January 2007
News, updates, & pronouncements from Pat Ballard,
the Queen of Rubenesque Romances

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. 
Eleanor Roosevelt

Something to think about....

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.
An old saying

I couldn't find the author of this adage, but the person who originated it couldn't be more wrong, in my opinion. Sticks and stones can bruise and cut a person's body, and those cuts and bruises will heal. But words spoken in a hurtful or careless way have the potential of damaging a person for life.

Thomas Edison was taken out of school at age seven after only three months in the classroom because his constant questioning led his teacher to consider him retarded. So he was educated by his mother, and by the age of 12 Tom had not only completed Gibbons's Rise And Fall Of The Roman Empire, Sears's History Of The World, and Burton's Anatomy Of Melancholy, he had devoured The World Dictionary of Science and a number of works on practical chemistry.

If Thomas Edison's parents―especially his mother―had believed the words that were said about their son, or if his mom hadn't taken the time to patiently work with him, our present world would have been greatly influenced. Edison patented 1,093 inventions, the most famous of which was an incandescent light bulb. Besides the light bulb, Edison developed the phonograph and the "kinetoscope," a small box for viewing moving films. He also improved upon the original design of the stock ticker, the telegraph, and Alexander Graham Bell's telephone. And that's just a few of his accomplishments.

But Thomas Edison was an exceptional case. Let's bring this thinking to everyday life's level.

When I was in Texas for Christmas, I had the honor of meeting a person who has read all my books and is an ardent fan. As you all know, my books have Big Beautiful Heroines. This woman was not, in my opinion, big at all. She said she weighs around 135 lbs. But she used to weigh 110. For her this weight gain was a lot, and made her feel fat and unattractive. For that reason, she said, she identified with all my heroines.

As we talked, she told me that her mom had always been a large woman, and that her dad was always telling her mom that she shouldn't eat certain things, or not eat so much. According to her, it wasn't said in a mean way, just a "helpful" way. As we talked, she later mentioned that she almost idolized her dad, who was now dead.

When she talked about her love for her father, a light bulb went off for me. I suggested to her that since she loved her dad so much, maybe she'd been internalizing his words to her mom about weight and now she was judging herself by his words. I could see the light bulb go off for her, too. She agreed.

We can all probably think back to something that someone has said to us that has stayed with us for years. Too many times, we judge ourselves by someone else's words. Maybe those words were hurtful and are still making us feel bad about ourselves.

So in the coming year, let's dig deep and ask ourselves why we feel a certain way about areas of our lives and ourselves. If we trace those feelings back to someone who has spoken words to us that have made us feel "less than," mentally forgive that person and determine to forget the words.

We might not become a great inventor, but we will become a much happier person.
 

 A Word From Pat

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and/or happy holiday season. My husband, Joe, and I had a wonderful evening with our son, Eric, and his family on December 15th. Eric works in retail (Walgreen's drug stores), so it's almost impossible to have a "normal" holiday with him. But we enjoy it when we can grab him for a little while.

On Friday, the 22nd, Joe and I headed for East Texas, to his mom's, for Christmas. We stopped overnight in Texarkana, AR for the night and had dinner with a friend we haven't seen in years. On that Saturday we went on in to Longview, TX, where Eric was born, and visited with a couple of other friends. Joe dropped me off to visit with my friend Dora, and he went on to see a guy he used to work with. Then on to Frankston, where Joe grew up.

That night and the following day, Sunday, Joe had a stomach flu that kept him in bed for a solid 24 hours. So his first day at "Mama's" was spent in bed. But he felt better on Christmas Day and was able to eat some of the wonderful meal she had prepared.

On Tuesday morning we left Frankston and headed back toward Nashville. We stopped in Gladewater, TX and had breakfast with my brother Tim and his family. We were supposed to visit with them on Sunday, but didn't want to expose them to Joe's "problem."

We got home around 8:30 Tuesday night. We usually drive straight home from Frankston, which is a good 10—11-hour trip, depending on the traffic. It's a very boring drive. From Memphis, TN to Little Rock, AR it's flat, Delta land. But a long time ago we came up with a game that we play. It's a very intellectual game, yet it helps keep our eyes from getting so tired of staring directly at the long, boring, unending road.

We count hawks. Yep, hawks.

It's amazing how many hawks we see on that stretch of interstate. Joe speculates that it's because the grain crops that are grown there attract more mice and the hawks come because of the mice. We counted over 80 hawks on the way there, and 96 on the way back.

It's good to be home. I'm looking forward to 2007, and all the fun things I have to do.

I hope every has a wonderful, happy, healthy and prosperous 2007!


                                               Love,

                                                                    Pat

Visit Pat's Place at www.patballard.com | Write me at patballard@bellsouth.net
 

Links About The Queen & Her Books

Pat's Place website
The Queen's Blog
About Pat Ballard
Dangerous Curves Ahead
The Best Man
Abigail's Revenge
Wanted: One Groom
Nobody's Perfect
His Brother's Child
A Worthy Heir
Pearlsong Press blog posts about Pat

Weighty Matters

I had planned to feature a series of articles by Sandy Szwarc in this section for the next few issues. Sandy is one of the most wonderful, commonsensical writers on the subject of weight that I know of.

