A Midwinter's Tail By Sofie Kelly With Thoughts of Love and Marriage in the Air!

I drove up Mountain Road thinking I’d warm up
 the last of the chicken noodle soup I’d made on
 the weekend for supper. That would give me a bit
 of extra time to spend with my cats before I had
 to get ready for the gala. Owen and Hercules
 had been out of sorts the past couple of days.
 If I hadn’t known better, I would have said that
 they were miffed because they weren’t going
 to the gala. The boys, brothers I’d had since  they’d
 followed me home, weren’t exactly your everyday
 run of the mill house cats. Sometimes I had to remind
 myself that they weren’t people, either, even though
 they seemed to think they were.
~~~

There's a bit of a cat fight between Owen and Hercules so I decided not to ask either of them to come visit and tell about the latest book I've been reading by Sofie Kelly. Seems they've been having some issues on toy ownership...




A Midwinter's Tail:
A Magical Cats Mystery

By Sofie Kelly

You know, I'd like to live in Mayville Heights... Oh sure, it's a "created" community only found in books, but I've been there enough now that I know most of the members of the community and they are very nice people. The thing that amazes me is that the community is always sponsoring different types of events. Sure, they are money-making, but still they always seem to be interested, working together, volunteering as needed...

There's just one minor thing that stops me from moving from my log cabin into this nice little town...

Everytime an event happens, there seems to always be a murder too... Does make you stop and think doesn't it? Still, Kathleen has finally acknowledged Marcus and they are now officially a couple, while Marcus has even recognized that Kathleen has a certain knack in solving crimes and, even though he doesn't share information with her, he's willing to listen and accept all that she finds out...LOL... he's no fool, right?

"I look like Fred the Funky Chicken's
mother," Rebecca said. And because
she was so kind, she immediately
added, "And it's not that I don't like
bright yellow chickens..." Her voice
trailed off.
"You just don't want to look like a
giant version of Owen's favorite catnip
treat on your wedding day," I finished.
Owen was one of my two cats. Rebecca,
whose house backed on mine, kept him
supplied with cdatnip chickens, which
he loved, much to the annoyance of his
brother, Hercules, who didn't get the
attraction of catnip or neon yellow
chickens...
"It's not you," Roma agreed. "But
don't worry, We'll find you something."
..."This wedding is turning into shredded
wheat," Rebecca said, fingering the soft
blue scarf around her neck...
Roma frowned..."Shredded wheat,"
"The more you chew on it, the bigger
it seems to get..."
~~~

But the happy couple who are actually planning their wedding is Kathleen's neighbor, Rebecca, and Everett Henderson who is the man who first hired Kathleen... Everett is doing the planning for the wedding, wanting to show the world how happy he is, but Rebecca would be happy to just have an informal, small event. Right now, that doesn't look good, but before the end of the book, you never know what could happen!

In the meantime, Kathleen has started a wonderful mentoring program for reading, called Reading Buddies, which paired younger children with 4th and 5th graders. The library was putting on a fundraiser evening--it would be at the Stratton Theatre...

The stage had been dressed to resemble a French
bistro, with several local businesses providing
elegant desserts. In a wonderful twist of coincidence,
Eddie Sweeney's college roommate was the leader
and saxophone player in a jazz quartet, Jazzology.
They were providing the "atmosphere." Eddie was
generously--and quietly--covering their expenses.
~~~

And, yes, that's where the murder occurred!

Vincent Starr, an expert on American literature and children's books was visiting the library and would be giving a talk about rare books. He was a big supporter of projects for children's literacy and would be mingling and talking to potential donors during the evening...

But the evening really never got off to a start--all the people had come dressed in their finery, delighted with the atmosphere created for this important event. Nearly everybody in town was already impressed with the Reading Buddies program since it had started and proven to be a success...

Our of the corner of my eye, I saw the
door to the cafe swing open and a well-
dressed woman step inside. I knew
immediately that she was, as my friend
Harry Taylor would put it, from away...
Rebecca turned her head, probably to
see what I was looking at. She put one
hand, palm down, on the table and some
of the color seemed to drain from her
face. "Oh my word," she said softly. "It
can't be..."
Roma shot me a worried glance. "Rebecca
do you know that woman?" she asked.
Rebecca nodded. "I do," she said. "That's
Dayna Chapman, Burtis Chapman's wife."
~~~

