Women in Hi Def

 

Women in High Def will remind you that when God writes your story, you are in for the adventure of a lifetime! Diane Markins has written a book addressing topics women deal with on a day-to-day basis. If you are looking for a contemporary, captivating read filled with practical advice that will give you insight and wisdom for daily decisions, this is it!”

~ Carol Kent, Speaker and Author

Between a Rock and a Grace Place (Zondervan)

 

 

ISBN: 978-0-9854172-0-8

Paperback: 163 pages

Retail: $12.99

Release: April 20, 2012

Publisher: Words in High Def

Kindle: $6.95

SPECIAL TREAT ALERT: To celebrate the “Going Boldly” Blog Tour Women in High Def is available for free from September 10-September 14 on Kindle at: http://amzn.to/Oey7Sa
 

About the Book:

Women are as unique as snowflakes or butterflies, but after surveying hundreds of them, writer and radio host Diane Markins learned that the top needs they feel are the same. She also began hearing a recurring theme: I want more! I want to be better! I want to be bold!

Women in High Def aims to propel women out of a low-def, foggy life of going through the motions in a blur. The profound stories, intercessory prayer prompts and coaching elements work together to catapult women into living fearlessly for God…being bolder moms, having purposeful passions, pursuing marriage excellence, loving themselves with gusto, laughing with abandon, transforming mistakes into blasts of blessings and bravely seeking the Lord in all His majestic glory. The bonus Bible study at the back of the book points them to scripture to gain Biblical insight and direction for each need and role they play. It can be used alone or in a group.

 

Women in High Def is not passive reading. It cries out to the spirit of readers to be unafraid as they actively reach for clarity, vibrancy and intensity in all the meaningful areas of their lives.

About the Author:

Diane Markins has always aspired to live in High Def. She uses her radio show, writing and speaking to inspire women to transform their lives from mediocre and complacent to bold and vibrant. She settles for nothing less in her own life as a wife, mom, grandmother, friend and colleague. Diane writes two blogs, WomenInHighDef.com and WordsInHighDef.com, is a regular contributor to the Presidential Prayer Team website and CBN.com. She and her husband of 33 years work and live close to their children in Arizona.

---

 

Falling Down Gorgeous

(Excerpt from Women in High Def: Boldly Living Your Purposes with Vibrant Clarity)

Time takes its toll on all of us. Parts of me that were once up here are now down there. My face, once smooth and fresh was becoming a bit weathered and wrinkled. Other areas that used to be firm are now wiggly. As I turned fifty I began to notice that I was becoming invisible, based on my appearance. That’s a big fat horse pill to swallow for my ego. But that’s okay. The good news is that when people start to see less of me, they see more of Jesus. He’s much more appealing and has no hidden agenda.

I hate to admit it, but I still enjoy being noticed on occasion. My husband and I went on a date to a very fancy mountaintop restaurant overlooking the city. I dressed for the occasion in my fitted black slacks, silky blouse and high heels.

I followed the maitre de to our table, my husband right behind me. I was feeling pretty good about myself and strutted a bit as we crossed a large open expanse of the room. As my stilettos went from carpet to wood floor something strange happened…I began to skate, stumble and flail about, for what felt like ten excruciating minutes, before finally landing flat on my keister. For endless moments all sound ceased except the quiet music in the background. Diners, servers and kitchen staff gaped at me, frozen in mid-action.

Graciously, I was helped up, escorted to and seated at our table, where they elevated and iced my swollen ankle. Then—to my horror—the paramedics arrived, causing an even bigger stir. Servers and managers came by frequently to check on me. Finally, our fellow diners made their way to our table as they departed to share their own “fall down” tales.

Earlier that evening, I had hoped for a little extra attention. But this wasn’t what I had in mind. Now I was just grateful I hadn’t chosen the skirt I had considered that was still hanging on my closet door. My experience that night was a great reminder that the only beauty that matters is what the Lord puts in our hearts. Everything else “falls” short in the end.

 

Comment to win:

"Going Boldly" Blog Tour Grand Prize

– Retail Value: $70

• Book (Women in High Def: Boldly Living Your Purposes with Vibrant Clarity)
• Bright and Vibrant Earrings
• Sparkling Cider (to celebrate life)
• Sumatra Coffee (Bold, Earthy Flavor)
• Into the Wild body wash and spray fragrance from Bath and Body Works
• Custom coffee mug: Women in High Def (front), BE YOUR BOLD SELF! (back)

Leave a comment about the book or author on the blog post during the blog tour.     

Each blog tour host will draw one name from those comments to send to the tour coordinator by September 21.

