Frankly Creative

Wednesday's Word: Blank

2012-02-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

I've got major writer's block today.

I sat down at my computer this morning to read my e-mail and realized I had nothing ready to post on my blog today. My mind drew a total blank. Nothing of substance came to my mind about which to write. Nothing had impressed me this past week. Instead, my life had been barraged by discouraging things happening to people close to me. My brother-in-law lost his job and was forced into early retirement at age 60. My teenage daughter has mono and is in her second week of staying home from school, struggling to keep up with her homework. My son, who is on a mission in Alaska, after five months in Barrow with -50 degree temperatures and little to do because the town didn't allow tracting, just got placed with a companion who has the dubious title of being the most disobedient in the mission. To top it off, my son's girl friend sent him a dear John, telling him she's getting married in April.

No wonder my mind is blank. It's trying to rest; it's seeking for a pocket of calm. Nothingness is better than turmoil.

Is this possibly why we as writers run up against writer's block? Is it maybe our creative preservation saving us from putting junk down on the page, making us wait until our brains are ready to function when we finally have something worth sharing?

Having taken some agronomy courses in college, I understand the value in letting farmland lay fallow periodically. It makes the ground more productive for the following season, even more so than any amount of added fertilizers can do. Perhaps the seeds of our imagination are the same; before more can be sown, our brains need periods of rest; rest from being forced to make sense of the crazy world around us--or the fictitious one we're creating.

If something is blank,
that is not always bad.
If the page is empty,
it's not really sad.
It's just taking a rest,
waiting for something worthwhile.
To be empty is better
than to be lacking a smile.

Book Review: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

2012-01-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

The False Prince is bound to be yet another Scholastic success story. I loved it. It kept me reading late into the night, its pages like barbeque potato chips (my guilty pleasure); I wanted to indulge in another and another. The book isn’t scheduled for release until mid April, but I was lucky enough to win an ARC from a blog contest. You’ll definitely want to put this book on your to-read list, especially if you have young readers in your house.

The book is touted as a YA fantasy, but there is not much fantasy past the make-believe kingdom of Carthya, with its royalty, castles, and orphanages. Since I’m not into mystical creatures that I can’t keep track of, that made it all the better for me. What this story did have was characters that jumped from the page. I loved Jennifer’s ability to create distinctly different, memorable characters. This was especially the case with her protagonist, Sage. He certainly had an attitude. It was reckless enough to be interesting, but not to the point of making you nervous. I couldn’t help but cheer for him. I loved how she gained her inspiration for this character from the lines of a song, “I knew all the rules, but the rules did not know me.”

Sage is one of four orphans who are taken from various orphanages as part of a treasonous plan by one of the king’s regents. Conner, the regent, knows that the king, queen and heir to the throne are dead, their deaths being kept secret for the time being. Conner’s plan is to pass off one of these orphans as the king’s other son, presumed killed by pirates four years earlier, though his body was never recovered. Sage must learn to pass as the lost prince in two weeks time. He knows that if he isn’t the one chosen to be the false prince, Conner will never let him live—he will know too much.

The story is full of twist and turns, action and adventure. I met a small hiccup, however, when about two thirds through the book, the direction of the story took a turn. Perhaps it was because I wasn’t expecting this turn. I became confused for a moment and had to go back a few pages to clarify things. But this didn’t stop me from enjoying the ride. I can’t wait for the second in the series.

Jennifer A. Nielsen lives in my neck of Utah, and that makes her success even more exciting to me as a fellow writer. I wish her the best with her new series.

Wednesday's Word: NiNoCon

2012-01-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

NiNoCon. What is that you ask? An awesome online writers' conference that is going to take place on Saturday, February 4th. I've interviewed the amazing Ali Cross, the brains and force behind the conference, to help you learn some more about it.

As a debut author with your first book out there, and another on its way, I’m sure you are very busy. Why did you take on the task of orchestrating NiNoCon?

Because I have a hard time backing down from a challenge? Because Angela Kulig, who proposed we do the conference together, is very convincing? Probably both. But also because WriteOnCon is an awesome event, and I thought we needed more opportunities to gather and learn together in a similar fashion.

What does NiNoCon stand for?

Ninja Novel Conference. Because every writer who’s dedicated to their craft is a ninja writer!

When did you first get the idea of doing NiNoCon?

I think Angela first talked to me about it in September, 2011. And that’s all it took!

How did you come up with your ideas of how to implement it?

I have a fairly reliable platform I use to visit weekly with ninja writers on my blog, so I felt confident in the HOW. The trick for me was how to find willing (and awesome) presenters to participate.

How difficult is it for people to participate in an online conference?

I think online conferences are tremendously easy to participate in—that’s the beauty of them! Come in your pj’s, cereal bowl in hand, and hang out with us, or watch later at your leisure and still benefit with the awesome information shared.

What do you hope participants will take away from the conference?

That they can have a black belt in awesome too! That the only thing that stands between them and achieving their publishing dreams is hard work and determination—two commodities we all possess and can strengthen over time. I want writers to have their minds opened to all the publishing possibilitie, to leave the conference feeling inspired and encouraged to think outside the box.

Is there any way for you to monitor how many people actually participate?

You know, I’m not sure there is. Well, I’m sure there probably IS a way—I just don’t know it!

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing seriously for nine years now. Seems like so much longer than that! Feels like writing has always been a part of me.

What/who helped you the most in becoming an author?

The WHAT would be conferences, hands down. I have learned so much—mostly confidence and hope!—from the conferences (both online and in person) I have attended. The WHO would be my critique partners, both current and past, who believed in me enough to drag me through my down times and always encouraged me to keep, keep, keep on keepin’ on.

Thanks so much for helping to spread the word about NiNoCon, Carolyn! I appreciate you!

Now that you are excited and ready to participate, make sure you keep February 4th open and click on this link and return to it on Saturday, February 4, 2012.

Book Review: Ice Fall by Matthew J. Kirby

2012-01-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

I just got through reading Icefall, by Matthew J. Kirby for the second time, and I must say, I loved it even more this time around.

The first time I read it was as part of my critique group, Matt being a member of our group. Matt originally wrote the novel as YA, Solvieg being almost seventeen. It was through the encouragement of his editor, and not without some reluctance on his part, that Matt made the change. It had been purely a marketing decision by Scholastic, not because his YA version lacked that unique Kirby flare that pulls in an audience and keeps them reading. They felt that keeping his second book as a middle grade (his first book, Clockwork Three was middle grade), would be beneficial to help Matt establish his brand. I thought Matt did a brilliant job of maintaining the intrigue of Solveig’s near-claustrophobic situation while changing the voice to a girl several years younger.

The setting I found unique, a refreshing change from all the paranormal stuff out there: a lonely outpost at the end of a fjord just as it freezes over for the winter. Solveig is the middle daughter of a Viking king, sent there with older sister and younger brother, to be protected from the war with a neighboring land. Her brother is the heir to the throne. Her sister is beautiful—a potential means to unit two kingdoms through marriage. But Solvieg has nothing to offer—or so she thinks. I love the seeing the growth that Solveig undergoes as she learns to find her strength through the telling of stories, becoming a skald (a viking storyteller.) As she hones her skills and pushes her courage to the limit, she transforms into a character you can’t help but love. Especially when, at the end of the story, you see how she becomes more valuable and stronger than her sister and brother put together.

Icefall is an excellent read for all ages. I highly recommend it. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that it has been nominated for the Hugo Award.

Wednesday's Words: Step Back

2012-01-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Some times we are so close to our work we can't see its flaws.

This is exactly what has happened to me with one of my novels I'm currently working on. I wrote it a few years ago, but recently went through it with, what I thought was, a set of editorial eyes. Then I sent it off to Tristi Pinkston for a final edit before I self-publish it. She told me that the plot lacked focus. As I read through it again, I realized that she was absolutely correct. The ironic thing about this, is that as a guest on her blog last week, I wrote about this very thing. I criticized the movie Super 8 for being all over the place with its story line--I didn't know what the movie was really about. And then I went on to talk about the importance of a story question: what does the protagonist want more than anything else?

So I have taken Tristi's advice, and my own advice, and reworked my manuscript, clarifying the novel's story question. (By the way, I am so glad I have submitted my novel Hattie's Promise to a professional editor before self-publishing it. Watch for its release this spring).

There is much to be learned from this embarrassing little faux pas. It only goes to prove how important it is to step back from our writing and look at it with a totally different set of eyes. And the best way to do this is to have someone else be that set of eyes. We are too close to our own stories. We know what our characters want and feel, but sometimes we are so busy jotting down the details that we forget to include these essential elements. An outside reader, however, starts out knowing nothing about our characters and the plot, and thus can more easily see the gaping holes that we may miss.

Oh, Those Dreaded Typos

2012-01-13T04:00:00.002-07:00

I'd like to welcome Tristi Pinkston as my guest blogger. Tristi is one to give a leg up to new authors like me. I always appreciate what she has to say and would like to tell her thanks for sharing blog posts today. (I've posted on her blog. Hop on over and check it out).

As authors, we spend days/weeks/decades working on our projects, and by the time we’re done, we have every word memorized, and we could recite the entire thing from start to finish almost without taking a breath. We’ve read it so many times and revised it so many times that we’re sick to death of it and just want it to go away. It’s no wonder, then, that we often don’t see the typos or other mistakes that remain. We become blind to them.

This is one of the many reasons I advocate putting your manuscript off to the side for a little while before doing a final read-through. If you go through eight rounds of edits and then dive right in to the last, chances are, you’re not going to see everything because it’s still right in the forefront of your brain. If you put it aside and start something new, or take a couple of weeks off and read or watch movies or do something else you enjoy, your eyes will be fresh when you come back to it, and you’ll be able to see those mistakes much more clearly.

Typos not only make your work seem unprofessional, but they can sometimes be very … unfortunate. I’ve found some that have been crass, crude, politically insensitive—all because of a missing word or a misspelled word. I don’t want you to try to figure out what some of them might have been—that wouldn’t be a productive use of your time—but you can understand my meaning. If you’re not careful to send out your draft as mistake-free as possible, you run the very real risk of causing offense without even knowing what you had done.

So take a deep breath and save the file. Step away from it. Fill your mind with other things. Then, in two weeks or four weeks, when you’ve been outside for a picnic or you’ve watched Pride and Prejudice again (the Colin Firth version, which is the only true version, in my opinion) and your brain is recharged, dive back in. Don’t force yourself to crank out your final edit within minutes after finishing the last one—you won’t be nearly as effective, you’ll give yourself a headache, and you know you really want to go for a picnic … maybe even with Colin Firth.

Tristi Pinkston is a freelance editor and author services provider, and she’s also the author of eight published books, with her ninth coming out in just a few weeks. You can learn more about her, her books, and her company by visiting http://www.tristipinkston.com

Wednesday's Words: Small Things

2012-01-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

. . . "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." (Alma 37:6)

As I contemplate my smallness in the gigantic collective of current-day authors, I often ask myself, "Will my writing ever make a difference? (For this is my main motivations to write). No one would ever know, or care if I just silently slipped out of the picture."

But the hope contained in that simple scripture keeps me going. True, my books will probably never have the impact of Harry Potter, or even the Book Thief. But if they touch but one reader in a positive way, all my efforts will be worth it. For I know there are many more of my fellow moral conscious authors who feel the same. If I can touch one reader, and each of them can touch one reader, together we can make a difference.

A grain of sand
you can ignore.
But not when combined with wind
and a multitude more.
Together
they can wear down
mountains of stone,
or even create
hills of their own.

Wednesday's Word: Resolutions

2012-01-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

When I looked up the word RESOLUTION in the dictionary in preparation to write about about New Year's resolutions, I discovered something I found interesting. The first of many different definitions (don't you just love the English language?), was not the one I was looking for. The definition I sought was down a ways: the thing determined upon; decision as to future action; resolve. But as I re-read that first definition, it gave my quest to accomplish my new year's resolutions a new slant.

That definition reads: the act or process of resolving something or breaking it up into its constituent parts or elements.

Why do most of my, and perhaps other people's New Year's resolutions fail to be accomplished? Because often they are too grandiose. In principle they are great, but in reality they are overwhelming. But if I were to break them up into smaller parts, perhaps they would not be overwhelming and be more easily accomplished. For example, my resolution to lose my Christmas fat. Instead of jumping into a hard core diet right away, perhaps I'll start with a resolution to cut out all junk food first. When my body becomes accustomed to that, I'll move on to another step towards health, etc., etc. And my resolution to find a literary agent, I'll start with polishing one of my manuscripts to the point of dazzlement (is that even a word?). And then I'll take the next step and the next. You get the picture I'm seeing?

I'm excited to get going. How about you? What are your New Year's resolutions, and how will you break them down into manageable steps?

Why do most
New Year's resolutions fail?
Why do they fall apart
before Winter's last stormy gale?
Because they're too big,
difficult, or scary.
So break them up
into a load you can carry!

