Yesterday afternoon, my daughters and I watched Anne of Green Gables for the first time together. I had checked out a stack of movies from the library because I’m trying to make more of an effort to tear myself away from books and watch movies with my family.

It was so exciting to watch their faces as they were introduced to Anne Shirley (with an “e” of course). We have the book, and I tried reading it out loud a few years ago, but I remember one of the babies kept crawling all over me and being noisy, so we gave it up. This movie complements the book so well.

It was fun telling the girls later that their Daddy and I have actually BEEN to Green Gables. It’s a real place, in the city of Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. My husband and I traveled there together, in those long ago days BC (Before Children.) We visited during the month of August, and the beaches were gorgeous.

The night before we visited Green Gables, we camped out in Cavendish. I remember I was so excited I couldn’t sleep a wink. The next day, I felt like I’d stepped right into the storybook when we drove up to the house. This was the former home of some relatives of author Lucy Maud Montgomery, where she spent many happy years of her childhood. She loved it so much that she was inspired to write a novel about it, Anne of Green Gables.

I remember going to the post office there to send myself a postcard so that it would have the postmark of Green Gables. It was truly a magical place, the whole island was. We even had dinner one night at a restaurant at the base of a lighthouse.

I hope to take our children there someday — we may need to buy a bigger tent between now and then if we hope to camp there together! If you’ve never ventured to Prince Edward Island, I highly recommend it.

According to the PEI official tourism website:

Prince Edward Island is Canada’s smallest and greenest province. Cradled on the waves of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Island is known for the vivid colours of its gently rolling landscape.

Prince Edward Island is surrounded by miles of sandy beaches and red sandstone cliffs and is sized just right for touring. Visitors to the Island return home not only relaxed and refreshed – they often claim to have been transformed, which leads us to wonder “What if the World Had Been to Prince Edward Island?”

My parents visited PEI in the winter one year, and the waves in the ocean were frozen! OK, I can’t write about this anymore because I want to jump on a plane and go back — RIGHT NOW.

Have you heard of Stone Mountain? We’re quite proud of it here in the South. If you ever get a chance to come to Atlanta, you should add a visit here to your agenda. I hadn’t been in years, but Mom and I got the great idea that it would be fun to take the kids there for a day-trip, and end our summer with a picnic while watching the laser show.

Well, God had other plans for our day.

First of all, we did have a wonderful time at the park. And this place is a true bargain. For around $20 each, we enjoyed guided tours by riverboat, cable car, and train. There’s an extraordinary new treehouse exhibit that has two 3-story treehouses, and it’s a boys against girls game that requires kids to think and work together. My oldest wanted to spend all day there because he figured out how to get points, and the boys were way ahead.

We also watched a couple of shows — the 7th Generation Flying Wallendas about gave me a heart attack. Watching two people hang upside down on 50-foot poles, with no safety net, was too much for me. And when “The Amazing Henry, Master of the Sky” missed a step while jump-roping on the wheel of death, I thought I would throw up from fear. I don’t know why in the world people do things like that — I had to look up the Wallendas to figure it out. (It’s in their genes, I guess.)

We had a much better time watching the Schmacko Dog Show, where we saw “Flying Fiesta,” the fastest frisbee dog in the world. Now we’re all full of ideas of tricks to teach our poor unsuspecting dog, Jasper. (Good thing they gave us a free sample of Schmacko Dog Treats.)

But the highlight of our day, the grand finale, was the build-up of the laser show. It’s held every night at 9:30 p.m., and I couldn’t wait to see my kids’ faces as we listened to Dixie and watched Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis come to life and gallop across the mountain by laser.

We were all prepared, picnic basket and blanket spread on the lawn, along with hundreds of other people when … BOOM. Thunder.

“Mom, do you think it’s going to rain?”

“Nah. I think it will just blow over.” CRACK! A lightning bolt lit up the sky over the mountain followed by shrieks from the crowd.

We still thought we’d sit it out. Only one more hour until the show! But then we felt a raindrop. And another. Followed by BOOM! CRACK! More shrieks. And the masses began running toward cover, as the sky fell out.