Book Review: The Reunion by Dan Walsh

The Reunion, By Dan Walsh

Revell Books

Romantic Fiction
ISBN:  978-0-8007-2121-3
$14.99
September 2012

 

Putting the puzzle pieces of life together is necessary work, one that is joyful for some and a challenge for others, full of heartache and despair and discovery about the choices and events that created the current situation. In his latest novel, The Reunion, Walsh explores these challenges from the perspective of a man who’s learned to appreciate a second chance at life.

 

Told from several viewpoints, the novel slowly pulls together a mosaic of lives affected by the Vietnam War era. Aaron Miller, a decorated vet who hit rock bottom before realizing he needed a bigger Influence to help piece his life together, works at a Florida residence campground, performing maintenance not only on the physical trailers and sites, but subtly on the people who come and go. Through his faith-filled eyes, he is able to see the challenges others face, and uses his practical experience to not only listen, offer advice where warranted, but also to subtly repair breeches in their lives. Now if only he could find the last pieces of the picture of his own life, the children he left so long ago, he could receive the forgiveness he longs for.

 

Miller’s life picture is filled in through his encounters with a teenager in need of help, another Nam vet ready to check out of life, his children who don’t know him, and a man who needs to find him. Dave Russo, the reporter-turned writer who is struggling as a single parent with a dream, is challenged to find the hero who saved the lives of his fellow platoon survivors so he can be thanked properly. Russo has only a name as a lead: Aaron Miller.

 

The Reunion reads a bit like a plate of spaghetti, many noodles combining to create a satisfying dish. Walsh peels away at his story line and characters through the thoughts of others. While sometimes I felt the story was watered down by leaping into another character, I appreciated each challenge and the amount of research Walsh did to develop a lovely novel of happily ever after.

 

“Available September 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

New From Spashdown and fav, Kat Heckenbach

Kia Ora, everyone!

A busy July meant that August was quiet on the book front here at Splashdown, but there's all the more going on now! First up, our newest release:

Seeking Unseen by Kat Heckenbach

The anticipated sequel to Finding Angel is here!

It may be Angel's wish...but it's Melinda's journey. It's been two years since Angel learned the magic chip of wood inside her locket would grant any wish. What is taking her so long to choose? An alarming discovery about her beloved foster brother Zack makes the decision easy...but everything else gets complicated after she runs into her old friend Melinda, who demands to go along for the return to Toch Island.

 

Melinda doesn't fit in with the magical freaks any more than she did with the losers back in Florida, but she never wanted to belong before. A secret world surrounds her where even the bugs have magic... She's more of an outsider than ever. So when ex-con Doran Ashe slinks out of the shadows and offers her an easy road to powers of her own, Melinda follows him despite-or maybe because of-everyone's warnings.

Grab it now - a fantasy treat for young adult readers!

Seeking Unseen paperback at Amazon - $13.98 (The listing may say out of stock, but that's just a glitch. You should still get your book within a week!)

Seeking Unseen on Kindle - $6.99

Three Splashdown titles available through Kindle Select

 

The Duke's Handmaid by Caprice Hokstad will be available free from Amazon until the end of Labor Day.

Tales of the Dim Knight by Adam and Andrea Graham is also free through Monday.

R.L. Copple's Reality's Dawn is also available from now until October 15th as a free borrow for Amazon Prime members. Like what you read? He has two other books in the same series. Check them out.

Splashdown's First Blog Tours

The first Splashdown Books Blog Tour roared through July with satisfying results. What? You missed it? Go here to start your trip through multi-dimensional space with Greg Mitchell, author of Rift Jump, as he showcases his debut novel.

The next tour featured Faith Awakened, the first novel of our own Space Kiwi Grace Bridges. Here's the central hub to find the interviews, excerpts and videos of this tour.

 

Avenir is coming!

Later this month, as promised, Avenir Eclectia Volume 1 arrives with all the intensity you could want from micro-fiction in book form. We'll be sending out a short special announcement when this becomes available around mid-September. In the meantime, keep up with story developments at www.avenireclectia.com.

Arrival in Ten, Nine, Eight...

Grace has crossed the pond. Eager fans, writers and groupies have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Irish Kiwi with a German Twist on her whirlwind 20 States Tour. We'll keep you posted as this world traveler travels our world for far too short a time. The tour plan is here and the photo albums are here (Canada) and here (Eastern states so far).

That's it for now. Never fear. We'll keep you up to date on breaking Splashdown news. In the meanwhile, sit back and enjoy a good book. We have plenty!

The Splashdown Team

 

Review of Laura Frantz's Love's Reckoning

Love’s Reckoning

By Laura Frantz

978-0-8007-2041-4

$14.99

Historical Romance

Revell Books

I loved Laura Frantz’s earlier historical sagas about the American frontier; fans will not be disappointed by this new story set shortly after the Revolutionary War on the western edge of Pnnsylvania—and the edge of known civilization.

