Author: Naty Matos

Great desire to worship God through the gift of writing and share a message of inspiration to all around me.

Interview with Author Amy McGuire

On By Naty MatosIn Writing Happenings4 Comments

I met this young woman recently and really thought you guys would be interested in meeting her as well. Amy is a Christian Romance author who recently published a book and has a very interesting story to tell.

Amy, welcome to The Rising Muse… Please tell us…What do you do when you are not writing? I’m taking care of my almost four-year-old daughter, leading a tutoring program on a Thursday night or, if I’m lucky, reading a good book. Of course, I’m supposed to be editing the next book in the series, but I’m also a really, really good procrastinator. Maybe I should write a book on procrastination. Then again, I can always do that later.

Oh, I understand that very well. I think most writers can relate to you. You write romance…How did you choose the genre you write in? I didn’t actually choose the genre. It kind of chose me. I wrote the story originally as a kind of escape when I needed time to myself while my ten-month-old daughter napped. As I put my book on various critique sites I discovered that my biggest readership was the 13-19 crowd. And so, this book landed squarely in the young adult genre.

Very interesting. It’s always good to know, Where do you get your ideas? A lot of my characters are based on people I know, places I’ve been and situations I have either heard about or been involved in somehow. The world around me is my inspiration for a lot of plot lines, as well as my childhood.

Amy, What project are you working on now?  I’m editing and marketing Sweet Love in e-book format as well as preparing it for paperback edition. My biggest project is the editing and preparation of The Essence of Romance, Volume Two in The Heart’s Five Senses saga which comes out in e-book format on December 12 of this year and paperback soon after.

Can you share with us What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write? I have to choose one? It’s a bit of a tie between Quito and New Years Eve. I really enjoyed writing the description of the parade in Quito and fell in love with my characters while writing New Years Eve. Both chapters have a different element of romance that I really had a blast writing. Quito’s romance is the colors, sounds and overall tactile sense of the old city while New Years Eve is a more emotional romance. Both, I hope, will make my readers very happy.

And Finally, Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers? If you’re willing to work to hone your craft, you can turn out a great book. If you want to have others enjoy your book you need to do a LOT of editing. No bestselling author ever turns out an error free book on the first try. Even writers like John Grisham have been known to have typos in their book. If you’ve been told you have a talent for writing, don’t listen to the naysayers. Follow your heart and write. Even if you’re never published, or you never make it to the bestseller list, you’ll be doing what you love.

Guys, I just got a copy of Sweet Love, I will soon let you know my thoughts on it, so stay tuned.

About Amy McGuire

First Choice brightened upAmy is the youngest of three children of missionary parents. As a result, her childhood was spent mostly in East Africa. She now lives in Ontario with her husband, young daughter, two cats and plants that she keeps forgetting to water.  Almost from the moment she could pick up a pen she has been writing stories and poetry.  She developed a love of English Literature at a young age and considers William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudicetwo of the most romantic books ever written.  She began writing comedies in middle school and by junior high had graduated to writing romances.  Her favorite way to spend a sunny afternoon is on a lounge chair with a good novel, some chocolate and soft tunes off her rather eclectic collection of Cds.  She has written many stories but never dreamt of publishing them until her husband gave her a nudge in 2009.

About Sweet Love

Sweet Love Cover (Final)She’s a city girl from Quito, Ecuador. He’s a small town boy from the mountains of Hope Valley, British Columbia. In his opinion she’s beautiful yet spoiled. In her opinion he’s a judgmental snob who thinks he knows everything. Can they set aside their preconceptions, become friends and take a chance on love? Or will they be forever separated when a tragic accident claims the life of someone close to them both?
Anjaline Sutherland thought she would live in Quito forever and eventually become an award winning journalist. In pursuit of her dream she has finally convinced her stepfather and mother to send her to the prestigious Cotopaxi Academy in the fall. Just when everything seems to be going her way, her stepfather announces that his job will be moving to Hope Valley, British Columbia in June. Torn from the only home and friends she has ever known, Anjaline anticipates a short, painful stay in Hope Valley. In spite of her prejudice toward Hope Valley and its residents she finds herself falling in love with the tiny village nestled between the Coastal Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. She is immediately attracted to Gabriel Walker but he wounds her pride with his apparent disinterest. Can she convince the boy with the fathomless eyes to glance her way?
Gabriel Walker enjoys his own company. He could happily spend hours carving toys for his baby brother or fully immersed in a school project. He sees his friends once a week and is content with the arrangement. All seems to be right in his world. That is, until the new anthropologist arrives with his teenage daughter in tow. From the moment Gabriel spots Anjaline staring down into the creek which runs through the center of Hope Valley he is pulled to her beauty. As soon as he admits the attraction his self esteem takes a nose dive. Her gratitude after he saves her from certain death only serves to strengthen his resolve to avoid her-and the way she makes him feel-at all costs. Can he overcome his natural shyness and fear of rejection to take the first step toward friendship? Or will Robin or Damian win Anjaline’s heart first?

