Welcome to the February edition of Songdove Books Newsletter!

First off, let me welcome all the new faces since January!  Songdove Books held an impromptu Valentine's Week Giveaway February 7th to the 14th, with one special name picked randomly on the 14th to win an ePub version of "Dressed for Eternity".  Any entrants that granted me their email address, were added to the monthly newsletter.  As usual, if you don't wish to receive this newsletter, you are free to unsubscribe at the bottom of the newsletter.  New subscribers are given the opportunity to receive my ebook, "Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author" for free as a thankyou for signing up for this newsletter.  The coupon code for Smashwords is in the welcome email itself.

Second, let me say a HUGE THANKYOU to everyone praying for my financial situation!!!  January and February have seen more income come in than I've had for most of the past 6 months!  The prayer now is to have that continue into the coming year and beyond.  The great thing about the current income is that it only takes a few hours to meet my desired daily minimum or more, and I can call my own hours.  So needless to say, I'm feeling very blessed and filled with thankfulness and gratitude for how God is providing right now!


Love Month Promotion

As mentioned above, we held an impromptu Valentine's Week Giveaway for an ePub copy of "Dressed for Eternity".

Each day for 7 days, excerpts, a video and a slideshare presentation were shared.  You can find the slideshare presentation in the blog post link here (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/2015/02/13/welcome-to-the-valentines-week-giveaway-for-dressed-for-eternity-day-seven/).  Clicking that blog post will show you more of the week's postings as well in the lefthand sidebar of the site.

The paperback version of the book generally sells for anywhere from $49 - $68 at online retailers.  However, if you order directly from me (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/store/) or New Christian Books (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/new-christian-books/), you get the paperback for $36.00, roughly $20 off the regular retail price.  The ebook sells for $9.99 at the various online retailers carrying it.


Make a New Habit for Lent and Beyond!

If you're looking for a new way to spend your quiet time this year, let me suggest picking up your own copy of "A Year in Prayer With Jesus" whether in paperback, PDF, mobi or epub formats.

This is an undated book so that Day One can begin literally on any calendar date of the year!

Check out this video (http://youtu.be/q2DhnE5f7QU?list=PLsfmoQFz615pJIdjL-3_429_cSbSNQkXA) to get a feel for how to engage with The Lord's Prayer at a deeper level this year.

 
Grad Season is Approaching!

In just three month's time, another big milestone is going to be upon us!  Graduation season!!!  Why not consider beating the rush, and getting one or more copies of "Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate" now instead of later?  It goes for roughly $12.00 at most online retailers.  Eight graduates received it as gifts last year.

BECOME A SONGDOVE BOOKS AFFILIATE!!!

Had to share this with my newsletter readers!  I just had a student recently take the course through their own JVZoo affiliate link.  When I paid them their commission, they were surprised, and sent me this gorgeous handmade bookmark!  This student is an author as well, and she makes these bookmarks to sell on her website.  Her husband recently made her raise the price from $3.00 to $4.50!  If you want one, let me know and I'll get you in touch with her!

The Songdove Books Affiliate Program, which is aimed at getting word out about the two e-coourses that are offered through the website, now includes both the Click2Sell affiliate network, and the JVZoo Affiliate Network.  Earn $3.50 per sale of either course sold through your own affiliate-tracked link.  I've begun a separate newsletter for Songdove Books Affiliates and waiting for those currently signed on, to add their names to this newsletter (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/sign-up-for-the-sap-newsletter/) so I can start keeping them in touch every month just as I keep you in touch with all that goes on in the world of Songdove Books.  So if you want to get in on the act and help me promote these two e-courses, go to the affiliate program page here (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/become-a-songdove-books-affiliate/), pick your preferred network, then grab the related links and media to help you get started.

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Wrap-up

We've reached the end of "the love month", and now we look forward to St. Patrick's Day in March, and on to Resurrection Sunday in April.  We are on our way, entering the month leading up to Christ's betrothal of the Church, otherwise known as The Last Supper.

Did you tell Christ you love Him this month?  Did He get a valentine's gift from you?  How did you go about showing Him that more than anyone or anything else around you, He has your heart?