So, here we were — two adults and four kids on a granite mountain. In a rainstorm. Soon, the power went out. The music stopped — and we were all crammed in under the overhang of the Skylift. Then the most amazing thing happened.

We all stood there in awe as we watched God’s Laser Show. Every time lightning hit the mountain, you could see giant rivers of rainwater streaking down the granite. People were ooahing and aahing and taking pictures. Everyone was happy. A crippled man next to us leaned on his two canes and laughed. An elderly white man pushed an elderly black man in a wheelchair through the crowd — both smiling. Kids stomped in puddles. None of us could go anywhere, with no power to see, and the torrents of rain hitting the earth — but we all had a great time.

Without power, the laser show was out of the question, but the park staff gave us the fireworks show anyway — to the cheers of everyone. When it was time to go, Mom reached in her pocket — and oh no! Her cell phone was gone. We searched everywhere, then realized it must have slipped out during our mad dash up the hill. But a few seconds later, my cell phone rang, and a voice said, “Hey, my name is Scott, and I’m here at Stone Mountain, and I’ve found this phone …” Can you believe it? He and Mom walked toward each other, strangers in a crowd. “I’m wearing pink,” she said. “I’m tall and talking on a phone,” he said. And they found each other. Amazing.

All that to say, it was an exciting end to our summer. A laser show we’ll never forget.

Have any of you ever been to a Women of Faith conference? There’s one in Atlanta this weekend, and I’ll be there. It would be fun to meet some like-minded friends. If any of you will be there, please let me know. The theme is “Contagious Joy.”

Dear Heather,

We’ve read your blog and believe you have the perfect voice for an assignment for us. We’re looking for a mom writer with young children to come try out a new family-oriented resort along the coast of New Zealand.

If you’re interested in this assignment, we’ll provide first-class round-trip airfare for you and your family along with 7 nights’ accommodations at the resort. We’re interested in seeing how you and your husband enjoy our spa facilities, which offer full-body massage and one-on-one personal fitness training. We would also like to invite you to eat meals at our expense at all of our sixteen restaurants and offer an opinion on your culinary experiences.

We’re interested in seeing if your children enjoy the swimming, snorkeling, deep-sea fishing, biking, and horseback riding, all available at the resort. Instead of a golf course, we’ve decided to keep the property as natural as possible, and we offer 500 acres of pristine hiking trails, where you may observe New Zealand’s beautiful plants and flowers, as well as the abundant wildlife.

In addition, we’re the first resort in the world to offer a first-rate on-site library that boasts 60,000 books, which may be checked out anytime during your stay.

All you have to do is bring your laptop, and since we’ve heard that you don’t own a laptop, we’re providing a new one for you, which you may keep after your trip, as a gift from us.

Your restaurant and hotel reviews will be published in our magazine, which reaches an audience of six million travel-savvy subscribers. For your time, we’d also like to offer you an additional $5,000 if you can complete this assignment within the next month.

Signed,

Your Dream Editors
International Dreams Magazine

P.S. Just in case it’s unclear — this is a JOKE. This is only my dream! 🙂

Reading all of your stories about your moms made me think of one of my favorite memories with my mom. I posted this picture a few months ago, but it’s sitting on my desk and worthy of another story.

Let’s see — I was in my early 20s when this picture was taken. I was living in Osaka, teaching English and working for a church. I LOVED living in Japan. In fact, my mom was afraid I might never come home, so she called me every Sunday. I guess it would be different now with email, but our phone calls and paper letters were our link back then.

She came to visit me in April, at the height of the cherry blossom season. We spent the whole week in various places enjoying Ohanami, as the Japanese say. (“hana” means flower, and “mi” means “to see.”) You spread out a blanket under the cherry blossoms and enjoy a picnic. We traveled to visit friends in Tokyo and were able to stay in a little house, just the two of us. Then we took a train to Hiroshima, so Mom could do some research on the aftermath of the atomic bomb. She’s a high school chemistry teacher, and she’d been corresponding with a Japanese high school science teacher — whom we were able to visit.

