I’m currently reading the non-fiction book The Hidden Life of Trees* by Peter Wohlleben. Have you read this book? Peter’s a forester in Germany, and he explores how trees are like human families. He dives deep into their root systems to discover they work together to survive.
Wohlleben discovers something profound when he strolled through the forest and came upon a “stone” near a beech tree. It wasn’t a stone but the remains of an ancient tree stump. Through research and inspection, he discovered that trees are social beings that share food with their own species and even have nourished their competitors. Why? Trees rely on forests because they need to work together.
I’m drawn to the concept of trees as a metaphor for people. Interestingly enough,the Bible Project has a podcast series about the Bible’s use of the tree metaphor. (Did you know that trees are mentioned over 600 times in the Bible?)
This concept of community reflects my literary endeavors and my recent book launches. I’ve needed community to get my books written, published, and marketed. And when I hit a major obstacle during the publishing leg, I had a brief vision of people celebrating at a book launch. People were so jovial, I could tangibly feel their joy! Boy, this helped when I didn’t know if I’d have paperbacks available for the launches.
Fortunately, the paperbacks arrived at the midnight hour. I received copies of Christmas at Sonshine Barn a few days before leaving for Michigan, and Good Tidings in Michigan only days before the women’s night out event.
And the actual launch events exceeded the joy I felt in the vision. I had so much fun catching up with friends and family and basking in the joy of celebrating the book launches. Thank you to all who attended. Your presence blessed me.
And I raised over $572 for ICO, the charity I contributed the Good Tidings proceeds. Woot! Woot! This made launching the anthology even more fun. Thanks to Nat Yocum for sharing at the Tulsa book launch about how ICO impacts international students.
By the way, people have enjoyed the treats in Good Tidings. I haven’t made them all, but Mari’s Peppermint Mocha Fudge, my grandma’s rohlicky recipe- thanks to my sister Jessica who made them for the women’s night out event- Jill’s Gluten-free Jammed Thumbs, and Janet’s Shrimp Dip were the rave! (If you can’t find condensed cream of shrimp soup at your grocery store, consider using lobster bisque like I did or order Campbell’s Cream of Shrimp Soup online.)
This is the book table from the Ladies Night Out in Michigan. It also is in the farmhouse shown on the book cover.
I gifted Good Tidings to my 102-young grandma. She was the inspiration for “Lina’s Choice,” my short story in the anthology.
I shared briefly about publishing two books.
My dad and I did a FB Live to advertise the book signing at Plot Bound Books. It was special to share this moment with him! 
The entrance to the book launch in Tulsa. Zazzle makes affordable, high-quality promotional materials.
Robert did a terrific dramatization as he read a brief passage from Christmas at Sonshine Barn.
Hilltop Christmas
My fellow writer Kathleen D. Bailey released a contemporary Christmas story, Hilltop Christmas. Since I served on her launch team, I was privileged to read this inspirational romance novel.
In this Christmas story, she sweeps you to New Hampshire (her hometown state), in the quaint town of Hilltop. She evokes all the feels with her tender romance between Jane and Noah, along with suspense when they discover someone within their tight-knit community stole all the funds for their annual Christmas festival. Jane plays amateur detective, trying to track the thief while also wrestling with the effects of recurring nightmares triggered from her traumatic childhood.
Can she help find the culprit before an innocent person is declared guilty? Will she open her heart to love or reject the person who’s become a cherished friend? To find out, purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Featured Lady Lit Author: Cindy Godwin
NOTE: We have a sci-fi writer in our Lady Lits mastermind group. Cindy Godwin joined us this past summer, and she’s a great addition!
I’ve critiqued four chapters of her upcoming sci-fi novel and looking forward to reading the rest of her story. She’s a talented writer with distinct characters, fast-paced action, and unique supernatural elements.
Cynthia lives in the greater Los Angeles Area and is formally trained as a screenwriter. But as a high school science teacher, she spent more time writing Power Points than anything else.
Cynthia’s writing a three-book sci-fi series. Since the stories of the three main female characters are intertwined, she plans to finish all of the novels before approaching a publisher.
Below is a short synopsis for Gates of Telandra, Book 1 in the series.
“An emergency stop on an unexplored planet lands Keely Alliman and several crew members of an interstellar cruiser in the middle of a civil war. With the Captain dead, surrounded by enemy soldiers, and her crew separated, will Keely be able to set aside her misgivings about a local with an attitude to find her missing crew member and escape the violent world that holds them hostage?”
Follow Cindy’s literary exploits here: cynthiazagergodwin.com.
Featured Image of the book tree courtesy of Karolina Bobek on Unsplash. My hubby created one the one below:
* Peter Wohlleben, The Hidden Life of TREES: What They Feel, How They Communicate, trans. Jane Billinghurst (Berkeley: Greystone Books, 2016).