The parable of the Lost Coin is actually the second in a series of three parables.

SCENE: Jesus is surrounded by tax-gatherers and sinners. They know they are “bad,” yet they press in to hear all that Jesus has to say. Also in attendance are Pharisees and scribes, who are their typical snooty selves, questioning Jesus and his allowing Bad guys to be in his presence.

The first of the three parables Jesus tells in succession is the story of the Lost Sheep; the second is the Lost Coin, followed by the Prodigal Son.

We have a picture of that which is lost: humanity. And we have an illustration of Jesus’ attitude and activities in the midst of derelict humanity.

The sheep is lost through stupidity. The coin is lost through carelessness. The son is lost through deliberate, self-centered pride.

I don’t know about you, but I can see myself in all three parables: I’ve sinned because I’ve done something stupid, I’ve been careless of decisions I’ve made, and then I’ve even willfully known what I was about to do was wrong, wrong, wrong, yet I did it anyway.

Next posting I will tell you about a very special Lost Coin. You won’t want to miss out hearing about it! Check back within the week!

In the meantime, which parable do you most relate to?

Thank you for visiting me on my virtual book tour stop with Erin K. Brown! Visiting Erin on the tour was an obvious choice for me, not only because she a fabulous editor, which is reason enough to stop by her Web site, but she also happens to be the co-author of The Lost Coin. When I completed the original draft I was put in touch with Erin and began working with her to create a great final story.  

Erin and I have yet to meet in person because we live a few states away from each other, but our countless e-mails have caused us to become fast friends. Although we have completed The Lost Coin project, I do believe Erin and I will be friends for a very long time, and hopefully we will have the opportunity to work together again soon.

During your visit, I will answer questions that have been asked of me about The Lost Coin, what it’s like to be an author, and about the publishing process. Enjoy your time here and after your done, be sure to go back to my Web site www.abreathofinspiration.com to find out where the next stop of the virtual book tour will be so that you can learn more.

Q. Are there different ways to publish a book?

A. Many people don’t realize that there are different ways to go about publishing. The three main are Traditional, Print on Demand, and Self Publishing.

Traditional Publishing is going with a publishing house that agrees to publish your manuscript and completely covers the cost for the publishing/marketing process. A traditional publisher will usually maintain the rights to your manuscript for seven years or longer, with the author earning a small royalty from each book sold. Bigger publishing houses often place copies of your book in bookstores, but it doesn’t guarantee sales.

Print on Demand (POD) publishers will publish your book for a fee and make it available to numerous online bookstores. Authors usually maintain complete rights to their manuscript and receive a larger royalty for each book sold. A POD publisher usually offers some Marketing and Promoting for an additional fee; however, it is primarily up to the author to get the word out about his or her book. If authors are passionate about their books and willing to promote them, POD is a very nice option.

Self-publishing means an author does everything from scratch. Beginning with formatting the book, editing the manuscript, creating a cover, purchasing an ISBN number, which is needed if the book is sold in stores. In addition, the author handles the printing, promoting, and distributing the book. Every detail is on the author. Though it is a lot of extra work, the good part of self-publishing is that the author has complete creative control, full royalty benefits, and will never have to share his/her rights to the manuscript.