OF WRITERLY THINGS

Too True...

2012-01-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

This is too good and too true not to share...

http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Grin-Tonic/How-to-Write/ba-p/6713

What are you really doing when you think you're writing???

IDEAL HIGH UPDATE

2012-01-25T10:40:00.000-08:00

Taryn Young’s plans for an amazing senior year are over before they begin. Grieving the deaths of several of her classmates, including her boyfriend, she refuses to serve as a student body officer...until she finds out who is running in her place. If Chelsea Manor becomes president it means nothing changes. Ideal High remains less than ideal...and Taryn doesn’t want to let that happen. She owes that much to Blake’s memory.

As president, she butts heads with a principal who doesn’t want his school labeled, a bullied student who doesn’t want to be rescued, and a student body suspicious of her motives. Throw in a hot cowboy-type, who is totally not her type, and Chelsea with all her angst over the accident, and it’s not long before Taryn is wondering why she dragged herself from the safety of her warm bed where at least she could grieve in private.

Good news in the WIP department.

NOVEMBER: Sent manuscript to a professional editor and paid for a Content Evaluation. It was just what I needed...in black and white...the good, the bad, the ugly.

DECEMBER: Mulled over the evaluation while I shopped, wrapped, entertained, cooked, fed, played games, became a grandma, enjoyed...you get the idea.

JANUARY: Revised and set goal to be finished (and I mean in capital letters FINISHED, so, for reals FINISHED) by January 23rd.

JANUARY 22 at midnight Eastern (so 10 PM Arizona): Submitted manuscript to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest (ABNA).

So here's to IDEAL HIGH, all 75,984 words of it. We've spent a lot of time together over the years and, hopefully, this is only the beginning. I have no expectations for the contest, passing even the first round would be great, but it gave me a deadline and I MADE IT!

What goal have you accomplished?

Writing tip #23

2012-01-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

(as discovered yesterday)

Beware the cooking of food items on the stove while at the same time editing your manuscript, lest you become too involved in said edit. It makes for a wasted, burnt food item and a very non-writerly, smoke-filled environment.

In such cases, one is forced outdoors which works if you live in Arizona and it's a beautiful, warm winter day.

What have you ruined, missed, forgotten because you were working on your manuscript?

Writing tip #39

2012-01-10T09:28:00.000-08:00

While revising a novel in the bathtub generally makes for a very damp manuscript, it proves to be a productive use of editing time.

Where's the most unusual place you've worked on your manuscript?

2 WIDGET WINNERS!

2012-01-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

Joyce DiPastena and Stacy Johnson are the winners of $20 worth of Vinyl Expressions Vinyl Lettering!!! I will be contacting you personally to get your order!

And while I have everyone's attention...please click on the sidebar widget to get all the information about the upcoming ANWA Writers Conference. It is open to the general public so please tell everyone you know that is interested in writing at all. We have something for everyone--fiction writers, copy writers, poets, magazine writers, blogging, news writing...the list goes on...

CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS

2011-12-28T13:26:00.000-08:00

Countdown Creator Progreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

HOW TO RE-POST THE WIDGET ON YOUR OWN BLOG (if you're on Blogger)

1. Click "Get Widget"--found under the countdown widget.

2. "widgetbox" appears, click on "Copy," then X out of the box.

3. Go to "Design" in Blogger.

4. Click on "Add a Gadget."

5. Select "HTML/Java Script" and click on the +.

6. Paste the copied code in the box, add a title if you'd like and "Save."

7. Drag the widget to wherever you want on the sidebar before saving changes.

Don't forget to leave a comment, so you will be entered in the contest when you are through posting the widget!!!

$20 worth of Vinyl Lettering could be yours!!!

Will You Widget?

2011-12-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

Countdown Creator Progreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST!

Help us share the ANWA Writers Conference Love by posting this countdown widget on your blog sidebar!

Just click on "Get Widget" to get the code, then leave a comment giving your blog name and you'll be entered to win $20 worth of Vinyl Expressions Vinyl Lettering!

Vinyl Lettering makes a wonderful Christmas gift! (Visit my other blog for sample ideas: vinylsignsanddesigns.blogspot.com)

The contest will be open till midnight December 31st!

D-O-N-E DONE

2011-11-20T19:05:00.001-08:00

The manuscript was sent off to the editor TODAY.

There will be much celebrating.

Twinkies may be involved.

And Monk reruns. Lots and lots of Monk reruns.

But this will come after the dancing in the streets.

Confessions

2011-11-19T21:02:00.000-08:00

Confession #1. I got a little too emotionally-invested in my daughter's 5th grade report of Famous Person Beverly Cleary. I didn't realize how much she means to me. I didn't even have a dysfunctional childhood to retreat from, she just made life more enjoyable. Love love Henry, Ribsy, Beezus, Ramona...*BIG SIGH*

Confession #2. My senior-aged son was wearing his 6th grade T-shirt the other day. Is this a problem? I promise I'm feeding him. Maybe the shirt was just ginormous on him all those years ago and now he's growing into it?

Confession #3. To the guy in the white truck at the light on Ellsworth and Broadway: It was nothing personal when I yelled "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave." Just having a little Hotel California moment on the radio.

Confession #4. I thought writing the first line of a novel was hard, but try the last. I do not know how to make it NOT sound like the cheesiest of cheese. I want to evoke that "ahhh" factor, not make the reader gag like someone's sprayed a can of Cheez Whiz down their throat. Advice welcome.

Confession #5. After I finish editing that last line to death (see #4) then I'm going to send it off to a professional editor. I'm so close I can taste it (is it the cheese maybe?).

The War of Art

2011-11-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

I've just barely begun reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, but this quote knocked my socks off.

"If tomorrow morning by some stroke of magic every dazed and benighted soul woke up with the power to take the first step toward pursuing his or her dreams, every shrink in the directory would be out of business. Prisons would stand empty. The alcohol and tobacco industries would collapse, along with the junk food, cosmetic surgery, and infotainment businesses, not to mention pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and the medical profession from top to bottom. Domestic abuse would become extinct, as would addiction, obesity, migraine headaches, road rage, and dandruff."

Never deny the power your dream has to make this world a better place.

Need. Chocolate.

2011-11-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

No chocolate to be found in the entire house!

Nary a Raisinet which is what I resorted to snacking on yesterday.

Who can work in these conditions?

Book Bomb--Variant by Robison Wells

2011-11-09T14:37:00.000-08:00

Find out what a Book Bomb is and then join in by buying Variant from Amazon on November 10th for the reader in your life. Maybe that's YOU.

You get a great book and you help someone out at the same time. (It's time to start Christmas shopping anyway.)

http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/prepare-for-the-mother-of-all-book-bombs/#comment-20519

So true for writers...

2011-10-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to writer friends (and my husband)

that help me find my motivation when it gets lost!!!

The Hidden Sun by J. Lloyd Morgan

2011-10-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

A faraway kingdom.

A beautiful princess.

A courageous hero.

A ruthless villain.

An impossible choice.

You can see Author J. Lloyd has all the elements for your typical epic novel of true love and political intrigue, but you must read it for all its hooks, twists, turns, and surprises. All I can say is my 17 year old son has been staying up late into the night reading it. Here's more to whet your appetite...

Eliana and Rinan are in love. However, she is destined to become queen of Bariwon, obligated to marry the victor of a competition called the Shoginoc, while Rinan, her royal guardian, is forbidden to marry. Normally they could renounce their titles to be together, but these are not normal times. Abrecan, the malevolent governor of Erd, is determined to win the Shoginoc, thereby placing his easily manipulated son Daimh on Bariwon’s throne. Can Eliana and Rinan find a way to be together without jeopardizing the peace they are so desperately trying to protect?

About the author:
J. Lloyd Morgan is an award-winning television director.He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in communications and a minor in English. Morgan resides in North Carolina with his wife and four daughters.

The Hidden Sun is Morgan’s first published novel. For a glimpse at the upcoming sequel, The Waxing Moon, please visit
http://www.jlloydmorgan.com/. Once there, be sure to read the “secrets” behind The Hidden Sun. The third book in the Bariwon series is still rattling around Morgan’s brain, waiting to escape.

Mine is just one quick stop on the October Blog Hop. Check out HIS BLOG to find more reviews.

Buy it at Amazon or B&N.

COUNTDOWN TO THE FABULOUS ANWA WRITERS CONFERENCE BEGINS

2011-09-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

Countdown Creator Progreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

STAY TUNED...DETAILS TO FOLLOW ON MY BLOG...

Till then check out the conference page at anwa-lds.com.

WE'VE GOT A NEW YORK AGENT COMING!!!

REGISTRATION GOES LIVE OCTOBER 1ST!!!

"Fall" by Jennifer Hurst and a chance to win, win, win

2011-09-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Julia, aka JD--to lend herself credibility as a construction manager--leaves the city to head to small-town Torrey, Utah. She's determined to prove to her grandfather, and everyone else, that she can handle the renovation of an old school house into a bed and breakfast. When mysterious occurrences threaten the project, Julia turns to the closest good looking, strong man around, the demolition contractor on the project. Matthew seems to be an answer to her prayers, till the nightmare begins.

If you're looking for a little paranormal romance action, Fall is for you.

Here's the back cover blurb...
Women and construction shouldn’t mix. At least, that is what the client, Mr. Blackwell, thinks when twenty-one year old Julia D. Halstead is promoted to project manager and tasked with remodeling a turn-of-the-century schoolhouse into a bed and breakfast in the tourist town of Torrey, Utah. However, the schoolhouse contains a dark secret that has been hidden for over a hundred years. A secret that will unleash the furies of Hell and cause the Angels in Heaven to weep as ethereal brothers, Matthew and Nathan battle over Julia’s very soul.

Purchase the book here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/71705
Visit Author Jeniffer Hurst’s Blog at http://jenniferhurst.wordpress.com/

NOW THE CHANCE TO WIN!
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 at 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:
1) What is Nathan's weapon of choice?
2) What did Gramps think JD's biggest weakness was?
3) In which city does Liu's nieces attend school?

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!

Rolling in the Deep

2011-09-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

All That Was Promised by Vickie Hall

2011-09-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

In 1847 Wales, Methodist minister Richard Kenyon converts to Mormonism. Richard’s newfound faith is put to the test when he faces the anger of his former congregation, his wife’s indecisiveness, his brother’s betrayal, and the murderous intentions of misinformed villagers.

[First off, love the cover, love the title. I've come to really admire those two things about books since beginning my own writing pursuits, but that's all beside the point :D]

The story of Richard Kenyon, and his family, centers on the challenges and triumphs of the early LDS Saints in Wales. At the beginning of the story Richard is converted to the true gospel of Jesus Christ and must resign from his ministry. His wife is unsure of his newfound religion, while others seem to readily embrace it. The book gives you a sense of what it must have been like back then when the church was so new and misunderstood. Actually, kind of sounds like today...we're not new, but we're often misunderstood!

There's a profound line that's highlighted on the back cover: "People from all walks of life recognize the truth of the gospel." That kind of sums up the book, as the story shows a wide range of characters joining the church and finding the peace and happiness they've been missing.

I understand this is a debut novel for Vickie Hall and a sequel is in the works. If you enjoy reading historical fiction, particularly of the LDS-variety, you'll enjoy this novel.

Breaking a sweat today?

2011-09-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

"I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again" --Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)

The difficult life of a writer. *BIG SIGH*

The Help

2011-08-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

The truly unusual has happened.

A movie is as good as the book.

Maybe even better...but don't quote me on that. ;)

Laughed and cried while watching the The Help today, and really, really enjoyed it.

Then I came across this article by author Kathryn Stockett describing her 60 rejections.

Here's how she starts out... "If you ask my husband my best trait, he’ll smile and say, 'She never gives up.' But if you ask him my worst trait, he’ll get a funny tic in his cheek, narrow his eyes and hiss, 'She. Never. Gives. Up.'"

You have to read it. Find it here. And thank me later.

"First Page Friday" Critique

2011-07-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

No, it's not Friday, but two Fridays back my first page was featured on Julie Bellon's weekly fun-filled blog event. It's called, yes, you figured it out--First Page Friday.

There brazen writers with absolutely no pride, or too much of it, can submit to the mercy of the anonymous Shreditor who will critique that first page for you.

If you've got a few moments to fill (kill), like you're waiting for your toast to pop up or you're on hold with the cable company (well, in that case, more than a few moments) or you're waiting for your child to obey and finally take out the garbage (okay, forget that, it's not going to happen) then check out the link and read my first page. Then read the critique and the comments and find out all the things I need to change about said first page.

http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com/2011/07/first-page-friday_15.html

Believe me, it will be more fun than you can shake a computer keyboard at.

PITCH CONTEST, BUT IT ENDS TODAY AT MIDNIGHT

2011-07-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

I'm here busily writing at my writer's retreat (in an actual cabin where there's pine trees and cool weather and writer friends and chocolate), but stopped to enter these two pitch contests. The first one ends tonight.

Chance to pitch to Bree Ogden from Martin Literary Management http://yatopia.blogspot.com/2011/07/elevator-pitch-competition-with-agent.html

Opportunity to pitch to Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst & Associates Literary Management
http://yatopia.blogspot.com/2011/07/agent-contest-with-vickie-motter.html

BLAHHHHHG!

2011-07-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting my blog.

I blame it on the month...you know...the usual Girl's Camp-fixing up of a rental property-getting settled into the new house-going on vacation--choosing a venue for next year's ANWA writing conference-life in general excuse.

I'm not here to promise more blogging, but I will promise more writing. In fact next week I'm off to a writer's retreat in an actual cabin in actual woods on an actual mountain.

Only good can come of that.

Note: Sorry I didn't even follow through on posting about the Treasure Hunt Contest I was a part of. Kristen Tucker of Arizona won the vinyl lettering gift certificate! Congratulations! (Email me.)

It's how you say it...

2011-06-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

Go to Peggy's blog here for a sweet message about WORDS.

Playing Catch-up

2011-06-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

I've been camping with 200 teenage girls and their leaders, but I'm back now and with my sanity intact...or at least as much as it ever was.