Genre readers know what to expect when we pick our familiar favorites. There’s an expected outcome, a methodology to the tale, characters who meet and fall in love and must overcome obstacles. It’s the journey to the expected outcome that offers excitement. As a voracious reader, I appreciate being part of Frantz’s world without the need to stop and look up details, or verify historical issues that feel out of place. I’m a historian first, reader, second, and author, third, so I appreciate the level of research Frantz does to create a world that is both natural and satisfying to the historical fiction lover, full of daily chores, everyday dangers and people of both light and dark hearts—sometimes in one person.

An apprentice must finish his duty to obtain the coveted level of master blacksmith. Silas Ballantyne remembers the Scotland of his youth but refuses to allow the past to interfere with his dreams of becoming master of his own fate. A man of faith, it is only God who has allowed him to maintain his dignity through the terror, degradation and defeat that has taken his youth and young adulthood. Eden Lee’s life is one huge secret—some of which she authored, but many of which even she is ignorant. The daughter of the blacksmith, a depraved reprobate, will she allow those secrets to ruin her dreams of serving others? When Silas, Lee’s latest apprentice, and Eden, a daughter who dreams of escape, meet in this shadowed homestead of Leige Lee, it seems a simple enough plan for them to help each other. Love is only the gift that ties the bow on what should be a perfect package.

Sometimes, doing what’s best for another, no matter how noble the circumstances, ends up creating a disaster. Or does it?

Laura Frantz’s lovingly crafted tale of faith and redemption, desire and dreams will keep the reader turning pages and wishing for more after the last one.

 

Available September 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

 

Also available at Barnes and Noble

Jewels of Encouragement: Five Things from Proverbs: Thankful for Summer

Jewels of Encouragement: Five Things from Proverbs: Thankful for Summer: Proverbs 18:1-4 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. A fool takes no pleasure in unde...

The Difference between Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Fire

My Kindle Keyboard

 

Nearly three years ago I purchased a Kindle Keyboard for Christmas – back when it was $139, and then after Christmas came out with a $79 version. Yeah, I knew it would probably reduce price, like gasoline after a roadtrip holiday, but I was really excited about throwing more money into Amazon’s gaping jaws.

 

I loved my Kindle Keyboard. It was lightweight, more so than the earlier models as my friends compared theirs to mine. A keyboard, too, how cool. And wifi enabled. Trouble at my fingertips with the Kindle store so…right there and handy. I held the device in one hand and clicked on either side to turn the pages as fast as I wanted.

 

The screen was not backlit, which was okay with me. I bought the cutest little clip on reading lamp. The Kindle text was black and white, which again was okay with me. I don’t normally spend a whole lot of time gazing at the cover of a book. I’m usually inside the pages, reading it.

 

Text to speech: cool, especially for when I’m too tired or otherwise occupied (driving/treadmill) to listen. Sure the either male or female voice is a bit mechanical, but good for a major giggle especially when you know that same mispronunciation was coming up.

 

Loading books and docs from whispersync or the computer was fantastic. PDFs were a bit of a pain as they didn’t usually get big enough to read comfortably, or if large enough, went off the screen.

 

Being able to manually change from vertical to horizontal screen, or physically hitting keys to adjust both text size, line spacing, and so forth, was much appreciated.

 

The battery charge lasted, really, a good month, even with my usage. It came with a multi-use plug which had both a wall outlet plug and a computer plug.

 

Then the keyboard started adding lots of extra symbols when I tried to type certain letters. I ignored it, because I rarely take notes in the text, and because I truly did not need to keep buying more books.

 

Then the page turning buttons on either side decided to take over and either turn forward or backward when I touched them—that is, quite often, backward on the upper right and forward on the lower left, and vv; I swear I heard giggling once. I tried to deal with that for a month or so when I figured that touching such and such a button jumped two pages ahead and quickly hitting the other button made it go back one (the next page, for reading purposes), but, really—I paid how much for this?

 

I got in touch with a Kindle rep on instant messenger at the advice of forums – which are really handy, by the way – who told me, sadly, my Kindle keyboard could not be repaired and they would replace it for a fee. Or take some off an upgrade.

 

Kindle Fire

Thus my Keyboard Kindle, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, became a Kindle Fire.

 

Yeah, it was my choice. I’d been researching the Barnes and Noble Nook. My mother in law received one and while the features on it were somewhat lacking—really, no computer interface to register and buy online while you’re hooked in; you must do so through wifi—the price at the time of $159 was sounding okay. But I knew I wouldn’t be able to transfer the way over a hundred books (some of which I actually paid money for), and movies – yeah, got me – over to the other side, which totally sucked.