For myself, I decided to make an adjustment to how I go about my days.  Due to my health being what it is, I endeavour to ensure that I get in 8hrs of sleep every night.  This generally means starting my day by 8:30am or 9am depending on how well I slept the night before and how many times my sleep was interrupted either by washroom stops, or the kids getting up and around to begin their day.  My son begins his day around 5am and my daughter begins her day 45 minutes later.  She wakes me up to drive her to work, and then I come home to return to bed for another hour or two so that I can add up 8 actual hours of sleep.  Nights when I'm dead to the world will see me begin my day by 8am, but those night's don't come often enough.

So the adjustment I chose to make, was that when I turn my computer on and take my morning natural antihistamine, instead of opening my browser and checking messages and such right away, I will also open e-Sword, and engage in morning quiet time with just me and the Lover of my soul, Jesus Christ.  I'll spend some quiet time in gratitude and prayer and just "being" in His presence, then turn to e-Sword to ready the next chapter as I go through the Bible again from beginning to end.  I read Exodus chapter 31 today.

The danger of making my devotional time first thing in the morning, is that if I journal/blog about what I read, it can be an hour or more before I get to my work for the day. . . and that includes making time for breakfast too.  It's a good thing I can work in my PJ's, because I can push off "washing up" till I have to go out, allowing me to be more productive right after my devotional/breakfast time than I otherwise might be.

I began this change when I realized that for now, that time of day is relatively unchanging for me.  It is a time of day that I can set aside and engage with God on a more regular basis than if I waited for a more ideal time later on.  I believe in giving God a portion of the most productive part of my day, unfortunately, that equals times of day when everyone else wants a piece of me too!

Mornings  honestly aren't the best time mentally or physically, and sometimes that translates into emotionally either, but mornings are currently the only regular time of day I can offer.  God appears to be honouring this sacrifice too, and doesn't seem to mind holding me as I wake up in His presence.  Usually by the time clients begin calling me, at least my devotional time is largely wrapped up, whether or not I've had breakfast yet.

So I'm doing what I can regarding the needed rest my body requires, engaging in the newfound time frame for deliberately setting time aside with God rather than fitting it in whereever I can, and engaging in techsupport for my day job's clientelle as well!  God is bringing in the work, and whether that is a result of all of your prayers on my behalf, or whether God is honouring my desire to spend time with Him regardless of my mental/emotional/physical state at the time, either way, work is coming in and I am incredibly grateful!

We show God we love Him by choosing to spend time with Him, by following Christ's example to set ourselves apart every day to be just with Him alone, and by our obedience to His commands as He directs in John 14.

Have you made changes to show God your love for Him?  Care to share?

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Yes, I did just put October and Thanksgiving in the same heading.  The reason for that, is due to continuing to run into people across the US that I meet online, who don't know that Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October.

Thanksgiving was a very lean affair for us this year.  Even moreso than in some years in the past, due to how lean work has also been this Fall.  I thought we could try an o'dourve-style meal this year, with our usual spinach salad, a couple dipping sauces, and some apple-cinnamon store-bought cake for dessert.  My body told me that was too little in the way of nutrition.  I don't think we'll be doing that again in the future.  The lack of carbohydrates and proteins totally did me in that evening.

But the celebration of Thanksgiving is about so much more than food. . . isn't it?  Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving later in November, so I wanted to spend a little time in this newsletter just sharing some of the things I'm thankful for.

Paul says in Philippians 4:11-12  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  12  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

Learning to find the blessings in the midst of want goes a long way to helping my kids and I understand that we have been blessed by so much more than material goods.  Over the years God has brought surprising blessings our way, from boxes of gifts at Christmastime when the kids were smaller, to homes within walking distance of the lakefront.  We've sorted through bags of clothing and purchased very few coats as a result.  God has led us to surprising deals while grocery shopping, and we're positive He's gone ahead of us to the Salvation Army Thrift Store on more than one occasion.  I've watched the gas tank needle occasionally travel much farther up the gauge than what I knew I'd just paid for at the pump.

