Friday, December 31, 2010

So Long 2010, What's Up 2011

It’s that time of year again. The time when we are forced to look back at the past year of our lives and wonder, where the heck did it all go? Christmas is over and while you may be getting reading for a fantastic new years eve party, if you’re anything like me, you can’t shake the feeling of regret.


The feeling of knowing you could have done so much more. I suppose, for me at least the end of the year is the only time of the year I feel a little less than optimistic. Why? Because I earnestly believe in the value of time. I believe we can get everything in this world, including money, back but time can never be given back. Therefore what I chose to do with that time is very important to me. I know each moment I am given on this earth is a gift from God and it is my responsibility to do everything I can with the moment.

So when I get to end of the year I can’t help but feel like I could have used my time better. Yet I am positive enough to know that if I focus on what I didn’t do, I will go crazy. So I am making the choice to focus on all I was able to accomplish in 2010. Here are a few of the things I have accomplished this year, completed dual enrollment course at community college, graduated high school with college credit and honours. Gotten into an amazing college with a full ride scholarship, earned my Girl Scout gold award, done numerous speaking engagements including speaking in Miami at a social media conference where the likes of Google were in attendance, launched my magazine, signed on with one of the biggest christian publishers in America and remembered to be thankful for all my blessings.

All in all, I’d say I’ve accomplished quite a bit and while I am proud of myself, I am mostly thankful to God for blessing me and for my family for always supporting me. Now I’ve told you what I am proud to have accomplished this year, why don’t you tell me what you are grateful to have accomplished in 2010.
Tomorrow it will be 2011 and I already have some amazing projects in the work for the new year. I am not going to list the things I wish to accomplish in 2011 because life has a way of screwing up plans. Instead I am going to make a committment to work even harder in the new year and continue to achieve my dreams. I hope my journey serves as inspiration for your own journey in 2011 and together we can make our lives quite beautiful. I promise as the projects I have in the work pan out I will keep you all informed but here’s a hint as to what I am working on, the re release of “The Guys The Roses and The Regrets”, numerous TV projects and the release of my second book, “Finding Your Inner Moxie”.
Alas, my friends it’s time for me to go get my party on and celebrate this brand new year that sparkles with promise and hope. I must say goodbye but before I do, I want to say one last thing. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your support is a huge inspiration to me and one of the reasons I work so hard. I am so blessed to have your support. Everyday I get messages on YouTube and Facebook telling me how I have helped people achieve their dreams and I cannot say how wonderful that makes me feel. If I am helping even one person, then I am a success. So to know I am helping so many people is beyond amazing. I want you to know that without you, my dreams wouldn’t be possible so thank you, thank you, thank you and a million times over, thank you.

Until next year, be blessed, stay strong and never give up.

Happy New Year and God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
www.gracehatton.com

Thursday, December 2, 2010

25 Days of Christmas - Food, Cheer and Song

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” - J. R. R. Tolkien


What’s up people!
Today is the second day of my 25 days of Christmas Holiday Blog and I have to admit being in college I am currently more worried about my numerous papers due then my Holiday traditions but as a December Wild Child I can’t ignore the wonder that is Christmas time. This morning I was wondering what to write about today and then one of my good friends sent me this great quote by one of my writing idols, J.R.R Tolkien


Tolkein was perhaps one of the most influential writers of the 20th century and it turns out he was pretty smart. I thought the quote above was perfect for the holiday season. How about this year instead of fussing about who has the most gold a.k.a who gets the most expensive present, we focus on food, cheer and song a.k.a the simple things in life. What if we valued spending time with our families, eating good food and if you enjoy singing, singing christmas carols or any other song you feel obliged to sing. Why don’t we value the simple things over our hoarded gold?


The simple answer, we’re humans. Which means we’re greedy and want the new shiny things but as humans we also have the capacity to change. So this year instead of your entire christmas season being about who got the best most expensive present why don’t we focus on good food, being cheerful and singing our hearts out. Just a thought.



Until next time be blessed, stay strong and never give up,



God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/



P.S – Want the perfect christmas present for your daughter, niece, granddaughter etc then check out "The Guys The Roses and The Regrets"

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Leaves of Change

Hola Amazing Readers!

Since being a kid I’ve loved autumn and the beauty of the leaves. However living in Florida for the past six years we don’t really have autumn. It’s always green in Florida and if leaves do fall they simply fall off, no pretty colors for Floridians. So I am officially excited right now as I sit outside at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina as golden, red and orange leaves appear and slowly fall to the ground.



It’s quite beautiful here with the mountains all turning brilliant shades of color. It really reminds me of the wonder of God and how every moment of beauty is a blessing. As the leaves change here in North Carolina a lot of changes are going on in my life as well.



I just finished mid terms at college and I can’t believe I am half way through my first semester as a college student but what I wanted to talk to you, my awesome reader, about is the changes that are happening in regards to my books. If you follow me on twitter @gracehatton you will probably know that I recently signed a contract with a major christian publishing house, Bridge Logos, for not ony “The Guys The Roses and The Regrets; The Girl to Girl Dating Guide” but also my second book in the girl to girl guide series “Finding Your Inner Moxie; The Girl to Girl Confidence Guide”



What does this mean? Well “The Guys The Roses and The Regrets” will be re released on a huge scale, i.e going on the shelves in Barnes and Nobles and Borders and my second book will be coming out straight after the re-release of “The Guys The Roses and The Regrets”. To say I am officially excited would be an understatement. I have worked so hard to get a traditional publishing deal and I finally have a great one!



So with this fantastical news comes a lot of new responsibility and I am looking for your help. I have been so blessed to have loyal readers (or should I call you fans?) like you and to have support from all around the globe. I am so grateful for everything you have already done for me and my books but what I really want to do is create a movement of readers spreading the news about the new release of “The Guys The Roses and The Regrets” and of “Finding Your Inner Moxie”




I suppose like a musician has a street team that’s what I would love to create but I am honestly not sure how. Any suggestions? The first thing we could do is if you have a facebook, myspace or twitter account sending out a quick update that would say something like this



“So excited for Teen Authors Grace Hatton book “The Guys The Roses and The Regrets” to be re released with Bridge Logos!”

What do you think? Once I get a date and more info for the re release I will be posting all of that info on my blogs, my official website, facebook, myspace, youtube, twitter and more. I will probably run contests and stuff to see who can be the best street team member but until then help me out, how does a teen author start a crazy good street team?

