Baaad Boys Rock My World

These aren't your normal, everyday bad boys. Not motorcycle-riding or hotel-room-trashing Hollywood stars. Not the high school rebel boy who cuts class and defies dress codes. Not even the romantic hero with a rough exterior that secretly covers a sensitive heart (my favorite kind of hero, btw).

No, I'm talking about these baaad boys:


Okay, before you freak out and say, "Um, Tera. You're posting about sheep. Do you need a CAT scan?" hear me out. These aren't just any sheep, these are sheep donated by the Heifer Project to help families in undeveloped regions earn a sustainable living.

The Heifer Project is one of my favorite charities because, instead of just giving people money or food or whatever, they provide them with the skill and resources to support themselves. Their motto could be that Chinese proverb, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Heifer is all about teaching people to fish. (Or raise goats or rabbits or honeybees.)


For example, in areas of extreme climates, where traditional farming is impossible, Heifer might give a family a dairy goat along with the training necessary to raise her. From that simple gift a family will receive: several quarts of milk per day (extra can be sold--to pay for necessities, education, or medical care--or made into yogurt, butter, or cheese), manure that can be used to develop a vegetable garden, and 2-3 kids per year (which they can sell or keep to grow their dairy farm). This can change a family's entire life.


But that's not the end of the story. Heifer also requires the families to "pass on the gift." They must share the offspring of their gift animals, their knowledge, their skills, and other resources with neighbors so that they, too, will develop a sustainable life. Pay-it-forward in action.

This is one of the most forward-thinking approaches in the quest to end world hunger. What begins with a single family gradually grows into a neighborhood, a community, even an entire country able to feed, clothe, and educate themselves without outside help. As their mission strategy states, "As people share their animals’ offspring with others – along with their knowledge, resources, and skills – an expanding network of hope, dignity, and self-reliance is created that reaches around the globe."

That totally rocks my world.

Check out their website, their gift catalog, and their mission statement.

Hugs,
TLC

Sharie Kohler/Sophie Jordan Rocks My World

When I think back to how I first met my amazingly talented critique partner, I'm still amazed. It was my second RWA meeting, the month of my first RWA conference--where I was going in as a Golden Heart finalist. Now, it was usually my M.O. to sit at an unoccupied table, but since I was determined to network in an attempt at making writing a real career, I decided to plop down at a table full of writers ... right next to fellow-unpubbed Sharie Kohler.


I don't want to think about what my career status would be right now if Sharie and I hadn't hooked up (she insists that she would have found me, even if I hadn't chosen that open seat next to her) but needless to say, I feel pretty lucky. Here's her story...

About a year after we met, Sharie sold her first historical romance (the first manuscript she wrote, by the way) to Avon, under the pseudonym Sophie Jordan. Once Upon A Wedding Night was a 2006 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Nominee for Best Historical Romance. Her second historical romance, Too Wicked To Tame, was a USA Today Bestseller!!! Her third historical, One Night With You, came out in December and her fourth, Surrender To Me, comes out this July.



But wait, there's more! In between all those fabulous historical romances, she's also found time to pen a couple of amazing paranormal romances under her own name, Sharie Kohler--bringing her beautiful voice to the world of lycans (werewolves). Marked By Moonlight, with a super-sexy lycan-hunting hero and a mousy schoolteacher-turned-lycan, is the first in her Moon Chasers series and released from Pocket in December. The follow-up, Kiss Of A Dark Moon, comes out in October.



On top of all this authorial fabulousness, Sharie's an amazing critique partner and a terrific brainstormer. And--perfect for me, since I'm writing YA--she was a high school English teacher! You can friend Sharie on MySpace, but don't monopolize all of her time--she has a few books to write!

Only a few short months after her first sale, I had mine, too. I know it wouldn't have happened without her. Thank you, Sharie, for being my perfect match.

Hugs,
TLC
OH. MY. GODS. -- Dutton, available like NOW!
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