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Gloria Hander Lyons |
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I love cooking (and eating), so that’s why I’ve written and published 20 cookbooks so far. My kitchen is in non-stop test mode, creating recipes for new books. |
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I’ve been a crafter for many years, and I miss the fun craft shows I used to do during the early 1990s. I painted humorous signs and T-shirts, and made handcrafted fabric dolls.
If you’re interested in decorative painting, my e-booklet, It’s Just Paint! offers step-by-step instructions for painting designs on wood, fabric, walls and furniture.
I also love cooking and crafting with herbs—especially lavender. I’ve written two books on lavender: Lavender Sensations has more than 40 projects for crafting bath products, relaxing eye pillows, fragrant sachets and more, plus tasty treats and mixes to give as gifts. |
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Self-Publishing I was having so much fun publishing my own books, I decided to help others get their books published, too, so I wrote Self-Publishing on a Budget: A Do It-All-Yourself Guide. Click on the cover at right to order or read more about it. You’ll find free self-publishing tips on my Self-Publishing Blog. If you have any questions about self-publishing, please e-mail Gloria Lyons: gloria@bluesagepress.com. It’s a topic I love to talk about. Visit the Classes page for information about my Self-Publishing classes.
I offer book publishing & blog design services to help others publish their own books. I also design blog websites, and create custom invitations, announcements, newsletters, flyers and more for printing or e-mailing. Visit my design services page for more details. |
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I began my writing career in 1983, designing original craft projects featured in magazines, such as Better Homes and Gardens, McCall’s, Country Handcrafts, and Crafts (view some of my Clips & Credits). Creativity is my passion, so I love to learn everything I can about art, sewing, cooking, decorating and design. But I also love to write, so I found myself sharing what I had learned by writing handouts and teaching classes on each topic.
I started my own publishing company, Blue Sage Press, to write and publish fun how-to books about everything I know. I now have 39 books and e-booklets in my line, with more planned for the future. You can see them all on the Blue Sage Press Books Page.
Several of my short stories have been published by Chicken Soup for the Soul. Read three of the stories by clicking on their titles in the Sample Stories section on the Home Page. |
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Crafting |
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A Taste of Lavender has 60 delectable recipes for using dried lavender in main dishes, soups, breads, salads, beverages, desserts and more. You can read more about them and try some of the craft projects and recipes on the Lavender Page. Visit the Taste of Lavender Blog and the Lavender Sensations Blog.
I also created the Lavender, Herbs & More website where you’ll find lots of free recipes, party ideas, and craft project instructions for making relaxing lavender bath products, eye pillows, sachets and more. |
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Presentations, Classes and Book Signings by Gloria Hander Lyons |
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· Self-publishing from Self-Publishing on a Budget: A Do-It-All-Yourself Guide · Creating Free Blog Websites using Blogger.com · Cooking and crafting with lavender from: Lavender Sensations and A Taste of Lavender · Interior Decorating tips from No Rules—Just Fun Decorating · Hosting afternoon tea parties from If Teapots Could Talk: Fun Ideas for Tea Parties · Preparing microwave desserts in a mug from: Easy Microwave Desserts in a Mug
I offer private Self-Publishing Classes for groups of four or more at your home, office or facility. Visit the Classes page for more information.
I’m also available for book signings at book stores or other events in the Galveston County/Clear Lake area. E-mail gloria@bluesagepress.com to schedule your event. |
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I love to hear from readers, fellow crafters and writers. Please send your suggestions or comments to Gloria Lyons: gloria@bluesagepress.com.
Visit the Blue Sage Press Website to read more about all my creative how-to books, humor books and cookbooks. Check out the list of my blogs below for more free recipes and sample stories from my books. |
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I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned with others through presentations and demonstrations in the Galveston County/Clear Lake area. If your group needs a speaker, I’m available to give talks on the following topics: |
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An impromptu book signing with fellow members of our Writer’s Critique Group for my cookbook, A Taste of Memories: Comforting Foods From Our Past |
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Taking the time to make handmade gifts always makes gift-giving more special. If you like to craft, visit the Glory Bee Crafts & Recipes blog for free craft projects and recipes from by books for making simple homemade gifts.
You’ll find more gift ideas on The Crafty Cottage website, with FREE craft projects, patterns and instructions for decorative painting, cross-stitching, customizing lamp shades, no-sew window treatments, quilting, fabric dolls, herbal crafts, party ideas and homemade gifts from the kitchen. |
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Cooking |
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Decorating |
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Another of my passions, is interior decorating. My arts and crafts activities naturally spilled over into decorating my home, and my insatiable need for learning inspired me to earn a certification in interior decorating.
I’ve written seven books about interior decorating, home staging, and de-cluttering and organizing your home. You can read about them on the Decorating Page. |
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Visit my decorating website, No Rules—Just Fun Decorating, where you’ll find lots of FREE Decorating Tips for furniture layouts, color schemes, lighting, accessorizing, home staging, de-cluttering and more. If you’re planning a home decorating project soon, check it out for helpful hints and creative ideas. |
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You can view all of them on the Cookbooks Page and try some of the recipes on the Easy Microwave Desserts in a Mug Page, Tea Party Page, Lavender Page, and Glory Bee Crafts & Recipes Blog.
Visit my cooking website, The Cozy Kitchen, for more FREE recipes.