Did you know that when a Japanese teacher walks into a classroom, the students all stand up and then bow to the teacher and say, “Thank you for teaching us.” We were of course in total shock. And they all wore sharp navy blue uniforms. A teacher is called SENSEI. If you study the Japanese characters (kanji), the character for “sen” means “before” and “sei” means “life.” So, if you’re a teacher, you’re a life going before your students. To be called a “sensei” is an honor, much the same as it was to call Jesus Christ “Rabbi.”

This picture was made in Kyoto, I think, in front of one of the shrines. One of the best things about living in Osaka is that it’s in the heart of the Kansai region, right in the center of Japan. Within a half-hour train ride, I could get to Kyoto, Nara, or Kobe, three of the most beautiful cities in Japan. I went to each of those places dozens of times. I had some kind of adventure nearly every weekend.

I used to be in such good shape back then — I rode my bike and walked everywhere, teaching about three classes a day in people’s houses or in jukus (after-school schools.) I also studied the Japanese language several times a week in various places. There were volunteer organizations everywhere that offered free lessons in language, culture, and art. I showed up for everything!

When my mom came to visit, she had to run to keep up with me. I didn’t even realize what a fast-paced life I was living. I had to catch the exact bus I needed to make it on time for my lessons, and if I was running late, I just had to jog or pedal faster. I never had to do housework or cook because I lived in a single room both of those years — one year with a Japanese family and another year in a gaijin (foreigner) boarding house. I ate most of my meals out — fast food in Japan means fish and rice, with a side of miso soup.

We spent a great week together, but what Mom was most interested in was, “Heather, when are you coming home?” She made sure I knew that I’d left a gap back in Georgia.

I thought about staying there forever. But, eventually, I came back home to fill in that gap. And I’ve been here ever since.

You can probably tell I’ve got the beach on my mind this week, can’t you? Here’s another excuse to think about sand and surf. An author who writes mystery books set on islands! And … she’s an award-winning playwright and a grandmother. Everybody say hello to Vonda Skinner Skelton!

Best of all, Mrs. Skelton is a woman of faith who loves connecting with people through writing — AND I’ve met her in person in Nashville. She’s a beautiful woman with a kind heart, who gave me a big ol’ hug. So, I had to invite her to come visit us here.

Welcome to Mom 2 Mom Connection!

Thanks for inviting me, Heather.

I have to tell you, I’ve read your mystery books, and they’re set in places I’m familiar with, on Tybee and Amelia Islands, off the coast of Georgia. Can you tell us how you got started writing mysteries for children?

I’m always asked what gave me the great idea to start an island mystery series. Well, I hate to admit it, but I didn’t have the idea at all. The truth is, it just happened! The first book was set on Tybee Island because we had visited there when I was a child, and the second one was on Amelia Island because that’s where my oldest grandchildren live.

You’re a grandmother! Can you tell us a little about your family?

I’d love to! My sweet husband, Gary, and I were high school sweethearts and have now been married for 36 years. Our oldest daughter, Christina is married to Todd and they live on Amelia Island, Florida. They are the parents of our oldest grandchildren, Garrett (10) and Ellie (7). They are the stars along with Bitsy in the Amelia Island book. Our youngest daughter, Nicole, is married to Steve, and they have Cole (5) and Mallory (2), who will be in the third book, set on Hilton Head Island.

What do your grandchildren think about you writing mystery books?

I’m blessed to have an extremely supportive family, and the grandkids think it’s really cool that I write books, especially when I go to their schools. And Garrett and Ellie enjoyed their own moment in the spotlight when they, too, were asked to sign books because they were characters in the Amelia Island mystery!

Oh, that sounds like fun! Your grandkids get to help you sign books. I bet they give you a lot of ideas for writing.

Yes, they’ve given me a few ideas for the books, but I find I use their stories most often when I speak at Christian women’s events. The hilarious things they say often fit well with a point I’m trying to make as I speak. There’s nothing like the innocent words of a child to get a point across!

Oh, I know all about those cute things kids say. And if I don’t write them down, I’ll forget! So, do you think a person can write books for children even if their children are grown?