Wednesday's Words: Taking down the tree

2011-12-28T04:00:00.004-07:00

My Christmas tree fell over so I was forced to take it down early. Perhaps it was the premature nature of this task that made it harder than usual this year. So much so that my feeling expressed themselves in verse (as often happens when something moves me).

I hate when Christmas is over,

when the festivities are finally done,

and all you have are memories

of the family, food, and fun.

Now you face the cleanup

and tossing the tree out to the curb.

Blues replace the red and green,

so much they deserve this blurb:

I’ve sent a request to Pfizer

to develop a brand new pill

that will make taking down the tree

give you that “putting it up” thrill.

Wednesday's Words: Infinity Ring

2011-12-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I learned of some exciting news from two of my favorite writing friends, Matt Kirby and James Dashner. It is a innovative project put together by Scholastic, and I think it is a sign of what is to come in the publishing world, as least as far as kids' books are concerned. But what impressed me more than anything, was the fact that out of the six hand-picked childrens' authors Scholastic has contracted for this amazing project, half of them are from Utah: James Dashner, Matt Kirby, and Jennifer Nielsen. I think that speaks volumes about the caliber of writers that this area, with its LDS values, generates.

The following is a clip from the Scholastic press release:
Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and the pioneering force behind the groundbreaking and international bestselling The 39 Clues™ book series, expands its innovative multi-platform publishing program with the worldwide launch of Infinity Ring™, an alternate-history time travel series for readers ages 8-12. To be written by a team of six authors, this exciting new adventure combines books, an interactive “Hystorian’s Guide” map feature (named for a centuries-old secret society featured in the books), and a fully-immersive online game experience where readers travel back in time to fix history. Infinity Ring will launch simultaneously in September 2012 in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, with “Book 1: A Mutiny in Time,” written by New York Times bestselling author James Dashner (The Maze Runner), who also outlined the program’s overall story arc. Dashner will be followed by a team of bestselling and acclaimed authors including Carrie Ryan (Book 2; November 2012), Lisa McMann (Book 3; February 2013), Matt de la Peña (Book 4; June 2013), Matthew J. Kirby (Book 5; September 2013), and Jennifer A. Nielsen (Book 6; December 2013). The last book in the Infinity Ring series also will be written by James Dashner (Book 7; March 2014).

Read the complete article that appeared on the front page of the New York Times arts page here.

As a children's writer myself, I can't wait to read this new series.

Wednesday's Word: Snuggie (easy instructions how to make one)

2011-12-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

Last night at a Christmas party I chatted with a neighbor and she mentioned how her daughter wanted a Snuggie for Christmas, but out of a specific fabric. She told me how she dug up a two year old post on my blog so she could access the instructions I had created on how to make a Snuggie. I had totally forgotten about that post, but I think it would be a good idea to re-post it for my new readers who might be in need of a Suggie pattern and be unaware that such a post exists on my blog--or anywhere for that matter.

Here is my original entry I posted December 17, 2009:

Last week my daughter got one of those infamous Snuggies as a white elephant gift at a party. When she showed it to me I couldn't believe how easy it would be to make. So I made myself a pattern (more of a recipe. I first wrote the dimensions on a recipe card in case I wanted to make another one), and then made a

Snuggie. It zipped up so fast I made another, and another. I was able to buy polar fleece from Hancock fabric for $3.99/yard. It only took 2 3/4 yard of fabric, so it cost less than $12 to make. By the way, Hancock will continue to have their polar fleece on sale at that price until Christmas. I wrapped myself up in one of them and watched a movie one night. They are really quite comfy, especially made with the heavier, better quality fabric than the official Snuggie my daughter has. I even made an unofficial offical tag like the real snuggies just for fun. But instead of calling it a Snuggie, I've made a tag that reads, "This is not a Snuggie, it's a CUDDLE from Carolyn.

I would love to share my "recipe" with those of you who like to sew and or are looking for a cheap easy gift to give for Christmas. I've upgraded my pattern from a recipe card, but if you can't read this clearly, feel free to email me and I'll send you the pattern via e-mail in a pdf format. Contact me at carolynfrank@rocketmail.com

Have a Cuddly Christmas

Wednesday's Words: Soaring Health Care Costs

2011-12-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sure there are numerous ludicrous reasons why health care costs are through the roof, but I've got to share one that takes the cake, so I'm going to step upon my soapbox for this post. (Wow, three cliches and a trip to the thesaurus; I should rewrite that first sentence).

My husband works for United Health Group as a programmer. The week before Thanksgiving a woman pushed a cart through his neighborhood of cubicles, handing out a small printed box to every employee. As my husband opened the box, he expected a bottle of cologne, (the size and shape of the box prompted that guess), or at least some sort of useful item--a gift as a thank you to the employees. When he opened the box he discovered a thick stack of cards. They weren't playing cards, nothing so useful, but about 100 cards printed in vivid color, with statistics and various propaganda like statements as to why United Health Care was so good.

If that health care company was so good, I would argue that they would use the thousands and thousands of dollars spent on those cards in lowering their costs. Instead they wasted money on a worthless promotion to recipients that were not even in a position of making a choice of what health care they would choose. And the waste of money didn't stop with the cost of the cards. They had to pay the lady with the cart to hand them out, which probably took her all day because the company is so large--and their Salt Lake City office is only one of many across the country. My husband told me how numerous guys used their cards to build things (they have notches in them to easily facilitate construction of a house of cards), thus wasting numerous man hours. The very next day, my husband was supposed to have received a turkey for Thanksgiving. The company had promised a turkey to all employees the week before. But my husband came home empty handed. He told me the company had changed their mind about the turkey and wasn't giving them out this year.

I think the turkey would have gone a lot further in promoting good will among employees than that set of cards ever could have. And it would have been a heck of a lot cheaper. But that would have been too logical and made too much sense. Those boxes of cards basically summed up what's wrong with health care companies today, (and it's not just United Health Care; most of my kids work for IHC and they tell me it's no different). Health care today isn't about making sense. It's about creating waste.

Book Review: Variant by Robison Wells

2011-12-04T06:04:00.000-07:00

Variant by Robison Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an "Oh, my gosh" book. I couldn't put it down. It's been awhile since I've read one of those and I absolutely loved it (not just the story line, but the fact that I was reading a book that so thoroughly enthralled me).
Benson Fisher has hopped around from foster home to foster home and finally is going, to what he thinks is an elite boarding school, where he hopes to finally have a somewhat normal life. But he soon discovers that the school is absent of all adults and his peers are running the school. But this is only the beginning of his problems--and the intrigue. Wells does a great job of painting the dystopic nature school as well as numerous believable characters that I was immediately drawn to. The pace continued to escalate, sending me twists and turns that kept me turning the page. Even though this is a YA book, I think it would appeal to readers of all ages who like a totally clean sci-fi or adventure, or just a fun read.

View all my reviews

Books for Christmas Giveaway Hope

2011-12-01T04:44:00.001-07:00

I'm participating in the give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop, hosted by Inksplasher.

What's a Give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop? It's a group of bloggers who are giving away books as prizes!

The hop runs from December 1 through the 15th. all books will be shipped on December 16th. We can't guarantee books will arrive in time fro Christmas, but we're going to give it a good try! at the end of this post, you'll see a list of the participating blogs. Just click the links and go check out the contests.

I'm giving away a copy of The Sapphire Flute, by Karen Hoover.

The world of Rasann, the mage trials, magic jewelry, and shape shifting characters are only a few of the things that make The Sapphire Flute a page turner you won't want to put down.
Karen Hoover has created characters that youth will identify with. Kayla and Ember are each on an individual journey of self-discovery that is full of action and unexpected twists and turns. Although the main characters are girls, Hoover includes enough action that boys will enjoy her book as well.

Open to International entries. Must have email.

Deadline to enter: Thursday, December 15, 2011.

To enter to win this book:

Become a follower of my blog (right sidebar)
Leave a comment telling me the title and author of a book you're giving as a Christmas gift this year.
Optional: Tweet or Facebook to spread the word. (Let me know in the comments what you've done. One extra entry per post.)

That's it! The winner will be posted and notified at the end of the hop.

Wednesday's Word: Stars

2011-11-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

Stars, specifically those awarded on Goodreads, have been on my mind lately. Recently an author friend expressed her concern that I didn't like her book because I gave it three stars on Goodreads. I let her know, that coming from me, three stars is a good thing, that I liked her book and I could recommend it to other readers in her genre. I also assured her that I don't hand out 4 and 5 stars very freely. A book has to be something that really sings to my personal taste, knocks my socks off, and leaves me mulling the story over and over in my mind for days afterward, for me to award it 5 stars. And that is rare.

Am I wrong for being so stingy with stars? Maybe, but it's who I am.

I have found that I'm the exception rather than the rule. As I look at others' Goodreads ratings of books, I notice that many readers give 4 and 5 stars to everything they read. While this is nice for their author friends, it is very little help to me when I'm trying to discriminate and determine which books would be a good pick for me. I feel like I'm at an elementary school science fair where they award every project a blue ribbon just for participating. While that's admirable for not wanting to hurt any feelings, where's the reward for the student that went the extra mile in their project.

If I see a book on a friend's list receive 2 or 3 stars, I don't necessarily think it is a bad book. I weigh in the possibility that the book wasn't to their taste, especially when the book might receive 4 or 5 stars from another reader. I appreciate when people are honest with their reviews--that doesn't mean they can be mean and heartless. Most every book will appeal to some people and not to others. When people look at my Goodreads ratings and think I'm harsh, may I remind them of the meanings behind each star:
1 star: didn't like it
2 stars: it was okay
3 stars: liked it
4 stars: really liked it
5 stars: it was amazing.

Don't tell me you've never read a book you didn't like?
And did that necessarily mean the book was bad? No.
Taste isn't reserved only for the tongue.

Book Review: Bound by Christine Bryant

2011-11-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

Bound is a debut YA paranormal romance by an amazing new author, Christine Bryant.

When Kira’s deadbeat mother abandons her, she looks to her friend Lydia to become her surrogate family. When she discovers that the father that supposedly lived with Lydia in their old trailer home never existed, and her brother lives in a cave in the mountains, Kira’s world really begins to spiral out of control. She really has no choice but to stay with Lydia and her mysterious family—she has nobody else to turn to.

In time she discovers Lydia and her brother Octavian are royalty from another world, hiding out on earth from their treacherous older sister who seeks to kill Lydia. Kira is swept up in their plight, being sucked into their magical way of life and bound to Lydia by means of an enchanted bracelet. She too gains powers, but they only serve to pull her deeper into Lydia’s and Octavian’s world and their problems.

The book started out with a burst of intrigue, pulling me in immediately. As Kira learned about Lydia’s world, the pace slacked off, allowing me to set the book down often. But when the characters from Lydia’s world merged with Kira’s world, the intrigue returned and I had a hard time setting the book down. I was glad I had stuck with the story.

Just a word of warning for those who don’t like to be left dangling at the end of a book, required by the author to wait for the sequel to gain a full resolution, you might not like this book. But if you’re one of those readers who love cliff hanger endings, you will love this book.

I’m looking forward to the sequel.

For more information on the Dark CARma book tour, of which Bound is a part, check out the tour's website.

Wednesday's Words: Feminine Hygiene Kits

2011-11-23T04:00:00.001-07:00

This past summer, in a neighboring ward in our stake, the Young Women made feminine hygiene kits to send to Africa. They solicited sisters in the stake who owned sergers to help make the sanitary pads that went in the kits. I volunteered to make a few stacks--they zipped up really fast. When I learned about what these kit were for, I was touched and pulled in by their project. I was also impressed by the need in Africa for more of these feminine hygiene kits--many more.

As you can imagine, in many rural areas of Africa, the women don't have access to the conveniences of the modern world--like tampons, or even those big bulky Kotex pads I had to wear as a teenager in the 70's. Many women go without any type of protection to absorb their menstrual flow. Because of this they are ostracized, dis-allowed to work or go to school. In the case of some young girls, they are confined to a hut at the edge of town, alone or with other young girls, unattended and vulnerable to the lusts of men from the village who take advantage of them.

These crudely made sanitary belts (see picture) and pads can be the means of helping these African women carry on a somewhat normal life. The pads are made from cut-up cotton diapers, allowing the women to wash them out between use. They are thin so that they can hang them up to dry in the humid climates, but also can use several layers combined, according to their flow.

They aren't pretty, but they are effective and relatively easy to make if you know how to sew. I could e-mail you a set of instructions if you would like to participate in this wonderful cause. I could even send you a sample if that will make it easier. If you don't know what to do with them after you are done, I would be glad to have you send them to me on my nickle and I will give them to a lady who goes over to Africa on a regular basis.

Wednesday's Word: compassion

2011-11-16T04:00:00.001-07:00

Compassion
Definition: sympathy for the suffering of others, often including a desire to help.

I saw this in full force last Thursday, November 10 in the LDS writing community. One of our own--Robison Wells--had fallen into hard times in relation to his health and thus his job. I was so touched by the way everyone came together, getting the word out, buying Rob's new book as part of a "book bomb" started by fellow author Larry Correia. The bomb had the desired effect: Rob's book rose from relative obscurity to become in the top seven for YA sci fi on Amazon--all in one day.

