The entire book, not just a few chapters

Look under my Blogroll and you’ll see the link for Reaping the Whirlwind ebook. Click there and you’ll gain access to the entire book. It will download to your computer and you can read it on screen or print it out. There’s no charge at all.

This is my Christy Award winner, a mystery that takes place during the Scope trial in 1925, complete with Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, and John Scopes along with a lot of other colorful people who actually lived during those times. Believe me, truth really is stranger than fiction. If you like an interesting mystery story, check it out now. I’m not sure how long this offer is going to last.

Brick Sidewalks and other Blessings

Our house is on the corner which gives us sidewalk across the front and down the long side, about 225 feet of it. This weekend we set about trying to uncover the entire thing. The edges were under 3 inches of eroded soil and much of the gaps between the bricks were filled with grass. My husband and son took turns with the weed eater for 8 1/2 hrs while I swept up 6 garbage bags of refuse behind them.

The effort was well worth it. The photo was taken standing outside our gate which is in the center of the sidewalk. Now, if we can only find a product that will keep those pesky weeks from filling in the gaps as soon as it rains.

Lyme Disease

Five weeks ago I started flu-like symptoms that progressed into throbbing joint pain, chest pain and shooting pains through my muscles. My limbs felt like they carried weights and my memory was fuzzy. When the flu-like symptoms subsided and I was still exhausted after a week, I went to the doctor and asked about Lyme Disease. Delaware has an epidemic of it this year. We’ve had at least 6 cases in our little church of 25. Now, after 15 days on a strong antibiotic, I’m finally feeling better. Another week on the medicine and I should be good to go. If you’ve been exhausted for no apparent reason with similar symptoms, get medical attention. Lime can turn into fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and other chronic conditions if left untreated. Check out this site for more information.

Book Galleys–the good and bad

On Monday I received the galleys for my next release COLORADO CHRISTMAS. Galleys are exciting things. It’s the first time the author sees the book in typeset format. The pages look just like they’ll look in the finished book. The excitement lasts about 15 minutes, 30 minutes if you’re a newbie to book publishing.

After that first rush, the workload sets in. The story must be proofed yet again. The dedications examined at length, and the author bio scrutinized. The teaser inside the front cover must be disected to be sure it accurately portrays what’s in the story. This time my hero was described as a bellboy when he was really a waiter. Oops. That would have been a (no so) good one.

After three long days, it’s finished! It goes back to the publisher and then to the presses.

Now, getting those first finished copies, that’s exciting!

Staying busy and loving it,

Rosey

Hypothyroidism: An unnamed epidemic

For at least 10 years I’ve known that my metabolism was below par. I constantly fought fatigue and a fuzzy brain. My weight slowly and steadily climbed. My eyesight suddenly grew worse and I had to begin wearing glasses. I had muscle aches and insomnia, depression and a sense of dread when nothing was wrong. Three times I went to the doctor and asked to have my thyroid checked. Both my grandmothers took thyroid medicine. My mother and my sister have problems with their thyroid. I’d done some reading, and I knew I probably did, too.

But when every test came back, the doctor would shake his head and say, “You’re within normal ranges.” They’d shut their folder and say, “It can’t be your thyroid.” Things continued to grow worse. Finally, when the fourth doctor sang the same tune, I said, “I want to see a specialist.” He looked doubtful but pulled out his pad to write the order.

The endocrinologist took one look at the same test results and said, “Your thyroid is under stress.” He asked me about my symptoms and checked my reflexes. They were non-existent. He felt my neck and said, “Your thyroid is enlarged. Let’s try you on medication and see how you react. These numbers don’t tell the whole story. There are a lot of other factors involved.”

Within a week of being on a low dose of Synthroid, I began to feel a drastic change. I had energy. My head was clear. I could remember things that I knew I would have never remembered before, like the name of my husband’s elderly employer when he was 13 yrs old. My muscle aches vanished. I felt like a new person.

Thank God for my endocrinologist, a man willing to look beyond the protocols to see the person. All of this made me wonder how many other undiagnosed suffers are out there because of a numbers system that is far too wide. Normal ranges from 0.5 to 5 on the scale when even a few tenths of a point make a vast difference in how a person feels.

Today, I feel good. God bless that doctor and make him prosper.

