Brew Creativity: Awaken Your Dream!

A book launch is an exciting event, but it can also be overwhelming. As authors, we hope everyone who hears about our book will purchase it (after all, e-books are less than a cup of coffee), read it, love it, write a kind review, share it, talk it up, and even re-read it. One can’t do this with a cup of coffee!

If you are an author or creative artist, you can relate to this sentiment. Most importantly, you appreciate the desire to create something valuable, impactful, and inspiring. Therefore, marketing can feel unfamiliar and downright uncomfortable for many of us.

We aim to offer hope, a touch of kindness, and guidance based on our experiences and/or education, rather than focus on sales.

While writing Country Perks and Grit, I wanted to leave a lasting family legacy, and offer hope to others that they too can step out of their comfort zones in pursuit of their dreams. It doesn’t have to be a country lifestyle or growing and preserving your own vegetables. Maybe you want to be a nurse, live in a tiny house by the ocean, pass an exam, or write a song.

When we take action on something we’re meant to do, we find purpose.

Achieving your dreams isn’t a simple task. It requires dedication and perseverance. By diligently applying oneself and staying true to the path that God has laid out, a realm of incredible opportunities and unexpected surprises will unfold before you. Here are two that surprised me:

Country Perks and Grit ranked

#1 New Release and #1 Best Seller!

It received five 5-star reviews within five days of release!

After filling your cup with freshly brewed coffee, take the first step towards achieving your dream. If you need a little encouragement, pick up your copies today. Glean useful tips from Country Perks and Grit to help motivate your own path into reality.

Do you have a dream you’d like to share? If so, I’d love to cheer you on.

Did you know Country Perks and Grit is now available in paperback?

It’s Finally Here!

Featured | Posted by Dianne Marie Andre

Country Perks and Grit is now available!

If you’re one of the many who preordered, look for it on your Kindle. The paperback version will be released soon.

I’m in ahh that so many of you supported me during the preorder. Because of you, my book remains on Amazon’s Best Seller List!

You’re incredible!

If you haven’t purchased it yet, you can do so here.

Country Perks and Grit is a true story, containing 33 chapters detailing the journey of embracing a personal dream (some scary, some funny) and a new lifestyle. Here are a few of them I think will interest you.

Big Mistake
Night Howl
Runaway Bull
The Great Race
Birth of a Rancher
One Thousand Trees

This book also includes insights and practical tips for those who dream of a change. No matter what your dream is, Country Perks and Grit offers something for everyone! On Facebook one follower commented:

“I ordered a Kindle just so I can read this!”

Thank you, everyone for making this an exceptional day!

HAPPY READING!

It’s Almost Here!

Featured | Posted by Dianne Marie Andre

Only 5 days before March 1, when COUNTRY PERKS AND GRIT is released! And guess what? It’s still on Amazon’s Best Seller list! A BIG THANK YOU to those who made this possible!

You’re amazing!

Are you getting excited? I sure am. I’m also a little nervous because I so want you to enjoy my story, but most importantly, I hope you gain something meaningful and uplifting.

If you haven’t purchased your copy yet, get it now! It won’t remain 99 cents much longer!

EXCITING NEWS!

Featured | Posted by Dianne Marie Andre

COUNTRY PERKS AND GRIT quickly became an Amazon #1 Best Seller and #1 New Release! This is a true story about realizing a dream, then living it. You can read the full blub here.

Only 10 days left until release day! Get your e-book now at a discounted price by pre-ordering today!(Always confirm price before buying.)

Join the Inner Circle: Book Launch Team Invitation

Featured | Posted by Dianne Marie Andre

I am thrilled to announce that my most cherished book, Country Perks and Grit, is almost here! This is a personal account in pursuing a dream to relocate and establish a life in the countryside, and the man who planted over one thousand trees. That would be my husband!

Country Perks and Grit will inspire you to live your dream too, no matter where that is!

I’d love for you to join me in sharing our journey.