I would like to give everyone a hug who participated in this act of unselfishness. The world needs more of this kind of compassion. And the neatest part of it all is that Robison Wells' new book, Variant, from what I have heard, is one awesome book. It wasn't like it was a chore for anyone to buy. In fact it was already on my list to read before this book bomb even happened. Now I can't wait for NaNoWriMo to end so I can jump into Variant and read.

For those of you who weren't lucky enough to participate in this book bomb, it's not too late for you to purchase a copy for yourself. Let's keep this talented new author at the top of Amazon's list. For more information, check out Robison Wells' website.

Winner of my November Givaway Blog hop

2011-11-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

Jennifer, you are my winner

I had a great time participating in the November Giveaway Bloghop. I hope those of you participated did too. the winner of my prize (three awesome books and a giant puppet) is Jennifer. In checking out Jennifer's blog it appears as if she is a librarian in Texas. What a great recipient for books and a puppet.

Thanks everyone for the comments you left and the new followers I have gained.

November Giveaway Hop

2011-11-08T04:00:00.001-07:00

I love blog hops. And this one is going to be great. Lots of participants and lots of great prizes to be shared. All you have to do to win on my blog is to be a follower and post a comment. That's it! I'm giving away a giant of a prize:

Three books:
1) Alone, Orphaned on the Ocean (A true story about Tere Duperrault Fassbender harrowing experience at sea)
2) Fool Me Twice (A mystery by Stephanie Black)
3) Paranormalcy (Paranormal romance by Kiersten White)

And a Giant puppet (measures 21 inches tall).

Don't forget to leave an email address if I can't find it easily on your blog, in case you win.
Check out the awesome blogs of others participating in this blog hop:

Wednesday's Word: NaNoWriMo

2011-11-02T07:25:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this year (National Novel Writing Month). I did it two years ago and had a blast. Mostly because of the friendships I made in the process in the online writing community. I was successful, I got my 50K words, but it has taken me two years of editing to have a novel worth publishing. Originally entitled Hitler's Promise, now entitled I Couldn't Serve Hitler, my first NaNoWriMo novel is in its last leg of rewrites. Hopefully it will be to the liking of Covenant Communications and they will accept my changes and contract it for publication.
If you would like to participate, its not too late, or if you'd just like to learn more go to http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/dashboard

NaNoWriMo

If you've never heard of it,
don't feel like a turd.
NaNoWriMo
is not a real word
It's thirty days of writing;
a whole novel in November,
who cares if there's a plot
or characters to remember.
The aim is simply words,
fifty thousand is the goal.
Then you spend the next year
rewriting it in full.

Debut Novel: Nourish & Strengthen, by Maria Hoagland

2011-11-01T04:00:00.001-06:00

I am delighted to highlight author, Maria Hoagland on my blog today. Her debut novel, Nourish and Strengthen comes out today. I have asked her to tell my readers a little about her book and where you can obtain a copy for yourselves:

Happy National Diabetes Awareness Month and thank you for having me on your blog, Carolyn! I am excited to talk about the release of my novel, Nourish & Strengthen. Although written specifically for the LDS women's market, I think most people will be able to relate to the main character's struggles of raising a young family, accepting daunting church responsibilities, dealing with a chronic illness, and expecting perfection in self and others. It seems to me that people, especially women, have a tendency to be hard on themselves. And so does the main character of Nourish & Strengthen.

Chloe Taylor is a young mother who accepts a challenging new church calling around the same time she is diagnosed with a chronic illness. Overwhelmed with her problems, she becomes so nearsighted that she overlooks others' struggles and finds herself in jeopardy of losing one of her greatest assets: the support of her friends. As Chloe strives to develop Christ-like love for herself and those around her, she learns that outer appearances are far less important than inner peace and spiritual strength. But is she strong enough to face her most difficult trial yet?

Nourish & Strengthen deals with themes of judging others, perfectionism, and guilt—feelings that tend to hobble those who live with diabetes every day. November is National Diabetes Awareness Month and the perfect month to read Nourish & Strengthen.

You can learn more about Maria Hoagland and her novel Nourish & Strengthen at http://mariahoagland.blogspot.com/. The paperback version is available at https://www.createspace.com/3647471 and any ebook version at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/93675. Both Kindle and paperback copies can also be found at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Nourish-Strengthen-Novel-Maria-Hoagland/dp/0615535615/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320087683&sr=8-1.

Wednesday's Word: Drive

2011-10-26T07:41:00.000-06:00

Drive. I'm not referring to that leisure jaunt in an automobile on a Sunday afternoon, I'm talking about what motivates a person to do something. In this post I want to delve into what drives someone to write. Being an author is a lonely job. There are no office parties, chats around the water cooler or over the cubicle wall. A writer sits alone all day (when they are lucky and don't have family take all their writing time), at their computer, their only interaction with other people comes through online social media. And then there is the pay, or lack thereof, and the rejections, and the possible tossing of a year's worth of work in the cybertrash. So what could possibly motivate a sane person to devote their life to wanting to be an author?

To my author friends out there, what powers the DRIVE that keeps you going when everything around you tells you it's not worth it?

This is what drives me:

Society says
today's youth want to read
books filled with suicide, sex, smut, and greed.

But I don't agree
with the message this sends:
"If you like to read, you must bend to the trends."

That is why I write,
to make books that inspire
to live life on a plain a step higher.

And . . .
to give kids a choice
in the books that they read.
If I lift but one soul, I succeed.

Wednesday's Word: Book Trailers

2011-10-19T10:36:00.001-06:00

This morning, rather than composing a post for my blog, I got on the subject of book trailers with my daughter. (That's why this post is so late). She shared with me some of the music my son-in-law had written, performed and recorded. I mentioned I should have her husband create some music for a book trailer for my novel Hattie's Promise. "What's a book trailer?" she said. So I commenced to visist some of my writing buddies' blogs and showed her samples of book trailers.

Some were simple, others involved actors and were much more complex, but all captured my attention better than any written blurb ever could. It cemented for me the need to produce a book trailer for my soon to be released book. That fact that I am self-publishing only increases the importance. When my daughter then said, "Matt could so do that," refering to the production of a book trailer, I became very excited. He is a communications major and has all the equipment, skills and talent to produce a quality trailer. I can see the promotion of my first novel fall into place. But I'm even more excited for my son-in-law. If he can produce a quality trailer for my book, and the word gets around that he is available to do the same for others, perhaps this can not only be a way for him to add to his portfolio, but to bring in a few extra dollars to the "poor, starving college kids" that live in my basement apartment.

For those of you who are like my daughter, and have never seen a book trailer before, I have tried to include a YouTube clip of the book trailer for a group of my writer friends who are releasing their books together on November 11. They have launched a book tour, entitling it the Dark C.A.R.M.A. tour, CARMA coming from the first letter of all the participating authors, (clever, huh?). Unfortunately, I'm to technologically inept and I couldn't do it. Visit my friend, Christine Bryants blog to view it, also if you want to learn more about their blog tour.http://www.christinebryant.blogspot.com/

Wednesday Word: Goodbye

2011-10-12T08:15:00.000-06:00

My father with my grandson (his great-grandson)

My father passed away peacefully this past Sunday evening. He'd only been in the hospital a for a few days when it became evident that he would not ever leave the same way he came in. Before his visit to the hospital, my dad had been living on his own, driving his car around the town of Payson to get out of the house for awhile, or riding his Jazzi two blocks down the street to the Senior citizen center for lunch and some socialization. Up until a half year ago, he still held his church calling as the ward finace clerk. He'd had that job for over 40 years and took pride that his mind was still sharp and he could do a good job for the Lord. He'll never know what an impression this left on me. I've known many other members of my faith, who at much younger ages than 85, have taken the attitude, "I've served in the church long enough. I'm old and I deserve a break." I don't believe our obligation to God works that way. My dad obviously didn't either. What a great example he was.
He was also a great dad. I loved him dearly, and I'll miss him.

As I say good bye to Dad,
my exemplar, strength, and friend,
I know death is but a gateway,
in no way it's the end.
Though tears shed with the memories
of camping trips and skis,
biking down the canyon,
and others just like these,
I'm at peace with my dad's passing,
he's in a joyous place,
with my brother, mom and God,
and they're saving me a space.

Tuesday is the New Wednesday, or Is Time Speeding Up?

2011-10-05T10:36:00.000-06:00

I kind of goofed yesterday. I meant to preset my blog post to publish Wednesday morning (this morning), but instead I pressed PUBLISH. I didn't know how to reverse it, so you got Wednesday's word on Tuesday. Oh well, it's not the end of the world I figured. I'm just hurrying your week along.

For some people that could be a good thing--speeding up a dragging week. But for people like me, I don't need life to move along any faster. I swear the earth is spinning around on its axis much faster than it did when I was a kid. The term "endless summer" truely fit back then. This past summer, however, it seemed to zip by at the speed of light. I went up to the local farmer's market stand Monday to buy some corn on the cob. They told me they had just sold out that morning and there would be no more corn. The season was over. I had to hold back an emotional "NO," summer just started yesterday, didn't it? Or so it seemed to me.

Is it only me that feels time is moving by faster than it used to?

Wednesday's Word: Calm (and Covenant Communications)

2011-10-04T14:03:00.000-06:00

For years I have been envisioning how it would happen, and how I would feel when I finally got my first non-rejection letter from a publisher. Like you can imagine, words like excited, elated, thrilled, dancing on the ceiling, etc., were part of that vision.

Well, it finally happened to me the other day, not the dancing on the ceiling, but a non-rejection letter. I received an e-mail from Covenant Communications that they really liked my novel and they wanted to consider it further, (here’s where the dancing on the ceiling should have come in), but they would like me to consider changing the voice from YA to Adult for marketing purposes.

I can really see their point, and so I’m more than willing to attempt the rewrite.

Then why am I so unmoved by this milestone in my writing career? I feel like a mountain lake on a lazy summer day: calm.

Am I subconsciously shielding myself from possibility they will reject my rewrite? Have I become so conditioned to rejections that I fail to believe their e-mail was real? Or has the magnitude of that notification just not sunk in yet? In any case, I am quite baffled at my emotions.

Then again I get to thinking. The times when I have felt calm about something has usually been when the matter at hand ends up being a good thing. Like my husband. Before I met him, it seemed I got twitter pated by every guy that I dated. But when I met him there was none of those butterfly-like feelings flittering around inside me. Instead a calm feeling permeated my emotions and everything about him just seemed to fit.

Calm is a good feeling. I’ll take it as a good sign.

Now, I’ve got to get to work.

Book Review: Fall by Jennifer Hurst

2011-10-03T05:00:00.002-06:00

     Fall unfolds in the delightful setting of the coral canyons of southern Utah. Add to it JD, a main character determined to restore an old school building, despite being a female contractor in a male dominated career, the premise of Fall immediately caught my interest.
     Though I was pulled in and introduced quickly to a mysterious anomaly within the old school, I felt the author substituted a soap opera-like romance in the place of solving the mystery. When JD's whirlwind romantic interest comes into the light as a jerk (and a fallen angel) who was using her, the sappy romance made more sense to me. I was relieved when she falls for the jerk's brother, Nathan, a good angel.
     Fall is filled with mystery and vivid details of demons who lurk in the background of everyday life, camouflaged to their potential, unsuspecting victims. The reader learns angels are just as invisible, but are contstantly struggling to keep victims like JD safe.
     The book will appeal to readers of paranormal romance and/or fans of fantastical characters like demons and angels.
     If you are interested in purchasing the e-book, go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/71705 or to visit the author's blog go to http://jenniferhurst.wordpress.com/

FALL BLOG TOUR
In conjunction with this blog tour, Jennifer is holding a contest. It will involve any of the blogs that Jennifer visits or where her book is featured and will close on December 31st, 2011. The entrants have to answer three questions about the book they’ve read (bought, borrowed, or stolen - shame on you) and post a link to Jennifer's website on their Twitter, Facebook, or blog (need link for verification).

Then the names will be entered in a random name picker generator (http://textmechanic.com/Random-Line-Picker.html) and announced on Jennifer's website (www.jenniferhurst.com) on January 31st, 2012. The winner will receive a gift certificate for a night’s stay at the actual bed and breakfast where the story takes place.

Other prizes include an autographed copy of FALL, and she will randomly select 3 contestants’ names to use in the sequel to FALL. Plus, they will receive a free copy of that book when it is published.

Each blog that Jennifer Hurst visits will have a different set of questions people can answer, and they may enter as many times as they want - but they can enter once per blog site that they visit. So the more sites you visit, the more you can enter your name, thus increasing your chances of winning the gift certificate, a copy of the book FALL, and your name in the sequel.

Get the book, read the book, and then read over the questions below. Once you have your answers, e-mail them to Jennifer. fall.jenniferhurst@gmail.com

Your privacy is respected and your email address will NOT be used for anything but the contest. Once the contest is over - your email address will be deleted from the database.

