But He Loved Me - First

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  - Matthew 6:34

Grace For Each Day

When the Israelite's were in the wilderness, God fed them with manna each morning. (Exodus 16:13–20).

The spiritual principle here is that God gives us manna or grace for each day. He gives you grace today for today’s needs. Please Don’t worry about tomorrow’s needs. When tomorrow comes, I promise you there will be a fresh supply of His grace!

If you spend precious time and energy worrying about the needs of tomorrow, next week or next month, you’ll just get agitated, worry and be full of fear. You’ll miss out on what God’s grace is supplying you today.

So quit worrying about the days ahead. As each day comes round, God gives you the grace to do what you need to for the day. Just relax in His faithfulness, think on this day that He’s given you and enjoy His fresh supply of grace to meet all your needs TODAY!
Please share this post - you may bless someone who needs to read this today.

For more posts.. go to https://www.facebook.com/ButHeLovedMeFirst

Return of the Pied Piper: An Author Interview Michael J Sceptre

Why do I write?
I find writing more personal and intimate way of communicating with strangers. We have never met, the reader doesn’t know me but my writing, my book, somehow connects us on a deeper level and yet gives both of us a chance to independently make up our own minds whether to believe the ideas in the book. I write to express my thoughts in a medium that lasts longer than If I made a speech. Today we still have the works of Shakespeare, even the Bible is still here - so writing allows me to share my ideas with today, tomorrow and future generations. That's powerful in my opinion.

When did you decide to become a writer?
If it was not for lack of information and my deep fear of the unknown I could have decided to become a writer from a very young age. I only made the decision one day while visiting Rome, Italy. Back in early 2016, I went on a solo trip and after visiting the Colosseum, walking around the beautiful city of Rome, and just contemplating Rome was called the ‘eternal’ city, I just wanted to do something that lasts even beyond my lifetime, and writing was high up on the lists of things that can last for centuries. One quiet evening, while listening to jazz music at Gregory’s Jazz Cafe, it suddenly hit me - become a writer! The freedom of being able to write from anywhere in the world, at any time, any place was so exciting. All I needed was my imagination and passion for storytelling. That is when I had a conviction that I wanted to write.

How much research do you do?
I love history and I read every day so I practically research all day, every day. I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge - I am curious to learn, so am always researching. Actually, I was researching something totally unrelated and stumbled upon Robert Browning’s Pied Piper of Hamelin story. The history of the Pied Piper fascinated me more so because I felt strongly that it was half a story - what happened to the missing children? Where did the Pied Piper go?

Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?
I have admired the acting style of Tom Hanks and that is because I have watched Forrest Gump several times and his performances in the film really make me emotional. In it he has good intentions even though things take turns for the worst - this is similar the Pied Piper, he has good intentions but his decision making sometimes lends him in big trouble with everyone including those he cares about.

What draws you to this genre?
I still believe in this special thing called love. As Princess Diana once remarked, “There is so much sadness in the world!” - I just truly believe that love goes a long way to help us through life. Fantasy is a genre that allows me to be creative and imaginative again. Something I just stopped doing while finding myself.

Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
Everyone knows the story of the Pied Piper and yet there isn’t information about him. We just know that he has this magical ability which he uses to help others. In my book, each chapter will give the reader insight into his character. So for starters, his decision making is woeful. In fact, him luring away the kids in revenge was one of many woeful decisions - even though he had good intentions. The Piper is also very naive. In Robert Browning’s poem, he agrees to help the Mayor without a down payment - the signs were there that they might struggle because they did complain when he mentioned the price! This is a theme you will see throughout the book - how others manipulate his naivety to their own advantage. The Piper is unaware of a special gift he has - he thinks the flute gives him magical abilities but there is more to him than what meets the eye. It takes another character, Sophia, to show the reader and the Piper himself how special he is. There is a special power that the Piper has that you only see glimpses of during the book - only certain characters can bring it out of him. The reason why this power is not revealed explicitly in the book is that even the Piper himself doesn’t know he has it! There is a part of the book where he has to live the flute (pipe) behind, a discerning reader would see the hidden clues about this special power in the ensuing scenes!

Where can we buy the book:

For US readers - https://goo.gl/drwf7L 

For readers in the UK - https://goo.gl/8QrBHq 

For readers in Germany - https://goo.gl/D6otXW 


Which writers inspire you?
I am inspired by mainly female writers like J. K. Rowling, Daniel Steele & Enid Blyton. I should say I love the Psalms by David too - when you read the Psalms you get a deeper appreciation of why God said David was a man “after his own heart”!

What is your favorite childhood book?
I was always drawn to book series - so Famous Five, Sherlock Holmes and Goosebumps are my top favourites.

What was your hardest scene to write? 
The first scene of the book. I have used the first scene as a bridge between Robert Browning’s Pied Piper of Hamelin Poem and my love story. The book is a romantic fantasy novel but I felt that I could not just jump into the love story first without helping the reader cross the bridge i.e. from the Pied Piper luring the kids away and him returning to Hamelin and falling in love which is what inspires him to go find the missing children.



Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find? 
Oh yes, there is plenty of those in the book. Its inspired by some of my favorite biblical books, Daniel and Revelation which do the same thing but brilliantly.

If you didn’t write, what would you do for work?
I would probably be a teacher like my grandfather

How do you select the names of your characters?
The name depends on the personality of the character (or backstory). Back in high school, I used to give people nicknames so some of those nicknames have found their way into the book, for example, Spinky the fish from the Invisible Ocean - that is from a former high school friend. 

Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
Definitely. I write about what is close to my heart. Writing allows me to express myself freely which is empowering.