Let me know, I really appreciate your feedback and I hope you are loving autumn as much as me,



Until next time, be blessed, stay strong and never give up,



God Bless,
Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
www.gracehatton.com

Saturday, September 18, 2010

I am Speaking in Miami Trick

So who loves Miami? I do! Since moving to the sunny state of Florida I have been to Miami quite a few times but on September 29th I will be in Miami for a completly new reason. What’s that reason? Well keep reading to find out. Over the past couple years I have been blessed with the success of my book ‘The Guys The Roses & The Regrets‘ on Amazon and I have been blessed to call myself a best selling teen author.

As I continue to grow as an author I am stepping out of my comfort zone and beginning to speak. Public speaking is one of the things many people want to do but never actually do. I am proud to say I am doing. I have been speaking at various local events around the Central Florida area but on September 29th I will be speaking at the Performance Marketing Expo in Miami, FL. I am very excited. The Performance Marketing Expo is at the Eden Roc Hotel on South Beach which is truly beautiful.


Along with some other amazing presenters including the CEO of myyearbook.com and Obama’s social media campaign coordinator. I will be speaking on the topic of social media and how I used social media to become a best selling teen author. My session is entitled ‘Social Media; The New Key to Success’
If you have a business or a product you are trying to get out in the world this is an amazing conference to attend. If you would like to purchase your ticket for this event you can click the banner to your right. This will take you through to the Performance Marketing Expo’s main website.

I am very excited about this event and I look forward to seeing you there,

God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
www.gracehatton.com

Friday, August 20, 2010

The Price of College Textbooks Stressing You Out?

Hey Guys,

So if you didn't already know I am now at college and I have to admit its pretty fun but as I sign up for my classes and look at my course list I have to confess, the price of college textbooks stresses me out!

Personally I find it unbelievable that a book for a course can cost anywhere from $50 to $200 bucks. Infact did you know that the average student will spend over $500 per term buying textbooks? To me that an amazing amount of money to buy textbooks that often only get opened one time. Plus you only need the book while you're taking the class. Who needs the book after the class is over. Well, I've discovered an amazing site to rent your college text books. Its called http://www.chegg.com/ and trust me you will save hundreds!

So stop wasting your money and start renting from Chegg.com. I’m on the bandwagon and I’ve saved enough to buy all my books under $150! I have saved some serious cash by Chegging my books. So if you're in college like me I want to help you out but not only telling you about Chegg but I also have a promo code that will save you an additional 5% off your total order, use the code CC133787.

Want proof?

Essential Biology by Campbell, Reece & Simon is $83.18 if you buy it on Amazon.com. If you rent it on Chegg.com, it’s only $11.78. That’s a savings of over $71!

It’s so simple, just search for the books you need and place your order. Chegg will ship them to you fast and at the end of the term you ship them back for free. What’s really cool is that they plant a tree for every order.

Don’t forget to visit Chegg.com and use promo code CC133787 when you check out to get your extra discount.

Why use the code? Because I am a Chegg Champion and not only do you help me earn a little extra it helps you get an extra discount on your books so its a win for everyone!

So don't let the price of college textbooks stress you out, use chegg, save some money, sit back and relax =] I am super busy at college orientation this week but I swear very soon I will be posting more fun blogs,

Until Next Time,

Be Blessed, Stay Strong and Never Give Up

God Bless,

Grace Hatton - Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Bet You Didn't Know I Could Paint

Hey Guys,

How are you this beautiful day? I hope you are having a great day and remembering that sometimes the little problems that pile up are simply distractions from the big picture God has given us. Anyhow I wanted to write this quick post to let you know that as well as being a best selling author I am also an artist.

In fact I am going to college to study art and creative writing. So after years of waiting I decided heading to college was a good as time as any to start selling my artwork. So I set up a shop on Etsy where I am selling my original acrylic paintings. My store on Etsy is called GraceHoneyBun (the reason for the name is because its my name plus the nickname my sister calls me). You can take a look at my most recent listing and get to my store by clicking the fancy widget just below

Etsy
Buy Handmade
gracehoneybun

But if that doesn't work you can click here to go to my store as well. All the proceeds from this store go towards my college education. So if you are into art please check out my shop and if you like my work why not purchase it? If not just let me know what you think, I love feedback. I am very happy with the fact that I finally got the guts to put my work out there and I hope you enjoy it,

Let me know what you think and until next time be blessed, stay strong and never give up,

God Bless,

Grace Hatton - Best Selling Teen Author
www.gracehatton.com

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The Elusive College Laptop

Hey Guys,


As you may know I recently graduated high school and in about two weeks I am heading out to college which is great but also a little daunting. I am going to an out of state school in North Carolina which is many miles away from my sunny home in Orlando, FL.

One of the things that come along with a college career are college expenses. I am very blessed to be on a full ride scholarship apart from some loose change. I have most of the things for college apart from one elusive essential item, a laptop. As part of my college experience and part of my work a laptop is kind of essential. In order to keep my blog, website, books etc going I need to have a laptop for school.

I have been able to get half of the cost of my laptop but I am still missing a big chunk of the cost of the laptop. So I have a simple request. If you like my work and appreciate my blogs could you support me in getting my college laptop. If you take a gander over to the support Grace page on my official website. In fact you can click this link to get to the page. Once you arrive you will see a PayPal donate button that allows you to donate any amount from $5 to $100 into my paypal account. This donation will only be used towards the purchase of the laptop and once I have reached my target amount I will let you know.

Any support I recieve means the world to me and helps me on my journey to my dreams. I am very excited about college and the possibilities that are coming my way. I will keep you up to date on all the happenings in my life and on the situation with the laptop.


Thank you for your support in advance,



God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/

Friday, June 25, 2010

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Graduation is Upon Us

It’s almost done, my high school career. First of all I don’t know why people call it a high school career. As a home schooled student I never considered high school a career. I just enjoyed learning and getting and education.



To me high school is a stepping stone towards our destiny and purpose. Yes we all have a destiny and purpose. I am very thankful that I know my purpose and destiny. However if you’re graduating like me and trying to figure out your destiny its okay. The truth is destiny is all about finding out what you love and pursuing it with a passion.


For me as a Christian I believe God appoints our destiny but if you’re not a christian or have another faith that doesn’t mean you don’t have a destiny. You do! You were put on this earth to do something great and as you graduate think about that. Think about all the possibilities out there. I pray that you’ll go confidently in the direction of your dreams and make everything you’ve ever wanted happen. Now I know that might seem hard so check out the link below to video about one of my favourite Britain’s Got Talent performers


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Gs02ZmUmE

Paul Potts went on to win Britain’s Got Talent and by singing he gained his confidence because singing was what he loved. I graduate this weekend and I intend to have a lot of fun. So to my fellow grads go graduate and have fun at parties but remember at the end of the day it’s just a stepping stone towards your destiny.