Here are the questions for you to answer:
What did Matthew do to JD on the arch that made her scared and mad?
Which Holiday did JD celebrate with the Parkers?
What color was the jacket that the truck driver loaned to JD?

If you would like to visit the other sites, go here for the master list of all participating sites: http://fallbyjenniferhurst.wordpress.com/

Best of luck, and thanks for participating!

Wednesday's Word: Charity

2011-09-28T08:16:00.000-06:00

For many people, the word charity evokes an image of donating clothes to a second hand shop, food to the food bank, money to the homeless, or something in a similar vein. For years, that was my image. But with age came maturity and greater understanding. I now realize its true meaning, that being the pure love of Christ.

This was again reinforced as I attended the world-wide Relief Society broadcast last Saturday evening. I was moved by Sister Beck's plea for all women to show more charity. In a day and age when more and more women are encouraged by media and more to satisfy their own needs above all else, these inspired leaders of the Relief Society are encouraging women to have more charity.

Let me think for a minute, which one of these pursuits will make this struggling society a better place? Duh!

As I contemplated the peaceful, energizing power of charity, I thought about its impact within literature. Why is it that we as readers gravitate to characters who exhibit aspects of charity and fall in love with them? Would we have the same pull toward a character who was busy taking care of their own needs? No.

Christ taught us to be charitable, not because he simply wanted to make up a list of rules for us to follow, but because charity is a principle of eternal truth, and as such, comes with inherent heavenly blessings. So when we read about a character or a scene that rings of truth, I feel that such passages communicate to a person's soul. That's why I feel incorporating truths of the gospel within a story will touch a reader and makes them hungry for more.

What is your experience with reading and/or writing such interwoven truths?

Bloghop winner for September

2011-09-25T20:55:00.000-06:00

What a fun bloghop. Not only did I enter to win tons of awesome prizes, I now have over 100 followers of my own blog. I am so excited. Now to announce the winner of my Halloween prizes, and the winner is:

CINDY HOGAN.

Congratulations Cindy. Leave me you mailing address and I'll ship these items right out to you. (I'll contact her by e-mail in case she doesn't see this post). Cindy, I happen to know, has just self-published a YA thriller entitled Watched, which I have read and really enjoyed.

Join me for a blog hop

2011-09-22T04:00:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the September Blog Hop! Celebrate the beginning of fall with me and my blogger friends by hopping around, visiting our sites, and entering our contests! There are no limits - you can enter the contest on every blog. With over 40 blogs participating, that's over 40 prizes you could win. Just click on the links below to move on to the next blog.

On my blog, you can win …

A ghost puppet and a signed copy of Jennifer A. Nielsen's awesome new middle grade book, Elliot and the Goblin Wars. A perfect combination for the upcoming Halloween season.

Would you like to win this prize? You just need to do two things.

1. Become a follower of this blog.

2. Leave me a comment in the trail and tell me why you'd like to win this prize.

That's it! You are now entered. The contest ends on Saturday night, September 24th, at midnight MST, and the winner will be contacted shortly thereafter. Please either leave your e-mail address in the comment trail or make sure it's visible through your profile so I can contact you to tell you that you're the lucky winner.

Now go visit my other friends ...

September Blog Hop Participants

1. Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author

2. Joyce DiPastena

3. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

4. Mandi Slack

5. Michael D. Young

6. Six Mixed Reviews

7. Pam Williams

8. Laurie Lewis

9. Kristy Tate

10. Marilyn Yarbrough

11. Stacy Coles

12. Kristie Ballard

13. Lynn Parsons

14. Pushing Past the Pounds

15. Sheila Staley

16. cindy Hogan

17. Jamie Thompson

18. Jaclyn Weist

19. Cathy Witbeck

20. Secret Sisters Mysteries

21. Tamera Westhoff

22. Tina Scott

23. Lynnea Mortensen

24. Danyelle Ferguson aka Queen of the Clan

25. Jeanette A. Fratto

26. Bonnie Harris

27. Melissa Lemon

28. Mary Ann Dennis

29. Stephanie Black

30. Jane Still

31. Janice

32. Laura Bastian

33. Tamara Bordon

34. Betsy Love

35. Maria Hoagland

36. Amber Robertson

37. Debbie Davis

38.

39. Christy Monson

40. Carolyn Frank

41. Rebecca Birkin

42. Melissa Cunningham

43. Emily L. Moir

44. Ronda Hinrichsen

45. Lisa Asanuma

46. Joan Sowards

47. Jordan McCollum

48. Diane Stringam Tolley

Learn more about September Blog Hop here.

Get The Code

Wednesday's Word: Fall

2011-09-21T08:49:00.000-06:00

Fall: a verb, a noun, a season; all three have been on my mind this week.
First, the verb--to come down because detached, pushed, dropped, etc.
That describes my writing as of late, including posts on my blog. (A big, "I'm sorry" to my followers. I promise to do better). Life has consumed me in other ways and thus has detached me from the passion that had kept me going. Discouragement crept in and pushed my confidence into a corner and I have dropped my proverbial pen.

Second, the noun--a yielding to temptation; wrongdoing; moral lapse.
The country, my country--the one I love and revere, is teetering, threatening to fall. It is yielding to the temptation of spending beyond its means. Economically they are doing everything wrong, and the moral lapse of the people blind themselves to the disaster that lay ahead. It is disheartening and only adds to my discouragement in the writing arena--if and when I ever get published, will people even be able to afford to buy food, let alone a superfluous book?

Third, the season--that season of the year in which many trees loose their leaves; autumn.
I've always loved the fall; the cold induced transformation of green leaves into vibrant, warm shades of reds and golds; the shedding of leaves in preparation for the brutal weather ahead; the brisk breeze that blows away the scorching heat of summer. With the heat of summer behind and the cold of winter ahead, fall wraps me in her beautiful, mild arms and whispers in my ears of the grandeur of life on this wonderful place called earth. Fall renews me. With my garden soon to be tilled under, and the weather holding me prisoner indoors, I will have more time to pick up that proverbial pen. And I know that the more I write, the less I'll be discouraged. And the less I am discouraged, the better my writing will be. And the better my writing gets, the more chance I'll have to rise above the falling dollar and create a story that will survive the falling publishing industry. I love fall!

FALL
Shades of red and orange
paint the falling leaves
as the final heat of summer
fizzles out and leaves.
Though fall is a fickle season,
with death mingled with vibrant gold,
Its one of preparation,
encouraging me to weather the cold.

Wednesday's Word: Hug

2011-09-14T08:07:00.000-06:00

I've always been the strong one; the one giving out the hugs and consolations, rarely receiving them--because I didn't need them. I thought. Last week, when I got sick, the tables turned for me. After finally leaving the hospital in Soda Springs and preparing to crawl back into the car and venture three more hours to home, I remember this overwhelming need for a hug. I petitioned my husband. As his arms wrapped around me an amazing sense of balm flowed into my body, comforting and infusing it with a sense of strength to go on. I remember thinking, is this why those around me are always asking for hugs?

It was almost worth getting sick so that I might experience the power of other side of the hug. No longer will I flippantly pass out hugs, discounting their importance. Hugs hold something real. And more of them are needed in this ever-more-difficult world we live in.

HUGS

Hugs are real,

they help you feel

the balm of love and hope.

Hugs are free,

at least should be,

so give more, don't be a dope.

Wednesday's Word: Sick

2011-09-07T09:34:00.000-06:00

I find it ironic that not more than a few weeks ago I blogged about how good I felt, how I have been eating better, and losing weight, etc. Well, that "feeling good" came crashing to a halt last Sunday. My family and I were at our cabin in Wyoming. Sunday afternoon I started to feel nauseated. On the drive home I became so sick they took me to the emergency room in Soda Springs. I was given some "snot in a cloud" (a GI cocktail). It momentarily took away the pain and made my way home. Monday brought another trip to the ER; Tuesday a trip to a GI clinic for a upper GI scope, and today I'm scheduled for an ultrasound of my gut. I feel like a candidate for Mystery Diagnosis. Meanwhile, everyday I grow weaker and weaker.

I am ill,
I've lost my will
to write or make a rhyme.
In a week
come take a peek
There'll be more here next time.

Winner of bloghop prize

2011-09-01T14:20:00.000-06:00

Thanks for all of you who hopped over to my blog and entered the bloghop contest. The winner on by blog goes to Krystal Larson. Congrats, Krystal. As soon as I recieve your address I'll ship your puppets right out. For anyone else who may be interested in purchasing those same puppets, or others, please visit my on-line puppet store PUPPETORIUM.COM at http://www.puppetorium.com/.

Wednesday's Word: Time

2011-08-31T10:10:00.000-06:00

I feel bad. I haven't had time to hop to everyone's site participating in the Awesome August blog hop and it ends today. But I would like to thank everyone who took the time to visit mine. TIME!!! Out of everything on this earth, that is the thing that I covet more than anything. I see my aging mother-in-law who wastes away in front of the TV or her picture puzzles with too much time on her hands. I wish I could borrow some from her. (So much so, that it has inspired my next novel, which unfortunately is at least a year away before I can start, because--you guessed it--I don't have time for it right now). I feel like I am making efficient use of my time--I rarely, rarely watch TV and I always bring a book with me anywhere or time I have to wait in line or something like that--but I still want more. Perhaps it's because I want to accomplish too many things. Is that bad? Should a person cut back on their dreams simply because there is apparently not enough time to acheive them?

TIME
is a treasured thing;
there is never enough
to accomplish my dream,
and do all my stuff.
to fix and to find
and share with another.
But it's part of the grind
of being a mother.

Awesome August Bloghop

2011-08-29T01:25:00.002-06:00

Thanks for hoping over to my blog. With the end of summer and onset of autumn just around the corner, I'm hoping this bloghop will jumpstart my sleepy blog and wake it up for the exciting fall that lies ahead. As part of this bloghop, I'm giving away a . . . you guessed it. Big surprise--a set of puppets. A girl and boy Petite Performer puppet with a set of public helper props. They are great for mini performances by little hands, or just for hours of creative play.

All you have to do to win is to become a follower of my blog (if you aren't already), and leave a comment on my blog. If your e-mail isn't available through your profile, I'll need you to leave that, too - I can't tell you if you've won if I can't contact you!

Happy bloghopping

Wednesday's Word: Health

2011-08-24T09:15:00.000-06:00

With my husband's new job came a new health care company. My husband told me that if I were to lose 10 pounds it would be worth $600 (savings on our insurance for good health, including an acceptable BMI). So the past few weeks I've been working hard and shed the pounds. But more important than the $600 I gained, is the way I feel. I feel great. I can't wait to go walking in the morning, rather than having to drag myself out there.

I basically know how to eat and exercise, etc., to maintain my health. I think we all do. But it is so easy to slip off track, succumb to the dark side (refined foods and sedentary lifestyle). My weakness is potato chips. What's yours?

Good health is more valuable than rubies and gold,
yet it can not be be purchased,
nor can it be sold.
It must be created all by one's self,
and once its obtained
it can't be placed on a shelf.
It must be worked at until one's dying day.
And if one's vigilant
that milestone may be pushed far, far away.

Wednesday Word: School

2011-08-17T07:10:00.000-06:00

With my youngest daughter starting high school next week, it brings back memories of my high school days. I loved high school, but I know many of my classmates hated it. I think it boils down to the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Novel concept, huh.
One of my favorite memories of high school was being on the newspaper staff. My senior year I had my own column: Carolyn's Corner. It gave me a chance to rant about things I found unfair and insipid, etc. I rememer it was fun to write. What was your favorite memory from high school?

(my school: Payson High)

School
as a rule
could be kind of cruel,
especially to those
who chose
to play the class fool.
But to those who worked hard,
went the extra yard
with assignment on time
and work that was fine,
they found school was fun,
and was sad when they were done.

Author Event you don't want to miss

2011-08-12T11:25:00.000-06:00

Hey, all, one of my good writing friends is hosting an awesome event to celebrate the release of her new book, Dearly Departed, a fun murder mystery. If you live in Utah and can manage to make it to Orem tomorrow, you should be in for a great time. Here are the details:
When: Saturday, August 13th, 12 – 4 pm

Where: Pioneer Book, 858 S. State, Orem

Prizes, games, Dutch oven cobbler (first come, first served)

Authors Tristi Pinkston, Nichole Giles, Heather Justesen,

Cindy Hogan, and J. Lloyd Morgan

Wednesday's Word: Writing

2011-08-10T06:58:00.000-06:00

I have a hard time reading poorly written books. Years ago they didn't seem to bother me. Before I learned to write I didn't recognize mistakes the authors made in their writing. If the story was good, I kept reading. But some books almost sang to me. I gobbled them up and after I finished them I kept thinking about them. But I could never put my finger on the reason why I liked those particular books more than some other ho-hum book that I had read. Now I realize the reason why some books stood out while others were just okay. It was the quality of the writing and a proper use of story structure. My opinion on following rules as a new writer is that it is important, just like following a recipe in cooking. True, in cooking I take a lot of creative liberties, but I know there are certain basics that must be followed to make a cake rise, or the combination of complementary seasonings to make savory dish delicious. And if I break basic rules, only the odd palate here and there may be able to enjoy my dish, but the majority of eaters won't enjoy it. So it is with writing.

