June Cotner - Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion

Praise for Toasts Nothing makes a special event as memorable as a heartfelt, personal toast that conveys both wit and sincerity. Enter June Cotner and Nancy Tupper Lings new book Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion, filled with creative ideas, inspirations, and advice on how to create that special remembrance. It is a must on every bookshelf, at every stage of your life. Emma Roberts, author of Sassy Sips & Nibbles and owner of Capers Catering Life should be celebrated and Toasts, the newest offering from June Cotner and Nancy Tupper Ling, not only reminds you of the importance of making the most of every moment, but also gives you the words to do it. Filled with toasts from the famous and not-so-famous, this book offers elegant, eloquent, witty, and true toasts for every occasion. Whether youre tongue-tied before a group and need a little help finding the right words or you are looking to inspire and honor, this book will give you just the right words and sentiment for any occasion.

Polly Campbell, author of Imperfect Spirituality A heartfelt toast can strengthen the bonds of friends, family, and colleagues in good times and bad. This elegant and inspiring book provides tons of creative ideas as well as basic toasting etiquette for those of us who want to make sure were doing it right. May your toasts be always at the ready! Tina Gilbertson, author of Constructive Wallowing: How to Beat Bad Feelings by Letting Yourself Have Them Toasting is a powerful and exciting pastime that we look forward to at every event as well as cherish in our memory. It makes people appreciate the greatest successes, as well as those little accomplishments along the way. Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion not only improves our own speaking skills, it makes us smile when we think back to the toasts we have experienced in our lives. David Mezzapelle, bestselling author of the Contagious Optimism book series Also by June Cotner Amazing Graces Animal Blessings Baby Blessings Back to Joy Bedside Prayers Bless the Beasts Bless the Day Christmas Blessings Comfort Prayers Dog Blessings Family Celebrations Forever in Love Garden Blessings Get Well Wishes Graces Gratitude Prayers Heal Your Soul, Heal the World The Home Design Handbook House Blessings Looking for God in All the Right Places Miracles of Motherhood Mothers and Daughters Pocket Prayers Say a Little Prayer: A Journal Serenity Prayers Soar! Follow Your Dreams Sticky Note Journal Teen Sunshine Reflections To Have and to Hold Wedding Blessings Wishing You Well Also by Nancy Tupper Ling Character Coming Unfrozen Laughter in My Tent: A Womans Search for Family My Sister, Alicia May Copyright 2014 by June Cotner and Nancy Tupper Ling.

All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, television or online reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Published in the United States by Viva Editions, an imprint of Cleis Press, Inc., 2246 Sixth Street, Berkeley, California 94710. Cover design: Scott Idleman/Blink Cover photograph: iStockphoto Text design: Frank Wiedemann First Edition. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 E-book ISBN: 978-1-936740-99-4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Toasts! : the perfect words to celebrate every occasion / [compiled] by June Cotner and Nancy Tupper Ling. pages cm Includes index. 1. Toasts. I. I.

Cotner, June, 1950- compiler. II. Ling, Nancy Tupper, compiler. PN6341.T6332 2014 808.512--dc23 2013041971 Dedication From June Cotner: For my grandchildren Shay and Weston From Nancy Tupper Ling: For my parents Soli Deo Gloria ContentsA well-chosen toast can make simple moments special, and special moments memorable. Whether its celebrating a wedding, a job promotion, a birthday, or a new direction in life, toasting is a tradition that remains a part of honoring important occasions. Delivering a heartwarming toast has the power to inspire, uplift, and move everyone present.

What better way to celebrate the key moments in the lives of our loved ones than with just the right words?When it comes to making a toast, knowing what to say and how to say it is a talent that takes practice. Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion is the place to find fresh, original toasts in addition to traditional favorites. The confidence and inspiration to make the perfect toast can be found within this diverse and imaginative collection, and you can learn the best way to present your selections in A Guide to Toasting, which begins on .The selections in Toasts are inspiring, reflective, uplifting, and sometimes humorous. Beyond standard categories such as weddings or anniversaries, we have included useful toasting categories such as adventures, business events, housewarming, and class reunions, as well as an assortment of toasts for each of the major holidays. These thematic sections are helpful for those in search of a toast for specific events or occasions.I have been working on this anthology for almost a decade, and Im delighted that it is finally being published! I am thrilled to be sharing coauthorship of Toasts with Nancy Tupper Ling, who is a poet, childrens author, and librarian. Nancy won the 2005 Writers Digest Grand Prize for her poem White Birch.

Chosen from over 18,000 entries, hers was the first poem to win over all other categories, including screenplays, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, short stories, childrens stories, and young adult fiction. In 2002, Nancy founded the Fine Line Poets (www.finelinepoets.com), and has served as poetry judge and library liaison for the Massachusetts State Poetry Society.Toasts contains a rich spectrum of writers, ranging from favorites such as Robert Browning, George Burns, Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Frost, Groucho Marx, Carl Sandburg, Mark Twain, and William Wordsworth, to new and original content from contributors like Michael S. Glaser, Arlene Gay Levine, Charles Ghigna, and Barbara Younger.The toasts in this book are intended to offer words of inspiration and celebration for all of the important milestones in life, and to underscore our recognition of friends and family in those simple moments we want to remember forever. Heres to you and to finding the perfect toast!Cheers from June and Nancy!June Cotner (www.junecotner.com)Nancy Tupper Ling (www.nancytupperling.com)