Tag Archives: Rebekah Lyn

Crumpled Paper

28 Jul

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Image by Steve Johnson from Pixabay

Does this look familiar? You have so much you want to write, but you can’t seem to get your thoughts on paper, well paper that isn’t crumpled up anyway? Take heart, at least you have crumpled paper which is more than I have. I don’t think I could carry a plot line longer that a page and a half. You have the desire to tell your stories and that is a good start.

But sometimes one does need help to get started and that is why I am sharing about a writing conference in my hometown. Plus, my daughter Rebekah will be speaking on writing fiction. And you know how moms are.

Conference details

Pastor Charles Morris of Raising the Standard International Publishing LLC is leading a writing conference in my hometown of Titusville, Florida September 16-18, 2022. I’ve included information about Pastor Charles from the conference website.

In 2021 Charles established Raising the Standard International Publishing LLC to self-publish his works and assist others to do so. He has the heart’s desire to assist other believers to write and publish their books; thus he established Kingdom Impact Christian Writer’s Conferences in 2022.  

This is a hands-on event. It is recommended that each person plan to bring a laptop and be ready to put into practice what’s being taught! The maximum number of attendees for the conference is 70. By limiting the number of attendees, you won’t just be a face in a crowd. The classes and panels will cover:

  • Fiction-Rebekah Lyn
  • Non Fiction- Pastor Charles Morris
  • Chris McClure-Marketing

The conference is being held in the retreat center on the campus of Park Avenue Baptist Church, 2600 S. Park Ave. Titusville, Fl. If you click the link above, at this time, I can’t verify that the kitchen will be available for general use and I don’t believe the two bedroom apartment is available. It is a comfortable and inviting space. The conference fee is $200.00 without accommodations. Here is a copy/paste from the conference website.

KICW Conference Fee: $200.00 per person ($250.00 per married couple). ​

Accommodations Fees: Maximum on-campus housing is 48. Availability on a first-come status. Off-campus hotel availability is dependent upon tourism. The maximum number of attendees for the conference is 70. ​

Park Avenue Baptist Church Retreat Accommodations:

$30.00 per night for double occupancy. 2 per room for 3 nights (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday) is $90.00 per person.

$60.00 per night for single room occupancy. 1 per room for 3 nights (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday) is $180.00.

Registration for the room will be through this Writers Conference Retreat Site.

Total cost: Registration & double occupancy room for 3 nights: (200 + 90=$290.00)

Registration & single occupancy room for 3 nights: (200 + 180=$380.00)

Registration for married plus double occupancy room for 3 nights: (250 + 180=$430.00)

The hotel accommodations after the 48 max on-campus housing will be the responsibility of the attendee. The Campus Retreat rates are on a first come first serve basis. Each person is responsible for their meals

Titusville is a small town, but we do have a variety of restaurants within 15 minutes of the conference and of course, Door Dash. We are located on the east coast of Florida, and one can view launches from Kennedy Space Center on the banks of the Indian River and if you are a fan of space flight, Space X has nine launches scheduled for September!

Now that I have done my mom thing, let’s talk about me! LOL. The most excitement at our house of late was a trip up into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on Tuesday. We set out around 9:30 am and didn’t rush. As always the mountains and forests were beautiful and since it was a weekday traffic wasn’t bad. We almost always stop at Newfound Gap to enjoy the view and on this trip we easily found a parking place. Sometimes in the summer or fall, the parking is full.

The clouds were hanging low over the mountains and we even drove through one. Growing up in the flat Florida, I still feel amazement driving in clouds. Seeing families together enjoying nature warms my heart.

This parking lot is the dividing line between North Carolina and Tennessee. What I find to be really weird is that many times the weather is different on each side. In this case, as soon as we began the descent into Tennessee, the mist and clouds cleared.

