Moon Dance ~ a novel Chapter 3

It's time for the next chapter of Moon Dance to be revealed. I feel like the newspaper serial writers of days gone by when my sister and I would wait anxiously for the next installment of a story to come out. Sometimes we had to wait a month because the story would be in a magazine instead of the newspaper. How far we've come in such a short span of time!
I thought I would include my most recent review before Chapter 3... Anticipation is key, and I like to build suspense and keep the reader "wanting" more. :)

"While reading "Moon Dance", I was taken to another time and place. Through the lives of Maggie and Joe, I became involved in the lives of two families and the hardships they each faced. I also enjoyed the love that drew them together and continued to grow despite the difficulties. With each new chapter, I was anxious to see what new adventures were in store for the characters.

Susan K. Earl has done an excellent job with her story "Moon Dance." Not only does she portray several characters and their families, she has intertwined faith, hard work, strength, courage, and forgiveness throughout their lives. This is not only a good read for entertainment, but also one that we can learn from. Great job!"
~ Amy Gatliff, author of The Power to Never Give Up

Moon Dance ~ a novel Chapter 2

This has been a hectic weekend of meetings, family gatherings, and now the new week yields even more wonders to behold. A teacher workshop featuring exploring caves, canoeing, and hiking... it sounded so wonderful when I signed up in the spring, but now with 100 + temperatures, I'm not so sure about the hiking! I love exploring caves, and canoeing is fun. Usually though, my husband does the rowing and I do the enjoying... I think this time, I'm doing the rowing! Anyway, to read Chapter Two of Moon Dance ~ a novel please go to http://hubpages.com/hub/Moon-Dance-a-novel-Chapter-2
I hope you have a blessed week and happy reading!


:) Susan

Moon Dance ~ a novel

Recently I heard that James Patterson, one of my must read authors, was offering the first ten chapters of his new Women's Murder Club novel on his web site. I liked this idea, and so today I came to the conclusion that I should do the same.
I will publish one chapter a week for the next ten weeks (every Tuesday), and if you are interested in reading the remaining 14 chapters, you can click on the Amazon link below to purchase an e-book copy for only $9.99. If you would like a signed copy you can e-mail me for more information at moondance2010@att.net

I've included a recent review of Moon Dance: 

Moon Dance, March 21, 2011 By Dolores Ayotte This review is from: Moon Dance (Perfect Paperback) I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel, Moon Dance, by Author Susan Earl. It is very easy to discern that Susan is passionate about her relationship with God as she so skillfully intertwines her own values in her novel about Maggie and Joe. The story takes place in Texas during the Great Depression yet despite the poverty and hardship that so many people endured; Maggie and Joe manage to find love and romance. Although, the main plot of Moon Dance revolves around the love they share, there are many other delightful characters that enhance the story line. There is much sadness and sorrow that is also addressed in this well-written, descriptive novel, but the faith of the family and the love that they all share manages to bring it to a happy conclusion. This book grabbed my attention right from the onset and I enjoyed it immensely.
By: Author Dolores Ayotte 

I am currently finishing up the sequel to Moon Dance, and felt this would be a great way to gain your interest in Moon Dance, as well as entice you to want to know what happens in the lives of the characters in the upcoming sequel.

Visit my hub at http://hubpages.com/hub/Moon-Dance-a-novel-by-Susan-K-Earl to read Chapter 1 of Moon Dance ~ a novel. Happy reading!

Thoughts for Today

May has brought with it many changes... and I am a creature of habit who really doesn't appreciate change. And yet, I know that in order to grow there must be changes in my life. Have the changes been destructive? No. Have they caused undo pain? Only to my inner being. And so, I will adapt to the will of others, even though I've done a lot of grumbling along the way. 

Now summer looms before me, and I say goodbye to a most difficult year. There have been good things within the realm of despair, but the good has only shown it's face far and few times in between the knock down, drag around way I've felt throughout this year.

Now for the first time in a dozen years or so, I am taking off for the precious few weeks we used to call summer vacation. During this time I plan to try and rejuvenate my inner soul, rest from the harsh realities of being torn down, and prepare myself for a new year. 