Definitely! I didn’t write until my kids were grown. I also think that some of us are better able to recognize the humor in life as we get older. When I was a young wife and mother, I was so focused on trying to do things right and raise responsible kids, that I often missed the laughter in situations.

And now, as I look back on my childhood, I see so much more than I did back then. The passing of years has helped me see the love my parents had for us and the sacrifices they made; for the struggles they had as a young couple with no money and four kids. I didn’t see the beauty of the experience back then. I do now, and I cherish it.

Now, can you tell us about your mysteries?

I’d love to. My first book, Bitsy and the Mystery at Tybee Island, introduces Bitsy, a 12-year-old tomboy from a poor family who always manages to get into trouble. She’s the oldest of three girls and her mother is expecting the fourth child at any time—and Bitsy’s not happy about it. The family travels to Tybee Island to test her father’s newest invention, suntan lotion. Bitsy and her cousin, Matt, decide to search for buried treasure, but instead discover more than they bargained for.

I remember that in the book. I thought it was so funny that Bitsy’s dad was trying to get them to test out his invention by using homemade suntan lotion on half their body and the leading brand on the other half! Did any of these things happen to you in real life?

Yes, believe it or not, my daddy was one of those great characters who was always going to invent something or come up with a great business deal that would make our family rich. Did we ever get rich? No! But he left a great collection of true stories for me to write about!

I’ve used lots of things that really did happen to me or someone I know and put them in my fictional books. Remember the bully getting his head caught in the porch rail on Amelia Island? That really happened to my brother when we were kids. (And I have to admit, I DID enjoy smearing him with mayonnaise and butter to get him out!)

Remember Bitsy’s Bangles? Well, believe it or not, I really had a jewelry business when I was 12-years-old, thanks to my dad. That’s the joy of fiction—you can do anything you want! You simply use the facts that would drive the story. But then take other scenes from your life, or other peoples’ lives, and use them any way you want—within reason, of course.

Wow! You’re getting me interested in writing some children’s fiction someday! Now, what about your second book?

In Bitsy and the Mystery at Amelia Island, Bitsy heads to Amelia Island, Florida to visit her friends, Garrett and Ellie. Although she has just turned over a new leaf—to live at peace with everyone, her resolution quickly dissolves when she has a run-in with the neighborhood bully, Ernie Van Tache. In this book, the kids search for a “ghost,” run from a “witch,” and attempt to discover what’s so important about a mysterious family portrait, all of which teaches Bitsy the true meaning of “the best things in life.”

How in the world did you come up with ideas for your books?

When I decided to write my first book, I knew several things before I started. I knew I wanted my book to be a mystery because I love to read mysteries; I knew I wanted it to be a book for kids because I love kids and enjoy interacting with them.

I also knew I wanted it to be based on my own family; and I knew I wanted the story to be set at Tybee Island, Georgia because it held special memories for me. (Of course, it didn’t hurt that Tybee had a lighthouse and abandoned forts, which are both great for mysteries.) But I had one little problem—I didn’t have a mystery! So I grabbed my mother and we headed down to Tybee Island to do some research.

That sounds like a fun place to do some research. But how did you find the mystery angle?

I guess you want me to be honest here, so I’ll admit my ignorance: I never realized Blackbeard the Pirate was a real person. I know, I know. I’m probably the only adult in America who didn’t know that little tidbit of information, but I didn’t.

Well, while doing my research, I discovered that not only was Blackbeard the Pirate real, but he really had spent time on Tybee Island. But not only was he a real person who had been on Tybee Island, I also found out there is speculation that perhaps, just maybe, there is still undiscovered buried treasure on Tybee Island! So voila! I had my mystery!

And what about researching on Amelia Island?

It was just as easy to decide to put my second book on Amelia Island, Florida, because, as I said, that’s where my two oldest grandchildren live. Again, I never even thought about the fact that it would make two books set on islands. All I was thinking about was that I could make trips down there for research, spend time with my grandchildren, and have a legitimate tax deduction! Of course, once the book came out, I had to do book signings there, too. (Oh, the struggles of writing!)

Again, I didn’t have any idea what the mystery was going to be until I went down there for research. That’s when I discovered that Amelia Island is very old, dating back to the 1500’s. And, as is often true of old towns, Amelia Island has an active ghost tour industry. So of course, I had to take a ghost tour.

