cj Sez: One hundred years ago today, on the eleventh hour of
the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the “war to end all wars” officially
came to an end.
Today Veterans Day, also called Poppy Day, commemorates the
centennial of the end of WWI while honoring the sacrifices of all who lost
their lives in wars.
For those unfamiliar with Poppy Day, this memo from the American Legion explains:
“Even in the darkest of times, flowers still find their way to the surface to bloom. Poppy seeds can lay fallow for years, yet bloom brilliantly when the soil is disturbed or when the soil is freshly dug. After the battles were fought in World War I, the blood red poppy flourished in France and Belgium when battlefields became burial grounds. The red flowers suddenly bloomed among the newly dug gravesites of fallen service members, turning the new graveyards into fields of red.
"Surviving soldiers came to see the poppy as more than a flower—–it became a symbol of their sacrifice; a tribute to the price of freedom. Although all WWI veterans have since passed, 100 years later, the poppy has become a universal display of the sacrifices made by Americans and allied service members around the world.”https://www.alaforveterans.org/National-Poppy-Day-Honors-Veterans-Sacrifice-for-Freedom/
//
I thank God for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for my soul,
and I thank the thousands of service people and their families for their
sacrifices which ensured the singularly rare freedoms that I, as an American,
enjoy.
//
Books are always great suggestions for gifts.
BSP:
I have stories in several anthologies with Christmas as the theme. Here are two
to put on your shopping list:
Hometown Heroes, A Christmas Anthology
Pre-Order available now. https://amzn.to/2PkI4Tb
It’s a multi-purpose book: Entertaining contemporary romance short stories for you or as gifts for your friends, and the proceeds will benefit the Cajun Navy.
(My story is titled “Hobbes House Noel.” Blurb: This would be the year Merrill Cowper learns that the best Christmas gifts don't always arrive wrapped in pretty paper and tied with a bow. Sometimes they don't even fit under the Christmas tree.)
Christmas Through a
Child’s Eyes
This book has 70 short memoirs written by adults recounting
their extraordinary childhood Christmas memories.
My story, written under my maiden name of Marilyn Olsein, is
titled “Dancing with Daddy,” and relates how six-year-old me reconnected with
my Swedish father after a major upheaval in our lives.
The anthology is still available on Kindle.
That’s it for this post. You all guys keep on keeping on,
and I’ll try to do the same.
cj
A few more Christmas
gift ideas:
Choosing Carter https://amzn.to/2CJxs8Z
Deadly Star https://amzn.to/2O8NFGZ
The Posse, a Western
anthology https://amzn.to/2EKUA9B
Pieces, a Mobile
Writers Guild Anthology https://amzn.to/2Dk84Yr
GIVEAWAY CHALLENGE . . .
If you’ve read any of my works, let me know you left a
review at Goodreads, Amazon, wherever—good, bad, or simply “I read it.”—and
I’ll put your name in the raffle hat to thank you. It doesn’t have to be a new
review. The random name I draw on December 6 will receive a nice gift bag of
goodies. I’ll post the winner’s name on my Facebook page, so be sure to stop
by.
Qrtly newsletter sign-up:
cjpetterson@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your turn! Got a question or comment? The author would love to hear it. (Comments are moderated to reflect the Lyrical Pens brand, so please keep it clean, else it gets dumped into that little chamber pot in the sky.)