Don’t ever give up on love!

On By Naty MatosIn Inspirational Thoughts3 Comments

About four years ago I decided that I wanted to adopt a dog. I visited several rescue places but I couldn’t find one that would just be the one I wanted to take home. One afternoon a rescue place had their dogs at a pet store and I went to check it out and there she was. I stood about five feet away and looked at her for like thirty minutes. River was her name. She was a black lab. She looked friendly and quiet. One of the rescue volunteers placed her on a leash for me to walk her around. It was obvious she had no leash training and that she was way stronger than me as it was her dragging me instead of me leading her. I immediately fell in love with her and took her home.

Before we left the rescue volunteer told me some of her history. River was two years old, had been severely abused physically and emotionally. She still had scabs on her body from the abuse, which meant they were still kind of recent. She had been poisoned at some point, so unless she trusted the person feeding her, she would not eat. She was very introverted.

Well, just as expected, when we made it home she just went into a corner. Instead of fighting her into her crate she would stay there day and night even when the door remained open. If any men would approach her she would hide behind me. The first five days she didn’t eat. I was going crazy worried that she would get sick. I called the vet and she said that it was going to be ok, but my heart was breaking. The only time she was a little lively was when I would walk her and it was because she wanted to run away. It was a funny sight to see me being dragged by her through the neighborhood.

I bought every toy and treat I could find. I read about abused dogs. I took her to the park to socialize with other dogs; she would stay in a corner and do nothing. She didn’t eat the treats, she didn’t play with the toys, and she ignored the other dogs.

After a few days I sat with her in the floor of the kitchen and she came to me. I grabbed a few bits of her food and offered them with my hand and she finally ate. I cried; my baby was finally eating. For the next few days she ate only out of my hand, and then slowly we transitioned to the floor until she finally made it to her bowl. At the park, it had been a “family” effort amongst the regulars to get her socialized, so she was petted and given more attention than any other dog. Slowly she started playing alone with the toys I would bring to the park and even approaching people.

Unfortunately River is no longer with me, but what made me think of her today was the fact that sometimes people have been severely hurt by life and when someone comes into their life to pour love into them, they don’t know how to receive it. We do that to God all the time who loved us to the point of giving us his only son to die for us. Sometimes those hurting people can’t believe something good has happened to them and are always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Be patient! Continue to pour your unconditional love into them, just like my River; they will slowly see that you really love them, than they are finally safe…that they are finally home!

Be blessed!

A writing thought…

On By Naty MatosIn QuotesLeave a comment

You need not expect to get your book right the first time. Go to work and revamp or rewrite it. God only exhibits his thunder and lightning at intervals, and so they always command attention. These are God’s adjectives. You thunder and lightning too much; the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by. Mark Twain

No Small Job

On By Naty MatosIn Articles1 Comment

I observed a man this morning in a suit trying to push a wagon of boxes. He was truly struggling to balance the load and pushing the cart. The boxes were empty by the way. It reminded me that the things we do, do not define who we are.

People have the tendency to place certain professions, jobs, tasks or qualities in a pedestal. The body has many members, and all of them have different functions, but none of them are less than the other.  Look at your hand for a minute, if you lost one finger, any of them, you would miss it terribly and you would have to make major adjustments to go back to “normal function”. The same is with the way we are as a collective, everyone has a function to do and nobody is better or worse for the position they have been placed.

I used to work with a brilliant doctor. It was a delight to hear this man speak, full of knowledge and wisdom, but totally technologically challenged. He couldn’t operate his computer or his cell phone. If some of us in the office didn’t pull out his e-mails and voicemails, he would not be in the loop of the things that needed to be done. That didn’t make him less or didn’t make us more. We had different skills and functions to complete.

