Month: August 2017

Getting Back into the Swing of Things (sorta…)

Published on by Amanda Tero10 Comments
This week, I decided to get back onto my old writing schedule (before the craze of summer made me forget it): 100 words a day. I know, one doesn’t make much progress with doing just 100 words, but it gets me on my project working—especially on teaching days like Tuesday where I teach almost solid 10:00-6:00. With “100 words” on my schedule, I added 834 words last week to Journey of Choice. How I see it, that’s 834 words more than if I hadn’t aimed for 100 words a day!
I think that I have worked through all of the backtracking to add some intensity to Nat’s life (since, you know, just being a soldier in the Civil War against his will isn’t enough, right?). This was one of the reasons my word count was so low—when I rewrite, I erase almost as many words as I add. But it’s all for the better and has enriched the story (in my opinion 😉 ). This week, I should get to move forward!
There’s my writing update. As for researching… GUESS WHAT!!!
I finished the massive 815-page Memoirs of Sherman this past week! I was teasing that after all of that reading, I should get an award, so my little sister decided to draw one for me (there’s a glimpse at my fun-loving, teasing family).
That felt like such a nice mile-marker, that I decided to finish reading Arms and Equipment too (actually, I had a Louisiana trip with four hours [one way] in the car). Two research books finished in a week! I’m on a roll! 😉 (and no, that’s not gonna happen this week)
From Social Media
Since I’m determined not to let you guys miss out any, here’s a book I found at an estate sale I went to. At $250, no, I didn’t get it. But it was super cool to look at!

 Also…

Bookmarks! I currently only have bookmarks featuring “Journey to Love” (which is about 1 1/2 years old now), but I’d love to share them! If you live in the United States or Canada, just drop me an email at amandaterobooks (at) gmail (dot) com with your address and I’ll send you 3-5 to keep and share.
Finally, my sister did some brain-storming for me. One of the things I’m trying to do is stay regular on social media. Like I say in the video, I’m horrible when it comes to social stuff, even on the computer (writing? Yes. Social promos? Nope! Zilch. Nada.). But her ideas? A lifesaver!!

Now… I have a whole passel of questions for you! 🙂 I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing from you all, even though I don’t regularly reply–I WILL reply, though, so if you’ve commented and not seen my reply, check back later!

  • Do you read any books for research? When was the last time you finished one?
  • If you’re active on social media, how do you come up with fresh ideas? (or if you’re just a blogger…?)
  • Does your family help with or support your business(es)?
  • Do you use bookmarks, dog-ear the page, memorize the page number, or just read straight through? 
  • Have you ever been to an estate sale?
  • Any progress on your projects this week?

Scripture Graphics #54

Published on by Amanda Tero3 Comments

This Psalm is full of reasons to praise God. For example, He hears us (vs. 1, 6-7), He preserves our soul (vs. 2), He is merciful to us (vs. 3, 5, 13, 15, 16), He is good (vs. 5), He is ready to forgive (vs. 5)…I counted seventeen reasons to praise God in this Psalm alone. 
How many can you find?

If my God is powerful enough to calm the tempest (which can destroy ships), how much more can He calm the raging of my heart, when I trust in Him?



In God, we are fully protected. The latter part really stood out to me: His truth is our shield and buckler. There is protection—coverage, shielding—in God’s truth.

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. (Psalms 92:1-5)

An Agglomeration of Writing Tools | Wordquill

Published on by Amanda TeroLeave a comment
Today on Wordquill, I’m exploring some of my favorite writing tools!
– – – – –
While it’s true that “all you need to write is pen and paper,” there are many other tools available to the modern writer which helps make our job easier and more fluent. If you look at my writing tools today vs. even a year ago, you’ll see that they have changed. So instead of giving you a run-down of “what I use today,” I’ll just be mentioning some writing tools that have helped me throughout the years. After you read through mine, I’d love to hear what you’ve found helpful in the writing tool world!

Continue reading on Wordquill.

First Line Fridays, Review | Beneath Copper Falls

Published on by Amanda Tero9 Comments
This Friday, I’m featuring a suspense novel. I think I’ve figured out that I’m not as much for suspense as I thought I was. I just don’t care for dwelling on that which is dark–on the sick cruelty of humanity when separated from God. Yeah… have any of you read this book? Did you like it?