Here's the status of the treasure hunt so far:

June 1 WINNER: Melissa Brockett of Utah
ANSWER: "With You" by Chris Brown

June 2 WINNER: Crystal Dotson of West Virginia
ANSWER: peanut brittle bar, a box of Good 'n Plenty, some Hot Tamales, a handful of mini-Mr. Goodbars, a few Hershey's Kisses, Starlight Mints, some Dr. Pepper (accidentally), and a bunch of mint flavored Three Musketeers

June 3 WINNER: Judy Cox of Louisiana
ANSWER: Bound

June 4 WINNER: Rachel Rossano of Connecticut

ANSWER: The Sea Turtle Conservancy

June 5 WINNER: Taffy Lovell of Utah
ANSWER: Encoded Secrets and Black Orchids

Summer Treasure Hunt Blog Contest!!!

2011-05-31T19:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 3rd Annual “Summer Treasure Hunt: Dig for Clues and Win Contest!

This is the third time my awesome writerly friend Joyce Dipastena (author of Loyalty's Web and Illuminations of the Heart) has corralled 29 of her writer friends to present a month-long contest where we give away a prize a day in June.

That’s right! 30 awesome prizes, running the gamut from books books books (romances, fantasies, mystery/thrillers, inspirationals, children’s books, and various non-fiction), as well as Amazon gift cards, a Mary Kay gift set, a vinyl lettering gift certificate (Yes, that's me!), a hand-sewn weekly planner with ribbon bookmark, a crocheted book tote with matching cell phone case, and again for you aspiring authors, TWO free edit/critiques of a partial manuscript. Many of the giveaways are open to International entries, though always check to be sure before you enter for a particular prize.

This is my second time to participate. Unfortunately, I still have no published book to offer, so my prize again is $15-worth of vinyl lettering.

And how exactly do you enter for these amazing prizes? By following these rules:

SUMMER TREASURE HUNT RULES:
You can send in one entry for each day’s prize, or only for those prizes that strike your fancy. The rules are simple:
(1) Go to the website or blog indicated for each day, find the answer to the question for that day, then email the answer with your name and AND MAILING ADDRESS to jdipastena@yahoo.com <mailto:jdipastena@yahoo.com> . I promise you will not wind up on any mailing lists. This is only to facilitate the receipt of your prize. All entries will be deleted at the end of the contest.
(2) Please send a separate entry for each day and type the day you are entering in the subject line. (Such as: Summer Treasure Hunt, June 1; Summer Treasure Hunt, June 2, etc).
(3) Deadline for each day: Midnight PST
(4) The winner will be contacted and announced on the day following the deadline.
All winners will be drawn by www.random.org <http://www.random.org> .

You do not have to wait until the designated day to enter. You can start sending in your entries right now, or begin entering at any point along the way. And check back here each day between June 2nd – July 1st to read the names of the winners.
If you have any questions, please email Joyce DiPastena at jdipastena@yahoo.com <mailto:jdipastena@yahoo.com> .

And now…let the treasure hunt begin!

June 1
SPONSOR: Canda Mortensen

PRIZE: A $25 Amazon gift certificate

QUESTION: What is the title and artist of the Princess song on Newbie's playlist? (HINT: Scroll to the bottom of the blog and read “Newbie Teaser.” Match the number of “Princess” with the same number on the Playlist box (you may have to scroll down the playlist to find this, too). It will give you the title and artist.)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http:candamortensen.blogspot.com
OPEN TO USA ENTRIES

June 2
SPONSOR: Jennifer Griffith

PRIZE: Delicious Conversation (LDS romance, an adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion, set in a chocolate shop in Salt Lake City), by Jennifer Griffith

QUESTION: Name at least 5 kinds of candy I ate at the last writers conference I attended AND share YOUR favorite candy. (HINT: Read the April 20, 2011 post. Click on April under the Blog Archive in the right hand sidebar.)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://cottoncandy4thesoul.blogspot.com/
OPEN TO USA ENTRIES ONLY

June 3
SPONSOR: Peggy Urry

PRIZE: Choice of book: Villette by Charlotte Bronte (romance, paperback); Airframe by Michael Crichton (thriller, paperback); The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell (contemporary crime, paperback); OR The Mist of Quarry Harbor by Liz Adair (LDS romantic fiction, paperback); AND choice of Jelly Belly Gel Case for iPhone 3G/3GS or Jelly Belly Strawberry Cheesecake Gel Case for iPod Touch.

QUESTION: What is the name of my Work In Progress (WIP)? (Hint: It's the title of my March 12, 2011 post. Click on “March” under Blog Archive in the right hand sidebar.)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://peggyurry.blogspot.com/
OPEN TO USA/CANADA ONLY

June 4
SPONSOR: Danielle Thorne

PRIZE: Josette (sweet Regency romance, E-book) AND Southern Girl, Yankee Roots (poetry), both by Danielle Thorne

QUESTION: Danielle supports what wildlife conservancy organization? (HINT: See right hand column of website)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.daniellethorne.com
OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES

June 5
SPONSOR: Bonnie Harris

PRIZE: Mary Kay Microdermabrasion Set

QUESTION: What are the names of my two WIPs? (HINT: Scroll to the bottom of the blog and click on “Work in Progress” under Labels)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http:// www.bonnieharris.blogspot.com <http://www.bonnieharris.blogspot.com>
<http://www.bonnieharris.blogspot.com>
OPEN TO USA/CANADA

June 6
SPONSOR: Susan Kaye Quinn

PRIZE: Autographed copy of Life, Liberty, and Pursuit (YA love story), by Susan Kaye Quinn

QUESTION: How many days do David and Eliza have on the cruise together, before they’re forced to go their separate ways? (HINT: Click on the “About Me and My Books” tab and read the blurb for Life, Liberty, and Pursuit)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://ink-spells.blogspot.com
OPEN TO USA ENTRIES ONLY

June 7:
SPONSOR: Anne Bradshaw

PRIZE: True Miracles with Genealogy: Help from Beyond the Veil (non-fiction), by Anne Bradshaw – 1 print and 1 eBook – Print copy can be autographed. (Yes, there will be TWO winners drawn for this prize)

QUESTION: Which TV station interviewed Anne? (HINT: Answer is a short way down the middle column.)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://truemiracleswithgenealogy.com
OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES; PLEASE NOTE YOUR PREFERENCE FOR PRINT OR EBOOK, ALTHOUGH I CAN’T GUARANTEE YOU WILL WIN YOUR PREFERENCE.

June 8
SPONSOR: Cheri Schmidit

PRIZE: Autographed copy of Fateful (YA paranormal romance), by Cheri Schmidt

QUESTION: Who is the prince of darkness? (HINT: Click on “April” under Blog Archive in the left hand sidebar and read the April 12, 2011 post)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://cherischmidt.blogspot.com/
OPEN TO USA ONLY

June 9
SPONSOR: Mary Fremont Schoenecker

PRIZE: Moonglade (a sweet cozy mystery, Book Two in the Maine Shore Chronicles series), by Mary Fremont Schoenecker The prize is an autographed First Edition hard cover print book.

QUESTION: What special skill does character Tante Margaret use that puts her in danger during Remi's murder investigation? (HINT: Click on the “About Her Books” tab and read the Publisher’s Weekly Review.

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.maryschoenecker.com <http://www.maryschoenecker.com/>
OPEN TO USA/CANADA

June 10
SPONSOR: Shaunna Gonzales

PRIZE: FREE edit and/or critique of first 50 pages

QUESTION: What do his lips taste like? (Hint: click on “Sizzling Kiss” under Post Subjects in the left hand sidebar)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.shaunnagonzales.blogspot.com
OPEN TO USA/CANADA

June 11
SPONSOR: Donna Hatch

PRIZE: The Stranger She Married (Regency romance), by Donna Hatch

QUESTION: What poses the greatest danger to Alicia’s heart? (HINT: Scroll down underneath the book cover of The Stranger She Married, and read the paragraph directly below.

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.donnahatch.net/bookshelf.htm <http://www.donnahatch.net/bookshelf.htm>
<http://www.donnahatch.net/bookshelf.htm>Open to international entries for E-book version; US/Canada for print book or paperback

June 12
SPONSOR: Cindy R. Williams & Planet Play Productions, LLC.

PRIZE: Award winning glossy cover children’s snuggle, giggle picture book, Chase McKay Didn’t Get Up Today, signed by the author and the real Chase McKay.

QUESTION: What is the name of the dragon in the upcoming fantasy, Thundertail’s Tale: The Legend? (HINT: click on the Blog tab)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.cindyRwilliams.com
OPEN TO USA/CANADA

June 13
SPONSOR: Larry Hammersley

PRIZE: Motorcycle Woman (sweet contemporary romance, E-book), by Larry Hammersley

QUESTION: What kind of motorcycle does Tess, the motorcycle woman, ride? (HINT: Read the blog post “Motorcycle Woman from Red Rose Publishing”, May 5, 2011)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://larryhammersley.blogspot.com/
OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES

June 14
SPONSOR: Cheryl Cory

PRIZE: Autographed copy of Must've Done Something Good (romantic comedy), by Cheryl Cory

QUESTION: What is Sylvie's all-time favorite movie? (HINT: Click on the "Info" link in the left-hand column)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.facebook.com/MustveDoneSomethingGood
OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES

June 15
SPONSOR: Valerie Ipson

PRIZE: $15 Gift Certificate for Vinyl Lettering (http://vinylsignsanddesigns.blogspot.com)

QUESTION: What is Valerie's writing goal for 2011? (HINT: Look in the right hand sidebar)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http:// valerieipson.blogspot.com
OPEN TO USA

June 16
SPONSOR: Rachel Rager

PRIZE: Wednesday Romances - romance (obviously), ebook, by Rachel Rager. This is a compaliation of three different love stories, A Season for Love, The Tiger Unleashed, and The Feather Kiss. (All sweet romances)

QUESTION: Every week I have post a new chapter of a book on my blog. What are these posts called? (Hint: These posts are featured every Wednesday.)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://rachelrager.blogspot.com
OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES

June 17
SPONSOR: Danyelle Ferguson

PRIZE: Autograhed copy of (dis)Abilities and the Gospel: How to Bring People with Special Needs Closer to Christ (non-fiction/self-help) by Danyelle Ferguson & Lynn Parsons, M.S.)
non-fiction/self-help, autographed book

QUESTION: What is the name of the non-profit Danyelle co-founded? (HINT: Check out Danyelle's author bio)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.danyelleferguson.com/
OPEN TO US ENTRIES ONLY

June 18
SPONSOR: Teresa Thomas Bohannon

PRIZE: A Very Merry Chase (Regency Romance novel), by Teresa Thomas Bohannon. AND a $5 Amazon gift certificate. Winner's Choice: PDF with personalized dedication, or Ebook format for Kindle or Epub format for Nook.

QUESTION: What did Lady Bethany do and why? (HINT: Read “A Very Merry Chase Excerpt” under “A Very Merry Chase” in the right hand sidebar)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.ladysilk.net
OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES

June 19
SPONSOR: Diane Daniels

PRIZE: Autographed copy of Over the Moon (YA fantasy romance, print copy), by Diane Daniels

QUESTION: Who is Andrew's evil x-girlfriend, Sonya, named after? (HINT: Read the May 14, 2011 blog entry)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.overthemoonseries.com/
OPEN TO USA

June 20
SPONSOR: Margaret Larsen Turley

PRIZE: critique for up to 5000 words

QUESTION: Margaret Larsen Turley is administrator for ______________________________ group. They hold fund-raising events for Cancer Research. (HINT: You’ll find the answer in one of her website tabs)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://margaretlarsen.com/
OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES/ENGLISH LANGUAGE ONLY

June 21
SPONSOR: Anna Arnett

PRIZE: Autographed copy of Lolly's Yarn: a memoir (older YA to adult), by Anna Arnett, with a hand-crocheted bookmark

QUESTION: What was the verdict regarding Anna's radar photo speeding ticket? (HINT: Click on the Blogs tab and read “I Fought the Law and Guess Who Won?”

WEBSITE/BLOG: htt:www.annaarnett.com <http://www.annaarnett.com>
<http://www.annaarnett.com>
OPEN TO USA

June 22
SPONSOR: Joyce DiPastena

PRIZE: Autographed copy of Loyalty’s Web (sweet medieval romance), by Joyce DiPastena

QUESTION: How do people win Joyce’s “Light Bulb Award”? (HINT: Answer is found in the right hand column of the blog)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://jdp-news.blogspot.com
OPEN TO USA

June 23
SPONSOR: C. Michelle Jefferies

PRIZE: 52 page hand-sewn weekly planner, with ribbon bookmark.

QUESTION: What rank is Michelle in martial arts? (HINT: Look in right hand sidebar under “MY TANG SOO DO PROGRESS”)

WEBSITE/BLOG: HTTP://cmichellejefferies.blogspot.com
OPEN TO USA/CANADA

June 24
SPONSOR: Valerie J. Steimle

PRIZE: Choice of two books: Home Is Where The Learning Is (homeschool how-to book, non-fiction; autographed print copy) OR Dogs, Blogs and Hobbits: Writings from a Widows Perspective ---(non-fiction articles about everything from being single and single moms to inspirational stories; autographed print copy), both by Valerie J. Steimle

QUESTION: How many children does Valerie have? (HINT: Look in the right hand column in "About Me")

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://valeriesteimle.blogspot.com/
OPEN TO USA/CANADA

June 25

SPONSOR: Karen Adair

PRIZE: Crocheted Book Tote with matching cell phone case.

