Little Pumpkin Men

now available through xlibris.com, barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com 

Thank you for all your amazing support!

Little Pumpkin Men

At last, they are here and everyday is a happy day! Music These little pumpkins are 
beyond adorable. Each page is filled with colorful illustrations. 
If you would have said to me five years ago that I was going to be an author I probably would have broke out in laughter since then it was only a pipe dream. Remember what I had shared on facebook about the woman who accused me being a dreamer (she considers such notions as a bad thing) and that dreaming only led you down a road of disappointment far from reality? Well never take heart to such negativities. Never let others project their own failures, frustrations and fear deflate your dream balloon! If you can dream it, you can do it! 

Just look how cute these little guys are. Oh I just gush over them every time I see them :)  My amazing and beautiful illustrator Myra Fiacco is so talented. By a not very good description I attempted to explain what I envisioned these little pumpkins to look like and she literally took it and raaaaaan with it! 

Would you believe me if 
 my illustrator and I haven't seen each other since 2007?? That's a loooong time. I'm telling you this because it's just proof that not only are we the type of friends who can pick up right where we left off and share a kindred heart, but that we understand one another even when one is hard to understand lol (that would be me). So through texting and email Little Pumpkin Men came to life! And boy, are we happy they are here. 

  

So, right now I am at my desk that over looks my pond with all the birds singing, eating and bathing.
It's perfect for my new book! Myra again will be illustrating it and I can't wait until I am finished and see how she has brought each character to life :)
My new children's book will involve the English countryside, a couple lambs, a hyper English Setter, a very likable bunny and many more friends! But let's not forget about the fussy, nit picky marmots and meadowlarks who dwell on rock pile below the meadow. I can't stop thinking about it! I have spring fever very bad so when I am overwhelmed with too many ideas, I go outside and work in the flower beds.
I think I am going to have to keep a little notepad with me at all times because last evening while the wolf and I were on our last walk for the day, miles away from home, I had thought of the perfect thing for one of my marmots to say in my story and I had to repeat the thought over
and over out loud until we reached the house! I must have looked nuts to those passing me, but I couldn't allow myself to forget, especially when forgetting is something I excel in quite well!

 But I do have a little announcement. I am in need of someone to handle marketing for me. Not a big job (I don't think) just a little promoting and spreading the word. I am incredibly painfully shy. Although I am thrilled, beyond ecstatic and proud of Little Pumpkin Men, being shy hinders my ability to promote myself and my work. So if any of you friends are interested...please leave a comment and let me know!   

 But first, lets take another look at the cuties!

 My youngest daughter says she wishes they were little plush stuffed animals. Hmm....there's an idea! Maybe, maybe in the future :)

 Little Pumpkin Men is available on amazon.com or you can follow the link Little Pumpkin Men by Juleianna Schilter It's such an amazingly cute poem turned into a story that will keep you smiling after the last page has been turned! I know you will enjoy :)

Thanks for reading with me~

Magnolia: Little Pumpkin Men has just been released!

Magnolia: Little Pumpkin Men has just been released!: Little Pumpkin Men is my first children's book published. I hope you enjoy it and treasure it always :) Available  immediately ...

Little Pumpkin Men has just been released!

Little Pumpkin Men is my first children's book published. I hope you enjoy it and treasure it always :)

Available immediately at Xlibris.com and soon at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com

Follow the link and you'll be taken directly to the bookstore. 

http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-000759448/Little-Pumpkin-Men.aspx

Day Thieves

It was going to be a rough day...she knew that the night before as she crawled onto her soft floral sheets and into bed. She knew every social media outlet was going to be riddled with Happy Mother's Day gushes and rightly so. Who was she to feel disgruntled by every single mother being loved on and loving their babies. But she did. Her heart was sad nay broken and the simple thought of the sun rising into that Sunday morning sent inescapable despair through her veins. 

Morning came as it has been doing so for the last thirty three years. Although this was one felt different. Numb as usual, she awoke and regain her routine. Morning, coffee, devotion and quiet time. Next she walked the wolf around the block and quietly sobbed behind her sunglasses. She made the call and heard those three little voices. They read her cards they had made at school and wished her a Happy Mother's Day. Biting her lip while fighting back tears she accepted their warm thoughts and endearing I love you's. With her heart wrenching, she could feel the presence of God declaring today was not going to be one of those days. Those days spent locked in her room weeping without relent asking all those whys was not going to make it's appearance today.  

While outside tending to her flowers in the gardens and changing the sprinkler, the loving man who tends to her broken heart stood over the stove with much attention and attempt, prepared for them each a beautiful spring breakfast. Gratitude for his devotion and proper care nurturing her, she sat in the dining room with him by her side. 

All the while though the sun was shining through perfectly painted white fluffy clouds against a light blue backdrop, she sat back in the chair overwhelmed by thoughts of "this is going to be a rough day." Ping came from the next room. Opening the text message her eyes widened. Your brother will be here this afternoon with his family, it read. 