I also remember being a manager. I’m a pretty gadget and technically savvy person, but for some reason the fax machine at that office and I did not get along (anyone remembers the movie Office Space, yes that was my relationship with the fax machine). I tried to not bother others and do my own thing. When I would disappear for a while and my assistant knew that I was not in a meeting, she usually checked the copy room and there I was fighting the fax machine. She would take the papers from my hands and get the job done in fifteen seconds.

My dad used to say, someone needs to sell hot dogs on the corner of the street otherwise I wouldn’t have a place to buy it, and someone needs to pick up the garbage, otherwise it would pile up in our house.

So no matter what you’re doing today, don’t look at it with the eyes of the world that classifies tasks as better or worse. Look at your job as a gift from God to render a service that in the large scheme of things it’s just as important as the next one to keep things working the way they should.

Luke 13:30
indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

Blessings.

Carrots, Eggs and Coffee

On By Naty MatosIn Inspirational Thoughts1 Comment

I received this story in one of those chain e-mails that we all get. I rarely read

Afrikaans: Geroosterde pitte van die koffiepla...

those, but this one really caught my attention and decided to share it with all of you. The author is unknown and may we all be coffee…

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.
Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma the daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity…. boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Now think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot
that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg
that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or……
Am I like the coffee bean?
The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything… they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past . You can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying. 


May we all be COFFEE!!!!!!

 

 

Beautiful and Handsome

On By Naty MatosIn Inspirational Thoughts2 Comments

As God’s children we should aspire for the best as we are the children of The King. With this I’m not talking about our expectations for others, but for our own selves. The media is filled with images that define beauty for us, and in my quest for meaning I decided to research the world view and God’s view on beauty.

When talking about the beauty in terms of human attraction these tend to be defined by gender. Women are beautiful; men are handsome. What does that really mean?

 Beautiful

I usually start with my friend Webster who says that beauty is the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).  It’s an individually pleasing or has beautiful quality; grace; charm.

Reading this also entails that beauty is very subjective. Something pleasing to my eyes is totally disgusting to the person next to me. Therefore beauty will depend on our personal experiences, our culture and our personal taste. Not much for an objective definition.

Of course I went to the Word of God and this is what I found:

  •  Proverbs 31:30(NIV)”Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” This one I found particularly interesting because Webster said that charm was part of beauty, but the word of God tells us that charm is fleeting.
  •  1 Peter 3:3-5 (NIV) “such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.”

So according to the Word, in reality being beautiful has nothing to do with how we look, but who we are. I think this definition can transcend cultures, tastes and personal experiences. I could even dare to say that it doesn’t divide even by gender as a man can have a gentle and quiet spirit as well.

Handsome

Now for the gentlemen, this was Webster’s definition of handsome: having an attractive, well-proportioned, and imposing appearance suggestive of health and strength; good-looking; having pleasing proportions, relationships, exhibiting skill, taste, and refinement.

Once again it focuses on the outer appearance and the subjectivity of what is perceived by it, but in this case it goes further talking about skills, which is something that I think I never thought was included in this definition.

I found in Daniel 1:4 the following message, “young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace”  The bible doesn’t deter much from Webster in this definition, it talks about no physical defect, which I’m sure is not talking about lack of flaws, but about a healthy body; but adds something to it, which is knowledge and the ability to learn. So for a man to be attractive, the six packs may be as equally important as the knowledge he presents, if not more.

The irony for me was that doing this research I found pictures that do not conform to our Hollywood mentality of beauty, which reinforces the notion that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Yes, I did find pictures of Brad Pitt in the midst of it and of  Julia Roberts, but I found pictures that defined beauty that are unusual for our traditional mindset. Here I share some:

Beautiful:

See full size imageSee full size image

Handsome:

    

So here’s the bottom line:

  •  Are you woman, being defined by the world’s definition of beauty or are you beautifying your spirit with the Word of God?  Also, are you looking at men within the God’s definition of beauty?
  •  Are you man, being defined by the world’s physical view of handsome? Or are you being teachable and in the search for the true knowledge? Also, are you looking at women within the definition of beauty that God has set for you?