Until next time be blessed, stay strong and never give up,


Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/

Friday, May 21, 2010

Get Yourself Some Inspiration

Hello My Amazing Readers!



Today’s a beautiful day isn’t it? I am seriously happy today, I had tons of fun last night playing paintball with my big bro last night and now I am listening to the Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (it’s an english movie) soundtrack. The soundtrack is amazing and makes me happy. The sun is shining here in Florida and I am about to head out to Walt Disney World for the day. So yes life is pretty good and I hope wherever you are your day is shaping up to be awesome.


But I wanted to tell you about something pretty exciting that’s happening tomorrow (May 22nd). Tomorrow I have a whole day dedicated to me on http://www.inspiremetoday.com/

So tomorrow go on over to http://www.inspiremetoday.com/ where I will be sharing insights from my experiences in an exclusive 500-word article on the best things I’ve learned in life – full of beneficial nuggets for you!

It’s pretty cool that I was asked to write this article and the whole day on the site is dedicated to me and my inspiration. Which is pretty cool and I am very thankful to http://www.inspiremetoday.com/ for allowing me this opportunity. So if you want to check out the exclusive article head over to InspireMeToday.com and get yourself some inspiration.

As always thanks for reading, look out for a blog about graduation because guess what? I am graduating next weekend! So if you’re a graduating senior like me, congrats and look out for my graduation post =] Until next time, be blessed, stay strong and never give up,


God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/

Monday, May 10, 2010

Disappointment and Airplanes

So it’s officially May and usually I am quite fond of May but not this year. Why you might ask? Well its simply because the Pepsi Refresh Everything grant program is over and I didn’t win the $25k grant. That $25k grant would have been amazing and really helped me launch my magazine. Its disappointing to work so hard for something and then in the end have all your work count for nothing.



I know I am not the only one to be disappointed but my wounds are still fresh and whats a blog for if not to vent? But the real question is how are we supposed to act when life disppoints us. Do we sit around and moap about our bad luck or do we decide tofind another way around our promblem. My choice, I decide to get back up and fight. Some of the greastest moments in history came because someone decided not to give up but to fight for their dream.

Just because I didn’t win the grant doesn’t mean I am going to give up my dream. I am going to launch my magazine this summer no matter what! Losing the Pepsi Grant just means I have to find another way to fund it. So I encourage you if you’ve been disappointed like me recently, take a deep breath, decide on a new course of action, stand up and carry on pursuing your dream. Its that simple.


The other things I wanted to share with you is a song I am currently obsessed with me and has helped me through my disappointment. The song is Airplanes by B.O.B featuring Hayley Williams. The lyrics to this song are pretty awesome especially the chorus.


Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right, wish right now, wish right now.


Listen to the whole song in the fancy youtube video below




The reason I love these lyrics is because its taking something we see everyday (airplanes) and turns them into the thing we need (shooting stars a.k.a a wish). Its a great song about how everyday we can find something simple and turn it into something beautiful. I also really like the beat and Hayley’s voice is perfect.



I hope you enjoyed this post, please remember even though we face disappointment its not the end of the world. Its simply an opportunity for us to rise above the circumstance and prove the world wrong,


Until next time, be blessed, stay strong and never give up,



God Bless,
Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/

Monday, April 26, 2010

Only a Week Left to Vote for Me on Pepsi Refresh Everything!

So for the month of April I’ve been moving up the ranks on the Pepsi Refresh Everything grant program. I originally started at 195 and I am now at 112! Which is fantastic but in order to get my grant I need to move up to the top 10! So how do I do that? With your votes! Every vote makes a huge difference so please go to www.refresheverything.com/missmoxie  and vote!




You can vote once per day until the end of April so you have a week to go voting crazy. That's right there is only a week left until voting closes.  So go crazy this week, vote like crazy and tell everyone you know to go to www.refresheverything.com/missmoxie  and vote for my idea! I want to start a magazine that is going to make a true difference for teenage girls and young women but in order for that to happen I need to get this $25k grant. Your vote is what gets me to the top 10 and thus the 25k so please go vote. Every vote makes a huge difference and means the world to me.



Thank you so much for your continued support and for your votes in advance,

God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Ask Me Your Burning Questions this Monday at 2pm EST!

Hey Guys,


This is a quick post to let you know this Monday (April the 12th) at 2pm EST I will be doing an interview with Marla Tabaka on her radio show The Millionaire Mindset. Now I do interviews all the time but what’s great about Monday’s show is Marla is allowing call ins. So if you’ve ever wanted to talk to me personally or ask me random questions this is your chance!


You can find out more about the show at http://toginet.com/shows/milliondollarmindset and the call in number for Mondays show is 877-864-4869. Marla loves call ins because she likes her shows to be interactive so feel free to call in. It should be a good show and it’s your chance to ask me your burning questions.

I hope to hear you on the show and as always thanks for reading this post,



God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/



P.S - Please keep voting for my project on the Pepsi Refresh Everything Grant Program. I am now ranked at 121 but I really want to break the 100 mark so please go vote for me at www.refresheverything.com/missmoxie and vote again every day in April! Thank you for voting. Your support means the world to me =]

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Make Sure Your Vote Counts!

Hey Guys!



So as you know from my last post I am entered in the Pepsi Refresh Everything Grant program and in just five days I moved up from 195 to 142! Thats a huge leap and if I keep moving up I will be in the top 10 by April 13th! If you’ve already voted for me thank you for your amazing support. If not please go to www.refresheverything.com/missmoxie  to cast your vote for my idea.

However I want to make sure your vote counts so when you got to www.refresheverything.com/missmoxie  you will see a grey button that says vote for this idea. When you click that button a pop up window will come up and ask for you to either use your Facebook login information or create a Pepsi account. In order for your vote to count you must enter one of these it doesn’t matter if you enter your Facebook login information or if you create a Pepsi account, you can choose whatever your heart desires but you must enter one in order for your vote to count!

Once you have entered this information it will take you back to www.refresheverything.com/missmoxie  and say something along the lines of Thank you for voting and will ask if you want to share the idea. If you see the thank you for voting statement then your voting counted but if you don’t see it your vote didn’t count!

Then when you go back each day to cast your new vote each day you enter your Facebook or Pepsi account information again in order to make your vote count! Let me know if you have any questions about the voting process and thank you again for your amazing support!

