Everneath book giveaway

Opps, you're probably wondering how long my easy-peasy-win-a-copy-of-Brodi Ashton's book, Everneath contest lasts? I kind of forgot that little detail. Just a week. I'll announce the winner next Wednesday, August 1. So hurry, leave a comment. That's all it takes and you are entered. There you go!

Book Giveaway: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

This week my creative juices are dried-up, crushed, depressed--or something. I've got nothing in my brain to blog about. Since I've got nothing for you to read, how about a book to read? I've got a copy of Brodi Ashton's Everneath just waiting for a new home.

To enter to win, all you have to do is leave a comment, (make sure you leave an e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win). It's that easy. Tell your friends about it too. That won't give you any more chances to win, sorry, but I would appreciate it.

I have to admit, I bought Everneath last February with a B&N gift card my husband gave me for Valentine's Day. I chose that book based on advertising hyp and the cover--I loved the cover. But I didn't do my research. Everneath is not the kind of book I generally read. I'm guessing it's because of the genre that I wasn't pulled in. Frankly, I don't have the time to read a book that doesn't captivate me--unless I'm doing a review (which I haven't done many lately). The book is practically brand new and I'm sure there is a reader out there that will enjoy a retelling of the Persephone myth and would like a free copy.

So enter to win--leave a comment. I'd love to hear whether it's just me, or do others of you out there start a book and not finish it, not because it's not a good book, just not a good book for you?

Summer is half gone--where did it go?

It's the middle of July, that means summer is basically half over. Where has the time gone? It feels like Memorial Day was just yesterday. I swear that time moves faster than it did fifty years ago. As a child, summer felt endless. I never hear kids say that now. I really do think that time is moving by at increased speed. Perhaps the angels in heaven are spinning the earth around and around, picking up speed like one of those old playground merry-go-rounds, (another blast from the past that has changed--a whole other topic for another day). They see the mess the world is in and they are just trying to help things out by bringing closer the day that Christ returns. That's my slant on this whole, "there's never enough time anymore" syndrome. There has to be some explanation.
What's your explanation--or at least thoughts?

Are Apps Apt to Abate Adolescent Advancement? Or, is good ole fashion reading the best?

"Is there an app for that?" a question commonly heard these days. But not just among adults. Hand held devices are being found in the possession of more and more children--younger and younger ones. I don't know about you, but this raises a red flag of concern for me. At first I thought my apprehension stemmed from my despair over a picture book I wanted to self-publish and knew I didn't have the means to make it interactive. But the more I have read and contemplated this issue, the more this concern has escalated.
     Tim Myers hit the nail on the head for me in his article in the recent SCBWI Bulletin:
Apple techs told him, “If you’re
going to make a picture book app,
go big or stay home.” In other words,
add more—games, animation, choose
your own adventure, etc. That’s not
wrong in itself. But in our rush to
embrace this technology, we may be
underappreciating a traditional form:
unbroken text.
I think a significant amount of
children’s literature should remain as
unbroken text—words on a page with
nothing else. As parents, teachers,
writers, publishers, and booksellers,
even as citizens, we need this.
Why? Why not make it all
interactive?

My wife, a literacy expert, PhD,
and director of the master’s reading
program at Santa Clara University, says
that children need to learn many things
in order to read, but primarily “how to
sit quietly and lose yourself in a story”
and other kinds of books. They need to
know firsthand, she says, “how time can
fly when you’re lost in” a world created
purely out of print. A preliminary study
by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, in
fact, found that children showed poorer
comprehension when given more
interactive books.

No matter how interactivity stimulates 
our imaginations, the 
deepest imaginative 
response will still come 
out of our own heads, 
in response to language 
charged with nothing 
but its own power.


I feel that children who don't learn this, and learn to love it, will remain impoverished in ways both practical and otherwise. Tim Myers' article motivated me to not only continue my quest to publish my children's picture book, but purposely keep it in the old fashioned text-and-pictures-only format. Sure, I will make it available as an e-book, but my readers will have to use their imaginations to bring the story to life, not an app.

The Little Guys

This is for all those who struggle to get viewers to or comments on their blogs, wonder what to write, or need follower love. For many of us, we just haven't devoted the time it takes to build our blogs up.


Liebster is a German word which means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers and fit the definition.


Renae Mackley awarded me this honor. Renae is a Liebster herself!




The rules:
1. Each person must post 10 facts about themselves
2. Answer 10 questions the tagger has given you and give 10 questions for the people you’ve tagged.
3. Choose 10 people and link them in your post.
4. Tell them you’ve tagged them.
5. Remember, no tag backs.

10 Facts about me (Carolyn):
1. I am the mother of five and grandmother to one adorable grandson.
2. I’ve been eating healthier lately and exercising more. =)
3. Born and raised in Payson, Utah.
4. Served a mission to the Canada Calgary Mission, where I was first introduced to puppetry.
5. Created and grew a puppet manufacturing business, which I sold in 2009 to give me more time to write.
6. My BS degree from BYU is in horticulture, my M.S. is in Botany.
7. When I decide to snack, salty wins. My favorite is plain potato chips and dried mangoes (oops that's sweet).
8. I don't like milk chocolate
9. I was on the David Letterman show once, playing celebrity ex-ray challenge in Rupert's deli.
10. My favorite of God's creations, (besides my fellowman), has got to be trees.

Blogs I've tagged: (I am on vacation and can't take time to find more than these wonderful blogs. I encourage you to visit and follow them.) Grab the button award above.http://lesliepugh.blogspot.com/ Leslie Pugh

http://creativelyspiltink.blogspot.com/ MJ Mickelson

http://grumpybulldog.blogspot.com/ PT Dilloway

http://lilytequila.blogspot.com/ Lily Tequila

http://maybemandi.blogspot.com/ Mandi
To everyone else: Feel free to add your blog info in a comment and I will follow you, hoping you will do the same.

Here are my questions to them, along with my own answers.
1. How long have you been blogging?
My first post was in April 2009, so just over three years.
2. Why did you start up a blog?
I was told that I had to have a blog to promote my books once I got published, so I thought I'd better start early so I could get the hang of it before I needed it.
3. What has been your weirdest experience with blogging?
I don't have a weird experience to share, but my most valued was when, in response to a year old post, a nurse from Africa contacted me after viewing my blog post about when I made feminine hygiene kits to send with an associate to suppressed women in that country who didn't have access to feminine hygiene products. She wanted a copy of my instructions that I mentioned I could send to anyone who was interested.
4. What is your favorite book? 5. Who is your favorite author?
My favorite that I've read (actually reread) this years has been To Kill a Mockingbird. My favorite all time author has got to be Charles Dickens. My favorite modern/local author is Dan Wells.
6. What do you want to be when you grow up/what is your profession?
An Author.
7. How many books do you think you might have?
Not a clue.
8. Do you prefer reading a proper book or a ebook?
I really don't care. I just like to read.
9. If you could choose to live one character's life in a book, who would it be?
Most I read are too fraught with conflict--after all, isn't that what makes for a good story. So I don't think I'd choose any of them.
10. If you were stranded on a desert island what 10 items would you want to have with you?
It would go something like this: 1. Water. 2. My family. 3. Healthy food. 4. Computer to write on. 5. Trees. 6. My sleep number bed. 7. Lots of good books to read. 8. Materials and tools to build/create things with. 9. Toilet paper. 10. Good people to associate with.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week and happy writing or reading.