QUESTION: What commenter recently called me (Karen) "The Queen of Sugar Land?" (HINT: Select “January 2011” under Archives and read the COMMENTS on Karen’s January 6, 2011 post on “The 20 Minute Sprint”)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://www.kbadair.com
OPEN TO USA

June 26

SPONSOR: Jaimey Grant (www.jaimeygrant.com <http://www.jaimeygrant.com> ) and/or TreasureLine Books & Publishing (www.treasurelinebooks.com <http://www.treasurelinebooks.com> )

PRIZE: Winner's choice of 1 of 5 Regency romance eBooks by Jaimey Grant (Honor, Betrayal, Deception, Spellbound, or Redemption. Please note: Honor contains some marital "heat".)
QUESTION: Which of Jaimey's previously self-published titles has recently been picked up by a publisher? (HINT: Click the "Purchasing Options" tab)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http:// www.jaimeygrant.com <http://www.jaimeygrant.com>
OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES

June 27
SPONSOR: Heidi Murphy

PRIZE: Autographed copy of Small Deceptions (sweet Regency/Georgian romance), by H. Linn Murphy

QUESTION: In what country is the bridge found over which 'we' were fighting? (HINT: Find “Blog Archive” in the right hand sidebar, click on April and read the post titled: “The Far Bridge”)

WEBSITE/BLOG: www.murph4slaw.blogspot.com <http://www.murph4slaw.blogspot.com>
OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES

June 28
SPONSOR: Kenneth Rosenberg

PRIZE: One e-book copy of my new romantic comedy, Sweet Ophelia and the Tinseltown Blues, any format

QUESTION: What instrument does the character Warren August play? (HINT: Click on the cover image for Sweet Ophelia and the Tinseltown Blues. Read the first few paragraphs of the excerpt.)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http:// www.kennethrosenberg.com <http://www.kennethrosenberg.com>
OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ENTRIES

June 29

SPONSOR: Michael Young

PRIZE: Autographed copy of The Last Archangel (YA Urban Fantasy, print copy - Release date July 14th)

QUESTION: What is the name of the fallen angel who is the main character in "The Last Archangel"? (HINT: Click on the Reviews tab. Frank Cole thinks this character “rocks!”

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://thelastarchangel.weebly.com

OPEN TO USA/CANADA

June 30

SPONSOR: Joan Sowards

PRIZE: The Star Prophecy: a Book of Mormon Adventure (LDS novel), by Joan Sowards

QUESTION: Why do Enoch and his friends sail to Jerusalem? (HINT: Read the blurb under The Star Prophecy book cover in the right hand column of the blog)

WEBSITE/BLOG: http://joansowards.blogspot.com
OPEN TO USA

Remember...

2011-05-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

THE BIG 2-0-0

2011-05-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

I woke up to 200 FOLLOWERS this morning!

Fortunately they were on my blog and not in my bedroom.

But if they had been, I would have invited them to the kitchen and made them all pancakes to CELEBRATE!!!!!

River Whispers by Kathi Oram Peterson

2011-05-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

There are cool prizes to be won at the end of this post!!!

Regi Bernard's small hometown on the Snake River is good for some things (like fishing) but bad for others (like avoiding old flames). On one unlucky day, Regi runs into the two men she least wants to see.... But the next day, Regi's luck is even worse... She discovers a dead body in the willows. And when Regi reports the murder, she becomes the prime suspect.

Unraveling a murder case in a small town where everyone and everything are interconnected is a tangled task at best...

This is part of the back cover blurb for River Whispers. I think that's all you need to know to be hooked by this Romantic Suspense novel...or is it Suspenseful Romance? Either way you have all the elements of a very "tangled" mess (like the blurb says). Small town. Old flames. Murder.

Of course, all leads point to Regi and she must take matters into her own hands, no matter where the evidence takes her. Even if it might lead to her own sister.

The moral of the story is be careful of dead bodies when you head out to go fishing or to commune with nature and ponder the loss of a loved one...but then again, maybe ultimately you'll find love again.

I just loved the title of this book right off. It hints of secrets and intrique, but also truth and first loves. You'll find all of that between the covers of this book!

Here's the prize pack for today's stop on the River Whispers tour...

Head over to Kathi Oram Peterson's blog HERE to read more about the blog tour and prizes. To win this daily prize you must comment on my blog and Kathi's blog, plus follow her blog. At the end of the week (if you comment on each blog of the tour) you can be entered to win a $50 gift card to Amazon!!!

LDStorymakers

2011-05-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

We finally have internet at our new house, so I no longer have an excuse for not posting on my blog...unless you want to count the myriad of things still left undone here at the new house as well as over at the old. I figure over time everything will eventually get done, right? A little here, a little there.

Alas, the little here, the little there theory does not a finished novel make. I'm finding that out. Moving to a new house or not, I have to get all my novel's sharp edges smoothed because I've committed to sending it to an agent ASAP.

But wait, I was going to talk about Storymakers...

There was much to love about the conference this time around. Outstanding classes taught by agents Sara Megibow and Sara Crowe to start with. They know their stuff and gave actual, use-worthy information.

Sheralyn Pratt's class on marketing was the same way--actual things normal people could do.

I enjoyed Annette Lyon's class on show, don't tell. Believe me, after all the years of classes, conferences, and book-reading I've done on the subject of writing, it's so refreshing to hear something new. She talked about micro showing and macro showing, and it was an eye opener. Feel free to email me and I'll share my notes.

The highlight, of course, was connecting with writer-friend-people. I tried hard to meet everyone "on my list," so thanks to everyone for being so nice. Hanging with my roomie, Tamara, till the wee hours was icing on the cake. We ran into fellow-attendee (and my former boot camp partner from last year) Susan at the airport and shared the flight home to Sunny AZ. Just more time to talk about conference and writing!

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

I woke on Mother's Day preferring Ibuprofen-in-Bed instead of the traditional breakfast offerings. I think it's the consequence of no sleep for the last several days and two full days of conference-attending. We just moved into a new house, sleeping there for the first time the night I returned from Utah, so it was appropriate, I guess, that I "christen" the toilet. Sorry to be graphic, but I felt better after throwing up and my husband observed that it was a fitting tribute to my motherhood as I spent many a morning doing the same while pregnant with my various eight.

It was a lovely day with calls from children and time spent with the others. And I did eventually eat the omelet my husband made for me.

Of course, I think of my own mother who has been gone a long 16 years now. I think of how she might have loved doing what I am doing...in a writers group, attending retreats and conferences, learning new things, meeting new people, submitting her work, pitching to agents.

I have no pictures of my mom on this computer, so I took this one from the family blog. This goes way back...I'm like 14, 2nd from the right.

My sister posted a poem of our mother's on the family blog, so I thought I'd repost it here. It's a good reminder...

Reflections on Praise
by Eileen Giberson

A word of goodly praise
Is a shot of sunshine,
Like a lizard on a rock
I bask in the warm rays,
Turning, toasting; thinking
This spot uniquely mine.

Father,
I know you are not displeased
with kind words from a friend,
But let me not linger too long
In this pleasant sunbeam,
Lest it become a beam of another sort.
Only you, as Hopkins fitly penned,
Know what to avow, what to amend.
So let me seek your approbation,
Let me shape my self-esteem
In the light of revelation.

How was your day?

ZZZZZ......

2011-05-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I kind of snooZZZZZZed through the end of the A to Z Blog Challenge. I never really got the momentum back after Q.

Now I'm in the middle of a few huge things...we are moving to our new house...I am off to the LDStorymakers Conference in SLC Wednesday...I'm in the middle of completing the rewrite of my novel's ending...Tuesday we're having a Personal Progress Scavenger Hunt for the girls at church...my son is going to prom Saturday and needs a little help preparing for that...and finally I need to sit down with this same son to make sure his Eagle Project is planned (he wants to do it in May).

It's a whirlwind, but there are things to be grateful for.

Thankfully my engaged son is not getting married till August. Girl's Camp is in June, but I have an amazing camp director and assistant who have camp prep under control. The ANWA presidency can plan the summer writers retreat just fine without me. (Missing the meeting cause I'll be in Utah.)

Hope you are successful with all that you are in the middle of!

"X" Marks the Egg

2011-04-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

I must admit Easter Egg Hunts are not my favorite thing. While I do enjoy devouring the occasional (READ often) Reeses Peanut Butter Egg I can't get eggs-cited about 100 kids trampling each other over plastic eggs filled with those sickly sweet multi-colored jelly beans.

I blame it on my childhood.

Okay, one bad experience with an egg marked with a golden X in my childhood.

At this particular egg hunt, if you found the egg with the golden X you won a ginormous hollow chocolate bunny. A dad was helping his toddler-sized daughter who was way too young to appreciate the significance of winning a ginormous hollow chocolate bunny JUST SAYING find Easter eggs. And they were RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME when said dad found the egg with the gold X.

The injustice of it all soured me on further egg hunts.

It should have been mine

Okay, so I'm (slightly) kidding. Egg Hunts aren't that bad. But when my 10 year old declared herself too old to attend the neighborhood hunt this year I secretly cheered.

R-S-T-U-V

2011-04-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

RSTUV...what does it mean?

It means I'm taking a "restive" break from the alphabet blogfest.

I hope to catch back up with W for the big finish...X-Y-Z!

Q is for QUERY

2011-04-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Ask a writer what word comes to mind when you say the letter Q and I'll bet the word is QUERY.

It's something you've never even heard of when you first set out on that path of ridiculous dreams otherwise known as WRITING A NOVEL. When you are finally let in on the scary little secret, it's a word that strikes fear in the writer's heart. Fear that though you think by some crazy stretch of insane imagination you can write a full-length novel, how will you ever write a simple, one-page letter convincing someone of that novel's merits?

It's a letter that must contain personality and your novel's voice. It must be engaging, but not too wordy or plot-revealing. It must be confident, but never gushy or include over the top assertions. Above all, it must hook the agent/reader and literally compel them to ask for more.

Can it be done?

I'm out to prove that. I have two (measly) queries out right now. More will follow. I wonder what will become of them, even knowing that some writers submit hundreds of queries before finally being published.

Deirdra blogged about queries, too, over at A Storybook World, and with actual helpful information and everything! Go HERE to find it. Shallee blogged about it, too, HERE. So nice of them to share their knowledge about queries. All I did was ramble.

O/P

2011-04-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah. Opie.

Here's a quiz on the little tyke...

http://www.peoplequiz.com/quizzes-2857-The_Andy_Griffith_Show_Opie_Taylor.html

N is for NEVER...

2011-04-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

...as in never miss out on a great opportunity.

YAtopia has a pitch contest going on right now where you can win the chance to have your pitch read by agent Natalie Fischer of Bradford Literary Agency!

I entered last time and while I didn't win top two for my pitch, the agent (a different one) did email me and say she was "intrigued" by my "outstanding" entry. Yes, those two words are exact quotes!! And she asked me to send her a query letter and my first five pages!!!

Now here's another chance at the YAtopia blog for an agent to get a look at your very own pitch.

GO HERE. (BTW, it must be YA.)

I tweaked mine a little and now it looks like this...
Ideal High is anything but. After the tragic deaths of the student body president and most of the A-listers, Taryn, the one left behind, sets aside her own pain to lift an entire school out of theirs.

Try to condense a 75,000 word novel down to 2 sentences and see what you come up with. 'Taint easy.

M is for Moon Over Manifest

2011-04-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

I returned a book to the library half-read. The writing was good, I was so impressed with it, really, but I found I didn't care enough about the main character. It was YA and heavily about boys and while I can totally relate because my YA-hood was much to do about boys as well...this one didn't work for me.

I picked up a new one that came highly recommended--Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. I am already enjoying the writing style immensely and the MC is twelve so there shouldn't be too much teen craziness at this point in her life. Plus it's set during the Depression, so I'm sensing the focus might be elsewhere than on who is going out with whom.

I have such high hopes for the book that I already listed it in my CURRENTLY READING list on the sidebar. I only do that when I know I am going to finish a book (so you won't find the one that I returned to the library listed and I won't tell you what it is unless you ask me directly).

Do you always finish a book you start or are you inclined to stop halfway if the story doesn't suit you?

I discovered a bunch of new M's today, so thought I'd mention... for those of the LDS persuasion that are looking for a laugh... try out middle-agedmormonman.blogspot.com.

L is for long overdue

2011-04-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today I dropped a glass bowl shattering it on the kitchen floor.

Then at the other end of the kitchen I pulled an open box of angel hair pasta from the pantry upside down spilling the entire contents.

I think it's the universe's way of telling me the floor needs to be swept.

Now I almost feel obligated to mop, too.

J/K

2011-04-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

I missed another day of Alphabet Soup.

My apologies to J. It's a very fine letter.

I have three amazing sons whose names begin with the letter J.

But even though right on my list of things to do it said, "Blog J," I guess it was not meant to be.

K is lovely, too. I have three amazing daughters with K names.

And K is for KINDNESS.

Ponder this quote by Mother Theresa while I write the letter J one hundred times to make up for missing yesterday..

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”

Christine's Daydreamer blog inspired my K today. Read her post here.

G, H, I better get caught up

2011-04-11T07:06:00.000-07:00

I got behind and missed my grand opportunity to blog about G and H. I won't lose sleep over it, but forge ahead.

Today won't be all about I (me) though. I want to blog about a writer friend with a new book out.

Anna del C. Dye writes romantic fantasy novels for the young adult market. Her newest novel is Curse of the Elfs. Book Blurb:

When an Immortal race ceases to be immortal, woe to the land.

Ancient legend tells of elfs crossing paths with a dying wizard named Zoltan. The Old Sorcerer’s unrepentant deeds had caused the wizarding school to chastise him severely. On his deathbed Zoltan asked the elfs for help. Losing patience in his delirium, he cursed them. Now, the immortal elfin race is slowly, but surely dying. Their only hope lies in a servant of kings who must learn to love the elfs before he will attempt to save them. But no one, elf or mankind, has ever heard of this man. Can the healer be found before their race is gone forever?

Author Anna was born in Valparaiso, Chile. Later she moved to the United States where she learned English through reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series. She was introduced to The Lord of the Rings, and loved it. In fact it inspired her own stories.

In her latest novel, she used the word "elfs," but it is on purpose and not a misspelling of the usual English plural, "elves."

Curse of the Elfs can be purchased in the following places: Amazon paperback Kindle edition Barnes & Noble paperback Nookbook edition

Anna's other fantasy novels, in the "The Silent Warrior Trilogy," are
Book 1 - The Elf and the Princess
Book 2 - Trouble in the Elf City
Book 3 - Elfs in a Conquered Realm

"F" is for 50th

2011-04-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

I got so excited today buying the 50th Anniversary edition of To Kill a Mockingbird thinking how me and it were birthed the same year. In actuality it was published in 1960, so now it's the 51st Anniversay. I'm still way excited to own a copy of my *favorite book.

I almost spent my gift card on a Nancy Drew boxed set. Spent a lot of good times sleuthing with Nancy in my early years.