God Bless,

Grace Hatton
www.refresheverything.com/missmoxie

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Please Vote for Me on Pepsi Refresh Everything

Hey Guys


So I have been blessed with a pretty amazing opportunity this week, as you may know as well as being a best-selling teen author, I am the CEO/Editor in Chief of my own online magazine. I haven’t really been focusing on the magazine that much because in order to get it out I needed funding. So back on March 1st I applied to the Pepsi Refresh Everything grant program. Every month Pepsi allows projects to submit their ideas to get fundings. In order to be entered you have to be in the first 1000 people to submit their idea. I was luck enough to get mine in as one of the first 1000 but even after that I still had to wait for approval.


For the month of March I’ve been waiting to see if my idea would get approved and amazingly enough my idea got approved! This morning on April 1st at 6am, my idea went live. So I am now in the running for a grant from Pepsi. However in order to get the grant I have to be in the top 10 in my category. How do I get to the top 10? With your help! The more votes I get the higher I move up the ranks so please go to www.refresheverything.com/missmoxie to see what my project is about and to vote for it.

I only have until April 30th to get into the top 10 so it would mean so much to me if you went on the site and voted. You can vote for me once a day until April 30th. Every vote on every day counts. You can also vote via the nice widget I am going to make at the end of this post. I will keep you updated as I move up the ranks towards the top 10. This is an amazing opportunity, I am blessed to be included in the this months round of amazing projects and I know with your help I can make it to the top 10.


Let me know if you have any questions and thank you so much for voting =]

God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/


Saturday, March 6, 2010

Ode to Alice

Today is the release of the new Tim Burton movie ‘Alice in Wonerland’, personally I can’t wait to see it and I was going to see it today but my sister insisted we watched Valentines Day so my viewing of Alice in Wonderland will have to wait.


However with the release of this fun new movie, I wanted to discuss the character of Alice or more specifically heroines in general. As a writer heroines are quite fun to create because throughout history we have lived in a man’s world and as women we tend to be a tad more emotional. When a woman stands up for what they believe in, it tends to dramatic, non traditional and unexpected.

So in honour of Alice I wanted to share with you some of my favourite movie heroines of all time. Check out my quick list and let me know what you think and the list is in no particular order (in case you were wondering).



Mulan


Mulan was especially awesome. Brought up in a society where women were simply expected to marry Mulan pretended to be a boy so she could take her father’s place in the army. Mulan didn't take his place to escape her future marriage, she took that place in the army to save her father’s life. Now in the Disney version she goes off to become a national hero and land herself a cute captain. I am not sure how true that is to Chinese legend but either way Mulan was a pretty kick butt heroine and an amazing daughter.






Guinevere


Being an english girl the story of King Arthur is pretty much a part of my heritage. There are many stories of Arthur and Guinevere but my favourite is from the 2004 movie King Arthur. In this version Guinevere is part of the Woads, the true britons who are resisting invasion from the Romans and Saxons. King Arthur rescues her from a prison but once she is out she is pretty darn strong. She proves to be an expert archer and helps protect Arthur’s men. When it comes to the final battle she puts on her body paint, finds her fellow Woads and with Arthur’s knights takes down the Saxons. I like this version of Guinevere because it shows her as she probably was, a woman fighting for her country and not a complete damsel in distress. If you haven’t seen the 2004 movie King Arthur I suggest you watch it.




Eowyn


Eowyn is a character from Lord of the Rings, perhaps one of the best pieces of writing in history. In the books as in the movies Eowyn is the niece to the King Theoden. She is what they called a Shield Maiden trained to fight for her people however she is the last of her king and due to her King’s illness she cannot fight. Eowyn has a great love for her King, her people and country. After her King is healed, she defys all the rules and fights for Rohan anyway. In the last battle she even kills the Witch King, a nazgul one supposedly couldn’t be killed. Even though she loses her uncle and Aragon does not return her love not all hope is lost for Eowyn. If you read the books she goes on to rule her people for a time and then marry Farameir. With their union Gondor and Rohan were joined. So it all worked out in the end but it was her courage that led her to defy tradition, ride to battle and claim her glory.




Those are just a few of my favourite heroines, there are many more I could write about but those are some of the top ones for me. What did you think? Do you like my Heroines or Hate them? Let me know and if you’ve seen Alice in Wonderland please let me know what it was like. I hope you enjoyed this random post and you can look forward to more in the near future as I plan to blog my way through my next book.




Until next time, be blessed, stay strong and never give up,



God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author

http://www.gracehatton.com/

Friday, February 26, 2010

The Virtual Children's Book Fair Starts Today!

Today’s the day! The first annual Virtual Children’s Book Fair is now officially open! So the way it works is pretty simple, I am going to give you the list of all the authors including in this fair and links to their sites. If you were to go to an authors site and buy their book you would get a gift along with the book. Now if you were to go on any of the others blogs you would see my name in the listing of authors so its like a big linking sharing party but with books and special give aways. Does that make sense?


I hope so because there are some pretty cool authors included in this fair, just take a look.



Tara Michener- “Who I Am Series" that promotes self-esteem & diversity in kids. “Who I Am Not What I Am” Meet Janelle, A fun girl who discovers the secret to happiness is loving herself for who she is, not for fitting into what others want her to be. 100% Real-What does it mean to be real? Meet Zoey who wonders the same thing after her classmates question her about being adopted. With the help of a close friend in Janelle and her parents she discovers that she has more in common with her family than she thought. www.taramichener.com



JD Holiday-Janoose The Goose likes life in the barnyard very much. She is visiting her cousin, Molly duck and her baby, DeeDee. Her vacation is over and Janoose must go home because there are no job openings on the farm. When her flight arrives home she learns that the fox has begun a crime spree. Janoose is the only one who can stop him. www.jdswritersblog.blogspot.com



Adra Young-The Everyday Living of Children and Teens Monologues (Volume I and II) This series is in a class by itself. These books address multifaceted issues that kids are faced with. Parents may utilize these books to address sensitive subject matters and establish stronger bonds and communication with their kids. These books have been acknowledged for creating an acting guide that addresses appropriate socialization skills. www.ardannyl.me



Grace Hatton-The Guys The Roses & The Regrets; the Girl to Girl Dating Guide (Its me!) Written by a teenage girl for teenage girls this book offers practical tips and real life stories that will help teenage girls and young women navigate the crazy world of dating, relationships and break ups. This book is an Amazon Best Seller! www.gracehatton.wordpress.com



