Letters from Annie Douglass Lima
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Taiwan Quarantine, Day 6
This is the label on the outside of the door of my cell, er, hotel room. When I open the door to pick up my meals from the chair outside, or to set my daily bag of trash out, I see notes like this on all the doors up and down the hallway. They are the constant reminders of the dates each prisoner, er, guest, came in and will be allowed to come out.
From August 9th-19th, my blog and I are participating in a "Discovery" through DiscoverAuthors.wordpress.com. Each day, I'll be featuring a different author and one of their books; the other authors will also be featuring me and each other on their blogs at the same time. Check in every day to find out about great new […]
From August 9th-19th, my blog and I are participating in a "Discovery" through DiscoverAuthors.wordpress.com. Each day, I'll be featuring a different author and one of their books; the other authors will also be featuring me and each other on their blogs at the same time. Check in every day to find out about great new […]
Keeper of Reign By Emma RightAbout the BookBooks written in blood. Most are lost, their Keepers with them. A curse that befell a people. A Kingdom with no King. Life couldn’t get more harrowing for the Elfies, a blend of Elves and Fairies. Or for sixteen-year-old Jules Blaze. Or could it? For Jules, the heir […]
Welcome to Christmas In July!CrossReads Summer Book Sale Where You Can Get Free Books, Discounts, And More! For 3 days only, July 25th-27th, several of your favorite CrossReads Christian authors have joined together to offer their books for free or at 99 cents to summer readers for this special Christmas In July Book Sale.Readers can […]
Miracle on Snowbird Lake is a novel by a friend of an acquaintance of mine, Stan Bednarz. I haven't read it yet, but it looks exciting and has a number of excellent reviews on Amazon. You can enter the giveaway below to win a free copy of the book or a $25 Walmart gift card!Stan […]
One Night With a Rock StarBy: Chana KeeferFREE TODAY FOR AMAZON KINDLE!About the BookIt's Anne of Green Gables Meets Rattle & Hum. Worlds collide. When Esther was a young teen with frizzy hair and too-skinny legs, Sky’s music soothed her through awkwardness and pain. Now she’s a college journalism student and fledgling print model. One […]
This is an interview with a new online friend of mine: Michelle Lynn Brown, author of the contemporary inspirational romance novel Miracles in Disguise. Author Bio: When Michelle Lynn Brown was a teenager, her mother used to take her to used books stores at least once a month. It was there she fell in love […]
At The End Of Our Journey By: JACK R EAST JR About the BookAt the End of Our Journey is a personal testimony of the life and Christian faith of the author. The inspiration for the book came from two incredible and powerful dreams about Jack's Christian faith. The dreams were experienced in November of 2010 […]
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/I just finished reading a book called The Slayer and the Sphinx, a young adult fantasy by author Adam Bolander. It features several races of "Mythics" (fantasy creatures) who secretly inhabit our own world but are shunned, feared, or persecuted by humans. Porter, a teenage boy, is a "slayer" whose job is to hunt down […]
We're back in California for the summer! Here are some of the things that have stood out to Floyd and me in the last few days since we've returned to the States:Wow, everything is so much more expensive than it was last summer. The price of gas is horrifying!Look at all the sidewalks everywhere! Why […]
Today Floyd and I traveled to the city of Lukang (pronounced "loo-gahng"), about an hour's drive south of here, to attend their annual Dragon Boat Festival celebration. It's something I've wanted to do since I first heard of the holiday six years ago, but we've usually already been in the States for the summer by […]
Winter's Past (2nd Chance Series) By Mary E Hanks About the Book:Ty wants to make things right. Winter can’t forget their past. Winter Cowan is scheduled to speak in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. A city she’s avoided for ten years because of Ty Williams, her ex-husband. But what are the chances of Ty showing up in church? […]
As we prepare to leave Taiwan for another summer in the States, here are some pictures of our neighborhood here in Taichung. The Morrison community calls it "the Village" even though it's part of a rather large city. Apparently old-timers remember the days when this area really was a village some distance from the rest […]
1.) I have been to 19 countries, but there are dozens more I’d love to see.2.) I love scrapbooking and wish there were more scrapping supplies available here in Taiwan.3.) Misused apostrophes drive me crazy.4.) As a kid, I was always creating imaginary friends. I had plenty of real ones, but the imaginary ones were […]