But when I told her what I was doing, Sandy mentioned that the website her articles are on has gone through some editing and there are now some inaccuracies in the articles. So for that reason, I'm not going to use the articles in this section. But I still highly recommend that you read them.

http://www.techcentralstation.com/bioszwarcsandy.html

I'm happy to announce that Sandy has a new blog. Here is a link to the blog: http://www.junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/

Are Diets Necessary?
Health News Byte

Contrary to popular opinion, a new study concludes that obese women don’t have to lose weight to improve their health. Findings from the study were presented at an annual conference of the British Society of Behavioral Medicine. According to researchers, following a healthier lifestyle that includes cardio and resistance exercise can significantly improve health factors for obese women, whether the scale moves or not. While average one-year weight loss among study subjects was a meager six pounds, the women experienced significant improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and resting heart rate.

Read the rest of the article:
http://www.lifescript.com/channels/healthy_living/News_Bites/are_diets_necessary.asp
 

Finally, realistic heroines!!

First of all, I'm not normally a romance novel reader (although I HAVE been known to read a few), but I was intrigued by the concept of realistic heroines, and so I gave this book a try. I must say I was delighted by the book, and had a hard time putting it down. Ms. Ballard paints her characters with a vivid brush....I even found myself daydreaming about Hanna!! This book proves that all women are beautiful, not just what Hollywood considers beautiful. I honestly can't wait for Ms. Ballard's other books to arrive here for me to read!
 

Communicate with Pat via her "Amazon Connect" blog on Amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/id/AC8LT66HFJQ1Y/ref=cm_blog_blog/102-0429066-5275365

Pat's newest book, Abigail's Revenge, is featured on the Beautiful Portal website: http://www.beautifulportal.com/news.php?item.900034.8
and has been reviewed by AmaZe eMag: http://www.venusimaging.com/Magazine/2005/decjanrealistic/jennifer.htm

 An article on Pat has been posted at:
http://eastmanpublishing.com/epextra/articles/eparticle1007.htm.
And an EP Extra review of Abigail's Revenge is posted at
http://eastmanpublishing.com/epextra/articles/eparticle1011.htm 

Look for an interview with Pat on Lonnie Cruse's blog at
http://www.lonniecruse.blogspot.com.

Calendar of Events

Pat regularly guests on the Health At Every Size show with Dr. Peggy Elam on WRFN Radio Free Nashville. Check the show blog at http://www.healthateverysize.info for mentions of Pat's next guest appearance. The show is streamed live over the Internet 10-11 a.m. CST Mondays and now can also be listened to live over your phone via UPSNAP.COM.

Listen to or download the mp3 recording of Pat's Nov. 27, 2006 guest spot on the show at http://www.pearlsong.com/audio/HAES112706.mp3. (Right click on the link & "save as" to download.)

Listen to the live broadcasts over the Internet at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

To listen through your cell phone or any other phone (home, office, etc.), simply call 646-213-0005. After the prompt, enter the Radio Free Nashville code―9989―with your keypad. Listen and enjoy!

There is no charge for listening through your phone, and you don't have to register your phone with the service (as was necessary for the previous phone-streaming provider, Mobile Broadcast Network). Your usual long distance and/or cell phone charges will apply, however.

For more on the show, check out the show blog at http://www.healthateverysize.info. You can also listen to or download recordings of some of the shows at www.pearlsong.com/audio.htm.

Pat will spend the next few months promoting Abigail's Revenge. She's in the process of setting up booksignings with local Borders bookstores, and others.

You can still hear the taped radio shows from Size Matters with Veronica, WCRS Radio, on Pat's website.

Show #1 discusses Pat's romance novels
http://www.wcrsradio.org/RadioStage/size/SIZE051.mp3

Show #2 discusses women of size and their sexuality
http://www.wcrsradio.org/RadioStage/size/SIZE052.mp3

And check out the photos from the Nov. 6, 2004 Mississippi Authors Festival that are online at The Queen's Proclamation blog and The Pearlsong Letter blog. (Click on the Mississippi Authors Festival link under the "Photo Albums" heading in the lefthand column of either blog to view the photos.) While you're visiting, post a comment on the blog!
 

Give someone a good read as well as support in loving themselves.
Pat's books make great gifts!
 

Book Contest

Register to win a free copy of the Pat Ballard book of your choice at Top 100 Women Sites: http://www.top100womensites.com/contest.htm.
 

Read previous issues of The Queen's Proclamation at http://www.pearlsong.com/newsletterarchives.htm.
 

The Queen's Proclamation is published by Pearlsong Press.
P.O. Box 58065 │ Nashville, TN  37205  │ www.pearlsong.com
©2007 Pearlsong Press