FEATURED AUTHOR: JUNE MCCRARY JACOBS

ABOUT THE BOOK

Tragedy brings heartache to the community of Apple Blossom when a car takes the life of Mary Noel Simmons's best friend—her dog. The loss nearly destroys Mary Noel's spirit. As the injured six year old lies in the hospital, traumatized and silent, the medical bills are piling up quickly with no way for her parents to pay them.
 
Filled with kindness and romance, this story of hope and faith will warm your heart.

INTERVIEW WITH JUNE MCCRARY JACOBS

June, is your book based on real events?
Without spoiling the plot of A Holiday Miracle in Apple Blossom, the Christmas Eve church scenes come directly from my special memories of the candlelight service at my childhood church. Also, the trauma sustained by little Mary Noel really happened on my street to a younger sister of my playmate when she was around four years old (I was around eight). The main character of the book, Amber Kellen, is a brand new first grade teacher, and some of her classroom experiences are the same as mine when I was starting out as a first grade teacher.

What’s your favorite memory?
My wedding day.



What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
Not to have regrets in life. Do the best you can, and then let it go. You can't fix everything that's wrong with world, but you can make a positive contribution in your small corner of the world whenever possible.

What makes you nervous?
Being in congested traffic where other people are cutting me off, making dangerous lane mergers, and/or following my car too closely, etc. All of that stress is compounded if I see someone talking or texting on their cell phone when they are supposed to be driving. Yikes!


What makes you happy?
Spending time visiting historic homes, museums, gardens, and parks. Viewing other creative people's quilts, sewing projects, and art at galleries, quilt shows, and the California State Fair. Working with my quilting group to make 'comfort quilts' for individuals who are ill, traumatized, or grieving. A good writing session where the words and dialog really flow. Reading a really touching book where I can relate to the characters and/or their situation.

Do you have another job outside of writing?
I was blessed to have a twenty-year career as a primary teacher. I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was about four years old. Contributing to the lives of children in a positive way was a very satisfying and worthwhile career for me. I still enjoy reading children's books from picture books to middle grade fiction.

What brings you sheer delight?
Walking in a botanical garden, park, forest or near the ocean with my best friend.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart."  -Helen Keller
 
With what five real people would you most like to be stuck in a bookstore?
Author Debbie Macomber, Author Lisa Scottoline, Author Lauren Wolk, Author Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Quilt Designer and Author Blair Stocker. They all represent different genres, and I feel they would open new doors of great literature and non-fiction books to me.

Who are your favorite authors?
How much space do you have? I have so many genres I love to read. I have been a voracious reader since I was a young child, so I have a lot of favorite authors. Here's a short list:  Lisa Scottoline, Debbie Macomber, Lauren Wolk, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Louisa May Alcott, Amy Tan, John Grisham, Beatrix Potter, Sue Grafton, Shelley Sheppard Gray, Jan Brett, Ree Drummond (cookbooks), Emma Hardy, Blair Stocker, Jennifer Beckstrand, Dr. Suess (for the rhyme and artwork), and oh, so many more.


Do you have any reading quirks?
I'm not sure it's a pet peeve, but I like to end my reading sessions at the end of a chapter. Oh, and I always read the Acknowledgments page and author bio at the end of the book before I start reading the text.

Do you have a routine for writing?
I find I am at my most creative in the mornings. I get out my story map, research notes, and character descriptions (all written on paper) and lay them on the table next to me. Nearby I have my dictionary, thesaurus, and Bible for quick reference. I open my Word doc and scroll down to where I stopped the previous writing session, pause to gather my thoughts, and begin typing new material. Sometimes my goal for the day is to edit what I wrote in my previous session.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
I think a reader enjoying the story is the best compliment I could receive about my work.

Several of my friends and many reviewers told me they loved how the Apple Blossom community came together to help a family in need. They said the story (and the book's cover art) reminded them of a Hallmark movie.  Having watched some of those movies myself, I was honored to have my novella compared to Hallmark's high standards for their screenplays.

Another author posted that she loved the story because it made her think of others at a time of year when most people are focused on their own Christmas 'to do' lists, buying gifts and creating the perfect holiday experience for their families. Anytime someone contacts me on by email or on my Author's Facebook page to tell me how much they enjoyed the book or how it touched them deeply, I feel grateful that I had the opportunity to share the story with readers.

How did you find your publisher and how long did your query process take?
A Holiday Miracle in Apple Blossom was published by Cedar Fort Inc. as the result of my winning their 2013 Holiday Tale Contest. I found the Call for Submissions for the contest online in November, 2012. The submission was due in the third week of January, 2013. When I read about the contest, I immediately thought, 'I can do this!'  I had already thought of the main characters and the basic premise of the plot because I have an overly active imagination and I am fortunate to be a creative thinker. I was ecstatic when I found out in February, 2013, that I was the winner. One of the prizes was the publication of this hardcover gift book.