Writing is

no more the filling of paper with ink

than art is

the painting of a canvas with pink.

A true artist can transport you into a scene,

not by mere use of a blue or a green.

but by incorporation of things unseen.

Up close, each stroke of the brush

appears untamed,

spreading its colors

by rules unnamed.

But take a step back

and partake of a feast

prepared by a multitude of strokes,

none mattering more or less than the least.

But creating order

out of chaos

upon that canvas of white,

took attention

to rules

to create such a sight.

So it is with putting words on a page.

It’s more than reciting

the wisdom

of a learned old sage,

or placing a comma or an adverb in the right place,

or separating a point of view with a quadruple space.

It’s learning all the rules,

so a vision you’ll see

of what your written art

has the potential to be.

And then as the words flow from your pen
You’ll create a piece that will please all men. (and women)

Wednesday's Word: Choice

2011-08-03T06:00:00.004-06:00

As I look back on the four novels I have written thus far, everyone of them had a common thread that ran through them; that of choice. My fifth book too contains that thread. I didn't do this intentionally, but the fact that my passion to be able to choose for myself has obviously worked its way into my writing. In my current work in progress, Bonded, the M.C is a slave girl who makes her own choices, despite the oppression she is subject to. In a sense, she is more free than the society that enslaves her. They have made poor choices for the last hundred years. Those choices have led their society into dysfunctional state where they are enslaved to their gluttony, gambling, and laziness.
Bonded is a dystopic YA novel, but many elements are not that far removed from today's society. The ability to make good choices, and allow all men the same privilege, is essential to a healthy society. As our government grows bigger and bigger, and makes more and more choices for its citizens rather than letting individuals make their own choices, the closer I feel we come to having our own dystopic society--right here, right now, in the daily news rather than in a science fiction novel. It's scary.

Only you
can choose
who or what you'll be.
Others
may try
to rule and remove
elements that make you free.
But it's you
who'll decide
to fight,
or let things slide,
to do good
and to love,
or to hate
or to shove.
Your choices define you.
So make them well
and to them be true.

Wednesday's Word: See

2011-07-27T09:48:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite songs on my MP3 is Blue World by the Moody Blues. (Yeah, I'm old). In the lyrics they sing, "There are none so blind as those who will not see." The truthfulness of these words ring loud to me. So much so that they have been woven into the theme of my latest work in progress. In my new book, Bonded, Shay is a slave girl in a society where those whom she serves have digressed into a society that is blind to the crumbling world they have created.

To see things as they really are is a valuable trait, one that would benifit all if more were to possess it.

I rejoice

in those who

make a choice

to listen

and hear,
to lookand see
things as they were meant to be,
not as the world chooses to see.

Wednesday's Word: Tile

2011-07-20T12:57:00.000-06:00

This was actually last weeks' post. I had scheduled it to post at 6:00 AM on the 13th, because I was out of town, but apparently it didn't work. Because of my super hectic life right now, I'm cheating and using it for this Wednesday's word.

Wednesday is here and I realized I don't have a word for this week. Things have been hectic. I'm leaving shortly to travel to Wyoming to our fixer-upper cabin in Alpine. I'm going to be spendin the rest of the week laying tile. Since I don't have time to think of anything clever, and the word/subject that is on my mind is tile, I guess Wednesday's word is going to be TILE. Sorry, nothing note worthy to go with it.
Oh, what the heck, I'll throw out a few thoughts and rhymes.

Tile
makes me smile--
when its all layed.
Tile
has some style
for that's how its made;
colorful and smooth,
waterproof and more;
its the perfect covering
for my new cabin floor.
But alas,
I must travel mile upon mile
to lay piles
of tiles.
Here's good bye to the smiles.

P.S. the above picture is not from my cabin. It's a google image. One of these days I'll take the time to share some real pictures of our cabin, reflecting all the hard work my family has put into it over the past year.

Wednesday's Word: Freedom

2011-07-06T12:21:00.000-06:00

With the celebration of our nation's independence this past week I think a fitting word for this week is FREEDOM

Freedom isn't free;
wasn't meant to be.
But it was meant for me
and everyone I see.
That's why we should fight
against evil
for our right
to think, speak, and talk,
and even wear and walk
what and where we want.

Wednesday's Word: Birds

2011-06-29T05:00:00.001-06:00

This past week I went out to my strawberry patch to pick me some delicious strawberries. The plants should have been loaded--I usually fill a big bowl this time of the growing season, but each time I came away with a handful or two. It's the birds. They are devouring my berries and I'm not happy. So this week's Wednesday's word has got to be BIRDS.

Birds are for the birds.
They mark my plants with turds.
But even worse than that
on ripe berries they grow fat,
leaving two for me,
each the size of peas.
I could get mad and yell
and curse them all to Hell.
But do I really wish they'd go?
The answer I fear is, no.
I love to hear them sing

and watch them as they wing

across the sky in flight;

such a beautiful sound and sight.

I'll just share and share some more,
and buy my berries at the store.

Wednesday's Word: Pie

2011-06-22T07:00:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I made three pies, one for a critique group member's birthday, one for a picnic tonight, and one for my family. With all of those pies in front of my eyes, I just had to make this week's word: Pie.

Pies are fun to make and fun to eat.
They're fun to take when you need a treat.
You can fill them with fruit
or with pudding chocolaty and sweet,
or with carrots and potatoes
and savory meat.
But pies are also
like people we meet.
They can be flaky on the outside,
but within hold a treat.
So don't let people or pie
pass you by,
without peering inside
to see what resides.

Book Review: Cinder and Ella by Melissa Lemon

2011-06-17T09:32:00.000-06:00

I love the title: Cinder and Ella. I felt it was quite clever. That is what drew me to this book--and the hope of hunkering down in my chair with a heartwarming remake of a cherished childhood fairytale. If you join me with a similar expectation with this book, you might be disappointed. But if you want to read a book that throws story structure to the wind and concentrates more on teaching a lesson, then perhaps this book is for you.

Cinder and Ella are the only two functioning souls of a disfuctional fariytale family. The father has followed the evil prince to the castle and is absent from the home. (His reasons and involvemnt in evil are never explained leaving me feeling cheated in that arena of the story). The mother is a one-demensional character who is ALWAYS at her spinning wheel and does not give her kids any attention. Two other sisters are selfish, demanding, and unlikeable. Cinder accepts a job at the castle, leaving Ella to take care of her jacked-up family by herself.

I started out with high hopes for the MC, Ella (At least I assumed she was the main character. The point of view shifts in the story became quite distracting at times). After her sister leaves for the castle, and has dumped the responsibility of the disfunctionaly family on her shoulders, Ella decides to leave because she is not appreciated. I at first saw this as a character with some backbone, ready to set off in the world and perhaps help her family in a round about way. But Ella's challenges didn't seem to help her grow, they were just there. Her romance with a kind knight came too easily. At the end of the book, she was the same Ella as at the first of the story and her disfunctional family was still disfunctional. Even though the prince was finally banished from the kingdom, her father never changed. At the end of the story I asked myself, "What was that all about?"

And then I turned the page. At the end of the book there were questions for disscussion, I guess for use in reading groups, etc. As I read down the list of questions it was obvious that the author's intent in writing this story was to be used as an object lesson rather than entertainment. So if you like to read books with an agenda to teach a lesson, you might enjoy this book. As for me, I was looking for a storytale-like story similar to the Goose Girl by Shannon Hales. Because of my expectation, I was dissapointed.

Wednesday's Word: Hoe

2011-06-15T16:56:00.000-06:00

This week, as I weeded my garden I decided what I wanted this week's Wednesday's word to be: HOE.
I realize Ho could be a greeting from Santa Claus, or a shady lady of the night, but the hoe I want to talk about is a nifty tool that helps me keep my garden growing strong and beautiful. My hoe is not the typical row-digging hoe, but a small diamond-shaped blade at the end of a pole. It enables me to scape across the top of the soil, cutting down small weedlings before they have time to get established. It also lets me cut the weeds down just centimeters away from my established plants. You really should invest in one of these things if you are serious about gardening.
My thoughts about hoeing just beg for a poem.

A small metal blade at the end of a pole
eliminates most of the weeds my hands need to pull,
cutting them down before they grow tall,
giving my plants room to spread when they're small
and unable to fight weeds on their own;
something quite difficult even when full-grown.
Perhaps in our lives we should impliment a hoe,
cutting down the bad things before they take root and grow.
If we weed crap out while small and few
we'll have more strength to grow in all we do.

Book Review: I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells

2011-06-12T14:09:00.002-06:00

True to the form of his past two books, Dan Wells kept me on the edge of my seat with his new novel, I Don't Want to Kill You. John Wayne Cleaver, the pchycotic, messed teenager that you can't help but root for, again goes up against a demon knowing he must rid the world of this menace before it kills more people. But this time, instead of John stumbling upon the demons, he has invited one to come find him.

Dan has a way of drawing the reader in, keeping them turning the page and presenting an ending that ties up the story neatly and in a satisfying way. The more I have studied story and plot, the more I realize that Dan has utilized Larry Brooks' six core competencies to the fullest. In fact Dan had taught them once in a workshop I had attended at LTUE sometime ago, but they didn't really click with me until I recently read Larry Brooks' Story Engineering. Now, as I recognize competencies in Dan's keep-me-reading books, and I am currently trying to impliment them in my writing, I see how powerful of a tool they are. Good, entertaining writing is no accident. I takes effort and skill, and Dan has accomplished this once again in the book.

Though this book and it's prequels are classified in the horror genre, they are still mild enough, I feel, to be appropriate for teen readers--which is his target audience. My 15 year old daughter has read all of the books in this series and loved them. I would heartily recommend this book to those of you who like action with a mix of mystery and suspense.

Wednesday's Word: Calories

2011-06-08T13:27:00.001-06:00

With birthday cake and vacation , my diet has been inundated with fattening things this past week, so this week's word has got to be calories. This is not a new poem, but it fits what has impressed me this past week.

Cookies and cakes,

chocolates and cremes;

confections galor

collect in my dreams.

Though cheerful and calm

this culinary chant seems,

it chugs and it churns,

and to my conscience it screams

that my closet and clothes

contain no more room in their seams,

and celery and chard

should compose my calorie teams.

Bloghop

2011-06-07T17:24:00.001-06:00

Several bloggers are particiapating in this bloghop as a way to promote and celebrate Alana Johnson's debut novel, Obsession. Because this book is about a girl who goes against the rules, we are supposed to share a story of a time that we broke the rules. To do this, the easiest thing for me is to dig up a story from when I was about the same age as the protaganist of Alana's book--those good old teenage years.

As a senior in high school, I was the studentbody secretary, so I could roam around the halls in the middle of class and get away with it--student council business. One time, me and another girl on the council got so bored in one of our classes, we skipped not only class, but school, trucking on over (literally, because I drove my dad's old beat-up Ford pickup) to a neighboring city and highschool to visist some boys we knew there. We told our friend to cover for us in the attendance office, telling whoever might ask, that we were on student council business.
I realize this sounds boring and anticlimatic, but hey, my life was kind of squeeky clean in high school, and then just plain boring as an adult.

Spread the News About an Awesome New Book

2011-06-03T13:23:00.000-06:00

If you would like to have a chance to win a copy of Alana Johnson's debut novel Possession, click on this link and join the fun. She is a friend of mine and I would love to see her new book hit the NYT best sellers list. What goes around, comes around. If we aspiring authors all support each other, especially when someone has a new book coming out, when we find ourselves in that position, I'm confident there will be good souls around to help us too.
FYI: her book launch party is to be held at the Kings English Bookstore, next Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM. Drop by and show Alana your support.

Wednesday's Word: Water

2011-06-01T14:03:00.002-06:00

Today as I went walking along a nearby wooded walking path, the sound of the nearby creek inspired me for this week's Wednesday's Word: Water

Snow melts in the mountians, cascades its way down
to the feilds and flowers like a shimering gown.
It trickles a tune, like a flute as it flows
over pebbles and boulders, and green things it grows.
It sounds like a song sung to lull me to sleep,
to evoke emotion, make me wonder and weep.
How can something so simple as water in motion,
drown out the dribble of man-made commotion,
and paint a picture that life is glorious and grand?
I'm sure it has something to do with the Creator's hand.

Wednesday's Word: Rain

2011-05-25T09:44:00.000-06:00

This week's word has got to be rain.

But it isn't because I want to complain.
Yes, dismal, dark days are growing quite old,
and my basement steps are now growing mold.
But beneath their dark linings, the clouds show some white,
and every few days they allow the sun's light
to peek through with blue and dry out the rain
and bring color to Earth's every terrain.
True, good weather'd be nice to have everyday;
have the storms and the wind stay far away.
But endless sun would dry-up the earth,
fry the plants, prevent their new birth.
Just like anything worthwhile to know,
there must be opposition in order to grow.

