writing cottage

“She Shed” Book Giveaway! Plus a Special Gift for You!

Posted by Barbara Techel

"She Shed" Book Giveaway! Plus a Special Gift for You!

I’m excited to be able to give away a signed (by me!) copy of this new book She Shed – A Treasure Trove of Women’s Creative Spaces.  There is good news and bad news about this book though that I must share.

The good news is that my story about my Zen Writing Cottage is featured on pages 42-46. This is such a lovely, inspiring book and I am very honored to have my special space showcased inside the pages among other wonderful women following their hearts — five of which are from the US. And might I add, some very darling little She Sheds?

The bad news is that I’m not able to get copies here to the US to offer to those of you that expressed interest. I’m so sorry. The publisher is out of Australia and what I didn’t realize at the time when I agreed to do this (though I’m still glad I did!) is:

A.)  It would cost a lot of money to have copies shipped here (Australia is FAR AWAY!) which made it cost prohibitive. After many calculations and avenues checked for shipping I’d end up losing $7 a book to offer them for sale on my website.

B.) The publisher won’t be offering the book for sale on Amazon. This is a whole other subject regarding small publishers and authors and Amazon, which continues to be a catch-22 situation. This has left some publishers not taking part in the Amazon channel. You might at some point be able to get a copy via Amazon as some do slip through – though in speaking with the publisher they said it will likely be very limited quantities.

And I let out a heavy sigh and was so disappointed. And I thought “what is a girl to do when she was so excited to share her passion about these darling little creative hubs and how hers came to be?”

And that brings me back to some more good news! I’m working on writing a longer version of my story to publish myself. I don’t yet know how long it will be or what format (e-book, PDF, or softcover), but I can tell you that I’ve begun work on it! I’m going to just let the writing take me where it needs to go and see what transpires with it.  So please do stay tuned!

And some more good news!  I want to inspire and encourage others to create a space of their own (if that is what you wish for!) so I’ve created this bookmark for all of you since there can only be one winner of the book giveaway. I hope you will enjoy!  Just click on the bookmark image below which will take you to the page on my website to print it out.

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To enter for a chance to win a copy of the book all you have to do is leave a comment below and tell me what you would use a “She Shed” for, or if you already have one, do let me know what you use yours for as I’d LOVE to know!  Open to US residents only because again, due to shipping costs (thanks for understanding).

Also, please be sure when leaving a comment that I can link back to you or your email address so I can contact you if you are the winner!  Enter by midnight cst, Friday, June 10th. Sunday, June 12th at midnight cst. I’ll notify winner on Saturday., Monday! Good luck!

P.S.  You just might want to share this giveaway with your girlfriends – that way if one of them wins – you can read their copy when they are done!  😉

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And this is Why I Write. A Heartfelt Note from Reader, Patti.

Posted by Barbara Techel

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Life as a writer can be lonely at times. Though I do love spending quite a bit of time alone there is on occasion when I wonder if anyone is out there reading blogs anymore. And then every now and then I’ll get a note from a reader that really makes my heart sing.

It was in 2007 when I started my blog to write about my love of the human-animal bond. It has now evolved into so much more and it’s like coming home to myself every time I sit down to write on my laptop.

One of my goals in writing is to inspire and encourage others to live a creative and meaningful life by sharing what that looks like for me.

When writing about ones life it can be a fine balance of what to share and what not to share. While I wish to share all the good, I also write about when things aren’t good too — though I try my best to look for a teaching in each situation that seems hard.

And the rewards of writing are that this is the way in which I take what is inside me and give it breath. And the other reward is hearing from readers.

Like today on this beautiful, sunny, Friday morning, I open my email to find this sweet note from Patti:

I am so grateful for your daily posts. On my darkest days, you seem to give me hope. You brighten my days and have opened my eyes to so many things, I might otherwise have missed. 

Thank you from the depths of my heart for being the person you are! I so admire you!

Thank you, Patti for taking time to send me this beautiful note. As I said in my response back to her, this is music to a writers ears. Though I feel like I’m in a place in my life where I can’t not not write, notes like this from readers truly mean so much to me.

So to change the subject a bit now, I promised to share the new landscaping with you. Here is a sneak peek of the east side of my writing cottage in the above photo.

Now I know there isn’t much color yet, but these are all new plants that will need time to establish themselves. Though I was told by Kathy from Willow Acres that I will see blooms on my roses on the west side of the deck in just a few days!  Woot!

In this space next to my writing cottage is a honeysuckle plant I’ve had for two years. The tree in the center is a limelight hydrangea and the shrubs with pink are Dark Horse Weigela, while I believe the other two perennials are Shasta daisies.

And just to give you an idea of the huge improvement, here is a photo of what it looked like before.

I feel on cloud nine with all the new plant life around me topped off today with the kind note from Patti. It’s these simple pleasures in life that are the air that I want to always breathe. Because when I do they fill me up with so much joy.

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What is Joy?

Posted by Barbara Techel

What is Joy?

There is much that brings me joy, but in this very moment, I am inhaling a breath of gratitude and giving thanks once again for this quiet spot of my own…my dear, lovely writing cottage, and I say…

On this spring morning, the sun is shining, the birds are sipping from the bird bath and feasting at the feeders as a light wind kisses the perennials reaching toward the sun, and my little dog, Gidget is curled up on the wicker chair softly snoring — indeed, it is the simple pleasures that make my heart swell with joy.

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