Throughout my teaching career I have met some extraordinary people. People who's memories are deeply engrained within me. People I have taught, but whom have also taught me. They've taught me how to be a better teacher, how to laugh at my own mistakes, and how to empathize with the many plights we've found ourselves in.

And so to all of my fellow teachers, I dedicate these "Thoughts for Today" to you...

• The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth."  ~Dan Rather

• A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.  ~Author Unknown

• If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job.  ~Donald D. Quinn

• In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work.  It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.  ~Jacques Barzun

• The task of the excellent teacher is to stimulate "apparently ordinary" people to unusual effort.  The tough problem is not in identifying winners:  it is in making winners out of ordinary people.  ~K. Patricia Cross

• A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.  ~Henry Adams

• One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.  The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.  ~Carl Jung 

Blessing always, 
Susan

Thoughts for Today

More thoughts and wisdom from my favorite little Pooh bear...

• "Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it."  Winnie the Pooh Pooh's Little Instruction Book

• "A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference." Winnie the Pooh Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh

• "I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words Bother me." Winnie the Pooh
•  "I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."
  Winnie the Pooh Winnie the Pooh

• "Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering." Winnie the Pooh Piglet, Pooh's Little Instruction Book

You just can't go wrong with the wisdom of Pooh!

Family friendly Vegetarian Lasagne

One of my family's favorite recipes is one that I adapted from a Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook about thirty years ago. I was really young at the time...of course! The recipe called for a lot of ingredients that a poor starving student was unable to afford at the time, although I loved the idea of the recipe.
I decided to try to reproduce my own version of the recipe using fewer ingredients as well as less expensive choices. At the time, I was a college student and stay at home (working very hard) mom, so cutting corners and saving time were two very important assets in my hectic life. Every recipe I had tried from this cookbook had been wonderful, and I really wanted to try the vegetarian lasagne, so I set about planning how to best approach the recipe change. What came about was a dish that even die hard meat eaters and those who detest spinach have tried and loved. This recipe has been well-tested over the course of time and eaten by many of my family, friends, and strangers alike; all of whom love it and ask for the recipe. The recipe is simple, takes only a small amount of time to prepare, and is easily adaptable to your own taste.
Easy Vegetarian Lasagne - Susan Style!
Preheat oven to 350*

• 2 to 3 cans well drained, chopped spinach
• 1 pkg. oven ready lasagne shells (newly adapted in the past few years to save time and one less step in the recipe)
• 2 (16 oz.) cans tomato sauce (more if you like it saucy)
• garlic salt to taste
• 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese ( I prefer Tillamook or Vermont white sharp cheddar myself)

Cover the bottom of an oblong clear glass or corningware pan with tomato sauce. Place a single layer of oven ready or cooked lasagne shells on the tomato sauce. Add more tomato sauce to cover the shells , then top with garlic salt. Add one can of chopped spinach; spread to cover all the shells. Add more tomato sauce, garlic salt, and sharp cheddar cheese. Repeat this step. Finally, layer remaining shells, tomato sauce, garlic salt, and cheese. Place in preheated oven for about 60 minutes until shells are tender and cheese is bubbly. (If you use cooked shells, you can cut the cooking time down to 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with warm garlic bread and watch your family smile as they devour their food nd ask for more.
That's it! To serve larger crowds, just double the recipe.
I have actually converted a lot of folks who say they don't like spinach into spinach lovers with this recipe. I hope you and your family will enjoy it as much as mine does.


Blessings,
Susan

Thoughts For Today

On being yourself... 



Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.  ~Dr. Seuss


To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.  ~e.e. cummings, 1955

All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was.  I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory.  I was naïve.  I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer.  It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with:  that I am nobody but myself.  ~Ralph Ellison, "Battle Royal"

If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.  ~David Carradine


A man who is "of sound mind" is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key.  ~Paul Valéry, Mauvaises pensées et autres, 1942


I am told to just be myself, but as much as I have practiced the impression, I am still no good at it.  ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com


The great majority of us are required to live a life of constant duplicity.  Your health is bound to be affected if, day after day, you say the opposite of what you feel, if you grovel before what you dislike, and rejoice at what brings you nothing but misfortune.  ~Boris Pasternak


It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.  ~e.e. cummings

Have a blessed day being just who you are, a beautiful creation of God!
~ Susan

Please Join me at the North Texas Book Festival

Last year's festival with former Dallas Cowboy and Author Drew Pearson

Please join me at the North Texas Book Festival this Saturday, April 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. This year's festival will be held at The Center for Visual Arts · 400 E. Hickory · Denton, Texas. 

