It’s September 3rd, and after reading this post from a few years ago, I realized I’m still working on another kitchen project. The current one is coming right along. But not picture worthy as of this writing.
In the post, I included pictures of the kitchen at the time. I loved it! The butter yellow of the cabinets, and especially the kitchen door looking out on my little pond. The goldfish lived for several years in that pond! I miss it still. I enjoyed reading about those days, and the memories brought to mind.
Today, here in Missouri, I decorated for autumn. Thank you to our oldest for moving every unpacked tote to try and locate my door wreaths. They’ll turn up…in January! But the fireplace looks warm and cozy, and the room smells delicious. Cinnamon and cloves with a bit of warm apple tossed in. I’ll try not to think about it being 98 degrees out right now! Cooler weather will come; it always does.
A huge thank you to those that have entered to win the 3rd book in the Love Defined series, Sweet Forbearance. You have until September 30th to enter. Lots of time for you to read #1, Sweet Hope, and #2, Sweet Belief before the end of the month. And as always, let me know what you thought!
I had a great turn out for the first book in the Love Defined series! I hope many of you are now reading Sweet Hope and getting to know the Atkins family.
Because today, you may now get your FREE e-book for the second book in the series, Sweet Belief. Katie is a special girl and has her own way of doing things.
And if you are on Goodreads, you may now sign up for your free copy of the third book in the series, Sweet Forbearance. This will run for 30 days, and I’m giving away 100 e-book copies. These will be available at the end of the 30 days. So, you have plenty of time to get started on the series!
All three books for free! Please share, and most of all, please read and review. Reviews mean so much to writers. It helps us connect to our readers, and that’s my favorite part of this journey.
Cooler temperatures than we’ve had, but still very humid. I’m anxiously waiting for those crisp autumn days. You know the ones I’m talking about. A whiff of cool air, minus the wet blanket. Leaves drifting to the ground with a breeze, and if you’re really lucky a hint of smoke from a fireplace.
While you pine for sweater days, I have three giveaways for you!
Yes, three!
And what’s even better?
They are free!
I don’t know if that’s great marketing. I could be crazy! I know my children and grandchildren would agree.
I’m so excited to be on this next journey of life! I’m thrilled to be back in my writing chair after moving to another state, and all that entails. (You’ve all been there. I’ll write about all the gruesome details later.) To jumpstart my enthusiasm and to get this long-awaited series into my reader’s hands, I’m making it as easy as possible for you. I want you to become acquainted and fall in love with this family as you read Elisabeth and Jonathan’s story in Sweet Hope, book one. And then continue on with Katie and Mike’s story in Sweet Belief, book two. These first two books in the series are available here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Deborah-Ann-Dykeman/author/B01B2BYPK6?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1787674527&sr=1-1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=bc67f6ac-f1c4-4eda-98f2-2bf775f18946
Book one, Sweet Hope will be available for a free e-book beginning August 26th and will be available for five days. Book two, Sweet Belief will be available for a free e-book beginning September 1st and will be available for five days as well.
Free Book Promotion
Book #1 – Sweet Hope
Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 12:00 AM PDT
Sunday, August 30, 2026, 11:59 PM PDT
Free Book Promotion
Book #2 – Sweet Belief
Tuesday, September 1, 2026, 12:00 AM PDT
Saturday, September 5, 2026, 11:59 PM PDT
That gives you lots of time to read and be all set to continue with the third book featuring Anna and Brad in Sweet Forbearance, just released in April of this year. You can get this book right here in a Goodreads book giveaway.
The fourth and final book in the series, Sweet Endurance, featuring Chris and Doreen is in edits now. Stay tuned! I’m shooting for a release by the end of the year.
Before the age of caller identification, (caller ID for those that are challenged by the longer use of term), my mother would greet me with those words when she called. I have a dear friend that always laughs when I call her and begin with the same. For us it brings to mind a certain song from a certain age, and the call begins with a chuckle.