Wednesday's Word this week: Green

2011-05-18T07:51:00.000-06:00

A few days ago, before all the rain, after all that other rain, as I went walking I was delighted by the varying shades of green that I saw along the trail. It was like candy for my eyes, treating them with a visual treat. I decided that this week's word had to be GREEN.

Chartrueuse, moss, or pine,
shades of green define
the fresh landscapes of spring
and the new life they bring
to tired eyes like mine
after months of wintertime.

So when someone calls me green
in my development of scene,
or character, plot, or voice,
I think it's a lovely choice.
For as a new writer I know
if I'm green,
I'm full of life, ready to grow.

Book Review: Miles From Ordinary

2011-05-16T11:57:00.000-06:00

Thirteen-year-old Lacey wakes to a beautiful summer morning excited to begin her new job at the library, just as her mother is set to start her first day of work at the lockal grocery store. This is where the ordinary elements of this story end. Carol Lynch Williams pulls the reader into the head of her young protaganist as no other author can. She builds a scary, uncertain world, not one of science-fiction or fantasy, but of everyday life through the eyes of a girl living with a severly depressed mother.

The book started out a little slow for me. This was probably due to the fact that Williams had to set the stage for her drama, just as science-fiction writers have to dedicate pages to world building because their story takes place in a setting unfamiliar to the reader. Also, it could be that the entire book takes place during the time period of only one day. The fact that she began her story with a dream and peppered the entire novel with flashbacks held me back from liking the story as much as I had enjoyed her first novel, The Chosen One. But the more I read, the more I was rewarded with a story that kept me on the edge of my seat and made me want to bite my fingernails down to the quick--even though I'm not a nail biter.

I did like the ending of Miles From Ordinary more than the Chosen One, as it gave me a closure that worked for me.

I realize that this book may not be for everyone, as it is quite dark in places and deals with subject matter to which some people may not want to expose their kids . But having grown up in a family that is racked with depression, I found it realistic and my heart ached the more for young Lacey--an innocent victim of the poorly understood disease of depression.

Wednesday's Word: Plant

2011-05-11T09:19:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I was finally able to plant my garden. It's no wonder that the word that moved me this week is the word PLANT. Here are my thoughts on that word.

PLANT

To me, it's a viseral verb
or a life-giving noun.
To others it might be
a factory on the edge of town.
Regardless of your choice,
I have need to give voice
to the verb, a word of renoun.
To PLANT one usually begins with a seed,
whether a squash or a weed,
a good thought or good deed,
or a character in need.
Each then grows into somthing more,
something much larger than before.
But it never could have been
without planting that seed way back when.

2011-05-04T10:27:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun doing the A to Z Blogfest, taking random words and writing my feelings about them, that I have decided to continue the fun, but only on Wednesday. I won't restrict my writing to any particular letter of the alphabet. I will simply write about an object or word that has impressed me from the past week.
Today, as I went walking, it was so nice to finally feel the warmth of the sunshine touching my face. So this week's Wednesday's Word is SUNSHINE

Sunshine on my face,
sunshine on my toe,
the sun up in the sky
is more important than you know.
It brings us warmth and life.
It helps the world to grow.
But there is another Son.
He too brings us light.
And warmth and joy and life
if we keep him in our sight.

You want to make it dystopic? Take away reading.

2011-05-03T09:16:00.000-06:00

It's strange, the places that teach the importance of reading. I've been working on a new novel in a post-apocalyptic/dystopic setting. I just finished reading The Giver and am currently reading 1984 for as brain fodder as part of the process. Last night as I read in the Book of Mormon with my daughter, it talked about the importance of the brass plates. They not only kept a record of the history of the Nephites and the commandments of God, but a record of the language of their people. In other words, without the written word, the Nephite civilization would have gone the way of the Lamanites: illiterate, aimless, and a barbaric. This reminded me of almost all the dystopic/post apocalyptic novels that I've read. These dystopic societies all seem to have one common element: the absence or forbiddence of books/reading. I found it strange that before I even came to this conclusion, my WIP contains this same element. (Though it is out of apathy rather than regulation).
The words of the prophet Mosiah brought to light why the element of the written word is such a crucial element in a utopic world, and why a society turns dystopic without it.

A to Z Blogfest: Z is for zzzzz's

2011-04-30T08:46:00.000-06:00

Z is for zzzzz's,
which means sleeping with ease.
Now that April is over,
my life with be a breeze.
This past month I've restored a house.
I've painted or puttied every day.
I got a new calling
inwhich I'm still finding my way.
And I've blogged a bit of poetry
almost everyday.
Now I'm ready to rest.
I'm so glad tommorow's May.

A to Z Blogfest: Y is for Yellow

2011-04-29T08:04:00.000-06:00

Yellow's my favorite color.
I love how it makes me feel.
When I see it as a flower
I want to clap my hands and squeal.
When I see it in a sweater
I want to buy that one.
When I see it on a car
I want to drive for fun.
I love how yellow livens things,
it sends a message to my eyes
of warmth, energy and happiness,
yes, my love of yellow is no surprise.

A to Z Blogfest: X is for Xylem

2011-04-28T07:37:00.000-06:00

Xylem is an awesome word.
But then I'm a botany nerd.
Xylem is an amazing thing.
It pulls things up, and life it brings.
Such a metaphor I can't ignore.
I should be like xylem more and more.

A to Z Blogfest: W is for Whole Wheat Waffles

2011-04-27T07:58:00.000-06:00

Whole wheat cookies, whole wheat cakes,
Carolyn puts whole wheat in everything she bakes.
And every morning when she wakes
whole wheat waffles she always makes.
They are nice and healthy make no mistake,
with fruit and yogart, for goodness sake.
Here's her tasty recipe to take and make
your own whole wheat waffles, so take a break
from those sugary cereals that taste so fake.

Whole Wheat Waffles
1 cup freshly ground whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon plain or vanilla yogart
1 egg.

But in a bowl, mix all together with wire whip and pour into your waffle iron.
Top with fresh fruit, vanilla yogart and chopped walnuts.
Enjoy.

A to Z Blogfest: V is for Visit other Blogs

2011-04-26T07:42:00.000-06:00

My suggestion for V
is to visit others, not me.
My brain is on vacation
and there's nothing here to see.

A to Z Blogfest: U is for Understanding

2011-04-25T08:38:00.000-06:00

Understanding is important
in everything you do,
whether comprehending physics,
or learning to tie your shoe.
It's also quite essential
when creating characters too.
You must understand what they're thinking
or your writing will stink like poo.

(Okay, so I know this one was lame, but I'm in a hurry today.)

A to Z Blogfest: T is for Tree

2011-04-23T08:14:00.000-06:00

I love trees! In honor of Earthday and the letter T, I am going to share a picturebook manuscript I have written about one of my favorite friends.

My Friend is a Tree

My friend doesn't wear
pink bows in her hair.
My friend doesn't eat
milk, muffins, or meat.

My friend doesn't shop,
swim, cycle, or hop.
My friend's not like me.
My friend is a tree.

In spring she's all white.
Her blossoms delight
my eyes and my nose.
I love what she grows.

She's so fun to climb
in midsummer time.
If I get the whim,
I swing from her limb.

an apple a day
I eat when I play
with her in the fall.
She helps me grow tall.

Last winter I'm told,
when it got too cold,
she gave her right arm
to help keep me warm.

There's more to y friend.
Her gifts have no end.
She gives me for free
stuff essential to me.

Recycling the air,
she makes lots to share.
Used air becomes new,
so I don't turn blue.

When it's a hot day
I don't want to play.
I long for her shade
where cool air is made.

When I wan to run,
when smog dusts the sun,
I'm glad that she's there,
her leaves clean the air.

My friend's not alone.
All trees that are grown,
like oak, ash, and fir,
give gifts just like her.

We all need the trees,
baboons, birds, and bees,
kids like us, too.
So what should we do?

Recycling is good.
It saves lots of wood.
I'll turn off the light,
add blankets at night.

I'll walk a lot more
to school and the store,
and plant a new tree--
a new friend for me.

A to Z Blogfest: S is for Spring

2011-04-22T08:14:00.002-06:00

Spring is my favorite time of year.
It always seems to bring a tear
of sweet gratitude to my eyes
as I peer into its crisp blue skys
and watch white clouds float to and fro,
knowing their mosture will help things grow.
I gaze at young plants, tender and green,
and rainbows and flowers; a beautiful scene.
Eash so fresh, so vidvid, so new.
Spring makes me feel the same way too.

A to Z Blogfest: R is for Rhyme

2011-04-21T08:33:00.000-06:00

Is rhyme a crime?
Does it take more time
to spend a dime
to buy a lime
or watch a mime
fake a climb
if we speak in rhyme?
No.
We just enjoy our time.
Aren't words sublime?

A to Z Blogfest: Q is for Quality

2011-04-20T08:13:00.001-06:00

Quality Quotient (Tips for quality creations)

Make it quick and easy
in everything you do,
and keep working
while waiting in a que,
whether writing quips or queries
or ordering at D.Q.
Whether quartering off a quilt
or making a queasy quest on stilts,
whatever you do ask questions
and don't quit before you're through.

A to Z Blogfest: P is for Potato Chips (Also Prize for my book giveaway)

2011-04-19T09:01:00.001-06:00

Potato chips are my favorite pig-out prize,
along with peanuts, popcorn, pumpkin pies,
pralines, pizza, and sweet potato fries.
If I persist on partaking you can safely surmise
pernicious health problems will probably arise.
And if my pants are pushed to a portly size,
it pretty much won't be a peculiar surprise.

P is also for Prize. I will now announce the winner of my Hazzardous Universe Contest. The PRIZE goes to:
Damsel in DisDress, Margot Hovely
Margot, if you happen to read this post shoot me an e-mail or a comment with your address so that I can mail the book to you. In the mean time I will try and contact you. Thanks, everyone, for entering. Watch for my next month's contest. I will be giving away a big puppet. Hey, that's a P word too.

A to Z Blogfest: O is for an Objective Book Review: Depth of Deceipt

2011-04-18T08:24:00.000-06:00

O is also for Orange, the color of the cover of Betty Briggs' new book, Depth of Deceit, a fun book I've reviewed as part of her blog tour.

I was a bit leery when I picked up Depth of Deceit to read. Though I love horses—at a distance, grazing in the fields—I have never been a fan of the National Velvet-type books. But I was pleasantly surprised by this book by Betty Briggs. Almost immediately the story pulled me into its intrique and mystery.

Beautiful Stephanie Saunders is a junior attorney at an established law firm. She feels like she always gets stuck with the less-than-desirable jobs, such as public defender for scum. Stephanie has no family, as she was orphaned at a young age. Her job gives her hope of a bright future, but at the moment very little comfort. The only thing that keeps Stephanie sane is the horses she loves but does not own. A court assigned client comes along that seems different somehow. At first she thinks he is following her. Then she begins to be attracted to him. But the more the story unravels the more the reader discovers and intricate web of deceit woven by the people Stephanie has come to trust.

I was glad to see that horses were not the main theme of this book. They were merely an extension of the main character, serving to warm the reader up to Stephanie and bring out the loving qualities she herself did not think she possessed. I kept the pages turning as discovery after discovery led me to ache for this young woman whose life had been turned upside down by forces completely out of her control. Everything came to a head in a climax that truly had me on the edge of my seat.

My only major disappointment in the book was the way the author didn’t take advantage of her brilliantly constructed climax and kept the story going long after it felt like it should be over. A few pages after the climax was all that would be needed to tie up the loose ends and make sure you knew the girl gets the guy. But she dragged the story on, telling me superfluous details that only distracted from the invigorating story I had just experienced.

I would still heartily recommend this book, especially to those who love a good romantic suspense novel.

If you would like a purchase link for the book click here.
I encourage you to visit Betty Briggs' web site to learn more about her and her other great books.

A to Z Blogfest: N is for Nice

2011-04-16T09:31:00.000-06:00

Nice is a word that describes how things are.
Its numerous meanings can stretch wide and far,
like nifty, not naughty, noble, neat, new,
neighborly and notable to name just a few.
But more importantly, nice is a word
by which I note my novel friends like you.

A to Z Blogfest: M is for Mother

2011-04-15T08:07:00.000-06:00

I wrote this tribute to my mother when she passed away two years ago. I thought it would be fitting for the letter M.

Vitamins and wholegrain foods,
foot massage and flowers,
sewing dresses, baking bread,
creating things for hours.

My mother shared her gifts with me,
I loved the things she did.
I've followed in her foot steps
since I was just a kid.
It stared out quite simple,
a dress, a boutonniere.
But the creations grew much grander
with every passing year.
An education and a marriage,
a family and a home,
achievements that were mine because
of the example I was shown.

My heart is full of gratitude
for what my mom gave me,
for how to learn and love,
and live creatively.
But most of all I'm grateful
for how she lived her life,
and served her Lord and family
in good times and through strife.

