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  • allisonteboauthor

    allisonteboauthor
    “How ridiculous you are, Jo!" But Meg laughed at “How ridiculous you are, Jo!" But Meg laughed at the nonsense and felt better.
"Lucky for you I am, for if I put on crushed airs and tried to be dismal, as you do, we should be in a nice state. Thank goodness, I can always find something funny to keep me up.”
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—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/->
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I love this line in Little Women. So much of Jo’s strength stems from her laughter. A sense of humor is one of the most valuable defenses against life’s buffets. It can heal hurts, diffuse tension, humble hearts, and bind together.
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According to research, laughter relaxes the body, boosts the immune system, triggers the release of endorphins, improves blood flow, burns calories, and might even help you live longer. Humor wards off depression and sadness and improves our quality of life on every level. Aside from improving your health, laughter can also lead to greater creativity and productivity as well. This is because laughter lights up an area of the brain associated with attention and decision-making.
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Proverbs wasn’t wrong then it said, “the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.” Oh, if we could all but learn to laugh in triumph from the protective arms of Christ, then the whole world would feast!  When I’m going through a season of uncharacteristic sadness, I look at this line, it reminds me to return to that Jo-ish attitude, to that place of peace that can only be found in laughter.
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If the Enemy or the world has stolen your joy, it is my dearest hope that God will draw us close and teach us to laugh again.
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“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.” - Job 8:21
    QOTD: What are some peculiar new things you’ve QOTD:  What are some peculiar new things you’ve started doing in the last year?
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Runner up question: What’s one of your favorite chapters in Little women? I always had a particular fondness for the chapter “Experiments.” That slice of life always greatly amused me and it’s probably one of my most-read chapters.  I was thinking recently about the first part, where the March Sisters are allowed a prolonged holiday in which time lays very heavy on their hands, indeed, and they fall into a great deal of amusing predicaments because of it.
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We sort of had our own version of that. Because of certain Current Events, that led many of us to be Locked In Doors for extended periods of time—many people started searching for new ways to amuse themselves.
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I know it was (and still is) a hard time – but let’s see if we can find something in it to laugh about. When I’m down, an honest appraisal of the inherent silliness of human nature always gives me a mood boost.
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Here are some of the things that I started thinking about / wanting / doing since last March.
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I wanted to grow my hair out for the first time in years. I wanted to dye it blond, or even red. I’m still thinking about it. I found myself wanting to build blanket forts, and spent time sitting in a pop up tent in my driveway. I became an insatiable French Fry Fanatic. I have a strange urge to read non-fiction now and have plowed through several volumes (guys, I NEVER used to read non-fictional unless it was a devotional). ANYBODY WANT RECOMMENDATIONS? 🙂 
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Your turn!
    QOTD: Do you have a favorite small business that y QOTD: Do you have a favorite small business that you love to support?
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One of my favorite small businesses is @somelittlegood. Brittanny and Bridget are the loveliest ladies and absolutely loaded with talent. Their art is elegant, whimsical, and beautifully detailed and a perfect reflection of their elegant spirits. 
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When I took a month  long Instagram break, their account was one of the first one’s I raced to when I returned. Their videos and posts are so soothing and refined. I dare you to look at their art and their account and NOT be peaceful and happy. 
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These immensely talented sisters captured this classic scene from Little Women so beautifully, don’t you think? It’s particularly special that a pair of sisters should be encapsulating fictional sisters with their paint brushes.
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Everything in their shop is on sale right now, so why don't you treat yourself to something sweet?
    “Wouldn’t it be fun if all the castles in the “Wouldn’t it be fun if all the castles in the air which we make could come true, and we could live in them?” - Little Women
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QOTD: What’s one of your wildest castles in the air? Don’t hold back – let’s share.
