text:
Tag: Melissa Storm
What I'm Writing Now
I'm not talking about this blog. One of the new things you'll see around here this year is at least once per month, I'll give you a glance behind the scenes…or more accurately between the covers…of whatever I'm writing at the moment.
The current project is in "revision" mode. This isn't my favorite. I think I've shared this meme before, but each time I see it, it reinforces my emotions in the two processes of being an author: writing and editing.
There is a series within the First Street Church Series published by Sweet Promise Press. This is a trilogy I've affectionately called, TEXAS HOMECOMING.
In Book One, Jaz comes home with a plan to find a post-military job and make a quick exit. Since her brother's death, she and her father can barely occupy the same room without having harsh words.
Bailey dreams of leaving Sweet Grove, too, but when his sister returns home with plans to convert the family ranch into a resort, he knows he has to stay and help her. She'll be his only family once their father succumbs to the cancer devouring him.
But what if they don't inherit the ranch? What if a "blood" relative comes to claim it? Bailey seeks out a legal expert and finds his high school crush. Jaz can't turn the handsome cowboy away, but she's hardly prepared to start falling for him.
Even without a will, love finds a way.
The story continues in Book Two. I refer to this as "Jaz's story" because she finally gets questions answered about her brother. Of course, a mysterious visitor makes an auspicious delivery. When Bailey sees Jaz embracing the man, he suspects the worst.
Because he knows he's not worth loving.
Sometimes hope needs a helping hand.
I Have a Plan
When I originally concieved the idea for this series, I hoped to write THREE books outside of Sweet Grove. I was going to pull readers from the Kindle World into my own sweet romance world.
And then their were no more Kindle Worlds.
But there was Sweet Promise Press. And I enjoyed working with Melissa Storm and her crew of friendly and knowledgeable professionals. So, I decided to bring the characters back to Sweet Grove. It was supposed to be a Texas Homecoming anyway, right?
My new plan is to release the third book in the trilogy in April.
Then I'll hire a designer to make a lovely Texas Homecoming print wrap and in the fall, I'll release the trilogy in a print collection. All three stories (somewhere between 80,000 and 90, 000 words) together in a single paperback.
Doesn't that sound like a fantastic idea?
Between the Covers
Now for the moment you scrolled past the rest of this to see. Here's a scene from the second chapter of the book.
I hate to give too much away, but book three is Bailey's story. Plenty of reviewers have commented about how static and even whiny Bailey has been in the first two books. Well, he's not weak. He has a bad past.
And it's about to come to Sweet Grove.
From the second chapter (this is NOT final copy and is subject to change and IMPROVEMENT) before it's included in the final book:
Lonie Dyer was a piece of work. Jazlyn Rolle had met sweet talkers like him during her six months with Boldt & Associates. It wasn't the false charm that grated against her as much as the expectation to get something for nothing.
By the time he'd spoken two sentences, Jaz had known that the striking physical resemblance between Bailey and Lonie was all there was. Even without the sharp planes on his face and hardness in his eyes, Lonie wasn't at all appealing.
"And who might you be?" That was the first sentence he'd spoken.
"This is Jaz." Tess stepped around her as the two of them entered the parlor.
Lonie's hand settled possessively beside a photo book of Central Texas on the edge of an antique table.
"A Sweet Grove native like my little girl?" His tone dripped honey, and Jaz figured the man could con a starving man out of his last meal.
Probably how he'd convinced the parole board a man with one armed robbery after another shouldn't serve out a full sentence. Jaz had entered the man's name into the county database as soon as Bailey had mentioned he was out of prison. Not that she expected him to show up in Sweet Grove. He'd burned whatever bridge he might have had to his children years ago.
"I thought you'd be in your room." Tess gazed at him with expectation.
That's when Jaz saw herself in her friend's posture. Tess wanted his approval. Since she'd always yearned for Daddy love, Jaz knew the feeling exactly. But her friend missed the calculating way Lonie's eyes narrowed, and Jaz knew Tess was heading for heartache.
Jaz stepped closer. Lonie's gaze flashed to her and roamed lasciviously down her body.
The very same thing had happened so many times during her six years in the army that Jaz was surprised when she glanced down at herself. The uniform she expected to see was only loose boyfriend denim and a form-fitting sweatshirt. By the way the lust filled the older man's gaze, it should have been something much more revealing.
"I'm Bailey's girlfriend, and he's on his way here."
Lonie's lips thinned into a reptilian smile. "Boy couldn't wait to see me." His dry chuckle sent a hoard of shivers down Jaz's spine.
"Tess and I are going to hang out until he gets here." Jaz turned Tess toward the doorway. "Let's get some sweet tea. What's on the menu for breakfast?"
She forced her backbone to steel as she marched her friend back to the kitchen. Tess responded about breakfast, but Jaz didn't pay attention. Now that she'd met the man and seen the open desire in Tess's eyes, she realized Bailey hadn't been overreacting to send her to the ranch.
Jaz blocked the doorway into the kitchen by leaning on the side of the bar. Lonie pulled up a stool like he belonged there.
"Sweet tea?" Tess paused to glance over her shoulder at Lonie while pulling glasses from the cupboard.
"I never did sweeten to it."
Once Tess turned away, Lonie shifted a leer to Jaz. She glared, unblinking. Maybe it would be smarter to pretend to fall for his slimy charm, but she couldn't do it. Men like Lonie Dyer had too much power over women, and Jaz refused to be another conquest for him, even if it was only in his own mind.
Tess handed her a glass of tea and sipped hers. "What are your plans?" She set her glass down. "Did you want something else to drink?"
This wasn't part of her normal B&B hostess routine, and Jaz wanted to snap at Lonie to leave the kitchen, since it wasn't generally open to guests. But Tess's hopeful expression killed the protest before it reached her lips.
"A shot of Jim Beam would be nice." Lonie chuckled again, this time the sound more authentic, although it still grated on Jaz.
"How about a coke? I have Sprite or cola."
Lonie shrugged. "Don't go to any trouble for me, darlin'."
As if she hadn't already by loaning him a rent-free room. The front door opened and closed, and footsteps plodded toward the dining room. Jaz's heart leapt, but Bailey would use the kitchen entrance, so it must be Tess' other guest.
"That's Mr. Gary." Tess brushed past Jaz and into the hallway.
Lonie arched a scraggly eyebrow at her and smirked. "How long you been goin' down on my boy?"
Jaz clenched her fist. "He's not your boy any more than Tess is your darlin'." She mimicked his syrupy drawl of the endearment.
What do you think? Are you ready to read more?
LOVE'S LINGERING DOUBTS
Love's Returning Hope
Melissa Storm
Sweet Promise Press
Texas Homecoming
Coming Soon to Sweet Grove
Don't you love fictional towns? Sometimes walking the streets in Sweet Grove, Texas feels like coming home.
Or maybe I'm the only one who gets attached to fictional characters and places. It's why I like to read well-written series set in places I like. Like Cedar Cove, WA (Debbie Macomber) or Wishful, MS (Kait Nolan).
Thanks to Amazon's decision to close down the Kindle Worlds, the new title I slated for release on July 3 has been burbling impatiently on the back burner.
But it will make it into the world.
Thanks to the owner of the First Street Church universe, my Sweet Grove Romance series can continue. Furthermore, the author coalition that populates that world with dozens of new stories every year, is introducing new sub-genres into the mix. Sweet Grove Suspense is a line of clean Christian romances with suspense elements. Heroes of Sweet Grove features former or current military personnel as the main characters.
I don't generally write suspense. I do have a military background, and I've dreamed up two former soldiers who will walk into Sweet Grove carrying more than their military duffel as baggage.
LOVE'S LINGERING DOUBTS
All of the novellas will get NEW covers from Sweet Promise Press
Enter Jazlyn Rolle. She hasn't lived in Sweet Grove since she was the softball superstar for the Lady Shorthorns. In fact, she hasn't been back for more than a few days since her brother's funeral seven years ago. And she's only stopping in while she picks up Drew memorabilia and figures out what she's going to do with her life now that her military career has folded.
Bailey Travers would like to get away from Sweet Grove, but his family ties him there. His foster father is about to pass away and his little sister has returned with a college degree, work experience, and a plan to convert the family ranch into a guest ranch. There's no way she can do it alone.
Back in the day, Bailey had a major crush on Jazlyn. Jazlyn is done with men, after her recent breakup cost her the military career she'd dedicated to her fallen brother.
They're thrown together when Bailey needs help fighting for the ranch. If only his foster father had left a will. If only his foster parents had completed the adoption process. But Bailey's learned not to waste time dreaming about "if only."
In Sweet Grove, even where there's no will, love still finds a way.
A Peek Inside
In the new publishing company, Ms. Storm implemented some word count caps for each novella. Which meant I needed to reduce the word count. By about 5,000 words!
This benefits you. Now, I'm free to share par of this scene as a teaser of what's to come. I really wanted to keep this scene (as you read it, I hope you understand why) but ended up referencing it vaguely with a comment by Bailey at the end of the novella.
As soon as Bailey cut the motor, he heard the girls' laughter. Miles of intestines knotted, and he clenched his teeth. He shoved his hat lower, swung down from the tractor and snatched the neon softball from the beneath the seat.
Just get it over with.
Elise called the girls together, and the voices dimmed to a hum. He was a few yards from the dugout where he planned to drop the ball and get back to work.
A figure separated from the cluster. He'd recognize those muscular legs anywhere. The knot from his stomach reared into his heart, which stuttered like a rusty engine.
His feet forgot to move forward. Jaz stopped a few feet from him, sweeping kinky strands of hair that escaped from the clip at her neck off her forehead. One corner of her lips curled and that same eyebrow quirked.
"We meet again. Or are you following me?"
Bailey blinked. The softball turned to a shot put in his hands, and her words jumbled inside his mind.
She cocked her head, and both brows shot upward. The movement drew his attention to her eyes, which sparkled like topaz in her chocolate face. "Back to "cat-got-the-tongue" huh? I figured spending an hour talking in the library would have changed all that."
She was right. They had talked at the library, and he hadn't acted like a freshman facing a hot cheerleader. Not even when she remembered their first meeting. He opened his mouth to answer, but his throat dried and his lips froze.
A few girls in the cluster around the mound turned toward them. One whistled through her fingers, but Elise regained her attention. Bailey flicked his attention back to the gorgeous woman baring too much thigh for his comfort.
