Amanda Bynes Retires from Acting at 24 (A.K.A Why Age is Only a Number)

According to Yahoo OMG (a guilty pleasure of mine) Amanda Bynes has officially retired from acting. Amanda has been in the spotlight she was a pre teen and she’s been in some of my favourite movies like She’s the Man. Personally I am going to miss her on-screen but according to her she doesn’t love acting any more so she’s stopping.

As to what she’ll do next, I have no idea but I am sure she’ll be great at it. News of her retirement reminded me of one of my favourite sayings, age is only a number. Amanda is only 24 most would say that’s when you start your career not retire from it. This once again proves age is only a number.

Personally I know age is only a number, I wrote my first full length novel at 12, wrote my first self-help book at 14 and had my first book published and went to  South Africa at 16. At 17 my book “The Guys The Roses & The Regrets” became an Amazon best seller. Now at 18 I am the CEO of my own magazine, getting my second book published and going to college.

Culture makes us think our age controls everything but that’s not true. Age is only a number and cannot hold you back from your dream. So today I just wanted to encourage you that if you have a dream but think your age (whether your young or old) is holding you back, think again! If you’re persistent and never give up you can accomplish your dreams no matter what you’re age =]

So that was my bite of wisdom for the day now I am going to go eat some good food and watch abc’s new summer season shows (I curious to see how potentially bad they are). Let me know what you thought about this post i.e Amanda Bynes retiring and age is only a number. I value your thoughts and it’s always fun when I get random comments.

Until next time be blessed, stay strong and never give up!

God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author

www.gracehatton.com

The Final Friday – The Measure of a Lady

Hey Everybody,

So as I mentioned a few weeks ago on my blog post about the Miami Book Fair I wanted to start doing reviews on this blog, just quick ones on the final friday of every month. So I decided to call it ‘The Final Friday’ simple but effective =] Technically this is the first friday of the month but the final friday of December was christmas so guess what I am doing my first final friday a little late but thats okay because its my blog :p

Now the book I wanted to review today is ‘The Measure of a Lady’ by DeeAnne Gist.  DeeAnne Gist is one of my favourite christian romantic fiction authors and heres the back copy from her book ‘The Measure of a Lady’ just so you know what the book is about and then I’ll give you my take on it.

 

“Five Rules for Proper 19th Century Ladies. Speak Politely. Even when you’re the only respectable woman around, protesting San Fransicos decadent surrender to gold fever. Dress modestly. Wear your sunbonnet at all times. Ensure nobody sees your men’s boots muddled by the city streets. Remain devoted to family. Protect your siblings from the temptations that surround them, even against their wishes. Stand above reproach. Most difficult when a captivating man turns out to be a saloon owner. Rise above temptation. No accepting gifts. No bestowing favors. No impeachable behavior…well maybe just one…little kiss.

When these rules become increasingly difficult to uphold, can Rachel Van Buren remain a beacon of virtue in a city of vice?”

  

  

So basically its a love story between Rachel Van Buren who recently moved from New Jersey to San Fransisco and Johnnie Parker a former missionary turned saloon owner.  While it has all the usual ingredients to a beautiful romance novel, attraction, passion, making each other better people and lots of  conflict the reason I adore The measure of a Lady is because it has excellent side stories. As a writer its sometimes very easy to get caught up with the two main characters and forget all about the other people. However the side stories are so important because in real life your family and friends influence your relationships a great deal. In the Measure of a Lady DeeAnna tells a compelling side story about Rachel’s family (brother and sister) as she grows the main story a.k.a the relationship between Rachel and Johnnie.

The book is full of passion and love but it also has a interesting moral debate tied into the storyline that makes this books so much more than a romantic fiction novel. As far as what I didn’t like about the book the only thing I can think of is I don’t like Lissa, Rachel’s little sister however the fact that I really dislike the character proves what a good writer DeeAnna Gist is. It just has hard to write a character people hate as it is a character they love. So I strongly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of romantic fiction just now it is a faith-based book so it does talk about an active relationship with Jesus Christ. If you’re not comfortable with that this may not be the book for you but its a fantastic story full of passion, intrigue and love.

So thats my Final Friday review let me know what you thought, loved it, hated it etc and if you have a book you would like me to review next month please comment on this post to let me know you’re suggestions.

Until next time let me know what you think and God Bless,

Grace Hatton – Best Selling Teen Author

www.gracehatton.com