https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-3tjbt-105d0ee
Come sail the high seas with Captains of Literary Wonderment!
Have you ever been hiked out on the high side, your boat at a 30-degree heel, wind filling your spinnaker, spray hitting your face as you scream across the water at 20 knots? Well, if you have, you’ll understand the excitement this Virtual Book Festival will bring. If you haven’t, throw caution to the wind, and join us for the Summer Reading Regatta!
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-znmwx-1055dc2
By Emma Palova
Ludington, MI- Author Joan H. Young is no stranger to walking. Young was the first woman to complete the 4,600-mile- long hike on the North Country Trail in 2010.
But this was the first time, Young has walked with a mission to provide water for Third World countries, a global effort spearheaded by World Vision. Young walked a total of 21 miles on May 22 in the Global 6K for Water.
Here is a Q&A interview with Young.
Q: How long have you been walking for water?
A: This is the first time I have done this.
Q: Why? What is your primary motivation?
A: Back in 1986, when I decided I wanted to go to grad school, in the sciences, I did a lot of reading and predicted that water was going to be the global crisis of the 21st century. So, I decided to study some field related to clean water. I ended up not using that degree, but I learned a lot and still believe that providing clean water to the world needs to have a higher priority.
Q: A little bit about Fatima: Where does she live and how bad is the water situation?
A: She was assigned to me. Each participant is paired with a child to give a face to our fundraising. She lives in Ethiopia where about 26 million people lack access to clean water. One organization claims that 7.5 percent of the globalwater crisis is inEthiopia alone. In addition to a lack of clean water, there is a lack of basic sanitation facilities. The result, not surprisingly, is a huge number of deaths from water-borne illnesses. So many children die that the world has become numb and is no longer outraged. World Vision bores deep wells, and the pumps are either hand powered or solar powered, so villages do not have to depend on unreliable or unavailable electricity.
Q: How much money has been raised and how much have you raised?
A: I know World Vision hoped to raise $2 million this year. I raised $1495, and was in the top 100 individual fundraisers, but I know some of the very top people raised over $5000. I think they are still taking contributions, so the totals have not yet been released. Donations are still being accepted as of June 1, 2021.
Q: What have you learned about yourself and others on your walks?
A: The distance proposed for most walkers by World Vision was 6K, about 4 miles. This distance was chosen because it is the average distance people in countries with inadequate clean water must walk every day to collect dirty water for cooking and drinking. I chose to walk more, as a challenge, thinking it might attract people to donate. Perhaps that was a factor. I was really pleased that so many people stepped up to donate. I was able to raise much more money than I ever could have given on my own.
World Vision estimates that it averages out to about $50 to provide clean water to one person. So that means I was able to help 27 people gain access to clean water. I like the way that feels.
Q: How do your walks project into your books?
A: So far, not at all, since this was my first one.
Q: What are your future plans for walking?
A: Walking is like breathing. I just do it. We’ll see if I sign up for another fundraiser in the future.
About Joan H. Young
Author of the Anastasia Raven cozy mysteries, Dubois Files children’s mysteries, books about hiking, and more
check it out at booksleavingfootprints.com
adventurer – writer – speaker
More than 27,000 people in 18 countries joined Global 6k for Water on May 22. 2021.
Copyright (c) 2021. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
It was a solemn ceremony honoring the veterans who have passed since last Memorial Day at the Oakwood Cemetery in Lowell on Monday.
Even though, there was no music by any of the Lowell Area Schools bands or a parade, the small gathering was complete with a rifle salute at the Civil War Memorial.
Chaplain Glen Marks said the blessings and the prayers for the departed veterans.
After reading the names of the deceased veterans to the ring of the bell, the participants listened to the haunting sound of TAPS.
Seven hundred graves were marked with American flags.
Copyright (c) 2021. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-gwip8-104cc7a
Verges tackles the serious issues of menopause and beyond with a light heart in her collection of stories and essays “Menopause Ain’t No Joke.”
She turned her blog posts into a book in three months with stories ranging from aboard an airplane to a dentist’s office.
Verges lives by the motto “A laugh a day, keeps stress at bay” and keeps a hoola hoop in her office.
“I wish I had written more essays,” she said.
Once, she found mouse poop in her car while reaching for a treat.
“There was no shingle on my hood that said, ‘Welcome, we’ll leave the light on for you.”
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-jsdye-104cc35
Award-winning author Mark Bello puts us in the front-row seat watching victims like Hayley Larson fight for justice in his latest thriller- Supreme Betrayal in the Zachary Blake Legal Thrillers series.
Inspired by the headlines, Bello masterfully weaves real with fiction as he tells the story from alternating points of view.
Can Hayley prevent a sexual predator from being elevated to the highest court in the land?
