Lisa Akers's Blog

A reader of The SHTF Series reached out to tell me she loved book one, and after chatting awhile, I discovered she and her hubs have a prepping and survival training series. I’ve looked through their website, and when I’m not so scattered, smothered and covered, I can’t wait to watch some videos.

The site is: http://panteao.com/ (or click on the picture), to see videos for Survival Training, Handgun 101, Empty Hands Training, Shotgun Training, Rifle Training, Handgun Training and more.

Narrated by Kevin Pierce,

The Voice of Apocalypse.

I’m never been an audiobook fan. To be honest, I’d never listened to one until Kevin sent me the file that he’d recorded for Fight Like a Man: Book 1 of The SHTF Series. I started listening, and I was hooked. I just wanted to curl up on the bed and have him read it to me all night long. I can see myself really using audio now; walking the dog, on the way to the grocery store, the gun range, long drives out of town, or even when in soaking in the tub.

Also, for new users Audible is running a special where you sign up for a trial and get 2 free audiobooks of your choice. Great deal.

Click the Audio Album Cover to listen to a sample.

I just found out about the “Wonderbag” Powerless Cooker! It’s amazing. I’ve been through one hurricane that left us with no power for ten days, and I would have LOVED to had this then.

This bag can be used to cook for power outages, camping, tailgating, baseball games, picnics, family reunions. It’s easy…here’s what you do. Cook your food (in your own pot) until it comes to a boil. Then put the pot with a tightly closed lid into the Wonderbag. Close the bag. Let it cook all day! It’ll cook for hours (think pot roasts, pork loins, stews, chili, soups) and it can be used in reverse; to keep things cold too. Btw, see recipe on bottom for Chipotle Chili…mmmm.

AND… Powerless is Powerful – Buy One Donate One

Powerless is powerful. Wonderbag isn’t just a powerless cooker; it’s an instrument for change. 3 billion women still cook over wood fires, a major source of health, environmental and socio-economic issues. By drastically reducing time spent cooking, the Wonderbag empowers women across Africa to participate in more activities outside of the home enhancing their quality of life. Using the Wonderbag helps save water, reduces the carbon footprint, minimizes deforestation, smoke inhalation diseases and deaths. One Wonderbag per year saves 1.7 trees, 1000 liters of water and 1,248 hours of time not spent collecting firewood. For every Wonderbag purchased in the US, one is donated to a family in need in Africa.

I don’t have this yet, but it’s going on my WishList for Christmas. Comment below if you have one. Tell me how you like it. Also, if you want to check out the prices, or order one, click on the pictures. 

Hearty Chipotle Chili for the Wonderbag:

Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey. 1 small onion, chopped. 1 medium red or green bell pepper, chopped. 1 garlic clove, finely chopped. 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper. 1 can (28 ounces) of crushed tomatoes. 1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained. 3.5 cups of beef stock. Directions: Cook ground beef, onion, red pepper and garlic in 4-quart saucepan, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned and vegetables are tender. Stir ibeef stock – Beef and chipotle chile pepper until stock is melted. Stir in tomatoes and beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until heated through. This takes about 15 minutes. Place your lidded pot in the Wonderbag for for a minimum of 1 hours and up to 4 hours for flavors to mingle. Serve, if desired, with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and/or chopped cilantro.

Please share your best Wonderbag recipe in the comments, if you have one.

In Fight Like a Man, Book 1 of The SHTF Series, Gabby saved the day when she pulled out a Sawyer Mini Water Filter at the stream. She and her sisters were able to finally get water–and it was safe to drink after filtering it.

And later, before Elmer interrupted their soon-to-be meal, the girls were planning on cooking a hot bowl of Mountain House freeze-dried lasagna over their portable (tiny!) camp stove–and the headlamp would have come in handy if she’d only been familiar enough with her bug-out bag to know it was in there earlier!

Each picture refers to prepping items from Book One. I personally own these items, and recommend. But as with all things, your mileage may vary. Check out the reviews on Amazon by clicking the picture, and decide for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holy Amazeballs!! My readers freaking RAWK! Love you guys so much. Thank you! We got the new release on several best seller lists, with no outside advertising other than FB & Twitter. If you’re a writer, you know this is HUGE!
It’s been hovering around #24 on Hot New Releases, and it’s stuck around the 100 Top Bestsellers in Women’s Psychological Fiction for A WEEK, where it had company by its sisters. Screen shot below shows BOTH books 1(Let Me Go) & 3(Find Me, Keep Me) on the same bestsellers list. Thank you, thank you, thank you… Book 2 is also on the same top 100 list right now too–as an added bonus! I’ve been pinching myself for a week watching these lists!
If you bought the books and read them, this was  your doing. Thank you so much for not forgetting about my girls and being so patient!
Now one more thing…go leave a review! Please!!!