With all of the planning for the fundraiser, the wedding, everybody was busy. But not busy enough not to stop and gape when a former resident walked into town and back into the lives of her ex- and her son... Burtis Chapman had not seen his ex- since she'd left them and the town years ago. Her son wanted nothing to do with her... And Burtis had recently hooked up with a local woman and they were dating...

So the night of the fundraiser comes and Dayna walks in, not taking long to get into a conversation with Burtis and Lita. While there, Kathleen had given the signal to proceed and a small box of candy was being handed out to each of the guests to welcome them.

Burtis took a box, handed it to Lita, and then another one and handed it to Dayna, with everybody assuming that it was purposely done to make a point with whom he was with.

Kathleen was the first one to notice Dayna take a bite and almost immediately touch her throat...she was unable to breathe...and later died...

But everybody had noticed that Burtis had handed the candy to Dayna! 

I love that the community members start talking to Kathleen about the murder. Everybody goes to her rather than Marcus since he represents the law and makes it harder to communicate, or at least that's how some of the locals see it. By now, even Marcus expects it... So Kathleen starts by finding out about this woman who had once lived in her adopted town but had chosen to leave, as Kathleen had made her own decision to stay...

Oh, Owen and Hercules still got involved, but sometimes only to make trouble for Kathleen, like the time that one of them locked Kathleen out of the truck and sat smirking and looking at the lock which he had just pressed down,,,

And then there was the time...

Well, they get their time in any of the magical cats mysteries, you can be sure... 

This mystery was a little tougher. Kelly has added a higher number of suspects with more twists and turns... Yeah, I missed naming the killer before reading it! Great mystery! Even if, once again, Kathleen almost doesn't make it through the danger when facing the killer!

Good thing, too, since the wedding that actually happened was simply lovely...

GABixlerReviews

Sofie Kelly is an author and mixed-media artist who lives on the east coast with her husband and daughter. She is the author of the Magical Cats mysteries, including Final Catcall, Cat Trick, and Copycat Killing, and the Second Chance Cat mysteries, including The Whole Cat and Caboodle.

Sofie Kelly is the pseudonym of young adult writer and mixed-media artist, Darlene Ryan. As Sofie Kelly she writes the Magical Cats mysteries. And as Sofie Ryan she writes the Second Chance Cats series. Sofie/Darlene lives on the east coast with her husband and daughter. In her spare time she practices Wu style tai chi and likes to prowl around thrift stores. And she admits to having a small crush on Matt Lauer.

Until the Debt is Paid by Alexander Hartung Takes Readers to Underworld of Berlin...

Max almost dropped the package from nerves. He hadn't been this worked up since he'd faced off with his final opponent in Diablo. Of course, that was a role-playing video game and this was real life. His hands wet with sweat, he walked over to the building and read the doorbell nameplates. He tried to remember the plan, but his mind was a blank. Then he heard Jan's voice behind him.
"Nice and easy, Max. You can do this."

