I have moved!

Over the end of the year and a little bit of the new year, I made a change! Next week, this blog will be redirected to a new place. My new website/blog! You can see them here. That goes directly to my website and you can click on “Blog” to see what my new blog looks like.

I don’t have a way to subscribe yet, but I am working on it. I thought I had it figured out, but it hasn’t worked yet. 😛 If you’d like to be subscribed, send me your email address and I should be able to add you in manually once I get things figured out.

Also, please let me know what you think of the new website. And since it is new, feel free to point out any mistakes that are on there.

Lastly!

I am planning to do a giveaway next Friday! So be sure to stop by and enter it.

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Happy New Year! A sneak peek into my goals for 2019

How has a year gone by already? It seems like just a month ago that we were talking about resolutions and goals and now we’re doing it again.

If you’ve followed me for very long, you’ll know that I don’t personally do resolutions. I do goals. Every single month. But I also do them for the year. So how did I do last year? (You can read the whole post here).

Piano

I didn’t do very well with these goals. I was able to perfect some hymn arrangements, but not the other two songs. I never made enough time for piano practice which is something I aim to change this year.

November 2018 Goals

Who here can truly believe that October is over? I know I can’t. It seems like yesterday that it had started.

BUT, I got a ton done this October and I’m super excited to see what November brings.

• Get LHAR ready for publication including a cover reveal and small blog tour (Done! Except I didn’t do the cover reveal with a tour, just by myself)
• Finish Christmas story edits and send to proofreaders (DONE!)
• ROA edits #3 and send to content editor (Done! Now to go through said edits)
• Get upstairs bedroom ready to paint (Not done)
• Work on Un Sospiro (I have totally neglected this song for far too long and now it’s time to get the Christmas music out. Oh well.)
• Exercise at least 3 times per week (DONE! At least mostly, I think.)
• Outline Soldiers of the West #1 (DONE!!!!!!! And I get to write it now!)

Update: Lo, How a Rose

I know I don’t keep you updated on all of my writing escapades and I apologize. But today, I have a few updates on my next publication.

Do you like the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale? You may know that I have started a series reimagining fairy tales set during the time of Kings Saul, David, and Solomon. Lo, How a Rose is book two in that series. Each book is slightly connected, but each can be read without the other.

I am excited to announce two things regarding my book, Lo, How a Rose.

July 2018 Goals

How is your summer going? As I write this, we’re in the middle of a two-day heat wave with a heat advisory. I’m happy I can be inside all day. There are some days I really appreciate my job.

I managed to do almost all of my goals.

• Outline Cinderella retelling Done! Plus doing another outline!
• Start hardcore research for WWI Done!
• Finish Rock of Ages draft 1, edit and prep to send to beta-readers Done! And sent it to the beta-readers
• Finish editing He Leadeth Me and send to proofreaders Done!
• Start figuring out Christmas story ideas for Christmas collection (optional) Done!
• Perfect the songs in the new piano book Not done, but I had a reason for it. My wrists hurt too much to play songs with lots of octaves, so I started working on Un Sospiro by Liszt instead.
• Finish reading and review at least 3 books Done!

As for my goals for July, they are a little more simple since I’m doing Camp NaNoWriMo again.

July Goals

• Edits #2 and #3 of Lo, How a Rose
• Finish writing rough draft of Christmas story collection
• If those stories don’t reach my 25,000 word goal, start writing The Haven of Rest
• Continue working on Un Sospiro and get past the 4th page
• Finish beta-reading Bitter Winter
• Continue WWI research
• Stay cool!!

Do you have any goals for July?

Trust and Obey: The beginning of a new series

I have a new book out! And it’s not a western! What?!?! Why would I do that? Well, I’ll share more about how I decided to write this series and what inspired this particular book. But first, here’s a little more about the book. And you also get to see my new author picture!

About the Book

A wicked priestess, a morally corrupt king, and two children stuck in the middle…

Hadassah and Gidal love their parents and will do anything for them. When Priestess Basmat tell Ehud and Jerusha to pay their debt, they cannot and she takes Hadassah and Gidal as her slaves for two years.

The priestess works them hard, but there are two other servants to divide the load with, so they cope as well as they can. Then King Saul comes in disguise requesting the priestess’s other services—as a medium.

Will Hadassah and Gidal trust Adonai to take care of them? What will happen after Priestess Basmat comes face-to-face with the prophet Samuel?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D939ZPL

April 2018 Goals

Happy April! Spring is just about here. Of course, in Wisconsin, that can mean just about anything. We might have more snow yet sometime this month, or it might get up to 70 degrees (Fahrenheit).

All in all, March was a good month for me. I didn’t get as much done as I thought I would with my goals, but I did do some other things instead. Instead of the HLM and T&O edits, I got the house a bit more organized. There is still some organizing to do, but I feel good about how much I was able to do.

How was your month? What is the weather like where you are?

• Continue work on compilations (done!)
• Rewrite Tales of the East #2 (the new #2) (Partially done. 13,000+ words have been written; about 2/3rds through)
• Finish HLM edits #2 and #3 (Decided not to do this)
• Finish T&O edits #2 and #3 (Decided not to do this)
• Pick recital pieces and perfect them (done!)

April Goals

• Finish Lo, How a Rose (Tales of the East #2)
• Start and finish Rock of Ages (Tales of the East #3)
• Finish Trust and Obey edits #2-4 and send to proofreaders
• Send Rachel’s blog tour info and promote it
• Get audiobooks ready for publication and set publication date

Do you have any goals for April? I’d love to hear them.