As you emerge from the National Park in Tennessee there are two choices, follow highway 441 into Gatlinburg, TN or turn off to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Fifty years ago, Pigeon Forge was called the “quiet side” of the Smokies compared to the hustle of tourist trade in Gatlinburg. I miss that. Now it is packed with every kind of tourist entertainment imaginable including Dollywood. Fortunately the next town over has normal non-tourist shopping and we were able to pick up some items we needed.

On our return trip traffic was at a standstill on the North Carolina side of the park. A small herd of elk were crossing the road so park personnel were holding back the cars while they crossed. A mama and her baby decided to not join the herd and I was able to snap a picture from the car window.

Please feel free to share the writing conference with friends! Who knows, you may end up being a character in one of their writings!

The conference is an easy drive from the southeast and conveniently located near three airports: Orlando, Sanford Orlando and Melbourne.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2022 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

Retail Therapy

12 Feb

My Take

Onisha Ellis

Life has been a bit hectic of late with out of town doctor visits and pre-op appointment at a large and confusing hospital followed by surgery for my husband. Then we had to reschedule a previously planned surgery, get new paperwork and fill out online paperwork for the upcoming surgery. On a side note, this facility wanted us to enter all of his medications into a line by line form. I keep a medication list which is easy to copy/paste, but I draw the line at entering it all into their computer.

After a week of wifely post-op duty I was ready for some girl time! Our daughter was unexpectedly off work on Monday and we decided some retail therapy was in order.

After some rainy days, Monday was sunny and beautiful with just the right touch of cool temperature. We decided to drive north to the Outlet center in Daytona Beach. Light traffic made for a pleasant drive and I could feel my stress falling away as we drove north. Of course we didn’t want to be away from our patient too long so we chose to limit our shopping to three stores.

Our first stop was to the Beall’s outlet. We have one in our town, but the one in Daytona is larger and my daughter was looking for something specific. She didn’t find it, but we did each buy a pair of sandals and I bought a fry pan. I bought this same one when we first settled into Florida for the winter and I loved it so much, I wanted one for our home in North Carolina. When I was paying for the sandals and pan, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my account had a birthday credit on it plus Monday shoppers receive a 10% discount. So basically the pan was free. My kind of shopping!

Our next stop was totally practical, Sam’s Warehouse Club. Our local club was out of several items we regularly buy and we were hoping this club would have them. And they did.

Now, don’t laugh but our third planned stop was Buc-ees, a mega gas station with a huge store (and the most elegant restrooms I’ve ever seen) When we stop there for gas, we are in a hurry and with no time to explore. We were headed there when my daughter saw a shop with the funny name of Duck Donuts. My ears perked up. I told my daughter we had to go there and being the sweet person we adore, she drove around the center to get back to Duck Donuts.

Have you ever had them? They are cake donuts made to order. My husband and I discovered them in Asheville, NC. This is their story.

It all began on the sandy beaches of the Outer Banks in Duck, North Carolina. There, Russ DiGilio and his family would enjoy relaxing and fun vacations. But something was missing – there were no fresh donuts! So, they decided to create their own and Duck Donuts was born. Now, you can enjoy the taste of the Outer Banks in your backyard by visiting one of our 100+ locations across the country!

https://www.duckdonuts.com

My daughter had no idea why I was insisting on getting donuts but she isn’t prone to turning one down.

Screen shot: DuckDonuts.com

We both Chose a peanut butter paradise, I chose a bacon in the sun and she chose a raspberry sunrise and I picked out a blueberry pancake to take to the hubby. Let me tell you, they were delicious! Hot yummy goodness. We could only mange to eat one apiece but we forced ourselves to half the peanut butter paradise and it did not disappoint! If you like donuts, you must try them.

Beck on track, we drove over to Buc-ees. We entered from the gas pump side. Typical gas station items like chips, staples etc were on the left with hot foods, beverages to the right. Also to the right was an impressive array of home decor. Think mini Hobby Lobby. We definitely chose to browse right to left.