Jan wore the reflective outfit of a city street cleaner. He stood at the curb with a leaf blower. Once Max got the door open, the sound would bluster in through the entryway and cover up any noise Chandu made breaking in to the apartment.
Max took a deep breath. He had to work his way down the names from top to bottom until someone let him in the door. On the way up, he'd write on the package the name of whoever had buzzed him in and then deliver it to them. The cardboard box was all bound up, with practically an entire roll of packing tape. This would give Max enough time to disappear before the recipient had unpacked the scraps of useless computer parts inside.
Max started with the first bell. A. Regner. He pressed the white button and waited. Nothing happened. He wiped his moist hands on his pants. Then he tried the next bell.
"Let's see if you're home, P. Walter," Max muttered. Two seconds later a woman's voice blared out from the speaker. Startled, Max almost dropped the package.
"Hello?"
"Uh, hello there. Max here. I mean the mail, of course. I have a package for you, Frau...Walter."
The door was activated to open. Max nearly whooped with job. Now he had to fix the door so that Chandu got in and the racket from the leaf blower would echo down the corridor. Max Pressed on the door and it clicked open.
"Ha," he blurted in triumph. He quickly wrote Frau Walter's name on the package and got ready to complete his job.
Jan took out his cell and tapped on a Favorites Icon. Zoe answered.
"We're inside," he said. "What's up with Patrick?"
"He's still in the building, though I don't see him," the medical examiner replied. "His car is still here and I'm keeping an eye on the entrance."
"Good. We're going in..."

~~~

Until the Debt is Paid

By Alexander Hartung

Murdered. Killed by hammer blows, the last on his forehead. Just before he'd received the fatal blow, he had recognized who was killing him...

Jan Tommen was just waking up after a long weekend. Even though he felt miserable, he still delighted in the fresh smell of Betty's hair. But then the doorbell rang...

Betty's doorbell rang and sent flashes of pain through Jan's skull. He turned to her alarm clock, which read 9:23 a.m. It was before ten on a Saturday morning in Berlin, a city where weekend carousing was normally respected. Who was dragging him out of bed at a time like this?...

"Pat?" asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

His fellow officer Patrick Stein stood in the hallway in a dark suit, with two uniformed cops behind him. He was the last person Jan would've expected...Pat had joined Jan's homiide squad a few years back. They worked well enough together, but it was obvious they didn't especially like each other...

"We have a new murder case," Patrick told him. Jan could have sworn he sensed a little schadenfreude showing through Patrick's normally contained expression as he rakes his gaze over Jan's disheveled state...

~~~

When one of his own men plus two patrolmen were at the door, Jan was totally confused. Told there had been a murder, he quickly asked why some other officer couldn't have taken it--after all, it was Saturday morning. That's when he was told it was Sunday morning. He learned that the regular team meeting had already been held. He was then told that the only reason they were there was because his car had been seen at the crime scene... Finally, it was sinking in, Jan was a suspect...

When he saw his boss, Klaus Bergman, he immediately barked to head for the Interrogation room. Jan was upset enough that he started asking why he was there. But then had to admit that he had no idea where he had been the previous evening. It was then he was told that George Holock, the judge, was found dead--yes, the  judge that had ruled against him for an assault on duty...Jan had a motive...

They also had blood evidence! But they also verified that he'd been drugged and since his girlfriend was a witness, he was told not to interact with her...

Jan knew he was being framed, but, what did he do Saturday that he could not remember?

What he did know was that he could not wind up behind bars, sitting and waiting for somebody else to clear him!

And that's when I realllllly started to enjoy my reading!

Jan knew he could not use his fellow police officers to help him in any way. In fact, they were out searching for him! He couldn't go home so his first act was to contact a friend...

"Morning," Zoe said. She
tossed her jacket on a chair,
opened a window, and sat
in an armchair. "Black
with a spoonful of sugar,"
she shouted after Chandu.
"Hopefully you remembered
my croissants.
Chandu's response was a
crabby growl.
~~~

Chandu just happened to be in the Berlin underworld, but Jan had saved his life in a shootout... The first thing he did was help Jan disappear...providing the getaway car for Jan, having performed a minor assault on the potential arresting officer... Now Chandu did not necessarily look like Mr. T., especially his height, but he soon got the nickname from a crazy blonde... Jan moved in with Chandu... the place looked like a dump from the outside, but, inside, it was a great hideout...

But Chandu didn't think it was a good idea for them to go visit Betty, Jan's girlfriend... He was right. They made it into her building and was moving up the steps to the fourth floor, when they smelled gas and the door to her apartment exploded! Jan was knocked out; Chandu grabbed him and carried him into the basement, prepared to hide until it was clear to head home...

"Most think I'm just this superficial bitch, but I
am a good judge of people...So if you'd killed
that judge, I'd be able to tell. Plus," she continued
between drags. "I don't see you going about it
so stupidly..."

"Hello, Zoe," Jan said,
despondent.
"I always took you for an
idiot," the woman began
without saying hello, "but I
never thought you'd fuck up
this bad."
...Just tell me what's
happened to Betty. Then you
can run me in."
Zoe's hard face turned a
little softer. "There is only
one reason why I get called.
I'm a medical examiner."
~~~

And when they finally decided to leave, that's when she saw him.

