Category Archives: bedtime stories

Launches and Marketing Hoops

I feel like my brain has been doing gymnastics. I am preparing for a couple of launches for Mother Nature’s Kiss and the panic is setting in with the hope that all will come together in time. So many moving parts are keeping me up at night. I know I’ll just (hopefully) relax and have fun when I finally share my new book with you!

Today, I created a freestanding banner and bookmarks from Vistaprint. Boy, that service is amazing! They are right there, at the end of the phone, with excellent customer service if you need it, and I am always pleasantly surprised by their great products.

If you have ever used them, you will know how many products they have available. It’s hard to stop when there are puzzles, tote bags, pillows, shirts, lip gloss – really??? – that you can have printed with your design.

Oh, the lipgloss was a hard one to pass up… Mother Nature’s Kiss – a natural, right?

Well, I resisted. I’ll make some sales and then…

I have been working with two major venues for my launches: McNally Robinson in Winnipeg, and FireRock Golf and Country Club in Fountain Hills, AZ. They are both so wonderful to deal with. I will be in the Travel Alcove (fitting, since the story is about a journey) at McNally Robinson and on the event lawn (complete with hanging twinkle lights and star cookies!) at FireRock.

I am blessed with a treasure of dear friends at both locations and can’t wait to share my book with you.

So mark your calendars!

April 2nd at 7:30, I’ll be in Winnipeg at McNally Robinson. https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/event-17137/Lisa-G.-Shore—-Book-Launch/#.XH3V3VNKjOQ

May 1st at 7:00, I’ll be at FireRock CC.

I’m thinking of reading the book to music. Tracey Chattaway has a piece called Light the Night from her Nightsky album that is enchanting and I hope to figure out the timing so that I will be able to have her accompany me. Please check out her amazing music here. https://traceychattaway.bandcamp.com/album/nightsky

The book was ready to go in October but I had a couple of changes made, including a wonderful quote from a review. Now I hope the new books will reach me in time! That’s what is really keeping me up! As it is a story about a warm, starry night, I thought it would be fitting to hold the launches in the Spring when thoughts are turning to warmer weather.

Readers’ Favourite has awarded me 5 Stars and has overwhelmed me with a great review. I am so humbled by a complete stranger who loved my book and raved about it. I am so excited to have the 5 Star seal printed on the cover and an excerpt from the review printed inside! I was so frustrated when it was taking so long to do a couple of simple changes. When the review came in a couple of weeks ago, I thought I’d have the publisher add the excerpt and the 5 Star seal since they were fussing with it anyway. Everything happens for a reason! 🙂

You can read the review here. https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/mother-natures-kiss

Well, that’s about it for now. I have to get this tired brain to bed. Working on the launches has felt like launching through hoops but it is always fun.

I hope you will consider joining me at one of my events. I would love to see you there. Please bring your family and friends. This is all about a common love for a warm summer night and a sky full of stars.

“Inspired by true events, this dreamy bedtime story will change how we look at the summer night sky forever. Whisking us into the heart of the universe, the curious twinkle light unites us all with a wink and a kiss.”

Sweet dreams, dear ones.

With a Kiss…

-Mother Natures Kiss Cover

 

Well, Friends, my new book, Mother Nature’s Kiss has hit the ether! That means you can order it online and if you do it today it will arrive by mid-December.

It is a rhyming, dreamy drift from a cottage window, out over the water and into outer space and back again. This unique bedtime story will hopefully become a new family favourite.

As the back cover says, it “… will unite us all with a wink and a kiss.”

-Mother Natures Kiss Back

Over the spring and summer, I have worked with my publisher, Tellwell Talent to bring this new book into the world. Yes, it took about nine months ;). It is finally ready and I can’t wait to share it with you.

I have blogged about the journey with previews of a few of the illustrations. You can see how long it takes to create a physical book from an idea! This was actually fast! 🙂

I have dedicated the book to my grandchildren.ded

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As I said in the book, they are my heroes and the leaders of tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you who have championed me along the way. You will find many of your names on my Acknowledgements page. (If I have forgotten anyone, I am sincerely sorry.) I feel like this book has a community already. Please spread the word to make the Mother Nature’s Kiss community bigger!

Order one for you wee ones in time for Christmas! Click HERE to go to Amazon.

Enjoy, enjoy!

With gratitude and lots of Mother Nature love to all! xoxo

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Hold Onto Summer!!

I don’t know about you, but it feels like we never had much of an autumn. All of a sudden, snowflakes were flying! As Thanksgiving approaches, I would love to share the feelings, the love and the memories of summer.

Remember those soft, warm nights with a sky filled with stars? Or the touch of a silky evening wind on your face? How about the dazzling blinking of a firefly or the sparks from a bonfire? How many new friends did you meet? Were you ever lulled to sleep on a boat? Weren’t the sunsets amazing, and those Northern lights? How many times have we looked up to the night sky and marveled at the depth and beauty of the universe?

Well, Friends, my new book which is a bedtime story, Mother Nature’s Kiss, has all that and more! As our summer of 2018 closes, we can still grab those special moments. This book is for anyone who loves to look out onto a body of water and dream. The relaxation of letting your mind drift as you look out – no matter where I am – it is my happy place.

I wrote and illustrated Mother Nature’s Kiss with little ones in mind. It is a bedtime story that gently guides your imagination across a lake and into the possibilities of a twinkling night sky. We meet a firefly, a sleepy family on a boat, campfire kids, new friends, a lonely alien, a fanciful angel and, finally, Mother Nature! We feel the breath of a warm evening wind, silky across our cheek and the wisp of the magic of a good bedtime story.

