Three Things & Contest Winners!

1. Announcing

...winners for the last two giveaways here at Woman of Faith!  (Finally!) The first giveaway winner receives
the book English Country House Murders, and the CD, "Voices of the Faithful," from Beth Moore Presents.

And the winner is....MARY PRESTON. Congratulations, Mary! I'll need your mailing address to send your prizes so please email me at Linore(at)LinoreBurkard(dot)com.

The 2nd giveaway was for a free copy of Pearls from the Sea, by MaryLu Tyndall and Debbie Mitchell.
And the winner is....VICKIE MARNEY. Congratulations, Vickie! Your ebook will be automatically mailed to you by one of the authors.

Hope you both enjoy your prizes. :)

2. UPDATE to "If Sickness Doesn't Kill You, Modern Medicine Will."

Last week I wrote about having gone for a CT Scan at my doctor's request, which he felt was necessary because I have high cholesterol. I mentioned that high cholesterol, according to the latest science, has absolutely NO causative relation to heart disease, especially in women. I went for the scan, received a chest full of radiation (yuck!) and said I'd get back to you with the results. I felt that maybe the toxicity of the test would be worth it if I found out something useful.

So--the results came back (the very next day): I have a score of ZERO cardiac calcium. "You have NO heart disease," the nurse told me during the call. So I underwent getting all that radiation to find out it wasn't necessary. I am trying to console myself with the fact that it was good news--even though the test WASN'T necessary--it is far better to find out that I have no diseased cardiac arteries, than to feel it was worthwhile getting it because I do. 

Bottom line: Don't be eager to undergo tests that aren't necessary, especially if they entail radiation exposure. If I could turn back the clock, I'd ask, instead, for a test that measures arterial blockage in the neck, and that is far less toxic, if at all. I'm not sure why my doctor didn't suggest this test to begin with, and I will ask him that at my next opportunity. 

3. The Sale Continues! (But for how much longer?)

 

It's odd to be an author and not know when your books go on sale but it happens. Recently I was on Amazon and discovered accidentally that my books (the Kindle editions) were on a deeply discounted sale! Apparently, ( a reader told me) that the Nook editions are also at these bargain prices.

Before the Season Ends   Only $1.99                                    

The House in Grosvenor Square  Only $2.51

The Country House Courtship  Only $3.03

I love sales because it means more readers take a chance on me; some of my dearest friends are women who read my books and contacted me! Of course I enjoy getting more readers anyway, but a great deal on my books is something I'm happy to tell others about. I love a deal myself, so I can totally identify with you on that.  

The Regency Books on Sale on Nook

Stay tuned for an announcement of the new drawing--June is the month for weddings and romance, so I have something beautifully fun and romantic to give away! All commenters this month are automatically entered in the drawing, so even if you comment today, it counts.  I'll have a picture of the June giveaway by tomorrow.
Hugs and Blessings,
Linore

Setting Manageable Goals

I've reached far more goals in my life since I started using a system to track them. The key, however, is  that I've discovered goal-setting, and in particular, goal-REACHING is fun. That's right: it may take work and discipline to reach a goal, but there's so much satisfaction in getting there, that it's all worth it.

I'm going to share my system with you, and it's one I've gleaned from countless books on time-management and goal fulfillment. As an author who is also a homeschooling mother of five, I've HAD to study time-management to make my life work. But you are likely just as busy as I am, if in other ways. So this will help you or anyone who needs to get purposeful with their life and know that they're getting somewhere on the treadmill of time.

 I've discovered goal-setting, and in particular, goal-REACHING is fun.

What To Do:

One: Write a Master List of at least 100 goals for the year.

That may sound like a lot, but the idea here is to dream big, think big, and focus on what you really want to achieve.  I include five areas of my life when I write my master list, so if you put about 20 items beneath each of the five headings, you'll easily reach 100 goals. Once you get the hang of this, you'll probably have more than 100 goals each year and wonder how you ever lived without writing down these things.