She looked annoyed, as if she'd imagined her Monday morning going much differently. She had a flawless face, long blond hair flowing over her shoulders and a posture that suggested a bold self-confidence. Her slim-cut jeans clung to a slender body made even more picture-perfect by stiletto heels. To Jan's eyes, shoes like that tended to look slutty on most women, but on her they actually looked elegant. Next to her lay a white plastic coverall, the type that evidence analysts wear at crime scenes...When the woman saw him she raised her eyebrows in barely perceptible surprise. Then her face returned to its impenetrable mask of cool beauty. She tossed her half-smoked cigarette to the group, stepping on it till extinguished. And Jan knew what had happened to Betty...

Soon Zoe had decided she wanted to spend time on the first
part of a murder case and joined Jan in the investigation, much to the frustration of Chandu who quickly was dubbed Mr. T., and had to put up with her insults and smoking in his smoke-free apartment...

He went over to the front door and
checked the locks for the fourth time.
Horror movies and splatter films had
never bothered him. He'd already
watched Saw eleven times. Really sick
stuff happened in that one--but the
screams of that woman today had been
real, an so had her death. He was afraid
now. Actually afraid... He  had to give
it up. Forget the whole thing, go play
World of Warcraft all night...at some
point the screams in his head would
go away...
~~~

And they even convinced their computer hacker to leave his hole and work with them outside!

Having this motley crew working together was helpful to lighten what actually was happening--because another murder occurred, this time the man was killed by having a concrete shake poured down his throat...

By this time, Jan had convinced himself that he was not the killer. He knew where he was and had not again been drugged...but he was still being framed, with his prints being found at the location of the latest murder.

Somewhere along as readers discover what is happening, you might begin to guess who is responsible, but I can guarantee that all of the surprises will not yet have been revealed... 

This story is only kept from being extremely horrifying, by the talent of the author in creating a group of characters that keep you on your toes and working along with them to solve the case, to clear Jan... Heading into the underworld of Berlin is not an easy, short jaunt. Even Chandu had some rough times getting the information they needed... 

But the longer they searched, the more they found out...all...bad... It's not the type of book for me to cry, "I loved it!" and let that say it all. The underworld is full of traffickers who provide exactly what some want... It's full of nasty stuff... So beware!


GABixlerReviews

Alexander Hartung lives in his hometown of Mannheim, Germany, with his wife and young son. He discovered his love of thrillers and historical fiction while studying economics, and published his first novel, The Revenge of the Inquisitor, in the spring of 2010. Until the Debt is Paid follows hard-partying detective Jan Tommen through Berlin, a city the author previously called home.

Desert God by Wilbur Smith -- Historical Fantasy and Adventure Never Better Merged!

Standing behind me was a sailor. He elbowed me to
one side and stepped into the staff. He went to one
of the crowned women sitting there.
"I call upon you to pay your debt to the goddess,"
he challenged her, and he tossed a coin into her rap.
She looked up at him dispassionately as he pulled
his kilt up above his waist and with his free hand
worked... His belly was protuberant and covered
with a dense carpet of black hair. The woman
grimaced as she removed the floral crown from her
head and lay back on the mattress, letting her
knees fall apart...
The spectacle of sordid little people performing a
grotesque parody of something so essentially
beautiful inclines me toward melancholy rather
than pleasure.
~~~

