The Red Order is Coming....

You'll have to wait until June to get the book, but you can check out the cover and the first 2 chapters of The Red Order right now! 

How does this cover make you feel?  Let me know to win a book!

I am so excited, I'm about ready to burst; so, we're having a party to celebrate!  On Feb 1st, each blog listed below is hosting a contest to win one ebook copy of Order of the Seers.  So, stop by, hang out and enter to win!  Special thanks to Carla for pulling this all together. You rock!  

Book Monster Reviews

Literal Addiction

The Reading Café

Book Lovin' Mamas

United by Books

Grave Tells

Cocktails and Books

Riverina Romantics

Wicked Readings by Tawania

Reading Between the Wines 

I Heart Books

You can also find the link to the first 2 chapters of The Red Order right here. And while you're at it, tell me what you think of The Red Order cover.  Give me the first 3 words that pop into your head and one of you will win a paperback copy of Order of the Seers signed, with love, by me.

Have a great day!

~ Cerece

What R U Capable Of?

The future is only the beginning...what are you capable of?

Here’s the truth…something I have never said in an interview or to anyone who doesn’t know me very well.  

Order of the Seers is about you (and me).

Sure, it’s wrapped in a sci-fi adventure that I hope keeps you interested, but that’s not really the point.  The real question is not how will the Seers escape?  The real question is how will you? –

-        - from your own fears

-        - from the shackles of other people’s expectations and limitations for you

-         - from your own ignorance of who and what you really are

What would your life look like if you understood your true purpose and potential? 

What would you do?

What would you be capable of?

I crawl towards my own answers to these questions every day, helplessly dragging my fears behind me.  But I keep moving because I desperately want to know…to free myself and LIVE.

The good news is the farther I go, the clearer the answers become to me.  The bad news is that, most days, I barely lift my head up to see how far I’ve come.  

So I ask you again…what are you capable of?  What are your fears? What are your triumphs? Tell me and maybe we can help each other along the road we make as we discover it.

As always, if you're out there, thanks for reading!

~ Cerece

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This post was inspired by The Icarus Deception, written by the continually encouraging Seth Godin and this video. 

Lax and Lazy - A Holiday Update

Well, it's the last night of 2012 and as promised, here are some pictures from my shamelessly lazy, wonderfully low-key holiday.  The good news is that I really tried not to do a lot.  The bad news is I did even less than I planned.  The lesson - next year I'll aim even lower!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday.  If you did something especially lovely, lazy, awesome that you would like to share, send me a picture at cerecemurphy@gmail.com and I will make a special post featuring all of your wonderful holiday exploits.  Happy New Year!

~ My Report ~

Pre-X-mas Getaway!  For my 40th  birthday present, my husband planned a trip to some place warm.  This is us in Ft. Lauderdale the day before Christmas Eve.

Me and My Hairy Man :-)

Here are the books I planned to "catch-up" on while on vacation...yeah, not so much.  Some are new, others are old favorites and some I'm too scared to read more than a few pages at a time (Anne Rice...anyone).  See you all in 2013.

Christmas Day - I made two things - Stuffing and Brown Sugar Cookies.  Both went so fast I couldn't even take a picture.  My mom and sister brought over the rest.  We ate, we played, we laughed, the kids got riled up, then we all went to bed. Bliss.

I call the picture below "Elmo's Alley" because if you look closely you will notice the debris from our merriment scattered all over the floor.  They've been there for days with no ETA on when they will be picked up. Like I said...lax and lazy baby!

Elmo wants to know...when are you going to clean up?

The picture below is the reason why the toys, socks, etc. haven't been picked up.  This is a picture of my husband in heavy pursuit of The Grail, except he kept being interrupted by me, trying to take this picture :-) We traded off getting naps all week.  It was awesome!

The Holy Grail aka A Nap

And when The Grail was not possible, I did the next best thing - write.  But it is hard with little people who don't believe in nap time, alone time or quiet time.  Usually when I write, I sit some place quiet with a netbook.  But this holiday, I had to go old school just to make sure I got some writing in.  As you can see from all the chicken scratch, it wasn't pretty, but my little pen and notebook got the job done!

The Red Order - Chapter 7 in what can ONLY be described as ROUGH draft format.

Still waiting for some snow to go sledding, but other than that, I've been as low-key as possible for the holidays and loved every minute of it.  How about you?

Since I will be long gone when the New Year's Ball drops, let me raise a toast to everyone reading this ~ Here's to a truly happy new year and thanks, as always, for reading!

~ Cerece

p.s. For anyone planning to take up yet another fad diet for the new year, consider watching Hungry for Change before you start.  It just might change your mind. The entire documentary is available for streaming on Netflix.  If you do watch it, let me know what you think!

A Happy Scrooge

Holidays can be madness.  I personally hate how the days and weeks get cluttered with all this “stuff” you have to do, buy, make, etc.  Sadly, almost none of it truly brings us closer to the people and things that matter most.  So last week, when someone asked me what I was planning to do for the holidays, I was pleased as pumpkin pie to say “Not a damn thing!”

Here’s my holiday agenda: 

1) We’re getting a tree and I’m decorating the house, ‘cause I like to (see below)

Meet "Pinky", selected, decorated and named by our son.

2) I'm going to give my son a Spiderman watch for Christmas because I am so proud that he is learning to tell time.

3) I want to go sledding with my family over the winter break.
4) I'm looking forward to catching up on my reading and

5) I’m going to bake and eat a lot of brown sugar cookies while counting my blessings.

That’s pretty much it. It helps that our youngest is less than 2 years old and would be happy if I handed her my house keys for Christmas and all the adults in my family don’t really care about gifts.  We are alive, we are relatively healthy and we are together.  That’s more than enough for Christmas.

So this holiday season, I thought I would share some things that give me peace and joy in the whirlwind.  Check back every so often as I will be posting pics of my favorite ways to unwind throughout the season.  If you need a break, try one of these. That way no matter how far apart we are, we’ll be smiling together. 

How do you unwind in the crazy?  Send me your secrets in the comments section and one lucky commenter will get a free signed copy of Order of the Seers.  Here’s to a safe and happy holiday filled with the things that matter most to you!

Joy to the World (and thanks for reading)!

~ Cerece

Morning in Chicago

A view from my walk in Chicago

I start with my body crouched and my head up – facing forward.  

The wind tests me, trying to push me back with force and the malice of her chill.

What my legs lack in spring, they more than make up for in determination and my heart pumps hot red blood with conviction.  

The wind is no match for me.

My feet navigate the cracks in the pavement - steady and sure.  They have learned through blisters how to keep me upright, even if it means I’m on my knees. 

I know better now than to wish the road was even or smooth.  Wishing doesn’t make it so and this is my path, nonetheless.

I endeavor to keep a pace that moves with the urgency that life deserves, while still noticing everything.  

I’m no longer in a rush.   

This is my life. 

In every hard won step and easy stumble.  I hurry when I have to and take in all I can from the rest of time that is mine.

It will not last forever.  But as long as I am here, it is mine and I will claim it with the pounding of my feet.

If you're out there, thanks for reading!

~ Cerece