Two: If you haven't already, separate your goals into five main headings, such as: 

• Personal (losing weight; getting up earlier; speaking more kindly to your mate, etc.) 
• Family (turn off the tv at 9PM; have a reading night; eat breakfast together before church, etc.)
• House and Home (Fix the wallpaper in the dining room; paint the hallway; etc.)
• Career (finish that regency romance in my files; flesh out the two I already started, etc.)
• Finance (open a Roth IRA; save a 6-month emergency fund; pay off student loan, etc.)

You may want to put a sub-heading in your PERSONAL section for "SPIRITUAL", but I simply include my spiritual goals within the personal heading. (For ex., Read through the Bible; study servanthood; spend five extra minutes a day in prayer, etc.)

Three: After you've sorted your goals into their proper spheres, now is the time to go over them again and prioritize. Choose first your top ten goals.

•  If I had to choose only ten things to accomplish this year, would this be one of them? 
•  Is this a non-negotiable item? Something I simply MUST do, have, achieve, etc.?

Once you get your top ten goals, put them into their own separate list.

Finally, using your Master List as a guide, and your top ten goals, create a MONTHLY goal sheet.
You can do this one month at a time. I love to take out my master list at the end of each month and see how I'm doing on the grand scheme of things.

My January list has 34 items, all from my Master List. Some of them are aimed at helping me towards one of the top ten. Not all goals are one-time things you can scratch off a list. Something like "eat more healthy meals," has to be on-going, for example. But I can still give it a check if I've made progress in that area.

Don't Forget

No amount of setting goals will help if you write your list and then forget about it. Review your list often. I check my monthly list about once a week.

Be Sure Your Goals are Measurable

Again, if I write something vague like, "Eat more healthy meals," how will I know when I've reached my goal? Do I need to eat three more healthy meals a month, or one healthier meal a day? So be specific. Write something like, "Order out no more than twice a month." That is something you can measure, and know when you've achieved it.

What about you? Did you set goals this year? Have you found a goal-setting plan that works for you?
Leave a comment and you'll be entered in: 

THE CURRENT BOOK GIVEAWAY! Help Your Twenty-Something Get a Life

  (US ONLY. For details, please see my last post. Scroll to the bottom.)Winner will be picked after midnight, January 20th.

More about goal-setting in my next post!

PS: The Sale is still on!

At the time of writing this, my first regency romance, Before the Season Ends, was still on sale for only $2.51. Please pass the word!

Thanks, and Warmest Blessings,

Linore

New Year, New Goals

Are you enjoying 2013 yet?

I used to hate the months of January and February. Honestly, after the excitement and fun of the holidays, it was as disappointing as a really bad ending to a good book to be inundated with snow and ice and stuck in the house. I had a few winters like that on eastern Long Island when my kids were little.  One year, we had a deep snow (I mean DEEP--four feet--which is very deep for Long Island.) Our driveway got covered, then a wet snow left it topped with an ice-blanket so thick we couldn't use the driveway all winter. My husband had to park on the street for weeks and weeks.

Yes, there were days of sledding and days of building snowmen, and hot cocoa with marshmallows. There was snuggling and reading aloud, and days with the (new to us) Nintendo Donkey Kong, which my boys instantly took to like magnets to iron. (I didn't realize then that the purchase of that first Nintendo system would change our family life forever! It seems boys and video games are fused at the hip--or is it at the mouse?) 

Anyway, in recent years, I've learned to love January and February, and here's why. A new year is the perfect time to rev up the tired old routines that aren't working in your life and make changes that count.

Yeah, I know, you've heard it all before, resolutions and all that. But I'm not talking about vague resolutions or good intentions. I'm talking about a specific list of goals, broken down into manageable chunks, and a plan for how to reach each one. (Who cares what the weather's like when you've got so much to keep you busy and interested in life?)

In a nutshell, I start with a Master List of Goals, break them into monthly goals, and use a daily to-do list to stay on track. I have five major areas of life which I create goals for: Personal, Family, House and Home, Career, and Finance.

I'll give more details on this in my next post, but rest assured that when you see immediate, if small, victories and changes in your life, it is encouraging. So January is a time for me to rejoice in the new disciplines I prayerfully implement, and February is exciting because by mid-month, some of my new disciplines will be new habits. (I should also be a pound or two lighter by then; you know, the pound or two that came on over the holidays? No sense bringing it with me all the way to summer!)