The North Texas Book Festival, Inc. is a 501(c)3 corporation that was organized in 2000 by a group of individuals, led by children's author Lynn Sheffield Simmons, to help school and public libraries and literacy programs in the North Texas area. Since its beginning, more than $45,000 in grants has been awarded to deserving programs. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Recent Reviews of Moon Dance ~ a novel by Susan K. Earl:
    “I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel, Moon Dance, by Author Susan Earl.  It is very easy to discern that Susan is passionate about her relationship with God as she so skillfully intertwines her own values in her novel about Maggie and Joe. The story takes place in Texas during the Great Depression yet despite the poverty and hardship that so many people endured; Maggie and Joe manage to find love and romance. Although, the main plot of Moon Dance revolves around the love they share, there are many other delightful characters that enhance the story line. There is much sadness and sorrow that is also addressed in this well-written, descriptive novel, but the faith of the family and the love that they all share manages to bring it to a happy conclusion. This book grabbed my attention right from the onset and I enjoyed it immensely.” ~ Dolores Ayotte,  author of  Growing Up and Liking It

I turned on the TV and planned to read a little during commercials, but I was flabbergasted when I got so involved in the story that I turned off the TV and just kept on reading and reading. I finally went to bed, and then got up and finished reading Moon Dance.  I never really read, but this story kept me so involved I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next! Now I’m sharing Moon Dance with my friends and they love it just as much as I do! You’ve got some talent there, Susan! ~ Kathy Element (Michigan)
  
Susan K. Earl’s characters in Moon Dance were so vividly described that I found myself wanting to go back a page or two to see a picture of a previous scene, but that scene was only in my mind! It was almost like watching a movie of these two poor families who were brought together by their children’s love for each other. Both families lived their faith in God and shared that faith with others. The time setting of the Great Depression allowed us to learn how the families coped during hard times and how they relied on neighborly love and God. The lessons taught in this beautifully written romance can and should be lessons we are teaching today in our families. — Linda Duff Niemeir, Co-Author, Sharecropping in North Louisiana: A Family’s Struggle Through the Great Depression

    I loved this book…It has great character development and a great story that kept my interest, in fact, I couldn’t put it down- I read it in one night! The love story is sweet, and how the characters dealt with hard, lifelike problems was touching to me. I really enjoyed it! ~ Jennifer N.

Hope to see you there!!
Blessings,
Susan

Thoughts For Today

 Today and everyday I am so grateful for one more day to share, laugh, love, and be. To all those who have touched my life in the past and to those who will in the future, I am ever grateful. Today's thought revolve around my gratitude by sharing some of my favorite quotes with you. Blessings,
Susan



As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily.  The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world.  ~Terri Guillemets

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  ~Thornton Wilder


Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.  ~William Faulkner

 
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Remember the Time...When Comedy was Art

 

