If you’re interested in getting a copy of Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative, or Clueless on Kindle, you’re in luck!

See you there!

You’ve maybe heard that I have a new book out?

Well, you’re about to hear A LOT MORE about it, because the Book Tour starts NEXT WEEK, on Friday, April 13. The Book Tour page has more information and will be updated with current links each day of the tour.

Would you like to win a copy of my new book? There are a few giveaways scheduled so far:

• April 15-21 at Goodreads

• May 1-11 at CatholicMom.com, where we’ll be giving away an electronic version on a nifty Kindle Touch (perfect for the mom in your life!)

A word of thanks to Amber Fabian, who is responsible for that beautiful Book Tour logo. She charged a very affordable price, and she does incredible work. I met her at CMN last year, and I was so impressed with her work that I kept her in mind for when I’d need this sort of thing. If you need something like this for your blog or website, keep her in mind.

Jen at Conversion Diary isn’t hosting Quick Takes this week, but…well, it’s become something of a habit for me. Happy Triduum and Easter, everyone!

— 1 —

Thank you for all the prayers when I posted my request here on the blog and on my social networks Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Our family has been truly lifted up. I can’t share any details (and maybe I won’t be able to ever), but we do thank you, and humbly ask you to keep them coming.

— 2 —

My book has a Facebook page, at the publisher’s suggestion, after I asked if we could have an interactive element to the book’s website.

I’m trying to get to 100 likes by Saturday…can you do me a favor and LIKE it if you haven’t already?

Thanks!

— 3 —

And since we’re talking about my book already…next week kicks off the Book Tour.

I’m excited about it, though I’m also bracing myself. Hearing about what others think of my work is sure to be humbling.

What’s not to love, though, when the logo for the Book Tour is so stinkin awesome? I am using it every chance I get. It was designed by Amber Fabian, who was very affordable and extremely easy to work with. If you need any design work done, she’s your person!

— 4 —

I’m way behind on my 30K for Christ (#30K4JC on Twitter). I’ve logged about 2400 words. Think I can make 30K in April?

Well, I’m not giving up yet.

— 5 —

Shameless self-promotion:

This week’s Tech Talk highlights one of my new favorite apps, Angelus Pro.

I’m part of the Lenten Journey Series with a reflection on Lent becoming personal.

I spend a few minutes raving about Hallie Lord’s Style, Sex, & Substance and we’re even giving away a copy at CatholicMom.com!

It’s important to remember our priorities, whether we’re writers or moms or even just humans, so that’s what I wrote about at the Catholic Writers Guild blog this week.

Over at New Evangelizers, I’m considering the definition of New Evangelization.

Jeff Young and I talk Holy Week and family fun on this week’s Catholic Foodie (and Jeff has a great show beyond that, too!).

— 6 —

My pick of the week: CatholicApps.com.

It’s a website of just Catholic apps!

If things are suddenly quiet for me and I seem to disappear altogether, it’s because I have decided to forsake all my other endeavors and just immerse myself in the coolness that is there.

I wish.

Anyway, check it out. Serious awesomeness!

— 7 —

Today starts one of my very favorite devotions, but which I always forget (not this year, though!): the Divine Mercy Novena. You start it on Good Friday and end it the Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday (which is the 2nd Sunday of Easter).

I’m going to be praying for a very special intention, and I hope you’ll join in with your own intentions.

If you’re like me and you tend to forget, you can get it delivered right to your inbox thanks to the awesome work of Pray More Novenas.

— 1 —

I get quite a few review books, which is a slice of heaven for me. I’m buried in them, right now, wishing I could read faster, more often, faster, more often…

Recently, an author asked me if they could send me their novel. I said yes, with the caveat that I may or may not get to it in a timely manner (which means in the next year).

The author has been very gracious about that, and even shared a joke with me by email.

Because you might need a smile too, here’s the joke:

The Pope gets off his plane in DC and into the limo. He says to the driver, “Joe, its been years since I drove a car. Can I drive?”

The driver says, “Sure, Holy Father,” and then jumps into the back seat and raises the screen between them.

After a few miles, the Pope gets pulled over for speeding.

The cop is in an awkward posiiton, so he calls dispatch and says, “Hey, I got a really important guy here that I really don’t want to ticket…don’t we have a VIP program?”

The dispatcher answers, “Whaddaya got, the Mayor or somethin?”

The cop says, “No, way bigger than that.”

