And the Award Goes To...

Last week, my blogger friend, Jeri Walker-Bickett awarded me ‘The Best Blog Supporter Award’.

I’m a bit late at posting this award because I was in Spain for a holiday weekend. Anyways, I’d like to thank Jeri for this award. She’s one of my dedicated blog readers, and on top of that, she knows how to work the ‘social media’ clubs sites. Jeri is an inspiration to writing, blogging “What Do I Know?”, and a devoted follower and virtual friend. She is also my critique partner. Check out her blog—you will only be inspired.

I’ve received many blog awards, and in recent times, I have just thanked those for awarding them to me due to repeats. I’m very grateful that people think of my blog enough to want to mention it. The Best Blog Supporter Award is to thank and honor members in the blogging world, who continuously read, comment and share your blog with others. To receive this award, I have to reveal a few things about myself that most may not know, so here it goes.

1.  I don’t have children, and I’ve never wanted any.

2.  For most of my life, I was financially independent and took care of myself along with my family. Now I’m dependent and domesticated, taking care of my husband and four-legged baby, Shakespeare … and I love it.

3.  When I was sixteen, I sang with a band, Johnny and the Shakers, at a few places.  

4.  My ears were pierced when I was in 6^th grade, but I don’t wear earrings.

5. When my husband and I travel, we compete at taking pictures.

6.  This summer, I’ll be shipping the remains of my material and sentimental things from the U.S. to Germany.  

7.  I’ve never been in a driving accident *knocks on wood*.

8. In my late 20’s, I got my first tattoo in Vegas, and the following year, the other two.

This summer, I’ll be getting another one.

9.  As I continue to work on my novel, I still wonder if my writing is worth reading, or if I’m making a fool of myself.

10. For 13-1/2 years, I worked in IT, troubleshooting hardware and software issues. People find it odd that I don’t have an iPhone, Kindle/Nook, and my iPod is about 10-years old. 

Now I’m supposed to pass this along to fellow bloggers who continue to support and encourage me to blog. Below is my award list. I know some people don’t like blog awards, and some people already received this award. I’m simply listing these people because I want them to know that I appreciate them. My appreciation also extends passed the blogging world to those who don’t blog, but continuously read my blog.

Jon Jefferson – Misadventures in Strange Places

Brandon & Bryan – A Beer for the Shower

Peggy Eddleman – Will Write for Cookies

Pat Collingwood-Ruppe – Plain Talk and Ordinary Wisdom

Barb Riley – Written Not With Ink

The rules of claiming this award are simple:

1. Post a link of my blog and Best Blog Supporter award image on your website.

2. Say a few nice things about the one (me) who gave you the award.

3. Tell us things about yourself.

4. Share as you see fit.

Blogs and Appreciation,

Bea

Featured Christian Author – Rebekah Lyn

Our first Christian Fiction author, Rebekah Lyn, has stopped on by to share with us her published novels and works in progress, along with another enjoyment of hers—cooking and baking. She shares recipes on her blog, http://rebekahlynskitchen.wordpress.com, so stop on by to see what’s cooking. 

Rebekah is a Christian with a heart for new beginnings. She is a Florida native and a graduate of Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Fl. A love of history, research and journaling naturally led to a passion for writing. She enjoys traveling and has traveled extensively across the United States and Canada, as well as Europe and the Caribbean. Her reading tastes run from the classics to light fiction. Rebekah currently resides in Florida along with her "attack" cat, Mia.

Her current works include, Summer Storms, the first book in The Seasons of Faith series, and Julianne, the first book in The Coastal Chronicle series. She is currently working on Winter's End, the much-awaited sequel to Summer Storms.

Julianne Synopsis

Julianne is a story about a young woman’s struggle to find inner peace and spirituality. Julianne Finnegan has experienced relationship issues, career confusion, and is overshadowed by a successful sibling. Dissatisfaction is evident in every facet of her life.

She meets Oliver, a handsome young actor who struggles with demons of his own. Through her encounter with Oliver, Julianne begins to learn about faith in herself and in others, although she is faced with some difficult choices when a former love appears. Julianne is an exploration of the guidance we may seek in establishing relationships with others and a higher power.

What made you write Julianne?

Rebekah started writing Julianne out of frustration with her day job, and then she put it in a drawer for almost 10 years. A lot of Julianne's frustrations were based on her own career challenges, and it was cathartic to write about her out of that circumstance. When she started writing it, Rebekah didn’t know she was going to end up writing a story with a Christian message. When she was about halfway through, God showed her this and it was her strength and her opportunity to show the love and acceptance available through a relationship with Christ. 

Self-Publishing?

She started out planning to go the traditional publishing route with her first novel, Summer Storms, but it was taking a long time to reach agents, wait for them to get back to her, and then start all over again. Rebekah really felt that Summer Storms was a story that needed to be told and decided to take the plunge into self-publishing.   

Links to where the book can be purchased:

http://amzn.to/PHfEMA

https://www.createspace.com/3909382

http://bit.ly/PGMclx

Author Links:

Julianne Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdWAlorjKng&feature=plcp

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RebekahLyn1

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRebekahLyn

Thanks, Rebekah for letting us learn about you and your writings. I appreciate your participation in Pay It Forward. Now shout out, Rebekah Lyn, to the world by passing along this link - http://bit.ly/OlVZ4u.

Faith and Baking,

Bea

Breakfast in Canterbury, Lunch by the Sea and Dinner with the Queen

Since I arrived in Germany and will be here for a month, I’m sure most of my posts will be about our travels. I arrived in Amsterdam on Friday and on Saturday we took off on our extended weekend excursion. It’s Fat Tuesday in the States and this past weekend started Carnivale in Europe.

We drove 4-1/2 hours to Calais, France to take the ferry to Dover. Here are a few pictures where we waited to drive the car onto the ferry, and then of the White Cliffs of Dover.

On Sunday morning, we woke early to experience Canterbury before everyone else go there. The center of Canterbury is unique because it was built within the old castle. This is part of the castle.

 

Here are some pictures I took as we strolled down the quiet streets.

This sign was on one of the historic buildings. I thought it was funny.

When we were walking around by the waterway, a man told us he just saw a fox, so we stayed there until the fox came out. I think he enjoyed being on display. Mmmm….breakfast.

Here are more pictures of our walk along the waterway.

This is a picture of the original entrance into the castle. They had a picture of what it looked like with the drawbridge. Then I took a picture from the other side of the English telephone booths.

 

It took me a while to get it, but here’s a picture of a poetry (poet tree). There are pieces of paper with poetry written on it that hung from the tree. Clever.

And here’s where we enjoyed a tour of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Before leaving Canterbury, we stopped into their grocery store to check out what they had, and I couldn’t believe I found some Scottish Haggis. For those of you who don’t know what Haggis is, it’s made out of sheep’s liver, heart and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal and spices. As tradition has it, it normally is put in the animal’s stomach and simmered for 3 hours.

After our Canterbury fun, we stopped at a little town called Herne Bay, but moved onto another coastal town called Whitstable. I loved this place. It was so cute. Here are a few pictures of our ventures in Whitstable. 

We had lunch at the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company and the oysters were huge and yummy. I ate them too fast to take a picture but here's what it looks like from the inside of the place.

Now it's mid-afternoon and my Love asked if I wanted to head to London. Me being the adventurer, said “sounds good.” We drove to London and walked around, listened to live music and finished there with dinner. Here are a few pictures of our time there.

By this time we were tired, so we headed back to the hotel room for a good night sleep.

Now I’m sick and hope to be better soon.

How are you celebrating Fat Tuesday?

Adventures and Experience,

Bea