This Thanksgiving season, I am thankful for understanding landlords as I've struggled to pay the rent.  I am thankful for their prayers and their encouragement in the Lord.  I am thankful for two grown kids with jobs who are paying room and board.  Without them, I'd be really bad off!  One's room and board helps ensure rent is covered while the other's room and board ensures we have groceries through the month.  I call her my walking wallet now.  I am thankful for the ability to walk to most locations where I need to do business.  This gives me the exercise I need so badly, as well as saving gas in the tank.  I'm thankful for the work that has come in, although I am desparately praying for more.  I'm thankful for the strides in my health, and praying that the setback I experienced this fall won't last.  I'm thankful for a community gospel choir to sing in, and for the outreach opportunities we've landed for the upcoming Christmas season.

Is life perfect?  Do we live in material or financial abundance? No to both those questions.  But as Paul said above, the key to being thankful is not in how fat your bank account is or how many possessions you have to look after (there is another verse that talks about being a slave to your possessions), the key to being thankful is found in your ability to look around you and see all the ways God has blessed you that money can't buy.

Why not reply to this newsletter and share what you are thankful for this season?  I may share your comments either in a blog post, or on my social media feeds with just your initials to keep you anonymous.  It would be great to hear from you!


Photos for Sale!

Sometimes I like to play around with a camera.  I rarely if ever take pictures of people, which might be one reason why I'm so bad at capturing moments with the family, but I love landscape or cityscape photography.  I realized earlier this Fall, that one of the features people can create on places such as cafepress.com or zazzle, are greeting cards and prints.

Thanks to a website plugin called Fotomoto, I am now able to offer some of my photos in the four seasonal categories, for sale in the form of either 5x7 prints, greeting cards, postcards/invitation cards, downloads for use in screensavers or desktop wallpaper, and even for use in sending free e-cards to your friends.

When you click this link here, choose the season you wish to browse.  When you see an interesting thumbnail, click on it and give the page a moment to load.  Once the page has finished loading, you'll see the fotomoto bar under the image with options to purchase or send an e-card.  The fotomoto purchase screen has a "more sizes" button that will let you see all sizes currently available.

Photos For Sale Part TWO!

 While I was promoting my little recipe ebook, "Pumpkin Pie From the Ground Up! (Well, sort of!)", I realized I could have some fun and make household or office-related items that featured the pumpkin theme!  Then as I was preparing my fotomoto area of the website, I realized I could turn those photos into products too.  Not all photos looked good on all potential products, so some photos have more of a representation than others.  I haven't done the summer photos yet either.  So this is still a work in progress.  But some of the photos honestly did surprise me with how well they took to being applied to various household items.  It was the same level of surprise I got when adding artwork related to "Dressed for Eternity" and "A Year in Prayer With Jesus".  If I could afford it, I'd have my entire bathroom and maybe even my bedroom, done up in "Dressed for Eternity" while having my kitchen and office done up in Fall photos!  I also discovered that the Thermos brand products are at par or cheaper than two stores I shop at in town here in Canada.  So that was encouraging.  Check them out and if you see something worth sharing with others, go ahead.  If you see something worth buying for yourself or as a gift for someone else, jump in!  Cafepress has a 60 day return policy if you are ever unsatisfied, so I don't get paid till almost 3 months after you make your purchase, just to be sure you like what you bought.

Website Updates

Photos and cafepress were not the only updates and discoveries happening this month.  When you visit my blog next, you'll notice the right-hand sidebar has expanded and some things have been moved around.  This is due to the discovery that many of the places where my books are sold online, have affiliate programs.  I've done my best to give equal representation where possible down that right-hand sidebar.  If an outlet that you normally shop at is present in that sidebar, feel free to throw me a few pennies by clicking through that link before doing your shopping next time.  Perhaps Canada got rid of the penny, but it only takes 5 fictitious pennies (only paid by debit/credit/online transaction) to make a very real, physical nickle, and nickles add up.

While I was in the process of discovering these various affiliate programs, I also discovered a few more places where my books are being sold online.  As a result, the Where to Buy Around the World page has been updated with a few more locations not just on the North American Continent, but in Australia and other places as well.  So if you haven't checked out that list in awhile, you might want to do so in case your favourite retailer is now carrying my books.
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Wrap-up

So it was a quiet front as far as any book promotions, book sales, etc were concerned.  It was a quiet front as far as work went as well.  I managed to get three weeks worth of the "A Year in Prayer With Jesus" prayer cards.  This is a tedious task copying and pasting.  I'm creating a tweet list while I'm at it, as the book is quite tweetable.