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Also, be sure to hop along to all of these other blogs and see what First Lines they have to share!
Please note that I may not fully endorse all of the books that these bloggers read or the content in these blogs.
Rachel – Bookworm Mama
Beth – Faithfully Bookish
Katie – Fiction Aficionado
Andi – Radiant Light
Robin – Robin’s Nest
Kathleen – Kathleen Denly
Trisha – Joy of Reading
Jeanette – CJane Read
Rebecca – It’s Storytime with Van Danniker!
Iola – Iola Golton
Nicole – Christian Fiction Girl
My Review
I’ll be honest up front: this is probably the hardest book review I’ve had to write. As far as writing style and ability, I admire Coble. Her writing style is enjoyable and well-rounded.

Content… since I’m given permission for my honest review, that is what I’ll stick with. I know other readers who enjoy suspense may like this book, but it was not for me. So, for you readers who are debating whether or not to read this book, here are my thoughts.


The back cover did not shed light about how dark the content would be. There was no mention of a serial killer (much less one who drowned women), which may have better prepared me for the contents. It’s not just that it was a serial killer, but how closely connected the characters were to people who were being killed. And… who the serial killer was. I figured it out about halfway and continued in horror of, “Please be wrong.” (I wasn’t wrong)


For me, it was too dark without a good balance of light. God was mentioned, as was prayer, but it was more of, “I’ll pray for you” and “God has His good will for your life.” I found it to be somewhat shallow, and the characters in their everyday lives didn’t think much about God.


Another aspect I didn’t care for was the romance. I could have read it wrong, but it appeared that one couple lived together before marriage (which is Biblically wrong to do). The romance was more surface-centered and a few things took place that made me cringe (mentions of going too far, being too close, that type of thing).


So, coming from a conservative Christian viewpoint, this is not the type of book I’d like to read again.


*I received this book from Book Look Bloggers and happily provided my honest review*

Welcome to my Music Studio (free downloads)

Published on by Amanda Tero2 Comments
I have mentioned teaching occasionally, but it’s not something that I have really looked at on this blog. Today, I’d like to give you a glimpse at this year’s music studio:
I  haven’t had much opportunity to decorate my studio in years passed, because for most of my teaching life, I have either shared my studio with someone else (i.e. I started teaching in my room), or just didn’t feel that creative. This year, however, I decided to do something kind of fun–and the kids loved it (which, I’ll admit, always feels rewarding!). As you can see, I went for a “back to school” theme (time will tell if I change it up every month or quarter or at all…). I did a fun play on words…

Then I also have some “cheat sheets” up there. The younger me would have frowned on this; after all, they need to KNOW their answers, right? But… I’d rather the student review it 100 times and KNOW it than get frustrated fifty times, because they just can’t remember. We’ll see if these remain up all year or not.

In addition to all of this, I make my students track down their practice minutes. Their weekly time goal is different, depending on their age and level. This year to keep track for their diligence the entire year, I have created a chart. Each week, I will color in whether they have practiced ALL of their time (four keys), HALF of their time (two keys), a quarter of their time (one key), etc. Here’s hoping it’s incentive to get those keys colored!

Now, the freebies I mentioned in the title. All of the charts I mentioned are uploaded here (PDFs) for you to have full access to–print and use to your heart’s content! And, if you use them, I would love to hear how they worked for you!
If you are new to teaching or are considering teaching and don’t know where to start, I published a short book (most people can read it in an hour) to help musicians get started teaching. “Me? Teach Piano?” is only $1.99 for Kindle (though you may also get the paperback for $7.99).
Now that I’m done jabbering, how many music teachers do we have out there? What instruments do you teach? What have you found to be your most helpful teaching tip?

