Spring Newsletter – June 1, 2013

Cover - His Name is Jesus

Joy Comes…         Newsletter                                                               June 1, 2013

       So…did you notice something different when you first looked at this page?  If so, did you realize what the difference is?    [If this is the first e-newsletter you have received from me, you will not know what I am talking about and that’s okay.]   And, if your answer is:  “That is a different book cover.”   Then you are right.   Speaking of— don’t you think Molly Keller did a fabulous job on the art? Just wait till you see all of the book interior  —-  it’s like a gallery!   —AGAIN!   Thank you, Molly!

Behold, my new book, His Name is Jesusand I am so excited!  How many people know what happened to Jesus on the 8th day after He was born? Many will say: “He was dedicated.”  And they would be wrong.  Actually, He was dedicated on His 40th day after birth, which is the subject of my 3rd book, in the series.  If you are Jewish you will probably get the right answer and say something like:  “He experienced the rite called Bris Milah.

He was circumcised.”  And you would be right.  And, as I suspect you will agree, this is not a subject for a book targeting children.  And, I would agree with you.  But, since the 8th day of His life is of such great significance, I did not want to overlook the occasion.  Therefore, His Name is Jesus focuses on the official naming of the King of kings.  It is on this occasion that His name was officially recorded.  I hope you get your own copy of His Name is Jesus and enjoy my little narrative of this important episode in Jesus’ young life.  It is also a great teaching tool.  The book description states:

At the young age of eight days, Jewish boys experience the custom called “Bris Milah”, at which time their names are officially recorded in the Hebrew records.  In “His Name is Jesus”, you can travel with Joseph and Mary as they take Jesus to the home of a rabbi for His own ceremony.  While walking along the dusty road, Mary & Joseph each recall the most unusual way in which they came to name their baby son.  Their faithful donkey, Gil, which means “Joy” in Hebrew, is of course with them as well.  In fact, Gil alerts them to an alarming danger as they visit in the Rabbi Jonathan’s courtyard.

Meanwhile, back in Nazareth, the young donkey, Elpis, which means “Hope” in Greek, is still missing her mama, Gil, who is traveling on an amazing adventure with Joseph and Mary.  But Elpis continues to be comforted in a very special way.

So join in with these wonderful characters of the Bible and continue learning about the young life of Jesus.  Young and old alike take pleasure in gaining insight into these very early days of the King of kings, so artfully captured in the story and illustrations in His Name is Jesus”.

As with Joy Comes to Bethlehem, His Name is Jesus is self-published, though I have used a different publishing house this time.  With the help of Ken Henderson, of Henderson Publishing, I have made great effort to keep the price down so more folks can enjoy the book and be able to give more copies for gifts, etc..  Gratefully, this has been accomplished. We all want to help spread the Good News.  Don’t we?   And, because it is self-published, I am doing all the promoting and market myself, that is along with your wonderful word–of-mouth recommendations. I was totally WOWed by the help of so many of you with selling and promoting Joy Comes to Bethlehem.  That means the world to me.  I hope you are as enthusiastic again this go round.  Believe me, I cannot thank you enough!

So …. “What is the price?” you ask.  I am happy to tell you it is $10.50 per book. That is several dollars less than my first book, which retails for $16.99.   I’m sure you and others will be happy about this too.

Matter of fact, if you have not yet purchased a copy of Joy Comes to Bethlehem, (or maybe you have but want another copy), and want to get one now, along with His Name is Jesus, you may purchase “Joy Comes to Bethlehem” at this time (from me) for only $12.50.   Shipping for 1 to 3 books is $3.00. (Add .50 more for each additional book to be shipped).  For those of you who are local, I will be happy for you to pick them up from me or at my husband’s office (Hill Insurance), if that is more convenient.  And don’t forget to tell me if you want your book/s personalized for yourself or someone else.

Thanks so much for taking your time to read this. I know it has been a bit lengthy, but I have a lot to say!  Please see my contact information below.

And … Come to the official Book Launch ~ Fun ~ Food ~Books!

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BOOK LAUNCH  ~  Sunday, June 9, 2013 

12:15 – 2:00 p.m. 

at Radford Worship Center Fellowship Hall

1820 Second St., Radford, VA

God bless you and yours as you embark into Summer 2013.  I hope it treats you real nice!   You might even find yourself writing a book!

Blessings!  Connie

E-mail –author@conniewohlford.com   ~   Facebook –  Connie Wohlford, Author

 I have a new web site under construction and hope to get a lot of work done on it within the next week or so.  It is  www.conniewohlford.com  —-   Check it out  —  but be patient as I get it updated (with the help of Jeff).

 And, HEY, if you have not yet clicked “Like” on “Connie Wohlford, Author”  on Facebook, please do so.  Thanks a bunch!

Feel free to forward this to anyone who you think might be interested. Thanks!