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One of my favorite castles in the air is being a full-time author (i.e. making an income off my writing). I’d also like to own a children’s bookstore like Kathleen Kelly had in You’ve Got Mail—although I think mine would be an old Victorian or Antebellum house that was converted into a store. I’ll live in the attic and look out from a window while I write stories to stock in the store below. I’d PREFER it to be a magical store with a staff of flying monkeys to restock the shelves but I’ll try to keep this castle in the air somewhat reasonable. 🙂
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I’ll take summers off and travel all over the country—mostly by train—and visit all of my online friends on a regular basis and have enormous book signings for all of us at my store followed by epic sleepovers. I’ll also have about ten dog. And I would like to volunteer on weekends at a zoo or animal rehab center. Did you know I’ve wanted to be a zookeeper since I was little? I never got over that and I would adore working with exotic animals.
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Okay, I’m already getting carried away so I guess I’d better stop. Now it’s your turn! Dream away.
    GOTD: Tell me about one of your favorite fictional GOTD: Tell me about one of your favorite fictional families!
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Have you read the Saturdays?  In this novel, four siblings determine to stop wasting their Saturdays, pool their allowances, and take turns having adventures in pre-World War II New York City, so they can each have at least one memorable Saturday afternoon of their own.
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The Melendy's are one of my favorite fictional families, and The Saturdays is such a warm-hearted, jolly kind of story—full of that kind of mothball magic that can only be found in attics or the grey clouds of normalcy. It’s all about finding that brilliant sunbeam, that hidden surprise, that treat at the end of a crummy day, that bit of sunshine on a dull day, that surprise in the middle of boredom.
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Always humorous, always entertaining, always sweet. It’s a dose of pure nostalgia – like an old-fashioned coke bottle with a straw in it—sweet, bubbly, and delightfully vintage.
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It’s the joy of every day adventures, the zest for life that comes when we relish the smallest surprises and discoveries. This book casts a kind of homey enchantment over my favorite thing in the world—a family leading a simple life having ordinary adventures.
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“‘We lead a humdrum life when I think about it. It’s funny how it doesn’t seem humdrum!’
    IS THE PRESENT A SHADOW OF ETERNITY? . . Recently, IS THE PRESENT A SHADOW OF ETERNITY?
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Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting a public garden. At one point, I stopped to rest on a bench, and for a brief moment, I was in the Present. I could hear birds, the soft murmur of a waterfall, and the sound of happy voices somewhere beyond trees and flowers. And I simply sat and enjoyed.  It was a glorious day and I was fully and intensely AWARE of it as I sat there, truly drinking it in, instead of rushing past it.
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There are so very few moments in our lives where we are truly in the Present. These ephemeral moments do not last long. Something before us is quick to touch memory, ushering in the Past. Some distraction rushes in, dragging in the Future. We are slaves to Time, unable to stop it, control it, slow it or hasten it. Only God is outside of Time—but someday, we will be outside of it too.
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None of us are going to be able to truly know what will happen when we step out of this world and into the next. No human mind, bound by Time, can fully grasp what an existence without it—or beyond it—will be like. But I wonder if it will be more like that brief moment of Being Present on the garden bench. Simpler, streamlined, full of a richness of sensory joys and continual explosions of revelation bursting in our new minds and supercharging our new bodies.
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I was so intensely in the present, for a moment, there was less of me, a lessening that didn’t feel frightening or less—it the kind of unconscious state of being one remembers when you were very small.
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I didn’t feel any particular age; I felt outside of Time, like a child . . . as if it was just me and God, sitting on a bench, my mind quiet, my heart wide, and palms open to receive.
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My sisters came back, and it was time to move on. With a bump, I was back in Time again, caught up in what had to come next, in all my consuming goals and vague concerns. Memories and plans, past and future, seized me again. But I looked back and wondered.
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That sun beating down on me, touching me, filling me, wrapping itself around me, filling me with life is but a small glimpse of what it will be like to be in the presence of THE Son - the source of all life.
    ”Mary touched the rose bush. “Is that one qui ”Mary touched the rose bush.
 “Is that one quite alive quite?” she said.
Dickon smiled. “It’s as wick as you or me,” he said; and Mary remembered that Martha had told her that “wick” meant “alive.”
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Living with chronic pain, I know how that secret garden feels. On the outside, I often look and feel as if I’m not growing. I feel trapped behind walls of pain, doormat from nearly a decade of dead ends, tangled up in a grey mass of sadness, too weary to believe that the garden door will ever be opened. 