Suddenly I became aware of the fact that I was being observed. I turned quickly toward the high temple ziggurat that stood beside the palace. The spiral terrace that rose from ground level to the top of the temple passed so close to where I stood that it seemed I might easily have lobbed a small stone across the gap that separated us.
On the temple terrace opposite me stood a cloaked and hooded figure. I could not see the eyes in the shadow of the hood, but I could feel them focused on my face. I felt perfectly at ease under this scrutiny, but intrigued by the identity of the stranger. I am fully aware that except for the injuries that were inflicted on me so long ago, my body is tall and exceptionally well formed. My musculature is honed by hard riding and exercises at arms. Modesty usually prevents me from employing the word beautiful when describing myself but honesty requires me to do so in this instance. 
Both the stranger and I stood calmly studying each other. Then slowly the cloaked figure raised both hands and lifted the hood off its head and let it drop in folds around its shoulders. Perversely I had presumed that the stranger was a man, but now I was faced with abundant evidence that I had been mistaken.
This was a woman who stood before me, a woman lovely beyond my most extravagant dreams of beauty. Her face was so divine that it caused me exquisite anguish to look upon it. I searched for words to describe it, but all the superlatives of our glorious language paled and were rendered trite and mundane before it. I have never before experienced such soul-rending emotion. Here was all that I have ever hungered for and been denied, everything of value that a cruel fate has placed far beyond my reach for all time. Here was all the glory of femininity embodied.
Slowly I reached out my hand toward her, understanding that it was a forlorn gesture, knowing full well that such magnificence would remain always far beyond my reach, but that it would also remain preserved entirely in my memory to haunt me through all eternity.
She smiled at me sadly, an expression of sympathy for my plight and deep regret for having brought it upon me. Then she covered her head with the hood of her cloak, turned from me and glided away into the precincts of the temple, leaving me bereft...

I have seen the bodies of many beautiful women during my long life, but Inanna far surpassed any of them. Her hips were voluptuous but above them her narrow waist emphasized their elegant contours. Although she was as tall as I am her limbs were so delicately smooth and sculptured that I could not prevent myself reaching out to stroke them. Lightly I ran my fingers up her arms from her wrists to the curve of her shoulders. Her skin was silken but the muscles beneath it were adamantine...
The light grew sronger still and I realized that we were standing in the Hanging Gardens high above the city of Babylon. The masses of shrubbery and flowers that surrounded us were wondrously lovely, but they were rendered mundane by Inanna's beauty. She took my hands from her shoulders and she kissed them one after the other. I shivered at the sensation that pervaded my whole being.

"What do you want of me, Inanna?" It did not sound like my own voice that said it."
"I propose to unite with you..."
~~~

Desert God:

A Novel of Ancient Egypt

By Wilbur Smith

Omar Sharif as Taita!
It is a simple matter for me to tell the
difference between these two races.
My Egyptians are a handsome people
with lively and intelligent faces,
high foreheads, large widely spaced
eyes, and finely etched features. In
short, one is usually able to tell at a
glance that they are a superior race.
~~~

This exceptional story has already been signed for making into a movie! It is an epic history war tale, but, for me, and maybe many other female fans, it is or will be also one of the most erotic stories I've ever read...  

Taita is the main character and one who quickly won my esteem. He is the first character I have enjoyed who was not only brilliant in his tactical activities and decisions, but was also sympathetic and just in dealing with...most...of his enemies...

Egypt's major enemy was the Hykos who had come from foreign lands and taken strategic areas which hampered the activities of the latest Pharoah of Egypt. The tragedy was mostly caused by the fact that the Hykos were a cruel and avarice people who totally destroyed both the people and buildings of any place they invaded. The result was that now Thebes, which is now Luxor, was landlocked.

