The Good Lie ... And Winner Announced

I watched a movie over the weekend and I have to share my thoughts. I love a good drama, but when the film is inspired by a true story, it's even better.

I'm no reviewer, and I DO NOT like to find out what's going to happen in a movie or a book, so I'll try my best to give my thoughts without giving too much away.

 The Good Lie tugged on my heartstrings from the very beginning. The Sudanese children suddenly find themselves in the middle of war. Death is all around them. Their families are gone, their homes are burned to the ground, and they barely escape alive.

As the story unfolds, they lean on each other for strength as they suffer loss, old and new, on their long journey to safety. All they have is each other. Their undying love for one another shines through scene after scene. Their relationships give the true meaning of family time and time again.

Not only will you laugh a few times as they experience culture shock when they come to America, it will play on your sympathies as you compare their traumatized childhood to all we take for granted.

What grabbed me emotionally more than anything else was their faith in God. You experience this as they carry the Holy Bible as their most cherished possession. They pray often, thanking God even though they have little. 

The movie is rated PG-13 with a few choice words and scenes, which is kind compared to many of Hollywood's similar rated films. I usually watch all my movies with our ClearPlay DVD, which filters out anything I don't want to see or hear. Unfortunately, the filter wasn't available yet, and I just couldn't wait. So, usually I'm not the best at giving a review for this reason. 

I buy a lot of movies because I enjoy watching them more than once, and usually wait until they go on sale. This particular time, I rented. But I will definitely buy this one as soon as they get more in stock at Target or maybe I'll wait 'till it goes on sale. :)

On an ending note, I pray that I will be sensitive to the needs of others. I thank God that those who suffer here on earth and still praise his name, will be the princes and princesses of heaven.

(Just a little picture of the good kind of snow I found on my steps this morning)

Thank you to all who participated in my contest. I'm so thankful to all of you for reading 

Broken Butterfly, for your Amazon and Barnes & Noble reviews, for your Facebook reviews, and for coming back week after to week to read my little blog posts!! Please help me by recommending Broken Butterfly to all your reader friends and family. I will forever be grateful!!!

Now what you've all been waiting for ... There were over 25 entries and the winner of the $25.00 Amazon gift card goes to ... Cindy Brown

Congratulations!!! Send me a message with your address so I can send it to you! 

Have a wonderful week, 

Cindy :)

A Contest, An Excerpt of Broken Butterfly, But First an Update ...

Good morning, Y'all.

Headaches are apart of my everyday life. I'm learning to live with them. I have no choice.

I've tried countless things. It makes me cringe when I think of all the time and money we've invested to find a solution ... to find relief. We always tell my Neurologist thank you as we're leaving his office. At the last visit he said, "You are nice people. You always thank me, though I've done nothing to help you."

Botox didn't work. Although my doctor and I both had high expectations for it, there's been no change. I've tried it twice. It is a very painful process, with 36 injections into my scalp, neck, and forehead.

My latest attempt was to see an Allergy Specialist after hearing that migraines could be caused by food allergies. All the tests (a total of 60) were negative, except one. Dogs. Lol. That's not the problem. I've had a dog for 14 years.

(Kayla enjoying the big snow. We miss her)

He suggested I try a gluten-free diet for 4 weeks. I started last Sunday. My headache is still hanging around, but I'm feeling better. I've still had a few bad days, but the rest have been better than normal.

I plan to eliminate other food sources to see if it makes a difference, but only one thing at a time. Gluten free isn't easy. But I've found some interesting ways to enjoy some of my favorites. Instead of a bowl of soup with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I have a bowl of soup and a spoon of peanut butter. :)

Now, enough about that. I'm in the mood to give away a prize. And it's the perfect time, because I need your help to get the word out there about Broken Butterfly.

Enter now for your chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card.

And guess what ... I'm giving you up to 4 ways to enter.

1. Comment on this post or on Facebook that you want to be entered in the contest.
2. If you've read Broken Butterfly, leave a review on Amazon or Barnes and Noble (It doesn't matter if you didn't purchase your copy from them. As long as you have an acct, you can leave a review)
3. Like this post on Facebook.
4. Share this post on Facebook.

The winner will be announced, Tuesday, January 27th...

Happy Thursday!! Thanks for stopping by!

Cindy :)

Check out my writer's page for an excerpt of "Broken Butterfly"!!