Dispatch says, “A Senator?”

“Nope, even bigger,”  says the cop.

Finally the dispatcher says, “Don’t tell me you pulled over the President?”

The cop finally whispers. ”No, I think it might Jesus, cause the Pope’s drivin His car!”

— 2 —

Speaking of review books, there’s a great pile of books for the younger set that I am reviewing at CatholicMom.com this week, including one that I gave to my sister-in-law for her birthday.

Also, at CatholicMom.com this week, in my Tech Talk column this week, I review a great new app that might help you to pray the rosary by teaching you a whole new approach to it.

— 3 —

Exciting news about Catholic Family Fun:

• The book’s website is up. Check it out! New content going up monthly, and April’s the kickoff for that!
• There’s a book Facebook page. Would you please, PLEASE “like” it?

I’m trying not to post three times a day about book-related stuff, but it’s hard.

There’s a weeeee bit of excitement.

Case in point: best friend got her copy the other day. She read it in all its early draft ugliness, so there was no surprises for her. And yet, she told me, she had forgotten how good it was.

Humbled, folks. Truly, honestly humbled.

Not that this project hasn’t humbled me all to pieces already. You only have to look at what other people are saying to know that I am put in my place and completely bewildered how this came from me.

— 4 —

I love-love-LOVE spring, don’t you? My latest Mary Moment on iPadre is all about loving spring and loving Mary.

I also love-love-LOVE Saint Joseph, and so does Jeff Young. The latest Catholic Foodie is all things Joseph, including great information about Saint Joseph altars. My Mary in the Kitchen is a tribute to Joseph, too, and a bit of reflecting on this new role of mine as boy-mom.

— 5 —

Thanks to Steven McEvoy for interviewing me over at Book Reviews and More. He sent me the most extensive interview I’ve done to date. He asked me what I’d do if I wasn’t a writer, how I knew I’d be a writer, and he even asked how my writing process goes. He pointed out that I’m in a lot of different places and I told him how I do that. And then he gave me a chance to explain my typical day.

If any of this interests you about me, stop over and give it a read!

— 6 —

I promised winners today, so here you go!

Since no one entered in the actual giveaway for a Snoring Scholar SurPrize Pack (we’ll chalk that up to a marketing FAIL), I pulled names from random comments I’ve received in the last week.

Colleen Spiro

(commented on The Beauty of Spiritual Direction)

Salome Ellen

(commented on The Mighty Macs Review & Giveaway)

Christie

(commented on Leading Me to Jesus)

Each of you will receive a Snoring Scholar SurPrize Pack, which will have a copy of my new book, Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative, or Clueless, as well as a book from my giveaway box (there are some good titles in there, I assure you).

The winner of the Table Grace Die is:

Jen Steed

Winners, send me your address (contact info is on the sidebar of my blog), and we’ll get everything mailed right away.

Thanks to the folks at Catholic Family Gifts for sponsoring the Table Grace Die giveaway.

— 7 —

There’s still time to enter my giveaway of THE MIGHTY MACS (which my girls will probably try to get us to watch again this weekend).

Have a great weekend!

More Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

Look what was waiting at the post office yesterday:

We’re a weeeee bit excited.

Both girls asked for their own copies, and seven-year-old expressed her delight and approval that one of the activities is horseback riding.

I’d be failing if I didn’t also remind you:

• Have you entered to win a Snoring Scholar SurPrize Pack yet?
• And what’s your biggest meal-time challenge?

Lest you think it’s giveaways all the time around here…well, I have something up my sleeve for later this week, March Madness style.

— 1 —

A reader sent me this picture a week or so ago, and then gave me permission to use it.

Is your family using Welcome Risen Jesus? I’d love to hear how it’s working for you.

As for my family, well. Let’s just say I’m having a lesson in parental humility and big failures this Lent. There’s always next year…

— 2 —

Last week, I came home from a conference and within two hours had a puking kid and a very sick husband.

I had a talk scheduled for Tuesday with a local moms group, but I canceled it, sadly.

I couldn’t leave them in the lurch, though, so I recorded a little intro (which is verrrrry bad, click through at your own risk) and my Mary for Moms talk.

Then after they listened to my talk, we connected via Skype.

It was an awesome work-around, and in November, I’m looking forward to actually meeting this group of ladies in person. Don’t they look sweet?

(My boy was reaching out across the computer screen to a few of those other little guys. It was very sweet.)