Riley Carney-The Fire Stone (Book one of the Reign of the Elements) Sixteen-year-old Riley Carney works magic in this high fantasy adventure story with memorable, vibrant characters, fast-paced action, and humor. This book chronicles a journey of courage, friendship and danger as a groups of teens, led by fifteen-year old Matt, attempts to save their world from an evil elf who can harness power of the elements. www.rileycarney.blogspot.com



Colleen Murray Fisher-The One and Only Bernadette P. McMullen This book promotes appreciating who you are, as well as accepting others. Does liking peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, or painting with your toes, or even having an imaginary friend make a person strange? That’s what kids say about Bernadette. But when Bernadette meets her new neighbor, Sofie she realizes that her uniqueness is nothing strange at all. www.colleenmurrayfisherbooks.com

Dawn Stephens-The Little Pot Soon after a potter forms a new pot and declares that he has important plans for his creation, the little pot begins to wonder what its purpose will be. Will it be used to hold important documents? Great riches? Beautiful flowers? As various expectations prove wrong the little pot is cautioned to see…The little pot is a simple profound story about inevitable reversals. www.DawnStephensBooks.com



Dan Bodenstein-The Tale of Eartha the Sea Turtle Based on the true story of a loggerhead sea turtle names Eartha, this enchanted tale tells the story of a young sea turtle who finds help in the last place that she expected. Through colorful imagery it helps kids to help injured animals… www.danbodenstein

Patty O’Brien Novak-Engineering The ABC’s Imagine a world without cars and computers, or toys and televisions, or movies and microwaves…then imagine a world without engineers. This book answers questions about how everyday things work and how engineering relates to so many parts of a child’s daily life www.pattyobriennovak.com



So as you can see there are some amazing authors included in this fair and it would be great if you go and check out there books as well as mine. Oh and incase you were wondering if you buy my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets” during the fair via my website www.gracehatton.com you’ll receive a free e-book about love and relationships.



The fair runs for another two days so I’ll blog for the next two days straight =] I hope you enjoy the fair and remember to check on the main website www.virtualbookfair.net for updates and news.



Until next time, keep reading and loving life,



God Bless,



Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Awesome Upcoming Event – Virtual Children’s Book Fair

So this is a quick post about a pretty cool opportunity I’ve been presented with. From February 27th through to the 29th I will be participating in the first Annual Online Children’s Virtual Book Fair.



Think about a traditional book fair well a virtual is very similar apart from all the vendors a.k.a authors are presented online. While it’s called a children’s book fair the book’s represented range from children’s books all the way up to young adult books like my own.

I will be posting again later on in the week with the list of all the other participating authors. We will create an online community of authors and readers for the couple of days that the fair is going on .


You can take a look at the Fair’s main website and there you can see all the author’s books including mine. It’s a pretty exciting event and I am happy to be a part of the first virtual book fair ever!


I will be posting more information soon so look out for that and have a great night.



God Bless,
Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/

Sunday, February 14, 2010

14 Days of Love (The End) - Happy Valentines Day!

It’s the last day of our 14 Days of Love experiment, can you believe it? I know I can’t it seems like just yesterday I started this experiment but I think it was quite fun. I enjoyed blogging everyday (it’s been a while since I blogged every day) and I enjoyed looking over the different aspects of love.




So what should I talk about for the last day of 14 Days of Love? I could talk about Valentines Day, about its origins, I could talk about how to have a great Valentines Day and how to build on your relationship but honestly I believe Valentines Day is about love, all aspects of love and for me the best part of love is giving it away.



We all have a chance to make a difference in this world and the greatest way we can do that is by showing love to others. Instead of judging people or putting them down why don’t we try showing love. Go out of your way to show love in peoples lives, talk to the homeless, listen to those who are never heard, build up those who are torn down and be there for those who have no one. There are a million little ways to show love we just have to take the time to actually show it.



The Beatles did a great song called All You Need is Love which is true but part of love is taking action to show it. If you just have the love and keep it to yourself it’s not true love because true love isn’t selfish. So if you’re lucky enough to have love in your life share it and it’ll be heard around the world.




 
 
Love is what makes this world beautiful and we should celebrate it everyday. I suppose that was the point of this little experiment to remind you to celebrate love everyday in every way. I hope the 14 Days of Love experiment showed you that.




Now I will be blogging again soon because I am part off an online virtual book fair so watch out for that but for now have a great Valentines Day night and remember to celebrate love everyday in everyway =]



God Bless,



Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/


P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy for Valentines Day!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

14 Days of Love – Ultimate Love

So it’s Valentines Day eve and this is going to be a short quick post since it is almost midnight. Tomorrow is Valentines Day and of course tomorrow I’ll be talking about love in relationships but tonight I wanted to talk about ultimate love. For me I believe firmly in Jesus Christ, loving God and loving life. I could go on and on about Gods love because it makes my life worth living but there’s an amazing video that will explain it better than I ever could.











See how beautiful that is? No matter what we do, no matter how we screw up or mess up God loves us like crazy. So as we prepare for Valentines Day tomorrow think about the love of God. The man who will never leave you no matter what.




Until tomorrow, have a good nights sleep and Happy Valentines Day



Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/




P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!

Friday, February 12, 2010

14 Days of Love – Best On Screen Romances

I was on Fandango today looking up showtimes for Percy Jackson and The Lighting Thief when I saw Fandango’s blog and in honour of Valentines Day they were discussing their top five on-screen romances. They had in their top five,


Han Solo and Princess Leia (‘Star Wars’)

Alvy Singer and Annie Hall (‘Annie Hall’)

Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson (‘Grease’)

Jamal and Latika (‘Slumdog Millionaire’)

Joel and Clementine (‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’)



Out of those five couples I only agree with two, Hans Solo and Princess Leia and Jamal and Latika. I was inspired by Fandango’s blog so I decide to post clips of those two couple and my other three favourite couples.

Leia and Hans Solo




Why I Love Them: Because they start like most couples hating each other but their attraction is undeniable. Once they realise they kinda like each other there is no tearing them apart even when one of them is frozen and the other is having issues with her brother. It’s the classic love/hate but I really love you relationship.


Jamal and Latika




Why I Love Them: Four words, this is our destiny. This couple went through so much to be together and they were without each other for big chunks of their lives but in the end they found each other.