We browsed from home decor to clothing, jewelry, children’s clothes and toys, jerky, pastries, cheeses, and charcuterie. We ended up at the one section we were familiar with, the smoked brisket. Their brisket is so good! We bought two sandwiches to eat for our lunch but were only able to eat half thanks to our Duck Donut splurge.

With our sweet tooths satisfied and tummies full we headed back home. It was a much needed break. And since i put a roast in the crock pot before leaving home, I didn’t have to answer the eternal question…”what’s for dinner?”

PS: I wrote better descriptions of the items in the store, but my internet crashed and obliterated it.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay 

We are excited to announce that our daughter’s third book in the Jessie Cole Trilogy is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Legacies are woven that bind fate or ignite dreams.

Jessie Cole worked hard to rise from humble beginnings to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut. He didn’t think he’d face a more difficult challenge until he became a father. Now, he must weigh his decisions and endeavor to raise his children with the values of faith, perseverance, and love that shaped his own life.

Mariana Cole has gazed up at the heavens with wonder since infancy. Tales of her father’s trips to space feed her curiosity and drive her to understand why humanity hasn’t traveled beyond our own moon. Will she follow her father’s path or blaze her own trail to change the trajectory of space exploration?

This series is especially dear to our hearts as it is set in our hometown and some of Jessie’s antics came from my husband’s childhood.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2021 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

Love to Read?

26 Jan

On the Porch

Special Editon

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

Hi friends,

I love to read, always have since I was in second grade. You could call it a life long passion. It’s funny now, when parents are begging their children to read, but as a chid, I was always getting in trouble for having my nose stuck in a book. Reading all the time could be why I was a late bloomer in my social skills.

Little girl dream

This week, a Clean Indie Reads, one of my favorite Facebook groups is having a book sale with 140 eBooks offered at free, discounted or everyday low price. I love this group of authors.  They have set themselves to prove there is a market for fiction that does not rely on course language, sex and gore and they are succeeding!

You can click the picture below or click HERE to visit the sale page.

2016 mid winter 140 books

Usually, my daughter, Rebekah Lyn would have at least one book in the sale, but sigh, I procrastinated too long. If you would like to take a look at her Christian fiction novels, she is on Amazon and the first book in her Seasons of Faith series, Summer Storms eBook  is currently free.

Seasons of Florida fiction winter collage

Did you know our talented and sweet DiVoran Lites also has a novel series also available on Amazon and at the Titusville Book Rack

The Florida Springs Trilogy

Available on Amazon and at The Titusville Book Rack

DiVoran and Rebekah would be delighted if you would stop by their book website.

Rebekah Lyn Books

After my rambling, I am re-posting the link to the CIR Mid Winter Sale.

HERE

Cozy up mid winter sale 2016

This Thrilled My Mama Heart

17 Feb

As a mom, I have to say this review of my daughter’s novel Jessie,  by book blogger Beverly Lynnt thrilled my mama heart. The reviewer went above and beyond the usual review, even creating graphics to illustrate the review. Thank you!

For years, Rebekah heard her father’s tales of growing up on the banks of the Indian River. It was an ideal time to grow up for a boy who loved the freedom to roam the woods, rivers and canals of his hometown. Rebekah incorporated those stories and recreated them in the lives of the four Cole brothers. Of course, the space program was growing at the same time. Jessie tells the story of both.

Jessie (Coastal Chronicles Bk 2) by Rebekah Lyn ~Review~ | Bipolar for Christ.

The Accidental Death of my Cell Phone

27 Oct

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistDid you notice the smudge on my new hot-pink purse in the picture in my last blog – the one about getting my new driver’s license?pink 31 bag

Here’s what happened. Rebekah Lyn asked if I wanted to go downtown with her Saturday evening when they were having an algorithms art show down there. Please don’t ask me what that is, I still don’t know.

But, I’m usually up for an art show of any kind so I said yes, and I would pick her up. As I pulled out of my driveway I noticed that the hood ornament that rode home with me from the driver’s license bureau was waiting on a windshield wiper for another ride, a traveling brown lizard as common as a butterfly here in Florida where I live.

