Space, the Hubble Telescope, and Eternity

Today a friend sent me an amazing video of images taken by the Hubble Telescope. The scientists deliberately pointed the telescope at a part of the sky that was completely black, hoping it wasn't a waste of time and money to do so, but curious nonetheless to discover what—if anything—might be there. The results were profound.

I have seen images like this before, and they never fail to affect me. In fact, in an early scene of my novel Reality Check, the main character Lucy describes her own reaction to Hubble images and how they impacted her views about eternity and the idea of "forever." (Page 84 if you're curious . . .) 

The image you see posted here is titled "Close-Up of Galaxies from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field Image" and is from that "empty black space." Not so empty, after all.

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour."         Psalm 8:3–5

Makes you think.

I've also included the link to the video, describing what the Hubble team found and what it means. Enjoy!
http://www.flixxy.com/hubble-ultra-deep-field-3d.htm

Image courtesy NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team

LDS Author Giveaway Hop (RESULTS)

A big shout out and CONGRATULATIONS to Renee Burnette and Froggy, who were the winners of the Giveaway Hop and will each be receiving an autographed copy of my novel Reality Check!


Thanks everyone for participating! The amount of interest I received was unexpectedly cool, considering my blog was at the tail end of a very long list of cool blogs! Happy reading to all!!

Come and hop along with me at the LDS Authors Giveaway, hosted by The Book Bug and I Am a Reader, Not a Writer. This is a fun opportunity to find fun books to read this summer, and possibly even get some of them for free!


Check out as many of the blogs listed below as you like. Each one is offering a giveaway.

My giveaway:

All you have to do, for a chance to win an autographed copy of my debut novel Reality Check, is:

1) sign up to follow this blog on Google Friend Connect or by email, and

2) fill out the form below so I can contact you if you win. (I will not share any email information with an outside source, but to be Internet safe (because I'm a mom) only enter if you are 13 years old or older, please. 

If you want to know what Reality Check is about, check this post: Reality Check.


For an additional chance to win, repeat the process at my other blog: A Tuft Act To Follow.




  

Reality Check

I'm giving myself a reality check. First I pinch myself . . . yep, I'm awake. I'm not dreaming. Holy cow, it's really happening?? Yeah, baby!

My debut novel Reality Check will be hitting the store shelves in June. I'm not sure of all the locations, but you can pick one up at any Seagull Book and Deseret Book store for starters. Below is the blurb on the back cover:

Αfter college graduation, Lucy Kendrick heads home with big plans for work, travel, and relishing her freedom—which means no romantic entanglements. But her two best friends have other ideas. Lucy is seriously steamed when she realizes they’ve signed her up to be a contestant on the reality dating show Soulmates, but she decides not to renege and soon finds herself in Los Angeles—a small-town Mormon girl vying for the love of millionaire bachelor Ethan Glass. 

At first this cute, smart, fun young woman who would rather pray than party bewilders Ethan, as does the fact that his interest and admiration grow with every encounter. But a conniving associate producer is determined to stir up some made-for-TV drama and plants hidden cameras that inadvertently catch a truly honest but unsensational moment. And since reality television is anything but real, when the show finally airs, the story is not even close to what actually happened and Lucy has been recast as someone she unquestionably is not. Will the duplicities that have created this humiliation ever come to light? And will the truth emerge too late for the would-be soulmates?

Fun times! And especially written for all you Bachelor and Bachelorette fans out there (and even all of you who aren't) who constantly wonder, "What would happen if . . . ?"