Tag: school

Peru: A Small Service Excursion Abroad

Hello faithful readers! My name is Megan, and I am Amy’s publishing assistant until May. Since she is on a trip this week, I’m here to share my experiences with you from my spring break trip over the last 10 days: Peru!IMG_9515.JPG

Before we get into specifics, I’ll give you a little bit of background information about me. This year I am a senior at Mount St. Mary’s University and will be graduating with a degree in Communication and with a minor in Spanish. I grew up as a military brat (Ooh-Rah!), and when my family was stationed overseas from 2006-2009, we traveled as much of Europe as we could manage. Though I don’t really have a place that I’m “from,” I currently live in Carroll County, Maryland, where I graduated high school. I love romance novels, which is what drew me to Amy’s open position, and my favorite novel of hers is Whispering Vines because, in my mind, it’s closely linked to my favorite movie, The Longest Ride, but features a fun Italian twist, and with recipes! Read more →

Just Thinking About Tomorrow

Amy Schisler

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When I was a little girl, I attended my first major Broadway musical and spent the following few weeks memorizing every word to every song.  I’ve never stopped singing those songs and enjoyed watching Rebecca and then Katie play roles in school and community productions of the same play.  As a child, I’m not sure I realized how many lessons I was learning cast-001from the little orphan girl who took in a stray dog and softened the heart of a grouchy, old millionaire, but I have always remembered and adhered to her words “the sun will come out tomorrow.”

As I watched the morning news on Saturday, I saw updates on the terror attacks in Mali, new terror threats to Brussels, and sparring politicians across this great nation.  But here is the thing that struck me the most – the people of Paris gathered in the streets this past weekend for a public street party to show the world that they will not stay home, that life goes on.  Almost fifteen years after 9/11, we can all attest to that.  Things change, people are lost, the world is shaken, but the sun still rises, and human beings continue living, striving for the best, reaching for the stars, and living the good life as best they can. Read more →

Be Not Afraid

Amy Schisler

My SSPP GirlsYesterday, some friends and I were talking about how hard it is raising children in today’s world.  As mothers, we all worry about our children.  Will they make the right decisions, meet the right people, find the right job, make it to school or work and back safely, be safe at school or work, survive to be an adult, a parent, a grandparent.  It’s a constant state of worry.  Read more →

Stretched Thin

Amy Schisler

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Do you remember Stretch Armstrong?  He was the superhero doll from the 70s who could be pulled and stretched to three times his size just for the fun of it.  I’m not sure why many children from my generation spent so much wasted time stretching this otherwise useless toy to his limits just to see him warp back into himself again.  Sometimes I think we did it just to see how far we could pull until he broke and that gross, gooey, syrupy stuff came oozing out of him.  Looking back, I think whoever made that silly toy must have had a vision of the future. Somehow he knew that GenX was going to live the life of poor Stretch Armstrong every single day. Read more →

Fall Musings

Amy Schisler

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While the calendar may show that it’s still summer, we all know that when school goes back into session, it is unofficially fall.  Soon the trees in my backyard will go from green to yellow to orange and then slowly fall to the ground.  As nature begins its long winter’s nap, my brain starts to wake up to a new year – a new school year full of hope and promise as well as a new year of writing!  While I do work at my craft over the summer, it is difficult to concentrate with three teenagers in the house needing to chauffeured to work, camps, friends’ homes, etc. and the general malaise that seems to set in when temperatures are high and work priorities are low.

Fall is a whole different story.  Once my oldest is settled into her dorm and my other two daughters are back in school all day, my house is quiet.  Imagine that!  A quiet house!  And my creative juices begin to flow.  With my first novel already in circulation, and my second one in what I call “phase three” (my crime experts are currently reading and editing it), I have already begun my storyboard for my third.  Now it’s time to get down to the actual writing, and I have just one minor snag – I can’t decide on the location!  So perhaps this fall will include a few day trips around my home state looking for the perfect setting –  an old farmhouse in the tranquil countryside in need of a little suspense.

In the meantime, I will let my mind drift to the other wonderful thing about fall – curling up in my favorite corner of the couch with a cup of hot tea and a good book while a fire blazes nearby.  What will you be reading this fall and winter?  A Place To Call Home is available, and every Wednesday, I will send you a thought or two about my writings and upcoming books.  Stay tuned and stay warm!

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