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Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Down to the Cover Art
Saturday, June 17, 2023
This Father's Day
"A father’s success greatly depends upon his ability to love and be loved."
This Father's Day will be the first I celebrate without my dad. He passed away in a hospital earlier this year at the age of 81. I miss him. His last days were not pleasant; he fought pain and dementia. It was hard to have him leave this world, though none of us wanted to see him continue on in pain.
I am grateful for the positive things my dad taught me while he was alive: to have integrity and self-confidence, to be kind to others, to work hard, and to never give up no matter how difficult things get. No, he was not a perfect parent, but neither was I. The two important things we have in common are that we tried to do the very best we could for our kids within our circumstances, and we both love our kids completely and unconditionally. I know my dad loved us. He loved his wife, his kids, his grandkids, and great-grandkids with a big heart. I am grateful for that love.
We indeed feel a person's absence strongly, and we appreciate a relationship much more after the fact. So, for those of you who still have a loving father on this earth, spend some time with him. Appreciate his presence in your life now. Give him a hug, a call, a bit of your time. A father who loves you and tries his best is a precious gift.
Happy Father's Day to all the hardworking, loving fathers out there and to the ones we miss who watch over us from heaven.
Saturday, June 10, 2023
A God of Miracles
When
consciousness hit me this morning, I wanted to stay in bed. All day if I could.
I am not one to openly tell
my trials and troubles to the world, but I believe personal details are not entirely
necessary when we choose to share a significant growth experience. As stated
initially, when I awoke this morning, the last thing I wanted to do was face
the day.
I am aware that feelings of
reluctance, unhappiness, despair, and so forth are not unique to me—every human
being comes face to face with the draining effects of discouragement, fear,
uncertainty, pain, depression… need I go on? Life hands us big and small problems
on a continual basis. We all face trials, hardships, disappointments—these are
roadblocks common in life. Some trials are grievous to bear. The rest are hard in
other ways. Any of them can make us want to stay in bed all day.
This morning, staring at the
ceiling while feeling defeated by a handful of trials that amounted to my
present roadblocks, I spoke to God in prayer. For a few quiet minutes, I shared
my feelings with Him. During that prayer, I made the half-sarcastic comment
that if this one particular, small, unlikely thing happened, I would put both
feet on the floor and face the day gladly. Not that I honestly planned to
remain in bed; I usually manage to slip over the mattress’ edge and move
forward from there. And no, I did not expect to get what I wanted simply because
I asked. As I said, my request was for something unlikely, even next to
impossible. I was not anticipating a miracle. I just wanted one—a small,
personal blessing to cheer me up.
Now here is the crazy, beautiful
part: Only a few minutes after mumbling “Amen” at the end of my prayer, that
one, particular, small, unlikely thing did happen! As near impossible as I
thought it to be, it actually happened! So yes, I got my sorry self out of bed.
And yes, I thanked God for the tender mercy that buoyed me up enough to face a
hard day.
If you are struggling with personal roadblocks, I recommend praying about it. God really is a god of miracles. He has solutions we never dream of. Often, you will not get an immediate response to prayer. It has taken a good amount of time for me to receive answers to my own. But my experience has been that they do come, eventually. Every now and then they are instant and miraculous. Those I refer to as tender mercies.
—Richelle E. Goodrich, Hope Evermore copyright 2023
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
My Favorite Things - Author Interview
Richelle, readers have asked a few questions about your favorite things. Thank you for agreeing to answer some of these fun and curious questions. Let's start with a simple one:
What is your favorite color?
Pink first―a soft pastel pink―and then hazel green. Pink wins out over green.
Pink first―a soft pastel pink―and then hazel green. Pink wins out over green.
Why is that?
Because pink is pretty and feminine. I like feminine things,the whole "pretty in pink" image. I like green because my eyes are green, and I have always been pleased with my eye color.
What is your favorite movie?
That is a tough question because I love movies. I will say either Enchanted or Shrek is my favorite movie. I adore the Enchanted story and the actors who starred in the movie. Shrek was just awesome, including all of the sequels. They make me laugh every time. But I also like Tangled, Trolls, Aladdin, and Moana. I enjoy feel-good cartoons. Honestly, I LOVE cartoons; I always have. I enjoy almost any film or tv series with "star" in the title, like Star Trek―love, love, love the new Strange New Worlds Star Trek series with Captain Pike. I am a fan of Star Wars and Stargate as well. And the Avengers, especially the original Avengers. There will never be a group of Avengers to top the original gang. I love the new episodes of Star Wars and Marvel stories they have on Disney now. Those have been fun to watch. I also like Avatar, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as well as Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland, and First Knight. Sean Connery was my heartthrob when I was young. He and Richard Dean Anderson and Johnny Depp.
What about your favorite music artist?
Hands down, Rascal Flatts. But as a teenager, I used to listen to Sting almost exclusively. Funny how our tastes change. I also enjoy Jon McLaughlin, Rachel Platten, Justin Timberlake, Forest Blakk, Ed Sheeran, Billy Joel, and the Pentatonix. All of these artists have some excellent music out. And I love listening to anything sung by Idina Menzel. Her voice is captivating!
Do you have a favorite song?
That is an impossible question too, with an ever-changing answer. Give me a list of Rascal Flatts songs and I'll mark them off for you. I really like Bless the Broken Road and Unstoppable and The Day Before You and I Won't Let Go and Where You Are and Feels Like Today and so on and so on. But I also like If You Love Her by Forest Blakk, Better Place by Rachel Platten, So Close by Jon McLaughlin, The Prayer by Pentatonix, Made You Look by Meghan Trainor, and so many other amazing songs I can't even think of at the moment.