She's going to think you're an idiot. As if she didn't already know the worst about him. He licked his lips to gather moisture and make his move.
"What's up, Bailey?" She stepped closer and nudged his shoulder, as if trying to shake him from a stupor.
Electricity raced straight to his heart, a thousand volts that made him jolt away from her. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she shifted away. The subtle motion of her hips compelled his gaze to flick toward her curves. Which was a major mistake because the sight sucker-punched him.
You can read this third story set in Sweet Grove sometime in August 2018. As an additional teaser, this will be the first in a planned trilogy for Jaz and Bailey's romance, currently titled "Texas Homecoming."
Be sure to get Hero Delivery to find out specifics or join the Friends of Sharon Hughson Facebook group.
Have you read and reviewed LOVE'S LATE ARRIVAL and LOVE'S LITTLE SECRETS? Do you enjoy stories about military heroes?
First Street Church
Sweet Grove
Amazon: Destroyer of Future Plans
I've never been one of those author with scathing commentary about the monopolizing power of Amazon's book store. Instead I was all-in with several Kindle-only titles.
Then they pulled the plug on Kindle Worlds.
At the moment this was announced, I was begging beta readers to return their comments on the third book for the series published in this universe. That story was planned to release in less than two months.
The day after the announcement, I got my royalty statement from Amazon showing the first month when two titles were available for sale. It was great. The sales had been strong and steady, more than anything else I've ever published.
Amazon was jerking the rug out from under my expanding readership.
Worse, I was positive that the introduction to this world and the amazing influencer who conceived it was the future of my writing career. At least for the next couple years.
Thanks, Amazon, for demolishing that business plan I made a week earlier.
But as much as this derailed my career planning, I knew the news was even worse for Melissa Storm.
I messaged her. I wanted to encourage her and let her know that no one was mad at her and we hoped we could still work together.
By the next day, she'd formed her own publishing company.
And why not? She has an incredible platform of followers. She launches all her new releases to the bestseller list.
Those characters I was dropping into Sweet Grove aren't displaced after all. Their stories will be told.
*Shakes fist at Big Brother Amazon*
In the future, I might even explore some of the other shared series worlds she's planning to launch along with Sweet Promise Press.
So if you're an author, you should check it out. There's a form to fill out if you want to write for her.
Those lines in my business plan that mention Kindle Worlds will have to be lined out. But those titles should still reach you.
In a few weeks, I'll give you a glance into the next First Street Church novella. When I know the release date, I'll pass it on.
Make sure you don't miss any of these updates. Follow my author page on Facebook. Better yet, join my Facebook group.
It's nice to know that Amazon doesn't actually have the same destructive power of…Thanos. Indie authors unite with more strength than the Avengers, too.
Do you buy most of your books from Amazon? Is there any way we can curb their market share?
Kindle Worlds
Love's Late Arrival
Love's Little Secrets
selling books
Back to Sweet Grove: LOVE'S LITTLE SECRETS
Today the second Sweet Grove Romance is born into the world of published books. You can snap Love's Little Secrets up on Amazon, and check in with Kyanna and Roth while discovering the truth about Norma and Herman Wells.
The idea for this story was born as I drafted and revised Love's Late Arrival. I really liked the high school secretary, Norma Wells, and I kept wondering why she stayed with that chauvinistic husband of hers.
It's been five years since my own silver anniversary party, but the question that really got me going was: what if Herman had a son who crashed Norma's anniversary party? All the other questions that helped formulate the plot sprung from that one.
Norma Wells is having a silver anniversary party under duress. Tabitha Olsen and the ladies of First Street Church won't let such an important anniversary slide by, but Norma isn't sure there's much to celebrate. For the past several years, she and Herman have drifted further apart, and she wonders if she even loves him anymore.
Herman's been wrestling with a lot of changes at work. But he doesn't talk about that with Norma. It's his job to take care of her and protect her from the harsh realities of life. Besides, who wants to talk about demotions and pay cuts?
When Herman's well-hidden secret crashes the silver anniversary party, everything changes. This is only the first wall to crumble in Herman's life.
Will he finally treat Norma as a partner? Or is Norma finished with him now that she knows he betrayed her in the worst possible way?
Romance shouldn't end after the wedding and honeymoon. This story focuses on the struggles of marriage between Christian and non-Christian and the truth about real love and forgiveness.
From chapter two:
Norma addressed everyone by first name, smiled, touched them with warm hands. She asked them about pets, children, gardens, and their health. It struck him that she belonged in Sweet Grove, but most of the faces were only vaguely familiar to him since he'd been on the road for so many years.
Herman stood beside her, munching on a generous slice of cake. Everyone loved her. A stirring in his chest reminded him of his affection, dampened by time and distance, and the bitterness of her broken dreams and his unfulfilled plans. He'd never stopped loving her, even when his duty kept them apart.
If the gem on her finger didn't prove his love, certainly the four-bedroom farmhouse on twenty acres must do the trick. Every anniversary and birthday, he brought rose bushes and flowers, which she loved planting. And that darned gazebo she'd wanted a few years back, situated just so beneath the arching shade of pecan trees, had been a special addition.
Norma's hand stayed on his arm as she led him through the crowd. Herman spoke a few words to everyone, nodding in acceptance of their well wishes. Talk of the Apple Blossom festival circulated, smothering him. Finally, a woman hugged his wife and her hand dropped away from him. He sidled toward the door.
A motor revved, roaring nearby before cutting off. Many heads turned toward it. Herman stepped closer, yearning for fresh air and space without clingy near-strangers.
A dark-haired young man in a black leather jacket swished through the doors. His fawn-colored skin contrasted with the white walls. Tousled curls flopped nearly to his shoulders, and he glanced around the room. White teeth flashed when he answered a query from one of the men clutching a cup of coffee near the door.
Herman glanced toward Norma, meeting her questioning gaze. He jerked his head toward the door. It was too soon to expect they could leave, but surely she wouldn't begrudge him a few moments away from the crush.
He shuffled toward the door in time to hear the coffee man growl, "Don't know no Manny Wells."
The sound of the name anchored his feet in place. Only one person called him Manny Wells. One person he never wanted to see in his hometown.
"Do you mean Herman Wells?" Summer Davis slipped beside the older man, a carafe of water in her hand. "This is his anniversary party."
"Can you point him out?" The younger man's voice was smooth but unfamiliar.
All three of them turned, and Summer's finger pointed directly to him. Her lips moved, but Herman heard nothing above the slamming of his heart against his eardrums.
The handsome stranger's amber-flecked brown eyes fixed on Herman's pale ones. His square jaw and wide nose were twins of Herman's while the rest of him reflected the Hispanic beauty of his mother.
"Dad." Fire lit the boy's eyes, and his full lips didn't smile.
Herman stiffened. Questions swirled through his mind at dizzying speed, and the sinking sensation in his stomach turned the spice cake to gravel.
You'll meet some new characters in this story. I intend for you to like them enough you'll want to read their stories in a few months.
Bailey Travers, the Wells' neighbor, is the hero in the next book in the series. Love's Lingering Doubts is scheduled to release on July 3, 2018.
I'm planning Ariel Stryker's story for September 10, when the new young adult sub-line of First Street Church romances debuts. Adonis will play a role in that story, too, but my brain is churning up ideas for a romance all his own. If anyone deserves it, I'd say it's Adonis.
With all the changes Kindle Direct Publishing is making to the Kindle World system, I don't know if there will be more than these four books. But I'm committed to finishing out the 2018 projects I've planned.
What other characters would you like to know more about? Would you like to see me continue with the Sweet Grove Romances?
Kindle Direct Publishing
Seven Things I Learned from Publishing in Kindle Worlds
Every story and book I've published has taught me something about the publishing industry. Since Amazon gets a lot of flak about taking advantage of authors, I wanted to share what I've learned from publishing in Kindle Worlds.
First off, Kindle Worlds are considered fan fiction. I'm not a fan of this genre or this label.
Furthermore, I'm not a huge fan of the original First Street Church novellas written by Melissa Storm. I am a HUGE admirer of Melissa because she believes in supporting authors with every resource at her disposal.
I've mentioned before that I don't read romance. Okay, that's false now that I've dedicated myself to publishing three romance novellas this year and getting my first romance novel into print.
My first choice for reading material is not romance. And if I pick up a romance, I prefer romantic suspense. Sure, the romance is important but it isn't the sole focus of the story.
So what the heck am I doing writing in a genre I don't prefer to read?
I've been asking myself this question at least once a week since the dawn of my contract with Kindle Direct Publishing.
Now, on to what I've learned from this experience:
The timeline of publishing may be shorter than with traditional publishers, but it isn't quick and easy. Let me add: I have only contracted for a bonus with the first book released in November. This is an incentive from KDP to get authors involved in these universes they "own."
There is even LESS communication with KDP than with any other publisher I've worked with. Even the small house that took two years to print the anthology I was involved it had a specific editor who replied to my emails in a timely manner. Not so much with the KDP representative.
It's better to get support from other authors when you're uploading your first book. The cover portion of the upload is confusing (set up so you will design your cover right there), and I was glad that there were multiple authors in the FSC Facebook group who could walk me through it.
You won't sell a ton of books. Even authors with huge followings who mailed their large lists of subscribers found they didn't sell the expected number of copies. Which seems strange since Amazon promoted the heck out of these books on release day.
The influx of cross-over readers takes time. In fact, I didn't see a huge rise in subscribers to my Facebook page (we ran a promotion) or my email list when the book released.
Staying the course with multiple avenues of exposure is still necessary. Once I finally got my spot in the Sweet Grove Sentinel (newsletter for the Kindle World), I netted 53 new subscribers in one weekend. Wow!
Quantity is as important as quality. I believe the more titles I publish in this world will grow my following. Since there are so many books and authors in the First Street Church universe, the readers can't be expected to buy ever one of them. At least not within the first few months.
In the end, I don't feel I've wasted my time and effort writing for Kindle Worlds. Yes, they own all these stories—forever—but I could take the characters to a different location if I wanted to publish outside of the First Street Church universe.
Do you have any questions about this form of publishing?
Sweet Grove Sentinel
Enter an alternate Kindle World. I did.
Today is the day. I've crossed over and become a "fan fiction" author. Or so Amazon wants to say. That's the premise behind Kindle Worlds.