Food for thought,

Blessings

Naty

Restored Life

On By Naty MatosIn Inspirational Thoughts2 Comments

By Karen Baney

Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. Psalm 71:20 (NIV)

When I was thinking about what to write for this post, I came across thisA Life Restored Cover Art thumb verse. It’s one that I wished I had known before I published my novel A Life Restored, because it sums up the theme of the book very well.

In the novel, Thomas Anderson has faced many bitter troubles. Even though most are consequences of his actions, there are times where he struggles to catch a break. At one point he gets very discouraged and even starts to look away.

Do you ever feel like you can’t catch a break? Have you been tossed around by trial after trial after trial? Maybe you’re not currently facing so many troubles but have in the past. How do you deal with it?

From this verse, we can remember that God does restore lives and will bring us up from our deepest lows. I know it’s hard to remember when the waves feel like they are drowning you—but that doesn’t make it less true. Over and over in the Bible, we learn that God never leaves us. He never forsakes us.

The next time you face insurmountable trials, I hope you’ll remember this verse and be encouraged. No matter how deep or how long they last, God will restore you and lift you up again. Ask him to give you the strength to live through the trials well.

Karen Fall 2011 ThumbKaren Baney writes Christian historical and contemporary romance novels. When she’s not busy writing, she enjoys traveling the state of Arizona with her husband, exploring museums and the picturesque landscapes the state has to offer. Her faith plays an important role both in her life and in her writing. Karen and her husband make their home in Gilbert, Arizona, with their two dogs.

For a limited time only, pick up a free copy of A Life Restored (Prescott Pioneers #3) by Karen Baney.

Visit Karen at her website: http://www.karenbaney.com or on Facebook or Twitter. Visit her special blog for authors at http://www.everythingauthor.com.

Don’t wait too long

On By Naty MatosIn Inspirational ThoughtsLeave a comment

I have the pleasure to share with you a new Christian Author friend Joana James. I hope you enjoy this!

The other day I wrote an article on Waiting on the Lord, but as it was pointed out to me today, there are two sides to every coin. It’s very important to wait for God’s timing before we move. It could be the difference between failure and success or life and death. But what happens when we wait too long? What happens when God says to go and we hold back?

There are several reasons why we may not move when God says to. One of them is fear. God may be moving us in a direction that we are afraid of. He may be calling us to a particular ministry that we feel ill-equipped for, so we say “Lord, I’ll do it later.”

Or we may have our own agendas, so we say, “God, as soon as I send all my children off to university, I’ll become a missionary for you.”

Or the devil may be planting seeds of doubt in our mind, “Is it really God talking? Maybe you should wait, if that house is yours, it will come back to you.”

I remember as a teen, I came across a poster and it has stuck with me since and I think it will stick with me for the rest of my life. It was the image of a woman’s skeleton sitting on a park bench. She was dressed in a bridal gown and veil and she appeared to be waiting for something. The caption above her head said “Waiting for the PERFECT man.” She’d waited so long that she missed her opportunity. She was dead, and she could no longer marry.

Some of us wait so long to move forward that we lose our opportunity for great things. We procrastinate and complain at everything God places before us. If we don’t think it’s good enough, or we don’t feel ready but whatever it is, we don’t move when God says we should. So we abort our destiny.

It’s so sad to see lives wasted because of procrastination. To see time, treasure and talent unused must certainly hurt God. My encouragement today is to move in the timing of God. Don’t run ahead of him, however don’t waste time either. By the time you are ready to move, you may just miss your destiny.

Joana James – Author of Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa’s Secret

Alana & Alyssa new     nightmare new2- front

Joana James Joana James is a young Christian author from the island of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. She is an I.T. professional by day but in her free time she escapes from the logical world of technology into the artistic world. She is an avid reader and her kindle is her favourite piece of technology. Music is her best friend and that manifests itself through her love for dance and singing.

Joana writes stories that portray the reality of her world. Her first book, a two-part short story series called Rise from the Ashes featured the lives of two young girls struggling in dire circumstances.

Her latest book, Nightmare at Emerald High, brings to the fore a world that everybody knows exists but no one talks about.

Follow Joana’s blog for frequent devotionals and for a list of some of the best and most affordable Christian Books available for Kindle. http://joanajames.blogspot.com