Beginner To Expert

 

Beginner to Expert:  Your "Go-To" Book for Cold Process Soapmaking 

Hello my friends!  Introducing my cold process soapmaking book "Beginner to Expert"  It is enrolled in Kindle Unlimited for free until May 8th.  So help me spread the word out.  Please leave a review as well.

I had originally planned to publish this for Christmas 2023.  That was when I started making a few more batches of soap again and trying to get back to selling at craft shows.  But I learned that most of the soapers I started with in 2013 are now offering e-classes and e-books.  Friends and coworkers were asking about recipes and there is an interest on learning how to make and sell soap themselves. So I decided to put my recipes together. The book was done sometime in November, but I am challenged with the formatting.  My word document is not the right format for Amazon.  So I downloaded all the books that advised you on how to do formatting and self publishing .   I thought I will get it done for Valentine's Day 2024.  Obviously, I am not techy enough.  But I got it done now with some help from Smith for Mother's Day.

If you have read my soapmaking blog, some of the informations I posted here are also compiled in the book, plus lots of added bonuses and tips and recipes to get you started in this journey.  I even included some trusted suppliers that I still use until now.

This book will be great for everyone who wants to learn how to make soap from scratch and just to know about my soapmaking style.

The paperback and hardcopy version also have journaling pages to help you with your own soapmaking journey and keep track of your progress.  

If you see anything that needs editing or changing.  Please let me know.  I can get things revised to make it better.  

Please leave a review as well after you read it through.

Thank you for your never ending support. 

Enjoy and Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Soaping!

Glynith

The Perfect Marriage

 

This was chosen as our Marine mom's book club book for the month of March 2024.  It took me just a few days to finish the book.  Jeneva Rose has a way to her writing that makes you want to finish the book quick.  The twists is enough to make you wonder and just keep on going.  It was written as a narrative from  both the husband and the wife's point of view which adds to the mystery.

Sarah, the wife is a very successful lawyer in Washington, D.C.  Adam, the husband is a struggling writer.  They decided to have a lake house to help with his writing and to escape from the city.  This is where he met Kelly his mistress.  The mistress was found brutally murdered in the bedroom of their lake house.  Sarah decided to defend her husband even when all evidence pointed to Adam being the killer.  

Jeneva Rose will keep you on the edge on who was the real killer all through to the end.  It is a page turning mystery thriller.  Some reviewers did not like the fact that there were scenes where you will ask yourself - how could Adam not know or why would a wife defend a husband accused of killing his mistress and some other details that seem to make it like there was not enough research done about police procedures, etc.   but I don't mind it.  I just want to know who killed and why.

 Now, I should stop saying more or I'll be spoiling the book for you.

Enjoy!

Glynith

January 2024 | Fourth Wing | KCK Soapery

My young colleagues were mostly raving about this book "Fourth Wing",   So I decided  to read it just to see why.  Rebecca Yarros is a phenomenal story writer is why.  It's a book you can't put down once you started.

Violet grew up preparing to be a scribe for Basgiath War College where her mom was the commanding general.  All her life she was trained to read, record and be the best scribe.  But her mom basically forced her be a dragon rider.  Violet is a small, very fragile young woman whose bones always get dislocated or broken but she has the sharpest very intelligent mind.  She  has to use her intelligence not just to survive passing the obstacles and tests, but to survive other cadets who hates her mom.  Every cadet joining the dragon rider face the likelihood of being killed in the obstables or be killed by fellow cadets.  

Xaden, a guy Mira (Violet's sister) warned her to avoid at all cost.  But the chemistry between them is very strong right from the very beginning when they first laid eyes on each other.  

The dragons were all so likable and menacing at the same time.  They will bond with a first year  who survived the gauntlet and they deemed fit to bond with or they can torch you just because you said something they don't like or you looked at them the wrong way.

It's a very entertaining fantasy book full of action, witty and whimsical with a hot dose of steamy romance. 

Thank you for stopping by and don't hesitate to read this book.  I got this book from the library but bought the "Iron Flame" just because I don't want to wait for my turn for days.  Had to continue and will continue once the rest of the empyrean book are released.

