Tiffany Germain

Guess what? I just won my first writing contest with my full manuscript, Converging Darkness! I’m beyond ecstatic!!! 🤩 *I know the announcement pic looks sad since I don’t have a book cover yet.

One of my characters made her grand entrance in my WIP well before she was outlined to. She’s here to stir up some trouble. I mean, not only for my MC but obviously my outline is in ruins. 🤦🏽‍♀️

@MalindaDetweil1 107K, but I’ve edited it down to 101K. I was hoping to make it under 100K, but so far I’ve failed.

What’s the biggest manuscript you’ve written?

@sister_allison Thank you for the response! Not sure what an average teenager hangs on their bedroom walls anymore, but my daughter has Our Lady pictures and many saints hung galore. She has a kneeler and loves to pray. I would love more info on your monthly series, please! 😊

@Tiff_Germain Meet nuns where you can! And focus on deepening a relationship with the Lord through prayer and the sacraments. That’s the foundation of every vocation. We also have a monthly online Discernment 101 series teaching skills of discernment—let me know if you’d like the info for it!

Vocations don’t happen in a vacuum. God calls us from a community—a parish, a family—& their prayers & support sustain us in moving toward the new community God calls us into—a religious congregation, a new spouse’s family. If you’re discerning a vocation right now…

I have a difficult time motivating myself to start writing each day. One tip that has helped is leaving off in the middle of a sentence. It’s difficult to do, but the following day I can easily finish the sentence and hopefully continue pumping out words. Do you have any tips?

Out of my 7 kids, I have one who needs a blankie to soothe him. Until now, he didn’t care what blanket you gave him, as long as he had one. Now he likes one particular blanket. They don’t sell it anymore, and I’m afraid he may never go to bed if he loses it. 😬

@jessica_barberi The Wingfeather Saga is probably my kids' and my favorite series we read together! So many twists and turns with moral themes. We read half of LOTR, but it drags on for kids... and even adults.

Honestly I would trade out Lord of the Rings for this one if we are talking kids.

@HannahWardEdu Four homeschoolers in our group retired to homeschool their own children. They’ve witnessed things they don’t want for their own children.

It's a growing situation that so many people are trying to keep hush hush for obvious reasons. Teachers and admin always make sure their own kids are taken care of first... It's not just former teachers/admin, either. It's educators who are still working towards retirement...

@BHolshouserUS No… but if you want to know, my girl goats have made a large whole in their fence and our van has died. Thus, when the mechanic arrived, our goats were harassing him for treats. 😂

Anyone else getting random farm drama posts on their feed today?

@abbythelibb_ I’m not sure what level they forgot. Here, at my home, we don’t have actual science or history curriculums until high school. We read living history books often. For science, we learn as we explore. Because of this, my kids know more history and science than I ever knew.

I'm a homeschooled homeschooling enthusiast, and this isn't ok. Take an intentional break from one subject to focus on another? Great. Take a mental health day off a subject the student is struggling in to relieve the tension and reset? Great. Spread out summer break throughout the year so you can use it when it makes the most sense for your family? Great. But **forgetting** two whole subjects for two whole months and then posting about it online like it's cute and relatable is not okay. Are we trying to drive homeschooling standards as low as public school standards? As long as they beat us in the race to the bottom, we've done right by our kids? Are we trying to convince lawmakers to push intrusive regulations? What are we doing here, people? Homeschooling should be about giving your kids the best education you can. Not whatever this is.

@HannahWardEdu @abbythelibb_ We LOVE that series of books for early readers!

@abbythelibb_ This is why you just integrate it in. Then you never skip anything :) Reading + history + science all at once. Curated literature choices help so much.

@wordsandlore Wow! How awesome! It can be a win-win for authors and readers.

@Tiff_Germain I do ARC reads. I started a bookstagram account and signed up for one from an author I enjoyed. I do them pretty regularly now, about one a month. I had no idea I could sign up for something like that.

This is embarrassing as a writer. I’ve done plenty of beta reading and critiques over the years but never have been an ARC reader until today. Do you do ARC readings?

@maureenwittmann That’s so wonderful to hear that the habit carried onto your grandkids! I hope my kids will carry that onto their children, too! We might read The Hobbit as a family in the near future.

@Tiff_Germain One of my fondest memories is reading LOTR to my teens on a camping trip when thunderstorms kept us in the pop-up camper for a couple of days. Those teens are all grown now and reading to their own kids. You're building a beautiful legacy in your family!

I do read-aloud for even my teens. Not only does it help with comprehension and vocabulary, it creates family memories. Current book I’m reading with the oldest four is “The Hiding Place”.

@AuthorGoodwin That’s very creative! My son received a laser engraver for Christmas and made me a coaster with trees. 🌲

Look what I made! My first attempt at lazer-engraving. I turned my fantasy map into coasters. Very annoyed that I over-sanded the bottom right one, but otherwise, I think they turned out ok.

@NadyaWilliams81 We had 5 kids in a 1700 sq foot house. Doable but packed… especially with bookshelves lining several walls. 😂

The real problem we're running into in our 1,600-sq-foot home is the lack of space for bookcases to accommodate all the books we own. It's getting dire. Kids don't take much space. Your life choices--namely all those books--are a different story. Send help.

Once I put my kids to bed, they’re told they can either read or sleep. No third option. I bought them book lights to encourage the habit, and slowly they’re all becoming readers.

@HJamesWrites Neither. Besides my breakfast shake, all I drink is water. I’m pretty boring.

Book lovers, do you drink coffee or tea while reading? 📚📝

@kennykellner19 I have a big family with mostly boys. Just about all of them I had potty trained prior to turning 2. I think the key is to commit to potty training with whatever method you do. I do the 3 day method. Not sure that would work for 4 yrs old, though.

Would you say potty training boys is harder than girls ? We are struggling with my nephew who’s almost 4

@Chesedgirl Has your baby been checked for lip/tongue tie? 2 docs said no for my baby despite painful latch. I grunted thru 1yr til I saw severe visible lip tie + tongue tie. Infant feeding therapists exist and can help feeding issues. We’ve had success with one!

I am considering fully quitting attempting to breastfeed and maybe quitting pumping too. My boobs have been suffering every day since birth (painful latch, cracked and bleeding nipples, nipple rash, now mastitis). my baby has a strong bottle preference and cries if I try to nurse