We have winners from last week's posts!
Caption Jodi Thomas and Sarah Wendell: Elf's caption of hula lessons wins a book choice from my convention stash.
ML Buchman's THE NIGHT IS MINE: Danielle wins a print copy.
On Wednesday, I spotlighted Cathy Maxwell's LYON'S BRIDE at SOS Aloha (at this link). Mary Gramlich also reviewed LYON'S BRIDE here at the Reading Reviewer (at this link). We both loved the book because it tackled a timeless issue - love conquers all, including fear.
At SOS Aloha, I borrowed characters from THE WIZARD OF OZ to introduce the book - Cathy, like Dorothy, hails from Kansas. Cathy's characters from LYON'S BRIDE, like the characters from THE WIZARD OF OZ, have to face their fears. The lion found his courage. The tin man found his heart. The scarecrow found his brain. Toto found the Wizard. And Dorothy found her way home. Yet they all had to get past that Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys!
open hell and seal Chattans' fate
When a Chattan male falls in love,
strike his heart with fire from Above.
Crush his heart, destroy his line;
Only then will justice be mine.
The curse continues to plague the Chattan family in 1814. Three siblings - Neal, Harry, and Margaret - grew up in the shadows of a loveless marriage. Neal, the heir, walked away from a childhood friend for fear of falling in love with her. Harry, a decorated soldier, is irreverent to women and wine. Margaret, their spinster sister, is seemingly cold. Then Neal takes a chance, challenges the curse, and their lives are forever changed. Good? Bad? You'll have to read the book to see how Cathy's characters try to get past that Wicked Witch. The siblings do not encounter flying monkeys, but they have other roadblocks to their HEA. That's the icing on the coco puffs - Cathy makes love relevant!
We all have roadblocks in our lives - what causes the fear? I fear flying. I live near the historic Hickam Operations Center (which you will see on Monday night's episode of H50 when Danno welcomes Callen and Sam from NCIS). I watch cargo aircraft and and passenger carriers land safely each day. I know they have flown for at least five hours over the Pacific Ocean, at an altitude of at least 35,000 feet, with no problem. Day in, day out, flying is safe. It works within the laws of nature. Yet I fear it. Am I cursed?
When I do fly, I carry rosary beads given to me by a friend who also fears flying. Logically, I know that I am playing into that witch's curse to fear flying ... yet emotionally I have to approach my fear. It is all about balance. The beads remind me that my family and friends are waiting for me.
The lion said to Dorothy, "I would never have found my courage if it hadn't been for you." Perhaps fear points us in the direction we need to go. Perhaps fear breaks us out of our shells. Perhaps fear motivates us for a better life.
Have you overcome a fear? One randomly selected commenter wins a print copy of LYON'S BRIDE. This giveaway is open to all readers. Comments are open through Friday, May 4, 10 pm in Hawaii.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
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| I respect (not fear) Hawaii's spiritual beliefs. |
I haven't gotten over my fear of heights yet, but it has gotten better. I can actually look out over the balcony and not get queasy.
ReplyDeleteI've overcome one fear..I still have a few (like bee's) still to conquer. I can handle spiders now though. I can pick them up in my hands and take them outside. And, I've never been bitten doing this. I can relocate other bugs outside as well...as long as they aren't bee's, it's all good.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations everyone!!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any great fears to overcome. I love being up high & flying, for example, & spiders & snakes don't bother me.
sometimes yes but sometimes not too :(
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the winners!!! I do not like getting on a step ladder that is my one fear.
ReplyDeleteI have many little fears and find I have to force myself to do some things. It never gets easy though. It take me a long time to talk to anyone when I am in crowd.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
You failed to mention those Rosary Beads were blessed by Pope Paul and he is watching over all of us.
ReplyDeleteI am a believer of all things that go bump in the night and swear when I can't find something that "the ghosts" moved it.
Loved Cathy's book and enjoyed this post as I always do.
Home from college, I decided to overcome my childhood fear of spiders and waived my mom away as she came to kill one. Hit at that spider with my shoe, but the spider dodged and ran up my arm. Thank you, freshman psychology prof.
ReplyDeleteThe spiders now go where they will, and I leave the room for awhile.