I prefer to say, "Today is my Christian romance publishing debut."
I've been talking about it for a few months now. And today, it will be all over Amazon when you hop online to buy a book.
Free advertising? Sure. I'm in.
I hope you'll check it out. Maybe share this post with your friends who like Christian romance. Or sweet romance. I promise, I'm not a preachy writer.
Congratulations to me! Another book is published.
Congratulations to Kindle Direct Publishing! They've acquired full rights to this story – forever.
What are you reading today?
For the latest information about my releases, sales, and giveaways, sign up here for Hero Delivery. It includes a FREE story called "When Vomit Saved the Day."
My Take on Charity: FIRST STREET CHURCH Blog Hop
Charity should be a lifestyle if we're patterning ourselves after Jesus Christ. Do I succeed in charitable living? Nope. Not at all.
As we get closer to Christmas, awareness for charities will rise. Does this mean we feel more charitable during November and December?
Especially when consumerism sticks decorations and the latest-greatest-gadgets under our noses as soon as they get the back-to-school shelves cleared.
In recent years, this marketing push has made me relegate thoughts of Christmas to the back burner until later and later in December.
Because I truly believe the spirit of Christmas is giving. Back in Bethlehem on that first Christmas, God gave us His only son, born in human flesh and humbled with a manger as a crib. That Son grew up to give His life as payment for our sins, purchasing eternal salvation for us—a gift we could never have gained any other way.
But all the media focus on giving to others sounds like another marketing sales pitch.
Charitable Causes
Which doesn't mean I don't care about those charities or give to any.
In the past, the ladies from our church have filled shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. This is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse that focuses on getting essentials to children in third world countries.
It's sobering to pack a toothbrush, toothpaste and soap alongside socks and a small stuffed animal. I can't imagine my kids needing a new toothbrush for Christmas because they get them at their semi-annual dentist visits.
Oh, the things we take for granted in our First World society.
Our church chooses a missionary family to shower with Christmas gifts. We know the ages of his children and purchase gifts accordingly, being sure to include a package for the man and his wife, too. Everyone loves opening presents (don't they? I sure do!) and that's part of the excitement of Christmas morning.
If we can't ship the food for a Christmas feast, we send a gift card to a grocery store close to his mission field. How many people don't have a food or dessert they connect with their Christmas memories?
For my sons, it's the sausage roll-ups I always made for Christmas morning. For me, it's Russian teacakes. My sister loves the decorated sugar cookies.
Traditions are a huge aspect of Christmas, and we want our missionaries to enjoy building them.
Charity after Christmas
Christmas isn't the only time for being charitable. Christians should demonstrate charity every day of their life.
A recent project our church began is a barbecue lunch for the first responders in our county. We make a simple lunch (pulled pork sandwiches and smoked chicken) and take it to the main fire station.
We box up lunches that someone volunteers to take out to the 911 call center and the outlying fire stations.
It's such a small way to thank these men and women for choosing to serve our communities every day. In fact, they put themselves in harm's way and don't stop to think about it.
That deserves more than lunch and a thank you, I think.
Still, the small things make a big impact. They touch a person's life and the impression stays with them.
Sure, you can offer a coat to keep away the winter chill (and should if you can). However, what about the frozen tundra of the heart that is abandoned and alone during a time of year when it looks like everyone else has family and friends to celebrate with?
Charity should reach from your heart to the heart of the person you're helping. And sometimes, all it takes is to meet their eyes and smile.
Who can you thank for their service? Who can you help with a few simple hours of your time?
Like what you read? Please click here and I'll send you access to FREE fiction (and only deliver a hero to your inbox on rare occasions). Check out my addition to the First Street Church Kindle World here.
Click on the graphic below to enter the giveaway for a Kindle and a gift card.
say thank you
touch a life
What I'm Writing these Days
If you follow me on Facebook, you get a monthly update of my writing projects. If you don't, you're going to get one now.
I'm an author so I write. I wish I could say that I only write things I LOVE and am jazzed to sit behind my laptop day-in and day-out pounding away on my wireless keyboard (which is missing seven letters and throws me off when I look at it to type).
I write blurbs and other marketing copy. When I'm selling or pitching a book to agents and editors, I pen query letters, outlines and synopsis (*cringes typing the word*).
What I write most often: blog posts.
You know, like this one.
Sometimes I even have interesting content or "high concept" ideas. Most of the time I feel like I'm shooting a post into the dark abyss of virtual space…hitting nothing, reaching no one.
So if there's something you wish I would blog about, please complete the contact form here on the site…or leave a comment on this post.
My love is fiction and especially fantasy. Unfortunately, the market for that is rather soft and in order to "sell" a manuscript now and again, I write romance.
But I'm usually working on multiple projects at one time.
Fiction Projects
Unfortunately, there is no fantasy writing on my horizon. Even though I have an amazing dragon-covered Write Mind planner waiting for the magic of a new world with quests and magicians, I don't know when I'll get to write fantasy again.
I need to focus on writing things that sell.
At the moment, I have two projects that I'm guaranteed to sell.
The first is a short story (really more of a novelette) for the ONE SULTRY AFTERNOON anthology my publisher is planning for the summer of 2018.
Here's a quick summation:
Ivory is in Leavenworth to earn money for her college education by guiding rafts on the river. Her boyfriend graduated and headed to the East coast without a backward glance, so Ivory isn't looking for romance. Not even a sumer fling.
Prescott survived leukemia as a child only to become touch sensitive as a teenager. When he dropped out of college to pursue his painting, his photographer uncle opened his home in Leavenworth, in exchange for help manning the gallery and gift shop. The rugged beauty of the Alpine village of Washington inspires his creativity.
When they run into each other on a hiking trail, all their plans derail. But love is always a choice, and unless Prescott can overcome his fear of living he'll never convince Ivory to choose him.
The second project is a novella for a 2018 release in the First Street Church Kindle World of Sweet Grove, Texas. While writing my debut in this world (coming November 15), I stumbled upon a minor character who's about to run headlong into LOVE'S LITTLE SECRET.
Read on for the brief overview:
Norma Wells works at Sweet Grove High to nurture students, always aware of her own barrenness. She doesn't understand why God didn't grant the desires of her heart. At her Silver Anniversary party, she learns the reason her husband had no desire to pursue fertility specialists.
Herman Wells doesn't deny that the Hispanic boy who crashes the Silver Anniversary party is his son. When he'd been the District Manager, he'd spent half of every month in New Mexico where he'd rescued Osaria and fallen in love with her. Or at least the idea that she needed him while his wife seemed content to build a life without him.
When Herman's secret rocks their world, Norma has to decide if she can forgive her husband and welcome his now-motherless son. Herman wishes dealing with this fallout was the worst of his problems because when the pink slip comes, everything he build his life around tumbles around his ears.
An unlikely matchmaker seeks to reignite the love that life's hardships snuffed out. Will Norma's wish for motherhood come too late? Can Herman discover the most important truth before he loses everything?
Both of these are rough sketches, but hopefully they give you an idea.
I'm also working on edits for:
Love's Late Arrival (due to release on November 15, 2017)
Reality Ever After (due to release on January 22, 2018)
My plan is to draft another two novellas in Sweet Grove for National Novel Writing Month OR to write the sequel novel to the women's fiction novel I need to flesh out before trying to market it again.
What to write? What to write?
Nonfiction Projects
In my original business plan, my goal was to write two Bible study books each year. Unfortunately, that has never happened.
At the moment, I have four or five scattered ideas for studies but nothing concrete enough to begin working on. So it looks like there won't be a new study in 2017.
The other nonfiction project I'm working on is the Christian living book about struggling through the aftermath of grief. I've been writing vignettes and Bible expository segments since 2015.
After meeting with a memoirist and getting feedback from two agents, I've got fresh ideas for how to approach this book. Now to be in the right state of mind to work on it.
What do I mean?
This project is an emotional vampire. I can never write more than one section on a given day. And it might drain me so I can't touch the project again for a week.
But it's the project I know God wants me to write, so I will do it. But it isn't a project I can force myself to work on, so I have to pray and trust that He will guide me through it.
Eventually, I'll market this book to Christian agents and publishers, but I'll give myself a deadline for acceptance. If I don't get it, then I'll indie publish it.
But that is a LONG way off. Probably somewhere in my three-year plan.
A Three-Year Plan
In the coaching session of the Oregon Christian Writer's Conference, Susan May Warren challenged her students to do the math and figure out how many novels, novellas, short stories, whatever they could write in a year.
When I'm on a roll, writing 1,000 words an hour is pretty common. Which means I can crank out 5,000 words in my five-hour writing day.
When we're talking about the short fiction I'm writing for my publisher's summer anthology, that means I can draft the story in a week. Those novellas I'm writing for the Kindle World? It will take five or six days to pen those first drafts.
You do the math. How many novellas could I write in a year at this rate?
Except for drafting them is the easy part.
According to Warren, I need to plan an equal amount of time for rewriting, revising, editing and polishing. (So the 25,000 word novella will take 10 to 12 days to be ready for beta readers.)
Still, if I focused on writing only short fiction, I could realistically churn a novella out each month (as long as my editor and cover designer could match my pace).
If people purchased these, and I was an indie author earning 70 percent of the sale price, I could make some money. Maybe even support myself solely by writing.
Of course, that's a big IF.
And rather than dream about this possible paycheck, I'd better get back to writing.
What would you like me to blog about? What genre would you like me to write in? What advice or encouragement do you have for this bumbling author?
Like reading this? You're a click away from getting Hero Delivery, a bulletin with deals and new releases from Sharon Hughson.
Maybe you like romance or some of my other books. I'm sure there's something worth reading on my page.
Already read one or more of my books? Please leave an honest review on your favorite site. A review is the same as the author discovering a gold nugget in the bottom of her washing machine.
What's this Kindle Worlds Thing?
I've never been a huge fan of fan fiction. I like to come up with my own story, thanks so much. But when I was invited to write in an author's soon-to-be-formed Kindle World, I suddenly had a different thought.
Or twelve. You know me, I rarely think about only one thing at a time. And one thought leads to another and before you know it COOKIES!
Now, back to this Kindle Worlds thing.
Amazon Gets Bigger
I first noticed Kindle Worlds when an author I like (paranormal romance) released a new book in "The Runes Universe."
