Tag: Sweet Belief

A Quick Thought, Writing

Welcome Spring!

deborahanndykeman

Here in Kansas, today is a hot one! I do miss the long, slow progression of spring and autumn in the northeast. But here in Kansas, we don’t seem to have the mud problem either that I remember so well when my parents had their horses. I lost a shoe or two more than once slogging through mud in upstate New York!

The daffodils have bloomed at our house. The peonies I moved last year seem to be doing well so far. They came up anyway! Now I’ll be looking for blossoms. I had wanted to move the daffodils last fall, but plantar fasciitis slowed my autumn prep to a standstill. Maybe I’ll get it done before the end of May.

Writing books and designing covers has been my focus since the beginning of the new year. I designed six covers, and I wrote a new book…about 85,000 words between the first of February and yesterday when I finished going through the edits needed on the second part of 56,000 words. I wrote that second part in three weeks. For those of you that write, you know that is an accomplishment! The first three months of a new year have always been a great time for me to get writing done. Motivated, not a lot of outside work, and between spring and fall cleaning schedules. This year was extremely successful. That puts a smile on my face!

Last September also saw the release of the second book in my Love Defined series…Sweet Belief.

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Of course this is available right here: https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Belief-Mike-Katie-Defined/dp/B0CJSQFWBV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2FFQYNYPU3ZRD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Z57xZ9EpuoKA-Cv3YKBaWg.2iWTLGur7eQqvHNvKTDDK5teixJjjg0-CAeXcrvRMJ0&dib_tag=se&keywords=deborah+ann+dykeman+sweet+belief&qid=1713117547&s=books&sprefix=deborah+ann+dykeman+sweet+belief%2Cstripbooks%2C161&sr=1-1

If you live in Texas, the view out your window today may look very much like the backdrop of the cover for Sweet Belief.

Happy spring to all! Enjoy the sunshine, the bright flowers, and new buds on the trees. And if you are in the mood to read, you know where to find a good book. 😉

Home Projects, Writing

Greetings From the Frigid Midwest!

deborahanndykeman

Actually, today is really nice! Fifty-four degrees at this writing. But a few days ago, not so good. Single digits are always a bit scary. You pray your furnace keeps working and the water running!

Last Wednesday, the 2nd.

Good news…our goldfish are still hanging in there. Last winter our youngest kept the pond cleared for them, and this winter my husband took over the job. Everything I read on goldfish said that they hibernate, and don’t feed them when it gets cold. Well, our seven fish didn’t get the memo, and they get a bit cranky when no flakes are given. So, every day, without fail, my husband goes outside, and bangs out a small portion of ice. This scares the fish, so they disappear for a while, but soon they are back. We still have all seven fish that have been with us for twenty-one months now. That’s almost two years! Pretty good considering the pet store said they would live about three months! If those seven fish keep growing, we are going to need a bigger pond, or small lake!

I’ve also made a little more headway on the kitchen project. Our son and a son-in-law put up the pendant lights over the pass-through. I love them! They are a real pain when it comes to changing the bulbs…but they are supposed to be good for twenty years!? I’ll believe that when I see it. As our son so graciously put it… “Will any of us be here in twenty years?”

I am now working on trim and staining…as you can see in the above picture. I tried a bit of staining with the doors closed, and I’m going to have to wait until warmer weather. My diffuser wouldn’t cut the brain-killing fumes!

The biggest news is…I’m just a few pages away from ending my second book in the Love Defined Series! Sweet Belief! This one has been a long haul for me. Difficult to find time to write, and just disgusted with myself and all the rewrites needed! I wrote this series of books before writing conferences, etc. and they are a mess! Head-hopping anyone? Too many points of view? Hey…let’s just trail off on another story all together. Ugh!

In honor of Valentine’s Day…just around the corner…already?! I am giving away the first book in the series, Sweet Hope. You may download this on Amazon, Wednesday the 9th through Friday the 11th, for FREE! This is a love story…no angst, just sweet. Kind of different than what I usually write, actually. But you need to read it to be ready for Sweet Belief…which is back to my normal voice…or as normal as it gets!

I hope you fall in love with this family, just as I have!

Click right here on the 9th – 11th to get your FREE copy! https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Hope-Jonathan-Elisabeth-Defined-ebook/dp/B08BJGJW1M/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2ORYZOE60XXPV&keywords=deborah+ann+dykeman

Happy reading!

social media, Writing

Yep, I Did That Contest

deborahanndykeman

Sometimes it seems like you can’t get it right. So this post is not for all you perfect people out there! If you read my last post, you know it’s been a wild ride for our family the past year. So it shouldn’t surprise me to find out I messed up a book cover.

Why is it that if you make mistakes, they are more than likely ones that should have never happened, or ones that someone should have pointed out ahead of time, or should have been easily seen? A ‘well duh!’ moment. So you feel really stupid. God is still working on humbling me. I would like to think that I’m going to get it right someday, but it’s not looking good.

I have done several of my book covers. Designing book covers is something that I really enjoy. If I had more training in the area, I would probably work on covers as a side gig. But for now, other than a couple small projects, I just do my own. I designed the covers for the When series, and I’ve designed the covers for my current Love Defined series of four books. The first book in the series, Sweet Hope was released in June of this year. So it was with great surprise when our oldest daughter (also my editor) shared this picture with me.

Whoops!

My father has been a great supporter of my writing. He reads all my books, and even writes reviews! It shocked me, since my books are not what most men would read, but since they are not the typical love story, my father can handle it. So when he ordered my latest release, the above picture showed that it doesn’t have anything on the spine! Oh no! Not a good thing. So, I do apologize for those of you that ordered my newest release, which didn’t have any spine information on it. It will be fixed.

I enjoy writing, but I’m human (as is my editor!). I mess up. I need your help, and my editor and I thought this might be a fun way to catch any other errors. Because it seems like no matter how many times a book is gone over, and no matter how many eyes have been over those words, there are still errors! And it is aggravating!

So, I’m running a little contest. If you read Sweet Hope, I would appreciate you looking for mistakes. You may purchase a paperback or e-book version, or even borrow it from a library or friend. Just read it! If you find a mistake, please e-mail my editor at:

peasinapodeditinganddesign@yahoo.com

Each time you e-mail with an error that you have found, your name will be entered into a drawing that will be held in 2021. If your name is drawn, you will receive a free, signed copy of the next book in the series, Sweet Belief. I am currently working on this book. It is written, and it’s  good…one of my favorites…but it’s currently in rewrites and edits. I will update on here how it is progressing and when the drawing will take place. It will be before June, but I will give an exact date at the beginning of the new year.

In the meantime, while it is cold outside, and we are looking at another lockdown due to Covid-19, read, read, read! Here is a sneak peak of Sweet Belief…

Sweet Belief cover for wordpress contest post