— 3 —

On Wednesday last week, I went down with some virus thing.

Turns out maybe it wasn’t food poisoning for the sick kid and the husband.

— 4 —

And, in more delightful news, I have hard and fast proof that Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative, or Clueless is in the publishing house.

See that? That is someone AT Pauline, holding my book in their hot little hands.

(It’s actually Holly in marketing, and she is every bit as much of a cutie patootie as I thought she’d be.)

— 5 —

And check THIS news out…

The book is available on Pauline’s bookstore! Yay!

So let’s have a contest!

Order a copy and leave a comment by next Wednesday, March 28, and I’ll enter you in a drawing for a Snoring Scholar SurPrize Pack.

My kids will draw names out of a basket next Thursday, March 29 and I’ll announce the winners as part of next week’s Quick Takes.

You can enter once for every copy you purchase. Let the FUN begin!

What ‘s in the prize pack? How many winners? Well, that’s a surprise.

— 6 —

So, how about a plug for my other writing, too? It’s not like there’s grass growing under my keyboard.

For one thing, there’s my ongoing series at New Evangelizers. This week, I’m talking about how balance doesn’t always mean giving something (like the internet, say) up. In fact, giving it up would be, in some ways, easier than my current, ongoing struggle with balance.

There’s also my post at Amazing Catechists about calling in sick, something that’s oh-so-hard for a perfectionist-who-loves-her-volunteering to do. Unless there’s puking and passing out involved. Then it gets easier. I simply couldn’t move.

I took the week off from posting at CatholicMom.com and recording a Mary Moment for iPadre, but I’ll be back next week as usual.

I also have a book proposal I promised to get to my editor by March 31. Since she follows this blog (in theory, anyway), I’m going to just smile and keep quiet about the status. (It’s in God’s hands, folks, GOD’S HANDS.)

— 7 —

This week, I’ve been teaching two blogging forums for the first week of the two-week Catholic Writers Conference Online. It’s such fun! More about it next week or the week after, when I have time to gather my thoughts a bit. (The interacting there is keeping me hopping, and I feel like I’m not doing as much as I should.)

It’s great to get together with other writers and encourage each other, even if we can’t do it often in person.

Which brings me to this bit of awesomeness: 30K for Christ!

You’ve heard of National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo), right? Those of us who don’t write fiction watch in wonder as those who do attempt to complete an entire novel in the month of November.

30K for Christ is for the rest of us (and hey, we let fiction writers in, too), and it has a Christian focus. You write 30,000 words during the month of April (any kinds of words–novel, blogging, book, journaling, whatever), but you do it for Christ and with Christ.

If you’re on Twitter, join in with the hashtag #30K4JC.

Visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

— 1 —

Lent is coming and I have a book that’s hot off the presses.

And guess what? It’s only $1.99.

So go to your local Catholic bookstore (or one of the many other places you’ll find it, if you don’t have a store locally). Parishes receive bulk discounts, depending on the quantity they order, and can call 800-325-9521 to speak to the sales department at Liguori about that.

— 2 —

Mary Moments are back! Thanks to Fr. Jay Finelli’s support, I’ll be producing a weekly Mary Moment segment on the iPadre show. This week: 3 reasons I love Our Lady of Lourdes. Listen to the whole show for a fabulous summary of the story of Our Lady of Lourdes, too.

— 3 —

What’s your favorite game app? I share three of my kids’ favorites in this week’s Tech Talk.

— 4 —

Remember how I promised a full review of Strategies for a Tech-Savvy Classroom? It’s up over at CatholicMom.com.

— 5 —

It’s hard to believe that Daria Sockey has been blogging at Coffee & Canticles for a year already!

In honor of her one year anniversary, she has a pile of giveaways related to the Liturgy of the Hours. Go on over and enter.

While you’re there, be sure to wish her well!

— 6 —

In case you missed it the other day, I’m giving away a ton of books. You can enter as many times as you qualify for until February 21.

There are new titles by Christopher West, Mark Shea, Lisa Hendey, and Anthony DeStefano, among others.

So what are you waiting for? Enter!

— 7 —

Been a big week for the Tooth Fairy around here:

Visit Betty Beguiles, our lovely sub hostess, for more Quick Takes!

— 1 —

In my inbox this week:

— 2 —

That, my friends, is the long-awaited, much-anticipated cover art for my upcoming book, Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative, or Clueless.