But nothing will stop President’s nominee Oliver Wilkinson from fighting for the coveted seat on the Supreme Court.
Only Hayley stands in his way.
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-8t5dj-10422cb
From the first spark of electricity to the RNA-based COVID vaccine, authors Gene and Marion take us on a journey through time over the last 100 years of the evolution of technology in their book “Shift Happens: Essays on Technology.”
“Major changes in technology in the past 100 years have drastically shifted our perceptions of who we are and how we live.”
Gene Wilburn
The authors and their books.
By Emma Palova
Listen in to the podcast “For the love of books,” download and share the episodes. The insights from the Indie authors are incredible, beyond trade journals.
Each author represents a unique individuality in what some call “a mass book production market.” There may be one million ISBNs issued annually, but each book and author are distinctively different in how they approach the writing business and writing itself.
It’s like there is a piece of the author in each one of his or her books; it may be in the character, in the setting, in the plot or in the point of view. POV.
One of my favorite questions is: “Where do you see the future of Indie publishing?”
The overall response is that it will continue to grow.
“We have physical books, ebooks, audiobooks, virtual book events. Maybe virtual reality books are next?”
Ingar Rudholm
“And how will the Indie authors be remembered?”
“We’re the trailblazers.”
Joan H. Young
Coming up in this week’s podcasts are authors Marianne Wieland, A. Kidd and Colleen Nye. They are pictured in the gallery above.
Nye is an author with multiple pen names and an overactive imagination.
A. Kidd calls herself a kid at heart with a youthful exuberance, A. Kidd writes books for children full of magic and wonder in the hopes that they will have the courage to live their own stories and possibly even be inspired to write stories of their own.
Wieland is the author of 10 books.
Nothing is ever as it seems on the surface. Expect the unexpected. Is it real, fiction or a combination? You decide. Go ahead. I dare you!
I just had my 10th book released a few days ago.
Marianne Wieland
Follow the podcast on:
https://emmapalova123.podbean.com/
Copyright (c)2021. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
It’s my birthday and Mother’s Day at the same time.
This coincidence with another holiday has been a part of my life, no matter where I lived.
Back in the old country of Czechoslovakia, my birthday coincided with the Czech Independence Day. We’ve always had it off as a national holiday.
Later, the new Czech regime changed the holiday to May 8, when the American troops freed the town of Pilsner from the Nazi occupation. But the capital Prague was freed by the Soviet troops on May 9 which ended World War II. You can’t change history.
I love the dichotomy that the country kept the old socialist holidays like the International Women’s Day and added Western holidays like Mother’s Day.
My mom always says that the entire country breaks into blossoms to celebrate.
I love May because of the awakening of nature after the long winter.
I always get orchids for my birthday as they are my favorite flowers. I have a pretty decent collection of phalaenopsis orchids known as moth orchids.
This year I am so grateful for the vaccine and for the good news from our son. We’ve had one dose of Moderna vaccine already, and we’re gearing up for the second one.
Happy Mother’s Day
I am feeling blessed to be a mother and privileged to be doing what I love the most: writing.
I am looking forward to this selling season as the country opens up. I am excited about my new podcast show “For the love of books” featuring Indie authors. Become a guest or a sponsor.
Thank you for all the birthday wishes and blessings.
Copyright (c) 2021. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Lowell, MI – I am still fascinated with the Czech name days. The Czech calendar attributes a name to each day year round. This originates in the saints’ names, and it was later expanded as the secular selection of names grew.
I’ve always wondered why the greeting card making companies like Hallmark never used this name opportunity to expand their portfolio. Now, they have their TV channel, so as the French say; It’s passe compose.
The Czechs and many other European countries kept this age-old tradition of celebrating name days on certain dates of the year. For example today-April 8- is Emma’s name day.
It’s sort of like the celebration of St. Pat’s Day on March 17 in Ireland and in the USA. Some name days are the basis for festivals like St. Mary’s in September. Others are totally obscure except for those who carry that particular name.
Since Joseph is such a popular name in Czech, March 19 is a big celebration of that name in the old country. It used to be in villages, that every other man was named Joseph.
After 30 years of living in the USA, I have trouble getting current Czech calendars. However, the big advantage is that the names always fall on the same dates, no matter what year.
April is an interesting month in Czech Republic overall with early blossoms and spring traditions. It’s even more interesting here in the USA with the upcoming outdoors events, that won’t hopefully get cancelled.
I am looking forward to all my new adventures like the podcast show “For the love of books” with Indie and small press authors, as well as my new involvement with the Czechoslovak Landmarks Society or landmarkstrust.org.
Subscribe to the major podcast channels and on YouTube.
Watch for the podcast with authors Jean Davis and Andrew Smith.
Copyright (c)2021. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
authoremmapalova 