Julie Saffrin

INTERVIEW WITH MINNESOTA AUTHOR CONNIE LOUNSBURY AND BOOK GIVEAWAY

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I feel somewhat like a mosquito at a beach about expressing all that I loved about this book. I know what to do, but I don’t know where to start to persuade you to read A Hobo’s Wish by Minnesota author Connie Lounsbury. I guess I’ll start with its premise: A description of the book on Amazon states, After a tragic mistake during The Great Depression, Dr. Pete Walters becomes penniless, forced to ride the rails along with thousands of other unemployed men and women, surviving by trading labor for food, or asking for handouts. Will he find the trust and the…

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Co-Work at The Commons: An Uncommon Workplace

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“I suppose if you had to choose just one quality to have that would be it. Vitality.  ― A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House,” by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. The window signs this fall in the in-process renovation at 540 Lake Street in Excelsior, Minn., talked about a new thing coming called The Commons: An Uncommon Workplace, a new place for entrepreneurs and people who are self-employed to come together and “co-work.” Interesting concept. I’m a self-employed writer and while I love having my independence, I need the energy of being around people to stimulate my creativity,…

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Brainstorming Ways to Say Thanks

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Idea Sparking

Today Michelle Lim, author of the new non-fiction book, Idea Sparking: How to Brainstorm Conflict in Your Novel, is guest-posting on the BlessBack blog. She is also a romantic suspense author whose manuscripts have earned recognition in The Rattler Contest 2012, the Genesis Contest 2011, and the Frasier Contest in 2010. Michelle is the Brainstorm/Huddle Coach at My Book Therapy, an online book-coaching business. I reconnected with Michelle in July 2012 at a writing conference in Duluth where she facilitated our time together. I found her twists and schemes inspiring. Her depth of knowledge of how the brain works makes me think…

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Shelley Hitz’s “21 Days of Gratitude Challenge”: Gift This Book to You and Others

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Book Review 21 Days of Gratitude Challenge: Finding Freedom from Self-Pity and a Negative Attitude by Shelley Hitz   “ . . .take simple steps of intentional gratitude . . .and watch and see what God does.” Shelley Hitz, from 21 Days of Gratitude Challenge Shelley Hitz’s new book, 21 Days of Gratitude Challenge: Finding Freedom from Self-Pity and a Negative Attitude uses the idea that if people practice a habit for 21 days, they can create a new pattern of thinking and living. Hitz chose to implement this strategy in her own life after a season of loss and…

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Irene Christiansen – An Illuminator

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They stand mostly abandoned now, these one-room country schools. But as the following story by Florence Smallfield reveals, they were places held in high esteem, where community happened and children of all ages received instruction in education and a way to go in life. Florence’s story of her family’s farm in Flandreau, South Dakota came to me through my mother. Both women attend church together. You can read her moving account of her family’s BlessBack in BlessBack: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life by purchasing a copy of the paperback version here. Or, if you prefer, the e-book version of BlessBack is FREE for…

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A BlessBack Interview

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$4.99 for your Kindle! Order HERE. I’m still celebrating the eBook release of BlessBack: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life. Today I’m featured on author Karen Baney’s blog. Get to know the story behind BlessBack and a little about my journey. Here’s the link. I know Karen would love your taking the time to leave her a comment if you liked the blog post. As always, thank you for taking the time to stop and read my posts. I appreciate all of you who have written me. Julie Saffrin Follow BlessBack’s Facebook Fan Page here. Follow BlessBack (@blessback) on Twitter here.…

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Bloomington Sun Current editor, Mike Hanks, gives a BlessBack

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For years I worked at writing BlessBack: Thank Those Who Shaped Your Life, hoping people who read it would be moved to write BlessBacks of their own. But never did I think I’d read about a newspaper editor doing so. But that is what happened this week. Mike Hanks, the editor of the Bloomington Sun-Current, interviewed me in early June 2012 to do a story on BlessBack and highlight the Bloomington stories within it. One of those whom he attempted to contact was Harry Driste, a custodian during my elementary years at River Ridge. But Harry, who was still an…

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BlessBack, A Dream of Mine

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February 2012 Blog BlessBack, This Dream Made Real “ … there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living.” — Friedrich Neitzsche, Beyond Good and Evil February, 2012 I am sitting here, like I do most daylight hours, trying to create a worthwhile combination of words — words that will evoke meaning and emotion. Words that will make someone’s life different, if only for one hour. Seems like I have sat here for years, typing in the same direction, trying to make…

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Perham’s “The Gathering Grounds Coffee Shoppe” where Gouda and BlessBack come together

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Sometimes you happen upon a place with just the right ambiance to change your mood to a happier one. That happens every time in Perham, Minn., when I walked into the Gathering Grounds Coffee Shoppe. The shop is so much more than a place that serves coffee. It has cold and grilled sandwiches, wraps, weight-watcher friendly meals, a children’s menu and amazing desserts. A month ago, I ordered takeout from them and when I arrived at my destination was surprised my meal not only had a loaded and great-tasting sandwich but also fresh fruit and a wedge of Gouda. Yes,…

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