Giveaway, Part 2 – What’s better than a 99 cent book?
Answer: A free book!
For this week’s giveaway, I’ll draw one name of a new follower or subscriber, and announce the winner next Tuesday, Nov 24. The winner will receive a copy of my 4-star ebook, When Lyric Met Limerick.
Guidelines to enter:
- Just fill in your email on my home page and sign up as a subscriber.
- Or, if you’re already a subscriber, you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. I’ll be pulling a new follower’s name out of my hat from all my social media sites!
- For a greater chance to win, you may sign up on all four sites if you wish.
- Only residents of countries with access to Amazon are eligible to enter. I still love ya, I just don’t have a way to send you a copy 🙂
Finally…an e-zine for single parents.
In my first year of single parenting, the internet was a mere infant. Most family and parenting magazines were targeted to intact families. Women who kicked their abusive husbands to the curb were still looked upon unfavorably in most evangelical circles, especially among the older generation. [Someday I plan to blog about that tough first year.] When I did find reading material targeted at me, it made me shudder. The statistics were dire: children of single moms were more likely to drop out of high school. Daughters were more likely to get pregnant as a teen, and sons were more likely to engage in delinquent behavior. Both were more likely to use drugs.
I couldn’t win for losing.
But I also knew my sons didn’t HAVE to take the path to loserdom. Check back again for more on how, with the help of God and a support system, my sons overcame all those negative forces threatening to take them under.
How much easier if I’d had this:
http://singleparentfamiliesmagazine.com/
The founder is herself a single mother. If you are too, I encourage you to save this link and refer to it frequently.
Blessings to all,
~DVC~
Hot Topics in Fiction with Guest Candee Fick
Dear Readers,
Do you like college football? I certainly do. And so does new author Candee Fick. In fact, her new novel is set in the always-exciting college football world.This intrigued me, so I invited her to share with us a little about her new release and the hot topics it addresses.
First off, can you tell us about the premise of your debut?
Catch of a Lifetime is an inspirational romance about a first year college football coach who wants to win and the football-hating graduate student athletic trainer who has to work with the team. Of course, romantic relationships between staff and students are discouraged and they must keep their growing attraction hidden behind a wall of professionalism in order to avoid a scandal.
Sounds intriguing. Did you have a message you wanted readers to come away with?
I wanted to show a real example of how people look at and judge each other based on the outside, but God sees the heart. While my heroine’s opinions about football change as she gets to know the individuals on the team, headlines over the past year indicate that our nation still wrestles with broader stereotypes and prejudice based on race, political party, moral convictions, and even career choices like law enforcement. Unfortunately, those damaging and divisive stereotypes are often rooted in the poor behavior of specific individuals.
Can you think of an example?
Take, for instance, a narcissistic football player. His athletic skill may have propelled him to the limelight and then he starts to believe the world revolves around him. That every ball should be thrown to him so that he gets the statistics and credit. That every girl on campus should be begging for his attention. That the rules don’t apply to him. After meeting such an egomaniac, one could assume that all of the other players on the team feel the same sense of entitlement.
However, just because a team has such a player (or two), doesn’t mean everyone on the team is that self-absorbed. Some, in fact, are hard-workers with personal integrity and a strong sense of right and wrong. While my heroine learns to not judge the whole group by the actions of one, it was also satisfying through the course of the story to have the narcissist suffer the natural consequences of his behavior and get taken down by the good guys.
Nice. So, your book touches on negative stereotypes and narcissism. Any other hot topics?
How about sex? Or rather maintaining sexual purity despite temptations and external pressure? My hero and heroine had to work to keep their attraction to each other within the safe boundaries of their personal faith convictions and I tried to give an honest picture of their struggle in the context of a college football environment. However, as one reviewer already pointed out, I ended up also showing readers practical solutions like accountability and staying in public places. I believe that’s the purpose of touching on a hot topic … to meet readers where they are and leave them with hope.
![Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000039_00003]](https://dawnvcahill.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/candeefick_catchofalifetime_800.jpg)
CATCH OF A LIFETIME: He breathes football. She shudders at the very mention of the sport. After a tragedy involving a football player destroyed her family, athletic trainer and graduate student Cassie moves across the country looking for a fresh start, but a change in financial aid lands her in the middle of her worst nightmare. Meanwhile, rookie coach Reed worries his dream career will slip away as injuries plague his players and his star receiver teeters on the brink of ineligibility. As the two work together to salvage the season, sparks fly, and Reed must eventually choose between the game he cherishes and the woman he loves.
Candee Fick is the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job or writing, she can be found cheering on the home team at football, basketball, baseball, and Special Olympics games. In what little free time remains, she enjoys exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.
Click here to purchase or get a sneak preview.
Thank you, Candee, for visiting my blog today!
~DVC~
Narcissistic mother.
This mother is just a shell of a person, like most narcissists. I bet Dr. Phil wanted to wring her neck. I wanted to say, “Repeat after me…It’s clear I screwed up and I’m terribly sorry.” I had to apologize to my own kids SO many times.
Giveaway, Giveaway!
Just three more days to enter this week’s ebook giveaway! Leave a comment here for your chance to win!
Introducing the fabulous Luna Raquelle
Interview with Luna Rickles of When Lyric Met Limerick
By Dawn V. Cahill
Today I’m interviewing the talented Luna Raquelle, dancer and poet extraordinaire – Howard’s love interest in When Lyric Met Limerick. She’s visiting us from the pages of my novelette, released just this month.
Luna, her blond hair wound in a loose knot on her head, sits on my living room sofa and takes a sip of freshly-steeped Chai tea.
