Tag Archives: My Life as a Mule

3 Gal Pals EACH Publish a Book in 2018!!!

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And each book is about LOVE!  <3 <3 <3

1. Experience Molly the Mule’s coming of age  (and the realization of the LOVE that she is) in Sj’s book My Life as a Mule

Available at Amazon

“In a five star review on Amazon, Claire Morris-Dobie posted, “It’s tough to pin down Sj’s Mule to a specific audience. I loved it and so did our 9 year old grandson. It’s entertaining and educational on so many levels and for ages eight to 80.

On the surface, it seems like such a straightforward story with adorable talking animals but there is so much more to it. I now see it as a coming of age allegory with family members and everyday joys and mishaps that we can all relate to…There were plenty of times during the read that I had to stop and think about the deeper meaning of a passage.

Sj tells her story using animals just as Orwell did in Animal Farm but thankfully, there are revelations rather than revolutions, and compassion conquers tyranny…This is a sweet and sad, and often laugh out loud read and somewhere in the middle, I forgot all the characters were animals.”

Claire Morris-Dobie, author of Dear God, Got a Minute? and Slam: A New Way to Tell the Truth

2. Join friends, family, and strangers at the table where mostly LOVE is consumed in Timi O’Malley‘s book Consuming Love: The Joy of Sharing Meals.

Available at Amazon.

Author Timi O’Malley

“These wonderful stories take us around the world in Timi O’Malley’s unifying voice of love. The spiritual lessons are rich and gratifying.”

Miranda Macpherson,
author of “The Way of Grace: The Transforming Power of Ego Relaxation” (Sounds True 2018

3. Learn tools to better navigate the loss of a LOVED one (and help make the process more peaceful) in Anne Vlahos’ book, To Die For: The Gifts of Being Present Through Loss and Grief

Available at Amazon

Author Anne Vlahos

“Anne candidly shares not only her pain and anxiety, but her journey to weave together beliefs, spiritual encounters and hope as she faced the deaths of her parents.”

Dr. Heidi Horsely,
Internationally Known Grief Expert, Co-host of the Award-Winning TV and radio show, Open to Hope

 

Three friends. Three unique voices.

ALL sharing the LOVE that they are.

BFFs: Molly & Harriet

Just in time for the Holidays!

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Molly and her many friends look forward to meeting you and sharing your (or your friends’) personal space!

You can now bring Molly’s LOVE into your home by ordering PRINTS of Jocelyne’s most magnificent drawings (feathered in the funny, light, AND deep book, My Life as a Mule).

The unframed prints are available in two sizes: 5×7″ or 8×10“.

There’s even an author’s set if you’re having trouble deciding which ones to pick!

Click HERE and you’ll be taken directly to the the digital store.Mahalo for supporting Molly and her friends. They’re sooooo looking forward to being a part of YOUR life!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

✫Sj✫

Easter Bonnet Molly

Easter Bonnet Molly

My Life as a Mule four 5 Star reviews

National Mule Day – October 26th

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National Mule Day is on October 26th.

And what better way to celebrate than to purchase your own copy of My Life as a Mule  (click on the title or HERE to go directly to Amazon).

Not sure if it’s a good fit for you? Read Claire’s review below to get an idea of what’s in store when you meet Molly up close and personal.

I’ve just finished reading Sj Hylton LeHoven’s My Life As A Mule for the second time. It is superb. On the surface, it seems like such a straightforward story with adorable talking animals but there is so much more to it. I now see it as a coming of age allegory with family members and everyday joys and mishaps that we can all relate to. Back in my day, we would call it “deep.” There were plenty of times during the read that I had to stop and think about the deeper meaning of a passage.

Sj tells her story using animals just as Orwell did in Animal Farm but thankfully, there are revelations rather than revolutions, and compassion conquers tyranny. Molly the Mule’s teenage awakenings are not nearly as ominous as pigs on two legs. This is a sweet and sad, and often laugh out loud read and somewhere in the middle, I forgot all the characters were animals.

It’s tough to pin down with regard to “the” audience. I loved it but so did our 9 year old grandson. It’s entertaining and educational on a number of levels and for ages eight to 80. The book is beautifully illustrated by a very talented Jocelyne Shiner and you can even buy prints of her work. A delightful five stars all around.

Mahalo nui loa! xoxoxoxoxox

✫Sj✫

A Baptism

A Baptism

Trust Train cube

A Year Into It…

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Riding the Trust Train

It’s been over a year now since I hopped aboard the Trust Train.

What’s it been like? What have I learned?

Well, there’s too much to tell in one video, but here’s a place to start:

Thank you for taking the time to sit and be with me.

Aloha,

✫Sj✫

 

Jill's Dad LOVEs the book!

Have you gotten your copy yet?

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A man I don’t know at all…

“…is reading the book and LOVES it.

He is laughing. I hope that is the appropriate reaction…”

Yes! It is! My Life as a Mule has been called light. Deep. And FUNNY.

Have you ordered your copy yet? You can get it from Amazon.

Happy reading!

xoxoxoxo

The Camp Eagle

The Camp Eagle

Tracey, Sj and Jocelyne cropped (1 of 1)

1 Year Ago…

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I met two friends from high school for dinner.

It was August 2017, and I had come to the mainland (from Kaua‘i) to write.

What was I going to write?

I had NO idea.

But I just knew that I had to write. I knew that it was time to rid myself of distractions. And make a commitment (to myself) to show up each and every day. Something was brewing within me, and I could feel that it needed to be shared with the world.

Yes, the world!

In time, I began to realize that it was simply a message of love. That you’re loved and perfect as you are.

Text from Tracey 8.15.2018

Written by Tracey, my beautiful friend on my right.