There are a few spots available on my private Facebook, Book Launch Team. If this sounds like a book you’d love, and would like to support me, click the link below for more details. But first, here are the advantages you can gain as a valued member.

By joining, you will not only experience the joy that comes with helping an author, but also inspire others to read.

You will meet new team members, some of whom may even become lifelong friends.

Serving on a private book launch team also allows you to interact directly with the author and witness the results of the team’s collective efforts.

It only requires a few minutes of your time, yet the impact you make will leave you feeling great.

By participating, you play a crucial role in getting a book into the hands of readers.

By helping to launch a book, you become an integral part of the author’s dream, boost their confidence, and validate their hard work and dedication.

As an essential part of the launch, your contribution ensures that the author’s dream becomes a reality.

I hope you will join us. Here’s the link to sign up for my private FB Book Launch Team. We are a small, but impressive, friendly group.

https://diannemarieandre.com/dianne-marie-andres-street…

What’s cooking in your kitchen that brings a lesson or two?

Featured | Posted by Dianne Marie Andre

The tomato vine grew taller and fuller. Tiny yellow blossoms developed. Then, little green globes dangled securely from lean branches. Seeing such a delightful yield in my garden reminded me of the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, and the first time I had prepared this iconic side dish.

The cookbook I received as a wedding gift didn’t have recipes for fried green tomatoes. The novel and the movie came out long after I had married. But somehow, I heard about this intriguing side dish. So, I fried up a delicious batch for my groom who thought his bride had lost her mind. . .until he tasted them.

Then, one evening, I did something even stranger. I served waffles for dinner. . .most likely because I forgot to thaw out beef or poultry.

The idea of eating breakfast at dinnertime felt improper to his rigid upbringing. His tone and shocked expression spoiled my proud moment. Seeing my wounded face, he did what all husbands (eventually) learn and said, “thank you dear.”

Over time my groom adapted to new traditions and foods…including burnt meals.

When responses aren’t what we expect, it’s okay to feel hurt.

We have a Healer of the heart, body, mind, and soul.

When practices flip-flop, it’s okay to feel unsure.

We have the One who reassures us that change can be good.

When relationships are hard, it’s okay to feel disappointed.

We have the One who doesn’t disappoint, who lifts our spirits with sweet assurance.

In my upcoming novel, Molly and Ted are learning about these truths. Their struggles are much deeper and more complex than a new recipe or altered traditions.

They try to find God’s grace while deception thwarts a dream and a dream prevents a proposal. This isn’t easy for Molly or Ted.

Life isn’t easy for anyone.

We’re too busy with self-focus or stuck via outside influences to move forward.

Although you’ll have to wait for the unfolding of Molly and Ted’s struggles, YOU can ask God right now to heal a hurt, to help you accept change.—

He’ll never fail you.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ⁶In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)

Hello friends! Welcome to where I live

Featured | Posted by Dianne Marie Andre

This week’s Welcome to My World challenge is to Give one word that best describes where you live.

E d e n:

Rolling hills, grand oaks, and wide open space filled my heart beyond its capacity. The depth of God’s exquisite taste to create beauty, peace, and bounty lay before us. I thought it to be a bit like the Garden of Eden.

My husband and I viewed the country real estate beneath a deep blue sky and a bright winter sun. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to purchase the land. A few months later we moved onto the property where we’ve lived for nearly thirty years.

In the evenings, the stars and a moon are visible. Coyotes and owls call out mysterious legends. On rare occasions deer pass through. A distant moo reminds me of my grandparents’ dairy and the song, Home on the Range, I learned to sing as a child.

Written by Kansas homesteader Dr. Brewster Higley in the 1800s first as a poem, its original title was My Western Home. The verses which you can read here—reveal Higley’s deep affection for nature and where he lived.

In my memoir’s WIP (work in progress) I express this same love for my country home.

But you don’t have to be a country dweller or live on a range to be content. You just need to love home.

You just need to love home.
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Since the pandemic, people, worldwide, have spent a lot of time at home. We’ve learned much about our spaces, our family members, ourselves, and time. How we spend it homeschooling, exercising, ordering necessities on line, Zooming with co-workers, doctors, elderly parents, and grandchildren.