Gotta be honest. I’m not crazy about lizards, but I don’t like to see the cats get them or see them blown off a car only to get run over by another car. When I stopped in front of Rebekah Lyn’s condo, I reached for a spatula I’ve been meaning to give back to my daughter and 1tried to chase him off into the grass. He ran this way and that. Rebekah came out of her house laughing at me. Has she never seen a person chasing a lizard with a spatula before?

The window was open on her side and she said he was going to go in it. I knew she was right so I threw down my spatula, jerked open the car door so I could get to the key and put the window up and slammed the door, not thinking about having stuffed my purse in the door pocket before I left home.

The lizard ran down into an opening where the windshield wipers go. I didn’t see him again until Bill and I ran errands in his van yesterday and he was there to ride along. Everybody likes Bill better than me, but I don’t let it get to me. I like him better too.

Anyhow, after we parked behind some businesses down town and I reached for my purse, I realized it had fallen out, so we got back in the car and drove back to Rebekah Lyn’s. We saw the purse lying in the street right where we’d left it, grabbed it and headed back downtown. However when I checked to see whether everything was still there I noticed one of the zippers was very stiff, then I noticed the tire marks on the purse. Then Rebekah Lyn asked how my cell phone, which was in a pocket was, then I got it out and it was d-e-a-d, dead. Old cell phone from long ago. I rejoiced. It was finally time for a smart phone. Lots of people have phones now that are smarter than they are, and I will no longer be an exception, except I suspect that my old phone was… Never mind.

That was it except that when I went to use my credit card at the pet store the next day, they said it wouldn’t work, so I had to buy ten cans of salmon with cash.

Our daughter and her husband are helping us with new cell phones. Bill gets one too. We’re getting I Phones 5 c or s I can’t remember which and I’m looking forward to having a good camera with me always so that when I get a lizard on car I can take his picture before I brush him off.

“A lizard can be caught with the hand, (not by me, and Rebekah Lyn wouldn’t catch him, either) yet it is found in kings’ palaces.” Proverbs 30:28

Meet My Blogger Friends and a Chance to Win a Prize

5 Aug

My daughter Rebekah Lyn’s  new release Jessie is traveling around the blogosphere visiting with some of our friends. I thought it would be fun to re-blog some of them here. Be sure to click the blog title to visit their blog and tell them Onisha sent you!

Blog Tour Graphic copy

 

July 22, 2014 Shanna Hatfield’s Blog

Shanna was the first stop. She shared an excerpt. Be sure to click above to read the whole post.

A-OK

Chapter 3

May 5, 1961

The call of a blue jay screeched through the open window, jarring Jessie from a dream. He rolled onto his side, rubbed his eyes, and pushed up on his elbow to look out the window. The sun hadn’t risen above the orange trees yet so he guessed it was about six. Spotting the offender on a limb not forty feet from the window, he wished he had his shotgun nearby.

“Jessie, you awake?” Ricky whispered from the upper bunk.

“Yeah,” Jessie muttered, pushing the thin sheet back and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Ricky dropped down from the bunk above, his eyes glittering.

 

July 22, 2014 Stop Two Faith Blum, Writings, Ramblings and Reflections

Faith was kind enough to read and review Jessie! Visit her site to read the whole review.

My Review

When I first signed up to be part of the blog tour for Jessie, I was thinking that the book would be a nice, easy read with some good historical information about the time Jessie lived in and that would be that. Boy was I shocked to find out just what kind of book it was. Rebekah Lyn took her book and made each and every character seem truly alive. I wanted to meet all four of the Cole boys just so I could actually see them in person. I wanted to take Mr. Cole by the scruff of his neck and tell him to shape up and fast before he completely lost all respectability

 

July 27, 2014 Third Stop Author Brooke Williams Blog

Brooke is a new friend we met through DiVoran Lites. She interviewed Rebekah. I liked this question and answer! She is in the middle of her own blog tour so visit her site and learn more about her.