Hold onto summer, with all the charm and memories of a warm, starlit evening. I invite you to a sneak peek at the images in Mother Nature’s Kiss.

 

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Coming soon to Amazon and a bookstore near you!

Warm wishes for a lovely Thanksgiving. xoxo

Star-Gazing

“Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. Wish I may wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight.”

How many of us have looked up and allowed a star to touch our dreams? Or maybe launch them? As children, we would look up and chant at the brightest early evening star, holding onto a sacred wish deep in our hearts.

For my part I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

  download-5Vincent Van Gogh

There wouldn’t be a sky full of stars if we were all meant to wish on the same one.

 images-2 Frances Clark

The stars call to all of us, not just the artistically gifted such as Vincent and Frances. They are there, day (you just can’t see them) and night, and they touch each and every one of us who live on this planet, uniting the world with a sense of wonder.

Imagine… If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare.

images Ralph Waldo Emerson

They inspire us to live a better life, be a better person and to challenge ourselves to make a mark. With all that inspiration, they succeed in making us feel humble and very small.

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I’ve loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.     

Galileo Galilei

 

The power of stars is amazing. Just by looking at them, we are filled with a sense of awe. How many time in our life have we looked up and taken a deep breath, stopped what we were doing and breathed out, “Wow.” Some believe the stars have a healing power. I don’t know but I can say that one of my favourite things to do is sit and look out on a starry night and let my mind drift. It is so calming, it must be healthy for me!! 🙂

I have loved painting the stars for my latest book, Mother Nature’s Kiss. I was inspired by the circles in Vincent Van Gogh”s Starry Night, above. I wanted them to be loose and fun so I thought I’d share how I create a night sky.

 

While I am painting I listen to my favourite starry music:

So Long Lonesome, Explosions in the Sky play it here , Light the Night, Tracey Chattaway listen here and Glow, Lights and Motion yes, you’ll love it!

My dreamy music takes me away and lets me create, feel relaxed and happy as I paint and play as I go.

This was just a fun post to share and say hi. I hope you are having a great day and I wish for you a beautiful night. Check out the stars!

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xox

 

Mother Nature’s Kiss

An Interesting twinkle light has caught my sleepy eye tonight…

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I am working on a new book about falling asleep at the cottage on a warm summer night. It is going to be called Mother Nature’s Kiss and is based on a true event. One night, many years ago, I lay awake at my cottage trying to figure out what was the cause for a bright light that beckoned from way down the lake. I was sure it was never there before. The words for a poem came to me and stayed and then beckoned me to write this dreamy book.

I am using the view in the story based on the view from my cottage and I have to say, it’s pretty fun and special to be painting that beloved landscape again and again as the story progresses.

My Mom painted the painting on the right 55 years ago and it hangs in my bedroom. Looking out has always been calming and beautiful in any weather, any season and now in my memory.

The story goes on to wonder, through each verse, what the light could be and the musings get farther and farther away…

More souls in the universe and one turns to the sky…

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…Until we realize that it is…

Mother Nature winking as she blows a kiss good night…

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The process of designing a new book is always much harder for me than actually writing it. This poem has been with me for a long time and now I have to go through the process of working with a publisher and the parameters of creating the layouts and illustrations. All a fun and exciting creative challenge!

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And it can get messy at times!! 🙂

 

 

 

This poem was called Night Light until I added two more verses that described how Mother Nature’s kiss felt as well as how it looked. I shared it on Scriggler and was amazed at the positive response. To date, 2087 people have read it and loved it (with 100% approval rating!)

I will let you know when Mother Nature’s Kiss is published. Until then, enjoy the view of your life. xox

A Peek at a Night Light

I wrote a bedtime story years ago after I was kept up one night by a bright light in the distance through my window at the lake. It was one of those times when a poem came to me and wouldn’t let go. I actually made it up as I was trying to fall asleep and, miraculously, it was still with me the next day. My family drove the two hours home from a busy weekend and as I tried to fall asleep again that Sunday night, I finally got up and wrote it down in one hour flat. Done.

It was a sleepy tale that drew you from your warm bed far and farther away into the universe and ended with a sweet surprise. Although I loved it, I tucked it into the back of my mind where it collected dust for years.

Recently, I ran across a website for writers, Scriggler,  that was calling for submissions – chapters, poetry, short stories – whatever. On a whim, I sent in Night Light and was amazed at the response I got!

Over 390 people read it within hours of me posting it and then many shared and tweeted it out to the world! Social media can be astounding! Thank you to all who felt touched enough to finally do what I never did.

I’d love to share it through Scriggler with you now.

Night Light Lake view

How Odin Saved the WORLD

 

how odin saved the world cover

This is a happy story about my grandson who may not save the world one day (or maybe he will…) but, when he was born, he pushed my heart into that place of expanded love that only a grandparent can know. He saved my world by filling it with love beyond.

It is the story of passing on goodness. How appropriate that I can pass it on for free?

http://www.blurb.com/ebooks/555842-how-odin-saved-the-world

Throughout my publishing journey, there have been many lessons. One of them being that it is very hard to determine a reasonable price for your book once you have gone through all the hoops of actually doing the work and getting it published. I never promoted this book because I couldn’t expect someone to buy it through Blurb or Amazon at the ridiculous price they posted for it.

So, please don’t buy it! Just have a fun look on your tablet, computer or smartphone – and pass the goodness on! 🙂