Now, I've also read a couple books from The Runes series, and I found them good, but a little too shallow and predictable for me. They are young adult paranormal romances, after all, and they are a huge hit with the teenage girls they're written for.
But I haven't been a teenage girl for a few years. (Stop rolling your eyes, Darrin!)
What Amazon has done is ask some indie authors (don't ask me how they decide but I'm guessing it has something to do with sales) to turn their fictional worlds into a place where anyone can contribute stories. The original characters can be used by these new authors, but they should not be the major players.
Furthermore, this universe is suddenly a sandbox that only Amazon (specifically Kindle Direct Publishing) has rights to play in. If you submit a story into the universe, you relinquish rights to it forever.
Most authors just shuddered. But I'm not worried about this at all. I'll still own the characters, and if I fall in love with them, I only have to move them to a different setting and I can write about them for eternity.
The benefits of publishing in these Kindle Worlds during a targeted release blitz:
A $250 bonus (to help offset cover design and editing costs-paid AFTER publishing)
Amazon's marketing power during the release
Mention in the back of other books in the release linking you to the readers of many authors
For someone who hates to market, this really called to me.
Not Really Fan Fiction
This is how dictionary.com defines fan fiction:
a fictional account written by a fan of a show, movie, book, or video game to explore themes and ideas that will not or cannot be explored via the originating medium; also written fan fiction , also called fanfic
And I have to admit, I'm not necessarily a huge fan of the series of books that is the springboard for the Kindle World I'm planning to write for. That's the biggest reason I don't see this as fan fiction.
After all, all that happens is I put my characters into the town of Sweet Grove, Texas. The books need to be a sweet romance and since the world is called "First Street Church Romances," they're probably going to explore inspirational themes or have Christian worldviews.
All of which is what I want to do anyway.
Am I deluding myself? Will people see this as fanfic?
Weighing the Pros and Cons
As always when I'm presented with a new writing opportunity, I pulled out my notebook and began scrawling out my thoughts.
Here's an excerpt: "These are novellas-20,000 to 40,000 words-of sweet romance with some Christian influence. This could be a way to build my brand IF I'm going to write mostly inspirational romances after this."
And with the power of Amazon behind each launch, I'll pick up new readers. There will be people who buy everything they see, thinking it's going to be a series they love.
Plus the author who originally invented Sweet Grove is a marketing professional, and she intends to push all the books with her considerable platform and influence.
When 100 writers jumped in with both feet at the idea, you know it's a good one.
My lists were incredibly short:
Pros: inspirational; wide market range; connection at Amazon; free promo from Melissa Storm
Cons: romance; edit & cover costs; another distraction from "real" writing
But why isn't this "real" writing? I have some sort of chip on my shoulder about inspirational romances which makes no sense. For a decade or more, that is ALL that I read.
Only now, I'm back to reading mostly fantasy. Romances are too predictable to me, so I don't enjoy reading them as much anymore.
But there are millions of people who DO enjoy reading them. And they would read the ones I wrote because Amazon would make sure they knew about them.
So, what do you think I should do? Is it worth my time and effort to publish in a Kindle World?
Maybe you like romance or see my other books. I'm sure there's something worth reading on my page.
romance authors


copper jaw crusher beneficiation specification - Crusher ... SJJQZX Stone Crusher in Angola. A Crushing Plant invested by Chinese Government aims to crush Granite Stones for road construction. ..
Heap leaching is an industrial mining process to extract precious metals, copper … containing the dissolved minerals is then collected, treated in a process plant to … (see solvent extraction-electrowinning, SX/EW ) and reused on the leach pad .
May 20, 2016· Old 200 Tph Breaker Specification Diamond Stone Used Jaw Related Products We can provide you with a mineral processing line needs with all . construction equipment, ore beneficiation equipment and mining dryers.
Jaw Crusher | Mining, Crushing, Grinding, Beneficiation. PE Jaw Crusher, as the first choice of primary crushing, can be divided into coarse crushing and fine crushing, the feeding size is125mm~1100mm.
pe 250x400 jaw crusher for silver ore beneficiation plant Pe-250 X 400 Rock Stone Gold Ore Jaw Crusher. Pe-250 X 400 Rock Stone Gold Ore Jaw Crusher, Find Complete Details about Pe-250 X 400 Rock Stone Gold Ore Mining, Gold, iron, silver, lead, zinc, copper, etc Full Plant Design is Available for both Rock and Alluvial type minerals.
iron ore crusher fines beneficiation crushing plant circuit. dry iron ore Pe 250 X 400 Rock Stone Gold Ore Jaw Crusher With Good Price. ashdod port ha merkaz i . Jan 17, 2017 Iron ore,Copper Ore,Gold Ore,Silver Ore processing.
Obviously copper ore crusher plays the irreplaceable position in the whole mining process. We are leading copper ore crushers manufacturer in China, and supply various copper crusher machines, such as jaw crusher, cone crusher, impact crusher, mobile crusher, hammer crusher etc.
Lipu wheel mounted jaw crusher is a rock crushing plant newly researched and launched by our company and Processible Materials:Iron ore, copper ore, gold ore, manganese ore, limestone, granite, basalt, andesite, Beneficiation Equipment Jaw crusher, PE600*900, PE750*1060, PE900*1200, PE860, PE1100.
» design of copper ore beneficiation plant » Crushing Machine Production Capacity Calculation F » concrete plants crusher » denver dillon vibrating screen double deck ... 3042 jaw crusher specification Libya - Crushing Unit. Our company is specialized in manufacturing ... » Learn More.


text:
Smart discussion about toxics policy reform
House status
Senate status
Green Science News
Pollution in People
Know Your Toxins
PFCs/Teflon chemicals
Cosmetic chemicals
EnviroBlog
Why are dispersant chemicals secret?
Posted by Dave Andrews in Featured Articles, Pollution in People on May 14, 2010 | 22 responses
By Dave Andrews, Ph.D., EWG senior scientist and Elaine Shannon, EWG editor-in-chief
British Petroleum, Inc. has dumped more than 400,000 gallons of chemical oil dispersants into the Gulf of Mexico near the site of the undersea gusher caused by the April 20 blowout at BP's exploration well, which set fire to the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and killed 11 workers.
By next week, that figure could double, at least. On Tuesday, Lamar McKay, president and chairman of BP America, Inc., told a Senate panel that its supplier, Nalco Energy Services of Sugar Land, Texas, can deliver as much as 75,000 gallons of dispersants a day for the massive environmental clean-up.
This much is well accepted: dispersants don't make all that streaming oil vanish. As the science journal Nature reported, "they help large globs of oil 'disperse' into smaller pieces — hence their name — which are easier for sea-living microbes to break down."
"Their use is a trade-off decision," Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said during a telephone press conference earlier this week.
The important question, which has gone unanswered, is, are we minimizing the damage to our planet by using these dispersants, or are we adding to the mess?
It is inexcusable that we do not know the answer to this question and have decided to make the Gulf of Mexico an enormous floating science experiment. After all, we've been dealing with oil spills from the moment we started pumping oil. According to a 2005 National Research Council report titled, Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects, 3 million gallons of oil and refined petroleum are spilled annually in around U.S. waters, mostly in smaller batches.
The dispersants going into the Gulf have been around for decades. According to the NRC report, COREXIT EC9527A came on the market in the 1980s. COREXIT 9500 was introduced in the 1990's. Both are made by Nalco and have been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Coast Guard for spraying on the ocean surface. (EPA has authorized limited tests of dispersants near the source of the leak, 5,000 feet below the waves, but has not given a green light to use them in volume.)
No one pretends that these or any other dispersants are environmentally neutral. "Dispersants are not the silver bullet," EPA administrator Lisa Jackson said.
Jackson has defended the use of the chemicals on grounds they are far less toxic than petroleum and degrade much more rapidly.
That's not much of a recommendation.
So, what is this stuff? There's a lot the public is not permitted to know about these concoctions. The EPA has published some information about them on a list of dispersants and other agents that were okayed for use in the clean-up of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. But a number of ingredients are listed as "confidential" or "proprietary," and their proportions in the mix are not disclosed.
Information provided by Nalco to EPA and the federal/BP task force on its website, known as the Deepwater Horizon Response, says that COREXIT EC9527A, contains three chemicals considered hazardous:
2-Butoxyethanol
Organic sulfonic acid salt
From what we can discern, the active molecule that does the dispersing is "organic sulfonic acid salt," a generic term for class of chemicals. Its precise chemical name is apparently proprietary. We think that once a company, or the government, or both, decides to cover the sea with this molecule, it's time to tell us what exactly it is.
The company's disclosure statement says, "No toxicity studies have been conducted on this product." It also says, "Based on our hazard characterization, the potential environmental hazard is: Moderate Based on our recommended product application and the product's characteristics, the potential environmental exposure is: Low." But how the company has reached that conclusion isn't clear.
Corexit 9500, the newer formulation, is made without 2-butoxyethanol. According to the NRC report, Nalco developed Corexit 9500 because it discovered that "prolonged exposure to Corexit 9527 caused adverse health effects in some responders. These effects were attributed to its glycol ether solvent (2-butoxyethanol)."
Jackson told reporters that EPA permitted BP to spray the older product, Corexit EC9527A, in the early days of the spill until sufficient quantities of 9500 could be located. She described Corexit 9500 as "more effective and more environmentally friendly."
However, it's disquieting that the "material safety data sheet" for Corexit 9500 warns: "Do not contaminate surface water." Also, the document says, "Component substances have a potential to bioconcentrate."
Energy and Enviroment Daily's Greenwire, a leading online environmental news outlet, reported this week that Corexit may not be the best option. "Other U.S. EPA-approved alternatives have been shown to be far less toxic and, in some cases, nearly twice as effective," Greenwire reported, adding that Nalco was once part of Exxon Mobil and still has interlocking leadership with Exxon Mobil and BP. BP spokesman Jon Pack was quoted as saying that BP was not considering or testing other products because stopping the leak and containing the loose oil "has to be our primary focus right now."
It's been well established that until this mother-of-all-oil-spills, BP had not developed a thoroughly researched plan for managing this sort of crisis. It didn't know all it should about dispersants. It had to scramble to obtain sufficient supply. It may not have picked the best product for this gargantuan job. With advance planning, it might have availed itself of better options.