A ghost tour! What did you discover?

That’s when I heard the true story of a nun who died in 1877 while caring for the sick during an outbreak of yellow fever. But the legend says that her ghost rises up out of the cemetery and walks into the church. Suddenly I had my mystery! And although the book does not involve “real” ghosts, the kids have to recognize that the bad guy is the one behind the mysterious occurrences.

By the time the second book was done, I realized it would be fun to continue the island theme. And now kids ask me what island Bitsy is going to next! In case you want to know, it’s set on Hilton Head Island, SC, and involves loggerhead turtles. It’s scheduled to be released in the spring of 2007.

We went to Hilton Head Island last summer and loved it. We’ll have to read your third book when it comes out. And I see you’ll be forced to do another author tour at the beach. With your grandkids of course! Do you have any advice for us if we’d like to write something about a trip we take?

I’d definitely say do your research. Find out the history of the area. But don’t just go to official places like museums and such. Talk to people who live in the area; get a flavor for the culture, for their way of doing things; find out about events that aren’t common knowledge.

For Bitsy at Tybee Island, I talked to a lady who had had a beach house there for years. I didn’t know her, but just knocked on her door and told her I was writing a children’s mystery. I told her I wanted to talk to someone who had lived on the island for a while. She invited me in and we talked for hours. She told me story after story of things that had happened to them and others on the island—many of which ended up in the book.

Remember the rat? True story. Remember the broken bridge and someone trying to get to the hospital? True story (although in real life, they got off safely). And the kids digging up the skeleton? Yep, you guessed it—true story.

For Amelia Island, I talked with a couple of women who had grown up there. They told me about their own experiences of hunting for ghosts and the teenage dares to tempt the “Pogy Witch Woman” out of hiding. I went to the cemetery where the nuns were buried and took a tour of the house that once was the convent. All those details make the location come alive and help you develop your story.

How do you remember all these details? Does it help to take pictures?

Yes! Take lots of pictures. You’ll be surprised at how much you forget the landscape or the color of the house or the layout of the building. But don’t just take pictures of things you plan to include. Snap photos of anything that looks unusual or out of place. The scene in which the bad guy is captured at Amelia was developed simply because I took a picture of a crane beside the river. I never intended to use a crane in the book, but the story invented itself through the pictures.

Well, Vonda, this has just been too much fun hearing all these behind-the-scene details about your writing! Now, I can’t wait for you to come back tomorrow and tell us how you became a four-time award-winning playwright because I know there are some moms out there who have a flair for drama!

******************

You can learn more about Vonda Skinner Skelton on her website. If you’d like more details on how she got started writing, here’s an interview with her at this site.

Many thanks to a Mom 2 Mom reader, Luanne, who visited us from the Philippines and left a message in yesterday’s comments. I’ve added this map and picture. What a lovely place!

Luanne writes:

“I live on an island! Maybe not the sort you have in mind, but a tropical island nevertheless. I live on the island of Mindanao, in the Philippines. We are missionaries and have lived here for 18 years. The weather is usually warm humid and sunny, or warm and humid and rainy.

The best part for me is that there is green everywhere I look! I can’t hear the ocean from my house. We live in the city, and the sound of traffic is what I hear most of the time. But we have a nice yard and in the mornings I hear exotic bird sounds, and in the evenings, our local geckos sound off, as well as the occasional frog.

It is April, summer in the Philippines, and the neem tree outside my window is in bloom! The wonderful smell of those flowers will be floating through the house for over a month! I look forward to April all year!

We can drive about an hour and go to a white sands beach. It is in a bay, so there are no big waves. Big shady trees grow practically to the water line. The water is warm and blue, and the snorkeling is amazing! It is like flying over another world, a world of strange shapes and flashing colors. Amazing to think there is a world like that under the water that God made, and so few have seen! What other wonders might there be that are yet undiscovered?