How about books and authors? Which are your best-loved books?
My favorite book of all time is Les Miserables written by Victor Hugo. He was a master storyteller and a wizard with words. I love how meticulously he describes settings and characters, and how he stirs up deep emotions in readers. Hugo is a genius. My other favorite authors include C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, masters of fantasy. The Lord of the Rings is my absolute best-loved saga of all time. And I appreciated the disturbing truth in The Screwtape Letters. That book hit a nerve.
Other favorite books include Rumpelstiltskin and all the old fairytales by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Perrault and George MacDonald. I also adore Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
I enjoy Charles Dickens' writing. He has vibrant personality in his narrative voice. It is bright and distinctively him. It was a treat to read A Christmas Carol after watching the hundreds of movies based on the book. And Oliver Twist―wow! The model for a classic work. I like reading Shel Silverstein's poetry because his work is creative and fun. I could list hundreds of good books because there are so many. We're spoiled as readers these days.
If you had a free day to yourself and a choice of doing anything at all, what would you do?
Easy. I would curl up in the corner of my sofa with a hot cup of cocoa and work on another book. I love writing, whether it is poetry or a developing story. Writing has become my beloved obsession.
Okay, Richelle, here's a string of random questions. Ready?
Hit it.
What is your magical number?
Ten. Followed closely by seven and seventeen.
What is your preferred flower?
Lily. Especially a large-petal lily in the shade of pink or maroon.
Your favorite animal?
Cats! Big, crazy, playful cats.
Favored comic strip?
Ziggy. He is everything good and adorable.
Your pick of animated characters?
You are probably thinking I will say Shrek, but Winnie the Pooh is my absolute favorite animated character. He and Eeyore.
Most impressive of all mythical creatures?
Colossal, scaly-skinned, fire-breathing dragons!
Who is your all-time favorite superhero?
It used to be Thor, but Captain America won my heart as the Avengers movies progressed. I like the whole medieval image and the idea of immortality, but I respect the leadership abilities of Captain America and the fact that he was doggedly firm in standing up for his beliefs, his standards, and his friends. That to me is what a real hero does.
What supernatural power would you want for yourself as a superhero?
Definitely healing powers. It would be rewarding to have the ability to heal diseases and illnesses.
What's your favorite food?
Fresh, hot, homemade bread slathered in butter and strawberry preserves. Mmmmm!
Sweetest dessert?
Soft chocolate chip cookies with walnuts and hot fudge sundaes and bittersweet dark chocolate. It is hard to choose between the three, so I just put them all together. Honestly, if I had to choose, it would be ice cream. Either a hot fudge sundae or peanut butter and chocolate ice cream.
What is your preferred restaurant to frequent?
Wendy's was my favorite as a child for fast food. I recently discovered Braum's since moving down south, and they have ice cream to go with their fast food, so that is a huge plus in my book! For a nicer dinner, I enjoy any good Mexican restaurant or Italian restaurant.
Your favorite holiday?
My birthday, of course! Actually, Christmas is my favorite holiday. I have a tradition of unpacking my many copies of A Christmas Carol―a collection that continues to grow―and then I watch the many different versions of Scrooge throughout the month of December. It is my crazy tradition―one that makes my family groan. They can probably recite the entire movie from beginning to end now.
Do you have a best-loved sport?
To play, it would be volleyball. To watch―football. Football is never boring.
Besides writing, what else do you like to do for fun?
Go to the movies and eat popcorn. Gotta have popcorn. I also like to strum on the guitar or play the piano. I am not great at it, but playing music is enjoyable. Playing a little pool or bowling a few games is also fun for me―again, not that I am good at either one.
Do you have a preference in perfumes?
No, but I do have a favorite incense or two. I love the smell of eucalyptus and myrrh. You can get them as essential oils. The smells are unusual; earthy, warm, spicy, exotic, and totally intoxicating. I love sniffing at myrrh because the fragrance is a rare experience. To me, it is sort of mystical. I dab a little oil on my ears or on my neck sometimes just to catch the smell throughout the day.
Do you have a treasured quote?
Oh dear, many! I love good quotes. My favorite quote changes depending on the day and what is happening in my life at the time. One that has stuck with me consistently was written by Henry David Thoreau.
"If you have built your castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them."
That quote is a motivator for me, one that urges me to keep on with my dreams regardless of how improbable the likelihood is of reaching them.
I know you have a few quotes of your own. What's your favorite personal quote?
“Don't ever give up.Words I live by.
Don't ever give in.
Don't ever stop trying.
Don't ever sell out.
And if you find yourself succumbing to one of the above for a brief moment, pick yourself up, brush yourself off, whisper a prayer, and start where you left off. But never, ever, ever give up.”
That is inspiring. Any other words of advice for fellow writers?
Yes. Please do not take this the wrong way, but my best advice is this: Don't listen to anyone. I actually mean it. Do not change your writing to please the world, because you cannot please the whole world. Do not be swayed by those who would take over your ambitions and see your zeal for writing slowly fade. Write what makes you happy―just you. Your story should come from the heart and be written in your words. Your writing should be your own distinct, compiled treasure. Only then will your work be a worthwhile endeavor. In the end, there will be those who value it. There is a quote of mine that is appropriate here...
"No matter what you write, no matter how meticulous and painstaking the creation process, someone is going to laugh, scorn, and dissect your work with criticism while another quietly falls in love with it."
~
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