Order your copy or kindle version here...

http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Butterfly-Cindy-Patterson-ebook/dp/B00SA9C164/ref=la_B00QNXPWLA_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421938810&sr=1-1

Order your copy or nook version here...

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/broken-butterfly-cindy-patterson/1120802112?ean=9781462755745

It's just plain crazy!

Y'all, I have had the most unusual week of my life.

My man reads his Bible, and things that are necessary for his job, but that's about it. He had told me several times, if you get published, I'll read your book. Well, I honestly wasn't anticipating it. Not at all.

But, one night, he gets the book, turns off the TV, and starts reading. He decided that he was tired of people asking him if he's read it and he has to tell them no.

I've never felt such a combination of feelings in my life. 

Nervous: What if he thinks it's stupid? What if he hates it? What if he thinks differently of me?

Weird: Seeing him engaged in a story that I made up left me feeling completely out of my element. I definitely had to do something to keep my mind off what was actually happening.

Amusement: I burst into laughter a few times. He just looked at me, like, what's so funny? Everything about this is funny. And nothing about this is normal.

Then he tells me what he likes about what he's read so far and how he's impressed. And he not only told me that, he's showing me. Instead of sitting down with the remote, he's sitting down with my book for over an hour. Every Night!!! Because he's interested in the story, y'all.

It's one thing to know people are reading my book, but to have the man I love sitting next to me reading it ... it's indescribable. And I'm starting to get used to this, well not completely. But I must admit, I do love hearing him talk about my characters as he's reading and how he could definitely see this being made into a movie. ~insert huge grin~

Then to top off my crazy week, my oldest son, Tyler, told me he and Maddy were looking for a house.

A House? My Son? It seems like just yesterday they were going to prom ...

(Not sure which prom, there were quite a few:)

And then, I'm at the house he and Maddy are interested in, listening as he carries on an adult conversation with the Real Estate Agent. Yeah, they just recently got engaged, but still ... it was crazy. But I'm also crazy proud of them both!! And I pray for God's blessing on their decisions and their relationship.

Now, just in case you were wondering ...

The Kindle version is still not available, but if you want a copy in print, you can find it at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Butterfly-Cindy-Patterson/dp/1462755739

or Barnes and Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/broken-butterfly-cindy-patterson/1120802112?ean=9781462755738

Please leave a review if you've read it or when you read it! I really enjoy hearing from my readers!!

And y'all my following is just plain pitiful, though I'm so thankful for the ones I have. I'd love to have you join :) Just click on the join this site link or follow by email and wallah ... You will make my day!!!

I'm so glad you joined me today,

Cindy :)

What I would do differently!

Publishing a novel was a whole lot more challenging than I ever imagined it would be. There are definitely things I would do differently.

1. I was in such a hurry to get it published before Christmas. Although, my personal sales were great because I was able to get them in time for Christmas, I wish I would've taken more time to get things exactly right.

2. What in the world am I doing? Shouldn't the publishing company tell you everything? They treated me like I knew what I was doing. I had no idea. I still don't. I remember when I submitted my final manuscript for publication, I was on the verge of tears for over 3 hours. This putting your work out there for the world to see, including your friends and family is very stressful stuff. What if no one likes it? What if I missed something really big? Or made some awful errors, that I didn't catch. Y'all I'm too scared to read through my book for fear that I'll find some! I worked really hard to make sure there were none, but I know I missed something. But please don't look for them.
And Please don't tell me if you find one.

3. Where is my Kindle edition? It's taking a lot longer than I was told. Would I have waited until the kindle edition went live before I started my own personal marketing ... It's pitiful really. Then on top of that, marketing won't start for at least a few more weeks. Maybe that's a good thing though. It's giving me time to breathe.

4. There were some important details left out. I am so thankful for a group of friends who were so supportive and encouraging as they joined me on my journey with "Broken Butterfly". Chris Drew, Danielle Rush, Kristin Paul, Lauren Blake, Lois Arbie, Susan Stuckey & Terrence Mack.
And to my editor, Jennifer Slattery with Words That Keep, for her awesome feedback and support to help me bring my manuscript to a publishable state.

I will learn from this experience and make sure I don't make the same mistakes twice.

Photo credits: Brooklyn Patterson

Thank you all so much for your support. I have received so many notes, text msgs, fb msgs, phone calls, Amazon reviews, and even some word of mouth from others with awesome words of encouragement about my book. This means so very much to me.

I'm so glad you dropped by. Have a great first week of the new year!

Cindy :)