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It’s a wrap. I hit the button!! Finally. Writing a book is like painting a picture (except I don’t have that much talent, lol). Still, you start with a blank piece of paper…bare bones. Then you keep adding to it, and adding… and there’s a lot of taking away too. But a book is built layer after layer after layer, until everything matches up and you can call it finished. It’s a longer process when it’s a thriller/suspense WITH a love story. There’s red herrings…foreshadowing…subplots…sneaky twists and turns. So it took me a while to weave all that together, and I hope it’s worth the wait. I know I’ve promised it for a long time. And I did send it out weeks ago to my ARC Team…but I’m guilty.

I kept writing. Even as they were reading. Even after they finished. I’m sure my team wants to strangle me. (sorry, team!)

Let Me Go, the first book in the series, started out dark. Actually, one reviewer said, “Dark, but beautiful.” Another said “Hauntingly Beautiful.” In the first book, the girls went through a very hard time. But the characters changed. They overcame their obstacles, and grew into survivors. It was was a Coming of Age/Psychological Suspense story with a whisper of romance–just a whisper. But wow, you readers zoned in on that whisper. You lurrrved Jake! I was surprised some readers called this a romance. 

So Book 1 was supposed to be a stand-alone book, but after many, many requests I wrote book 2 and now book 3 and overall the series changed to a Romantic Suspense Series, with each sister getting their own happily ever after. You’re welcome.

BUT… in this last book, I gave it pretty much just the romance–at first. Then I sent it out to my ARC Team, and sat back and waited. None of my ARC peeps said anything was missing from Book 3. They all loved it. But I KNEW. I knew something was missing. And I think I kinda sorta left it out on purpose. I didn’t want to go back ‘there.’ To the dark places. That stuff is hard to write. But I couldn’t push the publish button, because Olivia, the MC of this book, kept whispering in my ear that I didn’t tell the WHOLE story. It wasn’t all unicorns jumping over rainbows.

So I put in what I knew was missing–the same stuff you’d find in book 1 and 2…the stuff that makes you gasp and cringe–and it went in only 24 hours before hitting the publish button. Chapters 47 and 48. That’s a warning. If you have triggers, don’t read it. But it’s mild compared to Book 1. So if you mde it through that one and still liked the book, you should be okay. Now the picture is complete–and it goes full circle from Book 1–and Olivia is at last content with her own happily ever after, even if it was a bumpy ride to get there.

Buy here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017THTACA

 

So yeah. I’m totally fangirling my fan, lol. But seriously…I received my first physical Fan-Snail-Mail! Squee!! An actual present!

Note: reblogging this to my new blog because it’s my favorite post and still touches me. Warning: long-winded and full of tears.

I’ve Got Mail!

My reader said she’s a fan of my books and dragonflies (my first series revolves around a red dragonfly tattoo) and wanted to send me something! I was so excited! I’d never received anything (physically) from a fan…heck, I can’t even believe I freakin’ have fans! So after giving her a wrong address (#TotallyTheHubsFault), and the package flittering around LOST for a week, my reader tracked it down and told me where it was and who was holding it.

So…her good intentions kinda ended up in kind of a mess to start, but today it was found, on the second floor of ‘The Tower’ at a ball-park, in the middle of a city I live very close to! So I got it! But boy was I in for a surprise. You made me cry, Betty Lou from New York… really cry…

So here’s the story. Today, Maya Angelou, a famous poet and more, died. She was 86. When I first set out to publish my first novel, I read hundreds of quotes. I knew I had found the perfect one for the front of my first novel, “Let Me Go,” when I finally came across this one from Maya: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.”

So if you have my first novel, that quote is there, right up front. I knew I would catch some flak for Let Me Go, but it was bubbling inside me, and I had to write it. I. Just. Had. To. So it was such a fitting start to that book. A story that wouldn’t be written if it wasn’t for my mother-in-law, Lea.

See, I unexpectedly left a long career in human resources to be her caregiver. She was bedbound and required 24-hour care and I was her CareGiver for 18 months. She also died at age 86, like Maya did… today…the same day I opened the package from a reader who loved the book with Maya’s quote in the front matter. Weird, huh?

Now the  emotional part…bear with me. Everyone knows when you move, there’s always that ONE thing that is irreplaceable that gets broken. Always. Well, for me, it was the picture of my mother-in-law that you see here. Her husband, Harold, kept this particular picture of his wife of 60+ years on his nightstand. It was his favorite. He took care of her with very little help until he was 85. Bathed her, changed her, cut her hair, cooked her breakfast every single day.