We buy most of our food at the open market. The fish is fresh and smells like the ocean. We love the fruit here, lansones, marang, durian, rambutan, mangosteen, mangos, pomelo, guavas, nangka, guyabano, atis, to name a few! The sad and battered tropical fruits you see in the grocery stores in America for such high prices, are nothing like the real thing we have here!

At the supermarket we can find the more familiar vegetables, many of which are grown in the mountains; broccoli, asparagus, lettuce, cauliflower and even zuccini along with things like ferns, fresh bamboo shoots, taro roots and bitter gourd. We like to cook with coconut milk, lemon grass and ginger.

We have a large house and two guest rooms… wanna come? :-)”

My answer: YES! Now I have at least two people I want to visit in the Philippines!

I’ve been noticing that my Travel category in this blog is a bit wimpy. I mostly focus here on books and parenting issues. But if you’re like me, blessed with little ones at home, you may have to do a lot of your adventure-seeking from your armchair (or should I say rocking chair? Or maybe I should even say laundry room, after seeing a picture of a mom tapping away on her laptop a la washing machine over at the recent contest on Mommy Net).

Did you know people all over the world are writing travel blogs? This technology did not EXIST when I did some international traveling in my late teens/early 20s. As I mentioned once, when I lived in Japan, I spent every evening writing letters, one by one, BY HAND telling my family and friends (and my special pen pal who later became my husband) all about my adventures living overseas.

But now the technology is here to be able to update everyone instantly — with words and pictures. This is also useful for anyone preparing for a trip somewhere. I mean — why read a guidebook that was written like two years ago when you can read about a traveler eating in a trendy bistro this morning?

The best site I’ve found so far is one called Travel Blog: Live Travel Journals. Have you heard of this site yet? I recently went to Rome — and before that, I climbed a mountain with a traveler somewhere along the coast of South America! The pictures are stunning. Of course, since the blogs are not edited, you never know what you might read. But for the most part, I’ve been interested to hear people’s fascinating stories.

You can choose any continent in the world, and hundreds of countries. The site owners pick different blogs to feature on the home page — I’m not sure if they’re updated daily or maybe weekly. Today’s front page features:

— On March 30th, a traveler named Keith took pictures and wrote about seeing humpback whales off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

— An explorer dubbed Honest Abe reports on sheep herding and eating curry on the island of Fiji.

— A traveler shared views of life on Penang, a large island off the northwestern coast of Malaysia.

— An April Fool’s Bike Ride through Pittsburgh (I suppose exotic to someone).

— A duo who call themselves “Cumberland Sausage” share pictures of a Holi Festival in Udaipur, India. You won’t believe their pictures. And they close their brief post with this: “No more blogs for a month I’m afraid, we’re off trekking in Nepal.” Ughhh!!

You gotta love it. I can travel the world for free via reading these people’s blogs — and you can too.

With two more months until summer, I’d love to hear back from you readers who don’t live in America. I know you’re out there! You may not realize it, but your home is very exotic to me. I know where a few of you live, but I’d love to learn more. Can you write me and tell me what it’s like? You don’t have to send a picture — I can probably find one on Google.

Do you live on an island? Anywhere near the ocean? I don’t. So in my opinion, you’re on vacation year-round. I want to know what the ocean sounds like for you. What color is the sand? Do you eat fish from the sea, and what kinds? Do you cook it at home or eat it at a restaurant?

You don’t need a blog to write — and you can email me, and I’ll use only your first name or initial. I just think it would be so interesting to use this blog technology to bring the world to my home — and yours.

If anyone else knows a good travel website, I’d love to hear about it.

(Sigh … bigtime sigh.)

Edit: (after much sighing) — If anyone reading this happens to live on an island and is in need of a family to herd your sheep for a while, we’d be happy to consider your offer. I think I’m kidding, but I might not be.

I feel like I’ve discovered something new, and I can’t wait to tell you about it. Well, maybe you’ve already heard of the Sisterchicks series by Robin Jones Gunn — and I’m a bit late to the party. Why didn’t someone tell me? I’ve recently decided I want to branch out from reviewing nonfiction, and so when the opportunity to review this novel came up, I jumped on it. And I feel like I’m just starting a grand adventure!