*I call it that, though truthfully, can you really have a favorite.)

"E" is for E-reader

2011-04-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, not really. I don't have anything to say about E-readers.

How about eggs?

We are buying a new house that sits on an acre, but is surprisingly close to where we live right now. My husband has wanted an acre ever since we moved from ours in Utah, but knew I didn't want to make any random, major moves, so he found a place with a completely-redone-inside house and all the dirt surrounding it that he could ever want.

What does this have to do with eggs?

Of course, he wants to have animals, chickens among them.

Chickens lay eggs.

So possibly sometime in the future I will be known as the Egg Lady and you can come buy fresh eggs from me.

I prefer being the Egg Lady to the Crazy Chicken Lady.

I guess it could go either way.

"D" is for DH

2011-04-05T11:04:00.000-07:00

Look what showed up at my door yesterday. Yep, my Dear Husband bought me my dream fridge.

Freezer on the bottom and all that lovely fridge space on top. Everytime I open it I will think of him.

That's not all he did yesterday...he took me to dinner, took the entire family bowling, ordered a cake, assigned the kids to decorate the house, invited people over, and put together a virtual birthday party at GoToMeeting.com where I got to talk to family from Alaska (Miss you Landi & Ralph), Utah (Miss you Megan), and Texas all at the same time.

"C" is for wellness CHALLENGE

2011-04-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

For 12 weeks beginning last January I have participated in a Wellness Challenge. A week has gone by since it ended--a week of eating chocolate and not exercising, a week of eating after 8 PM if I darn well wanted to, and no writing in my journal. (Rebel that I am!) Nearly everything that I've been denying myself or forcing myself to do I have participated in this past week.

Now I'm here to evaluate. Of the 10 things on the list to do or not to do, what do I really want to make a part of my life. I should rephrase that..what am I willing to make a part of my life? Willing enough to actually do or not do?

Sure the challenge was, on its surface, about keeping points to see who would win the prize for the highest score, but at its core it was about developing healthy habits. Here's the 10 listed in their shortened-checklist version. Which ones do you find most worthwhile in your own life? I already am in the habit of "inspirational" reading and I don't generally drink soda, and never alcohol. Fast food is consumed sparingly. It's the others that could go either way for me.

1. 48 ounces of water
2. 45 minutes of exercise
3. 2 servings of fruits & 2 servings of vegetables
4. No soda or alcohol
5. No sugar (as in sweets, not hidden sugar that's in everything)
6. No fast food or unhealthy snacks
7. No eating after 8:00 pm
8. Read 15 minutes (inspirational reading, like scriptures)
9. Write in your journal/blog
10. Personal goal of choice

While I did lose 6 pounds (though not my intention), I don't know if I feel more "well." It's probably one of those things where you will find the most benefit down the road in life. Like when I'm 80 I'll wish that I had exercised more.

Speaking of ages that end in "0," today I am celebrating one, so it's a good time to ponder. While I'm deciding what to do about the wellness habits, I'm also thinking about what to be. If you heard Lynn G. Robbin's message yesterday, you will know what I'm talking about.

I am a big list-maker. Everyday is about what TO DO. I wanted to do something for this year when I turn an age that ends with a "0" so I am thinking maybe instead of a list of 50 things TO DO, I will work on a list of 50 things TO BE.

Instead of exercising (a TO DO) maybe I should BE someone who exercises. Hmmm...

I blog about books

2011-04-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

"B" is for BOOKS. (And apparently for lame blog posts, because I didn't get this done earlier and I don't have anything to offer now).

Love a book today.

"A" Blog Post

2011-04-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, despite the fact that I have about 28 other things going on in my life right now, I have jumped on a bandwagon...actually it's an A to Z bandwagon wherein I join more than a thousand other bloggers in a "'fest" to blog for 26 days in April using a different letter of the alphabet each day as some sort of theme letter.

As in, this is crazy, EH? (A)

No, it's not an April Fool's sort of thing, though that does start with an A. Check back tomorrow to see what I say B-related and you'll find out I'm serious about doing this, though I may get bogged down around about LMNOP. We'll see.

The whole point of it, they tell me, is to inspire the habit of blogging on a regular basis and to increase followers. Click on the A to Z button on my sidebar and it will take you to a list of other bloggers on the blogfest bandwagon.

Also, I don't know if this cheese guy is participating, but his posts are hilarious. Scroll down to the one where he lists his recent Facebook statuses. (Is that the plural of status?) I promise you'll laugh out loud.

http://www.theblogocheese.blogspot.com/

I wish I had something to read...

2011-03-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

They always say, "Read in your genre," meaning whatever it is you're writing, then you'd better read copious amounts of that same kind of book, so you can be up on the hip-happening stuff that's current today.

I've been reading a lot of YA stuff, but I finally realized I've been off in sub-genre-land. I've been reading paranormal, dystopian, fantasy which all are now young adult sub-genres. I'm writing YA Contemporary. You know, real life stuff. No Vampires--sparkly or otherwise. No Werewolves who take off their shirts every other second--wait, that's the movie version (that's what I've heard anyway). Not even any Shapeshifters ala Kiersten White.

Hopefully, I haven't lost you, but there really were novels written before Twilight's Edward came on the scene. Stories about real (fake) people who live in real (fake) worlds. That's what I'm writing.

I went to the library to find those kinds of books and just stared at the shelves, stymied as to what to choose. I had printed a list, but none of the books on the list were there. It seemed like every one I picked up contained fantasy elements or over-the-top teen angst or other unmentionables that I have no interest in reading.

I did the only thing I could do...grabbed all the Janette Rallison's I could find that I don't already own and off I went.

If you have any other reading suggestions IN MY GENRE, please share. And hurry before gruesome creatures from the underworld start cropping up at Ideal High. [reference to my novel]

(And yes, I know Janette has those Fairy Godmother novels, but most of what she writes seems to be the real (fake) world stuff. And BTW, I'm really enjoying Just One Wish.)

A WRITER'S FAVORITE KIND OF CONTEST!

2011-03-17T23:24:00.000-07:00

YAtopia is sponsoring an awesome contest on their blog.

You can actually win the chance to submit

your manuscript to an agent.

It's definitely the opportunity to get an agent to read your hook.

Seriously.

Click here...

YATOPIA

But hurry. They are only taking 150 entries.

But wait...I put 3 yrs of my life into that manuscript...

2011-03-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

The literary agent and staff after they read my manuscript...

In lieu of actual blogging, something you may relate to...

2011-03-11T19:14:00.000-08:00

"Pitch"-er Perfect

2011-03-03T09:59:00.001-08:00

Okay, of course, my pitch at the writers conference was not perfect, but look at the sweater I wore. Perfect. Better than any collar shirt, right?

And the (amazing, exciting, unbelievable, scary!) good news is that the agent said YES, she wants to see my story!!!

I thought I would come out of the pitch after receiving her card into my sweaty little palm screaming and jumping up and down, but no. I just felt like I had made one very small step in a very long process. Then I went to my room to call my husband and had a short happy cry. Apparently, I felt more like crying than jumping up and down.

The agent had one recommendation for me--a change that would make my story more marketable. She asked if I would change the accident that takes place before the story opens. Right now it is a car accident, but she wisely said that car accidents in teen fiction are overdone and any other type of accident would make it stand out as unique.

I'm open to suggestions...

+takes place in early June

+in the middle of the night

+in West Texas

+young people die

That is all.

Is Miley Cyrus right?

2011-02-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

Down to the wire here...the writers conference is this weekend and with it my scheduled pitch with an agent. I'm only telling you this because you know it's my first pitch and no one gets accepted their very first time. (You do know that, right?)

Remember the motto:
HIGH PATIENCE...LOW EXPECTATIONS!

Anyway, major fail in the credibility department before I even sit down to pitch on Saturday because I went shopping for a collar shirt but did not purchase one. My writer friend said she heard collar shirts lend credibility, so I'm sure that's what all the successful authors will be wearing.

Dang it.

On the way home I heard "The Climb" on the radio. It's supposed to be a very motivational song unless you're pitching your novel this weekend and you hear lyrics like "sometimes I'm gonna have to lose" and "ain't about how fast I get there."

What??!!

It's not about what's waitin' on the other side?!

Is it really about the climb???!!!

No.

Please tell me Miley's wrong.

Help me spread the conference love...

2011-02-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

How about one more contest before the big fat ANWA WRITERS CONFERENCE next week?

In my previous post (2/13) I listed class details of the conference schedule. Here's what you do..

1. Copy the info and paste it into a blog post of your own.

2. In your post ask others to do the same.

3. Everyone report back on my blog saying that you did it.

4. You will be entered to win VINYL LETTERING of your choice. (One quote, within reasonable size)

+Contest closes Saturday, February 19th at midnight, so HURRY!+

As always, go to anwa-lds.com for conference information and registration.

ANWA WRITERS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD AT THE PHOENIX CROWNE PLAZA

2011-02-13T19:28:00.000-08:00

CAN YOU SAY AWESOME?

That's what this year's writers conference is all about.

Yep! All. About. The. Awesome.

The conference is sponsored by the American Night Writers Association, but totally OPEN TO ANY AND ALL WRITERS!

This means you. It's time to come out of your writing closet.

Admit it. You want to be a writer.

Check out the class list below and see if one or ten of these classes are just what you need to jump start your writing...

CLASSES (FEBRUARY 25 & 26--Click on the link at the top of the sidebar for registration and more information)

Friday workshops are interactive and hands-on. Titles of classes that will be presented twice are followed by an asterisk (*).

Writing A Killer Query Letter (Friday Workshop)
Elana Johnson, author of Possessions, and query letter guru
Every submission, whether for a publisher or a literary agent, starts with a query letter. You can craft a query letter that will hook an editor or agent to request more material in just a few steps. Bring your one-page query letter to share, receive feedback, and leave this two-hour workshop with a killer query letter that will generate requests.

Sonoran Desert Tales—Making Nonfiction Fun for Young Readers (Friday Workshop)
Conrad J. Storad, author of Don't Call Me a Pig (A Javelina Story), and Rattlesnake Rules
To become a better writer one must write. Then write more. (Class includes writing exercises, discussion, sharing of exercises, handouts, prizes, and a demonstration of how to present non-fiction to your readers in an entertaining manner. NOT a session on how to get a children's book published. BRING paper and pen or other writing tool from which you can read your class work.)

Pitching to Agents, Editors, and Publishers (Friday Workshop)
Elana Johnson
So you think you want to pitch to an agent or editor? You don't need a 90 mph fastball, just a clear picture of how to talk to another human being about your book. Come learn how to say all the right things in all the right places that will impress an agent or editor enough to generate a request.

Read Me A Story—Reading Aloud to Cultivate the Art of Listening (Friday Workshop)
Conrad J. Storad
The art of listening is an acquired one. It must be taught and cultivated gradually—it doesn't happen overnight.

A Match Made in Heaven: Finding the Right Publisher and Convincing Them It's So (How to Submit)
Kirk Shaw, senior editor at Covenant Communications, Inc.; and freelance editor for David R. Godine, Publisher; Northwestern University Press; and other publishers
Finding the right publisher is like courting a potential mate: both need to feel it's the right move. How does an author narrow down all the possibilities to find the best option for her/his manuscript, and then go about proving she/he is a fine fit for the publisher?

Unlocking the Mystery of Writing YOUR History: Discover Your Roots and Strengthen the Branches of Your Family Tree
Carolyn Murphy, Phoenix Genealogy Examiner for Examiner.com, and founder of www.FamilyTreeQuest.com
Explore a wide-variety of easy tips and tools that make it plausible to integrate Personal History and Family History writing into your already busy schedule. Writing Personal or Family Histories can seem mysterious. Where do I begin? What do I do? How do I maintain my motivation? The task may seem mountainous—too big to undertake, too daunting to attempt to explore. The good news is that, in today's world, there are time-saving ideas and tools that simplify the challenge. Unlocking the mystery is simply a matter of gaining knowledge, "zeroing in" on choosing a specific task (whether large or small), working it into your routine, then maintaining your commitment and momentum.

The Three P's of Publishing, Promotion, and Publicity; or How to make Your Writing Pay, Pay, Pay! *
Cecily Markland, owner of Inglestone Pubishing, editor of The Beehive Newspaper, and a published author
So many choices, so little time? Learn the practices, principles and important pointers for publishing smart in today's market. Discover how to map out a publishing plan, decipher the pros and cons of the various publishing options, and create a publicity program that pays off.

Avoiding Childish Mistakes When Writing for Children
Kelly Sonnack, agent from Andrea Brown Literary Agency
What are some of the mistakes writers make when writing for children, and how can you avoid them? What are the things that make editors and agents cringe and stop reading? Kelly will discuss the pitfalls to avoid when writing your childrenâ€™s book.

Ten Tips for Terrific Talking: Dialogue and Humor *
Janette Rallison, national YA author
Good dialogue advances your plot, reveals characterization, adds tension, and can enchant—or if you do it wrong—bore your reader. Learn ten helpful techniques for doing it right. But wait, there's more! Come to Janette's class and you'll receive information about humor at no extra charge! Some rules and restrictions apply. Void where prohibited by law . . .

How to Start a Book and Get it Finished
Laurie Schnebly Campbell, author of Believable Characters: Creating with Enneagrams and noted teacher of online courses
For writers anywhere in the process from imagining a book to completing the final chapter, this class looks at how, when and why to start writing, roadblocks and solutions along the way, and what to do after reaching The End.

Barnes & Noble: Who Are We? *
J. Paul Deason, Community Relations Manager, Barnes & Noble
Barnes and Noble's roles in the book world, and the changes in book publishing. Avenues to take to get your book published and out there.

Write What You Know: Gleaning from Reality to Make Characters Breathe *
Angela Morrison, author of YA novels Sing Me to Sleep and Taken by Storm
Gather, delve into, and create, using Angela's favorite techniques to turn what we know, love, learn, and yearn for into living characters to populate our scenes.

Beginning Songwriting For The Versatile Writer In You
Chava Cannon, award-winning singer-songwriter and member of BMI
Calling all story-tellers! Did you know that songwriting is story-telling set to music? After this 1 hour class, you too will have the skills to write a song. You will learn basic song formatting, do's and don'ts, and how to get started. Pre-requisite: NONE. No musical skill required, just the willingness to step outside the "Novel" box. Come join in the FA LA LA and add songwriting to your resume.