Most importantly, since spills are a constant threat, the oil industry should have financed far more research into dispersants. We the taxpayers seem to be shouldering the financial burden of much of that research. And yet we're in the dark about the precise make-up and behavior of dispersants and other chemical agents that are used in very high volumes.
How many gallons of secret chemicals, exactly, will wind up being sprayed across the Gulf?
"I think it's fair to say that when it comes to this volume, we're in uncharted waters," EPA's Jackson said.
Jackson, to her credit, is blunt and doesn't dissemble. Still, that's not an answer Americans might have expected to hear in the 21st Century. At the moment, what we know about dispersants seems to be as murky as the Gulf's troubled waters.
What Will We Learn from the Deepwater Horizon Disaster?
The Secret's Out
Senators Decry Lack of Data on Oil Dispersants' Effects, Safety
Blowout Preventers that Don't
Series Exposes Insidious Water Contamination Threat
Therapists Focus on Toxics and Kids
BP chemical dispersants gulf oil spill
22 Responses to "Why are dispersant chemicals secret?"
J conover says:
Has anyone thought about how toxic the chemicals will be for people with reverse osmosis water makers using gulf or gulf stream sea water? Is is safe to drink the water, swim in the water? Even if the area is not closed to use, can the dispersal agent, Corexit 9500,along with oil droplets still be in the water? Who is doing systematic testing of areas outside the known local spill area to insure safety for the public?And testing at all depths of the water. Report of a surfer outside of the spill area having a sticky,oily butter taste in his mouth–is there any danger to him?
dr t says:
The supposedly proprietary composition of the dispersant Corexit 9500 is a joke being played on journalists (and to give safe harbor to regulators). Its chemical composition was disclosed years ago in toxicity studies and patent and regulatory filings, all in the public domain and all readily available on the internet. Any discussion of dispersant toxicity has to start with its composition.
First note Corexit 9500 does not contain 2-butoxyl ethanol, unlike its predecessor Corexit 9527 (which caused adverse health effects in Exxon Valdez responders). The solvent was replaced in Corexit 9500 by propylene glycol and a mixture of food-grade (!) aliphatic hydrocarbons called Norpar 13 (n-alkanes ranging from nonane to hexadecane according to ExxonMobil rsearchers Varadaraj et al. in 1995). Relatively little toxity testing has been done with either version of Corexit.
Second, Corexit 9500 contains two non-ionic surfactants, Tween 80 (eicosethoxy sorbitan monooleate) and the somewhat similar Span 80 (ethoxylated sorbitan mono- and trioleates). These detergents have been around for decades in hundreds of consumer and laboratory products (which doesn't necessarily mean they have been tested).
Third, the supposedly secret sulfonic acid salt was disclosed in the 2001 patent filing US 6168702. The basic chemical formula is that of a sulfonic and carboxylic double quaternary amine but with an allowed range of substituents making the overall composition quite variable. The patent filing shows a picture of the chemical conveying a sense of its structure. The manufacturer has the ability to vary substituents without notice.
Toxicity testing on Corexit 9500 would be very difficult, expensive and time-consuming since it would involve a very large spectrum of marine species, the chemical attributes of the particular oil being spilled with which it interacts (here sometimes said to be low sulfur Louisianna crude and other times said to be asphalteine), depth, water temperature and waves, prior evaporation of leaked volatiles, and so forth.
The idea — if the dispersant is applied by airplane, is that oil is dispersed from the surface water into the much greater volume of undersea water. Neither oil not dispersant goes away in the short term. It cannot be assumed that the dispersant and oil molecules ever meet up — they may simply be dumping dispersant in the ocean without getting any quantitative dispersement. The EPA just approved mixing dispersant with the leak at the source — this wild experiment could have unintended consequences such as maintaining a horizontal plume of semi-dispersed oil at mid-Gulf levels.
Better or worse than doing nothing, nobody can say for sure. EPA has no way of getting any quantitative data under current conditions. The rate of oil leak — and changes in it for better or worse — is only vaguely known from flyovers and a table assigning thickness to 4-5 classes of oil sheen colors.
Elaine Shannon says:
Der Dr. T, Thanks for your insight. I'm sure our readers will be interested. Yes, some chemicals in the dispersants have been disclosed. And yes, as EPA chief Lisa Jackson pointed out, Corexit 9500 doesn't have 2-butoxyl ethanol. That's most likely good. Still, the public — meaning not just journalists like me but also academic scientists — don't know all the chemicals in this stuff. We don't know how it behaves in the sea. What do we know? Hard to sa.
Because BP won't flat out say, that the Gulf of Mexico is going to be the most toxic body of water in the world. BP is doing a fantastic job of keeping the beaches clear with booms, burning and skimming. Nobody on shore can see how bad it is out there. Most beaches are still clean.
On another note; Tar balls are blobs of oil that froze under the pressure and cold of 5000ft of water. Some blobs float their way up to the surface. I guarantee you that BP wants to keep the tarballs coming, easier to clean up, while a lot just stay sunk on the bottom. So BP is probably jackin' the well with some really nasty stuff, (which is why they don't wanna tell us what it really is) in order to turn venting oil turn into tar balls. Out of sight, out of mind. That is, until they start turning up in shrimp nets across the Gulf states.
Andy Reynolds says:
Not only is the toxicity of the dispersants unknown, but their claimed efficacy in making the oil more readily broken down by microrganisms in the water column is unknown as well, or at least we must rely on the makers and users assertions of that, which seems risky at best.
The idea that the kind of amounts of highly toxic and volatile hydrocarbons that are spewing forth unabated still, will be somehow consumed and digested into something non-toxic by marine micro-organisms is a fantasy that I am not willing to buy.
To say we are turning the Gulf into a giant experiment is a more than a bit misleading, since we will never be able to quantify the changes, there is too little data to have a baseline to compare post-spill to, nor do we have the will or means to do the massive amount of work needed to track the changes that will result.
This is a mess, not an experiment, just one more in the long series of insults and injuries humanity has heaped on the biosphere that we depend on for survival.
We can however look at Prince William Sound, and the fact that the marine mammal populations there plummeted immediately after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, and have not recovered in 21 years. Ditto for the herring that used to spawn there in the billions. So the outlook for the gulf is not so good.
We heard the same lame rhetoric and saw the same lack of planning, equipment, and preparedness from Exxon then as we are seeing now from BP.
And a word of caution to any and all who might volunteer or hire on to "fight" the spill: the risks to the health of spill workers are also unquantified, so they too will be a part of a big, totally uncontrolled experiment, and I assume that BP will have an ironclad disclaimer contract with every worker that they cannot sue for health related damages after working on the spill. Look forward to every imaginable form of stress related misery, trauma and even violence in the individuals and communities that are most closely associated and affected by the spill.
Look forward also to a lot of legal maneuvering and delaying by the corporations involved, and successful attempts to whittle the legal damages down to levels that will be an insult to the thousands of victims of this spill. The corporations have time and a legal staff of thousands to make this happen, and at present a Supreme court majority that believes corporations have the rights of "personhood". In fact they have us by the short curlies.
Thank you for this information. I am curious…
Wouldn't it be naive to think that the oil and dispersants are confined to such a small area near Louisiana and the visible surface slicks? This has been going on for almost one month.
We have a trip planned to Florida's southwest coast in June. I am traveling with two young children. Even if the oil doesn't visibly reach the beach, isn't the water of the entire gulf already seriously polluted- especially by hundereds of gallons of dispersants? I don't feel comfortable allowing my children to even set foot in the gulf and for this reason I am trying to cancel our trip (unfortunately at a loss of at least $1200). Am I wrong? It just seems like BP is trying to use these dispersants to make it appear as if there isn't so much oil. What about the giant underwater plumes? How will they ever be cleaned up?
And shame on our government for allowing the use of harmful chemicals to be widely dispersed without full testing.
Good questions, Kelly. They need some detailed research. I wonder if any of our readers knows more about the water quality on the Florida Gulf Coast.
I wouldn't wanna' swim in that stuff. The last satellite photo I inspected clearly showed enormous plumes of toxic stuff, heading for the west coast of Florida. If you change your mind, we're getting better weather up in Oregon now. Our water is freezing cold, but our beaches won't be covered in BP's mystery sludge.
For everyone who is following the dispersant issue —
EPA administrator Lisa Jackson testified today about dispersants, among other things, before at the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Her statement was sober and underscored unknown factors, which are, to our minds, very disquieting:
A primary concern is to ensure the safe application of chemical dispersants. Oil spill dispersants are chemicals applied to the spilled oil to break down the oil into small drops below on the surface. The dispersed oil mixes into the water column and is rapidly diluted. Bacteria and other microscopic organisms then act to degrade the oil within the droplets. However, in the use of dispersants we are faced with environmental trade-offs. We know that surface use of dispersants decreases the environmental risks to shorelines and organisms at the surface. And we know that dispersants breakdown over weeks rather than remaining for several years as untreated oil might. But, we are also deeply concerned about the things we don't know. The long term effects on aquatic life are still unknown and we must make sure that the dispersants that are used are as non-toxic as possible. We are working with manufacturers, with BP and with others, to get less toxic dispersants to the response site as quickly as possible."
— Elaine Shannon
Thank you, Ms. Shannon. Is there any way you can instead post a link to Lisa Jackson's comments? The text did not come through. Thank you.
I found the link – thanks…
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/646b6e9c92093d9f8525772700671f2e!OpenDocument
Joe Prager says:
Thanks for all your efforts on this vital issue! But, a better question is this:
WHY ISN'T EWG and other Enviro NPGs suing the EPA and the Coast Guard in Federal Court to STOP THE USE OF THESE UNTESTED CHEMICAL DISPERSANTS???
As a co-plaintiff in your Federal case about toxic CCA treated wood, which had a significant impact that led to a voluntary ban on this toxic and carcinogenic product, I strongly urge you to again consider legal action to stop this outrageous environmental disaster from getting worse. We can smell the oil from Gainesville, FL, and we are hundreds of miles away!
Joe Prager, Publisher
BANCCA.ORG, LLC
Tom Engle says:
For those of you not chemically inclined…. dispersants are just industrial strength dish detergent. The gulf will become one big sink after washing greasy pots and pans…and just as safe.
Where'd you get that info Tom, BP?