My say for today,

Rosey

More Than a Career

To me writing is more like breathing than working. During those long 14 years before I got published, I tried to quit more than once, but I’d find myself pulling that manuscript out yet again after it had lain dormant for several months. Something inside of me connected with that paper and ink. Once I got published, it was all over. Writing is something that comes from within me. As long as I can put two words together, this is who I am.I’m a Christian writer because that’s who I am, too. Saved from the wrong side of the tracks, Jesus changed my life and my future. His strength keeps me going every single day. What could be better than to share object lessons of his power and grace through stories? There’s nothing better to me. And if I can have fun while I do that, so much the better.

On the high road,

Rosey Dow

Not-so-big Victorian

Last September we bought a 3 bedroom/1.5 bath historic home (circa 1889) in a tiny berg in Delaware. Both my husband and I were enthralled with the interior architecture. It has 4 bay windows with stunning arches over them, original wood floors on the first floor, and lots of character. We bought it when the market had just begun its downturn, so we made a real deal about 25% below the original asking price. Better yet, it had a floored attic with windows and a lot of potential. With five children (ages 15-24) still at home and the rooms a little bigger than a phone booth, we needed that extra space.

So, you guessed it, we immediately began to finish out that attic. It’s about 75% finished now and two of the boys have moved into the new bedroom. The rest we use as a family room. It has been so great to have that extra square footage. But now the improvement is in a holding pattern.

1. We can’t finish the floor until the old knob-and-tube wiring is replaced. The attic floor gives access to the second floor wall space.
2. We can’t finish the walls containing the windows until the windows are replaced. This isn’t a big deal and we should have it done soon now that the weather is warmer.
3. We can’t put in a permanent stairs until a chimney is removed. That pesky chimney has created a world of problems. The roofing material is asbestos and most contractors won’t touch it. There is a large antique chimney pots at the top, and we’d like to preserve it. We also have a 12/12 roof that’s too steep to stand on. So, we’re waiting on an estimate and continuing to use those pull-down hall stairs for a few weeks longer.

A thousand thanks to my dad for replacing the old wiring on the first floor, for wiring the entire attic floor, and for framing out the studs on the new rooms. If it hadn’t been for him, we would still have 4 boys crammed into an 9×12 room with a miniature closet.

The kitchen is another topic altogether and best saved for another day.

Have a great one,

Rosey

Good-bye April

It’s the 30th of April and it feels weird beginning a new project on the last day of the month. At the moment I’m between book contracts, enjoying the free moments to read gardening books, take a few naps (very few), and reconnect with my family. I’ve got a book proposal circulating, but it’ll probably be a few more weeks before I hear anything back from that. Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the slower pace and looking at some of the remodeling projects that have been simmering on the back burner.

Getting Acquainted

For those who don’t know me, I’m posting my bio. It’s written in third person, but you get the idea. You can visit my website at www.roseydow.com.

Rosey Dow has a lot to say—writing, speaking, and teaching. Winner of the coveted Christy Award, she is a best-selling author with nine published novels. A popular conference speaker and writing workshop presenter, Rosey has been a guest on dozens of radio programs and TV’s Encounter with the Unexplained.

Her first novel, Megan’s Choice made Heartsong’s list of Top Ten Historical Favorites for 1997. Rosey was one of Heartsong’s Favorite New Authors that year. Fireside Christmas published in 1999 received four stars from Romantic Times and appeared on the CBA best-seller list for three months. Her historical novel of the Scopes evolution trial, Reaping the Whirlwind, won the Christy Award in 2001.

Beginning in December, 2004, Colorado, stayed on Wal-Mart’s shelves for fifteen months and topped out at 167,000 copies sold. Rosey’s articles have appeared in Cross & Quill, Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman’s Soul, and Maranatha. She is the director of ChristianFictionMentors.com, a twelve-lesson interactive program that guides new writers through their first novel. She is also a freelance editor.

Rosey and her husband, David, were missionaries on the tiny island of Grenada, West Indies, from 1987 to 2001. While there, she wrote Survival Cookbook: For Americans Abroad, 250 recipes for cooking-challenged Americans who can no longer purchase convenience foods. The cookbook is now in its third printing.

The Dows have seven children ages 27-15, and Rosey has been a homeschooling mom for the past nineteen years. The Dow family currently lives in an old Victorian home in Delaware.