It’s me, dear friends and readers. I feel as though I’m climbing from a very dark well, the sunshine casting brilliant rays sparkled with gold. It beckons me, encouraging me to climb higher, even though my feet keep slipping, and my hands find it difficult to secure a rock rather than crumbling dirt. The sunshine reminds me of the verse I think of each morning, Psalm 118:24. This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
I haven’t written here on my site for a couple years now. With the unexpected passing of my father on June 8, 2024, and then a long year of house renovations and then listing my father’s house for sale, I’ve been missing in the writing world. Those two life changes were the big ones, intermingled with the daily and sometimes hourly challenges of being a mother to five grown children, that have a life of their own? (Yes, the question mark is there for a reason. A reason most mothers will understand.) I dearly love my five children, and nine grandchildren. I love that generally we are a close family. But as with anything that is of value, or you have invested time into, it’s exhausting every now and then. Challenges, trials, and crisis never seem to come at a convenient time. And rarely seem to give space and energy to each one. But arrive in a mass, giving you little time to breathe much less think. Thus, it’s been in my life the past few years.
After almost a year since we first began seeking a realtor to list my father’s house in Topeka, Kansas, we have relocated to Missouri. This was a move we thought about and prayed about for over fifteen years. Mostly me, thinking and praying. Researching the area, looking up houses, comparing prices. I never do anything without lots of research and price comparison. Much to my husband’s distress if out shopping with me. Kind of a pain to anyone shopping with me! We now have a work-in-progress, adorable house. Winter lake views we are pretty sure of, since we kind see bits of it right now with the oak trees competing for attention. We have a gorgeous stone fireplace that we were told shouldn’t be used by the chimney professional. But we have options for that. I do love old houses, but they come with their faults. The biggest plus to our new space is that it’s much smaller than my father’s house. The biggest negative to our new space is the same.
My plan is to write on here on a regular basis. Dabbling my feet in it, getting to know all of you once again. My goal is to begin another book. I was able to publish two more books during the last two years. But marketing them has not happened. I’m excited to reach the top of the well. To jump out, land on my own two feet, and run down that new road that’s just waiting for me to experience.
The AI controversy is out there, and however you may feel about it, it’s making an impact on the world. You may believe it’s a bad one, or you might be going along for the ride, wondering where it’s going to take us.
It’s been something on my mind since the beginning of this year, 2024. Generally, I’m not a fan of advancement in technology, especially if it causes me to have to learn something new or adjust what I already know. This past week of updating this site has had me chewing on that more than a few times and I’ve wanted to spit it out and never try again! But I also recall my days of using a manual typewriter to write my first attempts, and then moving on to an electric typewriter, which I’ve written about on here before. I love my laptop, my big monitor, and my wireless keyboard. I feel lost without them. I’ve succumbed to technology in my own office on a daily basis.
Creativity as always been a huge part of my life. It’s how I function as a person in the way I look at the world. There is always possibility to make something better. That includes the characters I create, the world they live in, and now, I can create the way it all looks. I can take my thoughts of how something appears, and make it happen. And that is pretty spectacular!
I’ve been designing the covers for my books for a while now. It’s something that I absolutely love! I’ve never taken any kind of graphic design classes, or even art classes outside of what I did back in school forty plus years ago. Yes, I had some talent back then, and I enjoyed it. But I didn’t pursue a degree. I have great appreciation for those that did. So, it was with great fear and trepidation that I looked into the AI design on the site I use to design my covers. I’ve used this site for almost ten years now. I’ve taken the tools there, along with pictures and designed my covers. With the addition of AI, I can now put all those thoughts of what I think something should look like onto a cover. The results have been once again…spectacular! I will be sharing more of those results on here as books release. To this date, I’ve designed seven covers with the use of AI. For those of you that have read my Rubyville series of books, you may now see my vision of my characters. I still find that amazing!
Meet the characters of my Rubyville series.
I have thought long and hard about this new advancement or curse in technology. I think there will be good, and I know there will be bad things to come of it. Evil always seem to find whatever good potential there is. That is the world system that we live in. I am in constant vigil of others trying to steal my book content. Copyright doesn’t seem to mean much to some. To think that another person could steal my voice in writing, is very concerning to me. And so, my thoughts go to those that work as artists, those that design covers using mediums such as photography, watercolors, oils, sketches, etc. In no way do I want to take away from what they do to make a living or be creative. In no way do I want to fake something, which is what I believe is at the heart of this AI discussion.