Source: Photo Credit: unknown

My work week was really hectic, and I so looked forward to coming home this afternoon with the knowledge that my agenda is completely free for the weekend. I arrived home a little before six, turned on the TV and promptly fell asleep. After an hour or so, I awoke and started searching for something to eat. My search was not in vain… I found a can of bean dip, chips, and a couple of pieces of Dove dark chocolate. I took my treasures back to the living room, plopped down on the couch, and scrolled through the hundreds of channels on the TV. Low and behold there was nothing to watch!  Undaunted, I gazed down at my two dogs who were drooling as they stared at my dinner of bean dip and chips, as I attempted to keep the cat from jumping in my lap as she prowled down the back of the couch. I chewed on a chip and contemplated putting in an old movie, and then it came to me, and I knew just what to do… Nexflix instant play to the rescue!
I rewound the clock, so to say, to the time when there were only three channels on television, and tuned in to an episode of The Red Skelton Show. I loved variety shows growing up, and Red was one of my very favorites. Some of you may have never had the pleasure of watching a true artist at work, but this multi-talented man warmed my heart week after week when I was a child. This was in the day when every show was announced, “And now in living color”… I always wondered what that was like because we only had black and white TV. As I said it’s been a hectic week at work, so please forgive my rambling.
I laughed and cried as I watched Red perform his familiar roles of Clem Kadiddlehopper, Freddy the Freeloader, and his famous mime. His stand-up routine was quite good and not at all offensive. Several of his statements really reached out to me, and in hopes they will resonate with you as well, I will share a couple of quotes today from this episode of Red Skelton’s show.


“I don’t need to wear glasses, but I’ve reached the age where my curiosity is greater than my vanity.” ~ Red Skelton


(I’m there, Red!)


The second quote is a description of “Who is Freddy the Freeloader?”


“Freddy is a little bit of you, a little bit of me. He’s found out what love means. He knows the value of time. He’s found out that time is a glutton that eats up life. We say that there’s plenty of time for this or that…the trick is to apply it. Our greatest disease in the world is procrastination, and Freddy knows about all these things and so do you. He doesn’t ask anyone to provide for him because it would be taken away from you. He doesn’t ask for equal rights if he knows it means you’ll give up some of yours…and he knows one thing -that patriotism is greater than guns. He’s nice to everybody because he was taught that man was made in God’s image. He’s never met God in person, but the next fellow just might be him. I would say Freddy is a little bit of all of us.” ~ Red Skelton


This second quote really touched my heart. It brought to mind a story I read long ago by Leo Tolstoy. I wish I could remember the name of the book. I had it for a very long time, and then lent it to someone and it was never returned. I think that person needed the book much more than I did. Anyway, the book was a collection of three or four short Christmas stories written after Tolstoy became a Christian. The story that Red’s quote triggered in my mind was about Christ walking amongst us in human form. In the story God traveled from place to place seeking to find someone who would show a stranger hospitality and kindness. He visited many before he found what he desired.  If you’ve read the book, maybe you will be kind enough to message the title to me. I’d love to find another copy of it.
My blog may seem to have gotten off track, but memories are what it’s all about. Hopefully, memories some of you will enjoy and relate to.

“And now I will say goodnight and God bless” ~ Red Skelton

As always, I pray God’s blessings upon you,
Susan

                         Red Skelton Clem Kadiddlehopper Sketch

New Review for Moon Dance ~ a novel

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel, Moon Dance, by Author Susan Earl.  It is very easy to discern that Susan is passionate about her relationship with God as she so skillfully intertwines her own values in her novel about Maggie and Joe. The story takes place in Texas during the Great Depression yet despite the poverty and hardship that so many people endured; Maggie and Joe manage to find love and romance. Although, the main plot of Moon Dance revolves around the love they share, there are many other delightful characters that enhance the story line. There is much sadness and sorrow that is also addressed in this well-written, descriptive novel, but the faith of the family and the love that they all share manages to bring it to a happy conclusion. This book grabbed my attention right from the onset and I enjoyed it immensely." ~ Dolores Ayotte, author of Growing Up and Liking It

 

Don't forget to purchase your signed copy of   

Moon Dance ~ a novel by Susan K. Earl 

and your name will be entered in 2 drawings for a chance to 

win a free Kindle Reader.  The first drawing will take place 

April 1^st and the 2^nd drawing around May 1^st. E-mail me at

moondance2010@att.net for ordering details.  

Price $15.00 +shipping.  :)

Contests Have Begun to win a Free Kindle Reader

Happy first day of spring!! To kick off one of my favorite seasons I'd like to share a special opportunity with you.

Recently, I was given a great idea by one of my fellow authors. I pondered on her idea for quite a while, and then decided I would also offer this opportunity to my readers near and far.  