We’d love to hear a few quirky facts about you they don’t usually come up in interviews. 

I am mildly obsessed with my garden, particularly my lemon tree. I visit the back window several times a day just to look out and admire it. I enjoy watching birds visit my feeder, but I don’t want them getting close to me. I had a bad experience in an aviary years ago that has made me skittish when birds get too close. I have a particular path I follow when shopping at Target and get anxious if we stray off that path.

August 1, 2014 Fourth Stop Sara B. Gauldin’s Blog Segbwrites

This stop almost didn’t happen! I forgot to send  the information to Sara and she graciously forgave me and posted it anyway. Be sure to visit her blog!

The tea sounds like it was a great success. Aside from writing do you have any future plans and will tea be a part of them?

Yes they are! The dream I have for my future is moving to the mountains of North Carolina, which I love, and opening my own tea shop and bakery. I would run my tea shop from April to November and spend all winter writing,-bringing together the two things I love most and seems to take me back to those days of watching Aunt Virginia in the kitchen, pouring out her heart to make others happy.

August 5, 2014 Fifth Stop Annie Douglass Lima’s Blog

Rebekah finds writing a conversation far easier than an interview so she chose to create an “off the record”  conversation among the Cole brothers. There is a hint  in the interview of a problem one of the brothers will experience. If you have read Jessie, comment below  and be entered to win, a lovely bracelet we are making.

Afternoon with the Cole Boys

Max, Ricky, and Sam snaked through the underbrush, arriving at their fort ten minutes after the final school bell rang. “How long you think Jessie is gonna keep going to these tutoring sessions?” Ricky asked.
“Until he’s caught up and his grades improve,” Sam replied.

“It was more fun when he didn’t care about school and we could all hang out together. I miss going hunting or fishing anytime we wanted,” Ricky said.

 

We have more stops coming up ! I will post them next Tuesday. If you  visit the blogs and   leave this  comment “Onisha Sent Me” you will be entered to win a digital AUTHOGRAPHED copy of Jessie!!

If you would like to enter for a bigger prize, take a chance on our rafflecopter giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Some really cool stuff in this bag!

Some really cool stuff in this bag!

 

Happy First Anniversary Clean Indie Reads

20 May

I attempted to re-blogg this  post from our sister blog, Rebekah Lyn Book but it didn’t work so I will share the highlight here~Onisha

 

Clean Indie Reads

Anniversary Sale MAY 20th ONLY

We’ve brought you Flinch-Free Fiction for one year.


Now we bring it to you for less than one dollar!


Be sure to look for our novels

The Florida Springs Trilogy

Sacred Spring, Living Spring, Clear Spring

Julianne and Summer Storms


Click Photo to Visit Sale  Happy Shopping!

Click Photo to Visit Sale
Happy Shopping!

 

 

Visit Rebekah Lyn Books to read about Clean Indie Reads and why I love them.

Never Mind Trying to be Nice

23 Dec

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and Artist

I’ve been to parties once or twice,

And I don’t like them, I’ll tell you that,

Except for the time you wore that funny musical hat…

Remember?

And when the wooden wheel with the candles under it scorched from grown-ups playing with fire—

When jellied cranberry didn’t melt in the casserole,

And Stan brought boat flares for the gift exchange and related them to kisses,

And Billy and Christian pinned on the girl’s add-on braids and dangled them over their shoulders,

When the paper-ball battle broke out and everyone was fair game, even the granddads?

 When Rebekah Lyn came over to have a chat and deliver homemade cookies,

And seven relative strangers sat in a cozy den one night and had a real conversation with soft Christmas music in the background,

Donna brought her million dollar brownies to the church dinner

And we met Connie and her college age wonder-son?

 Remember when Alicia told us about learning to play the piano two years after her daughter’s death from aids And you had a quiet tea, in pretty cups, with a dear friend from long ago

How about at the grade school program when baby Jimmy pulled off Santa’s glasses, and pushed him away and Santa said, “I don’t know what you want for Christmas, kid, but you sure don’t want me.” Jimmy’s mom said privately that Santa was too skinny, anyhow.

