Review: Beyond Talent by John C. Maxwell

I LOVE this book. I received this book several months ago, and am normally very quick to read and write reviews when my schedule allows. I have gotten so caught up with the stories, the advice, and the practical tips in this book that I actually forgot I had received it for review. My copy is bookmarked, starred, highlighted, and dog-eared. At the end of each chapter are Application Exercises which have helped me to go beyond the talent I have to excel and achieve. Maxwell is motivating, humorous, and informative. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to take  God-given talent to its full potential. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Review - 5 Days to a Clutter-Free House: Quick, Easy Ways to Clear Up Your Space

In my never-ending pursuit of being an organized person, I asked to review this book. When it came time to read and review, I couldn't find it. Boy, do I need this book! 

The first section of the book focuses on cleaning and organizing your home using a team approach. While I think that would be a great way to tackle a big job, most of my friends and family are every bit as busy as I am. Using their tips and taking more than five days, I do think the tips provided by authors Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims are still valuable and practical.

In my opinion, the second half of the book is where the real value lies. The authors focused more on maintenance of your home after you declutter. The chapter titled "Manage Yourself" helped me understand why I tend to let clutter build up. The next chapter "Manage Your House" had Clutter Busters and Rules that helped make the task of being organized seem more manageable. For the second half of the book alone, I would say this book is worth the purchase.

I will be putting their tips into practice. Right away!

*Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. The opinions expressed above are my own.

Book Announcement: Book for Girls! "Ava's Secret Tea Party"

 What child hasn't dreamed of meeting the elusive Tooth Fairy, Santa, Sandman, or the Easter Bunny? Ava wants to invite them all to tea, but how can she? Find out in "Ava's Secret Tea Party" - an imaginative tale sure to enthrall children for years to come. Boys and girls alike will delight in finding the hidden teacups and cookies in the fanciful illustrations and planning their own parties using the kid-friendly recipes and crafts. Suggested age range for readers: 2-5. Hardcover and Paperback.

Available from publisher: http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/avas-tea-party.htm

Find it with Bookfinder: http://www.bookfinder4u.com/IsbnSearch.aspx?isbn=1616332859&mode=direct

Please click and vote for the Sibilant Snake.

One of my books for children, Sully's Topsy Tale, is up for an award! Go to this link to vote for him. At the top of the page are some e's. Hover your mouse over those and hopefully, you will give it five e's which will say "you've gotta read it." Thanks!

http://awardsforebooks.com/book-writing-contest/fiction-childrens-picture-books/sullys-topsy-tale/

Topsy Turvy Land - On Sale!

ON SALE: 25% OFF Topsy Turvy Land until December 31

Click HERE to order.

Look for My Devotionals in NEW Cup of Comfort Books!

Shopping for Christmas?

Check your Christmas list. Do you have children to buy for? May I suggest a copy of Topsy Turvy Land? Here are a few of the stores with Topsy Turvy Land in stock. You can also order the book from almost any bookstore (presently through Baker & Taylor, Inc. and/or Partners Book Distributing, Inc.), or order directly from the publisher! Click here!

Online Stores:

Hidden Pictures Publishing
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Abebooks
Amazon FR
Amazon UK
Amazon Marketplace
Biblio
Buy.com
Half.com

Brick and Mortar Stores:

Family Christian Stores #95
Towne Mall Blvd
Franklin, OH 45005-5530
Phone: (513) 424-1593

Family Christian Stores #50
Prestige Plaza
1 Prestige Plaza
Miamisburg, OH 45342-3767
Phone: (937) 435-0583

Books & Co.
350 East Stroop Road
Dayton, OH 45429
(937) 298-6540

Family Christian Stores #460
9938 Waterstone Blvd
Cincinnati, OH 45249-8295
Phone: (513) 583-5100

Family Christian Stores #468
Hyde Park Plaza
3802 Paxton Ave #12Cincinnati, OH 45209-2399
Phone: (513) 321-0300

Ashton's Ben Franklin
Carrollton, OH

Little Professor
Troy, OH

Angel Heaven Gifts & Gallery
11 South Main Street
West Milton, OH 45383
(937) 698-9464

Order can be placed at any Waldenbooks. My other books, Chizzy's Topsy Tale and No More Gunk & OUCH! Sunburn can also be ordered at any bookstore or through the publisher, Guardian Angel Publishing.

No More Gunk! Picture Book for Ages 4-8

No More Gunk! is a Double Doozie - two books in one! This book is the first for a new imprint of Guardian Angel Publishing. The Health & Hygiene line features books teaching children about taking care of their bodies.