I no longer have her smile
to brighten up my day.
But I have a cherished memory.
I want to live her way.

A to Z Blogfest: L is for Laundry

2011-04-14T08:19:00.000-06:00

I wish laundry day
would stay away.
Or better yet, the laundry would do itself.

The colors would crawl
into piles big and small
from heaping hampers or where it'd been stuffed on the shelf.

It'd be great
if the socks would mate
and generate rather than shrink.

There'd be no stains,
no pre-spotting pains,
nor would the clothes ever stink.

They'd walk to the washer,
dash into the dryer,
then fold and put themselves away.

I'd ignore the strange,
and the pocket change
if my laundry day could be that way.

A to Z blogfest: K is for ketchup

2011-04-13T08:02:00.000-06:00

Made from tons of tomatoes,
sugar and spice,
ketchup's a condiment
that's really quite nice.
It brightens a burger,
makes your dogs a delight,
forms a fiesta from fries,
and can even add taste
to your tuna surprise.
The cadre for ketchup
continue to mount,
but as a serving of vegetables,
I won't let it count.

A to Z Blogfest: J is for Jars

2011-04-12T08:11:00.000-06:00

Jars

Big ones, little ones
old ones, new,
jars make me jealous
by the things they can do.
They hold and preserve things
in colors of all hues,
from jams and joint creams
to junk like booze.
Fragile ones, tough ones,
clear, brown or blue,
jars are good for holding things,
but so are me and you.
Jealousy, justice, jitters,
and joy to name a few.
But just like a jar,
we can keep or jettison our contents
and replace it with something new.

A to Z Blogfest: I is for ice

2011-04-11T06:56:00.000-06:00

Ice is nice,
at least once or twice
as cubes inside
my soft drink.
But ice is bad,
at least what we've had
outside for three days.
I think it stinks.

A to Z Blogfest: H is for a Hap Hazzard giveaway, also for Husband

2011-04-09T06:23:00.000-06:00

This month's contest/giveaway prize is a copy of Julie Wright's Hazzardous Universe, a new fun middle-grade science fiction novel. You can check out my review and or just leave a comment to enter. Yep, that's all that's required to enter for my drawing for the book, is be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post. I'll announce the winner at a random date before the end of the month, so don't wait to enter.

I couldn't let H pass by without a rhyme for to honor it, as I didn't want the poor letter to feel left out. So here are my random thoughts and rhymes for H.

Husbands

Husbands help.
Husbands hinder.
Husbands give off heat
in the heart of winter.
Husbands hug.
Husbands hear.
And whether hair or bald,
you hold them dear.

A to Z Blogfest: G is for Garden

2011-04-08T06:42:00.000-06:00

Gardens come in all shapes and sizes.
They can be full of weeds
or win blue prizes.
They can grow gourds and greenbeans,
guava or grapes.
They can grow in a greenhouse
or in grand landscapes.
Or a garden can be something
grown in your mind
if you have fertile soil
and good seeds of all kinds.
Gratitude, generosity,
gentleness and grins,
when thoughts produce these,
it's where greatness begins.

A to Z Blogfest: F is for Frank

2011-04-07T10:25:00.000-06:00

Frank could be a hotdog
you devour at a meal.
Frank could be a demeanor
that could make or break a deal.
Frank could present your opinion
if something's right or wrong.
Or Frank could be an author
that loves to write in song.

A to Z Blogfest: E is for Ego

2011-04-06T08:09:00.000-06:00

Egos are big.
Egos are small.
Egos are something
possed by all.
Egos can be bad.
But they can be good
when they motivate a person
to do what they should,
by coming out of their shell
and strive to do well.
But if an ego ever gets in the way
of saying "Have a nice day,"
to one you might think is odd
or has sinned against God,
or doesn't dress like you,
or do what you do,
then it's time to get a big pin
and take your ego and stick it in!

A to Z Blogfest: D is for Dogs

2011-04-05T07:52:00.000-06:00

Some dogs are daring,
some are dramatic.
Some do their duty
out-doors so sporatic.
Some are dangerous,
others docile and darling.
Some dig in dirt,
while others dash after starlings.
But the greatest deed dogs do
is be devoted to me and you.

A to Z Blogfest: C is for Calories

2011-04-04T08:07:00.001-06:00

Cookies and cakes,
chocolates and cremes;
confections galor
collect in my dreams.
Though cheerful and calm
this culinary chant seems,
it chugs and it churns,
and to my conscience it screams
that my closet and clothes
contain no more room in their seams,
and celery and chard
should compose my calorie teams.

Blog for "B" is About What's Beautiful to Me

2011-04-02T08:32:00.000-06:00

Butterflies and bees,
bluebells swaying in the breeze,
and the blanched bark
of a boquet of birch trees.
Botany and bugs
are what's beautiful to me--
or anything that blares nature's bounty.

A to Z Blogfest

2011-04-01T09:40:00.000-06:00

I just barely found out about this fun blog fest. It will be running through the month of April. Every day participants will blog about a different letter of the alphabet, starting today with the letter A. I hear that it is a great way to add followers to one's blog.

I'm going to pick something random to start with. The first thing that popped into my head that starts with A is AIR. So now my thoughts about air I will share. Hey maybe I should do it in rhyme.

Air is there,
it's everywhere.
It blows through our hair.
It determines what we wear.
It can be wild, mild or fair.
It helps grow a pear,
and a bear
and everything, I swear.
But we'd better beware,
though there's pleanty to share,
it might not always be there,
if we don't take care
of the air.

That was fun!
Tomorrow hop on over and see
what I do for B.

Announcing: Winners of My Puppet-Give-Away Contest

2011-03-31T10:28:00.000-06:00

Its the end of March already. My how time flies. This is just a quick post to announce the winners of my puppet give away contest. The winners are:

Taffy Lovell

Rebecca Blevins

The Insect Collector

Now if I can just get the addresses of you three wonderful ladies, I will send their puppets out to you. If you happen to read this post, leave me a comment with your address. (I think I might still have Taffy's address. She won my last contest. And no, this was not rigged, and I am not bribbing Taffy with free junk to coerce her to help me land a book contract or something. It was purely statistical probability that chose her--her name was drawn out of the hat).

See, it's easy to enter and win in my contests. Hope you give next month's contest a shot. I will be giving away a copy of Julie Wright's Hazzardous Universe.

You Never Know Where You'll Come Up With a Great Idea

2011-03-26T19:37:00.000-06:00

Today I attended the LUW Northern Area spring conference. It was awesome. I not only learned lots, but the conference served to change my thinking regarding my work in progress. In the past when I've started a book, I always stayed with it until I finished. Although my current novel I feel is better than the ones I have written up to this point, I think I'm going to put it on the back burner and persue a story that had its birth less than 2 weeks ago. Why? Because this new story idea has a character that is so strong she is yelling at me to write her story. She has zing and so does her story--a story that flowed into my head in one night.

At the conference, John Brown (great presenter) mentioned that we need to take advantage of the zing when it hits and write it down immediately. That's what I happened to do with this idea. Hearing him tell me about what I had already done made me realize that the whole story has zing and maybe I should follow it while it still exictes me. If I shove it away in the computer somewhere, that zing will probably fade. All this week I have been wrestling with a desire to work on this new story, telling me I needed to finish my current great WIP. But when I heard that Jennifer Nelson had totally shelved a book of hers, that she loved and thought was great, because it had a weak character, I thought if she could do that, perhaps I could shelf my WIP for a while. This idea was further encouraged by John Brown telling of how he has re-written his current WIP almost completely three times. If both of those successful authors can do that much writing that they will never use (except for experience), I can't be a cry baby and mourn the time I have put into a half manuscript that I'll put on the shelve and maybe never use.

Now, you're probably wondering what the title of this blog has to do with anything. I'll tell you. The most interesting part of this whole story is the source of my inspiration for this new book idea. Two weeks ago my awesome critique group had a party instead of reading manuscripts. We played Liebrary. If you writers out there have never played this game you should give it a try. It's kind of like Balderdash, but instead of making up definitions to words, you make up the first lines of novels. One of the bogus first lines I came up with garnered the attention of my fellow writers. I quite liked it myself. (It was probably the only decent one I wrote all night). On the way home from the party, the sentence rolled over and over in my mind. It almost begged to release the story it held. The ideas flowed and the character came to life. So I think I've got to see where this single sentence takes me. (By the way, I didn't win).

My new WIP begins as follows:
Born into bondage, Seethea took her first breath like she owned it.

Next week I might post the synopsis for Born Into Bondage (working title). I haven't decided if that would be a good idea or not.

Moral of this blog post--play games.

Book Review: Hazzardous Universe

2011-03-19T07:20:00.001-06:00

Author Julie Wright has ventured into the relms of Middle Grade science fiction with her new novel, Hazzardous Universe. In her story, 14 year old Hap Hazzard (loved the name), and a neighbor girl, Tara, are abducted by aliens by mistake. Hap's grandfather has always talked about aliens in the past but everyone, including Hap had never believed him--until now. Hap and Tara are whisked away from earth on a pizza-slice shaped space ship.(Fun concept for kids). They encounter a host of imaginative creatures and characters as their captors smuggle an all-powerful crystal away from earth. Hap steps in to try and thwart the crystal from falling into the wrong hands, but ends up facilitating the proccess instead.

As a person who writes MG books, and often reads and enjoys them, I found this particular book read a lot younger than the actual age of the protaganist. First, the story question felt weak and very juvenile to me, (the thing that the protaganist wants more than anything). Hap, more than anything, wants to get home to his family. This felt weakened even further when at the end of the book, Hap too easily tosses this desire to the background and decides to venture off into the unknown universe with his accidental captors. Second, I found the tension in the story weak and often contrived. But with an intended audience of young children, I'm sure this was by the author's design. Though Harry Potter was written for children, (and read by a lot of adults like me), some parents found numerous scenes too intense for young children. This was obviously avoided in Hazzardous Universe. It reads squeeky clean and harmless.

So my dissapointment with the book stems from the adult reader in me. It was like being served Campbell's chicken noodle soup when you had anticipated Zuppa's lobster bisque. But I've got to remember the audience: children. And children, for the most part, would prefer Campbell's chicken noodle soup over lobster bisque any day.

In conclusion, I would easily recommend Hazzardous Universe to young readers (10-13), especially if they are fans of science fiction. But to those adult readers out there who want realistic action and riviting suspense, I suggest you stay in the adult literature section to make your choice.

Keep checking my blog. I will be giving away a copy of Hazzardous Universe as part of my April blog contest. And don't forget to comment on March's contest post. There is still plenty of time to leave a comment and have a chance to win some free puppets. Yes, that's how easy it is, just leave a comment.

New Contest: Win free puppets

2011-03-11T10:51:00.001-07:00

From 1994 until 2009, I owned an operated a puppet manufacturing business known as Puppet Partners Inc. In 2009 I felt that I had taken my business as far as I could with my limited abilities in business. My true abilities, and passion lied with the creative aspect of the business--designing and sewing the puppets as well as creating the educational curriculums that accompanied some of the puppets. So when the opportunity came to sell my business to Get Ready Kids in New Jersey (one of my competitors), I jumped on the opportunity. I had begun writing YA/MG novels and this would give me the opportunity to follow another one of my passions: writing.

Get Ready Kids did not purchase my full line. (I had over 66 sku's). So I kept my small retail puppet store so that I could continue to sell out some of the lines I retained until they are gone. Petite Performes is one of those lines. It is a darling line, but was too expensive to manufacture for this new company to warrant keeping. I have quit a few in stock, so I am offering 3 sets as part of this give away.

The puppets are smaller, European-style puppets designed to fit both a child or an adult's hand. Different prop sets are available to dress the puppets up for performances, or just creative play. Each set will contain a boy and girl puppet and one set of props. To see more detail on these puppets, as well as others I sell on my website, check out http://www.puppetorium.com/

Now for the easy entry rules. Become a follower and leave a comment. If you are already a follower, great. Every follower that leaves a comment will go into the drawing. You have until March 31 to enter with your comment. I will announce the 3 winners on April 1 (no fooling).

Catch Me If You Can Blogfest

2011-03-07T11:43:00.001-07:00

I just learned about this cool blog fest--today. It starts today, and I'm entering today, so it's not too late for any of you other writers who are up to it. It's called Catch Me If You Can Blogfest, hosted by KayKay's Corner blog.
As stated on her blog, "We've all heard it a millon times: If your book doesn't catch the agent/publisher's eye quickly, they'll probably reject it. So, I'm sure at one time or another we've asked ourselves, 'Does my WIP catch people's attention right away?'" Her contest will give us writers a chance to bounce our first 550 words off each other as part of her fun blog fest.
Here's my first 550 or so words of my newest novel, a middle grade science fiction with the working title of Tree Boy:

If Pete didn’t win, he would die.

Okay, he wouldn’t really die. But it was his best hope for pulling his stinky-shoe life out of the toilet. If everyone at Sulfur Springs Middle School could recognize his genius, they would finally appreciate Peter Oaks. Even his dad would.