I’ve also created fun musical greeting cards with recipes from nine of my cookbooks that you can view and e-mail to friends and family. |
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Planning Weddings, Tea Parties & Theme Parties |
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I’ve always enjoyed planning creative theme parties, and in 1996, I earned my wedding consultant certificate. After working as a consultant for a while, and getting hands-on experience with some of the pitfalls of wedding planning, I wrote The Super-Bride’s Guide for Dodging Wedding Pitfalls. It includes a plan to get organized, budget-setting advice, money-saving tips, helpful hints and fun ideas to make your wedding unique. Visit the Wedding Page for FREE wedding planning tips and favor ideas. |
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I followed that book with If Teapots Could Talk: Fun Ideas for Tea Parties. It has recipes for tea party treats like scones, tea sandwiches, appetizers and tea time sweets, plus creative theme party ideas and suggestions for invitations, games and activities, decorations and party favors. I post a “tea party of the month” article on the Blue Sage Press Website Tea Party page. Visit my Tea Party Blog for more free recipes from If Teapots Could Talk
Since I love planning parties, I wrote Flamingos, Poodle Skirts & Red Hots: Creative Theme Party Ideas. It has 33 party themes based on period themes, travel locations, movie or book themes, holiday themes and more, and includes suggestions for invitations, decorations, party favors, and fun activities. You’ll find the details for several theme parties from this book on the Glory Bee Crafts & Recipes blog. |
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Motivational & Humor Books |
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After 58 years of living and learning, I decided to share my life’s lessons by writing Pearls of Wisdom For Creating a Joyful Life. This book is a heartfelt and thought-provoking guide for women, both young and old. It makes a great gift for daughters, mothers, sisters, friends and co-workers. Inside you’ll find 25 pearls of hard-earned wisdom and inspirational quotes about happiness, forgiveness, accountability, anger, friendship, jealousy and more, to help speed you on your way to a more joyful life.
But don’t let the joy stop there. After you learn how to use these “pearls” to add happiness to your own life, then pass them along to others. Share the Joy! Size: 8.25”X8.25”, paperback, 60 pages. $7.95 Visit the Pearls of Wisdom Blog |
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I’ve always enjoyed writing humorous, “slice-of-life” stories based on life in modern-day America, and found myself saying frequently, “What’s up with that?” So I began writing a collection of short stories by the same title. This book includes 19 short stories that depict a few of these “head-scratching” moments you might have encountered. If you’ve ever eaten at a restaurant where the lights were so dim you couldn’t see your food, been trapped in an elevator with someone wearing so much cologne you couldn’t breathe, or been stuck in a traffic jam in the “drive-thru” lane at a fast food restaurant, then you can relate! Life in modern-day America can be challenging, to say the least, so why not look at the humorous side and vent some of our stress through chuckling instead of exploding? I hope you’ll enjoy reading these stories as much as I enjoyed writing them. Read more about What’s Up With That? on the Motivational & Humor Books page. Size: 6”X9”, paperback, 60 pages. $6.95 |
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The Third Edition of Easy Microwave Desserts in a Mug is now available. It has more than 100 single-serving mix recipes that are prepared, cooked and served in a mug in less than 5 minutes, like Chocolate Brownie, Peach Cobbler, Pecan Pie, Blueberry-Lemon Coffee Cake, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Italian Cream Cake, Cranberry Oat Scone and Chai Tea Latte. Click on the book cover above to order or read more about it.
You can stir up a mix anytime you want a treat, or make them ahead of time for later use. Each one contains all the ingredients you need to prepare your dessert—all you add is butter or margarine and/or water and microwave for about 2 minutes. These recipes also make fun cooking projects for kids and unique, inexpensive gifts, like “Birthday Cake in a Mug”. They’re easy, quick and “right-out-of-the-oven” delicious! Try some of the recipes on the Easy Microwave Desserts in a Mug Page or visit the Easy Microwave Desserts in a Mug Blog. |
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I taught interior decorating classes at my local community college for five years. If you have a question about decorating, e-mail me: gloria@bluesagepress.com |
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A thoughtful gift for girls and women ages 12 & up |
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Kiss My Grits, Sugar: Southern Humor with a Side of Tasty Fixin’s
Since I’m a Southern girl through and through, I figured it was high time I got around to writing a book filled with good old Southern recipes. My mouth is watering just thinking about fried chicken, potato salad, banana pudding and pecan pie. This book is chock full of my family’s favorites. And because I’m not the serious type, I like my food served up with some humor on the side. So I tucked in a few tall tales from my childhood about me and my kin to tickle your funny bone. Inside you’ll find 19 humorous short stories about growing up in the South in the 1950s, plus more than 80 recipes for good old-fashioned Southern cooking. Come on in a sit a spell, sugar. Enjoy a chuckle or two, then whip up some of these tasty fixin’s. Read more about Kiss My Grits, Sugar on the Motivational & Humor Books page. Size: 6”X9”, paperback, 116 pages. $7.95
Visit the Kiss My Grits, Sugar Blog |
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Many of my book titles are sold on Amazon.com. I’ve also created blogs for most of them, where you can try some of the recipes from my cookbooks and read sample stories. View a list of these blogs below.
If you have questions or comments about my books or e-booklets, e-mail me at: gloria@bluesagepress.com. |