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Sometimes I feel forgotten. I’m waiting for that powerful key to turn in the lock, hoping that somehow I might be restored. I worry I haven't bloomed in a long time, and I can only cling in faith to the promise that my roots are buried in Christ’s heart. 
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Because, just like the Secret Garden, I have not been forgotten. There is a Gardener that comes to trim me—even when I feel as if I can’t bear any interference or prodding. He cuts away what is dead, and stakes up my weaknesses. He pushes aside the weeds that strangle my heart and sends the knife that cuts me open. And, as the wound is turned towards His face, I feel a rush of surprise as His voice says: “Still wick.”
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One day, this old garden will pass away. But until it’s time to rip out the old garden for a better one, I guess I can put up with a few dead branches and rotted trees in my patch. As long as the Gardener is there, trimming me, reminding me of how I’m supposed to grow—I can keep going.
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If you’re still here, you still have a purpose. He has a clear vision for your bit of earth. You’re still wick—and The Great Gardener cares for you.
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“I’m GLAD it’s wick!” Mary cried out. “I want them ALL to be wick. Let us go round the garden and count how many wick ones there are!”
    WAITING FOR WORDS. . . I admitted this to my newsl WAITING FOR WORDS.
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I admitted this to my newsletter subscribers and some close friends, but now I’m going public. Guys . . . I AM SO STUCK.
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I’ve had writer’s block before, but this runs far deeper and, to my recollection, I can't remember ever feeling this way before. It's as if I’ve lost all ability and all urging to write. I feel oddly lost, and unsure of how to proceed or what to work on.
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Yesterday, I was staring at a computer, feeling the panic of an empty creative well—and I suddenly remembered those scenes you see in movies where the characters are suffering from a drought and it suddenly starts to rain. 
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It’s never a trickle: it’s a downpour—a positive drenching.  They are mighty scenes of overwhelming joy, pure euphoria as God Himself intervenes on behalf of helpless humans and sends the life-giving liquid. 
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Every time you see a story about droughts, the rain ALWAYS comes.
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If we can be certain of that in a movie script, shouldn’t we be twice as certain that we shall receive water from our Father? He dug my creative well in the first place. I can scoop a handful or two into it by sheer willpower—but to be truly filled , it will take something supernatural. I have to have faith that the One who gives words and water will fill it—just as He has in the past.
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So now I am now thanking God for the gift of writing and for the renewal that I BELIEVE will come. I want to make myself look forward, not with fear, believing that I am going to be needy forever, but already anticipating the outpouring of God’s grace.
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This is not my first instinct. My first instinct is to start screaming and crying from the stress of this writer’s block. But I choose to let my faith dictate to my fear, and not the other way around. I’m going to plod on and pray, doing what I can in the interim and trusting God to bring the rain! 
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 "The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands." - Deuteronomy 28:12
    REPOST BECAUSE I HAD TYPOS ON THE PREVIOUS IMAGES. REPOST BECAUSE I HAD TYPOS ON THE PREVIOUS IMAGES. 🤦‍♀️
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It's time for a new photo challenge! This time, all of the prompts are inspired by one of my favorite authors: Louisa May Alcott! I am especially excited about this challenge because I have two amazing ladies and dynamic bookstagrammers co-hosting this event with me @austensandalcotts and @rachelkovacinyauthor!
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To participate in the challenge, simply post pictures inspired by the day’s prompts and use the hashtag #AlcottInAprilPhotoChallenge. If you want your photos to be shared, don’t forget to tag one of the hosts for each of your entries.
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It is not necessary that all of your photos be about Alcott – just somewhat inspired by the daily prompts. You also don’t have to post every single day! Post as little or as much as you like!
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Lastly, don’t forget to follow all the hosts! The challenge runs through all of April, so I hope you’ll have a chance to participate! ✨
    QOTD: What is your favorite Beatrix Potter story? QOTD: What is your favorite Beatrix Potter story?
