But first, don't forget to enter the drawing for the KINDLE VOYAGE here on our new BLOG. You'll find the form in the first blog post.
I love Japanese anime and manga (I like the romance storylines the best), knitting, and I’m still hoping to get more disciplined in my running training so I can run another half-marathon before I get too old to run. :) I’m a huge fan of the old traditional Regency romances (like those published by Signet, Zebra, Fawcett-Crest, and Harlequin Regencies) and I love finding new authors currently publishing Regencies as ebooks.
For the past year I’ve been learning the Japanese language through self-study because I’d really like to visit Japan again sometime. Somehow learning a foreign language seemed easier when I was in my twenties. I’m a fourth generation Japanese American but didn’t learn the language when I was growing up (except for a few years in high school and only one year in college) so now I’m reconnecting with my roots.
I’m so excited to be blogging with my friends on the Clean Romance Reads Cafe blog!
Good morning! I'm Cheryl Wyatt. Welcome to our blog! We are grateful to have
you here. We’d love to know more about you, too, so don’t be shy, tell us about
yourself. J
Where do you live?
What’s your favorite pastime?
About me: I was born on a Naval base to an awesome Marine
Corps dad (Semper Fi!) and a gracious, caring mom who is my biggest cheerleader.
My parents encouraged my creativity as far back as I remember. They’re responsible
for any belief I have in myself as a writer. I’m very thankful for my parents.
Who in your life most greatly encouraged and impacted you?
I’ve enjoyed being a nurse, and short-term crisis missionary.
I love to pray, laugh and encourage. My favorite thing? Being a mom. My girls
are active in sports. I love watching their games.
Do you have children or grands?
What’s your favorite way to spend time with them?
I love reading. Romance is my favorite genre.
Who are your favorite authors?
What’s the most impactful or memorable book you’ve read?
What do you like to watch on TV? I LOVE Hallmark movies.
What about you?
I write contemporary Inspirational romance for Harlequin
Love Inspired and HarperCollins. I have a book releasing today in fact! It’s part
of an anthology called A Season to Wed. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UF72DSU.
It features a busy caterer whose kitchen caves in during a blizzard, and the
only person qualified and capable of helping her (former) high school bully. Of
course the hero is now remorseful and changed for the better. I hope you enjoy
it if you try it.
Please share about yourself. Hobbies, dreams, hopes, as well
as what you’ve like to see us blog about. Can’t wait to get to know you better!
Thank you for joining us today!
And I’m Elizabeth Goddard, but you can call me Beth. I primarily write romantic suspense for Love Inspired Suspense and I’m so excited for the chance to blog here with this great group of romance writers as well as long-time friends.I love all things nature and wilderness and I write stories set in amazing places--intriguing getaways and exotic locations. I just completed my sixth book in the Mountain Cove series set in southeast Alaska, and I'm starting a new series set in the Wild Rogue Wilderness of southwest Oregon--exotic and beautiful.
If I’m not working on a story, I’m reading a romantic suspense or thriller or I’m watching a great action adventure movie, drama or psychological thriller. I love them all. For me it’s all about story. It’s awesome that I get to do all of the things I love for my job as a full-time romance writer.
I'm so excited to be part of this blog! Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you'll join us again and again. I look forward to getting to know you better!
(Oh, and one more thing—I’m giving away a $100 Amazon Gift Card for Black Friday at my website, so hop over there and enter that drawing, too! ElizabethGoddard.com)
If you haven't already done so, don't forget to enter the drawing for the KINDLE VOYAGE here on our new BLOG. You'll find the form in the first blog post.
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ReplyDeleteGood day ladies. It's nice learning more about you. I am a wife, mom and Grammy....I also answer to Chappy and The Maid. I tried dabbling in writing...me and MaryLu wrote a devotional together. Now, I am a crafter....papercrafts. My specialty is Exploding Picture Boxes. Recently, my son and grandson moved in with the Butler (me hubby) and me, so crafting has slowed down a lot. I love to read, when I have the time. MaryLu is my favorite author and a wonderful friend. Hoping to add all of you ladies' books to my tbr pile one day. God bless.
I've never heard about Exploding Picture Boxes. What are they?
DeleteDebbie, that's so cool! I hope you pick writing back up again soon. Like Danica, I've never heard of Exploding Picture Boxes. We are fond of MaryLu as well! :-) Thank you so much for stopping by.
DeleteDebby! Marylu talks about you all the time. :) I hope you eventually find more time to write! What in the world are exploding picture boxes???