And Some Weeks, I Really Don’t Feel Like a Writer

Published on by Amanda Tero5 Comments
After last week’s fun blog post with an amazing update and all…
This week I began teaching piano/violin again! Which meant writing was out the door. Literally. And music was in the door. In full swing! I’m not complaining, because I love music and have had some fun with my students already (more on that tomorrow). But I have missed writing a little.
I did have an afternoon dedicated to writing. On Thursday, I hosted my first Writing Day with some local homeschool students.
There were five writers who joined us and from what they said, they all had a blast. Which makes me happy! We’re already growing our list of participants for next time!
As for how my writing went that day…
Yup. Honestly, those were the words I put in my manuscript (don’t worry–I deleted them). The words just would not flow! Which, isn’t unusual, as I had about a five-day writing break. I had hoped to get some writing done over the weekend, but for some reason, it felt like all I did was run the roads. Which is okay. That just means that (hopefully) I’m all caught up. 😉
BUT! I do feel like I made progress! I have made it further into the Arms and Equipment of the Civil War book (which is amazingly interesting!). I have shown some self-control in my reading. Some. 😉 On Friday night, this was my reading selection.
Like a good girl, I chose the Civil War book and… yeah, read the whole A Fool and His Monet (but that goes into reading posts, not writing posts–and I DID balance it with pages from Arms and Equipment). Back to CW, this one section stood out to me: 
Can’t you just envision a story right there?! I don’t know if I’ll do anything with that interesting piece of history, but it fascinated me.
Oh, and speaking of Civil War books… I got Hoopla (my library online reading database). I have a video of me scrolling through just some of their Civil War options (if it loaded; this is my first time trying to upload a video straight into Blogger). I’m like… 😮 😮 😮 😮 😮 
No, I won’t ever be able to read all of those. Mom said that sometime I need to stop reading and just write. 😉
And there you have it. My non-writing week. 😉 Thanks for listening to me jabber.
Before I leave, I challenged my followers in one area last week:

Who is the last author that you read?
What star value would you give the book?
Have you left a review? If you have not…then the challenge is to go and leave that review! 🙂

Until next week!

Scripture Graphics #53

Published on by Amanda Tero3 Comments

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.” (Psalms 61:1-5)


I know this is praise of God’s creation, but it struck me in a new way—as God’s time. Do I live as though the day and night are mine, to do as I please, instead of doing what pleases God? Just as God fashioned light and dark, He set the clocks in motion. Am I selfishly hoarding time which should ultimately be spent for His glory?

“For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.” Psalm 78:5-8
There is so much in these verses about duties, penalties, warnings, and commands. God has done His part in providing His Word. He handed the responsibility to fathers to teach their children. Every generation of fathers who neglect this responsibility produces a generation of children who do not hope in God, keep His commands, and remember His works; a generation of stubborn and rebellious people who are not righteous and steadfast in God. Yet, just as Israel could turn back to God, so can wicked generations today: “But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.” (Vs 38-39)



This is a good reminder verse–first, a reminder of Who God is; second, a reminder of His delight to give His children good things (note: what He deems good; not always our perception of good).
“Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.” Psalm 85:12



What is something that stood out to you in the message yesterday?

First Line Fridays and Review | The Wisdom of God

Published on by Amanda Tero12 Comments

Happy Friday! I get to feature one of my new favorite books today!! As with other similar books, I didn’t go with first line, but a favorite quote.

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Also, be sure to hop along to all of these other blogs and see what First Lines they have to share!
Please note that I may not fully endorse all of the books that these bloggers read or the content in these blogs.
Rachel – Bookworm Mama
Beth – Faithfully Bookish
Katie – Fiction Aficionado
Andi – Radiant Light
Robin – Robin’s Nest
Kathleen – Kathleen Denly
Trisha – Joy of Reading
Jeanette – CJane Read
Rebecca – It’s Storytime with Van Danniker!
Iola – Iola Golton
Nicole – Christian Fiction Girl
Anna – Cross Romance

My Review

What is wisdom? This book is divided into 23 chapters exploring Biblical wisdom vs. worldly knowledge. It begins with the history of how the Jews perceived wisdom, to how Jesus Christ personified wisdom, to how we are to apply wisdom today.

This was a powerful and convicting read. From all I could tell, it was Biblically accurate, quoted many Scripture verses, and even used some hymns to expound on Biblical truths. There was a strong emphasis on humility, repentance, and salvation.

There are many quotes I appreciated. Here are a few:

“Would the man filled with wisdom and spiritual understanding write cheap poetry? I would certainly hope not!”

“David could sin, but he could also repent.” 

“We should not only memorize the Word, which is an excellent thing to do, but also know the difference between truth and error in applying the Word faithfully.”

“Obviously there is enticement from sinners. It does not say in Proverbs 1:10, ‘If sin entices thee.’ It says ‘If sinners entice thee.'”

“If that person stands between you and Jesus Christ, that person is not a friend.”

*I received this book from Bethany House Publishers and happily provided my honest review*

You may get the book here.