Welcome to Christian Author Interviews. Enjoy our interview with Jody Hedlund, an award-winning historical romance novelist, in this episode. Listen in via the video or audio and share your thoughts in the comments. Don't forget to enter the giveaway below and share this interview with your friends![youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoZ6Co0zfHw?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0&w=500&h=281] Listen to the audio here: About Jody […]
Even though we live in a busy city, there are plenty of gorgeous flowers to be found in our neighborhood! Here's what the flowers above look like close up:I took most of these pictures a couple years ago, but you can still see flowers in most of the same spots around our neighborhood today.Many of […]
Title: Every Hill and Mountain (Time and Again) (Volume 3) By Deborah HealAbout the Book: Every Hill and Mountain Visiting another century…not the summer vacation she had planned. Those who have read Time and Again and Unclaimed Legacy know that Abby Thomas is a college student on a summer service project with 11-year-old Merri. And they […]
(Are you writing/have you written a book, but you're not sure if it's actually ready to publish yet? You may want to start by reading my blog post "I Wrote a Book! Now What?" - From Rough Draft to Publication and Beyond in 16 Steps. But if you're sure your book is ready to publish in […]
Book Blast: Wacky Wishes by Susette Williams, Illustrated by Jack Foster - Enter to Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card! Title: Wacky Wishes By Susette Williams Author, Jack Foster IllustratorAbout the Book:Tommy and Suzie find a wishing well, and like children do, they begin making wishes. Imagine their surprise when their wishes start to come […]
Click here to download on Kindle Free Tuesday May 14th and Wednesday May 15th!Persistent Love: Christian Romantic Suspense Novella set in 1685, England.Fear has been Tara's constant companion since age nine when she witnessed her mother's murder. Tara's father moves his family to the ancient castle of Raven's Cliff, far from the ships that could […]
This is a map I created using Smart Notebook software to show the fantasy world in my Annals of Alasia series (Prince of Alasia and In the Enemy's Service). It's still a work in progress; I'm currently writing two more books, so I've been adding cities and other features to the map as I think […]
I've been teaching a unit on poetry to my fifth grade class here at Morrison Academy, and my students have enjoyed writing poems in a number of different styles. Now that we're finished, I've chosen the best ones (at least one from each student) to put together into a poetry anthology. The class is very […]
I spent a few hours this afternoon at Georg Peck, the tea shop where I usually go to write on weekends. (For more on this tea shop and why I like it so much, see my other blog post here.) You can see my laptop and half finished passion fruit green tea at the little […]
I didn't make these up, and not all of them apply to Floyd and me, but I think they're pretty good! After nearly six years in Taiwan, I can definitely relate to a lot of them (and most of the rest at least make enough sense now to be worth a chuckle)!1. You can order […]
Welcome to Christian Author Interviews. Enjoy our interview with Richard Blackaby in this episode. Listen in via the video or audio and share your thoughts in the comments. Don't forget to enter the giveaway below and share this interview with your friends![youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeTVGRLSQmw?version=3&hl=en_US&w=450&h=253] Listen to the audio here: About Richard BlackabyDr. Richard Blackaby is the […]
Won't you come with me this SaturdayTo the Shui Nan Market down the way?It's full of interesting things to seeSo grab a bag and follow me. We'll see colorful T-shirts for ladies and gentsWith slogans in English that don't all make sense.Flat slabs of tofu are spread on a tableBeside packaged snacks with a Chinese […]
Title: Love the Wounded By Lynn DoveAbout the Book:“Love the Wounded” by Lynn Dove is the final and dramatic conclusion to her brilliant Wounded Trilogy series that has followed the lives of teenagers Jake, Leigh, Mike, Dylan and Tim as they come to terms with a series of tragedies and events that have made each […]
http://10weekwriterschallenge.com/ Several days ago I downloaded a little eBook that was free at the time: The Busy Writer's Guide to Plot by Marg McAlister. It's a quick and easy read; I ended up finishing it in two sittings, and I think I must have highlighted about a quarter of the book. I couldn't believe how […]