 No, I don’t have to be nice, but I need to be honest and I guess I must say, I wouldn’t have missed a minute of it.

wreath02 skinny

Working Together

11 Nov

My Take

DiVoran Lites

IAuthor, Poet and Artistt’s so great to work with other people. It’s one of my favorite things in the whole world. I’ll always remember when a friend came over and we made candles in paper milk cartons out of ice, paraffin, and crayons for Christmas. There was another time when a different friend and I made jelly together, and then there was that time when Bill’s sister, Judy, showed me how to make her special yeast dinner roles from scratch.

It sounds like most of my together times have been in the kitchen. I guess you could say the one today was in the kitchen as my office is part of the family room which is part of the kitchen. But it didn’t really have anything to do with cooking, except that Rebekah Lyn and I were cooking up ways to connect with friends on the Internet and find the best recipes to get our books out there where they can be appreciated.

Rebekah Lyn is a lot younger than I am. In fact, I knew her mother and dad before they were married, and we are certainly still good friends. Rebekah Lyn has a degree in Communications and she works for a big company, so she is one sharp woman. We even wrote novels together one year. That was great fun.

Today she came over because we had several matters to discuss. I’m going to get some business cards like hers to show our website address: Rebekah Lyn Books. We talked that over. We are both in several places on the Internet. She is on Rebekah Lyn’s kitchen, Twitter, Face Book, and of course Amazon. Who isn’t on Amazon? I’m on Old Things R New, Christian Poets and Writers, and Face Book, too. I also write a  weekly post  Writing Life for Rebekah Lyn Books.

R. L. taught me how to put a Face Book post on all my venues so I don’t have to do them separately. That will save time! She showed me her iPad. I want one. I was thrilled with what it can do, but I haven’t got to the place where I can justify buying one for myself, because I’m more of a stay at home body that an out and about person.

We tried to put a gravatar on the website for my replies to comments. In case you’re ignorant about what a gravatar is, as I was: it is a picture of me that will go where my name goes. We were stymied on that, but I know with her competence, she will figure it out and get back to me. Of course, she already has a gravatar for her posts, so it won’t take her long.

The most fun was discussing the new book she’s working on, Jessie. It’s about a young man growing up running wild in the area of Kennedy Space Center in the sixties. We talked about what Jessie might be up to next, and called Bill in because he was a working man at the Space Center in those days, has a passion for space, and was actually a young man once. It was like a party and we all had a wonderful time putting our thoughts together and tending to Jessie. Rebekah Lyn is a thorough researcher and interviewer and she has a great dad who ran around in the Florida woods himself from an early age. I can’t wait to read Jessie, and neither can Bill.

Then of course, as all things do, our work/play session came to an end. No matter. Rebekah Lyn lives within walking distance from us. We have worked together for years on our writing and technology and God willing, we’ll have many more years of good times to come.

In place of a list of links, visit Rebekah Lyn Books to learn more about  DiVoran and Rebekah- Onisha

I Am So Sorry

9 May

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I would like to apologize to everyone who made their grand announcement “I just finished building my new website, come take a look” and I just yawned or if I was feeling generous I gave it a tweet. I had no idea what you were saying, how much work and creativity you had expended. I’m so sorry.Computer

I had no idea what building a website involved until I decided to give it a try. I am attempting to build a wonderful site to showcase the work of Rebekah Lyn and DiVoran Lites, both of whom are dear to me, one as daughter the other as Spiritual mentor and precious friend.  They are fine writers who tell great stories of faith adventure and hope.

I would still be stuck in Word Press tutorial 101 if God had not sprinkled Lynn into my life. We met in tenth grade and became life-long friends. Little did I know as we passed notes in class, giggled about boys and all those other things high school girls do, that she was going to be my life line for this website building adventure.

I think I might begin calling her my Philippians 4:19  friend,

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