Fair ~ 99 Books ON SALE f@ 99 Cents

FREE Downloads & Daily Gift Card Giveaways!

https://bookwrapt.com/9999-holiday-book-fair/

If your wallet is feeling the pinch during the holidays, but you’re looking for some awesome new reads, you’ve come to the right place. As the name suggests, we have 99 books on sale December 12-15 for 99 cents each. Less than a buck for hours of amazing storytelling!

Plus, check in daily for a chance to win Amazon gift cards or play instant ebook giveaways for one of 12 books being awarded to lucky winners each day.

Look for Books from Your Favorite Authors!

Alathia Paris Morgan • Alexia Adams • Alicia Street • Allyson.R.Abbott • Angel Lawson • Angie Wilder • Ani Gonzalez • Aubrey Wynne • Bethany Strobel • Cara Marsi • Cate Tayler • Cornelia Amiri • Crisanne Marz • Crystal Dawn • Debbie White • Debby Conrad • Dena Garson • Denise Jaden • Donna Fasano • EG Manetti • Eli Lang • Emily Leigh • Gary Guinn • Gayle Parness • Honey Phillips • Jacqueline Diamond • Jennifer Faye • Jody A. Kessler  • Julie Brookman • K.A. Servian • Kat Drennan • Kate Rudolph • Katherine Gilbert • Katie O'Sullivan • Kris Pearson • L.E. Harrison • Laura A. Barnes • Lily Bly • Linda Nightingale • Lisa Chalmers  • LJ Swallow • Lucy Naylor Kubash • Margaret Daley • Maria K. Alexander • Marilyn Peake • Marlow Kelly • Mary Gillgannon • Mary Vine • Melissa Belle • Mila Young • N.D. Jones • Nicole Casey • P.J. MacLayne • PG Forte • PJ Fiala • R.M. Gauthier • Regan Walker • Rose Pearson • Selena Kitt • Simone Leigh • Soraya Naomi • Stacey Joy Netzel • Stephanie Queen • Sydney Jane Baily • Tamara Ferguson • Tanya Dawson • Tara Lain • Aileen Harkwood

What I Know About Audio Books

Two of my books are out on in audio:

Maya's Gold by Mary Vine

Snake River Rendezvous by Mary Vine

If you’re like me the last time I bought an audio book, it was a cd that I listened to on the cd player in my car. When my publisher put two of my books on audio, I thought I should learn a little more about the process.

Audio books can be good to listen to when you’re working around the house, driving to or from work, or appointments clear across town. In my case, I’ve listened to books on journeys to see relatives in Washington and Oregon, making the trip far from mundane. Books are still enjoyed by the elderly with vision problems, and an audio book can be a thoughtful gift for them.

Choose your own device from Apple iPod, MP3 player, Kindle, your mobile phone, GPS or download to your computer. You don’t have to be a member of Audible to get an audio book on Amazon. You can purchase it just the way you buy anything on an Amazon account.

Audible is an Amazon company and to use Audible you have to have an Amazon account. You will have to install the Audible Manager, but I understand it takes less than fifteen minutes seconds to do so. Audible offers a 30-day free trial and two free books. When the trial period is over the cost is $14.95 per month, and the books you buy will be at least 30% off each. You may want to ask your friends if Audible is worth it to them. Many say that it is a good way to save money on audio books.

BE KIND

I don't know about you but it has been hard for me to watch the news for a long time now and I'm not talking about the devastating fire or weather conditions that plague so many areas. My heart, and prayers, goes out to those affected and I am encouraged by those who help in times of loss.

No, it's hard to watch what else is on media outlets. Bullying is at an all time high, because we not only learn how it's done outside of our homes but on our local television channels as well. 

Political parties are at war even the moment after an election that gave us a chance to promote our parties and vote to change some of the things happening in the country.

Many people seem to think they are an educated professional when it comes to a serious problem in the country, and that their conclusions are the right ones, when, in fact, they are not qualified to speak at all. Still, we all appear to hang on their every word.

I did vote and I try to remember to pray for our leaders, our country, and to pay attention to issues and to vote in the future. I no way claim that I have the answer to our nation's problems. I do think that those who feel that they can do something positive, educate yourself and move into the appropriate channels or jobs that can actually help us. Or, support someone who can do so. I can write and I am thinking about a children’s book on being kind to everyone. Because, what I know for sure is that we can't possibly understand what another person who lives anywhere feels, or goes through unless we walk a mile in their shoes, as the saying goes. But we can be kind. By being kind we are making a difference however small.

Keep On Movin'

It’s funny how we don’t consider housework, or chores around the house as exercise. I know I say my chosen manner of exercise is time on a stationary bike.  Hey, I can even read a book while I’m peddling. Perhaps housework isn’t fun enough to be considered an excellent form of exercise. I’ve never heard anyone say that they’d washed all the floors in their house for one hour, in place of a workout at their neighborhood fitness club. Perhaps, it’s because we can’t measure the work the same as a device that measures how far we’ve gone or how many calories we’ve burned. Who knows? Maybe there is something electronic out there that can count the mop swings.