Perils of Publishing: Extreme Makeover—Editing Edition
Kelly Gottuso Mortimer, agent and owner of Mortimer Literary Agency

Block-busting: Putting the Joy Back in Writing
Laurie Schnebly Campbell
At some point, almost all writers suffer from the inability to tell the story they want. Part of writer's block is a lack of joy in the process, so counselor Laurie Schnebly Campbell looks at the causes—including exhaustion, boredom and fear of success—and the benefits of this block. Take home new awareness of what works for you, and renewed inspiration for returning to the craft you love.

Write What You Live
Chris Stewart, best-selling author of The Great and Terrible series, and other books
There are a couple of things you really can't fake your way through, like rock climbing, flying airplanes, surgery, and yes . . . writing. That's why it's so important to write about the things you really know. The things you really feel. The things that matter to you most.

Panel
Kirk Shaw, Kelly Sonnack, Kelly Gottuso Mortimer, Cecily Markland, and J. Paul Deason

Hope you're as excited about the conference as I am!

Gimmee an S...gimmee an L...gimmee an A...

2011-02-09T22:16:00.000-08:00

I hate when I look at my blog and see that it's been a week (or longer) since my last post. Surely I have had something wise, witty, and/or wonderful that I could have imparted to the masses sometime over the last 7 days...right?...RIGHT?...
...ANYBODY?...

Okay, it's true. I'm a SLACKER.

Or am I?

Let me tell you what I went and did just to prove I'm not a slacker. I signed up for a pitch session with an agent.

Yes. I SIGNED UP FOR A PITCH SESSION WITH AN AGENT!

So what I have been doing instead of blogging wisdom, wit, and wonder is FREAKING OUT.

It's very time consuming.

Believe in Yourself

2011-02-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

I was reading some of Query Tracker's tips and came across this about having confidence by the lovely Elana Johnson. The picture says it all. Elana's advice is good as well. Read it here...

http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2009/03/believing-in-yourself-as-author.html

I'd like to thank the academy...

2011-01-24T12:39:00.000-08:00

Is it wrong to accept a blogger award, but not the requirements of the award? And if it is wrong, what is the punishment for doing so? Will I be banned from receipt of future awards? Will I have to forfeit some followers? Will I receive glaring looks from other bloggers? When I meet a fellow blogger on the street, will they cross to the other side? Or will my fingers fall off so I can no longer blog?

Just weighing my options here because while I'd like to profusely thank Misha for the lovely award (as seen above) and I will definitely provide a link to her blog, the requirements of sending it on to 10 of my new favorite blogs and revealing 7 interesting facts about myself are, sadly, things that will have to be added to my to do list--right in between "Revising the great American novel" and cleaning the cupboard under my bathroom sink. Just saying...I was never very good at any of those chain letter thingys. I always broke the chain and I probably will now with the Stylish Blogger Award chain. Sorry.

Please visit Misha's blog here and tell her how awesome she is!!! Oh, and become her follower so she'll know she didn't give me this award in vain.

Today

2011-01-19T21:59:00.000-08:00

Glitter Graphics

Thanks, Today.

You probably thought you were another random Wednesday, but no.

Today you were the Wednesday of Awesomeness. And this because there was not a single item scheduled to mar your perfect perfectness.

Sure I did some laundry (finished all of it actually) and completed a few minor trivialities by phone and internet (and some important things, too) and even made some semblance of dinner, but beyond that I stayed in my sweats and a ponytail and wrote and edited upon my wee novel.

I tweaked a bunch of things, deleted others, and got pleasantly surprised by things I had forgotten from my last round of edits.

All in all a true Wednesday of Awesomeness.

Thanks. Thursday has a lot to live up to.

(Psst...How was your Wednesday?)

The Star Prophecy by Joan Sowards

2011-01-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

You are crazy. No Nephite has ever returned.

Most people laugh when they hear of Enoch's dream of returning to Jerusalem to find the infant Messiah. Even Enoch's future father-in-law mocks him when he asks for a postponement of his long-awaited wedding to his beloved Rebekah.

A few take Enoch seriously - the shipbuilder Omnihah, Enoch's teacher David, and the prophet Nephi.

Five years before, a Lamanite named Samuel had stood on the wall of Zarahemla and prophesied that "five years more cometh" and the Christ would be born in Jerusalem.

Time is running out! Enoch knows he must set sail across the great waters in search of his dream- to see the face of the Messiah.

The Star Prophecy is a surprising story of courage and love, faith and fortitude.

Sail with Enoch and his friends across the sea through hardship and adventure in search of the Christ child.

I like the idea of looking at Christ's birth from different perspectives and seeing the reactions for good and ill of those we read about in the New Testament. But what might the people in the Americas been thinking as the time drew nearer? Surely there were some with such great faith that they wanted to witness the birth of the Christ Child themselves. Enter Joan's fictional story of Enoch. While I am not generally a huge fan of scripture fiction, Joan is a great writer and storyteller. This one will pull you right into Enoch's journey.

XXXXX

The adventure begins with the blog tour for

The Star Prophecy by Joan Sowards

THREE copies will be given away!!! It's easy to enter.

1. Visit the fabulous reviews (tour schedule below) and leave a comment telling why you're excited to read The Star Prophecy. Remember to include your email address.

2. If you tweet about the blog tour, or post about it on your blog orfacebook, leave the link in the comments section and you'll receive an additional entry.

Good Luck! Entries close at midnight (MST) on January 28

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE:
January 10
I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
January 11
Totally Tina
January 12
Peggy Urry
January 13
Tangled Words and Dreams
January 14
Kaylee Baldwin
January 17
Of Writerly Things
January 18
Writers Mirror
January 19
Bonnie Gets a Say
January 20
The Blessing of Family
Life
January 21
Anna del C. Dye's Blog Renee S. Clark
　

Dreaming...

2011-01-11T22:51:00.000-08:00

I had a sweet dream last night. It's the second time I can recall having a dream about writing.

Well, I have a dream about writing 24/7...but this was a real asleep dream.

In it a critique group was gathered at my house. I was surprised and confused that they were at my house because it was quite the illustrious group of men and women, all successful writers. One of them was Janette Rallison, or at least the essence of Janette Rallison. You know how dreams are. Things are often skewed, but definitely in my mind in the dream it was supposed to be Janette.

Anyway, everything was going wrong. I kept trying to turn on lights and they wouldn't go on. I had trouble getting my family to leave so we could have our meeting. I was stressing out. Then I went over to where the critique group was seated in the living room. While I had been busy with lights and kids, one of the men had printed off a portion of my story and read it to the group. They began to talk about it and praise it and give me good ideas for it.

Like I said. Sweet.

It must be because I ranted by email yesterday to friend and critique group partner, Tamara, about writing/publishing, which is a topic for another post, but I'll dedicate this one to her.

Thanks, Tamara!

Note: Click on Tamara's name and it will take you to her blog. Janette's name will take you to her website.

Be afraid, my lovely rough draft...

2011-01-06T20:58:00.001-08:00

I've learned something over the past few days as I've worked on my personal goal of spending at least 2 hours a day working on revisions of my rough draft.

This is it: My words are not sacred. (Scared, maybe sometimes, but not sacred.)

It's true.

I thought they were so great when I wrote them...and then edited them to death...and then a little more just for good measure. Now I am back at them after a 2-month sabbatical and I find that they can become even better.

They can be changed.

This is why they should be scared.

After arriving at the end of my story, I know the beginning so much better and it's very exciting to see it coming together, fitting like puzzle pieces from one chapter to the next to the next to the next.

Loving this part of the process.

January 1

2010-12-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

Mockingjay Love

2010-12-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

Loved. Loved. Loved it.

O Say Can You See by LC Lewis

2010-12-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

NEW RELEASE!!! HISTORICAL FICTION!!!

Don't you just love the cover! I think I want fireworks on my book cover...though I guess technically these are "rockets red glare" and "bombs bursting in air."

Here's the backcover blurb:

Although the British raids have left Washington a devastated, blackened city, the battered Constitution has held and the presidency has survived! But the struggling government has no home. The British saw to that.

Gone is the Capitol and her magnificent library, the chambers of the Supreme Court, the President’s House, and every relic and document not secreted out of the city.

Next on the list of British prizes—the rebellious port city of Baltimore! A victory here would assure the Americans’ defeat, but a loss would dilute the importance of the destruction of Washington.

But has the raid on Washington stiffened the backs of the Americans? This is the question gnawing at the leaders on both sides.

The Willows women are mourning their absent men—gone to war, or wounded, or captured—as they await the birth of a blessed child.

Mere miles away, attorney Francis Scott Key embarks on a diplomatic mission that will leave an everlasting mark on America. Proving that a pen can be more powerful than a sword, Key records his fears and hopes—the fears and hopes of his embattled people—as he watches the bombardment of Baltimore while detained in the midst of the British fleet.

What changed in this noble man’s pacifist heart, empowering him to pen the powerful anthem, known today as “The Star Spangled Banner,” an epic poem that rallied a shattered nation to rise from its knees to claim the dream of “one nation under God?”

Experience the personal sacrifice of five families placed in the firestorm of the War of 1812, citizen heirs of the sacrifice of the Founding Fathers.

The first three books in the series are:
Volume 1, DARK SKY at DAWN, introduces the complex story of the six lead families--three American, two British, one slave--and the devastating prelude to the war.
Volume 2, TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING, carries readers into the harrowing events at Hampton, Virginia, and illustrates the toll the war takes on civilians--women and children. But through it all, a new tenacity begins to strengthen the young nation's spine as Americans rally to the cause of their nation.
Volume 3, DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT, throws our characters into the attack on Washington and the events that prove the mettle of the the Constitution and the Presidency.
http://www.seagullbook.com/lds-products-594646.html

Written under the name Laurie Lewis, the author's most recent release was in April—a women’s novel titled, “Awakening Avery,” which is currently nominated for a Whitney Award. (http://whitneyawards.com/wordpress/about-the-whitney-awards/)

Where's the line to see Jesus?

2010-12-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

The Rogue Shop by Michael Knudsen

2010-12-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

"Swear you'll never become a Mormon."

It was more likely I would become a vegan. "Don't be ridiculous, Aunt Jean. I'm not going to become a Mormon."

"Swear it on the Bible."

This backcover blurb hooked me. You know right off something interesting and entertaining's gonna happen. I've been hearing a lot of buzz about this book and I'm thinking it's the perfect curl-up-on-Christmas-afternoon-to-read book!!!!

This is Author Michael Knudsen debut novel (looove the sound of that...say it again...debut novel...debut novel...debut novel...)

More from the back cover: Trying to escape from his Texas Baptist upbringing and a troubled past, Chris Kerry came to Salt Lake City to get an education--and nothing else. But keeping his promise to stay away from the Mormons proves difficult, especially with two cute college girls living across the hall. And when Chris finds a new job at a tuxedo shop, his promise unravels as he discovers new friendships, hidden secrets, and a lost heritage he never imagined he had. The Rogue Shop illuminates how we recognize truth even in the most trying of circumstances. Michael Knudsen's hilarious debut will remind you about the value of faith, family, and friends as Chris learns from his past to move forward into a better future.

"The Rogue Shop stole my heart and expanded my love for fiction… [Its] redemptive message has the power to change, to uplift, and to comfort." –Heather Gardner's Fire & Ice Little Red Reads blog

Go to the author's website here to find purchasing information.

And a shout out for Texas Baptist upbringings--I didn't have one, but most of my friends in high school did.

Finding Rose by Stephanie Humphreys

2010-12-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

It's blog tour time for Whitney Nominee Finding Rose by Stephanie Humphreys

Three copies of the book will be given away...maybe to YOU!

Want to win? It's easy. Check out the fabulous reviews and leave a comment telling why you're excited to read Finding Rose. Remember to include your email address. If you tweet about the blog tour, or post about it on your blog or facebook, leave the link in the comments section and you'll receive an additional entry.

Here's a snippet from the back cover all rosy-colored:

"You're tired, Papa." Rose pulled the quilt over his thin shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.

"Think about what I said." He gently squeezed her hand. "I wish you would consider giving Miles a chance."

"Miles! I wish Sean had never brought him here. He's so serious. In all the time he's been here, he's hardly ever smiled. . . . He annoys me and I wish he would go home." Still, Rose couldn't help but think of his gentleness when he cared for her father.

On his deathbed, Rose Sterling's father asks her to consider Miles Crandall as a suitor. Then Rose is sent to live with an uncle in Spring Creek, Montana, far from her carefree life with her family in Utah. Miles is returning to his hometown of Spring Creek to set up a medical practice, so Rose is certain her being sent there is a setup. Yet Miles doesn't seem interested in her, and after Rose falls ill in Montana, he seems content to act as her physician and friend. When Rose captures the attention of Miles's younger, flamboyant brother as well as the town sheriff, Miles retreats even further from any attempt at courtship.

How can Rose honor her father's last wish if Miles doesn't even try to court her? Will she have the courage to put her heart on the line and fight for the one she really loves?

So the question of the hour is...Will Rose honor her father's last wish? Read the book to find out the answer to this and other burning questions. And beware the deathbed requests of all dying parents. Just saying.

+++++

Here's the blog tour dates. Get crack-a-lackin on those comments, folks!

November 22
Tristi Pinkston--Tristi Pinkston
November 23
Alison Palmer--Tangled Words and Dreams
November 24
Taffy Lovell--Taffy's Writing
November 29
Jenn Wilks--Jenn Wilks Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen--The Write Blocks
November 30
Amanda Thomson--Maybe Mandi
December 1
Sheila Staley--Why Not?
Because I Said So
December 2
Valerie Ipson--Valerie Ipson
December 3
Christine Bryant--Day Dreamer

Find purchase information here.
　

my novel on paper

2010-11-10T09:47:00.000-08:00

Thoughts: It looks like they reduced my manuscript to fit, probably because I write with zero margins to conserve paper when I print a chapter out for myself. It's double-sided, so that makes up for their crazy margins. For some reason some spacing is off on the first page, but other than that, I kind of like seeing it "in print!"