How about you? Do you start new goals with the start of the year? What's your biggest goal this year?

Leave a comment and you'll be entered into my new book giveaway. That's all it takes.*Here's what you can win:

Help Your Twenty-Something Get A Life...And Get It Now, by Ross Campbell, M.D., Kregel Publishing
with a foreword by Gary Chapman, Ph.D.

SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE!

My first novel, Before the Season Ends (A Regency Inspirational Romance) is available on Kindle right now for only $2.51!  Great snuggle-up reading (or so they tell me) for a song. :) I have no idea how long my publisher will keep it at this price--I only discovered quite by accident that it was marked down! 


*Book Drawing for US residents only, sorry.   I should also mention that it will have underlined passages because I'm just finishing this book but I underline as I go. The reason I underline is twofold: One: I'm compelled to! Two: I hire my daughter to type up all the underlined passages and keep them for later when I want to review what I learned in a book. (I got this tip from Mike Hyatt. Great idea!) So-pardon my underlining--but if you'd like to read the book, leave a comment and you'll be in the drawing! 

Talk Again Soon, :)

Linore

Pre-Christmas Sale!

For Book-lovers Only (Especially Regency fans)

My Three Book Set of the Regency Trilogy is on Sale for Christmas Giving, Pre-Wrapped and Autographed.

 IMPORTANT: QUANTITIES ARE VERY LIMITED! 

My family is prayerfully preparing to move out of state, so I'm willing to let go of my last stock (which I've never offered on sale before like this because I LIKE having them around for things like workshops I teach, writer's meetings and other book signing events and so on).

.
Each set INCLUDES:

Before the Season Ends--A young woman of faith must navigate the treacherous waters of a London Season while her wealthy, social-climbing aunt schemes to marry her off to an eligible blue-blood. 

The House in Grosvenor Square--Follows the story of Ariana Forsythe from Before the Season Ends, as she contemplates marriage, fends off foes, and encounters mysterious goings-on in the house in Grosvenor Square!

The Country House Courtship--Ariana and husband are safely ensconced in their country estate; but younger sister Beatrice has lessons to learn and a courtship to consider--from two different gentlemen! Which man deserves to win her heart?

The Regency Trilogy is a three-book experience of life and love during the Regency--that most "Jane Austenesque" of eras. The drawing-room manners, speech and modes of fashion will thrill your history loving heart, while the romance will warm your womanly soul.

NOW IS THE TIME TO GET THE COMPLETE SET! HERE ARE FIVE REASONS WHY: 

1. It's on SALE!  The retail total for the set would be $41. My sale price is only $22, including gift-wrapping.
2. Print copies are getting hard to find. My publisher has stopped printing them. Amazon is practically sold out. Who knows if they'll ever go into a second printing? I certainly don't count on that happening. 
3. I'll autograph them to you or your gift recipient, and you won't even have to wrap them! 
4. They'll arrive ready to proudly sit beneath anyone's tree. (Each package is different, but the pictures above are indicative of how they will look.)  No worry or stress on your part.
5.  It's EARLY. You can tackle that gift list right now and spend more time on cooking, baking, going to seasonal events, or whatever it is you like to spend your time doing other than shopping. (Like READING?) :)

I will send the books anywhere in the US for the flat fee of $5.50 (contiguous US). You could order a set for Grandma or Aunt Mable  and I can both autograph and mail it directly to her.

Start check-out right here, below:  

Autograph the books to:

Me Other (Leave name in comment) Don't autograph

Autograph to:

Get your order in while quantities last!

IMPORTANT: QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED!  As I said, I'm depleting my own stock of books

Before You Go:

There's still time for you to leave a comment and enter the drawing for a free copy of Ray Comfort's book GOD HAS A WONDERFUL PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE: THE MYTH OF THE MODERN MESSAGE. Go to this blog post and get in on the drawing! Book winner will be picked after November 30th.  

Warmest Blessings,

Linore