DeleteHead over to my Pinterest page and click on the "Exploding Picture Boxes I've Made" board. My Pinterest name is Chappy Debbie Mitchell. You'll see a few that I made for MaryLu.
DeleteBasically, they have three layers/flaps that pictures can be glued to. Once I know the theme, I create a papercraft for the center and top. They are called exploding picture boxes because when you remove the lid/top, the flaps should fall down. Mine don't usually fall down easily, because I make them sturdier....to hold up over the years. What's funny is that they are actually called just Exploding Boxes, but I had to add the word Picture to it on account of the stares I got from people, especially the postman. LOL
DeleteOMG THOSE ARE AMAZING! YOU'RE SO CREATIVE! For anyone else who wants to see, here's the link to your Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/debsbunch5/exploding-picture-boxes-ive-made/
DeleteThanks Camy.
DeleteOooooh! THOSE ARE COOL! Debbie, you are so incredibly talented and creative! I laughed thinking about people's reactions to "Exploding Boxes." Haaaaaa!!!!! I would have TOOOOOO much fun with that. :-)
DeleteThanks, Cheryl. Yeah, I think it's hilarious, but better safe than sorry.....or arrested for trying to mail off and exploding box. LOL
DeleteLove this wonderful new blog. It's wonderful learning new things about each of you. I am a stay at home mom who loves to read in her down time( is there such a thing?). I love a good suspense and romance. It can either be contemporary or historical. See I'm not choosy. With winter just around the corner I am stocking up on my tbr stack, because there's nothing better than a comfortable spot with a good book and a hot cup of tea or coffee. Congratulations on your launch. Best of luck on your new site and your new releases. Blessings to you all.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Katrina! I'm totally with you on stocking up my TBR pile, despite the fact it's already way too big. :) And stocking up on my favorite teas. Right now I'm drinking strawberry chocolate puer from Lupicia (http://usa.lupicia.com/category/select/pid/9676)
DeleteHi Katrina! Good to see you here. So glad you are able to stay home with your kiddos. I did that and haven't regretted it. Thank you for the kind words about the launch. We appreciate your support and hope you'll visit regularly.
ReplyDeleteCamy! It is so great to connect with you here! What has been the hardest part for you reconnecting with your roots? I have been tracing my family back through Germany. They stayed in the Ronshausen area. I am back to the late 1600s. I think I have hit the end of being able to trace them and I am sad.
ReplyDeleteCheryl!!! I can't wait to read your new book. And you put a blizzard in it! I know it will be great. Right now I am watching a lot of Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel. And there's snow in most of them!
Beth, it is great to meet you! I look forward to getting to know you and your books!
WOW Sally that is so amazing about your family! I can only trace my family tree to my great grandparents who came to Hawaii to work in the cane fields. I know I have family in Japan but they're all distant and we've never been in touch with any of them. I'm not sure if I could find the records since they were farmers and may not have been able to read and write. I've been studying my Japanese language, which also gives me insight into the Japanese culture, and I've been really enjoying watching Japanese anime. :)
DeleteThat is so interesting! My dad's mom's side of the family has been traced back to ancestors who came over with William Penn, and then on back to a Baron. Researching your family tree is so much fun! There are so many fun stories. Keep plugging away. It has taken me over 10 years to get where I am on my dad's side of the family. You just never know. Several months ago, a lady contacted me who was a descendant of my great grandfather's brother. She had a copy of the births and deaths from the family Bible of their father who came from Germany, so it contained all the brothers and sisters who were born here. That was such a great find! I would love to find relatives if they still live in Germany. It seems they have all stayed in the Ronshausen area, but I would have no idea how to go about getting in touch with anybody. I'd like to know if they have any stories handed down about my ancestor who came to America.
DeleteWOW that's amazing! I can totally see how that would be really exciting to discover so much about your family tree!
DeleteHi all, haven't much time as I am off to Adelaide today. I am Jenny aka Ausjenny from Australia hence the Aus. I am a cricket fanatic which is why I am of to the city to watch some and while here having 2 cortisone injections in my shoulders. I suffer from chronic pain which has slowed down the reading.
ReplyDeleteBeing aussie we tend to have to wait for some movies but today I will be able to get he next 2 episodes of When calls the heart. Its annoying the cost I spend for the 2 here I could almost buy the whole series in America but with the dollar falling and shipping it gets a little more expensive.
I have subscribed so will get updates here
Jenny! so good to see you here! I've been praying for you for a long time--I hope your shoulder heals up soon!