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I find Beatrix such an inspiring person. Aside from being a famous author, was a dedicated land conservationist.  She was also a canny businesswoman who made and patented a Peter Rabbit doll followed by other spinoff merchandise. She was an enthusiastic participant of her local community, heading up many committees and councils. 
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In a world where women are often foul-mouthed and rude, where ugliness is encouraged, stemming from deep bitterness—real or imagine—Beatrix is a beacon. In a world full of angry women who tear things down, Beatrix reminds us how to build.
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Beatrix had plenty to be disappointed about in her life, but her work does not reflect that. Frequently wounded, sometimes disappointed, but never defeated—Beatrix shared nothing but beauty.
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But that in no way means she was less of a strong woman. Once she became financially independent, Beatrix lived where she chose, married whom she chose, and did as she liked. The difference is, when armed with independence, the KIND of choices Beatrix made. She still lived respectably, she was still civil, feminine, and kind. She was uniquely her own and a vibrantly multi-faceted woman—but she was still a lady in every sense of the word.
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Instead of attacking people, she attacked her sketchpad. Instead of whining about her lot, Beatrix improved it—without hurting others. Instead a legacy of supposed toughness, Beatrix left behind softness. And to tell you the truth, I think her bunnies have changed more lives than a great many other things.
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Most of her work began by sending illustrated letters to young friends—particularly ill children of her acquaintance—and her work has touched the hearts of children for generations after. She left behind a legacy of sweetness, where joy and wonder is found in detail and delicacy. Instead of trying to tackle “real life” or the issues of the day, Beatrix drew rabbits—and she changed not only her life, but the world.
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Beatrix Potter inspires me because she is the kind of woman I want to be.
    GOTD: It’s Monday - a spaceship just landed in y GOTD: It’s Monday - a spaceship just landed in your backyard and a strange messenger knocks on your door letting you know that you’re needed on an urgent mission. Here are the details.
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You pack: rations for the trip (last thing you ate today) and a tool (closest item to your right) to journey through (where the last movie you watched takes place) fighting (villain in your current read) all to go help your friend (main character of one of your favorite reads).
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Okay, I’ll go first. If a spaceship landed in my yard (man, I WISH. Can Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise PLEASE land in my yard? I’ll stay up all night for you, honest). Ahem, anyway.
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My rations for the trip are RASPBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM!  The one tool I am taking with me to help me in my mission is a . . . a mug rug?  I am going to be journeying through ancient China, fighting outlaws and Indians to save Luke Skywalker…. Okay, that makes NO sense at all, and a mug rug will be useless on this venture. Fortunately, I have the ultimate super weapon - ice cream! I am going to convince my enemies into letting Luke go with a triple scoop of tasty bribery. #smarts
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Game idea borrowed from @hannahleblondauthor
    QOTD: What was the last book you ordered? . . The QOTD: What was the last book you ordered?
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The last book I purchased / ordered was a special edition of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe!
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I actually go for large spats where I don’t order any books – which is frugal but frustrating. I LOVE mail, and when it arrives without anything addressed to me I get miffed. I mean, HOW DARE the post not have something just for me EVERY day?
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Recently, I was out in our driveway playing some desultory basketball with my sister, Tor, when an Amazon Prime van drove by. I looked after it in mock outrage. “How dare that man drive by us without delivering something! Come back here this minute and deliver something to us, driver!”
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I immediately proposed to Tor that we get one of her swords, flag the van down, and then stand aggressively beside it with a blade held to our basketball: “We’ll tell him we’re the knights of prime and that he has passed through our territory and thus must offer  us packages. If he doesn’t, well, we have a hostage. Give us the parcels—or we’ll pierce this basketball with our sword and he’ll be nothing but a blob! The choice is yours!”
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We got a good laugh over the idea but, needlessly to say, we didn’t do it—though I was sorely tempted. That driver has no idea how close he came to being traumatized by two girls with a sword and basketball.
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So, what books have you ordered lately? Also, if you want to address me in the future as a Knight of Prime, I’d answer to that. 😉
    “This is no thaw," said the Dwarf. "This is spri “This is no thaw," said the Dwarf. "This is spring. What are we to do? Your winter has been destroyed, I tell you! This is Aslan's doing."