I have to really be psyched up to make myself vigorously wash all of the floors in my home, let alone dust. I will procrastinate until company’s coming or I just have to clean them. It is so much easier for me to jump on the stationary bike and read a book.

The man in the picture is my husband Greg. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008. Here he is with our youngest grandson, Johnny.

Over the years my husband has stopped drinking and smoking, two very hard things to do and which I admire him for. Still, at this writing, I am the most proud of all he can do in a little block of time each day. I’m sure there are a lot of people who have disabilities of some sort and sit on the couch and brood for months to years, and frankly who can blame them? Yet with Greg, he knows that his body will function better in the mornings, and he gets up and gets busy at the store, house, garage, or outside and gets a lot done. He doesn’t do much procrastinating because he knows that if it is going to get done it will have to be done in the morning hours. Basically, there will not be any energy left; he cannot move very well the rest of the day. Mind over MS, he says. This attitude propels him forward. What he does is exercise, but he has something to show for it by helping to keep our family going, or to enjoy something he does outside. Gym or exercise equipment will not do it for him.

I can procrastinate when it comes to writing as well, and that is during the time not filled with family, cooking, job, shopping, etc. Well, writing is work, a brain workout if nothing else. If we keep moving we will have something to show for our work. If writers work hard enough they will have a finished manuscript and one day a published book.

We all must keep moving forward, with our bodies, our minds, and our dreams in the allotted time we have. One day, not a one of us will have any time left. So, let’s keep moving and have something to show for our labors.

Can the Dead Influence Us?

Can The Dead Influence Us?

In the early part of 2018 I had the pleasure of working with Gary Novo on publishing his novella, MURDER AT #23 PUMP HOUSE.

A couple of spirits showed up in this book so I asked him his opinion on the hereafter. He said, “I think the spirits of our family members who have passed on before us have a way of influencing our lives – maybe our thoughts if not our actions. I think this is especially true for parents and grandparents or those with whom we’ve had close relationships while they were living. Even if we were not particularly close, I think they still reach out to us.

I thought about his words more than once, because I did a search on Ancestry.com to find names and information on my husband’s mother’s side of the family, since nothing much was ever said about them.

My husband and I have enjoyed Northeast Oregon, and have gone back time and again. Over the years we have acquired some land and use vacation time in the area. It turns out that his great-great grandfather and some of his brothers came to the area as well, and most were buried there. It’s been a pleasure to find his grave and lay a flower or two next to the headstone.

Other time, there were five or six occurrences of hearing my grandmother’s first name. While not a common name, I heard it over TV, people I met, and on the internet, all in a short period of time. Perhaps it was just a coincidence or not, but I took a moment by myself to say hello to her.

I would like to recommend Gary’s book and you can find it at this link:

Murder at No. 23 Pump House by Gary Novo

E-book is only .99 cents.

So, what kind of experiences have you had?

www.maryvine.com

NATIONAL PUPPY DAY

Friday, March 23 is National Puppy Day and this is the first year its ever meant anything to me. I had looked seriously into a dog that fit into the hypoallergenic category. I went online and searched for the top ten hypoallergenic dogs and then ended up with a Shih Tzu and Toy Poodle mix.

I figured if I was going to get a puppy, I'd better do it now to be alive long enough to have an animal for fifteen to eighteen years. Yes, the years are passing by along with enough energy to keep up with a puppy. Notice I didn't say train as I don't want to set myself up for failure to start.

I've now had Emmy for two months and she minds fairly well, but there are still those times when she moves around the room like a balloon losing air. Thankfully, I have a very helpful husband and a third participant, our six-year-old German Shepherd and Malamute dog, Jack, who weighs over a hundred pounds more than she does. Many times, we think Jack is the most important player, because he seems to know when "Dad" and "Mom" are at their wits end and he volunteers to play rough house with her and they move about like a horse and a mouse doing a haphazard dance. It is an effective way to let out some of her energy and give him exercise, too. But some days, like the rest of us, he gets tired and tries to hide his big body behind a chair. Emmy will stand as far as her back paws will allow and uses her front paws to "massage" the top of his tail while managing to cause his malamute coat to come out and settle in bunches.

My husband and I had always had large dogs and we wondered if we could love a little dog just as well. Yet, now we watch to see who she sits with the most like it's a competition. We instantly realized

that puppies are so cute, just as any type of baby is, and we smile and say, "Awww, and isn't she cute?" That cuteness sure helps when you are awake for the fourth time during the night when she may or may not need to use the yard as the restroom.

All and all the hardest days are behind us (we hope) and she will only get calmer and able to follow our schedule even better. So, happy National Puppy Day to you all!

www.maryvine.com
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