Landon and Jamie




Why I Love Them: This was one of the first movies to really make me cry like a baby. While Jamie dies in the end she shows Landon what its like to live with purpose. She shows him how to love and be a better person and he shows her what it feels like to be loved. Both are changed by the love even if they could only be together for a short time


.Sam and JoAnna and the Rest of Love Actually





Why I Love Them: I couldn’t find the clip of Sam and JoAnna at the airport but incase you were wondering Sam and JoAnna are the kids in the movie. I love them because they show love at its purest and simplest. As for the rest of the stories in Love Actually I love them all apart from the porno couple. So if you haven’t seen it you should =]



Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy (Both Versions)








Why I Love Them: In literature they are the it couple, totally different but totally right for each other at the same time. I don’t need to tell you their story but I am sure you love it just as much as me. Personally I would love a Mr.Darcy but I guess I have to wait for mine. As far as the Bollywood version it was actually pretty awesome and shows the who Elizabeth/Mr. Darcy in a whole new light.


There are tons of other on screen romances I love like Aragon and Arwen from Lord of the Rings but I wanted to keep it short and sweet. So tell me what do you think of my top 5 choices, love them or hate them? If you don’t like mine let me know what your top 5 favourite on-screen romances are. Valentines Day is only a day away people! I feel like its only been a couple of days since we started the 14 Days of Love but alas it’s almost at its end. No matter I will be still be blogging about many things but for now let me know what you think of this post



God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/



P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

14 Days of Love - Single on Valentines Day?

First of all let me say I am so sorry I didn’t post anything yesterday! I feel horrible I wanted to make sure I posted everyday for this 14 Days of Love experiment but yesterday I messed up however I do have an excuse about why I didn’t post anything yesterday. So her it is, I was in Sarasota visiting colleges and then when I got home I had to do more college applications online. I was like a walking zombie when I got to the end of that plus it was way past midnight so I just went to my comfy bed. Thus the reason I didn’t post yesterday =[ but then again they do say absence makes the heart grow fonder so maybe me not posting yesterday made you miss me =].




Anyhow since I forgot to post yesterday today I wanted to make sure I gave you some good solid information. At the beginning of February I posted an article on Associated Content about what to do if you’re single on Valentines Day so today I wanted to share it with you. Check it out



Valentine’s Day, the day when love is celebrated worldwide but what happens if on Valentine’s Day you don’t have someone to share it with. The truth is many people are single on Valentine’s Day and in my opinion there are two ways to deal with it. Option number one, sit around and pine for a relationship or option number two enjoy Valentine’s Day anyway. You may ask how this is possible. Indeed many people think that to have a great Valentine’s Day you have to be in a relationship but the truth is Valentine’s Day can be rather fun even if you’re single. So I have created a quick list of sample ideas for having a great Valentine’s Day as a fun-loving single.



#1 – Make it About You

On Valentine’s Day it’s so easy to think about all the other people in relationships but why not make it out you? Being single on Valentine’s Day isn’t a crime and you deserve to enjoy it no matter what. So light some candles, eat some chocolates, take a long bath and watch your favorite movie. Stay in, do what makes you happy and just relax. Don’t think about going out and going through all the Valentine’s Day craziness. Instead make it about you, relax and do whatever makes you happy. As they say just have some me time.



#2 – Make it A Girls Night Out

Even though sometimes it feels like you’re the only single person in the word, it’s very likely that some of your girlfriends are single as well. So instead of everyone sitting around and mopping, why not make it a girl’s night out? Gather all your single friends, get dressed up, hit the town and have some fun! Spending time with your friends is a fun and easy way to spend Valentine’s Day. The truth is relationships come and go but true friends will also be there for you no matter what so go have a great Valentine’s Day celebrating your friendship.



#3 – Make it a Take a Chance Night

There are three kinds of single, single because you want to be, single because there are no prospects on the horizon and single because you’re two afraid to jump into the relationship that’s right in front of you. So I want to discuss the third reason for being single. If there is a guy you really like but he hasn’t made a move yet then you’re the third kind of single. Valentine’s Day is probably one of the best days to take a chance on a relationship. I know it can be scary after all what if he doesn’t feel the same way? He may indeed not feel the same way but if that turns out to be true you won’t have lost anything. In fact you’ve gained something; you’ve gained the ability to move onto the next relationship. However if by chance he does feel the same way then you’ve just jumped into a new relationship that could be quite wonderful. Either way you can finally know if he wants you. So on Valentine’s Day take a deep breath, take a chance and find out if you have a Valentine after all.



I hope those few ideas helped you realize that Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be horrible if you’re single. It might not be perfect but it can still be rather good. So this Valentine’s Day if you have someone, congratulations and if not keep your chin up and go have a fantastic Valentine’s Day anyway.



Did you like that article? I hope you did, we are getting closer to Valentines Day and to the end of our little experiment so stay with me and let’s make this the best Valentines Day weekend ever!



Until tomorrow, God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/



P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

14 Days of Love - Movie Kind of Love

Its been happening since the invention of the moving picture. In fact its been happening since the first romantic novelist set his pen to paper. Fantasy love is an infection when it comes to entertainment. We all seek that movie kind of love. As a romantic novelist myself I have to defend romance novels. Some are trashy and tacky but I believe the best romance stories are those that are real. In real life the guy can be a jerk, the girl can be a little desperate, he might not come to save you at the last-minute and life may pull you so far apart from each other that you can’t come back together. I believe stories of love based on our real lives are so much better for us. For example Jane Austen was brilliant at making her stories real. In her stories her couples had to get through so much crap in order to be together. Which is exactly like real life.




For a couple to survive you have to get through some major crap no matter how perfect you think you are. Another thing that happens in real life is the guy you think loves you leaves you or the other way around. Jane Austen put that storyline in her books as well think Elizabeth and Mr Wickham. In Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth is pretty much falling in love with Mr. Wickham until it all goes wrong then next thing she knows he shows up married to her sister. Thats pretty messed up even if it were to happen today. Good thing for Elizabeth Mr. Darcy was waiting for her =]


Thats what makes a love story worth reading, when its real. Speaking of movie kind of love, I am beyond excited to see a new movie that just went to DVD called Bright Star. Bright Star is film based on the last three years of the life of poet John Keats, and in particular his romantic relationship with Fanny Brawne. Honestly before seeing the preview for this movie I had heard of John Keats but never read his poetry. So I looked it up and it is quite simply beyond beautiful. Look at the trailer to see what I mean.