Ever wanted to own a Kindle reader? Well, now is a good time to get one for FREE! A drawing is underway... just order a signed copy of moon dance from me, and your name will be added to the list. For a limited time, I'm offering a signed copy of moon dance at the special price of only $15.00 + shipping (Retails at $22.99). The first drawing will be on April 1st (NO foolin' around!). Send me an e-mail at moondance2010@att.net for ordering details. You can also message me on facebook for details... just click on the fb link on the side of this page. :)

If you've already purchased a copy of moon dance, but would still like to get in on the drawings you can buy one (or more) for a friend or donate a copy to your local or school's library! You never know... the winner could be you! If you enter the contest for the first giveaway on April 1st, your name will automatically be entered into the 2nd drawing, which will take place around May 1st.

15 requests so far for the drawing on April 1st. I'm really excited, and I wish all who enter could win! Keep those e-mails coming.The winner may be you!  I truly appreciate all of you who support me in my efforts to get the word out about Moon Dance!

Blessings, 

Susan

Saturday's Song

Today has been filled to the brim with non-stop activities! I usually try and enjoy a leisurely, lazy Saturday morning, yet today began on the run and continued at this non-stop pace until almost time for the ten o'clock news tonight. 

The day began with an early morning book signing at the White Rhino Coffee House. After grumbling about having to get up early on a Saturday morning, (and my friends can attest... I've always been a night owl who has a very difficult time getting out of bed in the mornings!) I stumbled around trying to find everything I needed, headed out the door feeling harried, and running late again. I pulled into the coffee house parking lot with three minutes to spare and rushed in to set up my table. I never know what God has in store for me when I go adventuring, and book signings can be quite an adventure. I love meeting new people, talking and sharing with them, and being there at just the right moment to listen to "that" person who needs to be heard. Today was one of those days that I felt God had led me to just the right place so I could be there to listen to, support, and offer encouragement to a newly born Christian. This young man was stepping out on his own for the first time in his life and feeling just a little nervous about being away from his family's and his church family's support. I believe he felt more at peace after our time together, and I know it was a fruitful time for me as well.

The next stop on my journey was to help my daughter as she moved into her new apartment. It was also a fruitful time as we attempted to put together her computer desk (we didn't have all the right tools), arranged furniture, and ate pizza. As we finished, I checked the time and realized I was once again running late for my next adventure; my niece's performance as Annie in her school's production of Annie Jr.

Another close call, but I made it just before seven. The show actually started late, so I had time to visit with friends and relatives as we waited for the curtain to rise. As always, my niece gave a stellar performance, and I'm not just saying this because I'm her aunt, this child has amazing talent. I think she takes after my mom who was also a singer/songwriter. After the show, I was blessed to watch her signing autographs for starry-eyed little girls. 

Finally around nine-thirty, I climbed back into my car and headed home. Now at the end of this long day, I've realized just how very blessed I've been by skipping my usual leisurely and lazy Saturday morning. Although, next week... I plan to sleep in!

Blessings always,

:) Susan



If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.  ~George MacDonald

Thoughts For Today

71 degrees today! This brought out my desire to go out and dig in the dirt, play in my gardens, and daydream while I anticipate spring and all the pleasures my garden will bring... I know it's still too early, a frost is waiting somewhere just around the corner, but today spring has sprung in my heart. And so I share a few favorite quotes on gardens...


In my garden there is a large place for sentiment.  My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams.  The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.  ~Abram L. Urban

I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation.  It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse

I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day.  ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace

Simply Symphony!

Went to the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center tonight to watch the AISD All City/State choirs sing. Our Elem., Jr. High, and High School students each did a selection of songs, and then they all sang together. What a beautiful job our fine arts teachers are doing with our students! Two of my nieces sang in the choirs, and of course they were most magnificent!

My favorite songs were Loch Loman... beautiful job... and Humpty Dumpty...cute and amusing! Music always seems to lift one's spirits and strengthen the soul. On that note... a few thoughts for today!

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.  ~Berthold Auerbach


All deep things are song.  It seems somehow the very central essence of us, song; as if all the rest were but wrappages and hulls!  ~Thomas Carlyle

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Day Is Done