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I can’t wait for Spring. Not 2021’s spring – but THE spring, the great Spring. When the Son of God comes like lightning to repay everyone for what they have done. It’s when the heavens will pass away, and the heavenly bodies burned up, and the earth and the works that are done on it exposed. It’s when God creates new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered.
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The utter degradation of this day and age is often more than my spirit can bear. Moral compromise runs rampant, God’s name is mocked and His word twisted. “Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.”
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The only thing that makes it tolerable is to remind myself that this is only temporary. Just like the 100 year Winter in Narnia, Renewal will also appear on our horizon. The Witch's reign will be broken, for the King will finally return and Spring will come. Not the seasonal gift, that hint of hope and holy reminder, but the REAL thing.
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One day, all of God’s enemies will stop in utter consternation and say. “This is no thaw! This is spring! Our winter has been destroyed!” There will be no hiding and no escape. All the evil strongholds will be knocked down, all of the spells of darkness will be broken as the Lion of Judah casts those who don’t follow Him into darkness that can no longer touch us.
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But for those who have remained true to His command and kept the faith, it will only be the beginning. No eye has seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love Him. The glories that await are more than we could possibly imagine. One day, He will issue the roar to end all roars. And then we shall finally have Spring.
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“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
    QOTD: Spring is coming! What are you most looking QOTD:  Spring is coming! What are you most looking forward to about this season?
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I love spring, but it’s kind of like a big terrible monster that I love despite pollen and subsequent allergies and, of course, the dreaded Spring Forward. I despise Springing Forward with every fiber in my being. There are no words to describe how much we hates it, precious. Curse it and crush it; we hates it forever. If ever there was a deliberate plot against humanity, it was this diabolical concept. ANYWAY, moving onto the positive. I LOVE flowers. I am absolutely wild for them and I am all agog when our meager selection of daffodils begin to bloom. I am also a tentative gardener and every year I plant morning glories and eagerly await a profusion of brilliant blue blooms. I am waiting impatiently for the last frost so I can put those little promises into the earth and hope for growth. I must say, I have quite “caught the bug” when it comes to growing things and, flushed with success over my ‘glories and some houseplants, I am hoping to expand my outdoor attempts this year. I’m thinking hyacinth bean plants (look it up, you’ll be astounded) and perhaps even peppers! Okay, perhaps I’ve gotten ahead of myself, but it’s fun to contemplate.
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Also, there’s Saint Patrick’s Day, and sunnier mornings and warmer weather. It’s not QUITE enough to make up for Daylight Savings (only a million dollars could assuage such a grievous injury) but it’s still pretty good. 😌
    QOTD: Do you have a certain day or event that you QOTD: Do you have a certain day or event that you look forward to every month?
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I do! I look forward to the last Saturday of every month—it is an absolute highlight for me. Why? Because the last Saturday of the month is when my patrons and I hold our book club meeting?
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We have had three meetings so far and every one of them has been an absolute joy. The thoughts and perceptions of these readers have been indelibly engrafted onto my own, forever changing and enriching my reading experience of the books that we share.  The fact that we are always discussing fairy tale retellings (one of my favorite genres) makes it absolutely perfect.
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At the end of April we shall be discussing THE ORDINARY PRINCESS by M.M. Kaye. Remember, you can click on the link in my profile to join the Patreon community and get in on the fun today!
    GOTD: Name five elements that appear consistently GOTD: Name five elements that appear consistently in your writing! I’ll go first.
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1.  Adoption!  I love found family stories and I’ve been drawn to adoption ever since I was a little girl. It’s rare for my characters to give birth to children—they usually adopt. I love to see children saved and swept into a good home, and it’s adorable to saddle my usually rough characters with fully interactive little ones and see the rough edges buffed off in a hurry (I was doing Mandalorian before it was a thing)
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2.  Discotheques!  Don’t ask me why, but I am obsessed with discotheques. They appear everywhere. If I was writing a LOTR-ish medieval fantasy story, somehow or other, the Prancing Pony would turn into a discotheque.  I mean, why not? It’s FUN. And I would pay good money to see Orcs and Hobbits having a dance-off—just saying.