Doesn’t it look stunning? I am so excited to see it even though I am pretty sure it ends badly. If you watched it tell me was it good? Anywho my point is this post is that while the movie kind of love may seem amazing I believe it’s the true love of life that is amazing. Sometimes a movie portrays that perfectly others not so much. True love is unpredictable, angry, intense, passionate, painful, glorious and never-ending. If you want to see me definition of true love check out 1 Corinthians 13. So as you go about today be thankful if you have the real kind of love if not feel free to pine over the movie kind of love but know real love is so much better!




Until tomorrow,
God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/



P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!

Monday, February 8, 2010

14 Days of Love - Loving the Underdog

The Saints won! It was an amazing game and I am so glad the Saints got the victory for New Orléans. So in honor of the Saints Superbowl victory today I wanted to talk about the love of the underdog. The saints were the underdogs in yesterdays Superbowl and throughout history we’ve loved the underdogs.

Most movies, books and other entertainment is based on the underdog winning. So why do we love the underdog so much? I think it’s because when we see the underdog win, we believe its possible for us to win. We all feel like the underdog sometimes when life gets us down its easy to give up but when we decided to fight most of the time we’ll end up winning.

However we have to believe that no matter what, no matter how big the obstacles may seem we will win. So here are a few quotes to inspire the underdog in you.



“Obstacles can’t stop you. Problems can’t stop you. Most of all other people can’t stop you. Only you can stop you” – Jeffrey Gitomer



“You may not realize it when it happens, but at kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” – Walt Disney



“Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records” – William A Ward



“Things don’t go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.” – Charles “Tremendous” Jones



“The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” – Nelson Mandella


“Never, never, never, never give up” – Winston Churchill


When the underdog wins it’s a beautiful thing, when we win it’s a beautiful thing. Every victory we win is a beautiful thing and life is generally is a beautiful thing. Yes everything is beautiful today =] So as you go about your business remember to push on through the obstacles to your victory. It’s totally worth it.



Until tomorrow, be blessed, stay strong and never give up,



God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/



P.SWant a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

14 Days of Love - Love of the Game (And the Awesome Ads)

It’s the Superbowl today and I have to admit as an English lass I still think American Football is a weak version of Rugby however this year I can’t help but be excited about the Superbowl. Why you may ask, well the answer is simple, the Saints. I don’t really have a favourite football team and I don’t really follow the NFL but the New Orléans Saints have my attention.

They remind me of the Orlando Magic last year in the NBA playoffs last year. No one had expected the Magic to get into the Playoffs but we did and the city went crazy. It was like the entire city was having a block party and even though we didn’t win the Playoffs it was a great experience for Orlando and besides we’re going to win this year. So the Saints remind me of the Magic and I watched the Vikings VS Saints game. The end of the game was amazing and I believe that the Saints could pull of a cinderella story against the Colts. Technically the Colts are a better team plus they have Peyton Manning but like I said it would be a great win for the Saints and for the city of New Orleans if they could pull of a Cinderella story.




Now the other thing I love about the Superbowl is the ads and I am not alone in my love. The NFL did a survey last year and apparently 51% of people watch the game for the ads. Granted that’s probably all the women watching the game but anywho I decided to put my favourite ads on the 2009 Superbowl in this post. So take a look and enjoy.

Free Doritios




E Trade Babies




Maybe You Should Get a Dog




Talking Flowers





Did you laugh? If you did awesome if not tell me what were your favourite ads from last year.I hope you have fun today watching the Superbowl with your friends and family. Until tomorrow, Go Saints!




God Bless,



Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/



P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!

14 Days of Love - The Essential Best Friend

As we continue our little experiment about the different kinds of love, I wanted to do the post today about best friends. For me I have two best friends, both utterly amazing both polar opposites of each other. I love both of them like my sisters and I would do anything for them. I believe Best Friends are an essential relationship that everyone should have.



A best friend is someone to laugh with, someone to cry with, someone to ramble on with and someone to live life with. Granted sometimes it takes a while to find that best friend but when you do you should hold onto them with everything you have.

I would say something else really inspirational and witty at this point but the truth is it’s almost midnight and tomorrows the Super Bowl so I need some sleep. So if you have a best friend, hug them and love them. If not go out there and find yourself one =]


Its the Superbowl tomorrow and yes I will be doing a post most likely about the game so watch out for that and have a good night,



God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/


P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!

Friday, February 5, 2010

14 Days of Love – Press Release for Valentines Day

Another day, another post. Today I wanted to share with you the Press Release I am sending out for Valentines Day about my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”. So I hope you like it let me know what you think and I promise tomorrows post will be something special but for now here it is.




Still Need a Last Minute Relationship Expert for Your Valentines Day Story?


(Orlando, FL) According to the National Retail Federation, every year consumers spend around $13 billion dollars on Valentines Day and Hallmark Cards report that almost 180 million Valentines Day cards are exchanged each year. Lets face it Valentines Day is one popular holiday. People love to talk about love. On Valentines Day various media outlets cover stories about love and discuss relationships with relationships experts. Do you have your Valentines Day story planned? Do you need a relationship expert to complete your story? Then why not interview Grace Hatton, the 18 year old teen author of the Amazon Best Seller “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets; The Girl to Girl Dating Guide”?




“Every Valentines Day people search for love or if they’re in a relationship they want to know if its true love. While there is no magic formula to love there are ways to understand relationships and figure out if you have the real thing or not. However if you’re not in a relationship on Valentines Day that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great Valentines Day. There a plenty of ways for a fun loving single to have a great time on Valentines Day. Either way Valentines Day is a beautiful day to celebrate love and relationships”, says Grace.



Since the release of her book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets” last Valentines Day, Grace has been featured on numerous radio shows, TV shows and magazines. In fact Grace was recently featured in WOW Performance Magazine alongside Michelle Obama! If you’re still looking for a great relationship expert to interview for your Valentines Day story then Grace may be the perfect choice for you. Being only 18 and already a best selling author, Grace is certainly a unique and insightful guest to interview.



Grace Hatton is an eighteen year old British teenager who has lived on two continents, traveled on mission trips to South Africa and won international writing awards. Grace wrote her first full length novel at the age of 14 and Grace is the author of the new book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets; The Girl to Girl Dating Guide” which has been endorsed by Mark Victor Hansen and is an Amazon best seller. For more information on Grace Hatton and her books please visit www.gracehatton.com



Thank you for your time and consideration.