What are you working on now?
I am working on finishing and polishing Book Two in my Bonita Creek Trilogy. It is the continuation of Robin's Reward, and is the story of Robin's cousin, Penny Ralston, and her search for love and happiness amidst many challenges in her life—past and present. This contemporary inspirational romance series is set in the majestic coastal mountains of the Northern Coast of California in a small, tight-knit community I named Bonita Creek.

Read an excerpt from A Holiday Miracle in Apple Blossom.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author, June McCrary Jacobs, was the winner of Cedar Fort Publishing’s 2013 Holiday Tale Contest for her debut novella, A Holiday Miracle in Apple Blossom.

Robin’s Reward, released in April, 2015, was her first full-length novel. This inspirational contemporary romance is the first installment of the ‘Bonita Creek Trilogy’. The series is set in June's favorite location in California—the Mendocino coastal region.

June’s original sewing, quilting, and stitchery designs have been published in over one hundred books, magazines, and sewing industry blogs in the past few years. She wrote a recurring column for a sewing magazine published in Great Britain and contributed several other articles to sewing and craft magazines published in the United States.

When she’s not writing, reading, or sewing, June enjoys cooking, walking, photography, and visiting art and history museums, parks, and botanical gardens. She also enjoys touring historic homes (especially when they're decorated for Christmas!) and strolling around the many historic Gold Rush towns in the Sierra Nevada foothills. In the summertime you can find June at a variety of county fairs and the California State Fair admiring the sewing projects, quilts, and handiwork other inspired seamstresses, quilters, craftspeople, and artists have created.

Connect with June:
Facebook  |  Goodreads 
           
Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Books & Things 
**Note: The ebook for A Holiday Miracle in Apple Blossom is on sale for half-price at $2.99 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books & Things through December 20th, 2017.

Goodreads Giveaway!

Cedar Fort Inc. will be giving away ten hardcover gift book copies of A Holiday Miracle in Apple Blossom on Goodreads. The contest runs through December 1st, 2017, and is open to US residents only.

Featured Author: David Brady

Four years ago, David Brady was viciously assaulted by a twenty-one-year-old man with severe mental illness, resulting in traumatic brain damage. He lost eighty percent of his memory and was forced to put his successful TV production company on hiatus while he sought out a solution to this horrific situation.

That got him wondering, "how many other middle aged, or 'baby boomers,' get blindsided
by a life altering event like this?"

Aging With Dignity, Living With Grace will tell you how David was able to turn his life around, overcome adversity, find peace of mind and prosperity in this book.

I'm happy to have David here today to tell us more about it.

About the book:

On January 4th 2010, I had stopped by a woman's home to speak to her twenty-one-year-old son, at her request. It turns out he was suffering from severe mental illness. Without warning, he punched me so hard I flew through the air, landed on my back and then found him on top of me with my arms pinned under his legs while he drove about six or seven rage filled punches into my head sending my skull smashing into the solid hard-wood kitchen floor. The result of that incident: I have brain damage that has dramatically impacted every aspect of my life; impaired my ability to do the work I've done all of my career as a writer/producer/director on 130 prime time television episodes and 4 feature films and left me wondering, how do I overcome these challenges? As a result, I got to thinking, "how many other people, especially those who are either middle aged, or those of us who are 'baby boomers,' get blindsided by some event that they didn't see coming?" In this book, I tell you how I was able to overcome this adversity, find peace of mind and prosperity as a mature person.

Interview with David Brady

David, how long have you been writing, and how did you start?

I have been a film and television writer for over twenty-five years with over sixty award-winning scripts produced. I wrote my first non-fiction book three years ago.

In 1979, I was in graduate school and made my first film, Alcohol, Drugs and the Young. I was originally going to be an Alcohol and Drug Counselor.  Then I met a young man in Vancouver, and we became business partners, and the first film that he directed after I became a shareholder in his company was nominated for an Academy Award in 1980. 

What inspired you to write this book?

Four years ago January 4, 2010 a mother asked me to speak to her twenty-one-year-old son.  She believed he had a “small” alcohol or drug problem. It turned out he was severely mentally ill. When I sat down to talk to him, he proceeded to punch me so hard I flew through the air and landed on the floor on my back where he managed to pin me down and drive seven rage-filled blows into my skull on a hardwood floor with my arms pinned under his legs. He is 6 feet 2 inches tall and worked out two to three hours a day trying to control the voices in his head according to a letter he wrote me after the assault. I was diagnosed with a concussion and ended up in a very dark place after the assault and found myself in dire need of medical and spiritual help. 