This was not easy for him as he had broken his back (twice) in the coal mines. He was not able to straighten up, he walked bent over, as if he were forever searching for something on the floor. He also had Black Lung from the mines. Truly a warrior and faithful husband until the end. He passed suddenly three days after his 85th birthday, with his head turned toward this picture, still on his nightstand. I inherited the picture, and his wife to take care of.

This was not an easy job. It nearly killed me. I lost 30 lbs and suffered terrible back pain from the constant lifting/rolling. But it was the most important and gratifying thing I’ve ever done with my life.

My MIL woke up from her delirium after I took her off of the multiple drugs they sedated her with, and she started talking again…watching TV, laughing (fighting and biting too, lol). But her spunky personality would sometimes emerge from under the dementia, and it was a joy to behold. I’d BEG her to talk to me…tell me about her life…laugh. Sometimes she went days without speaking, but when she spoke, it was worth hearing. It became a game for me to try to get her to laugh or talk. I danced for her with long flowing skirts twirling with my finger on my head, like a suspended ballerina, put on a cowboy hat and rode my son’s stick-horse, galloping around and around her wheelchair until she’d grant me the smallest smile. I watched my favorite movie with her, discovering it was the ONLY movie she’d actually really watch with bug open eyes, and I sang along with Dorothy at the top of my lungs as we watched her follow the yellow brick road for the 200th time.

For 18 months, this was my world. I rarely ever saw anyone outside this world. I lost touch with my friends, many of them work-friends, and was so exhausted and poorly-feeling, I didn’t want to be seen by anyone. I was basically a recluse at the house. She had to be turned and/or changed every two hours… So many days it wasn’t an option to leave. I had some help, more toward the end, but it was still a full-time+ job.

There are a few truly amazing stories that happened during this journey, and I may be writing the whole thing as a free novella for my 1st 1000 True Fans, later in the series. It truly is a heart-wrenching, beautiful story from beginning to end–and all true.

But I wasn’t a writer when I took care of her. I wasn’t a nurse, or a CNA, or someone that had ever done any of the things I had to do. I learned each day, and each day she taught me a lesson. I took it hard when she passed. I felt like I didn’t do well enough, like somehow it was my fault. I grieved for her, and my lost career, my lost friends, and my lost physical capabilities.

I saw a massage therapist (hello, Renew You) and a chiropractor, but I didn’t think I’d ever be able to go back to work because of my chronic back pain. Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I had time on my hands. Thus, I used that time to write, with the picture of my MIL on my desk, watching over every word.

Let Me Go was born… And then the next, and I’m working on the third as well as a new spin-off series. My MIL unknowingly gave me a new career, one that was better than the one I had before. And one I could make a difference with.

I write about Survivors. I am trying to make a difference, and many have said I have (and I cherish those emails, PM’s, comments and reviews).

So today, before I left to hunt down my mysterious fan mail, I was unpacking boxes from moving, and found my MIL’s picture. Cracked! 

I took it to my husband, crying…for the loss of the precious glass that was a part of the original frame and picture, and because I felt I had failed again, in keeping the picture of her safe. It brought back all the sadness from her passing. And I thought my hubs would be mad at me. But he wasn’t. He knew how much the picture and frame had meant to his dad, and to me, and he said he’d find new (old) glass to replace it. My MIL died at age 86. So, as I said, the quote in the book I wrote, only because the end of her life allowed me to start anew in something different, was written by Maya Angelou, who died today, also at age 86. Weird coincidence you say? Let me go on…

So then, still upset hours later about the picture, I try to cheer myself up by finding and opening my fan mail. My reader had pm’d me to tell me she had taken a picture (2) of a red dragonfly and its shadow–a Scarlet Darter, seen in Europe, originating from Africa. So I was expecting the snapshots. But what I got was the snapshots (Extraordinary! I love them!), and a beautiful cut-glass dragonfly statue, some wonderful dragonfly note cards, and finally two children’s books(?). I was surprised! I wasn’t expecting children’s books. I opened the first one, reading very quickly. It was a sad but beautiful story of dying, in which after dying, a nymph becomes a beautiful dragonfly that consoles her friend when the friend feels the blame for her death. Uum…hello?

The second book, “The Dragonfly Secret,” stars the same dragonfly in a story about loss (death) and change, as she discovers her special gift in death…by delivering a message to a little boys parents from beyond the grave. It’s a touching story. Here’s what made me cry: the dragonfly’s name…is Lea!! Omigod. My mother-in-laws name is also Lea!! Same spelling. And my husband shares the same name as the little boy in the book! I kid you not. I’m not making this up. True. Story.