Taita was special, that's all I'll include in my review, other than that he was at least 90 years

Suddenly I heard the unmistakble sounds
of a moving vessel coming up the channel
from the seaward direction of where we lay,
and I cautioned my companions to silence.
The creaking of the rigging, the voice of the
seaman chanting the soundings in the bows
and the thud of the oars in the rowlocks
increased in volume until suddenly an
enormous seagoing vessel appeared around
the bend in the channel.
I had never seen a ship of this type or size
before; however, I knew from descriptions
that my spies had sent me that this was a
Cretan trireme. She was both a cargo vessel
and a warship. She was triple-decked, with
three banks of oars...
The chances of me arriving at Tamiat at
exactly the same time as the treasure
convoy was so remote that it must have
been arranged by divine intervention...
~~~

old. He had been an advisor for more than one pharaoh and had been like a father to the present Pharaoh and his two sisters. Now Taita advised the present Pharaoh Tamose and had presented to him a plan to begin the restoration of Thebes to power of all Egypt. His plan was ingenious and was just the first step in moving forward... The result: unbelievable bounty for the treasury! I must say that this was my favorite adventure for Taita. His cunning and imagination, as well as his willingness to call upon his god, as needed, make him the type of hero anybody would follow...

It took me several hours of tactful mani-
pulation before I could convince him that
the danger of leaving Egypt without a
leader at such a crucial point in our history
far outweighed the glory or other benefit
that he could hope to win from a successful
capture of the Minoan fortress at Tamiat and
the treasure it contained...
However, before he dismissed me Pharoah
Tamose placed in my hands the royal hawk
seal. This was Pharoah's means of delegating
all of his powers to the bearer...
!!!

Now that they had money, the next part of the plan began. Taita had already created a major block for the Hykos desire to build a liaison with Crete, the richest country at that time. With Taita obtaining information from other lands, he had learned that both of his maidens would be considered an appropriate gift to merge Egypt and Crete--but that merger, which is near the end of the book, did not happen as expected! But it certainly does made for an explosive ending!

According to Amythaon he is a
splendid and imposing figure
who is always masked when he
appears in public. The mask he
wears is in the shape of a bull's
head fashioned out of pure silver.
None of his subjects have ever
seen his face...
"He has a hundred wives,"
Amythaon went on and looked at
me to be impressed. I adopted an
expression of awe. "The Supreme
Minos received wives from all the
other kings of the city states across
the islands that dot the Aegean Sea.
Four times a year, on the festivals
which mark the changing of the
seasons, they are sent to him in a
form of tribute."
..."That adds up to 182 each year...
"That is correct, my lord."
"Then can you explain to me how
the number of his wives remains at
one hundred, as you asserted at first?"
~~~

To make the trip from landlocked Thebes required that they travel across the desert on to Babylon and Sumeria and then, with ships acquired there, sail on to Crete. This trip was fraught with danger, as well as some interesting interplay between soldiers with the princesses who would be given in marriage Crete. The two girls have Taita wound around their fingers, as most princesses would, especially with their great beauty. I must admit that I was quite satisfied with how the ending occurred... especially since the individual to whom they were to marry appeared only with a mask fashion after the head of an auroch bull! In fact, Taita, had already encountered one of the real ones during his time on Crete. And this is just another strange incident that readers will encounter one after the other...

This is my first time reading Smith and I'm certainly happy to have had the opportunity to thoroughly enjoy my first time with him. He is a well-known historical novelist, with Stephen King declaring him the best. Of all history, the ancient times were always my favorite--the times seem so extraordinarily thrilling, even though we know now that much of what is written is mythical. Still, the stories of the various gods and how they were selected as "favorites" was intriguing, yet implied that there was some response to the humans who worshiped them. At least in the case of Inana, I was happy to learn of her story and her own decision to not interfere with the life Taita had been condemned to. Personally, I'd loved to see followup of how Taita and Inana shared a future life in that ancient land of Egypt...