I've used Corexit before, and there's a big old label on the side that says "Nasty stuff, don't touch it." And the DEQ guy that showed it to us, specifically told us to wash our hands really good, and don't touch this stuff.
Toby, perhaps I misstated the case. I am a chemist and when I look at the structures of the surfactants in dish detergent and in the "dispersants" BP is using they are quite similar. Of course the exact ingredients and proportions are trade secrets, and while often times labels and MSDS appear to overstate risk (read an MSDS for sugar or air!!!) it would not be wise to keep ones hands stuck in undiluted surfactants and never wash it off. Undiluted they can have quite a harsh pH. The dish detergent that most people buy for use in sinks is diluted with water and sometimes buffers, so in that sense the comparison was inaccurate. If you read the box for dish detergent for use in dish washing machines…which doesn't contact skin…you might find terminology closer to what you read for Corexit. And if you ever held dish washing machine detergent in you hands for very long you know it is harsher, it can even etch glass over time. But those effects are reduced by dilution, and the Corexit is being diluted.
I was and am trying to give non-chemists a feeling for what the oil/water/dispersant mixture will be like. If you have ever washed super greasy pots and pans by hand in a sink full with dish detergent…you know that when you are finished there is a layer of scummy detergent/grease mixture left behind. It was suspended in the water until you let the water drain and it stuck to the sink and everything else. That layer of oily scummy residue is probably what some of the bottom of the gulf looks like now, and the living organisms. As you might know from your pot washing experience, the dispersant/detergent didn't really "dissolve" the oil and grease or make it go away…it just made it harder to see by looking at only the top of the water.
I think that analogy hits home with more people than complex chemistry.
Sorry if I added more confusion than explanation.
UPDATE: EPA has given BP 24 hours to come up with a safer dispersant. Check out EPA's orders at its site.
We have some readers with expertise out there. What do you think? Is this too little too late? Just in time? Courageous and timely? Or all/none of the above?
Coffee Side Effects says:
It is nearly unbelievable that this oil spill is still not taken care of. It's been what, like 46 days now?? All i see on the tv all day long is washed up fish, and poor birds coated in oil.
BP is really attacking the plume from the well-head with Corexit dispersent. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen reported today that they've crossed the "million gallon threshold" of dispersents being dumped into the ocean. Latest satellite photos show huge sheets of oil spreading out over the entire Gulf of Mexico.
Here is a link to a non-government owned Satellite. It's an older model, but unlike government owned satellites, they frequently update their pictures. It's a very scary situation, so hold your breath if you want to look…
https://www.cstars.miami.edu/Media/photo-gallery?func=viewcategory&catid=6
I personally believe that BP has basically kidnapped the top officials in our government, all throughout this crises.
Chemical Dispersant Effects on Children???
I am currently living in South Mississippi about an hours drive from the Gulf Coast and 3 hour drive to Venice, La. I have two young boys ages 2 1/2 and 11 months. My boys (knock on wood) have been very healthy only requiring a couple of visits to the only having been sick a few times. Ever since this oil spill, starting approximately May 10th my boys have had chronic coughs, fevers, and perpetual pink eye. Even my husband and I who never get sick have had sinus issues. These symptoms are still going on over a month later. Our doctor is clueless especially since our kids don't attend daycare and we live in the country.
I've researched the chemical being used and I haven't been able to find information on any possible airborne effects. I've only found information on the effects on the ecosystem and to those who deal with the chemical directly. I really hope this is just a coincidence and that the health of my family isn't being affected. We do however wake up to the smell of crude oil.
If anyone has any information on this I would appreciate it greatly.
Two chemicals getting big hits, well above normal average, on EPA air monitors in the gulf are:
Naphthalene and Toulene
Both types of gas are extremely dangerous. Why nobody says anything on the news is a mystery. Perhaps they don't want to scare people, but folks need to know the truth. Especially if ya'll are getting sick.
A Mom in FL says:
My question to be answered is the ability of this dispersant to evaporate and later rain down on us. Is it possible? Will all of our vegetation, food and water sources be contaminated? If it can rain down on us, will our city water treatment remove it? Any insite from others would be helpful.
Where'd Tom go? TOM!!!
The day you find this label on a bottle of dishwashing soap. LET ME KNOW!
We can blow it up together.
Combustible.
Keep away from heat. Keep away from sources of ignition – No smoking. Keep container tightly closed. Do not get
in eyes, on skin, on clothing. Do not take internally. Avoid breathing vapor. Use with adequate ventilation. In case
of contact with eyes, rinse immediately with plenty of water and seek medical advice. After contact with skin, wash
immediately with plenty of soap and water.
Wear suitable protective clothing.
Low Fire Hazard; liquids may burn upon heating to temperatures at or above the flash point. May evolve oxides of
carbon (COx) under fire conditions. May evolve oxides of sulfur (SOx) under fire conditions.
PRODUCT NAME : COREXIT® 9500
APPLICATION : OIL SPILL DISPERSANT
COMPANY IDENTIFICATION : Nalco Energy Services, L.P.
Chemical Policy News
Select Month October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009
Click here to see Blogroll & Resources
HEADQUARTERS 1436 U Street. NW, Suite 100 | Washington, DC 20009 | (202) 667-6982 | Contact Us
CALIFORNIA OFFICE 2201 Broadway, Suite 308 | Oakland, CA 94612 | (510) 444-0973 | Contact Us
MIDWEST OFFICE 103 E. 6th Street, Suite 201 | Ames, IA 50010 | (515) 598-2358 | Contact US
© Copyright Environmental Working Group & EWG Action Fund 2009. All rights reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home Learn Civil War Fort DeRussy
Fort DeRussy
Avoyelles Parish, LA | Mar 14, 1864
The Battle of Fort DeRussy was the first battle of the Red River Campaign, which lasted from March 10 to May 22, 1864.
How It Ended
Union Victory. The previously believed impregnatable Fort DeRussy fell to Union forces under Brig. Gen. A. J. Smith. This defeat opened up the Red River from New Orleans to Alexandria and led the Union one step closer to their target: Shreveport, the capital city of Confederate Louisiana.
The Red River campaign aimed to capture Shreveport, the capital of Confederate Louisiana, under the command of Confederate Gen. E. Kirby Smith. It was not only the headquarters for the Army of the Trans-Mississippi but also a potential gateway for a Union invasion of Confederate Texas.
Lead by Maj. Gen Nathanial P. Banks, the plan for the campaign was to bring 20,000 troops across southern Louisiana from bases in and near New Orleans to Alexandria. Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter and his fleet would enter the Red River, eliminate any Rebel forces or fortifications in its lower reaches and join Banks at Alexandria. From there, the two forces would approach Shreveport using the river roads. After the two southern forces were underway, Steele and 10,000 men, mostly cavalry, would leave Little Rock, Arkansas, cut across Rebel-held territory, and head toward Shreveport from the northeast.
However, there were two problems with the initial plan: there was no overall commanding officer for the campaign, and the plan was quite complex. In addition, Banks had alternate political and financial ambitions for this campaign. First, he hoped that a successful military campaign could give him national recognition and help him secure the Republican nomination for the 1864 presidential election. Second, the Red River was also home to numerous cotton plantations. Banks hoped to use the military advances to bring Northern cotton buyers into the region to help him procure cotton and financial capital.
Rear Admiral David D. Porter's fleet and Brig. Gen. A.J. Smith's Sixteenth and Seventeenth Corps from the Army of the Tennessee set out on March 12, 1864, up the Red River from New Orleans, the most direct route to Shreveport. The major impediment to the Union expedition along the Red River was the formidable Fort DeRussy, an earthen fortification with a partly iron-plated battery. Confederate forces built the fort in 1862 to defend the lower Red River and designed to resist Union ironclads' fire.
During the Battle
Nathaniel Banks
E. Kirby Smith
Forces Engaged
Union Brig. Gen. A.J. Smith's infantry set out on the morning of the 13th to determine if any enemy was in their path. This force dispersed an enemy brigade, after which Smith set his men in motion up the Fort DeRussy Road. Early the next morning, the 14th, they continued the march. Upon arriving at the fort, the enemy garrison of 350 men opened fire. Smith decided to use Brig. Gen. Joseph A. Mower's division to take the fort and set about positioning it for the attack. Around 6:30 pm, Smith ordered a charge on the fort, and about twenty minutes later, Mower's men scaled the parapet, forcing the garrison to surrender. Fort DeRussy, which some had said was impregnable, had fallen, and the Red River up to Alexandria was open.
0 killed
0 wounded
0 missing & captured
Porter successfully reached Alexandria after the victory at the Battle of Fort DeRussy. However, the next stage of the campaign was delayed until Banks, and his troops reached Alexandria a week and a half later. Because of the delay in Alexandria, little reconnaissance was conducted to find the best road for the soldiers to use northward. Following a local farmer's advice, Banks found himself and his troops along a narrow roadway far away from the Red River. Along this narrow roadway, the Battle of Mansfield on April 8th and the Battle of Pleasant Hills on April 9th were fought. After these two battles, the Union army was demoralized by the high cost of casualties and retreated toward Alexandria.
Meanwhile, Porter had reached the rendezvous point of Springfield along the Red River and, not willing to wait for Banks, continued moving Northward. However, shallow riverways forced Porter to retreat to Alexandria. In Arkansas, Steele had barely left Little Rock before his troops were engaged with Confederate forces at the Battle of Jenkin's Ferry. Because of this battle, his forces retreated to the protected Little Rock fortifications and never reached Louisiana.
The Red River Campaign is seen as a failure and a waste of resources. None of the Union forces deployed reached Shreveport and Louisiana remained in the hands of the Confederacy for the rest of the war.
Learn More about the Red River Campaign
1. Why did the Red River Campaign ultimately fail?
The Red River Campaign ultimately failed because of a lack of communication between Banks, Porter, and Steele. With such an elaborate campaign, an overall leading commander could have kept track of where each of the three separate forces was, ensured that proper reinforcements were available, and encouraged simultaneous attacks during critical battles. A strong overall commander could have also superseded the generals' strong-willed personalities to ensure that none of them were operating only with their best interests in mind.