P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

14 Days of Love - A Fathers Love

So as we continue our experiment I can’t help but think about the kinds of love other than the romantic kind. For me the love a family shares is invaluable. I know for me if I didn’t have my family my life would be so different. I love my brother, sister and mum more than I could ever tell you but I believe a relationship so many young girls miss out on is the relationship with their father. For me I have been very lucky to have an amazing Dad who even though sometimes I don’t get along with I know no matter what he will be there for me. I know he’ll be ther for me when I need to cry, he’ll be there for me when I fail and when I do well. I know he’ll be there for me after a broken heart and when I am a little crazy. The truth is little girls need their Daddies and even though I am pretty much grown up now I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to grow up without a Daddy to hold, protect and love me.



So today I wanted to celebrate the beauty of a fathers love and there are some pretty incredible stories of a fathers love. However I have two stories that are just beyond incredible and I warn you, you might cry. Never the less take a look at the videos and enjoy the incredible stories.



Team Hoyt

Dick Hoyt is the father of Rick Hoyt. Rick was born not being able to talk or walk. He has been confined to a chair his entire life. However Rick learned how to use a computer to speak, at 15 Rick told his Dad he wanted to take part in a 5 mile benefit run. Dick wasn’t a runner but agreed to push Rick in his chair. For the first time in his life Rick didn’t feel handicapped. Now together they compete in marathons and triathlons across America. This is on of the most beautiful stories about a fathers love. Watch the video and you’ll se what I mean. That father is willing to push his body to the absolute limits to be with his son and that son is so happy just to be with his father. Thats love and its beautiful.





Patrick Henry Hughes and His Dad



Patrick Henry Hughes was born without eyes and crippled. Before his first birthday Patrick started playing the piano by sound. It’s actually kinda amazing as you’ll see in the video in fact by his second birthday he was playing requests. His dad decided to help him with his music as he grew up. By the time Patrick arrived at the University of Louisville his musical ability on piano and trumpet was well-known in the city. The school wanted Patrick to play in the marching band but obviously Patrick couldn’t do that on his own. So his father decided he would help his son by pushing Patrick during the routines. His dad does all the work with Patrick, the practices, rehearsals and games. In order to be at every band practice and to sit beside his son in every class Patrick’s father works the grave yard shift for UPS. He goes to work at 11 at night, gets in at 6am and sleeps until 11am where he then takes his son to school. To me thats beautiful, his father basically lives two lives for his son. That kind of love is extraordinary, watch the video to see more.





So today as you go about your business, if your Dad is your life make sure to give him a hug and say I love you and if not think about the love you have with the rest of your family. Love in a family is a beautiful thing and I pray everyone has a family that loves them so they can be surrounded with love.




Until tomorrow, be blessed and be loved,



Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/



P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

14 Days of Love - The Online Search for Love

Its day three of our little 14 Days of Love experiment and its harder than you think to blog every day but today I decided to just search for love. So I hopped on Yahoo and put in Love in the search engine. I have to admit I was pretty curious to see what would come up.


The photo to the left is the first image search for love, interesting right? Anywho as far as the top 5 sites that come up when you search love online.



1. Love – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2. K-Love Christian Radio Network
3. Positive Encouraging K-LOVE – Listen Online
4. love: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com
5. Luv‘ – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



So yes if you ever wanted to know what comes up when you search for love, now you know but what else comes up is WikiQuotes. WikiQuotes is pretty amazing and they have some amazing quotes about love and I decided to share a couple of my favourites.



I’ve made the most important discovery of my life. It’s only in the mysterious equation of love that any logical reasons can be found.” -John Forbes Nash (portrayed by Russell Crowe, in A Beautiful Mind (2001)

The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” -Matthew Henry in Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 1, under Genesis 2:21


You know when I said I knew little about love? That wasn’t true. I know a lot about love. I’ve seen it, seen centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable. All those wars. Pain, lies, hate… Made me want to turn away and never look down again. But to see the way that mankind loves… I mean, you could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful. So, yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable and strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and… What I’m trying to say, Tristan, is… I think I love you. My heart… It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it doesn’t belong to me any more. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I’d wish for nothing in exchange — no gifts, no goods, no demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me, too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine” – Yvaine” in Stardust (2007 film), based on Stardust (1998), by Neil Gaiman.



All of those quotes remind me of the beauty of love and as a single gal it reminds me that I’d rather be single now and have that kind of love later than settle for the average. True love is a rare amazing thing and I don’t think we should ever cheapen it. I have to admit I get pretty annoyed when couples just say they love each other because they think they should. It’s not even as though the couple has to have known each other for a long time (my parents were engaged a month after they met and have been married for 25 years) its more about understanding the meaning of those three words.



If you truly love someone you would through yourself in front of a bus to protect them so all I am saying is lets remember how unique, rare and special love is =]



Until tomorrow have a good night and God Bless
Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/



P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

14 Days of Love - When in Rome

As promised I am blogging everyday up to Valentines Day as part of my 14 Days of Love experiment. So I decided to do a review today simply because I can and I just watched this movie so hey why not talk about it. The movie is When in Rome and yes its a romantic comedy.




It’s actually a pretty cute story and it made me want to go to Rome. So heres the basic plot line, this woman Beth whose a little uptight goes to Rome for her baby sisters wedding. She’s the maid of honor at the wedding and at the wedding she meets Nick, the best man. They both like each other but Beth catches Nick with some Italian girl and so with a bottle of champagne Beth goes to the fountain of love. The legend goes that if you throw a coin in the fountain true love will find you, so Beth decides to take a few coins. However when you take someones coin they fall in love with you.



Beth jets back to New York with the coins, from that point on it’s basically these five guys trying to get Beth to love them in return including Nick. Beth learns that the Italian girl Nick was with was actually the grooms drunk cousin and he was making sure she didn’t mess up the party. So Beth starts to fall for Nick but then she discovers one of the coins she has is Nicks! Thus Beth tries to figure out if Nick really loves her while trying to figure out how to stop the other guys from loving her. I won’t spoil the end for you but its a really cute movie. It has some very sweet moments in it and my favourite scene is the wedding scene before the coin drama happens. Beth and Nick (or Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel) have great chemistry and that scene shows the awesome firsts moments of a relationship. Those moments when you see the guy, share a smile, you feel the butterflies and then suddenly its the start of a relationship.



All in all its a great romantic comedy set in some really beautiful places and it has quite a few laugh out loud moments. I would recommend this movie if you want a fun romantic comedy that reminds you of the beauty of love. Tomorrow I will be blogging again about well honestly I am not sure yet but it will be around the topic of love. So keep checking back, feel free to comment on the posts and remember to celebrate love.



God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author
http://www.gracehatton.com/


P.S – Want a copy of my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets”? Go to Amazon.com to pick up your copy in time for Valentines Day!