Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Live Life To The Fullest



My aim is to live life every day to the best of my 92-year-old ability...to let the finish line be as eventful as the starting line.


                                                     -----

Some years back, my husband and I were driving down to St.Louis Illinois, headed to Lambert Airport. It was a crisp beautiful Autumn day and the sun was shining. We were only about halfway there, when it started to rain. Along with the rain came sleet. The nasty weather stayed with us all the way to the airport. As we parked and got ready to dash inside, the wind picked up. The clouds turned leaden grey. We left the safety of the car and made a dash across the parking lot. Our umbrellas turned inside out as we ran.

We toweled off as best we could an hoped we would dry out quickly. We proceeded through the standard process of checking baggage, going through security, and waiting at the gate for our flight. Still damp and a little cold and clammy, we finally boarded our flight.

We began to taxi and as the plane picked up speed, the rain hit the window with sand-blasting fury.  I had a window seat, but couldn't see anything but rivulets of water streaming down.

As I tried to fluff up my disastrous hair, the plane suddenly lifted and was airborn. That moment of being released from the confines of gravity is one of my favorite feelings. I quit messing with my hair to just enjoy the ride.

Suddenly the plane shot through the billowing black clouds into glorious sunshine! Below us was all black turmoil of threatening clouds but we were above them all!

The sun was there all the time :-)

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Want a Free Book?


I am very excited about my newest book, Viking Kids Don't Cry.

There are so many ways to get your copy! It is available now in paperback from online retailers Amazon, Kobe, and Barnes & Noble. Autographed copies are available through the publisher. You can pre-order a kindle version for delivery on June 1st or get other free eBook versions for a limited time at Smashwords. And now, you can enter the free give away below from Goodreads. The links to all are at the bottom of this page.

During a recent radio interview, we discussed how unique this book is. As you may know, I published a memoir of growing up in Iceland several years ago. This new book is really a children's version of the original memoir. The new book contains all the stories of my adventures in Iceland around 1935 - from traveling on a fishing trawler, to collecting bird's eggs from the cliff nests, and yes, even my attempt to fly by jumping from the cowshed roof! I have added a few, embellished a bit and made it an easier read for 9-11 year old readers.

I thought it would be fun to have the original memoir, which I have re-titled "Growing Up Viking: Fond Memories of Iceland" and the new book, "Viking Kids Don't Cry". Both books contain the same stories, but are each written from a different perspective. There are historical reference exclusively in the memoir, as well as  WWII memories, like meeting my husband at a USO dance in Iceland and my journey to America, which are not included in the children's version. I hope you enjoy this new version and share it with the next generation of readers.

And may I ask a favor? Reviews help out so much and it would mean a lot to me if you would take a moment to review the book on the site where you purchase - or on Goodreads if you win a free copy there. I would love to hear from you and would so appreciate you sharing your thoughts about this story with other people who might read the book.

I'll be making a lot of appearances this summer so be sure to follow my schedule on my website and sign up for my email list.

Thank you for all the support and warm wishes!


Here are the links:


Order a personalized autographed copy direct from the publisher:
https://squareup.com/store/hekla-publishing-llc


Promotion to win a free paperback copy starts May 30th on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34936172?


To get a free eBook copy now (epub/mobi/pdf/lrf pdb/html) use coupon code ZG45Z at:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/722015


Pre-order a kindle copy available June 1st for just $2.99 at:
https://www.amazon.com/Viking-Kids-Dont-Ieda-Herman-ebook/dp/B07193L6FQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495552503&sr=8-1&keywords=viking+kids+dont%27+cry


Wednesday, May 3, 2017

He Just Wanted to Explore!


Stopping at a Mormon museum in Wyoming I was struck by a huge display of how a Mormon family traveled across the nation, going west in the 1800's. Many started in foreign countries and had journeyed far just to reach the United States. Once their ocean voyage was done, they would travel to meet up with the group they would be completing the toughest part of the trip. An entire family's belonging in one pushcart with the entire family walking and pushing the load.  Each family member was allowed only 11 pounds of personal belongings. The rest of the weight was reserved for food and other critical supplies.  Eleven pounds is approximately one change of clothes and a few minimal personal keepsakes. 
 
They had to walk and be at Independence Rock in Wyoming by fourth of July in order to escape the winter snows in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. 

The display shows a family; Father and Mother pushing a cart loaded with the family belongings with three kids pushing behind it. Two girls pushing, and a boy - he looks about twelve - evidently not doing his part, seemed to me he'd rather be exploring the other side of the huge rock. To keep him from wandering off, he has a rope tied around his waist at one end and the other end fastened to the wagon. 

As I contemplated the images I thought the boy perhaps just wants to be free to explore his amazing country. 

I can so relate…Thinking back of my growing up in Iceland and wondered how often my Grandpa was tempted to tie me up like that to keep me working and raking the grass instead of constantly wandering off looking for trolls, elves and Hidden Folks. Just curious, you know? ðŸ˜Š