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3.  Airships. There are no words to describe my infatuation with zeppelins and all their various reincarnations.  I would absolutely travel by zeppelin if it weren’t for the whole flammable and explosive thing. It’s one of the reasons steampunk is usually my favorite genre to write—though airships have a tendency to sneak into my fantasy stories as well. Even if a dragon has to blow continually to keep it afloat—I NEED AIRSHIPS.
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4.  Non-Human characters. I absolutely love these kinds of narrators. Monsters, robots, sentient teapots—GIMME ALL OF THEM. I love narrating on the human condition and looking at humanity from the outside (usually with a smirk on my face) and non-human narrators lend themselves so well to that. PLUS, THEY’RE USUALLY ADORABLEEEEEE. 
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5.  Humor. I CAN write seriously—very seriously—but it’s difficult for me to maintain it for a really extended period. I have the writer’s equivalent of giggling in church. The more serious the atmosphere is getting the more likely that I’m going to finally burst into maniacal mischief.  SURELY, some of my answers above tipped you off about that tendency. . . .
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Your turn!
    QOTD: What was one of your last five stars reads? QOTD: What was one of your last five stars reads?
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I am very picky about who I give my five star ratings too, but THE RIVER LEADS HOME was a shoe-in!
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“Noble” is the first word that comes to mind to describe Emily’s writing. There’s an elegant, straightforwardness to her writing that is as straight and clean and shining as a river.
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Ah, what an absolute delight this was from start to finish. A deep craving of mine that has been so long unfulfilled I nearly forgot it was there stretched and woke up and dove happily into this brisk and energetic adventure. It’s the kind of storytelling I was raised on . . . and am constantly thirsty for. It’s a grand return to the kind of stories Americans used to have in abundance, a wistful harking back to classic tales. From beginning to end, it was nothing less than a treat. With strong White Fang or Last of the Mohicans vibes, Hayse captures a certain tone of intimacy with the land, wild freedom, and breakable independence and contented isolation with precise beauty.
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Whether they are gripping survival stories or touching and gentle reveries, it’s altogether moving and masterful.
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From the first glance of that beautiful cover to the touching acknowledgements, The Rivers Lead Home is a visceral experience from beginning to end. It’s old-fashioned adventure fiction full of the clear-cut heroes, tough leaders, and strong moral codes that we desperately need to see again.
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We don’t have Jack London or Louis L’Amour anymore, but, thank goodness, we’ve got Emily Hayse.
    GOTD: Tell me a story about one of your relatives GOTD:  Tell me a story about one of your relatives. I’ll go first.
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See this gingerbread? It’s my great grandmother’s recipe.
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Pearl was a single mom raising four children (one of whom was deaf) during the great Depression. To make ends meet, she ran a boarding house and fed the men of a local CCC Camp.
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I admire Pearl so much. She kept her family together, ran her business, and saw that her daughter got into a good school.
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In addition to all of this. Pearl also had the sign of the cat on her house. The hobos of the Great Depression had a pictorial code that they used to indicate to their fellows what kind of person lived inside each house. Some signs meant that the person was mean, others that they were chintzy. The sign of the cat meant that a kind lady lived in this house and that she would feed you.
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Despite everything else that occupied her life, Pearl still opened her heart to strangers. 
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I sometimes wonder how many people did this gingerbread minister to?  Pearl’s children, the men at the boarding house, hobos?  How many people tasted this spicy warmth and felt that, as long as we can still taste molasses, the world can’t be all bad after all?  And now my family is tasting it, and I have given out the recipe to others—passing on a 8 x 8 piece of pleasure.
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When I make this gingerbread, well, it’s hard to describe the feeling. It’s almost as if Pearl is there with me. When I switch on the Kitchen Aid that has served three generations of women, I feel as if I’m carrying a torch that has been passed on to me. It’s almost as if a woman I never met is giving me some advice.
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The world is still in a big a mess as it was during the Great Depression. Families are still fighting to make ends meet, children are still struggling to grow up, people still have to be fed. I can’t solve the problems of the world, but I can love my family and be kind to others. 