What does literary success look like to you? 
If I can make the Pied Piper story my own then I guess that is a success. I have reimagined a classic story and if the Pied Piper is ever recognized as a romantic and not as the child thief then I consider it a literary success.

What makes 11for10.com different from other Dollar Stores?

First, the obvious difference between 11for10.com and most other Dollar Stores is the fact that 11for10.com is the only exclusively Online One Dollar Store. At this time there's only a few stores that are even considered Online Dollar Stores, and they usually sell products for $10 and under. Yes, as far as concept, they're similar to one of the most popular Offline One Dollar Stores; however, selling Online is totally different from the traditional Dollar Store model, and even traditional Dollar Stores have consolidated so much there's very little competition as a whole. Recently there's been a lot of Online noise regarding a company that entered the Exclusively Online Dollar Store sector mostly selling products from $2 to $10, they might be a cool company but they are not anything like 11for10.com.

Besides all the obvious stuff, what differentiates 11for10.com the most is the fact that they offer a limited selection including between 200 and 500 One Dollar Deals at a time, and when you buy 10 items for $1.00 each, you will receive the 11th item Free automatically. At 11for10.com they focus on the keyword "Deals" they don't want to offer just anything as One Dollar Products they want to offer One Dollar Products for a deal. That being said 11for10.com tries to include as many Name Brand and licensed products as we can at a time. As a matter of fact, so many of their offers are such a good deal they said their best customers by far are resellers that buy from them and resell Online and Offline. At first the fact that so many Resellers were buying from them bothered their Management; however, now they're a little more comfortable with it, and in some ways, they're trying to embrace it. Offering the Best Deals on the entire internet was their goal from the very beginning and is still true today. So, they consider themselves a Premium Exclusively Online One Dollar Store and with the Best Deals Online, not the most, the Best! Yes, many people ask them almost daily how in the world can you make money selling quality merchandise for only $1.00 each, and the answer is still the same. It is very difficult but it works based on volume. They sacrifice some profit to give quality $1.00 deals to the public in exchange for doing a higher volume of business with their customers. They even offer some products well below our cost from time to time to show their customers how much they appreciate them.

A Fun Book - Fredrick The Butterfly by Karen Ann Smythe

Do you think someone could be a writer if they don’t feel emotions strongly?  Yes,  because I do not think all Writing comes from emotions. Writing can come from Knowledge, True Life experiences or made up fantasies or factual information.                                   

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer? I have met other Authors. Did not have help from anyone in writing my books. My First Book Fredrick The Butterfly (Won Award) is a True Life experience! I have been in the movie business -so maybe reading so many scripts helped?                       

Do you want each book to stand on its own or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?  Each book does stand on its own!  My 1st book  Fredrick The Butterfly (Won an Award) is a True Story + Loved!  Have emails from parents that since heir children received Fredrick-they want it read to them Every Night! Plus one little girl Sleeps + Hugs Fredrick The Butterfly!  Which makes me feel Great because Fredrick tells the true story Plus also has Sensational messages “it is Fun to help people” - “the Ocean is alive, We are alive + that is Great!  “You can give yourself a Hug” + more. My second book Amazing Adventures of Fredrick The Butterfly Plus Karen & Malibu Kool Kat!  Started because lots of people said that (after telling them some of my True Life stories) - to write an Autobiography...So I thought it would be Fun to do that by adding  Fredrick + my real life rescue cat Malibu Kool Kat with me. Ha!                                                                             

If you could tell your younger writing self anything , what would it be?  Actually, did not write when younger!  Liked to draw + sometimes write a little poetry. Because of the True Experiences I have had + I felt it was important to share these stories for other people to maybe gain insight, Enjoy + believe in themselves + other things.  I had Fun writing my books + People of all ages Love Them!                                                                         

How did Writing your first book change your process of writing?  Kept writing notes down!  Even on the back of grocery bags in the car-if I thought of a better way to word something or another idea of something that I thought people would Enjoy!          

What was the best money you spent as a writer?   Best money I spent was paying Christina Hicks Creative to do my Layout Design + She also knew The Artist (who I guided)                                                               

What Authors did you dislike at first but grew into?  Do not read violent movies or books like that.  I always Loved reading + finding Books to read to my 2 Daughters- when they were growing up! Had lots of Fun doing that + So did they!                         

What does Literary Success mean to you?  Think I have Literary success now!  It means that people Love my books + are finding out about them....It is Fun to share them + donate some + I get to have book signings + interact with all kinds of people!  It is a new World to me!          

  

What is the best way to market your books? Social Media, Articles in newspapers ..Letting people know..also thru friends + Family.  It has been said that everyone has a book in them to write!!!                                                                              

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?  Did not do any research at all.  My books are part of me + True Life experiences....My Heart, thoughts, experiences + Love are in both of my books!                                                                              

Do you view writing as a spiritual practice?  I am a Spiritual Person!  Do not really consider writing as a spiritual practice- maybe it is!   Thank You Very Much for this Interview.. ❤️ Both Of my Books are on Amazon!   Next Goal is to turn them into a Movie or TV show!!!

========================================

About the Author

Karen Ann Smythe (center) with her daughters Victoria Turner (left) and Julia Turner (right)

Malibu resident Karen Ann Smythe recently published the children’s book “Amazing Adventures of Fredrick the Butterfly Plus Karen & Malibu Kool Kate.” 

The story follows Karen and her two friends, Fredrick and Malibu Kool Kat, on an adventure that takes them to places like New York City and a tropical island. The characters and events are loosely based on Smythe’s life experiences. 

Her first book, “Fredrick the Butterfly,” won an award in the Fourth Annual Beverly Hills Book Awards in the children’s nonfiction category. 

Available on Amazon.