 

So, the nice customer service lady said she could send me a $199 Fire for the incredible price of $169 if I wanted. I sighed deeply and said, “So, my $139 two and a half year old Kindle is only work $30 trade-in value to you?” and she cyber-sighed deeply and replied, “No, ma’am. Your Keyboard Kindle is no longer under warranty and the replacement cost for your version is $30.” Since we know we can’t replace a Kindle with $30, and it was only $10 more than the Nook Color, I sighed deeply and said sure. She hooked me up with the sales rep who said he was sorry I was having all these problems and to surrender the nonworking Kindle by returning it UPS with the enclosed printable mailing label, but I could keep the connector cords, otherwise I’d be charged the full price of the Fire. Since Amazon started charging $10, and I see, now $20, for the wall adapter, I figured I came out another $20 ahead. (And yeah, I know, that’s blonde for “it’s on sale.”)

 

My Kindle Fire

Is a heavy little device, which I could have discovered from actually reading the stats online. It says right there, shipping weight: 1.7 pounds, where the Keyboard is 8.7 ounces. One third the reason I wanted an eReader is because I don’t have a lot of feeling in my hands, and it’s a bit stressful holding open a book. The KK was like hardly holding anything. The Fire has to rest on something, and no, seriously, I am not paying the $30-35 for the cute little fold-up cover and backrest.

 

The Fire is a small tablet computer device, so I understand that it’s heavy.

It gets warm.

The battery charge only lasts a few hours, so keep the cord handy, especially if you’re playing online.

It’s backlit. Love that. So much sweeter to read in the car and at night.

 

Keyboard interface is pretty cool, but I have little fingers and can see where others would struggle and want that stylus, which might scratch the screen eventually.

 

It’s color. I don’t honestly know that I’d have forked over the extra $60 for it, but then again, even a movie on the weensy screen while I’m treadmilling can make me happy.

 

Airport screen motion – just flip it and the text flips with you. Love that.

 

E-mail. Pretty cool.

Apps. Yeah. Cool. Someday I’ll figure out how to advance in Angry Birds.

 

There seriously is no text to speech feature. I checked in the Amazon Kindle forums and learned that I am not the only buyer who is shocked by this. I had purchased an auxiliary cord in prep for listening to my books while driving. Alas, I cannot. All I can think of is that since Fire has Audible.com as a major advertiser, Fire won’t allow speech-enabled eBooks. Have you looked at Audible’s prices? C’mon.

 

There is no 3 or 4G capability with the Fire. Okay, so I didn’t look before I bought, but why would I since the step down models have that service. I had to wade through the entire humiliation of setting up the network (well, my kid did it for me) at McDonald’s to access their wifi network. Totally unfair.

 

So…if I would have thought about it more carefully, I would have stayed with the Kindle Touch 3G for $139 (would I have gotten it for $109 with my trade-in?), and just kept on using my laptop for the movies. I don’t regret -yet- the purchase (not really an upgrade, as an eReader doesn’t have to be a tablet computer), but I think I would have been happier with a Kindle Touch for the reasons I wanted an eReader to begin with: lightweight (13.6 ounces shipping weight), and large print with the bonus text-to-speech. The movie thing is sweet, but not worth $60 to play and in light of the heaviness and inability to keep a charge something I regret.

October 27, 2012 update: friend Kathy Rouser showed me her Nexus. Next time: YES. I'd do that one first. It looked awesome, color, 12 ounces, sound enabled, wifi, and you can download both Kindle and Nook aps. She even had one of my books. How awesome is that.

 

Review of Diane Graham's I Am Ocilla

I Am Ocilla by Diane M. Graham

ISBN: 9781927154199

Splashdown Books, March 1, 2012

$14.99 pBook

$4.99 eBook

 From the publisher: Somehow, I must live. I must find my purpose. There are friends to love and battles to fight. I know my name. Perhaps that is enough.

I am Ocilla.

This is my story.

Buy on Amazon

If John Bunyan and AA Milne set out on a journey and met up with Madeleine L’Engle, no doubt they would have told each other stories around the campfire much like this one.

I Am Ocilla is a questing story filled with all the things fantasy lovers like best pairing them off and mixing them up like so many creatures from the City of Destruction and the Hundred Acre Wood, progressing through a Wrinkle in Time, falling back and starting all over again. Spun throughout is mercy after our sins leave heartache and broken souls. Free will is the bottom line of faith, and Diane pulls out the deepest Scriptures to prove that God’s love never fails.

A five-hundred-year curse has pitted the four Kingdoms in a battle to a final death if the Chosen One fails yet again to lift it. Only she has the answer; the power to rebuke an evil spirit whose vengeance over thwarted devotion results in mass destruction if the Princess refuses him one more time. Join giants, ogres, fairies, dwarves, trees, and their animal friends red wolf, tiger, panda, and owl as they battle evil with their faithfulness, patience, love and wisdom.

You will be refreshed in your faith walk, encouraged in your daily witness and strengthened in love when you journey with Ocilla and her friends in a quest to fulfill their purpose.