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Generally in this next space in my e-newsletter, I have a continuation of the telling of my story of how I came to start writing my books. But since this is already so long I will forgo that until the next installment of Joy Comes Newsletter.   Also, I have been enjoying telling my story for a few civic and church groups. It seems that many folks are interested in getting into writing from the heart and like to hear about my own experience.

Newsletter #3 – June 1, 2013

 

My Beginnings….

It was November 2011 when I decided I wanted to write a story about the birth of Christ for my grandchildren. It needed to be something interesting— you know a different angle. We know that Jesus’ birth is certainly exciting but I wanted to capture their attention and add a couple craft ideas as well to go along with the narrative— some creative hands on stuff. I’ll include those ideas in future posts. You probably have some of your own.
At the onset of this venture, I had no plan to publish. But God had other ideas.

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Winter Newsletter

 God bless you and Thank you again for your interest in

 Joy Comes to Bethlehem, and the books yet to come in the series.

The process of promoting and marketing my book, Joy Comes to Bethlehem, continues.  As I look back on 2012, my head begins to spin—- again.  Those of you who know my family personally are well aware of the emotional events that were in the forefront of our family members’ lives.  It all started in March, when our very dear family friend, JoAnn, unexpectedly passed away.  Though of no blood relation, Jo had no children of her own and my brothers and I called her our “Second Mama”, as we had been very close for fifty years, since I was 12 years old.  In May, my precious mama, Edith Edwards, went on to her heavenly home and then my sweet daddy, Rudy, joined her in glory in August, less than three months later.  As if that were not enough, after a short illness, my beloved Aunt Gerri joined them as well.  You would have really loved Aunt Gerri!  She was the family “Storyteller”, the favorite of our whole clan and anyone else who came in contact with her.

You may be wondering why I am telling you all this— about our losses of 2012.  I’ll answer that, but first let me simply say that, in our losses, all is not lost!  The good news is “The Good News”!  Each of these precious people that I just spoke of above was born again and had a genuine relationship with their Savior, Christ Jesus.  SO they are each enjoying their Heavenly Home, having a lot more fun than any of the rest of us are having right now.  For those of us who are in Christ, we sure have a lot to look forward to and Eternity is a long, long time!

So how does all this relate to Joy Comes to Bethlehem and my personal experience?  In retrospect, I see now that God, in His love and mercy toward me, gave me this book to write and publish at this very specific time in my life.  My parents lived with my husband, Guy, and I for the last three & a half years before their deaths.  Their health was waning with dementia and other age related illnesses.  For those of you who have watched the gradual decline of a loved one, you are well aware of the toll that it takes on loved ones and especially caregivers.    So I now see that the writing, self-publishing process and marketing of Joy Comes to Bethlehem was not only a gift to our grandchildren (its original purpose), but was incredible therapy for me personally at a season in my life when God knew that I needed something out of the ordinary, to help me cope with trials that only He knew were heading our way.

So, just how did this book all come about?    Since I spent so many words on the above section of this installment of Joy Comes…,  I will continue the  “how’d it happen”  section next time.

About this ride…   Since my last communication with you, I’m happy to report that I enjoyed book singings at 3 Barnes & Noble stores, Tinkerings, in Salem, VA and Old World Accents in Carytown (Richmond, VA).  In addition to that I was invited to speak to a couple of groups— a church group and a civic group— to tell my story about just how I came to write this little book.  I find that many people I talk with are very interested in writing something that is on their hearts and are interested in the process of self-publishing a book.  I really would like to do more of that sort of thing.

So what’s next?   Many of you have asked when the next book in this series will be released and you even signed up to receive this newsletter to be specifically updated concerning that matter.  I’m glad to tell you that more progress is being made.  Molly is still working on the illustrations and expects to be finished very soon.  I have been busy looking into other publisher options, hoping to keep the cost down on future books.  No doubt, we will all appreciate that!   Hopefully in the next very few weeks, I will be able to let you know when to expect its release.

As mentioned before, please help spread to word to your friends & family about Joy Comes to Bethlehem and other books forthcoming in the series.  Word of mouth is my best advertisement!

Being self-published, I do not have a publisher or agent helping with marketing and promotion.  It’s all on me and my friends, with God’s help and guidance.  I still have copies of Joy Comes to Bethlehem available for sale and am also still behind in recovering my monetary investment to get it accomplished.  So if you or someone you know wants one or more copies, please let me know.

Don’t forget, if you are on Facebook & can fine the time, please go to “Connie Wohlford, Author” and “Like” the page.  You can even leave a nice comment about the book if you wish.   🙂  That would be much appreciated!  And, hey, if you have a minute, I would love some feedback from this newsletter venture.  If, for any reason, you do not want to continue to receive it, feel free to let me know and I will remove your name from the list.

Meanwhile, God bless you and yours as you forge into this New Year.  You might even find yourself writing a book!

Connie