Raves and Reviews

Last week, I had a librarian tell me how popular my books are with readers. She said they flew off her shelves, and everyone was raving about them. This wasn't the first time this has happened, but it always puts a big smile on my face. I find such comments very encouraging.

I've been blessed that I've received such great comments from hundreds of readers. However, I'm a little disappointed that such sentiments haven't transferred into more reviews. In fact, as my fan base has increased, my reviews have decreased. Although my first book, Cleared for Planting, has decent reviews, two of my recent books have no reviews. I check them every day in anticipation but have been disappointed for a good while now.

I know some writers have a review team that reviews their books for free copies. I have a slight concern over the ethics of buying reviews like this but, nonetheless, other authors talked me into trying it. It didn't work for me. Only about a third of the people left a review, although they received the book and agreed to do so. Then some of those left were lackluster and mechanical.

Therefore, I appeal to my readers. If you've read one or more of my books and enjoyed it, please, please leave a review on Amazon. It is the best way to say thanks to an author, and once you start, it will take no time at all. Reviews don't have to be lengthy - just tell what you liked about it or how much you enjoyed it. A sentence or two are fine. New five-star reviews would warm my heart and bring much joy.

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Jamaica Celebrates Its Independence

On August 6, 1962, Jamaica obtained its independence from the United Kingdom. Jamaica is the fourth largest island country in the Caribbean and lies about 90 miles south of Cuba. The island was originally inhabited by the Arawak and Taino Indians but was settled by the Spanish after Christopher Columbus landed there in 1494. As part of their colonization, the Spaniards brought in African slaves. England later took over, and Jamaica became a leading exporter of sugar.

Jamaica has many faces. It is a tropical island with lovely beaches and points of interest. It has a strong musical culture with reggae being the most commonly recognized form, and Bob Marley its most noted musician. Jamaica is also known for its special cuisine which has been influenced by many different parts of the world. Popular dishes include curry goat, fried plantain, rice and peas, fried dumplings, and saltfish. However, the island also has its poverty and less appealing side.

Tourism has been strong in Jamaica for many years, although recent reports indicate this may be waning somewhat. Ian Fleming had a home there, and it became the setting for many of his James Bond novels. However, only one James Bond movie, Dr. No, was filmed there. Other movies filmed there include The Harder They Come; Cocktail, starring Tom Cruise; and Cool Runnings, which is partly based on the true story of Jamaica's first bobsled team to the Winter Olympics.

I've been to Jamaica a few times, and it has much to offer. I wish them all the best on this, their Independence Day.

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Paul's Early Years

Paul became such an outstanding apostle and missionary, we often skim over his early years, but these helped form him into a man God could send to take His messages and truths to the Gentile world. He grew up in Tarsus, one of the main trading centers on the Mediterranean Sea. His father was a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin and also a Roman citizen. The son may have been named for the first king of Israel. Saul was his Hebrew name, but as a Roman citizen, he was also known as Paul.

Growing up in a Jewish community and strict Jewish home, Saul would have begun learning scripture early, as little more than a toddler. Normally, a Jewish child would begin reading scripture around age five, but Saul was more precocious than most. He started studying under a rabbi at the synagogue when he was six. As Beth Moore aptly explained in To Live Is Christ, "Being a Hebrew was not just a religion; Judaism wasn't even just a way of life. Being Hebrew defined who you were, how you thought, and what you felt."

When Saul turned thirteen, he left for Jerusalem to study under the famed teacher, Gamaliel, who was the grandson of the great teacher, Hillel. Saul took to his studies with a passion and excelled. He quickly moved through the levels, and many thought his zeal and commitment set him in a likely position to become the high priest and certainly an important leader.  He saw the followers of Jesus as enemies of the Jews and heretics who were trying to mislead the people and pull them away from God, and he attacked them with fervor for this reason.

His experience of meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus changed all this. When he was shown the truth of who Jesus is, he became as zealous for Christ as he had been in destroying His followers. He knew the Scriptures thoroughly, and he could use it to point to Christ and show people the truth of the Word. He was the most scholarly of all the apostles, but he had a practical side, too, and he could be content in whatever state he found himself. He developed a deep, abiding faith, and led others to do the same. Oh, would that the world had more Christians like Paul today.

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Preventing Hackers and Other Problems

Hackers are becoming an increasing nuisance on social media sites, especially Facebook. I don't understand all their motives, although I've had some invite me and my friends into some plan that is supposed to send a lot of money our way but will really only line their pockets. Over time, I've been fairly successful in limiting their activities on my pages.

If you recognize a new friend request as coming from a friend or acquaintance, don't automatically accept their friend request. Hackers often copy people you're already friends with, especially if you have many, so check to see. If there's another account that you are friends with them on, chances are this one's a fraud; and you can always message the older one to be sure. Next, check to see how long this account has been open on Facebook or how many friends the person has. Most hackers use new accounts, and you want to be wary of those. 

I have also learned to be more cautious of people living in third world countries. I find this very regrettable, but experience has taught me they often have ulterior motives. Many of them keep asking for money (for a good cause, of course). Others take liberties because they are almost anonymous. I even had one young man expose himself in a photo. I quickly unfriended and blocked him and his friends. If all of us are more cautious, perhaps the time and effort to hack accounts will prove futile, and hackers will become few and far between. One can hope.

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National Cheesecake Day

July 30th is National Cheesecake Day and a good day to celebrate if you love cheesecake as much as I do. It's my all-time favorite dessert. I've never eaten a flavor that I didn't like, but my favorite is turtle cheesecake, followed by the ones with fruit toppings.

Cheesecake is actually older than I would have guessed. Some historians believe a form of the treat was popular in ancient Greece, and a Greek physician wrote a book on how to make them. The Romans adopted the instructions after they conquered Greece. The earliest recipe we still have is found in an English cookbook from 1390. 

Modern forms of cheesecake in the United States and Canada usually use cream cheese; in Italy, ricotta is used; and Germany, the Netherlands and Poland use quark. The cake is normally baked in a springform cake pan, sometimes in a water bath, to distribute the heat more evenly. Because cheesecakes are so dense, they often continue cooking for a while after they are taken from the oven.

There are lots of cheesecake recipes out there to try, and there're also some very good commercially prepared ones to buy. So, today is a good day to splurge, forget about the calories and fat content, and have a piece of your favorite kind to celebrate.

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* Notice *

In the four years I've been blogging, I've never taken a day off and always posted on schedule. However, my son, daughter, two youngest grandsons, and I are going on a cruise out of the country, and I've decided to take a vacation from blogging while we are gone. I will resume posting on Monday, July 30.

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Historicals or Contemporaries

Which type of novels do you prefer to read - historicals or contemporaries? Most of the authors' posts I see say that contemporaries sell much better than historical fiction does. I read and enjoy both, but if asked to choose which genre I prefer, I would have to choose historical. But then, history has always been a special interest of mine.

I also write both historicals and contemporaries. Of the twelve books I've published so far, five have been contemporaries and seven are historicals. As a history major, I even enjoy the research the historical novel requires, and I'm conscientious. I look up every questionable word to make sure it was used during that time period. But it's also fun to write contemporaries where there's not so much constraint.

Just recently, I realized that my historical novels are selling about three times better than my contemporaries. I don't know why it took me so long to see this, because I pay attention to the statistics. Maybe it's because all my novels have continued to steadily sell. I wish I knew the reason the historicals are selling better. My husband thinks it's because I do such thorough research. I wonder if historicals don't usually sell better as a whole. What do you think?
Do you enjoy historicals or contemporaries more?

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