In the middle of all my thoughts on this, Randy Travis releases a new song. When my husband and I were first married, around October of 1988, we were given tickets to see Ricky Van Shelton in the Albany area of upstate New York. He was not able to make it that night due to laryngitis. Randy Travis sang instead…and he was good! I want to say he was the first act, but I don’t remember all the details now. We followed his career over the years, and we were very sad to hear of his stroke. It seemed rather cruel that it would take the voice that Randy Travis was known for. When I listened to the release of his new song a few days ago, I knew it had to be AI, and I thought, “Oh no, here we go!” But after watching this clip from CBS Sunday Morning, this AI challenge began to take on a different meaning to me.
CBS Sunday Morning clip.
Technology is with us, and we can’t run and hide. Well, I guess we could if we really wanted to, but it would be difficult! That’s another topic for discussion. Some areas I’ve learned to embrace…like my computer system, and my Alexa controls in my house. Others I’m still not sure about, like my Alexa controls in my house, and AI. Yes, I know I repeated Alexa twice. And she’s probably listening ready to argue with me right now! But when I look at the covers I’ve designed, or listen to Randy Travis ‘sing’ again, I’m leaning toward being thankful, and praying I keep it all in perspective.
If you have been following these posts for the past month, you know that today is the start of the FREE ebook promotion for A Place in My Heart. I’ve had so many great comments on this series of books, and especially this one. If you have read the series, you may think you know the ending, but all my readers have still expressed shock and surprise at the close of Rubyville.
a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.
Just the definition of that word makes me shiver! It brings to my mind hours spent in math class trying to figure out algebra, and then even more hours at home wracking my brain to remember what I was to have learned in math class. And those were the days before the wide use of computers!
That word is what everyone talks about when using Amazon and Facebook to market a product. I don’t understand it any better than I did all those years ago in school. But I do know, if you don’t have those rules followed in your calculations, marketing and selling does not go well. So I’m shooting in the dark! Big sigh here!
Yes, I have read, watched videos, and signed up for courses to take, to try and get the process down. But just like with algebra…my brain is spitting it out like dried-out liver and onions served for dinner as a ‘treat’.
All that to say this. Today is the last day to get A Place of Refuge for FREE as an eBook!
Because of that word above, this book is not doing so well. Amazon has it listed in Parenting and Relationship books. Yes, that is one of the categories it could fit in, but I’m fairly certain it’s not the main one I chose. It would fit better in Women’s Christian Fiction, Christian Romance, etc. The same as my other seven books! Because I use KDP, I cannot pull the book until after the promotion and update my categories. The book will be unavailable until Amazon clears it again. That is a process!
I’m still learning all of this, and at times it can be extremely frustrating to a brain that is not mathematically-minded. I don’t mind following a set of steps to figure something out…I bake on a regular basis using a recipe. The food is usually pretty good. But this algorithm stuff has me stumped. Now to figure out why my reviews aren’t showing up!
Until then, A Place of Refuge, a historical, women’s christian fiction romance novel! 😉
is a fictional town. But it is very much like so many small towns in the state of Kansas that are becoming only a memory. This series of four books has been very popular, and they are pretty special to me as well. The Barton women are like part of my family. I cried with sadness and despair, and rejoiced with them down through the years. I learned a lot while writing this set of books. Not only in the area of research in writing historical books, but in my Christian walk as well. So many readers have identified with the Barton women and their very real struggles.
For the month of November, I want to share these books with you. With the start of your work week, each Monday a book will be available for FREE! Get your free ebook for the entire week!
Book #1 – Rubyville
A Place to Call Home, the first book in the series will be available for FREE on Monday, November 4th through Friday, November 8th at midnight. Please leave a review when you have finished reading it, and let me know what you thought. It doesn’t need to be long or detailed. Just a few words is greatly appreciated.
This Life is Real...and so are the Answers 
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