Venice … as Gunn says, is “the city that Italy wears proudly like a diamond-studded broach on the cuff of her tall boot.” From the very first page of this book, I felt like I was whisked away to the land of canals and chilled Italian gelato ice cream. It was almost comical how I could actually hear the sweet sounds of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” being played by an Italian violinist every time I opened the book. I hope I didn’t start waving my arms around like a conductor while I waited in my kids’ pick-up line (the best spot for reading).

The setting in the jewel of Italy is magnificent, and the characters captivated me as well. Jenna and Sue have been sisters-in-law for almost 30 years, yet their friendship has become tightly knit only in the last five. In exchange for cooking for a group on a retreat, the women are invited to stay in a 15th-century restored palace on a quiet Venician canal. The descriptions of this palace are breathtaking.

What’s even more fun is that Sue and Jenna decide to sleep on the roof of the palace, since the other guests need all the bedroom space. And we’re right there with them. Jenna narrates for us:

Once we managed to heave both mattresses onto the rooftop, I stood back and caught my breath. The evening air swirled with the scent of salt air and garlic. Accordian music floated our way from one of the alleyways where I could picture an Italian musician playing his or her heart out for locals who were making their evening commute on foot.

Not only do readers get to enjoy the scenery, we’re also gently pulled along into the author’s deep Christian faith. While on the rooftop, Jenna ponders her relationship with God. She remembers how He comforted her years ago when her husband left her, when her daughter was only a few months old. Even though she’d prayed fervently for her marriage to be restored, she was left alone, as a single mom. Yet God carried her through the years.

He didn’t give me any of the solutions I begged and bargained for. All God gave me was Himself. His presence. And even though I didn’t recognize it at the time, the grace of His presence was sufficient. His abiding Spirit was like the moon. A sliver of comfort and light rising even on the darkest night. This night, on the Venecian rooftop, His presence was more than sufficient. He filled heaven and earth.

I couldn’t get enough of this wonderful, faith-driven writing. And it’s laugh-out-loud funny too! Native Texan Sue brings humor to their excursions through Venice as she pronounces Italian words with her Southern drawl. I found myself picking up certain words and phrases from my reading and teaching my children how to pronounce grazie and prego. (I never knew the word Prego on all those spaghetti sauce jars means “you’re welcome!”)

I’ll keep the plot a secret so you can read it for yourself, but this trip is a season of awakening for these two women. Both have been through deep valleys — Jenna’s brother (Sue’s husband) has recently been through a horrific accident and will never fully recover. But their trip to Italy is the perfect salve to their wounds, and you can sense their refreshment as they both enter a new season of their lives. One that will be full of joy cut from the grooves of sorrow.

Now I’ve become a new Sisterchicks fan, and I can’t wait to read the other books in this bestselling series. They’ve sold more than three million copies worldwide (see — I am late to the party!). Other titles include Sisterchicks Say Ooh La La!, Sisterchicks Down Under, Sisterchicks in Sombreros, and Sisterchicks Do the Hula. Don’t they sound fun?

There’s no bad language or smut in these books. Author Robin Jones Gunn is the mother of two and has been married for 28 years. She makes her home in Portland, Oregon, and has written over 60 books in all genres! I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to discover Christian fiction. It’s so refreshing to read! I’m absolutely SICK of reading novels that have bad language — I bought a paperback at the grocery store a year ago in my ninth month of pregnancy — in complete desperation for a light-hearted distraction. I won’t say who — she’s a topselling author — but the language and immorality left me feeling defeated. In contrast, Gunn’s books inspire me and encourage my faith.

Sorry, I just discovered you’ll have to wait until May for this book to come out! But if you happen to read any of the other Sisterchicks novels, let me know what you think! Y’all know I love my armchair traveling these days. (sigh) Click here to see a cute picture of the author riding a gondola through a canal in Venice.

— Reviewed by Heather Ivester

Guten Tag! Wie gehts? Danke gut. I have Germany on my mind today since our friend Iris, who is a native of Germany, is hosting today’s Carnival of Beauty. Be sure to bookmark her site and read through the ten submissions on the topic of “The Beauty of God’s Sovereignty.”