In No More Gunk! by Donna J. Shepherd, short, playful rhymes and Kevin Scott Collier's humorous illustrations help children learn in a fun way the importance of proper dental hygiene. Tooth Tips encourage children to take care of their teeth.

In the bonus book, Ouch! Sunburn!, Donna J. Shepherd's snappy rhymes, along with the 15 colorful and fun illustrations by Kevin Scott Collier, help children see the need to protect their skin in the sun. Sun Safety Tips in the back of the book reinforce the book's theme.

Click HERE to order directly from Guardian Angel Publishing.

For LIBRARIES, SCHOOLS and INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES requesting wholesale print books contact: directorders_libraries_schools@guardianangelpublishing.com

CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW
BY: Gayle Jacobson-Huset, Assistant Editor
Stories for Children Magazine

"This is a fun "book" to review since it is actually two books in one! Guardian Angel Publishing has come out with their Double Doozie line of books and now has a Health & Hygiene Line.

In NO MORE GUNK, author Donna Shepherd has written a very humorous yet factual storyline on taking good care of your teeth and how to do so, in rhyming prose. Combined with the awesome and very funny artwork of Kevin Scott Collier, this book is quite the attention-getter for your child and will help you to teach him/her good health habits in a really fun way.

I particularly enjoyed the "No More Gunk Tooth Tips" at the end of the story – even the tips rhymed! Good job, Donna! My favorite tip: "They're your teeth, so be the boss. Always take the time to floss."

This was like reading a terrific poem full of FUNNY illustrations that your child will want you to read to them over and over and over! This is a keeper and gets a high five, especially when coupled with a SECOND free book!

OUCH! SUNBURN is also a terrific learning experience for your child, and one that hit home hard to me personally. Back in the age of the dinosaur, aka - when I was a small child, we didn't know much about the dangers of the sun and how it damages your skin, and nobody knew what sunscreen was. I grew up by the ocean, so I was either always at the beach, or at our local pool where I swam competitively. I am blonde and fair-skinned, and I had some whopper sunburns as I grew up. I've been "out of the sun" for 40 years now, but it doesn't matter – I still ended up getting skin cancer from those early exposures as a child.

So, I can tell you firsthand, that everything Donna says in this book is absolutely positively the truth, and I hope its message really hits home to young readers. The charming rhyming prose Donna uses along with Kevin's fun, colorful illustrations, make this book lots of fun for children to learn how to protect their skin from sunburns.

At the end, Donna again gives Ouch! Sunburn Extra Tips, of course, in rhyme. My favorite: "When you're out from ten to two. Play in Shade. Smart Kids do." WHERE WAS THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS GROWING UP? This is a must-have to teach your child safety in the sun at an early age."

********

Fun Find! "Anytime Prayers for Everyday Moms"

For Mother's Day, I'd like to toot the horn for a devotional book I contributed to called "Anytime Prayers for Everyday Moms." My devotional prayers are the first 30 in the book. It turned out really nice - a hardback with a cute cover of a mom with a little boy.



Product Details:
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Faith Words
Language: English
ISBN: 0446579351

The Best Grandma in the World

I'm pleased to say I have a story in a book just released by Howard Publishing (A Division of Simon & Schuster), The Best Grandma in the World. My piece is "The Singing Mamaw." I hope you enjoy it.

Looking for a Gift for Father's Day?

I recommend a book I recently reviewed. Here's a link to the review. Click HERE!

Good Press for Topsy Turvy Land

Someone (Thank you, writermom!) sent me an email letting me know that Topsy Turvy Land is mentioned in World Magazine. It's an issue highlighting children's books. I'm very flattered to be included!

Here's a link (the cover is in left sidebar):
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/12466

Since I don't have a subscription, all I've seen is what's on the website, but even that's exciting! I'm on the same page as Dr. Seuss and Charlotte's Web. Boy, am I intimidated!

Chizzy's Topsy Tale by Donna J. Shepherd - a FREE ebook!

Chizzy's Topsy Tale Book

For a peek into the world of Chizzy, click above on the cover of the book, and then click "Slideshow." If you need more time to read each page, you can set the number of seconds to more than 4. Hope you enjoy it!

If you'd rather have a file for your computer or to print out, click HERE for a .pdf of Chizzy's Topsy Tale.

This ebook follows the adventures of Chizzy, the monkey on the front of the print book, Topsy Turvy Land. For more information about Topsy, click HERE.

Interview with Mary DeMuth, author of Wishing on Dandelions

Today it is my privilege to share an interview with author and fellow Master's Artist, Mary DeMuth, author of Wishing on Dandelions - a follow-up novel to Watching the Tree Limbs.