I am grateful for a couple book sales this month, two of my ebook "Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author", one of "Pumpkin Pie From the Ground Up! (Well, sort of!)", and a paperback copy of "Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey Volume One".  If you were one of those buyers, I want to offer you a HUGE  THANK YOU!  I'd love to hear what you thought of the book you purchased.  The "Where to Buy Around the World" page also has a list of places where you can leave reviews about the book you purchased.  This not only serves to encourage me as an author, but also lets others know what you thought of the book.  Your words may encourage someone else to pick up a copy.

To all my Canadian readers, a happy post-Thanksgiving!  To all my American readers, a happy early-Thanksgiving!  Tell me what you're thankful for!
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Welcome to all our new subscribers!  It's great to have you with us! Hard to believe that summer is already over for some and almost over for others.  It's been a busy summer around Songdove Books, particularly the month of August!  If you follow me on my author page on Facebook, you'll probably remember all the excited posts about the latest event as it's happened.  I'll try to recapture the action for everyone just in case there are newsletter subscribers who don't follow my social network feeds.  Can't have anyone left out now!


The Big Weekend is Almost Upon Us!

As previously announced in July's newsletter, the official launch date for "A Year in Prayer With Jesus" is the September Labour Day Long Weekend!

"A Year in Prayer With Jesus" is currently hitting online retailer shelves as we speak, and I'll share the list as it exists, in a moment.

To celebrate, the entire month of August has had two events going on.  The first have been ebook giveaways for all 10 current titles under the Songdove Books imprint!  Each giveaway lasts three days and three winners are chosen at the end of each draw.  As of now, there is one giveaway wrapping up tonight, and another occurring from August 28th to August 30th.  When August 30th arrives, A 4 day and a 7 day (hopefully, it's currently "pending") giveaway will commence for "A Year in Prayer With Jesus"!  4 winners and 7 winners will be chosen respectively at two different websites, for a total of 11 recipients of the brand new book.

URL's to these giveaways are up and clickable at:  http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/calendar-3/

The second event going on all month has been a month-long sale taking place at three locations online where paperback versions of my books are sold.  For the entire month of August, buyers have been able to pick up paperback copies of my books for 15% off the usual retail price using the following codes at checkout for the following sites:

YTUWZNRV 15% https://www.createspace.com/
YPWJ-PROMO 15% http://songdovebooks.storenvy.com
YPWJ-PROMO 15% http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/new-christian-books/

This sale only has a few days left, as it ends August 31st.  So if you were hoping to get any deals on my books before September kicks into gear, now's the time to jump!

It is a dream of mine to have 365 people purchase "A Year in Prayer With Jesus" in paperback, PDF, epub, or mobi, and each of these people begin "A Year in Prayer With Jesus" on 365 consequative dates!  For those prayer prompts where people groups, language families, nations and missions organizations are presented, this dream would have them covered by someone every single day for an entire year!  This includes those nations and people groups in current conflict zones as of the time of this announcement.

"A Year in Prayer With Jesus" is available for $25.50 in paperback, and $9.99 in its various ebook formats.  The digital formats are all available on pre-order with delivery taking place August 30th, the beginning of the Long Weekend Launch.  As promised, here is the current list of places where you can buy the Paperback or e-Book version of this book:

Initial list of where to pick up your copy of "A Year in Prayer With Jesus" in either Paperback or e-Book format:

In Canada:

http://songdovebooks.storenvy.com

http://www.bookmob.ca/search/keyword/0991683390/details/isbn/0991683390/

http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/a-year-in-prayer-with-jesus/

Global:

Createspace:
https://www.createspace.com/4757959

Amazon
CA: Digital: http://www.amazon.ca/Year-Prayer-Jesus-Marilynn-Dawson-ebook/dp/B00MT52KBG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1408337250&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Year+in+Prayer+With+Jesus
US: http://astore.amazon.com/becothebridof-20/detail/0991683390
UK: http://astore.amazon.co.uk/becthebriofch-21/detail/0991683390
FR: http://www.amazon.fr/Year-Prayer-Jesus-Marilynn-Dawson/dp/0991683390/ref=la_B008SXA2QS_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408253733&sr=1-13
DE: http://astore.amazon.de/becthebriof0d-21/detail/0991683390
IT: http://www.amazon.it/Year-Prayer-Jesus-Marilynn-Dawson/dp/0991683390/ref=sr_1_11?s=english-books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408253966&sr=1-11
ES: http://www.amazon.es/Year-Prayer-Jesus-Marilynn-Dawson/dp/0991683390/ref=sr_1_11?s=foreign-books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408253832&sr=1-11

