I love being a grandmother. This is my sweet girl. She's 3 1/2 years old and loves to come to my house. Please forgive me for not showing her face. In this day of sexual predation caution is wise in my view. I'll call her J rather than her name for the same reason.

J is my only grandchild. Who knows if I will ever have any other. That's in God's hands. All I know is that she's a joy and delight.

I'm not called Grandma, Nana, or any other regular grandparent name. No, I'm Beemya, pronounced 'bee-me-ya. J began calling me that as she began to talk. I have no idea where it came from, but I love having a unique name no one else uses.

As you can see she loves to play in the dirt. The men moved my planter boxes to a different spot in the yard. The day they filled them with new soil J came down to help plant. Well, sort of. I had watered one box where I planted one tomato and will plant more soon. We planted carrots and the marigold plants we had started from seed earlier this year. J's job was to water the other four boxes. They are 4 feet square and butt up to one another.

She dug a hole in the first one and filled it with water. Then as the other boxes were being soaked she played in the hole and ran from box to box. My was she a dirt mess when she was done. But she had fun. Lots of fun. This week we planted peas and beans. The dirt where the boxes had been moved from was watered and little hands and feet dug and ran and laughed. A five gallon bucket filled with water substituted for a swimming pool then it was into the bathtub for her and the sink for her clothes.

I've ordered a sand box. I love my daughter-in-law and want to stay on her good side. I think J will stay somewhat cleaner

Seeing The Life is available now due to Ingram allowing it sold on the publication date rather than the release date. That means you can get it in both print and digital. Oh well, it's not really a big deal but I wanted the release to correspond with Rhubarb Fest. Now rather than a release event it will be a launch party.

It's good for those of you who want to read it. You can do so now rather than wait until June. Here are the links. Amazon print doesn't have the cover image for some reason.

When you finish, please take a couple of minutes to post a review. You can do so right on your kindle or kindle app by going past the last page. A form appears so you can easily post one. It doesn't have to be more than 20 words. Just the star value and whether you liked the book or not. Other sites you may have to do it on your computer.

Amazon Kindle
Amazon Print
Barnes & Noble
Kobo   It's less expensive there but they honored the release date so it's pre-order.

I hope you enjoy Seeing The Life. Please

Sorry I didn't post last week. I had two posts to write for other sites I post regularly on. I guess I was all blogged out. Well, I'm posting this early so I suppose it averages out. Sort of.

June 7 is coming fast and I just received news that the print copies of Seeing The Life are being printed and will ship shortly. Hurray!!!. It's always exciting to get those first paperbacks. I hope the print and ebook versions will be available on Amazon and other online sites by then. It may not be so I'm told by IngramSpark which I am using to print the books rather than Createspace. If you would like to know when Seeing The Life is available online send me an email at [email protected]. I'll NEVER give out your email address or spam you.

Redeeming Love is also out in print on Amazon. The fourth in my Cottonwood Series and also fourth in George McVey's, my co-author, Redemption Tales series was released in digital format in December 2013. I have simply not had, taken, the time to get it formatted for print. I'll be tackling the Large Print edition soon.

The most exciting news I have is that I have contracted with Lori Smith to produce my novels in audio form. She's beginning with Healing Love which will be available in late summer. I've been having people ask for audio versions ever since I first published in 2012. Now all formats of each of my novels will be available. It will take time to get them all recorded. I'll keep you posted on when they are and the links to purchase either mp3 or CD version.

If you're in semi north western Illinois that first full weekend in June you can come to Rhubarb Fest in Aledo, IL. I'll be selling and signing any of my novels. It's the launch event for Seeing The Life. I'd love to see you there.

The date is set for the release of Seeing The Life. It will be released in print and digital format on June 7. I received the file from the editor, Amanda Bumgarner, yesterday and am working on the corrections now.

I'm excited and fearful. Writing fiction about the life of Yeshua, Hebrew for Jesus, places a larger responsibility on my shoulders. Not only do I have to be true to Yahweh's principles but also to the life and character of Yeshua. I've felt the Holy Spirit's guidance in what I was to include of His life and teachings. Also the lives and thoughts of the characters in the book, whether real or imaginary.

You'll find I've used Hebrew names for Yeshua and his siblings. There are so many people named Joseph, Jacob, James, etc. It was easier to use the transliteration to keep the characters separate. There are so many Mary's in the Gospels I chose to call Mary Magdalene, Miriam which is the Hebrew for Mary. I find it confusing to have Mary, the other Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Mary wife of Cleopas all used in the Gospels. Oh, I forgot, Mary mother of James and John.

It has been interesting to research the historical events I chose to include for setting the culture and political tone for the book. I've learned how very evil Herod the Great was even more than I had already known. The statue of the golden eagle he had put on top of the Temple and the ensuing rebellion and murders was real. It heighten the already tense relationship between the Jews and Herod the Great and his sons who succeeded him. There were definitely reasons why Joseph didn't choose to settle in Judea upon their return from Egypt.

It's been a joy and honor to write Seeing The Life. I hope you find it not only entertaining but see Yeshua as more human as well as Elohim (God).

Here's the back blurb:

The life of Yeshua the Messiah as you’ve never seen it before.

From the moment of his birth until past his resurrection, Micah and Dassa witness the life of Yeshua the Messiah. The young couple were friends with Joseph and Mary while they lived in Bethlehem. Through the years they shared joys and sorrows. Then Yeshua became a rabbi and the world has never been the same.

As scribe to Joseph of Arimethea, Micah does what the Pharisee cannot. He writes down his thoughts about the young man he’s known all his life.

Micah, Joseph and their families follow the ministries of John the Baptist and Yeshua, a poor carpenter from Nazareth. Is he the Messiah who will lead Israel against the Roman army? Is he a fraud, a cohort of Satan? Or is he something else? The crowds cheer him, then want to stone him. They hail his arrival then, cry for his execution.

See the life as those who lived at the same time saw it.

Seeing The Life available June 7 in print and all digital formats.