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Times are tough, but you can still make gingerbread and give it away.
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Thanks for the lesson Pearl! I can’t wait to meet you in Heaven.
    You’ve seen the game “draw this in your style. You’ve seen the game “draw this in your style.” Well today we’re doing the writer’s version!
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Pick a film or book and describe to us how it would look if YOU had written. I’ll go first as an example.
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I choose Lord of the Rings! If I had written LOTR, the hobbits would have definitely been American and full of chutzpah. Think Penguins of Madagascar, utterly unaware of how outmatched they are because they are bursting with confidence. They would be full of sauciness and sassing everybody left and right, charging the enemy single-handedly and somehow surviving because of an excess of idiot’s luck.
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There would be a lot more couples and a completely indiscriminate pairing between races. Elves and dwarves will tie the knot, wizards and hobbits will fall in love – WHAT THE HECK, maybe I’ll even redeem a goblin or orc and let them find true love. I mean, WHY NOT? 😝
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I’d probably have more female characters, too—but they wouldn’t be exclusively fair maidens of Rohan and Rivendell. Think cranky female wizards, a librarian lady in Rivendell who has to dig up research for the Fellowship. Or how about Beorn's great niece who, as a youthful bear girl, has grown up listening to stories of dwarvish quests and now yearns to have an adventure of her own? Only she has a tendency to bite the the more serious members of the Fellowship. 
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There definitely would be more development of the villains, running the gamut from Yzma and Kronk types to Emperor Palpatine types. But no matter what they’re like, the heroes wouldn’t be quite so frightened of them.
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Sure, there would be plenty of danger, peril, and even some sorrow—but there would also be an enormous amount of humor, irreverent love stories, and a mischievous subversion of expectations.  Middle Earth would probably wind up with a hobbit king and wizards would retire in disgust after taking care of so many stupid mortals and open up knitting shops in the Shire.
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It’s still sword and sorcery, but that’s Alli’s fingerprint—my own spin.  We all have our own unique writing voice that no one else can emulate. So share away! What does YOUR personal take on a famous story look like?
    This Saturday, you get to visit three fictional wo This Saturday, you get to visit three fictional worlds. Where would you spend your morning, afternoon, and evening?
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This is a tough one for me, because I want to see everything and go everywhere. But below are the three worlds I am most in the mood for. 
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I would like to wake up in Bag End, I think. Yes, I want to wake up in some old four poster in Bilbo’s guest room and see my hobbit hole window all covered in sunlit crystalline flakes. After helping Bilbo whip up a great big breakfast (and maybe entertaining a wandering dwarf or two), I’ll go outside to slide down the slopes (I might coax Gandalf to have a go on a toboggan) and then help the local hobbit children make a snow fort.
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I think I would like to spend the afternoon in Oz—it just FEELS like an eternal afternoon in Oz, full of midday sunshine and rainbow-colored adventures that keep me nice and toasty, even in winter. 
 
I would like to sail over the Emerald City on the Wizard’s hot air balloon, land on the roof of the palace where I shall take tea with my beloved Scarecrow. Then I’ll use Ozma’s infinitely unrolling carpet to take a quick detour to Winkie Country and the territory of Oogaboo—because this is where a young man named Files lives, with his orchard of BOOK-TREES. I think plucking a newly-grown story from its branch and settling down in a shady valley for a nice long read is the perfect way to wrap up an afternoon. 
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In the evening, I would travel via Wardrobe to Narnia to spend the night at Mr. Tumnus’s cave. I want to visit at the same time that Prince Corin was staying there. I like little boys and I think Corin and I would get on famously. We would start the evening off with a cozy dinner by the fire, and then Mr. Tumnus would play his pipe while we digested. Then I’d troop outside with Colin to have a snowball fight. Once the romp is over, Mr. Tumnus would come and point out the Narnian constellations to us. Then we’d go inside for cocoa and faun-ish fireside tales. Finally, it’s off to our respective cozy nooks—though Corin and I would probably stay up late talking and have a pillow fight (much to Mr. Tumnus’s alarm). 
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Your turn!
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