We’ve had to be creative, seek support, take a deep breath and pray for a miracle to help us get through these strained and trying days.

Psalms 91:1-2 (ASV) reassures us that, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in whom I trust.”

He is my refuge and my fortress.
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I’ve said these words many times to the Lord. Only then can I block out pandemic depression, cabin fever, loneness from lack of human contact, or fear of COVID attacking my family and friends.

There are so many reasons to feel anger, hopeless, or out of control even when there isn’t a pandemic.

I’ve lived in a 10×50-foot mobile home in an almond orchard, a triplex with a yard half the length and just as narrow as a bowling lane, a three-room rental infested with mice, and a fifth-wheel camper.

There are also reasons to resist feelings of anger, hopelessness, and lack of control.

There are also reasons to resist feelings of anger, hopelessness, and lack of control.
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The mobile home where I lived had plenty of shade on hot summer days. I got acquainted and chatted with a neighbor my age over the fence in our tiny triplex yard. The infested rental had a working kitchen, shower, and a kitchen-living space large enough to gather with friends. The fifth-wheel provided shelter while my husband built our house among the rolling hills.

This is where we experienced our first encounter with a serpent. But unlike Adam, my husband protected me and our young sons. Who says we can’t learn from the Bible?

Who says we can’t learn from the Bible?
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There have been, and continue to be, deep satisfaction and contentment where I live among rolling hills, grand oaks, and wide open space. After all, in my mind, it’s a bit like the Garden of Eden.

What word or phrase describes where you live?

How do you overcome negative symptoms of the pandemic?

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The Books We Read

Featured | Posted by Dianne Marie Andre

This week’s Welcome to My World blog challenge question is what new thing have you learned this last week?

I learned that crushed eggshells DON’T stop snails.

But this post isn’t about snails or eggshells or my half-eaten sprouts. It’s about…well, I’m guessing you read the title.

I admit to researching—strictly from curiosity—books about my garden foe. There are lots of children’s books with fictional snail characters. But only a few snail books appeared in the adult nonfiction category with titles like, the world of snails and snail farming.

Regardless of age or topic, fiction and nonfiction can entertain and be educational.

My preference is nonfiction. In fact, my interest in real-life accounts began with slick magazines.

Their charming essays, striking captions, and feature stories drew me to the many creative lifestyles and elegant words.

When my monthly issue of Victoria arrived in the mail, I’d plop onto the sofa, recline with my knees pulled up, and then rest the magazine against my legs. I’d turn to the last page, delight in the writer’s childhood memories of summers on the lake, Sundays after church, that last remaining china cup filled with tea, and more.

The essays so inspirited me I wanted to write my own. This is how God began a work in me to become a writer.

I didn’t know at the time that reading essays in Country Living and Victoria magazines was part of God’s plan for my life. I simply enjoyed the lovely stories. It was through these narratives that I related to the musings of Bo Niles. Some of my favorite lines written by her include:

“While I work, tall grasses whisper to me. I listen to them, and feel good.”
Country Living October 1995

“That is the best thing about traditions. They grow to embrace other traditions, like a tree with many branches.”
Country Living December 1995

“We cannot let the sense of wonder wither and die in our children. It is the key to our humanity.”
Country Living July 1997

At bookstores, I browse the nonfiction section first. I love books about people who accomplished a dream. Who beat the odds and established a hopeful path for others. Who learned to trust God with their careers, hobbies, or personal growth.

I also look through the fiction books offered on display tables. For me, fiction is about the author’s creativity, skill, and compelling characters I love or love to hate. (The latter group sure stirs us up, doesn’t it?) Fiction allows me to get lost in the writer’s make-believe mind and experience extraordinary plots. I can go through a time machine, be a detective, visit fairy lands and make-believe worlds.

At home, I keep my fiction and nonfiction print books on different shelves. They are almost equal in number. But nonfiction wins. On my Nook and Kindle, fiction wins.