Today, some friends and I went to see 'Illuminating the Word, The Saint John's Bible', at the Mobile Museum of Art. This was such an interesting and beautiful exhibit. And breathtaking. The talent and patience that went into creating this handwritten and illuminated Bible amazed me.

Saint John's Abbey and the University of Collegville, MN, commissioned this historic undertaking. It was conceived with the purpose of an expression of faith relevant to the modern world. Calligrapher and illuminator, Donald Jackson, along with scribes, artists and theologians wove together, word and image for the Bible of the new Millenium, as it is called. They used ancient methods, materials and tools to create this masterpiece. The preparation of the vellum-calfskin-pages and the fashioning of quills from turkey, goose and swan feathers takes place in rural Wales. Other traditional materials used: inks, pigments hand ground from minerals and precious stone and gold leaf. The entire bible was illustrated, designed by hand. It is still in creation and is planned to be bound in seven seperate books.

As pictures were not allowed in the exhibit, I googled the exibit and have included a few pictures of this amazing Bible.

After the exhibit, we went to eat at the Olive Garden. Oh my, it was good. We lost our Olive Garden in Hurricane Katrina and so far it hasn't been rebuilt, so we really enjoyed that too.

Last, I heard from my wonderful editor today, I should be getting the final galley to approve and then Saje goes to production and gets a release date. I'm so excited. As soon as I get the info, I'll post the information for you.

Ya'll take care and until later,

Deb

Mardi Gras is in full swing to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Next weekend, my family and I will be attending the Pass Christian parade. Party time! Food, fun, beads, and drinks. (except for me :P) I'll be sippin on soda. I don't like beer. I also get a day off due to the holiday. Last tuesday of the month. Whoot.

Happy Mardi Gras, ya'll.

Finished final draft of edits yesterday early am and sent them off. should have a release date soon. Double Whoot.

And finally, I'll be a Coffee House Author at Coffee Time Romance. You can find me on their boards often. Especially their 'diggin' questions of the week on the forums. I love those questions.

Also, look me up on myspace, twitter and plurk.

http://twitter.com/DeborahPanger

http://myspace.com/debbiemacklin

http://www.plurk.com/joviangeldeb

and, if your on facebook, I'm listed as Deborah J Panger. See you there.

Deb

Enter, Jen Childers

I, like most authors, suffer a mild form of insanity. We love the craft of writing and we love stories. We are the kids who, when the babysitter read us a bedtime story,
had to delve deeper than the words allowed.

"What was in the porridge?"
"Where did puss get his boots?"
"How many prince charmings are there?"
It's a logical question,either there is more than one, or Prince charming really gets around!

This is not a writer's only quirk. We tell stories to stories and we try to improve what we read and build on things we hear. I was a bit embarrassed when we studied revelation and I mentioned I didn't like the ending.
oops.

I've been writing from the time I was in first grade. My first story was about two mermaid friends who got caught in a fishing net. The sawfish rescued them.
Imagination is something quelled by many adults and its too bad. I tease about insanity as, despite assumption, writers aren't rich. most will tell you they can make more
money at walmart.

We write for the art of it, the fun of creating a story and because we have something to say. even if its as simple as happily ever after (with some good sex tossed in. hey, it's no fairy tale, Prince Charming better deliver).

Stories have to be told, its who we are. throughout history, stories have been a commentary on history, culture and values of a society. My interests are multi-faceted, so I write a few different genres. History being my first love. A happy ending a must.

Romance writers have a dedication to the happy ending, honor, valor, and love working in
oppostion to the negative forces trying to destroy them. It says something about us. Ok, so
does the good sex, but where is it written you have to think of England?
Was the sexual revolution for nothing?

Compatibility in all areas is a value we have. Pick a hero and your favorite fantasy. An idea is the first step to making fantasy a reality.

Jennifer ChildersKindertransportreleased 8-7-09
Wild Rose Press
myspace.com/jenniferchil...myspace.
com/jenniferchildersfacetsinwriting.blogspot.comhistoricalhussies.blogspot.com

Happy Valentine's Day and more news:

Hello ya'll. 1st of all, Happy Valentine's Day. May you eat your fill of chocolate at no calerie cost to you. :)

I've been in the middle of edits for Saje and its going very well. Its been a learning process for me. In fact, I just received another round of edits which I'll tackle tomorrow morning with a couple cups of coffee. Getting those last minute details tweaked. Hopefully we'll have a release date soon to match its May Day theme.

I'd like to say thank you to my new followers: two very special and wonderful authors.

I absolutely love my cover for Saje. Angela Anderson is the artist who developed my new cover. A huge thank you to her. She's so talented, and the male model. Hmmm. Wherever you came from, your one mighty fine man.

Here's Saje's blurb:

What could be worse than waking up lonely on May Day? Finding a naked male stranger with wings in your house.That is exactly what Amanda Birchfield discovers when she stumbles out of bed to make her morning coffee. After rousing from a faint, Amanda learns her intruder, Saje, is a trinket-hoarding, seed-spreading bastard of a Woodland Fairy. And he’s brought her a room full of May Day Baskets in hopes she'll trade a little pleasure.Instead of fleeing for her life--or admitting herself to the local looney bin--Amanda is drawn to Saje’s scrumptious body and carefree spirit. But once the brief, but oh-so satisfying sexcapade atop her dining room table is over, he refuses to leave. How will she get rid of him? Or will she want to?

As for personal news, its been a week of highs and lows. It sucks to have a toothache, and I've been battling one for some time now. Almost two straight months of antibiotics, Osseous surgery, then flap surgery, then a root canal. The tooth supports a bridge right smack dab in the front of my mouth, and docs and I've been wondering if we can save the tooth and the bridge. I found out yesterday that I'll lose the bridge but they possibly save the tooth. Plus, I got sick with a stomach virus the first part of last week and it hung on for 2 days. I'm finally over that, thank God. I'd had enough of vomiting during chemo, thank you. The last thing I needed was that. Anyways, I have a bit of good news. I finally joined a gym. Yep...I did it. My coworker's and I went to World Gym and received a corporate rate so the cost was minimul. Yeah! My oncologist, family and friends have been houding me to excersise and eat right. I've walked 2 miles in the past 2 days on the treadmill. And I'm saving the most exciting news for last. Today I got tickets to see Bon Jovi at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in May. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Celia, a friend of mine surprised me with the news that they were going to play there. I had no idea. :P . It seems I've been too busy and preoccupied to keep up with what was going on in Jovi world. It's been about 3 years since I've been able to attend a show. I can't freakin wait.

Love to all,

Deb