Wow. That's horrendous. How long did it take you to write this book?

Six months.

What do you hope readers will get from Aging With Dignity, Living With Grace?

That regardless of what happens to us in life, whether you are middle-aged or a Baby Boomer, you are not alone. There is help out there, and in my case it was based on both traditional medicine and spiritual principles. The spiritual principles will apply whether you are a Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, or a Muslim or any other faith, for that matter.  They are based on the same principles that the late great Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich created in his concept of the Master Mind or Divine Mind of Intelligence Behind the Universe, or God for those who are inclined to that belief. When two or more are gathered and we ask for help we can get it. I used the 8 Steps of the Master Mind created by the late Jack Boland, a Unity Minister.

How did you come up with the title of your book?

I was meditating. 

Do you have another job outside of writing?

Writer/Producer/Director/key note speaker and currently on the faculty of Capilano University in North Vancouver, British Columbia, teaching introductory screenwriting. 

How would you tweet about this book?

Aging With Dignity, Living With Grace is a compelling, dramatic story of one man’s journey reclaiming his life after a brutal assault and near death experience.

Why did you decide to write this book?

After the assault, and after I started to work on myself, I was sitting in my writing office at my country home in Ontario when, in a moment of clarity, I thought, “How many other people get blind-sided by some life altering event they didn’t see coming?” 

I started to look and ask, “Is there a manual or guide book to help you survive the loss of business, a spouse or life partner? Ironically, at the same time the woman I’d been seeing also informed me she didn’t want to get married or live with me – and that just devastated me. I kept thinking, “It’s always darkest before the bottom really falls out.”  I have a twisted sense of humor.

I started to broaden my search to see what is out there to help one deal with the loss of your occupation, financial crisis or the fall-out of a family or life long friendship? 
I couldn’t find anything specifically dealing with middle-aged people (I had lost $5.2 million dollars at age 35 and came back from that – and that was what the genesis of my first book, Get Me To The Temple of Serenity … And Step On It!  There was absolutely nothing out there for Baby Boomers of this nature.  

How did you come up with your cover art?

My good friend Dennis Kastner, who is himself retired, took up photography and took a picture of me at his home, which was near my house in Eastern Ontario near Prince Edward County. And young Anthony Wallace, who worked for me, created the layout with my corporate colors for my production company.

Tell us about your favorite scene or chapter in the book.

Chapter One: I had some tremendous feedback from some friends, and to establish who I was I took a trip back in time and found a picture of myself on my first motorcycle, a BSA 650 which I had as a 16-year-old. I reflected on my teenage years and how when I would pull up to a young lady's house in the very nice neighborhoods I grew up in Toronto and their mother would come out and say, “David, my daughter is not going out with you on that motorcycle.” As a teenager I was a tad wild and when I “drank” I was filled with false courage and I’d say to the mother, “What are you doing, want to come for a ride?” It worked once. Hello Mrs. Robinson. I am very grateful to say I stopped drinking when I was 22 years old and have never touched a drop since, which is why my life did go so well in so many ways. But I hadn’t revisited those days in a very long time. Too long. 

What song would you pick to go with your book?

"Sultans of Swing."

I was a drummer and producer of Rock & Roll when I was young, and I would like to give you the links to a series that I wrote and produced just before we needed to shut the company down. But I so respect what Mark Knopfler has done, and it is the “essence of his music and energy” that inspire me.

I knew most of the people in this series who you will be shocked to see came out of Toronto. 

Yonge Street - Toronto Rock & Roll Stories
Password for all the videos is: yonge
Episode #1
Episode #2
Episode #3

Fantastic! Who are your favorite authors?

Ernest Hemmingway, Wayne Dyer, Arthur Koestler, Catherine Ponder, Joseph Campbell, Thomas Merton, Thomas Cahill, Pierre Tiehard de Chardin, and Gregory Bateson.

What was your favorite childhood book?

Tom Sawyer. 

What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?

Ancient Secrets of Success, Tulshi Sen, Maximum Bob, Elmore Leonard, John Barleycorn, Jack London, all paperbacks.


Do you have a routine for writing? Do you work better at night, in the afternoon, or in the morning?

I write every morning and have for 30 years.

Where do you prefer to do your writing?

I’m now in Vancouver, and I sit in my apartment looking over the Pacific Ocean, Stanley Park, and the mountains on Vancouver Island.



Sounds wonderful. Name one thing you couldn’t live without. (It can’t be your phone!)