March 2018 Goals

Happy March!

I hope your February went well. I know mine did. I got more done than I expected, participated in the Author Olympics (more on that in a minute), and had a few get-togethers at my house.

So the author olympics was started by a friend the last time the olympics happened. Basically, you set your expected goal (bronze), something hard to reach (silver), and something almost out of reach (gold). It was super fun and helped me be a little more productive than I may have been otherwise.

Love Can Be Hard Sometimes

Have you ever had a hard time loving someone? I think everyone probably has at one time in their life. But what would your life be like if you’ve never had the courage to love anyone? I explore that idea in my new book, He Hideth My Soul. 

Love can be hard, but it is always rewarding. As I wrote this book, I knew I wanted love to be part of the theme of the book. And not necessarily romantic love, though there are a couple love stories in the book.  I had written three books already where Otis Miller was a minor character and wanted to tell the rest of his story. This book is that story.

Otis has had a hard life. Due to many of the events in his childhood, he has never had the courage to truly love anyone. He likes many people, but doesn’t love anyone. Many people ask where the inspiration for my books comes. I can’t honestly say where the inspiration for this book came from or why I chose this theme, but I hope it touches you when (if) you read the book.

About the Book

He’s never had the courage to love anyone…

The only thing Otis Miller has ever wanted to be is a doctor and he wants to be the best. A surprise talk with his Aunt Eleanor days before his twenty-first birthday leads to a visit from his grandfather’s lawyer and the discovery that he is the heir to a large fortune. With all the papers signed, Otis heads to Chicago to follow his dream.

After graduating from Jenner Medical School, Otis goes to the mine he owns in Colorado to see how things are and to provide medical care for everyone in town. He finds horrible working conditions and learns to make difficult decisions that will be best for all

Will Otis learn to let God cover him in the depths of His love? Can Otis hide in God’s presence whenever he doesn’t know where to go next?

Note: 50% of my income from this series will go to the World Orphans organization.

http://books2read.com/HeHidethMySoul

About the Author

Faith Blum is a 20-something author of multiple books in various genres. She loves to write, read, play piano, knit, crochet, sew, watch movies, and spend time with her husband.  She lives in Wisconsin in a small town with her husband and cat where she can write to her heart’s content during the day. Faith’s goal in her writing is to encourage Christians in their walk with Christ.

Giveaway

Faith is giving away three prizes! The grand prize is a paperback of her new book. First and second prizes are both an eBook of He Hideth My Soul. Enter here for the chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt/Review

He sighed and turned away, leading Blaze the rest of the way to Dr. Benson’s office. He wasn’t there when Otis arrived, so he worked on organizing the supplies—something he cared about and Dr. Benson didn’t.

The bell over the front door tinkled, and he went to see who it was.

“Is Dr. Benson in?” the man asked.

“No, he isn’t. Can I help you?”

“You a doctor?”

“Basically. I’ve trained under Dr. Benson for about three years.”

“You’ll do. My little girl is bad sick. My wife’s tried all sorts of things and it ain’t helpin’.”

Otis grabbed the extra doctor’s bag and left a quick note for Dr. Benson. “Lead the way.”

All day, it seemed like Dr. Benson and Otis barely missed each other. When Otis got back, there was a note from him saying where he was, then Otis left and Dr. Benson came back, and so on and so forth. It was mid-afternoon before they finally crossed paths.

“There really is someone behind the notes,” Dr. Benson said.

Otis laughed. “Yes, there is. Good news is, people apparently trust me to treat them even without you there.”

“Good, excellent, marvelous. But I do still need to know who you treated for what in case they come when you aren’t here.”

Otis handed him the list he had made a few minutes earlier.

“Johnny on the spot today,” he said. “Well done, good treatments, and excellent work. I approve you to go anywhere you find a place in need of a doctor.”

“About that,” Otis said. “You mentioned Jenner Medical School once. Is Dr. Tyler still there?”

“Yes, yes, yes, he is. In fact, I wrote to him about you. Without your permission, I know, but when you have the territory’s best doctor as your pupil, you tend to lose your head while helping him.” He blinked rapidly and stared at the space beside Otis’s head. “Where was I? Oh yes, well, I told him about you and how you want to be a doctor and how hard you worked and all that. He’s incredibly excited for you to go. They don’t have scholarship funds at the moment though, unfortunately.”

Otis cleared his throat. “So he wants me there?”

“Yes, definitely; he was most emphatic about it. Even offered to let you borrow the money from him.”

“I don’t need it. Most likely, anyway.”

“Say again?”

Tour Schedule

February 20
Bookish Orchestrations – Introduction Post
Creating Romance – Book Spotlight
Rachel Rossano’s Words – Book Spotlight

February 21
Letters from Annie Douglass Lima – Book Spotlight
Rebekah Lyn Books – Book Spotlight

February 22
Ruth’s Real Life – Book Spotlight
Kandi J Wyatt, Where Fantasy and Reality Meet – Book Spotlight

February 23
With a Joyful Noise – Review
God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae – Book Spotlight

ebruary 24
Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections – Post from the author

February 26
Bookish Orchestration – Giveaway winner post

Have a Fruitful New Year!

 

Last Sunday, December 31, Pastor Stephen preached a sermon entitled, Have a Fruitful New Year. It was the perfect sermon. The sermon was based on John 15:1-8 and talked about abiding in Christ so we can bear fruit for Him. After the news we got the Thursday before, I needed to hear it.

Here are some of my favorite points from the sermon, summarized by me.

There are two different kinds of people. Those who bear no fruit and those who do bear fruit.