DVC: Hi Luna. I’m so glad you could visit with me and my readers today.
Luna: {sits back, flinging one thin leg over the other. The steam from the tea forms a gauzy veil around her face.} Thanks. I’m happy to be here. This tea is delicious.
DVC: I love your purple leotard and colorful peasant skirt. Is purple your favorite color?
Luna: No, pink is.
DVC: Then you must love my book’s cover.
Not only is it pink, it shows a couple holding hands, which begs the question: Are you Lyric, or Limerick?
Luna: {chuckles} I’m Limerick. Howard is Lyric.
DVC: Tell us more about your love for limericks.
Luna: When I was a child, my mom read me rhymes at bedtime. I grew up on Dr Seuss, Shel Silverstein, and Ogden Nash. Eventually I started to wonder if I could write a funny rhyme, too. My first few attempts were pathetic. The cadence was all wrong, and they didn’t exactly rhyme.
DVC: But now you’re a pro.
Luna: Well, it took a lot of practice. Once I learned the importance of cadence, I was off and running.
DVC: You’re also an accomplished dancer. If you were forced to do only one of them rest of your life – limericks or dance – which would you choose? And why?
Luna: {squints into the distance, then meets my gaze} Limericks. Because even though my body will age, my mind doesn’t have to.
DVC: Now about Howard…
Luna: {ducks her head and giggles}
DVC: What was your very first impression of him when he approached your table that fateful day at Pike’s Place Market?
Luna: I didn’t see him at first. Then I looked up to see this cute guy checking me out. I knew he wasn’t there for a personalized limerick, but he tried oh-so-hard to pretend he was!
DVC: Howard’s the daredevil type, a risk taker. What drew you to him?
Luna: {wrinkles her brow in thought} I’d say it’s his charming tendency to make me laugh at the oddest times. Without even trying. And the fact that we think alike. He makes up lyrics in his head, I make up limericks.
DVC: Unfortunately for Howard, you already had a boyfriend at the time. Were you happy in that relationship?
Luna: I hadn’t been for a long time, but I was afraid to break up with him because he had a temper. Howard was a breath of fresh air.
DVC: But he was also a thief and a liar.
Luna: {shrugs} I’m no angel either. But he promised me he’d never do anything to land himself in jail again. And I believe him.
DVC: What was the moment you knew he was the one?
Luna: That’s easy. The first time he called me Luna Tunes, I knew he was the one.
Click here for more details on this week’s giveaway! And congratulations to last week’s winner, Evelyn, who won a copy of When Lyric Met Limerick.
Beauty from Ashes, Part II
In Beauty for Ashes Part I, I promised you a visual example of God’s ability to make something spectacular out of lowly ashes. As I mentioned in my post, it’s fairly close to home. Mt. Mazama, tucked into the Cascade Range in Oregon, is even more beautiful as a crater than she must have been 6,000 years ago as a mountain.
Before:
After:
Isn’t it amazing how God can take a barren wreck and turn it into a work of art?
~DVC~
Narcissists are just highly trained monkeys.
Narcissism: Nature or nurture?
It seems some people think narcissists are smarter than other people, because their mental and emotional abuse and manipulations appear so calculated and complex, and they seem to always be able to anticipate your actions and reactions. People also think you can’t outsmart a narcissist for the same reason.
While it’s true that outsmarting a narcissist means you always have to anticipate their actions ahead of time (which is difficult for a victim to do), it can be done, especially if the narcissist isn’t very smart. In fact, some of them are pretty stupid. The stupid ones are probably less dangerous, but even the highly manipulative and cunning ones who are experts at gaslighting and other mind games aren’t necessarily all that smart.
They’re more like highly trained monkeys. Some monkeys can perform very complex tasks that make it appear as if they’re incredibly smart. But this is an illusion…
View original post 393 more words
Today I am Honored….
…to be guest author on the Fabulous Sarah Ruut’s blog. Check it out:
http://sarahruut.com/2015/10/22/a-visit-with-dawn-cahill-about-her-story-when-lyric-met-limerick/
Wounded Children
“The ACE Study tells us that experiencing chronic, unpredictable toxic stress in childhood predisposes us to a constellation of chronic conditions in adulthood.” (Psychology Today)
Have you ever wished for a way to measure your childhood adversity? If so, this is for you:
Finding your ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) score
While you were growing up, during your first 18 years of life:
1. Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often… Swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you? or Act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt? Yes No If yes enter 1 ________
2. Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often… Push, grab, slap, or throw something at you? or Ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured? Yes No If yes enter 1 ________
3. Did an adult or person at least 5 years older than you ever… Touch or fondle you or have you touch their body in a sexual way? or Attempt or actually have oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you? Yes No If yes enter 1 ________
4. Did you often or very often feel that … No one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? or Your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other? Yes No If yes enter 1 ________
5. Did you often or very often feel that … You didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you? or Your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it? Yes No If yes enter 1 ________
6. Were your parents ever separated or divorced? Yes No If yes enter 1 ________
7. Was your mother or stepmother: Often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her? or Sometimes, often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard? or Ever repeatedly hit at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife? Yes No If yes enter 1 ________
8. Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic or who used street drugs? Yes No If yes enter 1 ________
9. Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide? Yes No If yes enter 1 ________
10. Did a household member go to prison? Yes No If yes enter 1 _______
Now add up your “Yes” answers: _______ This is your ACE Score.
(downloaded from acestudy.org)
If you scored 4 or above, you definitely experienced adverse childhood conditions. To find out what your score means, go here.
Dawn V. Cahill - Hot Topic Christian Fiction 