My reader is not the author of these books, nor do I believe she knew anything about my mother-in-law, Lea Akers. I don’t know why she sent them to me, other than because the story revolves around a dragonfly, which we share a love for. I truly am gobsmacked. Thank you, Betty Lou for bringing this message to me… You’ve touched both me and my husband and we truly feel Lea had a hand in this, through you.

Sorry if this is a jumbled up mess of rambling, but that’s how my head feels right now with all of the coincidences. I feel as if Lea hand-picked Betty Lou to put this package together, send it to an un-explained origin wrong address, only to locate it TODAY, of all days–all the way from NY–and alert me as to its whereabouts ON THIS DAY…So I want to say again, thank you, Betty Lou from NY!

P.S. If you read this far, you deserve a gold star.

A sneak peek at the cover by the talented Rebecca Weaver for the 4th book in The Let Me Go Series: Fatefully Unfree!

I can’t yet give a firm date, but if you’re signed up to my First 1000 True Fans List <click here to sign up!>, you’ll be notified when released.

This is Book 4, and another Romantic Suspense novel, also weaved around a very important issue that we often hear of happening in foreign countries to young women…but shockingly, it also happens every single day right here in the U.S., too. I hope my story helps to shine the light and raise awareness. As with all of my books, there will be drama. There will be tears. Happy and sad tears…and of course, there will be a happy ending.

And after reading the first three books in the series, you’re probably wondering who in the heck is this redhead on the cover. I mean, we all know my girls have long, chocolaty-brown locks. I know…right? Right! So, who is it?

It’s actually… oops…sorry. Can’t tell you that. I’m keeping it under my hat for now. Once you’ve read book 3, feel free to comment below with your guess. Is it Ember? Graysie? Or someone else? If you’ve read my work, you know you can’t really be sure with me, as I like to twist things up a bit.

~L.L. Akers

Launch Week Nov 12-17, 2015!

Be watching for the email notification for the release of Book 3, Find Me, Keep Me. My readers who are signed up as one of my 1st 1000 True Fans will be able to snag the full novel at .99 before public price changes. All books in the series will be on sale for launch week. Tell your friends.

If you’re not signed up yet…hurry! And please add my email addy to your address book so that the notification doesn’t go to your spam folder: contactllakers@gmail.com is where it’ll be coming from. No spam. Only new release, freebie or big sale information sent. Scout’s Honor.

You can find the signup all over my site, but can also sign up here!

Love,

L.L. Akers

 

I got a package from a reader today! She said she's a fan of my books and Dragonflies and wanted to send me something! Squee!!! I was so excited! I've never received anything (physically) from a fan...I can't even believe I have fans! So after giving her a wrong address (the hubs fault), and it flittering around LOST, she finally tracked it down and told me where it was and who was holding it. So her good intentions ended up in kind of a mess, as the package was lost...but today it was found, on the second floor of 'The Tower' at Cherry Park, in the middle of all the softball/baseball fields! So I got it! But boy was I in for a surprise. You made me cry, Betty Lou Waibel... really, really cry...

Here's where the co-ink-a-dinks (or are they?) come in. Today, Maya Angelou, a famous poet and more, died. She was 86. After reading hundreds of quotes, last June I knew I had found the perfect epigraph for my first novel, "Let Me Go," when I came across this one from Maya: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” So if you have my book, that's right there, in the front. I knew I would catch some flak for Let Me Go, but it was bubbling inside me, and I had to write it. I. Just. Had. To. So it was such a fitting start to that novel. A novel that wouldn't be written if it wasn't for my mother-in-law. See, I left a career of 20 years in HR to be her caregiver. She was bedbound and required 24-hour care and I was her CareGiver for 18 months. She also died at age 86, like Maya.