Title: My Treasures - Four Week Mini Bible Study (Becoming Press Mini Bible Studies) By Heather Bixler About the Book:There are plenty of Christian resources out there telling us how to manage our money. From budgeting, to couponing, to saving, to investing, (there are numerous) books, courses, and blogs available for all Christians to learn […]
Yesterday, on our way home from a vacation in Hualien, Floyd and I drove through beautiful Taroko National Park. Known as the Grand Canyon of Taiwan, Taroko Gorge is one of the top vacation spots in Taiwan.We had been there before when my parents came to visit a couple years ago (you can see pictures […]
Yesterday Floyd and I and our friends Mark and Michelle enjoyed a trip to a theme park not far from their home in Hualien on Taiwan's east coast. The entrance fee was just 890 NT (less than $30). It was definitely worth it, even though Farglory Ocean Park is the kind of place you can do […]
On our way to visit friends in Hualien, Floyd and I stopped by a place I've been wanting to see for years: Yehliu. We saw most of the sights featured above on our little self-guided tour of the geopark peninsula. Famous for its interesting rock formations, Yehliu is a major tourist attraction in Taiwan.The results of erosion […]
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/Taiwan is truly a tea lover's paradise. There are tea shops on practically every corner, and I would estimate there are between twenty and thirty of them within walking distance of our home. Each one is a little different: though they carry many of the same beverages, each tea shop mixes the ingredients according to […]
This week I had the opportunity to read and review an eBook by author Staci Stallings, who I recently had the pleasure of meeting on a Christian Writers' forum on Facebook. Her book Keys to Creating a Successful Book Marketing Strategy is a resource I was excited to get my hands on, and now I'm […]
Every year after my fifth grade class reads the novel Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, I have them do a project in which they create their own imaginary worlds. They design a map and a flag, a national animal and plant, write up the history of their world, etc. It's always fun to see […]
Soni is a friend from India who I "met" (online) through my mom. A fellow writer, she has recently published a children's book featuring beautiful Indian-style art to go with each phrase of the Lord's prayer (you can take a look at her book and buy it here if you like). Soni and I arranged to do […]
Having gone through the process of turning a Word document into something that will look good on the screen of a Kindle (and a growing number of other devices) several times now, I know how frustrating it can be. A big part of the problem is that, although there's a lot of information about the process […]
Now that a new year has begun, I've decided to recap some my favorite memories of 2012. Here goes:April 14I was asked to be a guest speaker for an English class at Tunghai University here in Taichung. They had been reading my book, Prince of Alasia, so I came as a visiting author. It was […]
I had some free time on my last afternoon in Thailand, so I signed up for a half-day tour package that gave me some lifelong memories. First our tour group went to Mae Sa Elephant Camp, a little ways outside of Chiang Mai. There we got to watch elephants doing interesting activities. Click on the links […]
An Orchid Nursery was the third stop in the tour package on my trip to Thailand.Dozens of varieties of orchids are grown there.These blooms are sold in Thailand and exported around the world.There was no officially organized tour, but we were free to wander around the facility and admire the flowers.I was impressed by the wide […]
After the elephant camp, the tour package I bought in Chiang Mai took us to what's called the Tiger Kingdom. It's basically like a zoo with just tigers, and for a small additional fee, tourists can actually go inside the cages and pet them! I found it completely mind-blowing that I was almost the only […]
Recently I got to spend a few days in Chiang Mai, Thailand, at an EARCOS (East Asia Regional Council of Schools) conference.What an interesting country!I was there to present a workshop about publishing, based on my experiences publishing my own books in Kindle and paperback formats. In the evenings and on the last day after the […]
Thank you to all those who entered the contest to win a free copy of the ebook In the Enemy's Service, sequel to Prince of Alasia. One winner was randomly drawn last night: Sharon Wisner! Congratulations, Sharon; you'll be receiving your prize shortly.In the meantime, several people chose the option to ask a question of one […]
I'm excited to announce that as of this morning, In the Enemy's Service is available from Amazon.com! Click here to order the Kindle version of this young adult action/adventure fantasy novel for just $2.99. You can buy the paperback here for $9.99. It is also available in other formats such as Nook, Sony Reader, and […]