Summer Reading Update

Hello, Everybody!

An update from my corner of the book world about the adult summer reading program at my local library:

The Adult Summer Reading Program has come to an end at the Toccoa-Stephens County Public Library. My personal goal was to read more books this summer than I read last summer. Last summer I read one book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Proud to say that I found time to read three books during May 21-July 15, 2016. Personal goal achieved! I read Angels Don't Die: My Father's Gift of Faith written by Patti Davis. I listened to Phil Robertson's Happy, Happy, Happy! book on CD. I also read an autobiography by Esther Williams with Digby Diehl, The Million Dollar Mermaid. All were great reads. I found them inspiring and enlightening each in their own way.

As I mentioned in previous posts, Purple Butterfly Pages was happy to support the first Adult Summer Reading Program to be held at the Toccoa-Stephens County Public Library! I added a free download of my first publishing project, Their Inheritance ebook written by author Stephanie Townsend Ayers, to the grand prize winner's gift basket. The winner will be announced later this week! I would love to know what books you have read so far this summer! Let me know in the comments. :)

Myself(L), Sarah (C), and Faith(R)

I'd also like to take this post to say a big thank-you to a recent former librarian at TSCPL who invited me to be part of the new adult summer reading program, Sarah Edmonds! We have been friends for several years. She was a librarian for a few years. Sarah and her husband recently moved out of state with his amazing new job opportunity. She is missed at the library, but her work and encouragement continues!

NEW Project Announcement:

Finally, I have begun the first step of the editing process for my next publication*. The working title is 'Through the Storms' . Look for more details about the publishing process in the upcoming blog posts. Sneak peeks are available on our Instagram page: @pbpublications !

Until next time, BELIEVE!

Caitlin

*I am the publisher, not the author.

Celebrating 6 Years @ PBP!

 Hello, Everyone!

This June makes six years since I started Purple Butterfly Pages. I realize the huge blessing it is to be able to be a young American woman and have my own business. Thankful for the individuals who fought for my rights as a human, as a woman, and as an American. 

The gift of every day is not guaranteed. I am continuously determined to use my abilities in whatever way God needs to use me to impact readers', fans', and supporters' lives. A big thank you to all of you for reading a story written by Stephanie Townsend Ayers and thank her for continuing to write (yes, more stories are coming). 


I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some photos from 2010 through 2016!

 "We delight in the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." -Maya Angelou

Alexandra: A Williams Family Journey was the first book I sold as an independent book seller in 2010.

Second book for sale at Purple Butterfly Pages and first publication for Purple Butterfly Publications: Their Inheritance

Featured author, Stepanie Townsend Ayers....a.k.a. mom 

PBP owner circa 2012, second year in business selling books and in college!

My first public speaking event at the Rotary Club meeting for Habersham County, GA
I'l never forget it! Thanks to one of my college instructors at the time, Mrs. King, who invited me to share the journey of
Purple Butterfly Pages.

Proprietor of Purple Butterfly Pages
& Publisher at Purple Butterfly Publications circa fall of 2015

Custom PBP sign hung at a book signing event in 2010

PBP sign displayed as a proud sponsor in the 2016 Currahee Cornhole Challenge presented by
the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce!

Thankful to be a part of such an open-minded and welcoming 

Chamber of Commerce in my community! I have been a member for a few years, now. This summer, I was asked to be a part of the adult summer reading program at the Toccoa-Stephens County Public Library. Of course I could not refuse to be a part of this exciting library event! I added a free download of Their Inheritance ebook in the prize winning baskets!

Grand prize basket for the 2016 adult summer reading program
at the Toccoa-Stephens Public Library

Thanks for scrolling through memory lane with me. I am grateful for everyone who has been a part of my journey at Purple Butterfly Pages and Publications. 

Believe.- Caitlin

'Their Inheritance' Thursday

Hello, Everybody!

Today, I am introducing  you to a big part of my book world: Their Inheritance. Many of you may already know about and have read my first ebook publication, Their Inheritance, but I am going to be [SPOTLIGHTING]  the ebook even more right here! Starting today, and every Thursday, I will be focusing on a different topic found in Their Inheritance. Download your copy from PBP, and we can discuss the different topics together!

First Synopsis

It is the winter of 1889. Seventeen-year-old James and sixteen-year-old Alexandra Williams have lost both their parents to illness. James and Alexandra are left to raise their two younger siblings while mourning and trying to manage the family farm. 
Through trials and triumphs, the children face their inheritance with the values their parents taught them and their personal faith.