It is the first book I ever wrote (not counting the book on taking care of your Cabbage Patch Kid from about second grade).

It has not been the first book to be published. But it remains my first book, at least in my mind.

Thanks to Jim Hunt, who not only captured exactly how I feel about this book. That cover prepares you, I think, for what’s inside. (The title does, too, really.)

— 3 —

I am surprised at just how emotional I felt when I look at this cover.

The book…it’s a reality.

It’s really happening.

People are really going to buy it and read it.

Wow.

— 4 —

The official “street date” isn’t until April 1, no foolin. (Couldn’t resist, sorry.)

I’ll admit, it was a project that had me laughing. I still laugh about this book.

Me? Write a book like this?

Not only does God have a sense of humor, so do those Pauline sisters.

— 5 —

I’ve seen some of the endorsements and let me pause right here.

Folks, I am humbled. Period.

Downright humbled.

— 6 —

It seems appropriate that this work I do, which puts me out in front of everyone, reminds me, again and again, of how I am not doing any of it alone.

I have, first and foremost, God to thank. And, in close second, my husband, who has never doubted or hesitated to support me and encourage me and make me laugh.

Any of y’all who are my “fan”? Thank you.

For those of you who have graciously endured my ranting and railing, thank you.

And, last but NOT least, those of you who keep me supplied in things chocolate, coffee, and humor, DON’T STOP.

— 7 —

You okay with seeing it one more time?

Visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

— 1 —

Good news! I’m going to be attending the Behold Conference in East Peoria, IL, on March 10! It’s quite a line-up going on over there: Kate Wicker‘s the keynote speaker and Jennifer Fulwiler, Hallie Lord, and a host of other people I stalk follow enthusiastically will be in attendance.

I’d love to meet you if you’re going–let me know! You can register at their site and if you’re in my neighborhood, let me know and we’ll carpool.

— 2 —

I haven’t set any resolutions for 2012, though I’m reminded that Lent is coming at the end of February. That’s always a good time to resolve and succeed (or fail, as the case may be), so I think I’ll play copycat to Danielle and wait.

One thing I did do, though, as I have for quite a few years, is select a patron for 2012. Thanks to the Saints Name Generator, I was given…St. Matthias the Apostle.

He’s the patron of alcoholics (current and reformed), carpenters, and tailors. His feast is May 14.

And what’s his tie to me this year? I’m not completely sure, but I’ll be incorporating him into my conversations this year.

— 3 —

Speaking of Lent…my newest book is out and available!

Welcome Risen Jesus: Lent and Easter Reflections for Families has one page for each day of Lent and the first week of Easter. Every day features sections for Think, Act, Fast, and Pray, designed to help your family work together to embrace the spirit of Lent to lead you to the joy of Easter.

Find it from your local Catholic retailer, your favorite Catholic online retailer (Aquinas & More and the Catholic Company are two of my favorites, though they don’t have it available just yet), Liguori, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.

— 4 —

And, while we’re on the topic of writing, exciting news: Welcome Baby Jesus and Welcome Risen Jesus are being released in Spanish!

Pardon me for being a wee bit excited.

And very, very humbled.

— 5 —

Have you seen ImmaculataArt.com? Here’s a little sample of a piece I really love:

I first “met” the artist, Nellie Edwards, a few years ago through some work we both did over at Catholic Exchange.

You can purchase prints on canvas or on paper and there are also greeting cards available.

— 6 —

I’m a big fan of good fiction, and that makes me a huge fan of the Catholic Writers Guild‘s Catholic Arts & Letters Award. This is the second year for awarding it, and I’m looking forward to it.

If you’re interested in applying, do check it out — you only have until January 31! Update: You have until February 29 to apply (thanks to Ellen Gable Hrkach for correcting me).

— 7 —

The other day, I was reading about no-poo, which is basically using baking soda and apple cider vinegar in place of commercial shampoo. I found myself, in the midst of my reading, forwarding it to a friend (who will laugh when she reads this) and suggesting that I might try it.

My husband thinks I’m a little crazy.

In the category of not-so-crazy, I am barely restraining myself from buying My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking, by John Besh. After hearing all about it on Catholic Foodie episode 126 and thinking about the clips he played, I’m thisclose to breaking my standing “no buying books” resolution to buy it. Because, after all, it’s a cookbook. Which is different than a novel or a nonfiction book. Right?

Visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!