My sense of humour. (I keep correcting my Canadian spelling, but I’m not going to on this one as it is very different than American humour.)

If you could only keep one book, what would it be?

The Dictionary.

Neil Gaiman said, “Picking five favorite books is like picking five body parts you'd most like not to lose.” So…what are your five favorite books and your five body parts you’d most like not to lose?

Catcher in The Rye
The Sun Also Rises
Ghosts in the Machine
Man and His Symbols
Life After Death
My Brain
My Eyes
My Ears
My Mouth
My Penis (as it’s what I use all my other body parts for, to have some fun with – or at least I still hope I will someday). 

Now, for the record, you cannot ask the above question of any thinking man and not have him revert to some form of chronic infantile omnipotence – especially with my track record of always wanting to have fun and watch folks get a tad uncomfortable. I hope you take it in the spirit it was written.

Of course! What meal or particular food would you want if you were leaving the country for an extended period of time?

Prime Rib.

Would you rather work in a library or a bookstore?

Bookstore.

You won the lottery. What’s the first thing you would buy?

Another ticket.
 
Name five people with whom you would pick to be stranded in a bookstore.

Daniel Day Lewis, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Hillary Clinton, and Meg Whitman.

Where would your dream office be?

Arcata, California.

Where’s home for you?

I have two at the moment. Sandhurst, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?

A paraphrase of Hunter S Thompson:
"The film and television business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."

Excellent. What three books have you read recently and would recommend?

The Success Principles, Jack Canfield
What was I Thinking, Pamela Bendall
Mystics and Zen Masters, Thomas Merton

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I love going to movies. I love sailing. I love walking on the sea wall in West Vancouver, I love live music, reading, watching Netflix, road trips, riding motorcycles, speaking, teaching.

Do you ever sleep? Kidding. What are you working on now?

I am at page 36 of a treatment for a theatrical documentary titled Children First – which will be a film to help bring about an end to child abuse in North America. 

We are actually in the process of working on converting Yonge Street, which I’ve sent you, into a new theatrical documentary, as we only used about 40% of what we shot. We are going to re-title it (tentative and not signed so it can’t be published) Robbie Robertson’s Rock & Roll Stories. 

I am really focusing on keynote speaking. 

About the author:

Award-winning film and television writer, producer and director David Brady’s work is best known in Canada, but no stranger to U.S. and European audiences. He was also an award-winning professor at Ryerson University in Toronto and is currently on the Faculty of Motion Picture Arts at Capilano University in North Vancouver British Columbia. David holds an MFA from York University in Toronto. He did his original undergraduate and work at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Colombia. Brady also taught film production and screen writing at York University in Toronto and is an acclaimed and powerful public speaker and lecturer.

In his new dramatic and compelling book, Aging With Dignity, Living with Grace he chronicles his life-altering and potential near-death experience of being viciously assaulted by a young man with mental illness. David had gone to talk to this bright and highly educated young man at the request of his mother. The result was a traumatic brain injury that would have left others permanently incapacitated and disabled. However, Brady is no quitter, and in this gripping and honest account of his harrowing experience, he will take you, the reader, through the stages and the steps he had to take to overcome his serious handicap and find peace of mind, prosperity and real happiness.

Brady’s film and television projects have won numerous Canadian, American and International awards including One Academy Award Nomination for his late business partner's production of Nails, as Best Theatrical Documentary, seven Genie Awards (Canadian Academy Awards) and two Golden Globe nominations, including Best Foreign Film and Best Actor for The Grey Fox, starring Richard Farnsworth and presented by Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope Studios and released through United Artists Classics. His recent Canadian Broadcasting Corporation production of Yellowstone Super Volcano, which will air on Smithsonian Channel in the USA in 2014 and was the CBC’s highest-rated Doc Zone for 2013. He also had two recent productions in Canada that were in the top three rated for the network and will soon be available in the US. His Yonge Street, Toronto Rock & Roll Stories just won a Gemini Award, and he also produced one of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s 2011 highest rated “Doc Zones,” The Gangster Next Door. In addition to these award-winning and critically-acclaimed shows, he has produced over 130 prime time comedies, dramas, and documentaries, including The Pagan Christ and The Gangster Next Door, which both aired in the United States recently. His Discovery Channel Production of Around The World with Tippi was nominated at the prestigious Banff Television Festival as the Best Family Series in the world. He was also one of the executive producers of his good friend Alan Sack's Disney Channel Production of You Wish, which was nominated for the Humanitis Award in Los Angeles.

Connect with David:

Website | Author website | Facebook | Twitter

Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes &amp Noble