“Exactly what are we supposed to be looking for again?” Cassie pulled a twig from her hair with obvious revulsion and threw it on the ground.

“Anything that you might consider to be a pine cone.” Pete pulled open a brown grocery bag and shoved it in front of his sister’s face. “As long as it looks different from these.” He couldn’t understand his sister’s dingy brain. “I told you that a million times.”

“Sorry, your highness, master of geeks.” She exaggerated a bow, her hand sweeping an arc in the air in front of her face.

“I am not a geek.”

“Okay, then you’re a nerd.” Cassie straightened her back.

Pete kept his eyes busy scanning each side of the mountain trail for new species. “I can live with ‘nerd.’”

“That’s good, ‘cause no normal brother would drag their big sister out into a flippin’ forest in the middle of April to help them with a stupid sixth grade science project. Can’t you just build a volcano out of Play-doh, or something?”

“You know my favorite field of science is botany.” Why couldn’t his sister remember that? “And a volcano would never make it to the state competition. Duh!”

“I guess I still don’t get it. Isn’t a pine cone a pine cone?” Cassie held onto a corner of the paper bag and peered inside. She jerked her fingers away and then held them up like she was a hand model. “Look what this stupid forest is doing to my nails. They’re filthy. I’ll need a manicure when I get home.”

“Never mind. You’re no help.” Pete pulled the bag away and rolled down the top so he could hold on better. He resumed scanning the forest. “I tried to explain it as simple as I could. I mean, would it help if I told you I’m looking for the seeds of all the indigenous species of conifers that populate the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains?”

“There you go again.” Cassie stomped off the trail and headed toward a giant Ponderosa Pine. “Talking like a geek. Oh, excuse me, a nerd. I’m smart too, you know. I’ll have you know I’m the only one in Mrs. Smedley’s seventh grade creative writing class that’s getting an A.” She stretched up on her tip toes and pulled a cone from the lower branches of the tree. “If Mom is going to make me come with you, then I’m going be of some use.”

“I’ve already got a specimen from that variety of tree.”

“What about that one?” Cassie pointed to a gnarled pine tree. It appeared to grow almost sideways from an outcropping of rock about a hundred yards up the mountainside. She took off at a near sprint.

Pete stopped. He squinted his eyes through his glasses to get a better look at the tree. Maybe she was worth bringing along. “Good eye, Cass.” Pete climbed after her. “I don’t have that one. In fact I didn’t even know those grew around here. Let me get a closer look. Is it? No, can’t be!”

Hazzardous Universe Launch Party

2011-03-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

Hey all you readers of YA/Middle Grade, there is an exciting new science fiction book soon to hit the shelves at Barnes and Noble--and hopefully the one in your living room. It's entitled Hazzardous Universe. Please come join Julie Wright for her launch party for Hazzardous Universe on March 9th at the Murray Utah Barnes and Noble (5300 south and State Street) She'll be there from 6-8 pm and we would love to see everyone there.

She is also holding a contest where you could win a copy of her new book. Check out her blog for the details.

Thanks Authors Incognito

2011-03-04T18:48:00.002-07:00

In a world inundated with selfishness from all quarters, I was reassured today that goodness and empathy still exists.

I have just completed two novels and have them polished to the point that my eyes can do them no more good. Last night, after I realized a certain family member was not going to be the resource I had counted on to proof-read my books, I decided I needed to find a good beta reader. But asking someone to do something that even a family member wouldn't do left me feeling uncomfortable. I hate to ask for favors.

I became discouraged and ventured down the self-defeating I'll-never-become-a-published-author path. (I'm sure that never happens to any of you other writers out there). After a good night's rest, and some prayer, I felt better this morning. But I still needed to find a reader. I decided to post my need on an aspiring author Yahoo group that I'm associated with, Author's Incognito. Less than an hour later I had four different individuals contact me via e-mail to tell me they would be happy to be a beta reader for me. That made my day and gave me the jolt I needed to keep going.

I want to give a hearty THANK YOU to all those wonderful caring people who are members of Author's Incognito. I know I am not alone in receiving help on this not-so-pleasant path of becoming an author. I see other examples daily on our Yahoo group of help extended to others in a myriad of ways. It is refreshing oasis in a world filled with selfishness.

Winner of my first-ever contest: Taffy Lovell

2011-03-01T12:05:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Taffy. She is the winner of an autographed copy of The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby. I will send Taffy her new book as soon as I receive her mailing address. In the meantime, I have become a follower of her awesome book review blog The Book Addict. Stop on over at her blog and check out her great book reviews.

This month I will be giving away a set of Petite Performer puppets. If you would like to win some free puppets, keep checking back for more details.

Book Review: Moon Over Manifest (This year's Newberry)

2011-02-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

This year's Newberry winner is a delightful mix of nostalga, history and a longing to belong. I found the author's unique twist in storytelling both intriguing and refreshing.

Moon Over Manifest begins with a tom-boy, Depression-era stock heroine, Abilene Tucker, arriving in her father's hometown of Manifest, Kansas. She's used to hopping trains, poor living conditions,and a rough life. She discovers some forgotten treasures of another homeless child her foster-type guardian, Shady, had taken in years before. As she works to unravel the mystery of these trinkets, she opens up a story from the past and puts the pieces together to find where she fits into its folds.

The last Newberry I read was The Graveyard Book. Though I found Neil Gaiman's prose absolutely delightful to read, I didn't care much for the story. Clare Vanderpool's prose in Moon Over Manifest were nothing outstanding, put her story tugged at my heartstrings with warmth I enjoyed and very much missing in the Graveyard Book.

I would easily recomend this book to those who love a homespun type of story, and lovers of history. And I would give it 100 stars compared to Snooki's book, A Shore Thing. (Check out this past post to see what I am referring to).

President's Day Contest: win a signed copy of The Clockwork Three

2011-02-21T14:07:00.002-07:00

This, my very first contest, has nothing really to do with George Washington, or any other president for that matter. It just happens that the day I am posting it is on President's Day. So here's my contest; it's going to be very easy. I like easy! Make a comment on this post. You get one chance at winning just for your post. If you are a follower, mention that--there is another chance. If you are not a follower, become one, as that will gain you a chance. Mention my blog somewhere in your social media travels and that will gain you another chance. (You just need to mention where you told people about my blog in your comment). There it is, EASY. I will announce the winner on the first of March. In case you didn't notice my banner at the right of this entry, the prize for my President's Day contest is a signed copy of Scholastic's popular kids book, The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby. You can check out my review of this book if you'd like.

Watch for next month's contest where I will be giving away free puppets.

Today Show Blunder (But then smut sells more than Newberrys)

2011-02-16T10:50:00.001-07:00

I can't beleive it, one of the few TV shows I ever watch just sunk in my personal ratings. I read an article on the SCBWI website today about how the first time in the eleven years the Today Show didn't have the Newberry and Caldecot winners on their show after the awards were announced at the mid-winter ALA conference. As if that insult was not enough, the time slot, that these guest appearances would have aired in past years, was filled by another author; an auther about as far away from the caliber of a Newberry as one could get--Snooki (reality TV star of Jersey Shore). Since I had just blogged about Snooki's less than stellar book last week, having seen that interview on the Today Show, (unaware that it had taken the place of this year's Newberry winner, Moon Over Manifest--a book that I have read, loved, and plan to review on this blog soon), this caught my interest. You can read an excellent article on thisToday Show faux pas posted on publishers weekly. You can also review what I had to say about Snooki's book last week on my blog. What is this world coming to? Will sumtty, poorly written works soon become the books of choice for our children, and awards like the Newberry will merely mean a gold label on a jacket cover?

Romance Blog Fest: Angry hair makes for good first impressions.

2011-02-14T13:11:00.003-07:00

A lot of my fellow writers have been talking about this blog fest for some time. I didn't think I would have time to participate, so I just blew it off. At lunch today, I started reading some of the other posts. I then thought, I can do this. I might be a little late, but, heck it's never too late for romance. So here is an excerpt of romance from one of my works in progress. It's middle grade, so it's not too steamy. In fact, it's not even romantic, but this is how these two kids first meet. It's all I've got--and I wanted to join the fun. It's actually the first few lines of my WIP Literary Loom. I'm hoping to send out querys soon to find and agent.

Josh scanned the unfamiliar classroom. There was only one empty seat—the front row, off to one side. It was next to a strange looking girl. Her desk was scooted apart from the others—or maybe the others did the scooting away.

Her mousy brown hair grew from her head like it was angry, or at least never saw the likes of one of those iron thingys girls used to mess with their hair.

Josh’s pontoon feet suddenly didn’t feel so large. Maybe he wouldn’t be the weirdest kid at this school after all.

What do John Grisham and Snooki Have in Common?

2011-02-02T14:13:00.001-07:00

Their name alone was sufficient to get their books published.

You most likely know who John Grisham is, and you're probably saying, "hold on a minute, he's a famous writer and his legal thrillers are a good read. Snooki, on the other hand, you might be clueless--unless you or your kids are big MTV fans. (For the record, I am not a fan, but learned about Snooki via the Today show when they spot-lighted her new novel. She is a regular on the hit reality show, Jersey Shore, which is basically a bunch of moral-less young adults of Italian heritage living their wild lifestyle on the Jersey shore in front of the camera).

I waited for three months to get a copy from my local libray of John Grisham's first attempt at middle grade fiction. I finally got it last week: Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer. From the first page, the book never ceased to amaze me at the total lack of understanding this seasoned author had in regards to writing for children. He would constantly talk down to the reader, defining simple words like carousel in a plethora of "as you know, Bob," moments, or bringing in new characters with descriptions such as, "Mr. Mount was in his midthirties, and had once worked as a lawyer at at gigantic firm in a skycraper in Chicago." I felt like I was reading a first grade reader, but with more words. The story was told from an omnicient point of view. This dis-allowed me to connect and/or warm up to the main character, Theo. The story was told 99% through narrative. A perfect example of tell, don't show. The dialog was thus left flat, accomplishing nothing but filler on the page. Good children's books are just the opposite of this: show, don't tell, using the narrative to move the story forward.
If I had written this book, I couldn't have even taken 4th place in a first chapter contest at a poorly attended local writer's conference.

Snooki's writing was somewhat more engaging compared to Theodore Boone. That's not saying much. (I admit, I only read the first 30 pages, compliments of my Nook free samples. I could see where the novel was headed--sex and promiscuity--and I didn't care to read on). The reason I was even drawn to this book was because of the interview on the Today show. There she had mentioned she had written the novel in 3 months. My first novel took me 1 year, a couple of writers' conferences and how-to books to complete, and it stunk! I was curious to see the quality of a twenty year old girl who sounded as if she had pulled C's in high school English--if she even graduated at all. She did mention, though it was not really stressed, that she had recieved the help of another writer. OBVIOUSLY! The following is an excerpt from an Amazon review I found nailed it on the head. I am truly saddened to think there are authors who have not been and never will be published, who have spent lifetimes dedicating the totality of their being to their art. Yet this book is currently # 24 on the NYT best seller list. America... you are lost.

The point I'm trying to make here is that this lack-luster, flat-plotted, first-time novel of a minimally educated young women gets highlighted and promoted on national TV. And so does a substandard children's novel. All the while, we as struggling writers, whose skill and writing surpass these two novels by leaps and bounds, labor through poorly attended book signings and time consuming blog tours to try and promote our books on our own because we don't have the name. Or, in my case, we struggle to even be seen by the agents and editors. It doesn't seem fair.

But then, life isn't fair. We can feel good, however, in the knowledge that when someone does buy and read our books, and they like them, that little trimph occured becasue WE earned it, not our name.

Book Review: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

2011-01-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

As I was purchasing books for my daughter for Christmas, I noticed a lot of hyp for Catherine Fisher's new novel Sapphique. I sounded intriguing. But I figured I'd better read the first book in the series before I delved into it, so I purchased Incarceron.

Incarceron takes place in a far future world where the privialged few have reverted back to Victorian-type living and the rif-raff and rejects of society have all been taken care of so life will be grand. These less desireables have be placed in a large self-sustaining prison that is supposed to provide them with an almost paradisical environment and give them everything they need. But life in the fake Victorian setting is anything but grand, and life within Incarceron is far from paradise. Claudia lives on the outside, destined for an undesirable arranged marraige. She feels her true husband to be, and the real prince has been wrongfully locked up in Incarceron. Quin lives on the inside. He feels he belongs on the outside and begins a quest to find a way out, something no one has accomplished, except for the legendary Sapphique.

The story was very difficult to get in to. If I hadn't purchased the book, I'm afraid I would have given up at page 100 and never finished it. True, it is a fantasy and had need of a fair amount of world building, but it shouldn't take me until page 150 to put the pieces together and make sense of the setting and characters. Perhaps an excess of literary descriptions slowed down the process for me. But I had to admit, once I waded through the flowery descriptions and cemented the characters and settings in my mind, I really began to enjoy the story. After page 200, I couldn't put the book down. I will most likely read the next in the series, Sapphique. But I'll wait for it to become available in my local library.