2. What would a successful Red River Campaign accomplish?
If the Red River Campaign were successful, then Louisiana would have been occupied by Union forces. This occupation would allow Northern forces to utilize the crops, such as cotton, in the region to support Northern industry and the Union cause. Occupying Shreveport could have robbed the Army of the Trans-Mississippi of a headquarters and significantly weakened that army. With weakened Confederate force and control of the Red River, Union forces could have started making headway into eastern Texas. While the Union blockade attempted to stop importation and exportation out of Texas since the beginning of the war, cotton had continued to leave Texas ports, and much-needed supplies had been allowed to enter. If Union forces made headway into Eastern Texas, this trade could have been slowed or completely stopped and could have weakened Confederate forces. Weakened Confederate forces in the Western theater coupled with the weakened forces in the Eastern Theater after the Battle of Gettysburg and the Siege of Vicksburg in 1863, could have brought the war to a close slightly faster.
Fort DeRussy: Featured Resources
Civil War | Video
The Civil War Animated Map
The Red River Campaign
Civil War | Battle
Elkin's Ferry
Political Generals of the Civil War
Mansfield - First and Second Phase - April 8, 1864
Mansfield - Third Phase - April 8 1864
Fort DeRussy: Search All Resources
All battles of the Red River Campaign
Full Civil War Map
Est. Casualties: 317
Union: 48
Confederate: 269
DeSoto Parish, LA | Apr 8, 1864
Est. Casualties: 3,117
Union: 2,117
Confederate: 1,000
Prairie D'Ane
Nevada County, AR | Apr 9 - 13, 1864
Union: 100
Confederate: 50
Marksville, LA | March 14, 1864
Visit Fort DeRussy
The Fort DeRussy State Historic Site on the Red River consists of an earthen fort and water battery. Union forces captured the fort as part of the Red...
Details and Itineraries »


After simplifying billing for advertisers, Facebook is now working on the core of its business and has started restructuring and simplifying its ad offering, with the goal of making it easier for advertisers of every size to organize, optimize, and measure their ads. The new offering should be available on March 4.
Previously, the levels of advertising on Facebook were ad and campaign. But soon, Facebook will break this up into campaign, ad set, and ads.
#Facebook is reorganizing its ad offering around 3 levels: Campaigns, Ad sets and Ads.
– Campaigns correspond to each of your advertising objectives, like building brand awareness or driving web traffic. They're designed to help you optimize and measure your results for each objective across multiple ad sets and ads.
– Ad sets with their own budget and schedule are found in each campaign. You can also organize each ad set to represent audience segments, like people who live near your store, to control the amount you spend on each audience, decide when they will see your ads, and measure their response. The ad delivery system will optimize delivery for the best-performing ad in an ad set.
– Ads feature different images, links, video, or text and are found in ad sets. You can still control the creative, targeting and bidding at the ad level.
Facebook explains that with the new structure, an advertiser can start with a campaign for each objective — such as in-store sales or post engagement. Then, ad sets can be created to represent the audiences that will be reached. Lastly, ads can be created within each ad set.
All your #Facebook campaigns will be migrated automatically to the new structure on March 4.


PdfCompressor improves collaboration capabilities. E-mailing images is a common and convenient way to share paper documents. According to the Radicati Group, in 2012, there were 89 billion business e-mails sent daily. According to the Osterman Research, 29% of corporate e-mails contain attachments—which mean there were approximately 25 billion e-mail attachments sent daily in 2012.
PdfCompressor is doubly useful when e-mailing document images. First, it ensures that scanned images are in a format - PDF- that most people can open without a special viewer. Second, it ensures that you are sending and receiving the smallest file sizes possible. This reduces strain on network bandwidth, e-mail servers, and desktop e-mail applications—as well as improves user experience by improving download and file opening speeds.
Bandwidth concerns become an even bigger factor when accessing files on mobile devices. Many data plans limit customers' bandwidth usage per month. Downloading a 6 MB uncompressed JPEG image of a document is going to use up 17 times more bandwidth than downloading a 357K version of the same file after it has been run through PdfCompressor.
or less the bandwidth of uncompressed files.
A recent Nielson survey reported that in 2012, the average mobile data plan customer was utilizing twice as much data as in 20114, with indications that data usage will continue to grow. Multiple devices sharing a single corporate data plan compound concerns about bandwidth issues.
The bottom line is that no one wants to unnecessarily use up bandwidth that might be needed for other tasks later. In addition, data overages can get expensive, or become inconvenient if the data plan provider slows down transfer rates after users reach their limits. Utilizing PdfCompressor will enable your organization to create files that require 10% or less the bandwidth of uncompressed files. This could apply to service manuals, forms, reports, legal and financial documents—any type of file an employee would need, or want, to e-mail and/or access on a mobile phone or tablet.
Creating smaller files improves performance when you are sharing files through e-mail, and it becomes especially important as users migrate to using more mobile devices—with bandwidth usage on mobile plans limited and larger files using up more bandwidth.


text:
Hamler Scraper Insert
Loon Lake Tool Works
The initial batch of Hamler Scraper Inserts have all been sold. Due to the positive response, I will be making more this year. Having castings made is not a trivial process, so please be patient.
Send me an email at loonlaketoolworks@gmail.com if you would like to be added to the Wait List.
June 2021 Update: even though I have prepared wax patterns for 75 more Scraper Inserts, a backlog of work at the foundry has pushed back delivery of castings by about six months. I will keep you posted as the situation changes.
October 2021 Update: the backlog at the foundry has not improved. However, this time I was invited to submit a purchase order to secure a spot in line. Thank you, everyone, for your patience. The Hamler Scraper Insert will be back in 2022!
January 2022 Update: In a couple of weeks, I will be delivering wax patterns to the foundry for 75 scraper inserts for Bailey-style planes and for 25 scraper inserts that will fit 606 and 607 Bedrock planes! I was also told place my next order soon unless I wanted to wait another six months for castings. Contact me ASAP if you are potentially interested so I can gauge how many more should be ordered.
February 2022 Update: The wax patterns were delivered to the foundry on Friday, so now I have to patiently wait for the castings to be done. They are expected to ship out by the end of March. Once they arrive, I will begin the machining and assembly process. Those currently on the Wait List will be notified first and then the rest will be posted for sale here.
April 2022 Update: New castings have been received for the Bailey and Bedrock frog designs. Machining will begin shortly. Thanks for your patience. It won't be much longer!
November 2022 Update: My apologies to all of you who have been waiting. After dealing with supply chain issues, production of the latest batch of Hamler Scraper Inserts has commenced, albeit slowly. They will first be offered to those persons on the Wait List. Any remaining units will be posted for sale here.
The Hamler Scraper Insert is back! Last produced in 2012, this very popular tool is back in production.
Originally developed about 2005 by Paul Hamler, the scraper insert converts a jointer plane into a long-bed scraper plane, a tool that was never produced by Stanley or any of the other major plane makers. As with a jointer plane, the long-bed scraper flattens waves and undulations in the surface of the board and is the perfect tool for dealing with highly figured woods. The tool is designed to fit Stanley Bailey planes that have a 2 3/8 inch wide iron, including #4 1/2, later #5 1/2, #6, and #7.
More about Paul's development process can be found on a YouTube video at https://youtu.be/fNw_SeH0JRk.
After producing several runs of scraper inserts, Paul decided to pursue other projects and made it known that this very popular tool was available for licensing. I answered the call and made a visit to Paul's shop in Georgia. After thoroughly examining the manufacturing process and asking numerous questions, an agreement was reached to resume production of the Hamler Scraper Insert using Paul's original molds.
The only change to the design is in the material used in its construction. The original tool was cast from bronze with stainless steel thumbscrews. The new tool has a body of cast 304 stainless steel with brass thumbscrews. All other features and functionality remain the same as Paul intended.
James Mfg. Co. 3/8 Side Bead Wooden Plane -- Beautiful Boxing
Wards Master No. 3 Smoothing Plane -- Freshly Sharpened
Stanley No 278 Rabbet/Filletster Plane -- Early Model V Logo
Stanley No 81 Scraper Nickel Plated -- Sweetheart Logo
New and Refurbished Woodworking Tools
Check Out My Hand-Sharpened Saws
Copyright © 2023 Loon Lake Tool Works | Powered by Shopify


text:
Parish Newsletter April 4th 2021
1st April 2021 /by Webmaster
https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/easter-news.png 549 785 Webmaster https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo.png Webmaster2021-04-01 17:55:432022-05-23 13:13:43Parish Newsletter April 4th 2021
Parish Newsletter Mar 28th 2021
26th March 2021 /by Webmaster
https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/march-28th-2021.png 563 793 Webmaster https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo.png Webmaster2021-03-26 16:29:592022-05-23 13:13:43Parish Newsletter Mar 28th 2021
Parish Newsletter Mar 21st 2021
23rd March 2021 /by Webmaster
https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/featured-image.jpg 200 200 Webmaster https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo.png Webmaster2021-03-23 17:07:042022-05-23 13:13:43Parish Newsletter Mar 21st 2021
Easter Message and Easter Schedule (UPDATED 29TH MARCH)
PARISH OF SANDYFORD, KILTERNAN & GLENCULLEN 2021
Easter Message and Easter Schedule
On Easter Sunday the Lord came and stood among his frightened and disheartened disciples and said to them: 'Peace be with you'. He then showed them his hands and his side. Doubt no longer but believe.
This year has affected us all. We think of those who remain alone at home, those who have lost loved ones, those who are anxious, those who are working in the community, those waiting for the vaccine and those who are caring for others. We remember our young people who are preparing for exams and those who have become unemployed. We pray for healing and hope that we remain safe and well.
We are blessed in that we celebrate Easter at a time when new life is happening all around us in nature. As long as the sun comes over the hills,
and scatters the darkness and fill the world with light: As long as the fields get green again and the daisies return: As long as the trees fill up again with leaves; As long as children go out to play unmindful of the past, and untroubled by the future and lost in the present- there is hope for us in the world.
Easter is the time when we see the triumph of light over darkness and death is overcome with the Resurrection of the Lord. I pray that you may know the peace and joy of the risen Lord in your families and in your lives at this time. May the words of the risen Lord who appeared to the disciple's echo in your hearts. 'Peace be with you, do not be afraid'.
Please join us in the Celebration of the Easter Ceremonies by Webcam. You are continually being remembered in our thoughts and prayers.
Rev. John Canon Delany P.P. Fr Paul Ludden, Fr Aaron
Vinduska and Parish Pastoral Council.