Smith's writing pulled me back into the language of our past and he does a fine job in ensuring readers that we are aware of the time period into which we've escaped. The book itself has those small additions such as edged pages, relevant graphic chapter headings and a sensational map of the ancient lands as covered in the novel. I found myself referring to it often, especially as Taita and a large entourage, including the two princesses, left Thebes on the Nile, into the Red Sea, through the desert of Arabia and then on to Babylon, sailing then on to the small island of Crete. Readers have the opportunity to follow the map as each town was reached and to ponder the challenges of the amazing journey upon which Taita was leading his people. A truly fascinating tale, even though I have no idea how the percentage of fantasy and adventure stands against the realism of the historical accounts. But then, that can probably be said for much of the information for the time period, right? I admit to being surprised at how much I enjoyed the book, since I'm not a historical fiction fan, especially of wars. However, Taita was exactly the character to have allowed me to marvel at all he had done and accomplished for his beloved country, Egypt. 

If you love adventure merged with fantasy, whether historically based or not, I highly recommend you take a look...and don't wait for the movie!


GABixlerReviews

Wilbur Smith is one of the world's most popular novelists, with more than 125 million copies of his books sold worldwide in twenty-six languages. A native of central Africa, he divides his time between Cape Town and London. 
www.wilbursmithbooks.com

Guest Poet Paul M. Kramer Celebrating the Season...

CHRISTMAS IS

Christmas is about love,

about family and friends.

A time to reflect,

a time for amends.

Christmas is about joy,

about gladness and delight.

A time for rejoicing,

a time to reunite.

Christmas is about giving,

about thoughtfulness and caring.

A time to let go,

a time for sharing.

Christmas is about Santa,

about mistletoe and holly.

A time for carols,

a time to be jolly.

Christmas is about celebration,

about faith and good cheer.

A time to be charitable,

a time for prayer.

Christmas is about peace,

about harmony and accord.

A time to be tranquil,

a time for the Lord.

Paul M. Kramer

~~~~

WORRY

Agonizing and obsessing over what ifs,

a pessimistic state of mind,

dwelling upon what may or may not happen,

fearing possibilities of every kind.

Worry is the brother and sister of anxiety.

Creating apprehension, uneasiness and stress,

worry causes us to be ill at ease,

it is an inhibitor of joy and happiness.

Worry knows no optimism.

It's not a necessity or a requirement.

We need not choose to embrace it.

Do not let it diminish the quality of our life.

"Don't worry, be happy"

Paul M. Kramer 

~~~

About the Author
Paul M. Kramer lives in Hawaii on the beautiful island of Maui with his wife Cindy and their son Lukas. Paul was born and raised in New York City
Mr. Kramer's books attempt to reduce stress and anxiety and resolve important issues children face in their everyday lives. His books are often written in rhyme. They are entertaining, inspirational, educational and easy to read. One of his goals is to increase the child's sense of self worth.
He has written books on various subjects such as bullying, divorce, sleep deprivation, worrying, shyness, and weight issues.
Mr. Kramer has appeared on "Good Morning America," "The Doctors," "CNN Live" as well as several other Television Shows in the United States and Canada. He's been interviewed and aired on many radio programs including the British Broadcasting System and has had countless articles written about his work in major newspapers and magazines throughout the world.

Book Readers Heaven Wishes All Happy Holidays!

Don't Forget Jesus

Christmas is a special time

To reflect on Jesus Christ,
The wonder of His lowly birth
Brings meaning to our lives

There really is no other reason,
We celebrate this day,
The birth of God's precious son
And the life, He willingly gave

But so much seems to distract us
In the busyness of our lives,
We lose our focus in all the happenings,
Not knowing, we leave out Christ

We lose sight of the true meaning
As we endlessly rush about,
Trying to find that perfect gift,
Seems to cloud our Saviour out

We need to stop and reflect awhile,
Remembering our precious Lord,
His birth, His life and sacrifice
And all that He stands for

For though the world may celebrate,
It seems, though, for other reasons,
Let’s keep in mind that Jesus Christ
Is the true meaning of the season.

© By M.S.Lowndes

Used by Permission

http://www.heavensinspirations.com/dont-forget-jesus.html

http://www.tinareale.com/2981/if-you-look-for-me-at-christmas/

These are a few of my favorite Christmas memories...

May your 2014 holidays be loving and memorable as well...

Glenda

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