January 2024 | Semper Parents | KCK Soapery

Semper Parents I highly recommend this book to anybody who wish to learn and understand "Marine" life.  If you have a family currently in the military specifically a "Marine" this book is a great help.  The author is a Marine wife and a Marine mom.  Semper Parents will guide you through what the Marine is going through from bootcamp to what to expect during deployments and back.  It is an easy read and makes this new chapter of my life understandable.  The author included a few other Marine families' perspectives too.  This book would be beneficial not just to parents but to any other family members of the military as well.

As an immigrant, I never thought I'd have a kid who would want to serve in the military.  Everything about this life is new to me.  Books like this makes it easier as I slowly navigate military life as a Marine mom.

I have been reading books and joining facebook groups for Marine parents.  Just so I can imagine what my son is going through and know what other parents are experiencing as well.  Some of these groups have moms whose hearts are always broken, others have moms who are there to help each other cope.  

Here are some quotes from the book I would like to share:

* Significant portion of their training is dedicated to testing their will power and strength, endurance, persistence and beating the odds.

*The best thing I could do for my Marine was to learn more about taking care of myself.

*Pretty soon it was normal to not be concerned if we didn't hear from him.  We all settled into the new norm.

These lines reminds me of what is always being shared by facebook moms " Semper Gumby"  always be flexible and "No news is Good news".

Here's to us all Proud Marine Parents!

Thank you for dropping by.

Glynith

December 2023 | Nightbane | KCK Soapery

                                                        

After finishing Lightlark, there is no way I will just stop and not continue on with Nightbane.  If a third book is coming, I will be there waiting in line for it too!

I always thought I am a mystery, thriller, suspense, doctor, lawyer, detective books kind of gal.  But this series is definitely going to widen my book choices for reading entertainment.  Thank you to friends at work for recommending and ever so willing to lend me their physical books.  The book covers made it so tempting to buy at times.  But my time of buying books for entertainment is done.  I now like reading digitally and so I just borrow from the library and waited for my turn.  

The characters Isla, Oro, Grim and others were all so captivating and once you read Lightlark, you just have to know what happens next.  Although the going back and forth between past memories and present events was a little bothersome at times, I enjoyed the book a lot.  This is the reason I am giving this book a 4 star.

Isla ended up with Oro in Lightlark with her memories of Grim erased before the Centennial.  Now, these memories are coming back slowly with details that could be helpful to save Lightlark from being destroyed by Grim who is coming to wage war in less than a month.  Isla is still learning to wield her powers and learning how to rule both Wildling and Starling realms.  Now she has to find ways to help save Lightlark as well.

Now that her memories are coming back, intimacy between Isla and Grim is not just dreams that usually get interrupted in Lightlark.  Now we have more detailed description of events, I would not recommend this to young readers unless they already read a lot of books with love scenes or are experienced already.

Thanks for visiting!

Glynith

 

November 2023 | Lightlark | KCK Soapery

 Lightlark

This book was recommended by a friend at work.  I am glad she did. Once I start, I can't put it down.  It is a fantasy book about six realms that were cursed and a land "Lightlark" that appears every 100 years to welcome the rulers to a game and the winner get to free the realms and its people from the curse.  A game where they outsmart each other to survive, strategize their demonstrations to see who is the weakest and who to team up with and who to sacrifice.

Isla is a ruler who grew up thinking she does not have any powers but is trained as a warrior, the other rulers all have powers.  She was also trained to seduce the King of Lightlark so he will give her his powers.  The book include curses, prophecies, oracles, betrayal, magic, lies, loyalty and love.

It was a page turner.  I can't put it down right when Isla portalled into her room to get ready to leave for the "Centennial" games.    

If you like the Hunger Games, you will like this.  Lightlark have realms instead of districts.  Killing and surviving started right away in Panem, but is not allowed until the 50th day in Lightlark.  The writing style is not as Suzanne Collins but it was still an entertaining read you can't put down even though you already know who betrays, who loves and who lies almost right when they all met.  Alex Aster did put in a few twists to the story so I did not mind the obvious.  It was a fun book to read and I can't wait to read "Nightbane" the second book in this series.

Reviewers are scattered all over the spectrum on this. However, I enjoyed it, I am giving it a 4 out of 5.  Alex for sure is not lacking in the imagination and she is a good story writer.  There is a hint of some intimacy in a dream.  So I will say, this can be young reader appropriate.  Unless your kid is totally sheltered from kissing and touching scenes, then refrain for a while.

Enjoy!