DeleteJenny!!!! Hello to my cricket buddy! So glad you stopped by. Thank you for subscribing. We really appreciate it. Hugs and continued prayers for healing in your body and answers from docs.
DeleteHold. The. Phone. Camy's working on a dystopian romance??? That totally made my day! ^_^ Do you have an idea of what your target age group is? YA, New Adult, Adult, YA-crossover? Wow. So excited for this!!! =)
ReplyDeleteI'm also 4th generation on my Japanese side --I'm hoping to focus on learning Japanese once I'm finished with grad school *fingers crossed*
Well-met, Cheryl! My family (especially my Dad, LOL) loves watching Hallmark movies. I'm Jen and I blog at The Artist Librarian about my favorite things: books, arts, crafts, costuming, and my fave fandoms (tv, film, book, etc.) I'm currently studying to be a Children's or YA (Young Adult) public librarian ... =)
Elizabeth, thanks for the link! As a full time college student, I totally had to enter your giveaway. ;-) My mom loves LI Suspense, I'm sure she must have read some of your titles!
Aw thanks! Yes I basically got a really strong vision from God about writing this book even though it was outside my normal writing genres, but since I love to watch a lot of dystopian anime series, it isn't really outside my typical entertainment habits. :) It's aimed more at new adult and adult than teen, and it'll take the place of the 3rd Protection for Hire book (which I know is a real genre-bender but since I'll be self-publishing it, I can do whatever I want!)
DeleteHey, let's learn Japanese together! That'll be fun once you start learning.
Can't wait! The majority of dystopians I've seen are YA, so I think it's awesome that you're targeting an older audience. =)
DeleteI hope Protection for Hire #3 will still be in the works --if I remember correctly, we were kind of left hanging with Tessa and Charles' relationship ... =P
I'd totally be down with that this summer! Do you start with romanji or just go with kanji?
Awesome! When I wanted to relearn my Japanese, I asked one of the college students at my church who's a Japanese major what books I should use to learn Japanese again (since my Japanese books from when I was in college are now over 20 years old and the language changes quite a bit). He suggested Genki I and II:
DeleteGenki I: http://amzn.to/1kYd3k2
Genki II: http://amzn.to/1QFNDUK
Each book is $50, though, so it's a bit pricey, but the books contain a CD ROM with audio drills that are SUPER awesome. These books are also cheaper than the books I bought in college for my 1st year Japanese course, which also included audio drills (but those drills were nowhere near as good as Genki).
You should start with learning hiragana and katakana (it's in the Genki book). Then you can move into kanji. Genki has an app which might help you with hiragana and katakana, or you can use your own flashcard app. I used Flashcards Deluxe: http://apple.co/1j2RjlJ because it allows you to draw on your screen.
When learning kanji, you can use the Genki app to learn vocabulary, however, I don't use it. Instead, I use two apps that I wish I'd had when I was in college:
Scribe Origins: http://apple.co/1OaTkre
Scribe Japanese: http://apple.co/1SSKVdE
Scribe Origins teaches you the meanings of the basic parts of the Kanji, the "primitives." (I never learned primitives when I took Japanese in college--instead I learned about them from the Japanese kids in my church youth group, who learned about it when they took Japanese school.)
Once you know the meanings of the primitives, then when you learn a kanji character, you can create a "story" to help you remember the kanji. For example, the kanji for "parent" is made up of three primitives: "see", "standing up", and "tree." So you create a story like, "My parent is standing up at the top of a tree looking for me" to remember what the kanji means and also to remember how to write it.
Then for vocabulary, I use Scribe Japanese, but you could use the Genki app instead. I like Scribe Japanese because the algorithm they use for spaced repetition of words is better for me, so I learn the words faster and easier. When I learn a new word in the Genki book, I look up the word in Scribe Japanese and it gives me the primitives in Scribe Origin, so I click the "learn" buttons on both apps to learn both the vocab word and the primitives when in flashcard mode.
Sorry, that might be information overload. But hopefully it'll be helpful. If you can't take a Japanese class at the local community college, this is the next best thing.
Thank you so much, Camy! Nah, I'm studying to be a librarian, so I can handle information overload. =P $100 is still much cheaper than Japanese classes --but I'll look around and see if craiglist or something has any of them. =)
DeleteHello ladies! So nice to "meet" you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Susan!
DeleteIt's so nice to meet you all. I've been "stalking" many of you for years. :) Camy, I've taken a few of your classes and I've learned so much from Camy's Loft.
ReplyDeleteWishing you the best!
Hi Jill! Nice to see you again! Thanks for stopping by!
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