The Raven Saint by M. L. Tyndall

The last time I read a book by ML Tyndall I was lounging at the beach, listening as the waves lapped at the shore. Unfortunately, this time I’m snowbound. So I definitely needed The Raven Saint to carry me back to the beach and tales of pirates and sword play.

Grace Wescott has been kidnapped to be sold to a Spanish Don. Throughout her captivity she contemplates the purpose God has for her in this precarious situation.

I love Mrs. Tyndall’s writing and am a big fan of her stories.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the picture of the book to load, but click here for more information:

http://www.christianbook.com/the-raven-saint-charles-towne-belles/marylu-tyndall/9781602601581/pd/601581?item_code=WW&netp_id=636738&event=ESRCN&view=details

Note: This book was provided by Barbour Publishing for review.

The Male Factor by Shaunti Feldhahn

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601421203

The Male Factor by Shaunti Feldhahn is a great book for any woman who is in the workforce — no matter what capacity–from administrative to executive positions.  Novel writers will also gain understanding on how to write from a male point of view.

More information about the book:

This expanded edition includes faith-based insights throughout, plus an added chapter with supportive application and wisdom from senior Christian women in the workplace.

Millions of women gained eye-opening insights about the inner lives of men through Shaunti Feldhahn’s best-selling book For Women Only. Now with The Male Factor, Feldhahn brings her innovative research approach to the workplace to help women understand their male colleagues. Based on a nationwide survey and confidential interviews with thousands of men whose anonymity was guaranteed, her book reveals the private thoughts and attitudes that men rarely disclose but every woman needs to know.

Never before has an author gotten inside the hearts and minds of men in the workplace—from CEOs to nonprofit managers, from lawyers to factory workers—to discover what they commonly think about women on the job, what their expected “rules” of the workplace are, what “managing emotion” means, and what factors improve or harm a man’s respect for a female co-worker.

Among the little-known but critical insights The Male Factor reveals are:

o  how men, with rare exception, view almost any emotional display as a sign that the person can no longer think clearly (as well as what men perceive as emotion in the first place)
o  why certain types of trendy attire may actually sabotage a woman’s career
o  which little-known signals ensure that a man’s perception of a strong female colleague is positive (“assertive and competent”) instead of negative (“difficult”)

Even women who have navigated male-dominated work environments for years have expressed surprise at these and other revelations in the book. Some readers may find them challenging. Yet The Male Factor delivers a one-of-a-kind opportunity for women to understand how male bosses, colleagues, subordinates, and customers privately think, and why they react the way they do. These vital insights enable each woman to make informed decisions in her unique workplace situation.

In this expanded Christian edition, Feldhahn builds on the same research and information as in the general-market edition, but speaks directly to the interests and questions of women of faith, whether their workplace is a part-time ministry or a Fortune 500 corporation. This edition of The Male Factor also delivers invaluable advice from senior Christian women who have broad experience in dealing with these questions, understand and share the reader’s values, and want to help other women achieve the best possible work relationships.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group

The One-Day Way

Ok, so I had problems loading the picture of the book. This is a great book to start the year if your resolution is to lose weight. So far this year, I’ve been exercising more regularly.

Here’s what the book is about:

The One-Day Way produces lasting results by taking you back to basics. No more complicated weight-loss strategies. No more expensive diet plans that achieve only temporary results. Instead, you will lose weight and get fit with Chantel Hobbs’s simple, high-energy meal plans and her at-home program for cardio exercise and strength training. She will teach you how to change the way you think, which leads to new actions. Before you know it you will be strong, fit, and healthy. All it takes is doing things differently for twenty-four hours—and then repeating it.

The One-Day Way gives you everything you need to lose weight and get fit in body, mind, and spirit:

• Break free from past dieting defeats
• Learn a realistic, life-changing way to measure success
• Change the way you think so you can change your life
• Translate your dreams into goals, and your goals into lasting achievements
• Get strong with thirty-one simple exercises, no fancy equipment required
• Take advantage of ten ways to eat better while you lose weight

By focusing on food, faith, and fitness, Chantel shows you not only how to lose weight, but how to build the new life you were designed to live. You don’t have to wait any longer. The One-Day Way gives you all the tools for success, starting right now.

Author Bio:

The author of Never Say Diet and The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Trainer, Chantel Hobbs is a motivational speaker, life coach, personal trainer, marathon runner, wife, and mother of four whose story has been featured on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, the 700 Club, and the covers of People and First magazines. She appears weekly on two fitness-themed radio programs and promotes her One-Day Way Learning System on television. Visit Chantel at ChantelHobbs.com for fitness updates and coaching tips.

You can buy the book by clicking on the following link:

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307458780

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

My Theory on the Ketogenic Diet

My son has a weird seizure disorder so I’ve  done quite a bit of research on epilepsy. In my research, I came across the Ketogenic Diet.

Some people experience seizure control using the diet–high fat/protein and low carb. And my theory is that  it works on some people  because a food sensitivity was removed from the diet.

Mystery Diagnosis aired a show about a boy who had strange “seizures”, it was finally diagnosed as celiac’s disease. His body could not tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat. The ketogenic diet would have worked in this case.

I wonder sometimes why Doctors don’t suggest food allergy/sensitivity tests more often.

Keeper of the Family Treasure

It was me! I was the one blessed this Christmas with the family treasure. Read this post for details: https://putaruffleonit.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/the-christmas-gown/

I feel a great deal of responsibility. For one year I must protect it until I can give it away next Christmas. I’m afraid I’ll lose it or my house will burn down.

I think giving it away is  more fun than receiving it. I’ve already written my addition to the series of notes and have decided what is to be included in the package.

I wonder who will be the next recipient? Tune in next year to find out!

My Theory on Schizophrenia

I don’t know anyone with Schizophrenia, but I watched Oprah about a little girl who has it. See a video clip here:

http://www.oprah.com/media/20090828-tows-parents-schizophrenic-girl

As I watched the video I had a thought(scares my husband when I do this).

“It was just a bad dream,” We tell our children when they wake up screaming. And children are able to learn that what happens in their sleep is not real.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had some doozies of some dreams. Weird ones. Fanciful ones. Sometimes I wake up and wonder why on earth I dreamed something crazy like that.  But fortunately,  I don’t experience those same things while I’m awake.

Suppose the schizophrenic brain keeps dreaming even while awake?

Dreaming is a normal human experience, but only while asleep. Our brains take us on some mind-boggling adventures–We don’t remember 99.9% of those once we’re awake.

I don’t understand how or why we dream, but is it possible that a schizophrenic always dreams? I would love to hear from a medical professional about this issue.

As a fiction writer, I’ve heard other writers talk of  “hearing voices in their head”. Meaning they can imagine their characters speaking, acting etc., but this is not the same thing as what a schizophrenic “hears/sees”. A writer creates their characters on purpose to act out a story. A schizophrenic has these images come unbidden from somewhere in the brain–just like our dreams.

(I wanted to make it clear that there is a difference between the fiction writer brain and the schizophrenic brain).

My Theory

I’ve decided to add a new category to my posts called My Theory. I’ll post articles about anything–not necessarily related to writing. Just a few of my observations and speculations on certain topics. I wish I could say they’ll be funny, but most probably will not be.

What I write as my theory may not be “right”,  because I’ve been wrong about a number of things.  Theory is not  “fact”.

So, stayed tuned tomorrow for my first “My Theory” post.