This book deals with difficult subject matter: childhood sexual abuse and its residual affects. How did this book emerge?

My passion is to write about redemption through the avenue of story. I started the first book, Watching the Tree Limbs, in a flurry. In my mind I saw the streets of Burl and a girl who didn’t know where she came from. Because my personal story involves different instances of sexual abuse, I wanted to write a story that showed the reader how God could intersect an abuse-victim’s life and make a difference.

So, are you Maranatha?

In some ways yes, some no. Like Maranatha, I felt like God had transformed my life in such a radical way (like her name change from Mara—bitter—to Maranatha—Come Lord Jesus). Like Maranatha, I endured sexual abuse, but I was much younger when it happened. Like Maranatha, I wondered if I had been marked, that every sexual predator could “tell” I was a ready victim. I wrestled through relationships in my teens with Maranatha’s twin feelings of revulsion and attraction. But, she is not me in many other ways. She is more independent. She has no parents. She lives in an entirely different culture. She is less ambitious. She has the privilege of many wiser people to mentor her through life.

What made you decide to write a love story?

The book didn’t start out in my mind as a love story, but it evolved into it as I continued writing. Characters have that uncanny way of taking your prose and running in all sorts of directions with it. Charlie just kept being faithful. In a sense, I fell in love with him!

What made you choose East Texas as the setting for both novels?

The South fascinates me. I grew up in the Northwest. When my last child was born, my husband was transferred to East Texas to start a department in a hospital. Because I was a stay-at-home mom and home schooling, I didn’t have much else to do there except to observe small town southern culture. Because I didn’t grow up in that culture, my senses were heightened and I eventually began to really appreciate the differences.

Childhood sexual abuse is not talked about very often, and seldom covered in novels. What made you decide to write about it?

For that very reason. The more victims are quiet, the less healing they will receive. The more we talk about it, bringing heinous acts to the light, the better able we are to know we are not alone. I wrote this book so other abuse victims would feel validated and heard. And to offer hope.

Why do you end your books with hope?

Because hope is essential to Jesus’ Gospel. Even when things are bleak, there is always hope—if not in this life, then in the next. I’m not interested, however, in presenting hope in a superfluous way. I don’t want to tie up every story thread neatly. The truth is, life is tragic and difficult and bewildering, but God intersects that life and brings hope.

Have you always wanted to write?

Yes. Since my second grade teacher told my mother that she thought I was a creative writer, I’ve wanted to write. I kept a diary since the sixth grade. Though I was an English major, I didn’t start writing seriously until my first daughter was born. I wrote for ten years in obscurity before my writing career took a turn for the better.

Who are your literary heroes?

I love Harper Lee. I only wish she’d written more. Leif Enger, who wrote Peace Like a River, greatly inspired me to write visually and artistically. I love Sue Monk Kidd’s Secret Life of Bees, how you could almost taste her characters. I’m fascinated and intimidated by J.R.R. Tolkein—how he managed to create an entire world with several languages is way beyond my literary prowess.

What do you want your reader to take away from Wishing on Dandelions?

That redemption of a broken life takes time. We’re all on a journey of healing. Sometimes it’s slow going, but if we can endure through the dark times, God will bring us to new places of growth. I want the images and characters to stay with a reader for a long time.

Mary, thank you so much.

Readers, here's a link to Mary's site: Relevant Prose
Purchase Information: Bookfinder4U

No portion of this Website and no column may be reproduced BY ANYONE without WRITTEN permission BY DONNA. For more information, contact Donna by clicking on the link in the right-hand column. - Thanks.

Gift for Mother's Day

I'd like to suggest a copy of Daily Grace for Women. I'm blessed to have written thirty devotionals included in this book.

If you live near the Cincinnati-Dayton area, signed copies are here:

Barnes and Noble
9455 Civic Centre Blvd
West Chester, OH 45069
513-755-2258

If you're not in the area, the book is in stock at any Family Christian Bookstore, and available at many other bookstores, too. Here's a link with information: Bookfinder4U

If you do buy the book, and would like a list of my devotionals, send me an email, and I'll send a list of titles in a word document. Happy Mother's Day!

Temporal Currents

I'm pleased to announce my inclusion in a new book.

Press Release:

Temporal Currents is an inspirational poetry collection edited and compiled by Christine Tricarico, widely published poet and editor. This collection features 45 poems by Donna J. Shepherd, Hope Galvan, Victor Jasti, and other wonderful poets from around the globe. This collection is intended to reach out, inspire people of all ages, and evoke a sense of peace, wonderment and spirituality in each of us. Temporal Currents is the perfect gift for all ages!

Click here for order information.