I’m not at all an expert on German language or culture, though I did plow through two years of der/die/das and German/English translation work in high school. Yet all I can remember is what we sang on Fridays in our class. If I ever go to Germany, I’ll actually be able to order a pizza, with lots of cheese — because that’s what I remember from one of those silly songs. (Actually, kind of useful, huh?)

I wanted to share with you all a great opportunity if you have an interest in German language and culture. There’s a magazine called German Life that is seeking good writing and photographs. If you’re a homeschooling parent who is teaching a unit on Germany, this might be an activity you could involve your whole family in. Or if you’re a teacher in a school, this may interest your whole class.

I KNOW many of you bloggers are incredible and PROLIFIC writers; in addition, some of you are also fabulous photographers.

Did you ever think that a magazine might be interested in paying you good money for your stories and photographs?

Most magazines use freelance writers for at least some of their content, and since they work several months in advance, now’s the time to be submitting fall story ideas.

Do you have an Oktoberfest in your area? If you’ve ever been to it and taken pictures, you could write something up and send it to German Life. Here’s some information from the magazine’s website about submissions:

“German Life is a bimonthly magazine, written for all interested in the diversity of German culture, past and present, and in the various ways that the United States has been shaped by its German element. The magazine is dedicated to solid reporting on cultural and historical events as well as travel information. ”

“Each issue of German Life is bound by our editorial calendar and seasonal events. The April/May issue deals with travel in Germany and other parts of German-speaking Europe. The June/July issue is primarily on German-American travel destinations. Our August/September issue includes Oktoberfest and educational pieces. Given scheduling restraints, we prefer that you submit your work several months prior to the appropriate issue. Deadlines will be given when the article topic is accepted.”

And payment? Is it possible to be paid for writing about something you love? YES! German Life is a well-paying publication, making it worth your time to research and write a great story:

“Payment is upon publication and ranges from $300 to $500 for feature articles, from $100 to $130 for reviews and short pieces, and up to $80 for fillers.”

If you have any kind of German festival or event in your hometown, you may have a great idea for a story or review — here’s something your kids could even help you with. If you’ve been studying Germany in school, why not go visit a German restaurant and write a review of it? Or read some brand new books about Germany and write reviews. If it fascinates you, chances are it might fascinate someone else — and this could be something you could write for German Life!

And I can’t resist passing along this information. On the topic of writing (one of my favorite subjects of course), have you ever considered becoming a travel writer? These are people who get PAID to travel to exotic places and write about their adventures. Well, here’s a quick plug for the Travel Writing program I took a couple of years ago.

So far, I haven’t traveled on assignment to faraway lands, but it’s given me new insight into discovering interesting places in my own state. Since finishing the course, I’ve become a regular contributing writer to a regional magazine that highlights travel, arts, and leisure in my area. I’ve enjoyed writing about our state parks, gardens, and other areas of interest. In fact, my editor wrote yesterday and asked if I’d like to work on an article featuring fun things for families to do this summer. (A topic I’m researching now anyway!)

Since graduating from the travel writing program, I’ve more than paid for the cost of my tuition. (In fact, I sold my second course assignment!) I’ve also learned that many places will offer writers and photographers free admission, meals, and overnight stays in exchange for publicity. Although I can’t do much international traveling right now because our children are so young, I dream of helping to fund future family trips through selling articles and photographs. And you can too!

In fact, you can become a travel writer right now by jotting things down when you’re visiting places in your hometown. If you go to a great restaurant, ask for a take-out menu. Describe the food you ate, and write a review of it. Your local newspaper is a great place to start. Or blog about it! (OK, Lauren, you’ve got me totally interested in that adorable coffee shop that serves plate-lickin’ good quiche!!)

For me, when I’m working on a story, it makes my senses come alive — I start noticing details that I would have missed. I overcome my naturally shy nature and start asking people questions. Having a notebook with me even seals some memories I would have forgotten. If you like to write fiction (as some of you do), being a travel writer will make your fictional stories more captivating because you’ll intrigue your readers with vivid detail (and you may even find a way to fund your research!)

Don’t forget to stop by Iris’s place today and tell her Guten Tag!