You can imagine how thrilled I was to receive this text and discover how deeply my expression of love (which revealed itself as my first book My Life as a Mule) touched my friend’s heart.

It still thrills me to the core of my being to know that something I wrote, OR more correctly, something that was written through me, brought joy to someone. A smile to their face.

Okay, Sj, that’s nice for you (you’re thinking), but what’s that got to do with ME?

I felt led to remind you that the world needs YOUR love as well! Yes, the WORLD!

No one but YOU can express the love that you are in the way that you do.

So, please, let your light shine! Show the world how very, very beautiful you are. We need you. Exactly as you ARE.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

✫ Sj ✫

And my beautiful friend on my LEFT is the illustrator of my book, Jocelyne Shiner!!!!!!

P.S. Wondering where you can order your copy?

Through Amazon.

You’re Invited!

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Local Flagstaff Artist, Jocelyne Shiner, Chosen as the Illustrator in

Sj LeHoven’s New Book: My Life as a Mule.

Reception With Original Drawings, Book Reading & Signing to Be Held at Jocelyne’s studio on Sunday, August 26th from 4 to 7 p.m. Paso Del Norte Bldg, studio 12, 123 S San Francisco Street, Flagstaff

The author and illustrator graduated from high school together in Knoxville, Tennessee. They reconnected and enjoyed collaborating on this book. “From my perspective,” explained Jocelyne, “as eager as Sj was to release this story from her soul, I was as eager to bring her characters to life visually. Molly and I became instant friends, and it was an honor to draw her. My childhood came back time and again, and Sj had a good laugh when I revealed my inspiration for one of her characters! (our high school English teacher) Sj initially requested black and white ink illustrations; I quickly suggested graphite instead. The rich texture and layering of lines and erasure allowed me to give each character and scene much depth and history. May you enjoy Molly, her family and friends, as much as I did.”

Check out the amazing invitation that Jocelyne made!!!!

There will be PRINTS of some of the drawings on hand that you can purchase (and Jocelyne will sign : ) as well as books. AND…we have some super groovy mugs for sale!

See you there or at another event soon!

Jocelyne’s pictorial version of the book in a 18×24″ poster. : ))) She’s soooo talented!!!!

Pedrata reading My Life as a Mule

One Review at a Time…

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Creatures of all shapes and sizes are reading My Life as a Mule.

I don’t know what sspokes looks like or what kind of animal s/he is, but I do know that she connected with Molly. Deeply.

Have you met Molly yet?It’s time. She’s patiently waiting and will greet you with a smile whenever that perfect time for you is. : )

I have no doubt that this book was brought to me as a Divine gift. There is a message somewhere in this book for everyone whether it is as simple as laughing at some of the experiences of life that Molly encounters or deeply feeling a heart-felt connection with her at the turning points in her life. I saw many aspects of my life’s lessons and experiences mirrored back to me in a most affirming way. I am so grateful to have found this book at this time in my life and I know it is a wonderful read for anyone at any age. Besides I love horses and Molly is a wonderful voice for the equine family. Enjoy the story.

sspokes on Amazon, July 20, 2018

Taj Juré Transformational Tea

Radio Interview with Taj Juré Now Available

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Taj Juré is an amazing interviewer!

On Sunday, June 24th, 2018 she interviewed me regarding my book My Life as a Mule (in her radio program Transformational Tea).The interview was loads of fun. My bit starts around 20 minutes into the show and goes for about 35 minutes. BUT I highly recommend listening to the entire program. Taj brings such wonderful insight to a life filled with peace and harmony.

You can enjoy her show Transformational Tea on the first and last Sunday of each month from noon to 1 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time on KKCR.org.

Geoff's Review 6.28.2018 picture

My Life as a Mule – A Review by J. Geoffrey Jones

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My Life as a Mule – A Review by J. Geoffrey Jones

I’ve been reading a book by a writer with the elegant name Sj Hylton LeHoven. The content of her book, as well as some of her other writings I’ve seen, make me feel a bit the way *Emerson must have felt when he wrote the letter Walt Whitman quoted on the back of the first edition of Leaves of Grass. It’s a great pleasure to be able to help in any way possible to bring good literature to its audience.

I’m finding My life as A Mule to be a remarkable group of stories. The writing concept is, by turns, reminiscent of Charlotte’s Web, Aesop’s Fables, and Alice in Wonderland. It uses talking animals to tell human truths just as the above classics do. Through her human spirited characters she tells the story of the passage from childhood to adulthood of her main character, Molly, with many seemingly simple but actually much deeper insights. Young people will enjoy this book but adults will as well. It is well illustrated with drawings by Jocelyne C. Shiner.

A lot of the writing, it appears, was scoped out during the bravely ambitious traveling Sj has been doing in her custom camper ( ala John Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley or Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travels with A Donkey). She considers herself “Riding the Trust Train,” a rare wording in these times. Her adventurous inquisitiveness has paid off both in new friendships as well as new self-realizations.

I am glad she found a copy of The Reader as she passed through Murfreesboro (Tennessee) and wrote mehttp://www.rutherfordreader.com/ an enthusiastic note at the time. ( I had just published an article about the full solar eclipse that week) From then on I followed up on her Odyssey. Which has led me to this book. I’m glad to have learned of Sj’s creative journey. And to share the news with you. Find a copy of this well written group of stories. You’ll be glad you did. J. Geoffrey Jones, The Rutherford Reader ld_byron37086@yahoo.com

Published June 28, 2018 in The Rutherford Reader.

My Life as a Mule is available at Amazon. Click on the title for the link to purchase your own copy. : )

*Curious about the story about Whitman and Emerson? Click here to learn more. And click here to read Whitman’s letter dated August 1656.