For the first time ever, I have placed my manuscript completely into the hands of another. Sure it screams ROUGH DRAFT so loudly you have to cover your ears, and I've given the receiver of it a jillion disclaimers about how it's not all there because it was printed without my supervision, and I have so many scenes not assigned to a chapter number yet--like the entire ending chapters since when I wrote them I didn't know what chapter they would be--and it didn't all get copied, and I'm still rewriting some stuff...

But nonetheless, it's out there.

I needed a deadline and she gave me one, so I worked like crazy moving sticky notes around my storyboard and then moving scenes around in the manuscript and spent a good bit of time wondering what the fajita I'm doing.

I'll have to admit though when I read my opening paragraphs I got a bit emotional...then about halfway through the chapter I was so tired of it. I've read this chapter a thousand times before, people. I had to skip ahead, but I'm hoping when you get the chance to read it, you won't want to skip ahead. You'll want to be there with Taryn every step of the way.

I thought after the grand printing of the manuscript I would lay off writing for awhile. Maybe get a spa pedicure, read the stacks of books on my TBR list, and make toast with abandon. My daughter's getting married two days after Thanksgiving, so with all of that and then Christmas, it's a great time to take a break.

But, no.

I haven't written since I dropped off the manuscript a week and a half ago and last night I had another baby dream. You don't know how much I was priding myself for not having any baby dreams since the Baby Terror Dream Weeks of August--Ha! I thought. I'll show you who's nurturing her creative self! And then, boom, it shows up again, and it's hungry and needs nurturing. (Click on "babies" in the archives to see my baby dream history)

So today I wrote 1172 words.

Take that, creative self/baby person in my dreams! I'm going to go make myself some toast.

Oh, Say Can You See by L.C. Lewis

2010-11-04T08:07:00.000-07:00

You've been warned...

2010-11-02T22:45:00.000-07:00

[Found this on my daughter's funny blog at missipson.blogspot.com]

Perilous by Tamara Hart Heiner & don't forget the GIVEAWAY, people

2010-10-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

*CONTEST details at the end of the post!!!*

This is my Perilous blog post where I see how many times I can use the word perilous while I blog about Perilous author Tamara Hart Heiner's book Perilous and don't forget the Perilous Giveaway of a Perilous Kindle. I guess the Kindle is not necessarily Perilous, it would all depend on the sort of books you download.

Here's Tamara Hart Heiner (THH), looking all not perilous, unless that's a roof she's sitting on, then I would say "Be careful, that's a perilous situation, THH."

I wish I would have asked her what perilous things have happened in her life, but no matter, my novel is about a student body president who loves Flamin' Hot Cheetos--two things I cannot relate to. I only hope THH has not faced anything as perilous as the girls do in her book. Kidnapping and other intense and scary things--totally perilous. YIKES! I think that's where she got the title.

Here's the backcover blurb:

Jaci Rivera has plans for her sophomore year: Go to regionals with the track team, make the honor roll, and eat too much pizza with her best friends, Callie and Sara. Her biggest concern is Amanda, the pushy girl who moved in a few months ago.

What she doesn't plan for is catching a robber red-handed, or being kidnapped.

The desperate thief drags her and her friends 2,000 miles across the Canadian border. They escape from his lair, only to find that he has spies and agents watching their path home, waiting to intercept them and take them back.

Then Jaci finds something out about her family. Something which irrevocably connects her to their kidnapper, and makes her question their chances of escape.

There's enough twisty-turny events and who-are-we-going-to-trust situations to keep you hooked till the end. It ties up neatly, but I hear there's more to come. A Perilous sequel, perhaps?

Here is the ebook link: www.amazon.com/dp/B0045JLQCI

Here are the pre-order links:
http://www.amazon.com/Perilous-Tamara-Hart-Heiner/dp/0979607086/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285706174&sr=8-1

http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=perilous

http://tamarahartheiner.com/books.html

Visit THH's blog HERE to read an excerpt from the book. AND check HERE to find all the stops on her blog tour. Why, you ask? Because she's giving away a KINDLE!

!!!Here's how YOU can win it:
The contest is point-based and begins Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 15. Whoever has the most points wins the Kindle. There will only be one Kindle given away.

Here how the points add up:
1 point: blog comment (can comment on all the blogs, multiple times on the tour)
1 point: follow THH's blog (again HERE)
1 point: retweet
2 points: blog about the blog tour
5 points: purchase the book (ebook or paperback, must email Tamara, the author, the confirmation email)

Add up all your points as well as your proof (links, etc) and email it to THH at the end of the blog tour (tamara at tamarahartheiner dot
com)

You can earn an infinite number of points!

That's anything but Perilous!

WIN A KINDLE!

2010-10-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

I'm part of the Perilous blog tour that is already underway. I'll be blogging about Tamara Hart Heiner's novel on Thursday, but till then you can start racking up points to win a KINDLE! Go to the author's blog HERE to find all the spots along the blog tour. It's basically a Perilous Kindle Giveaway!

Kindle giveaway (sponsored by Tamara Hart Heiner): The contest is point-based and begins Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 15. Whoever has the most points wins the Kindle. There will only be one Kindle given away.

Here are the points:
1 point: blog comment (can comment on all the blogs, multiple times on the tour)
1 point: follow THH's blog (http://tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com)
1 point: retweet
2 points: blog about the blog tour
5 points: purchase the book (ebook or paperback, must email Tamara, the author, the confirmation email)

Add up all your points as well as your proof (links, etc) and email it to Tamara at the end of the blog tour (tamara at tamarahartheiner dot
com)

You can earn an infinite number of points!

Way exciting!

WIN-A-T-SHIRT-DAY CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED!

2010-10-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

YOU! YES, YOU, Sheila...

YOU ARE A WINNER OF A T-SHIRT

Please email me your address, plus your specs for a t-shirt--like, size, color, phrase wanted (and even vinyl color and font for the phrase if you have a preference). Email is in my profile.

Thanks everyone for playing and visiting my daughter's blog.

It was fun to read your comments and it made my daughter's day.

Now a t-shirt is nothing.
I'm part of a book blog tour where you (yes, you) can win a KINDLE!

I'll get some info up about the tour tomorrow and then Thursday

I'll be reviewing the book right here on my blog.

wRitinG iS FuN?

2010-10-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

Oh, what a tangled web we weave...

when we attempt to write a novel!

I've been moving a few things around in my novel during the revision stage, but the thing is, when you somewhat innocently move one scene to another spot because you decide it will make the story better, it affects all these other scenes, and then you have this big tangled mess. Now my story board is looking like this...

and my brain is looking like, well...yeah... Let's just say when I'm done with this I can stick my brain in a giant pickle jar and loan it out for Halloween parties or psychiatric study.

Despite pickled brains I'm SO excited to update my current word count--now appearing on the sidebar: Da, da, da da... 74,696!!!!!!!!!

IT'S WIN A T-SHIRT DAY!

2010-10-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

Just for fun and following my blog and because Fall Break is over and the kids are back in school and because I want to and actually said on this blog a couple of times that I would do it, YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN A T-SHIRT! It can be this one, which I love love...

OR, it can be one of your choosing...meaning you choose the phrase you want on it.

Here are the guidelines:

1. BE A FOLLOWER! I know that goes against what your parents and Sunday School teacher taught you, but humor me. It's okay when the crowd is doing a good thing like following my blog, right? :D

2. VISIT MY DAUGHTER'S NEW BLOG here (yes, my daughter's now a blogger...*TEARING UP*) and tell me something interesting you learned there. Feel free to comment or follow her--that will really surprise her.

3. LEAVE A COMMENT stating the above two things.

Easy enough. And if you want to Tweet or Facebook this opportunity-to-win, please do and mention it in your comment...I'll tack on an extra point for you towards winning.

Save the Child--new release by Margaret Turley

2010-10-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

From the back cover:

"You are not going to pour poison straight into her heart!" Nancy's determination to protect her daughter from the chemotherapy doctors insist she needs is fueled by boundless fury. She has seen cancer patients successfully treated with naturopathy. She wants the right to do this for Sharon, her eight year old child suffering from Leukemia.

Cancer is the enemy. Love is the remedy and Grandma is the angel who glues the family picture back together again.

Author Margaret Turley says:

While I was traveling to work one day the news broadcast a story about a mother who was refusing chemotherapy treatment for her son. Because I am a nurse I asked myself why would a mother decide against the best that medicine could offer. The doctors insisted the boy had a virulent cancer that needed immediate attention. Even when threatened with jail and loss of custody the parents did not want him to receive chemotherapy. After they were charged with kidnapping their own child because they crossed state lines [with him] a judge listened to the parents and halted the medical community and government forces.

What the parents wanted was an independent, out-of-state medical work-up for their son. The judge allowed them to seek this consultation. The result was that the child was discovered to be free of cancer. I sighed with relief. The judge saved this boy from the horrible side-effects of chemotherapy which include nausea, pain, sores, compromised immune systems, sterility, major organ damage, secondary cancers, and even death.

One of the most important roles of a nurse is to be a patient advocate. During my thirty-four-year career I have observed more than one situation where a patient and/or their family were not listened to. This can cause grave problems and errors, not the least of which being patients and families enduring procedures they do not understand or agree with. It is my hope that the medical community and the law can expeditiously come together to serve the best interest for the child and family.

Purchase Save the Child at Amazon.com.

Adverb's Revenge

2010-10-07T10:54:00.001-07:00

I don't know if you non-writers out there realize that adverbs = bad.

I know. Your high school English teacher never told you. You probably received high marks for beautifully decorating your verbs with all those -ly wonders.

Well, it's something you pick up on the street when you hang with the creative writing crowd. Beef up your verb choice and then who needs an adverb. Ran quickly becomes raced. Cried loudly sounds better as wailed. And glitters brightly is just plain redundant. And repetitive.

It's beautiful in its simplicity: Kill the adverb.

But wait. Don't sentence it to death row just yet. (At least not till you read this blog post.) Adverbs don't only modify verbs, people. They have other reasons for living.

In Spunk & Bite-a writer's guide to punchier, more engaging language & style, by Arthur Plotnik, he devotes an entire chapter to fresh adverbs. He talks about "adverbs of manner [that] reveal the way in which a thing or quality is distinguished." For example:
"hugely boring or minutely entertaining." (Those don't even remotely describe (most) blog posts found here at Of Writerly Things...right? Right? :/)

Adverbs can become fresh when they modify adjectives. And though they are called "fresh," they have been used in this way (as Plotnik points out) long before Nixon's "perfectly clear" speech, in fact their usage dates back to as early as 1570 with phrases found in literature like "curiously dainty."

Here's a match game taken from Spunk & Bite, pgs. 40-41. See if you can match the actual adverb-adjective pairings taken from print. The subject of the sentence is shown in parenthesis. (See answers below.)

[Note: I added the second list in green to differentiate it, so choose an adverb from the list on the left and pair it with an adjective from the green list--Blogger wouldn't let me separate the two into columns. If anyone knows how to do that, let me know.]

1. dormantly a. ordinary (plot structure)

2. gloriously b. fervent (devotion)

3. scarily c. naive (conviction)

4. militantly d. Mormon (guy from Philly)

5. incongruously e. hostile (speech)

6. juicily f. unclever (writer)

7. resolutely g. ridiculous (role as pirate)

8. wittily h. intricate (dance step)

9. inflammatorily i. prosaic (men's fashions)

10. metaphysically j. uproarious (doings)

ANSWERS:
1. d (Patricia Marx, The New Yorker)
2. j (Kirkus Reviews)
3. b (Sarah Miller, The New York Times)
4. i (Judith Thurman, The New Yorker)
5. a (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)
6. g (David Denby, The New Yorker)
7. f (Bruno Maddox, The New Yorker)
8. h (Richard Eder, The New York Times)
9. e (John Updike, The New Yorker)
10. c (Lydia Davis, Granta)

Now wasn't that fun? I loved trying out all the adverbs with Mormon, just to see the different images they conjured up. Suddenly (since 1570, anyway) adverbs are crazily fun again. And surprisingly useful. And blazingly fresh... okay, I guess I don't need to overdo it. One must still choose wisely. Not all adverb-adjective pairings will be gloriously, resolutely, or wittily fresh.

[This post is a rerun of my Tuesday post at anwafounder.blogspot.com]

READ MY SHIRT

2010-10-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

Check out my other blog for information on ordering writer tees. They make great personalized Christmas gifts for all your crazy writer friends.

Are you doing what I'm doing?

2010-10-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

So I had brain surgery today, well, okay, it was on my head and it was minor.

So minor I could even drive myself home afterward.

So minor that the doctor had me sit in a normal doctor room chair for the procedure and not on the examination table. (That's a bit demeaning, isn't it, to the purpose of my being there?)

So minor the nurse stuck one of those small circle bandaids on it when it was done.

What? No "Go home and take it easy?"

No resting on the couch with propped up pillows and clear liquids?

No "Can you bring me some ice water and jello, please?" offered up in a pathetic voice?

He said I can wash my hair and, get this, I can swim.

Again. What? I am not submersing my cut-open-head in water, chlorinated or otherwise. I very specifically washed and straightened my hair this morning so that I could go a few days without shampooing.

Sheesh. Surgery these days.

Sorry, but I'm still going to take advantage. I've got a frozen lasagna going in the oven for dinner and at exactly 3 PM, I'm going on the couch with the ice water and propped up pillows. Oprah's interviewing author JK Rowling and I'm not going to miss it.

Yes, I overcame the whole must-watch-Oprah thing a while back when I determined that if I was going to finish a novel I had to give some things up, but I make an exception for authors and especially this one. How 'bout you? Even if a scalpel wasn't taken to your scalp today, I'm sure you can think of a good excuse for plopping yourself in front of the television for an hour. Call it research.

Amazing Prizes For Writers

2010-09-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

No, not here. Over at The Bookshelf Muse blog.
http://tinyurl.com/32jw66q

But stay tuned. I did say recently that I would offer a contest where you could win a t-shirt. Well, not ALL of you personally. One of you personally, or maybe two.

Post wherein I interview said author

2010-09-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

It was less than a year ago I was interviewing Author-with-a-capital-A, Kathi Oram Peterson, about her recent release Angel on Main Street. (Read that review.) Now here she is with another recent release, The Stone Traveler. I should have asked her HOW DO YOU DO IT? But I didn't, so we'll have to make due with the questions I did ask.