I can't wait to feature more about Their Inheritance here every Thursday! Thanks for reading and being a part of my book world.

Believe.

Caitlin
Purple Butterfly Pages

Thankfulness

Hello, Everybody!

Thank you for reading my blog. Last week seemed to be a dark week in the world. I appreciate you all taking time to read my thoughts there. As I begin to blog more frequently than once a month, the topics will be changing. However, I aim to continue to keep my blog professionally oriented with a touch of personal. As I sit here with my younger siblings about to watch 'Home Alone', I want to share what I am up to in this week of gratefulness. :)

Their Inheritance's Thanksgiving

As the Williams children prepared for their first Thanksgiving holiday since their parents' death, the children tried to make their Thanksgiving the same as it was celebrated when their parents were alive.    James, Alexandra, Christine, and Lee spent Thanksgiving with their friends, the Unruhs. 

Excerpts
 from Purple Butterfly Publications' ebook, Their Inheritan

   

My Thanksgiving

I usually spend the week of Thanksgiving in the mountains with my family. We eat too much, catch up on naps and our visiting relatives' lives, and we start watching our favorite Christmas movies. The Thanksgiving Day meal changes every year. The 2015 Thanksgiving Day meal will consists of stewed chicken; Sweet Potato Fluff (my great-grandmother's recipe) which is an annual Thanksgiving Day staple; green beans (not in the casserole form); and homemade baked corn bread. Can you say yummy?! After we eat, we nap or watch a movie before getting ready to go to A to Z Auctions' annual Thanksgiving Day Auction. For the past few years, A to Z Auctions has held an auction on Thanksgiving night in Hiawassee, Georgia. This auction is different from their other auctions as they auction off more toys and Christmas gift options than they do at the regular auctions. They also start the night off with a large empty toy box sitting against one wall. Throughout the night, bidders can buy the toys and put them in the toy box. The toy box contents are distributed where they are needed throughout the local communities. I love how every Thanksgiving auction the toy box ends up overflowing! The community and bidders really come together and remind each other of what Christmas is all about: the gift of love! The auction lasts pretty late, and I skip on the Black Friday shopping the next day. I do support small business Saturday! I encourage you to do the same. 

Small Business Saturday

Make it fun! Take the Small Business Saturday to get out and explore your town as if you were a visiting tourist. Go into shops that you don't shop in very often. Show your support for the small businesses in America. Whether it is your small town or big city, take fun family or solo photos in the stores and when you share your photos online, tag the stores! Business owners love to see who is enjoying their place of business. If you shop small with PBPages and download Their Inheritance, tag us! @PBPages or #TheirInheritance #PBP #ShopSmall

Thanks!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope you all have a fun, pleasant, and blessed Thanksgiving! Whether you are spending the holiday with family; friends; yourself; or with strangers, I pray you find something to be thankful for. 

I am grateful for you all reading this blog, being a patron of Purple Butterfly Pages, and for the supporters of Purple Butterfly Publications. I am blessed with a job that I enjoy everyday!

***Leave a comment below and share your Thanksgiving week traditions and your Thanksgiving holiday plans for this year! :)

#ThePurpleButterflyPurpose

Filling the Gap

Hello, everyone!

If you are like me, you are kind of scooting out of a summer schedule and getting into a better routine for the next season of the year. As summer drifts away, I wanted to blog about the gap between the generation of students and their parents and grandparents and how Their Inheritance can help bridge that gap.

Students,

I hope you all are settling into your new school routines and adjusting well to your new schedules. Whether you are in middle school; high school; college; or grad school, starting the next chapter tends to pull you away from your priorities and focus away from your family and onto your future in the work force. Don't forget to make time for your parents!

Parents,

as your student or students head off to a new school, keep in mind that they know that you are still at home and that wherever you are will always be "home". Find new ways to connect with your "student". For instance, reading.

Grandparents,

students may be spending more time with their friends or at their after school jobs and less time with you. This does not mean that your grandchild loves you any less. Maybe you can join in on the reading with your child and your grandchild!

The Gap

When different generations read Their Inheritance it opens up a channel of communication within the generation gaps of your family. In Their Inheritance we see the impact Charles and Grace Williams had on their children, James, Alexandra, Christine, and Lee. The elder members of the community helped the Williams children in the wake of their parents' death. The Williams teens, James and Alexandra, had to step up and fulfill their parents' responsibilities.