Here's where I'm going with this story...bear with me. Everyone knows when you move, there's always ONE thing that is irreplaceable that gets broken. Always. Well, for me, it was the picture of my mother-in-law that you see here. Her husband, Harold, kept this particular picture of his wife of 60+ years on his nightstand. It was his favorite. He took care of her with very little help until he was 85. Bathed her, changed her, cut her hair, cooked her breakfast every single day. This was not easy for him as he had broken his back (twice) in the coal mines. He was not able to straighten up, he walked bent over, as if he were forever searching for something on the floor. He also had Black Lung from the mines. Truly a warrior and faithful husband until the end. He passed suddenly three days after his 85th birthday, with his head turned toward this picture, still on his nightstand. I inherited the picture, and his wife to take care of. This was not an easy job. It nearly killed me. I lost 30 lbs and suffered terrible back pain from the constant lifting/rolling. But it was the most important and gratifying thing I've ever done with my life. My MIL woke up from her delirium after I took her off of the multiple drugs they sedated her with, and she started talking again...watching TV, laughing (fighting and biting too, lol). But her spunky personality would sometimes emerge from under the dementia, and it was a joy to behold. I'd BEG her to talk to me...tell me about her life...laugh. Sometimes she went days without speaking, but when she spoke, it was worth hearing. It became a game for me to try to get her to laugh or talk. I danced for her with long flowing skirts twirling with my finger on my head, like a suspended ballerina, put on a cowboy hat and rode my son's stick-horse, galloping around and around her wheelchair until she'd grant me the smallest smile. I watched my favorite movie with her, discovering it was the ONLY movie she'd actually really watch with bug open eyes, and I sang along with Dorothy at the top of my lungs as we watched her follow the yellow brick road for the 200th time. For 18 months, this was my world. I rarely ever saw anyone outside this world. I lost touch with my friends, many of them work-friends, and was so exhausted and poorly-feeling, I didn't want to be seen by anyone. I was basically a recluse at the house. She had to be turned and/or changed every two hours... So many days it wasn't an option to leave. I had some help, more toward the end, but it was still a full-time+ job.

There are a few truly amazing stories that happened during this journey, and I will be writing the whole thing as a novella later in the series. But I wasn't a writer when I took care of her. I wasn't a nurse, or a CNA, or someone that had ever done any of the things I had to do. I learned each day, and each day she taught me a lesson. I took it hard when she passed. I felt like I didn't do good enough, like somehow it was my fault. I took it hard. I grieved for her, and my lost career, my lost friends, and my lost physical capabilities. I saw a massage therapist (hello, Renew You) and a chiropractor, but I didn't think I'd ever be able to go back to work. Suddenly, for the first time in my life, I had time on my hands. Thus, I used that time to write, with the picture of my MIL on my desk, watching over every word. Let Me Go was born... And then the next, and I'm working on the third as well outlining as a new series. My MIL unknowingly gave me a new work-life, one that was better than the one I had before. And one I could make a difference with. I write about Survivors. I am trying to make a difference, and many have said I have (and I cherish those emails, PM's, comments and reviews).

So today, I found my MIL's picture as I was unpacking a box--cracked. I took it to my husband, crying...for the loss of the precious glass that was a part of the original frame and picture, and crying because I failed again, in keeping the picture of her safe. I thought he'd be mad at me. But he wasn't. He knew how much it had meant to his dad, and to me, and he said he'd find new (old) glass to replace it. My MIL died at 86. The epigraph in the book I wrote, only because the end of her life allowed me to start anew in something different, was written by Maya Angelou, who died today, also at age 86.

Then I finally got to open my package from a fan of my work. She told me she had taken a picture (2) of a red dragonfly and its shadow--a Scarlet Darter, seen in Europe, originating from Africa. That was what I was expecting. But what I got was that (and it's an extraordinary snapshot...I love it), AND a beautiful cut-glass dragonfly statue, some wonderful dragonfly notecards, and finally two children's books(?). I was surprised! That was a bit odd. So I opened the first one, reading very quickly...it was a sad but beautiful story of dying, in which after dying, a nymph becomes a beautiful dragonfly that consoles her friend when the friend feels the blame for her death (ummm...hello?). The second book, "The Dragonfly Secret," stars the same dragonfly in a story about loss (death) and change, as she discovers her special gift in death... By delivering a message to a little boys parents from beyond the grave...It's a touching story. Here's what made me cry...the dragonfly's name...is Lea!! My mother-in-laws name is Lea!! Same spelling. My husbands name is David...the same name as the boy in the book!

My reader is not the author of these books, nor do I believe she knew about my mother-in-law, Lea Akers. I don't know why she sent them to me, other than because the story revolves around a dragonfly. I truly am gobsmacked. Thank you, Betty Lou Waibel for bringing this message to me... You've touched both me and my husband and we truly feel Lea had a hand in this, through you.

Sorry if this is a jumbled up mess of rambling...but that is how my head feels right now with all of the coincidences and such. I feel as if Lea hand-picked Betty Lou to put this package together, send it to an un-explained origin wrong address, only to locate it TODAY, of all days--all the way from NY--and alert me as to its whereabouts ON THIS DAY...

If you read this far, you deserve a gold star... Thanks for bearing with me, and God Bless Betty from New York!





(This post from my FB May 28, 2014)