And keep in mind that something big is at stake here, the KINDLE. You can win this baby by following Author Kathi's blog tour and commenting on every blog along the way. There is room for repentance if you've missed any of the stops, just go here to find the blog list and play catch up before September 30. (My tour date was yesterday, but I didn't have room to include the interview. Return to my previous day's blog to leave a comment for the contest. AFTER you comment on today's!)

Now here we go...

Tell me about the moment you got the story idea for The Stone Traveler. What inspired it specifically? There really wasn't a single moment. This book was made up of many moments in my life and was inspired by my parents and my son. My parents owned a cabin at Palisades Lake. In the living room of the cabin was a picture of Christ talking to the twelve apostles on the road to Jerusalem. Dad and Mom had served a [church] mission in Cali, Columbia and they were always telling Book of Mormon stories, thus the reason for the grandmother in my book telling Tag, the main character, those stories as well. The inspiration behind Tag, was my son. No, he's not an artist and his father is still here, but my son has had some of the same struggles as Tag. (Tell him to beware of shining stones.)

Is Samuel the Lamanite and his story a particular favorite of yours?* Oh yes. Picture it: he's preaching to the Nephites and is run out of town. And as he's finally on his way home, the Lord asks him to go back and preach to them again. They won't let him into the city, so what does he do? Climbs up on the city walls and preaches. The courage and devotion that would take I can't imagine. (Personal fav, too.)

Besides this one, what's your favorite time travel book? Well, if I can't say The Stone Traveler, how about The Forgotten Warrior (see, another book she's had published!), but I have the feeling you want a book that I haven't written. Well, I've read my share, but my favorite time-travel story was Somewhere in Time the movie with Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour. Yes, I'm a big romantic. (Yeah, that darned penny! I'll never forget it.)

What time period would you most like to travel back to and why? There's so many time periods I find fascinating: Colonial times, Civil War era, and Biblical times. I've been working on a time travel that takes a brother and sister back to the time when Christ was born. The sister finds herself in the belly of a Roman ship, the brother ends up with a shepherd family. The political atmosphere in Rome and Jerusalem were both amazing and scary at that time. I'm so grateful for Mary and Joseph and the great courage they had. The moment in time I'd most like to travel back to would be in the stable after Christ was born...for me that has to be the ultimate moment to witness. (Ahhh...I love that answer.)

Give me a line from your story...no context. This is tough. Asking a writer to do this is like asking a parent to pick her favorite child. Well, maybe not that bad. How about this: Then he walked away, leaving me standing in the garden of Blood Flowers wondering whom I should trust. (That is a very nice child, I mean line. Garden of Blood Flowers sounds just plain facinating, doesn't it? Despite the trust issue.)

Thanks, so much, for the interview, Kathi! I'm off to give the book to my teenage son who is always on the lookout for a good read. My husband read it (he snagged it before me) and enjoyed it. It's definitely a book that can be recommended for the whole wide family.

*If you're unfamiliar with Samuel the Lamanite's awesome story, go HERE to get a free copy of The Book of Mormon. His story starts on page 397.

Compelling Characters and The Stone Traveler

2010-09-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

Triple duty today, kids.

I am part of The Stone Traveler blog tour and my stop on the tour is today.

I also signed up for The Great Blogging Experiment where over 150 bloggers will be sharing their thoughts on Writing Compelling Characters and today is the day of the experiment! (Find list of other bloggers here.)

Also, I must point out that I was interviewed at Sarah M. Eden's website today at I Need Friends Friday. (I don't know how to make this picture smaller...sorry.)

(I vow to consult my calendar a little more closely next time.)

Maybe we can roll the rest of this into one big ball of blog fun. Let's get started...

I'd like to talk about the compelling character I just read about in The Stone Traveler by Kathi Oram Peterson. (See how I smushed the topics into one mass right there?)

Tag is one of the point of view characters in this time travel story. He's the perfect example of a compelling character because though he tries to fool everyone by his unique exterior, we get a few clues into his heart and find him a very sympathetic kid. He's dyed his formally red hair jet black, he wears black eyeliner and black nail polish (and this is Idaho), plus the requisite black attire and chains that would round out such a look. Yet, his mother says, "Tag, you might dye your hair and paint your face, but you can't change your blue eyes." His mother still sees a spark of his real self and so can we as we come to know him through the story.

At the start, Tag shows he's got some oomph when he decides not to join a local gang, the Primes. It's a great reversal after being shown what he's dressed like as he heads out to school that morning. He shows his spark when he feels obligated to rescue the cousin he despises from a gang beating. He doesn't want to, but he does it anyway.

A compelling character is one who despite the way they portray themselves, we see there's a small spark of something good or even great, and we discover it as we read. It's the spark that catches our attention. It's the contrasts and surprising reversals that make them compelling.

Tag pays for his deed when his mom sends him off to his grandpa's for the summer with the despised cousin. Time travel ensues when Tag is thrust back into ancient America and meets up with Samuel the Lamanite's daughter. (If you know your Book of Mormon history you'll be saying, "What daughter?" but that's where the fiction and the fun begins.)

Now for details of the book and amazing prize pack! Keep in mind that I was supposed to announce this tour a long time ago. Now you'll have to play catch up and go comment on all the blog posts to be entered to win the amazing-of-all-amazing Grand Prizes.

The Stone Traveler - Blog Tour Contest

When: Weekdays in September.

Important Rule: Leave a comment on "every" site on the tour.

Monday through Friday commenter names will be collected from the blog tour. On Saturday a name will be drawn to win a prize that includes a very cuddly toy jaguar; a stone necklace; and chocolates with the flavor of South America—real cacao and chili. The winner will be announced on the following Monday.

The GRAND prize for The Stone Traveler blog tour will be a (drumroll, please) Kindle. (Yes, KINDLE!)

The cutoff to be eligible is midnight on September 30. The winner will be announced October 4th. If you find the tour midway through (hmm, like here on my blog?) and want to participate, you can still go back and comment on every blog simply by going to kathiswritingnook.com. Starting in September the sidebar will list each stop on the tour as they are posted, making it very easy to click to any of the sites and leave a comment. AND even if you’ve already won one of the weekly drawings, your name will still go in the jar for the Kindle.

TOMORROW I WILL POST MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KATHI ORAM PETERSON!

TOMORROW!

2010-09-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Check out INFF, but also stop here where I will be blogging my book review for The Stone Traveler by Kathi Oram Peterson. For now check out the tour and prize situation here. I was supposed to be a dutiful blogger and post about the tour and the awesome prizes offered in advance, no less, but I've been organizing my novel's plot.

It was so much fun I went and organized my pantry.

See where the plot thickens around the 3rd shelf? (Oh, and yes, that's my husband's matador apron from Spain hanging there on the left. Ole!)

See you tomorrow!

I see fictional people

2010-09-21T10:36:00.001-07:00

I get into the car to go somewhere and two characters immediately start talking to each other in my head. I don't know how they got in there, but they're there and they're talking, but not to me. They purposefully wait, though, for a quiet moment so I will overhear their conversation. They're sneaky like that. And it's always the same exact dialogue until I write it down, then they'll move on to a new, but often related topic.

They never really tell me what they're doing, like, I'm going over to so and so's house and tell him off and then he's going to... No. They just talk, chat away, carry on their little conversations and then they want me to figure out the whole story around the conversation.

Sometimes now I show them. When I get into the car I say, "Be quiet. I'm not going to listen to you today. I need to ponder what you're going to do next in the story,"--then I'm the one talking to myself (they will not participate in this part-they're ornery like that), so again talking to myself, I'm like, okay, she could go to so and so's house and tell him off, then that would make him...

No one wants to read a story that's all dialogue and they know it--that's why they need me.

Reminds me of Anne Lamott's book on writing, Bird By Bird, where she writes of characters driving the plot and we are just the typists who get it all down on paper. Good typists listen, she reminds us: “Your plot will fall into place as, one day at a time, you listen to your characters carefully, and watch them move around doing and saying things and bumping into each other. You’ll see them influence each other’s lives, you’ll see what they are capable of up and doing, and you’ll see them come to various ends.” She quotes another author, Carolyn Chute, who was discussing rewriting, “Over and over, I feel as if all my characters know who they are and what happens to them… and what they are capable of doing, but they need me to write it down for them because their handwriting is so bad.”

I can see that my characters need to step it up a bit and give me more clues about what they want to be doing. They can't be all talk and no action or I'm going to have to make them start doing the typing.

Are you failing 4th grade Math, too?

2010-09-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

In the fourth grade I was a math whiz.

It's true.

At the front of the room my teacher had a poster of a tree with lots of branches, each one representing one of the times tables. The students had their own owl with their name on it and the owl would move from branch to branch as we passed off the ones, then the twos, then threes, and so on. My owl made it to the top of that tree. And in a very timely manner, I might add.

Now I find that I fail at 4th grade Math. My daughter asked me to check her work and I ended up helping her to change nearly every answer. The next day she came home and said they were all wrong but three.

Really?

I just don't understand the terms they use nowadays--mental math, front-end estimating...I can't even remember the others. I've already had to call my school-teacher daughter twice this school year to ask her what something meant. They just don't teach the same anymore.

Whatever happened to cute owls on branches?

(at least Spelling hasn't changed, right?)

(I was spelling champ in my 5th grade class.)

eat pray write

2010-09-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

I made myself a tee shirt.

DISCLAIMER ALERT!! I'm not here to promote the book (which I did read) or the movie (which I didn't see) by a similar name. I just like the twist on the sentiment and thought it fit pretty well with my writer's life. Snacks and prayer are pretty important parts of the equation.

I thought I might wear this shirt when I'm all alone, just me and the computer, but then I happened to follow a link to Elizabeth Gilbert's website (author of Eat Pray Love) and was so impressed with her thoughts on writing I had to share.

She's talking about sharing your work... Find it here.

"...At least try. And when the powers-that-be send you back your manuscript (and they will), take a deep breath and try again. I often hear people say, “I’m not good enough yet to be published.” That’s quite possible. Probable, even. All I’m saying is: Let someone else decide that. Magazines, editors, agents – they all employ young people making $22,000 a year whose job it is to read through piles of manuscripts and send you back letters telling you that you aren’t good enough yet: LET THEM DO IT. Don’t pre-reject yourself. That’s their job, not yours. Your job is only to write your heart out, and let destiny take care of the rest.

As for discipline – it’s important, but sort of over-rated. The more important virtue for a writer, I believe, is self-forgiveness. Because your writing will always disappoint you. Your laziness will always disappoint you. You will make vows: “I’m going to write for an hour every day,” and then you won’t do it. You will think: “...I’m such a failure. I’m washed-up.” Continuing to write after that heartache of disappointment doesn’t take only discipline, but also self-forgiveness (which comes from a place of kind and encouraging and motherly love)."

Gilbert says that most writers think their writing is not up to par. Even when she was writing Eat Pray Love, she thought the same thing. But she says she had a "clarion moment of truth" while writing the book.

Again in her words, "One day, when I was agonizing over how utterly bad my writing felt, I realized: “That’s actually not my problem.” The point I realized was this – I never promised the universe that I would write brilliantly; I only promised the universe that I would write. So I put my head down and sweated through it, as per my vows.

I have a friend who’s an Italian filmmaker of great artistic sensibility. After years of struggling to get his films made, he sent an anguished letter to his hero, the brilliant (and perhaps half-insane) German filmmaker Werner Herzog. My friend complained about how difficult it is these days to be an independent filmmaker, how hard it is to find government arts grants, how the audiences have all been ruined by Hollywood and how the world has lost its taste…etc, etc. Herzog wrote back a personal letter to my friend that essentially ran along these lines: “Quit your complaining. It’s not the world’s fault that you wanted to be an artist. It’s not the world’s job to enjoy the films you make, and it’s certainly not the world’s obligation to pay for your dreams. Nobody wants to hear it. Steal a camera if you have to, but stop whining and get back to work.” I repeat those words back to myself whenever I start to feel resentful, entitled, competitive or unappreciated with regard to my writing: “It’s not the world’s fault that you want to be an artist…now get back to work.” Always, at the end of the day, the important thing is only and always that: Get back to work. This is a path for the courageous and the faithful. You must find another reason to work, other than the desire for success or recognition. It must come from another place."

Yeah. What she said.

(And if you need a pen, you don't have to steal one, I'll give you one of mine.)

Quips for a happy writing day

2010-09-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Enjoy...

Love being a writer, hate the paperwork.

I love my job. I get to sit around all day making stuff up.

I write, therefore I am.

I prefer to think of it as prepublished.

Don't be jealous of my sweet writing skills.

My weapon of choice...the mighty pen.

What does not kill me makes a great plot point in my next book.

I am, therefore I write.

The voices in my head are plotting against me.

Deadlines amuse me.

I'm in my own little world. (It's okay, they know me here.)

Writers get the last word.

Why do writers write? Because it isn't there.

Blank page, I shall thwart thee.

Haiku are simple
But they often don't make sense
Hippopotamus

Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.

Writing today...if I don't get these characters out of my head they threatened to trash the place.

And finally...

You're an awesome writer, now get back to work.

[many of these seen on cafepress.com]

Prepare to be impressed

2010-09-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

I casually followed a link in a blog post Tuesday morning (thanks to Elana Johnson) and fell into a blog post series on story structure [Alexandra Sokoloff, thedarksalon.blogspot.com]. I've read about this topic before, and experienced the resultant epiphanies that improved my story, but this time (because I'm DESPERATE to FINISH) it clicked for me in a big way.

It was time to outline.

Instead of running screaming from the blog post, I decided to face it head on. So Wednesday, armed with a pen and a prayer, I set my entire novel to sticky notes. As I said...prepare to be impressed...and take notes for your kids and grandkids for when they have to analyze my novel in English class...ha, ha...

Isn't it beautiful? Each scene has its own sticky note, each chapter its own color.

You can't read it from the photo, but it's divided into acts--I have ACT 1, then the few chapters that comprise that, then the ACT 1 Climax, then ACT 2, then the Midpoint Climax, then the rest of Act 2--etc, etc. on to ACT 3, the final Climax/Resolution.