I have to fight fear all the time. I fear change and it's really hard for me to make a big change in my life, even when I know I need to. I took a voluntary lay off from a company I'd worked with for over 38 years and was out of a job for 6 months. Every time I had to go for an interview, I had to force myself to go. I now have a great job with a lovely boss, nice people to work with and great benefits. It was well worth facing my fears to get where I am now.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I'm scared of the dark (blame it on my older brothers who filled my mind with scary tales they "experienced" when they lived with my uncle in the province) Our country has a very rich culture and we have our own monsters, vampires and etc. What I do to overcome it is to always remind myself that I'm not going to achieve anything if I get scared all the time. Plus I also carry with me a rosary given by my mom (she works in the church) and often remind myself to leave everything to God.
ReplyDeleteDriving. Not all driving - I can do the local stuff and places close by where I know I'm going. I have no sense of direction (no gps and I'm not sure that would really help me lol). I don't like merging on highways and our parkway is a horror. It's really stopped me from doing a lot of things.
ReplyDeleteDrowning. I almost drowned as a teenager and have had a fear of it ever since.
ReplyDeleteI used to be scared to death of speaking in public, enough so that I generally threw up before I had to start speaking. I used to put myself in situations where I had to speak to groups, etc. to try to overcome the fear. Not sure the fear ever went away, but the symptoms lessened.
ReplyDeleteAnd, like catslady, there are certain places where I cannot drive (i.e., major highways of 5 or more lanes and large cities - like Dallas). Another situation where I became physically ill. It does stop one from doing a lot of things. If possible, I always take the long way to get places.
Kim, I carry my rosary with me at all times in my pocketbook; it too is blessed. Just knowing it is with me brings comfort.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great post! I don't have major fears that prevent me from doing something that is necessary or that I want to do. Just small ones... more like worries.
ReplyDeleteFor a person that lives in Hawaii the fear of flying would be paralyzing. So way to go to overcome it! And if carrying a rosary (or anyother luck charm) helps than so be it.
ReplyDeleteReading your summary of the book it makes me wonder how he decides to take on the curse. And it makes me wonder why their spinster sister is seemilgly so cold...if the curse if for the males of the line then she should be free to love. Or is she afraid to love and pass the curse to her potential children? Or maybe she is suffering along with her brothers/father?
I can't say I have a fear I have had to overcome or live with. I was afraid to jump off our tree house and go down the zip line, but with a gentle (well it didn't feel gentle at the time) push from my Dad I went down. Then realized I could do it and absolutely loved it! You couldn't get me off that thing for the next three summers.
I can't think of any fears I need to overcome. I do have fears--outliving my children, having something happen to the grandkids--but they are normal life things.
ReplyDeleteAloha Kim,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the prize! I fear speaking in front of people. I tend to stutter slightly when I am very nervous. I practiced reading aloud for a website that a high school student started to help those learning English or learning to read called RepeatAfterUs which forced me to stop and enunciate so that I didn't stutter on the recordings. I still dislike the sound of my recorded voice but I don't stutter quite so badly (although I do turn very red!) I am sorry that you are so uncomfortable with flying Kim, I always celebrate the experience of flight just because it should be so impossible that I consider it a beautiful miracle.
I have a fear of drowning. When my children were young we were in our lake and I decided to swim accross and gave out of breath and had to float. We were surrounded by trees and I could not get a focal point and just kept floating until I finally got to the deck. My husband and others were working on our new house and saw me but did not realize I was calling to them for help. I still love water but don't go swimming in lakes any longer.
ReplyDeletemisskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
I have a fear of bears - I hate to watch movies that have an aggressive bear in it. I think I was killed by a bear in a former life.
ReplyDeleteI'm also afraid of heights. I try to just deal with it when I have to, but I'm also really careful when I do.
sallans d at yahoo dot com
I'm not really afraid of anything.
ReplyDeleteI have a phobia when it comes to rodents. If I see a mouse, no matter how tiny I lock up and can't move and then start to hyperventilate. It's terrible ad my kids think it's so funny. :) I know I'll never get over it. And I have a fear of heights. Terrible. But I haven't gotten over wither of these fears and I don't know what caused them.
ReplyDeleteCarol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (do) com
I have lots of fears, and have worked very hard to overcome them. My worst fear used to be flying. It took an awful lot of courage for me to board a flight to the USA the first time I flew. Once airborne, I realized that I was in the Pilot's hands, and that there was nothing I could do about it except pray to arrive safely at my destination. I still get a little uneasy when I fly but, it's nothing like I used to be.
ReplyDeleteI have a fear of public speaking and I'm afraid to go on roller coasters!
ReplyDeletehate hate wizard of oz. them flying monkeys still scare me , so does planet of the apes
ReplyDeleteand still not over came that one. but snakes, i watch a ton of those animal planet shows on snakes . and i THINK im over it,lol
blackroze37