For the next passing hours until evening, God had refused this day to be spent in pain and everlasting sadness. Instead the afternoon was spent in laughter, gushing over the baby nephew, lost time spent with the brother and getting to know a new family member. She took a dozen pictures, reminisced over their childhood and laughed until her stomach hurt. 

That Sunday which had always been so very special had indeed been ripped away of it's joy and love. The ones from the mountain state who hide behind their facade built upon lies and deception have very much shredded her beating heart. But God refused to let them prevail this Sunday. This Sunday was in fact her day of rest.

  

  Thanks for reading with me~

Short Stories and Poems: Snail Mail Muse

Short Stories and Poems: Snail Mail Muse: Snail Mail Snail mail is what main stream has begun calling letters sent through the post office. I've read in various places h...

Snail Mail Muse

Snail Mail

Snail mail is what main stream has begun calling letters sent through the post office. I've read in various places how people are becoming okay (conditioned) with Happy Birthday's just posted to facebook or e-cards sent through email. I'm afraid I sometimes fall under that category too. But I still value and treasure cards for any occasion, or none at all, sent through Snail Mail. :)

I  When I was a young girl I used to have pen pals. I'm not sure how it is today, but then we were in School we were encouraged to keep pen pals and correspond regularly with them. I used to have "summer" friends when I lived in Sunland. We would hang out all summer when their families were vacationing on the lake and when Labor Day came we would say or goodbye's until next June. Through out the school year we would write to each other. I loved picking out the pretty stationary and matching envelope to write on. Come to think of it, I still do :)  

We would share our school days and fill our stationary with our latest crushes, sports we were in, favorite books and all sorts of little girl frills. I would always use my best penmanship. Careful not to make any mistakes. June would arrive and we would giggle with excitement for we hadn't seen one another for nine months! Their hair was always in a new style and they were always a bit taller. I'm sure I was different too. I treasure that time of my childhood. I definitely do not believe in a "paperless society."

There is something exciting and good for our hearts when we open our letter box to find something sent other than nagging unforgiving bills and ads. My mother still sends us hand made cards for every special occasion and holiday. To her birthdays are not just another day as other families treat them. Nor is the first day of Spring. Does anyone celebrate May Day? May day is the first day in May. 
You gather fresh flowers in a basket and leave them on someone specials' door step for them to find. Isn't that a great old tradition? We used to celebrate it growing up and I still have my children do it. Before we moved to the evergreen state the kids usually picked Lilac & Forget Me Not blooms and give them to our dear sweet neighbor Ms. Ruby. 

I keep my cards and letters in pretty boxes. Someday when I have time I will go through them and reminisce through the years. I still have a beautiful birthday card that was given by my mother on my 17th birthday. That's almost an antique, now! :)  

Other than letters, I love handwritten recipe cards. You'll never catch me keeping recipes in some boring, sterile computer file. No way! That's fine for all you OCD friends (trust me I understand), but I'm perfectly content with the stained, spilled on recipe cards. My mother still pulls out her mother's recipes each time she need them. I love to see grandma's notes written in perfect slant cursive off to the side.
There have been rumors of schools around the United States removing cursive from their curriculum. You know, Language and Writing were my best subjects. All three of my children excel in them too. Well I refuse to conform. My children will be taught to write in cursive as long as I have anything to say about it. What a shame to remove such beautiful art from the American people. Some of Literature's finest publications were written in cursive. And so we are on the same page... printing is not the same as cursive. "Writing" actually means cursive while printing means to simply use letters in regular form. My grandparents would spend the majority of my homework hour debating this subject. Much to my dismay I missed the homework hour but came away with knowing full well the difference between "writing" and "printing." I grew up nervous to accidentally refer to print as writing and cursive as print careful not to confuse the two.

Literature's finest...our Early American Constitution was written in cursive. How beautiful it is with it's honest scribbles and scratch outs. How boring and impersonal had it been drawn up on Word Processor in perfect print!

It saddens me that today along with the various attempts to change such a beautiful ledger, also is it trying to be rewritten.

What would the beautiful Jane Austen have to say about the removal of the importance of cursive? Her books were indeed written in cursive. 

Lest, we forget the old Mother Goose books handwritten in cursive. 

This book is so beautifully written in cursive. 

I remember when it was no longer  acceptable by the teachers to turn in reports in penmanship. They required computer print. I was very disappointed and I knew things were drastically changing. In fact, I used to have a feather pen complete with an ink holder that sat on my little desk when I was a little girl.

St. Patrick's Day is vastly approaching and I think I will have the kids send out post cards to their cousins 
and far away friends this year. 
St. Patrick's Day is a lot of fun for children and adults, too. 
Green beer isn't bad, nor is getting kissed ;) 
Have a wonderful almost Spring day.