Paperback and Digital:
New Christian Books:
http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/new-christian-books/

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-year-in-prayer-with-jesus-ms-marilynn-dawson/1120158824?ean=9780991683390

Chapters:
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/a-year-in-prayer-with/9781928160007-item.html?ikwid=A+Year+in+Prayer+With+Jesus&ikwsec=Books&ikwidx=0

Digital Only:

Italy:
http://www.lafeltrinelli.it/ebook/marilynn-dawson/a-year-prayer-with-jesus/9781928160007

Gumroad:
https://gumroad.com/l/YPWJ

Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/468191

Tomely:
http://songdove.tomely.com/a-year-in-prayer-with-jesus

iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id910036856

Kobo:
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/a-year-in-prayer-with-jesus

Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ms_Marilynn_Dawson_A_Year_in_Prayer_With_Jesus?id=RrJMBAAAQBAJ


e-Course on Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author Now has a Sequel!

Creating Your First E-Book, also just $15, follows on the heels of "Practical Thoughts on Becoming an Author" branching into 12 daily sessions assisting the aspiring author in creating their very first e-Book!

More information about the course such as who would benefit from it, how much it costs, and the purchase link can be found at this link http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/creating-your-very-first-e-book/ If you have already taken the first e-course, you can get this new one for $1 off.  Simply reply to this newsletter with the email address you signed up for the first course with, and I'll get you the coupon code to get your discount.

Conversely, if you take this second course and decide you'd like to take the first course, respond to your final daily session's email with your desire to take the first course and I'll give you the $1 off discount code for the first course.

Either way, be sure to add the course's email address to your whitelist so that you don't miss out on any of the daily sessions.

Both courses can be reviewed at this url:
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Wrap-up

Giveaways, Paperback Sale, Book Launch, New E-Course, Wow!

Yes, life certainly has been busy this month!

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Life hasn't just been busy on the writing front, but this author who is also a computer technician, was at a tradeshow mid-month, for an entire week!  I've only been to a handful of much smaller events in the Okanagan, so I wasn't really sure what I'd be in for.  It turns out that my experiences setting up and manning my sister's craft table at Christmas craft fairs in years past came in quite handy for this show!  I was assisting a startup, and took the owner shopping for what we'd need for our tiny 6ftx2ft space that we were given as part of Epson's booth at Siggraph Vancouver 2014.  While I'm sure their own display must have cost $1000's to transport, register, set up, and take down, our tiny little bit of floor space only cost us maybe $300 to set up and take down.  But with that small amount of cash outlay, our corner of the Epson booth was literally non-stop for 2.5 days of the 3-day exhibition!  We had breather breaks on the Thursday morning, but then we got just as swamped as if it were earlier in the show.

But what made the entire trip worth it, was the sunset over the ocean that greeted me when we finally got back to our suites Thursday night! The picture above doesn't do it justice, but the sunset that evening was positively gorgeous!  Red/orange gradients over the sun as it set below the ocean's horizon were SO amazing!  The sight was incredibly calming as I stood there occasionally trying unsuccessfully to capture the view on camera.  This author grewup beside the ocean and hasn't seen it in many years!  Such an evening felt like a bittersweet send off, as Friday morning we would be heading home to the Okanagan again.  Truly a bittersweet experience. . . and yet calming and quieting all the same.

We need those quieting moments in our lives.  We need those calming moments.  Vancouver is a large city with crazy traffic and strange bus/metro systems.  Every evening the adventure would start all over again, how to pick the best route home from the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre.  Life can seem chaotic at times, crazy, an adventure just getting from point A to point B.  But in the midst of it all, God calls us away for a moment to be with Him.  He speaks peace into the hectic schedule, and for a moment, all is quiet.  After such a crazy week, that moment standing near the window of my suite overlooking the ocean was just what I needed.  I didn't want it to end.

How has God spoken peace into a hectic moment in your day?

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Kelowna BC Canada