God was with them all, every generation, through everything they went through. Nobody was alone.

Remember that as you go into this new season and school year!

Fill in the generation gap by reading the same book. Of course, I suggest Their Inheritance ebook! While reading Their Inheritance you see each generation and their struggles and how they all help each other with those struggles. So, here is to a great school year to all generations involved in the success of each student in our lives.

Fill that gap!

Caitlin Ayers, Proprietor & Publisher
www.PurpleButterflyPages.com

Mrs. Dianne Lawson

Hello Everyone!

I had a different post drafted out for July. However, I learned of the passing of a friend this week. I want to share about someone who inspired me as a friend and business woman. 

I'd like to this time to share about a woman who supported and inspired me when I started Purple Butterfly Pages, Mrs. Dianne Lawson.

I met Mrs. Dianne in 2007 when my family opened a British antique store in downtown Toccoa, GA. Mrs. Dianne owned Dream Giver's Art Gallery which was located a few stores down from ours. I was fifteen-years-old at the time and I loved browsing through her store and admiring the different art forms from the local artists. Mrs. Dianne would usually have a background story to tell me about the artists.

A couple of years later, when I needed to interview local entrepreneurs for a college assignment, Mrs. Dianne was happy to help and graciously answered my questions. Her advice to me was to always listen to my customers' needs. When I started PBPages at the beginning of school, she was excited for me and so supportive! Even after the British antique store closed and Dream Giver's Art Gallery relocated to another location in Toccoa, I still visited with her there. Mrs. Dianne kept a beautiful shop with a warm atmosphere! My parents gave me a beautiful sterling silver cross necklace from Dream Giver's Art Gallery as a gift when I graduated college. Mrs. Dianne would always ask about my family if they were not shopping with me and she would always want to know the latest with my business. She was a huge supporter of shopping local and supported many small businesses as well as mine.

Late last year, 2014, Mrs. Dianne closed Dream Giver's Art Gallery due to an illness. Other than a couple of emails, I haven't kept in touch since then. Mrs. Dianne has passed away on Tuesday, July 28, 2015. Mrs. Dianne could have chosen to ignore the teenagers who came into her store several years ago. Instead, she chose to listen to them, encourage them, and share her knowledge with them. I am so glad she gave me her time. I will miss our chats and cherish her advice. She was one of a kind.

     Rest in peace, Mrs. Dianne.

Caitlin Ayers,Proprietor & Publisher

www.PurpleButterflyPages.com

Happy Birthday, Purple Butterfly Pages!

Hello everyone! 

Since June marks five years since I stated Purple Butterfly Pages, I wanted to answer some questions in this month's post that you have had about my book retail business, Purple Butterfly Pages, and recap the journey so far!

When I found out that Momma's book was going to be published in the summer of 2010 I was proud and ecstatic for my mother, but I did not know God was going to use me to get the book to readers worldwide. As a college freshman majoring in Applied Business at the time, I knew I could sell my mom's books. I knew her and her work, 'Alexandra: A Williams Family Journal', better than any other book retailer. My niche was knowing the personal side of 'Alexandra' and its author. I had a sales angle that nobody else had. I started Purple Butterfly Pages. I was not in any place to open a store front so I started a website. With a printed book, I realized I wanted to give its readers the opportunity to do more than purchase the book online and wait for it to arrive in the mail. Momma was willing to travel for book signings; so we set up dates around her home state of North Carolina and locally, in Georgia. For the next couple of years, I focused mainly on school while I continued to sell books.

"When I found out that Momma's book was going to be published I was proud and ecstatic for my mother. I did not know God was going to use me to get the book to readers worldwide."

Time to Grow

After the adverse ending of Momma's contract, I knew I could make her work as an author more than it had been. In deciding whether or not to reprint 'Alexandra' or to go straight to ebook, I decided to rerelease under a new title and published the book electronically. I expanded Purple Butterfly Pages with Purple Butterfly Publications and 'Their Inheritance' was born. I was going to publish Momma's book in ebook form! That publishing process involved finding the best ebook market for 'Their Inheritance'. I chose Amazon's Kindle. I found it the best fit for my company. The publishing process has been a learning experience as is any time of risk and growth. (Just like a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly). By becoming a publisher, I added editing, layout designing, and a whole new level of marketing and promotions to my responsibilities.
I love doing it all. 