Holy Thursday 1st April:
Morning Prayer 10am
The Lord's Supper 7.30pm
Good Friday 2nd April:
Children's Stations of the Cross 12 Noon
Passion of the Lord 3pm
Stations of the Cross 8pm
Holy Saturday 3rd April
Easter Vigil 9pm
4th April 9am & 11am
https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/easter-schedule2.png 556 787 Webmaster https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo.png Webmaster2021-03-23 11:30:422022-05-23 13:13:43Easter Message and Easter Schedule (UPDATED 29TH MARCH)
Unfortunately due to the ongoing restrictions, baptisms are currently not being celebrated and we are not taking any bookings for the foreseeable future until the situation is more certain.
As soon as we are able to celebrate baptisms again we will update the Parish website.
https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/featured-image.jpg 200 200 Webmaster https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo.png Webmaster2021-03-23 11:04:222022-05-23 13:13:43Baptisms
https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/featured-image.jpg 200 200 Webmaster https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo.png Webmaster2021-03-12 16:56:012022-05-23 13:13:43Parish Newsletter Mar 14th 2021
Parish Newsletter Feb 28th 2021
26th February 2021 /by Webmaster
https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/280221.png 548 797 Webmaster https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo.png Webmaster2021-02-26 15:56:222022-05-23 13:13:43Parish Newsletter Feb 28th 2021
Parish Newsletter Feb 21st 2021
https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/210221.png 540 789 Webmaster https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo.png Webmaster2021-02-19 19:57:122022-05-23 13:13:43Parish Newsletter Feb 21st 2021
Message from Archbishop Dermot Farrell to the parents of children due to receive the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation this year.
Please find below the link to a recorded message by Archbishop Dermot Farrell to the parents of children due to receive the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation this year. It expresses to them and to parish communities the broad approach which is being taken: there is no pressure to celebrate the sacraments by any given deadline; we should use this time of uncertainty to support families to nurture their children as they journey towards the sacraments whenever they can be safely celebrated; and we are creating supports and resources for parishes to draw on in their accompaniment of families.'
https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/featured-image.jpg 200 200 Webmaster https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo.png Webmaster2021-02-17 16:07:052022-05-23 13:13:43Message from Archbishop Dermot Farrell to the parents of children due to receive the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation this year.
https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/featured-image.jpg 200 200 Webmaster https://sandyfordparish.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/logo.png Webmaster2021-02-12 17:06:192022-05-23 13:13:44Parish Newsletter Feb 14th 2021
Page 11 of 16«‹910111213›»


Tropical Divers are one of the regions major inbound land tour operators and now with Tropical Dives, our Sipadan Scuba Diving package we are able to offer total adventure travel, on land and under water to Borneo.
Miri has long been known for it's exotic national parks and caves, it's under water world is now gaining attention of scuba divers ever since the untouched coral reefs were discovered in recent years.
Divers, from beginners to those who have dived all the world famous spots, have nothing but praise for the reefs around Miri. The reefs here are all patch reefs with varying depths from 7 to 30 meters with average visibility of 10 to 30 meters.
The variety of corals and other marine life on the reefs rivals the best in the region such as the Muck diving at Mabul island. Hard and soft corals cover the entire reefs. Gorgonians, sea-whips, anemones, sponges and crinoids are abundant. Reef fish like the angel fish, butterfly fish, fusiliers, groupers, stingrays, trigger fish, parrot fish, wrasses are among the numerous species that can be seen. 40 species of nudibranchs have already been sighted.
Boat diving with Tropical Dives is easy and comfortable! The dive locations have next to no current most of the time and water temperature averages 30 degree Celsius. Our PADI trained divemaster or instructor is on hand during all boat dives to ensure a safe and pleasurable diving experience.


John Lorenz. Additional photos below.
Update below: Did Colorado Springs landlord John Lorenz text a photo of pointed gun to a man living at his place -- and then use the weapon to kill him later in the day? That's among the assertions in a police report naming Lorenz, who's currently in custody on suspicion of first-degree murder. Photos and details below.
About 10:48 p.m. on Friday, January 23, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department, officers responded to an address on the 4300 block of Northridge Place after receiving a report about a shooting.
Inside the residence, they found the 38-year-old man dead.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the CSPD stated that "there is no threat to the community as a result of this incident" -- a statement frequently used by law-enforcers when they have a strong feeling who was responsible but have not yet made an arrest. And indeed, the announcement that Lorenz, 53, had been busted on a murder charge was announced a day or so later.
The Colorado Springs Gazette subsequently accessed the police report, which offers vivid details about what led to the slaying.
Another look at the crime scene.
Presumably, a beef had been brewing between the landlord and the victim, one of several people said to have been living in a house owned by Lorenz. The Gazette reports that the victim's girlfriend says her beau received a text message from Lorenz that morning. In it, Lorenz is said to have been "pointing a gun at the person taking the picture." The man shared the text with his girlfriend, adding the comment, "Look what I woke up to."
The men apparently spent much of the day arguing, and by that night, both were intoxicated, the report maintains. Lorenz subsequently confronted the victim in the living room of the home, and things got physical. The victim's girlfriend was able to temporarily put a stop to their pushing and shoving, the Gazette maintains -- but then, she told investigators, Lorenz announced that he was going to kill the man and headed to his bedroom. The victim followed, in what his girlfriend believes was an attempt to prevent him from bringing out the gun seen in the aforementioned text.
The next thing the others in the house heard was a gunshot -- after which the victim fell through Lorenz's bedroom doorway.
Lorenz is currently being held without bond.
Update: Shortly after the publication of this post, the Colorado Springs Police Department revealed the name of the victim in this case: Paul John Lattner. Our condolences to his friends, family and loved ones.
Here's a look at Lorenz's double-mug shot.


ASKED: Should my personality influence my ministry?
"Should my personality influence my ministry?" A female student recently asked this question in a discussion about counseling, but it applies to any responsibility a person might hold. Whether leading, managing, preaching, organizing, parenting, or discipling, we often wonder how our personalities should affect our Christian responsibilities. The longer we live, the more we see that … More ASKED: Should my personality influence my ministry?
7 Comments ASKED: Should my personality influence my ministry?


Ruth 1:14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
Ruth 1:22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.


Sections of the M18 motorway had to be closed for a time this morning following separate incidents.
The first incident happened at around 9.55am northbound at junction 13 (Tulla) and involved a car that burst into flames.
The driver of the Nissan Micra managed to pull her car into the hard shoulder before the fire took hold in the engine area.
There were two occupants in the car, believed to be a woman and her young son who managed to escape uninjured from the vehicle along with their dog. They also had the awareness to step behind the crash barrier, a safe distance from the burning car, until emergency services arrived.
Gardaí were first to respond to the incident followed by units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station. Additional fire service resources were sent from Shannon Town.
Traffic was diverted off the motorway away from the scene at junction 13 while motorists were not allowed access the motorway from the Tulla Road roundabout.
Traffic Infrastructure Ireland (TII) personnel also attended the incident and the motorway was reopened once the vehicle had been recovered from the scene and the area made safe again.
A short time later, emergency services were called to another incident on the motorway.
A truck had shed part of its load of topsoil which blocked part of the route southbound at Carrigoran near Newmarket on Fergus. Units of the fire brigade from Ennis and Shannon attended the scene along with Gardaí and TII motorway maintenance crews.
Traffic was diverted away from the area while machinery was brought in to clear the motorway. The route was reopened about an hour later.


text:
Ticket Packs
Group Ticket Sales
Season Ticket Holders
Broadcast Team
Off the Ball
Forward/Center Blog
Oregon Wildfire Relief
Ambassadors & Alumni
Rip City United
Rip City Magazine
BlazerDancers
Rip City Two
Stunt Team
Anthem Submissions
Trail Blazers Sign Forward Al-Farouq Aminu
Free agent small forward signs with Portland
The Portland Trail Blazers have signed free agent forward Al-Farouq Aminu, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey.
Aminu, 24, holds averages of 6.4 points (43.7% FG, 28.6% 3-PT, 72.6% FT), 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.96 steals in five seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans and Dallas.
"Farouq's energy, athleticism and developing skillset will have a significant impact on our roster," said Olshey. "His versatility on the defensive end is unique and will translate immediately. His ceiling as a player is very high and his best days as a player are still ahead of him."
Playing for Dallas last season, Aminu posted averages of 11.2 points (54.8% FG, 63.6% 3-PT, 78.9% FT), 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 2.00 steals and 1.60 blocked shots in five games (two starts) vs. Houston in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Originally selected by the Clippers with the eighth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft out of Wake Forest, the Atlanta native competed for Nigeria at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Aminu (6-9, 215) will wear No. 8 for the Trail Blazers.
Carmelo Anthony: "We gotta adapt, that is all we can do is adapt"
PHOTOS » Trail Blazers practice after games postponed
Memphis at Portland Games Postponed
Two-Game Series Versus Grizzlies Starts Wednesday
McCollum Takes Injury In Stride Even As Timeline Changes
CJ McCollum: "In the meantime, I'll just enjoy what comes with this life"
Starting Five Newsletter
Dr. Jack's


Reach over a million quality candidates per month.
Search CVs and directly contact high quality candidates who are waiting to hear from you.
Fully-responsive and tailored to you, a profile page gives you a dedicated space to showcase your organisation, aimed at active jobseekers and potential candidates.
Reach Guardian readers in print every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Explore the benefits of extending your reach across theguardian.com and beyond, as well as our cost effective packages.
Optimised by response, promote your recruitment message or vacancies efficiently and at scale.
Using our Audience Match data to further extend your reach across other trusted websites programmatically.
Acts like a digital headhunter and delivers five times the performance of a Guardian job ad.
As the most trusted news brand in the UK, there is no better platform to bring to life what makes you special as an employer.
Own a topic of conversation by becoming the sole sponsor of agreed content on the Guardian.
A piece of short-form content. 'Online advertorial' are hosted on theguardian.com for three months.
Support the Guardian's audience insight department to run a piece of research on a topic of your choice.


Are you excited about the new iPad? Awesometacular.
Wow, I love it! You are so talented!
Too cool. You could do a whole tech-themed series. I loved seeing the little Finder Face!
You are phenomenal! This is so geeky/cute and I adore it!
I really love the work that you have been doing as of late, so thank you so much for everything that you have been sharing with us.