You may wonder...can't you just write your story any old way you want? Possibly. But the old way is a structured way. It's the way as human beings we like to hear a story. There's a flow, a growing of the character, there's build up, there's satisfying resolutions. Since this is my first attempt at a novel why not try what's tried and true. I think that's what will get an editor's attention...well, after they're hooked by the unique storyline and killer writing skills...again...ha, ha...

Thursday I began to analyze my story, which I can finally do because I can actually SEE IT. Before it was a jumbled mess in my brain, scattered through 26+ files in my computer. It overwhelmed me. So I moved a few sticky notes around (not too many it turns out) and I added a bunch where I need new scenes. I had major emotional epiphanies about my ending and how to broaden its scope (check out Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas if you don't know what I'm talking about)

Now my storyboard looks like this...all those yellow stickies at the far far right are things I need to add...

I took two pages, front and back, of notes for my book and printed off Alex's story structure list to use as my checklist. I was surprised to see that my story naturally contains the elements she talks about. Like Act 2 is comprised of laying out the MC's plan, the gathering of allies, then the tests (the blocks to the plan) begin and basically never end till the end. She talks about the "Dark Night of the Soul" moment when your character is at their very lowest point and there's no way they can go on, but...OK, getting carried away here... It's so fun, you should try it with your novel!

It inspired me to write on Thursday afternoon and to even clean up my writing area Thursday night--which was to the point of "I can't write in these conditions!" plus I wanted to be able to display the lovely storyboard on the shelf above my computer. Now it's right there in all its multi-colored, sticky note glory! Apparently, I'm a visual person and didn't know it.

Alex's blog series goes way beyond outlining and story structure--you should totally check it out. Thanks for the link, Elana.

Accountability is everything

2010-08-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

I did a really dumb thing.

I said I would not read Mockingjay until I finished my novel.

That wasn't the dumb part.

The dumb part was saying it in front of my husband.

Guess who's not reading Mockingjay till they finish their novel?

You've guessed correctly.

Pssst...when you talk about the book, please whisper, as I can't cover my ears right now. I'm typing...

100+ FOLLOWERS

2010-08-27T10:00:00.001-07:00

Didn't want the moment to pass without celebrating!

2010-08-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

Bookmom Jaime Theler said it better than I can... go here.

Fear of failure or fear of success?

2010-08-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

I have a healthy fear of failure. That's why you don't see me cliff-diving.

But in other areas of life I've decided failure is easy. It's comfortable. It's success that requires work. Success brings expectation. Like writing a book and subsequently having it published. Work, expectation...and people-you-know will read it. I fear that.

First-time author Elana Johnson posted about the fear of success today at her blogspot. She received copy edits and talks about seeing her book in an almost book-like form. We dream of that day, right? But I understand her fear.

On a little bit of a different bent, today I read a blog post by agent Chip MacGregor (posted last March) where he said, "There's this myth in our culture that your mettle will somehow be tested by failure. Baloney. All of us experience some failure, some rejection, some times of being ignored, and we get over it. We have to, since the world keeps going. I don't think our souls are tested all that much by failure...they are tested much more by success." He mentions how the Bible has a myriad of warnings for the rich and powerful, but for the poor and ignored, not so much. (Read blog post here.) So he's saying maybe there's reason to fear it because success will most certainly be a test of our character.

All I know is I'm not worried about my character as much as I'm worried about you reading my book. (Well, not you, but all those other people.)

Which is it for you? Which do you fear more--failure or success?

[and if you missed it, please take a second to view my previous post. I promise it will make your day]

Who doesn't need a little validation now and then...

2010-08-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

Check out this website...

http://iamawesome.com

This is taking RECURRING to a whole new level

2010-08-21T13:45:00.001-07:00

I woke one morning this week and was relieved, "Whew, no baby in that dream," but no, I was wrong. Right at the end of my dream there was suddenly a baby laying on a bench. I thought it was dead, it looked dead. I looked closer and it opened its eyes.

If you don't know the history of my recurring dream, and you care (important distinction), read this post. [Quick recap--I've had several, well, okay, a majorly huge amount, of dreams involving a baby in need of serious nurturing. I read an interpretation of the dream in a book on writing where the author talks about how the baby is our creative selves. Yay, I thought. I only need to keep plugging away on my novel and the "baby" will be happy and more importantly, it will be ALIVE.]

I updated the whole dream situation in a July blog post as Guest Blogger at LDSWritersBlogck.

Here's part of that post: I've had several baby dreams since I discovered Ms. Tiberghien's interpretation, including one where I even named the baby--definitely a good sign when you consider the baby being my creative self--and another where I actually gave birth to the baby. That one got me excited. It meant I had come so far--no longer was I finding a baby neglected and barely alive, but I actually gave birth to it. I was giving life to my creativity.

I really wish I had written down all the dreams because it's been quite the baby/creative-self journey. The two most recent installments had totally different tones, though. The first was wonderful. I dreamed I brought the baby in and set it in a bassinet. It barely fit, but the baby seemed okay. The latest dream, though . . . not good. I had to change the baby and it was making huge messes all over. I couldn't do anything to stop it. I guess these last two indicate where I'm at in my creative writing journey. I've nurtured the baby/creative-self by writing my novel. Now I'm in revisions. And it's a mess.

Okay, that was then...this is now. I have had 6 (COUNT THEM...6!) baby dreams in the past two weeks. I'm getting a little scared. I'm beginning to think it's not book therapy I need (reference to earlier blog post), but actual therapy. Why are these babies so relentlessly appearing in my dreams?!? :/ I'm working on my novel, okay slowly, but surely, and I let some days pass without writing (I know, shame on me), and there's been vacations and summer in general, but c'mon!

One of the dreams was good. I came in and saw my baby and I was so excited. He was as darling as could be (looked a lot like my youngest son as a baby) and I secretly watched him for a moment because I knew if he saw me he would want me and then the person holding him would have to give him up. Then I finally took him and promptly woke up.

Last night I dreamed of twins and it was horrible. I took twins from some kids who were trying to come to my daughter's birthday party, though they were not invited. I was worried the kids (who had pulled up in a truck but were clearly too young to drive) couldn't care for the babies, so my daughter and I took them with us to buy items for the party. As in most dreams, things go crazy and you somehow never accomplish what you need to, so we just couldn't get the party stuff. We tried a couple of stores, but were unsuccessful. Somehow one baby was misplaced and I still don't know what happened to it. The other was strapped in the car seat, but needed serious attention. In truth, it was dying, but I would not stop because I had these other things to do.

We finally decided to go home and give up on buying anything because the party guests had arrived and my older daughter was entertaining them with games, but didn't know how long that would last. Of course, we could not get home. Everywhere we went was a dead end or just circled around endlessly, but I would not stop to help the baby. I had to get home and I told myself I would call 911 and get help for it as soon as we got there.

Like I said, it's a little scary. I'm wondering if there's some kind of time limit out there in the universe and I need to set aside some (more) things and get this novel done or the "baby" will die and not be revived. So far in the dreams the babies do live.

Well, I guess there's that one twin I can't account for.

"Trapped" by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen/BLOG TOUR w/PRIZES!

2010-08-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

A Forged Letter,

A Golden Vial,

An Ancient Curse...

Filled with family secrets, intrigue, and romance the blog tour (August 9-August 24) for Trapped by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen will have it all.

Her expression remained somber, but excitement crept into her voice. You are the Firstborn She...You must go to them. You want me to act as bait? Not bait, Emi. A spy. Our Trojan horse.

When Emi Warrin wakes one night to find a thief in her mother's house, she has no idea the intruder has planted a trap - a mysterious letter that will change her life forever.

Lured to the Austrian Alps with Daniel, the man she loves, Emi is thrown into a perilous, mafia-like world of feuding families and a devastating curse that spans generations. As the Firstborn She - the only firstborn female in hundreds of years - only Emi can free her family from the curse that will soon afflict her as well. But for Emi to break the curse, she must delve into evil designs.

As Emi struggles to understand her destiny as the Firstborn She, she learns that everything isn't as it seems and that all choices have consequences.

Can Emi break the curse before it's too late?

We will be giving away THREE autographed copies!

All you have to do is leave a comment (along with your email address if it isn't on your blog profile) and answer the following question. Which Austrian city would you most like to visit?

The more blogs you comment on the more entries you'll receive.

All comments must be left by midnight MST on August 27 to be eligible.

August 9
Heather Gardner
August 10
Jewel Adams
August 11
Mary Greathouse Teri Rodeman
August 12
Lynn Fowlstone Christine Bryant
August 13
Valerie Ipson Sheila Stayley
August 16
Deanne Blackhurst
August 17
Connie Hall C.S. Bezas
August 18
Kimberly Job Tristi Pinkston
August 19
Karen Hoover Nichole Giles
August 20
Alison Palmer Jessica Williams
August 23
Joyce DiPastena Laurie Lewis

Chocolate Roses by Joan Sowards

2010-08-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

She's in love...
He's out of reach...
Is there any hope?

The backcover blurb for Chocolate Roses sets the story up deliciously. He's out of reach...what better conflict for a romance can there be? And this guy is so completely out of reach by LDS standards. If you've read Jane Eyre you'll appreciate this LDS parody, but even if, like me, you haven't, then no problem. It's still a very entertaining read. I had totally intended to read the original first, but took one look at it and said...uh, no.

And it's delicious not just because it's set partially in a chocolate shop, but because you get awesome blurbs at the beginning of each chapter from the original story.

I love these:

I had not intended to love him; the reader knows I had wrought hard to extirpate from my soul the germs of love there detected; and now, at the first renewed view of him, they spontaneously revived, great and strong!... (from chapter one)

This was the point --this was where the nerve was touched and teased--this is where the fever was sustained and fed: she could not charm him. (from chapter eleven)

And my favorite from chapter six: Suppose he should be absent spring, summer, and autumn: how joyless sunshine and fine days will seem! [In Arizona sunshine is already fairly joyless. I mean if you buy some chocolate, it's melted by the time you get home. That's just wrong. But looking at the quote as intended *BIG SIGH* it's lovely. I could have written that about my husband, if I could write like that.

Then there's the deliciousness of Joan's own story: My heart must have made it back into my chest, for seeing his hand caused a distinct pain where it had resided before...

The story is first person with a very conversational tone. It's as if the MC, Janie, is speaking right to us and telling the story. I loved that. All of us will be able to relate to having a crush on someone we don't even know and imagining a future with them though they don't even acknowledge we exist. All Janie's coworkers are in on the secret.

Anyway, here's a few quick questions (and my own comments) for author Joan, all chocolate-covered just for this interview!

What's your favorite chocolate indulgence/obsession? Sees dark chocolate covered almonds. Yum!

The chocolatiers of your story offer many designs in chocolate, what would you like to see shaped in chocolate? I put into the story the shapes I thought would be fun—Alice in Wonderland, a great dane, clowns, swans, AZ, Saguaro cactus, roses. Maybe I would now add hearts. [My personal fav is chocolate shaped into Hershey Nuggets! Works of art, those.]

Where did you come up with the wacky cast of characters that work with Janie at the shop? They all showed up for work and so I had to add them. Each brought with them their own zany story.

Chocolate Roses is a very fun, conversational read and I read it on vacation in one day, but I'm always interested in how long it took an author to write. It took over a year. The beginning and the end came easily, but I fretted over the middle part because to be true to the original Jane Eyre, Janie would have to run away. I couldn’t have her leave for more than a week because she had to run her chocolate shop. [Chocolate is that important!] Janie had to pull away from Roger emotionally only. The more she did though, the more she was pulled into Roger’s life. In spite of the differences, I hope the reader can see the symbolisms in Chocolate Roses that reflect back to Jane Eyre.

Give me one line from the book---no context. This is the theme of Chocolate Roses: “I can’t live with her, but how can I throw her away only because she is hopelessly sick?” Or if you are looking for humor: Flo weighs 120 pounds and Aunt Lucy accuses me of putting Miracle Grow in her water dish. The truth is I’ve given up on water dishes and just fill the bathtub. [I'm not really a dog person, but Flo was definitely an entertaining character in the book and she made me glad I don't have one.]

As they say...forget love, I'd rather fall in chocolate...or better yet fall in love with a handsome man who will give you chocolate (chocolate roses, no less.)

Chocolate Roses is a yummy read all around! [You knew I was going to say that, didn't you?]

BTW, this is Joan's second novel to be released in about a year's time, so tell us about your first book, Haunt's Haven. It is a ghost story and a romance. A young woman, Callie, inherits a hacienda inn that has been boarded up for 50 years. When she goes to Cassidy Springs, Arizona to take possession of it, she discovers there is a ghost. The mystery involves why he is guarding the old place. I had so much fun writing it.

Chocolate Roses can be purchased from Amazon, and of course your local LDS bookstore.

I Write Like WHO?

2010-07-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

I write like
Stephenie Meyer

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

It's true. A website here said so. All you do is paste a couple of paragraphs of your writing into a text box, submit it, and then INSTANTLY it pops up with your analysis...and also a newsletter you can subscribe to with writing tips and links to HOW TO GET A PUBLISHING CONTRACT (probably for $10,000 or less). If you click on the name of the author it surprisingly takes you to Amazon where you can purchase a book by that person. So you can see it's totally legit.

But, hey, it didn't say I write like Rita Writer down the street who never got published because her manuscript is a pile of drively you-know-what. No, I write like Stephenie Meyer. And for now I'll hold that thought.

(Because I have an inkling that Stephenie Meyer did pretty well in her writing pursuits.)

Sweeeeeeet Writers Retreat!

2010-07-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back...momentarily...

2010-07-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

So I went on vacation, but neglected to hire anyone to feed my blog.

While gone I worked on novel revisions while sitting lake-side, fire-side, and on the passenger-side of a van on our family vacation. Next week I'm off again, this time to a writer's retreat in the mountains with 40 or so of my best writing pals. I'm not planning to do much blogging, but we'll see. I do have some book reviews forthcoming in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for those.

By the miracle of modern blog technology, in my absence I was guest blogger over at the LDS Blogck blogspot. If you've been wanting to hear more about my whole baby dream saga (yes, I'm still having recurring dreams about babies)--go here.

And even if you don't want to, humor me...