  For the Author

   I wanted to publish books because I saw the lack of control that an author can have over their     "child". Most publishing companies allow very little, if any, author involvement in the layout and  creative design of their books. I chose not to close out the author from her work. I believe in the vision of artists. To truly get the entire story and most beautiful results, I believe the author needs to be involved in most every aspect of their "child's" life changes. Momma was involved in the publishing process of her 'baby'. I am glad she was. I believe the readers of 'Their Inheritance' can feel a stronger connection and relate more to the story because the author was more involved in the creative processes.

To the Next Five years!

As I continue to work to spread 'Their Inheritance' to its worldwide market, I want to let everyone know what is coming up next. More books are in the works for Purple Butterfly Publications! The future of PBPublications will contain more stories from Stephanie Townsend Ayers a.k.a. Momma and other authors being added to the list of featured authors over the next several years.

"THANK YOU!" 

I thank you all for supporting me and my "featured author", Momma! To all of you I met at festivals, book signings, speaking events: Thank you! To everyone who has bought a book through Purple Butterfly Pages: Thank you! I could not attempt to make a difference in this world without the support of you all. Thank you for being a part of my Butterfly journey.

If I did not answer your question, so sorry! Ask me anytime!

Caitlin Ayers
Proprietor & Publisher
Purple Butterfly Pages & Purple Butterfly Publications
www.PurpleButterflyPages.com

Proud to Join the Fight Against Child Abuse

Hello everyone!
As I announced on the Purple Butterfly Pages Facebook page, I am happy to be a sponsor for the 4th Annual Power House for Kids Race! It is a harsh reality that child abuse even exists, but it does. When I was thirteen-years-old, my parents were foster parents to many children under the ages of five-years-old. During my time as a foster sister, I saw several abused children come into our foster home. The sad faces and broken souls were in need of love and healing. That is why I am proud to be a sponsor for the Power House's annual race for the second year. I will also be running in the 5k race this year! I often think of those children and wonder who they are now, ten years later. Those sweet souls and the thousands like them are my motivation for race day!

Power House for Kids

The Power House for Kids is a non-profit organization who makes a huge impact in the lives of the abused children and teens in the communities around them. The following is an excerpt from The Power House's website:

From our environment to the services we offer, our focus is on the child and his/her non-offending caregiver(s).  FAITH's Power House is able to offer a "kid-focused" coordinated team response to allegations of abuse by bringing together agencies and professionals involved in the investigation and intervention system.  The multidisciplinary approach means that FAITH's Power House brings Law Enforcement, Child Protective Services, Medical Professionals, Forensic Interviewers, Mental Health Professionals and Advocates into one location, reducing the need for children and families to navigate a sometimes difficult and confusing system.

Power House for Kids also provides child abuse prevention classes such as Darkness 2 Light in its community to ensure that all citizens are informed and can recognize and react responsibly to reality of child sexual abuse.The sacrifices that each team member of the Power House for Kids makes on a daily basis, is phenomenal. They all do an incredible job to make an impact on the lives of America's future! Learn more about the Power House for Kids here.

Your Turn!

Please take a few minutes to learn more about what YOU can do to help prevent chid abuse. Be educated and informed. Find child abuse prevention programs in your local area and get involved in the fight against child abuse! Your support for child advocacy centers is a helping hand in the prevention of and fight against child abuse. Every little bit counts ESPECIALLY in the lives of children, America's future. If you would like to join me on race day, you can register for the race at active.com! Any encouragement and support for the Power House for Kids is much appreciated!

Believe.
Caitlin Ayers, Proprietor & Publisher

Purple Butterfly PagesPurple butterfly Publications

www.PurpleButterflyPages.com

Hello All!

Well, hello all!

Welcome to the 2014 blog of Purple Butterfly Pages. Caitlin here. I am the owner at Purple Butterfly Pages and Purple Butterfly Publications! I will be blogging about what is new with Purple Butterfly Pages AND Purple Butterfly Publications as well as other randomness that comes around.

Although Purple Butterfly Pages has been in business since 2010, I just graduated college last semester.  Yes, I was nineteen when I started my own business. It has been quite the journey! I have learned so much about the industry and business since then, and I continue to learn everyday. I love meeting new people and finding the best qualities in my products to promote. I strive to meet the needs of the people through answered questions and with a smile.

Follow my blog and learn what it has been like being a college student and business owner!