I found this on Jason Wright's Facebook and had to share!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Thursday, January 01, 2009
New Year's Day: A Time for Goals
The New Year has begun, so it's time for me to talk about accomplishments and set some new goals (or at least let all of you know where I'm heading.)The biggest accomplishment the past few weeks has been that I finished the rough draft of Conjoined at the Heart: The True Story of the Herrin Family. I know there is much work to be done, but I wanted to be able to say I had finished the all the chapters that were on the outline I was given, and I did. This is a pretty good accomplishment since I started in August and wrote while teaching school and healing from my elbow replacement surgery!
I also wrote and retyped an entire screenplay for Seasons of Salvation at the same time. The last word I hear was that
production could begin in February.
Enough with the updates, here's what's happening in the next few months with my writing and editing careers:
I'll be writing books this year with both Alan and David Osmond. We've started the drafting on Alan's and have David's partially outlined.
I'll be editing Devin Davis's new book in the next weeks.
I'm drafting Fablehaven Teacher Guides for Shadow Mountain Publishers.
I've queried a couple of magazine articles and I'm just waiting to see.
I have future projects already lined up with Deborah Dennis and BookWise Publishers.
That's enough for now. It's wearing me out already just thinking about it!
Hope all of you had a great Christmas and and enjoyable New Year's. I'll be at work on these projects again tomorrow and Saturday, then Monday it's back to the grind of teaching school! (Although the year IS nearly half-way over.)
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Look what I found
I am a woman of many occupations, and one of them is freelance editor. I was surfing books on amazon when I ran across this book from Shadow Mountain that I did the final proofread edit for. It was a pretty good story, and kids will like it. The book will be released February 4, 2009. I'll do a full review then, but just letting all of you know to watch out for it.
"What is courage? What is honor? What does it feel like to have friends you would give your life for? And what role do fear and apprehension play when a person is faced with life-changing choices? Slathbog's Gold, the first book in an exciting new young adult epic fantasy series, sends fifteen-year-old Alex Taylor on the adventure of a lifetime. Right at a time when Alex is wishing his life could change, he sees a sign in Mr. Clutter s bookshop window: Adventurers Wanted. Apply Within. The sign seems to be referring to him. Moreover, not just anyone can enter Mr. Clutter s bookshop. But Alex does, and the adventure begins. Alex is the eighth man needed to complete a band of adventurers seeking the lair of Slathbog the Red an evil dragon with a legendary treasure. Along the way, Alex learns about honesty, integrity, honor, and, most importantly, friendship."
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Lewis Black on Writing a Book
If you are an aspiring or publishing author, you have to take the four minutes necessary to watch this video from amazon.com. Only a true, dedicated writer will ever understand!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m2V8K4RI7ULD39
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m2V8K4RI7ULD39
Monday, December 01, 2008
An Interview with Richard Paul Evans: The King of Christmas Fiction
From December Issue of DESERT SAINTS MAGAZINE,
Please visit them ONLINE.
by Lu Ann Brobst Staheli
Nearly sixteen years ago, Rick Evans wrote a book—The Christmas Box—as a present for his daughters, Jenna and Alyson. But like all good things, this story soon took on a life of its own. Passed from hand to hand among friends and neighbors, the book was an instant favorite with those who read it, and soon they were begging for copies to give to their friends
and family. Unable to find a traditional publisher, Evans self-published the eighty-seven page novella in paperback and distributed copies to bookstores in the Salt Lake City area.
The Christmas Box became a local best-seller, and the next year it hit #2 on the New York Times best-seller list, despite it’s humble beginnings and self-published status. National publishers clamored for the opportunity to release the book in hardcover. After a bidding war that is now historic, Simon & Schuster came out victorious, releasing the book in hardcover and paperback in 1993, where both editions hit the number-one position on the Times lists simultaneously, a feat never before accomplished. And The Christmas Box has been a seasonal favorite ever since.
I had the opportunity to interview Rick, the undisputable king of Christmas fiction, and I learned about not only The Christmas Box, but also about his family.
How did The Christmas Box change his life? Evans was quick to respond: “I could write an entire book on this…in fact I did—The Christmas Box Miracle.” But, all joking aside, he also says, “Besides taking me away (from home) every Christmas since I wrote the book, it fundamentally changed everything.” Evans had been in marketing before, but with a run-away bestseller like this, his new business became writing.
But not all of his books carried on the theme of Christmas, although recently he has returned to his literary roots. I asked Rick what brought him to focus so strongly on this season as the focus of so many of his novels. “There is wisdom in the saying, ‘Dance with who brung you to the dance,’” he said. “After The Christmas Box trilogy, I tried to distance myself from Christmas. (The Last Promise, The Locket, The Carousel, The Looking Glass, The Letter) It was a mistake. I’ve now reclaimed the season and my books have done even better.”
And the theme of Christmas has become a centerpiece for both Evans’ life and work. In addition to his novels (Timepiece, The Locket, A Perfect Day, Finding Noel, The Gift, and this year’s best-seller, Grace), children’s books (The Christmas Candle, The Light of Christmas), non-fiction (The Christmas Box Miracle), and special publications (Christmas Every Day, First Gift of Christmas), Evans has inspired the dedication of Christmas Angel statues in the U.S., Canada, France, and Japan, as well as Christmas Box Houses across America and a sponsored orphanage in Peru.
With all this Christmas spirit surrounding him all the time, it might be easy for Evans to want to step away, becoming more like Scrooge than feeling like Santa, but he tells me, “When it comes to Christmas in my own home, I’m more like…Santa? Definitely Santa. I love Christmas and giving.”
I asked about a typical Christmas in the Evan’s household, and discovered they are very traditional. “My in-laws are Italian, my mother Swedish,” Rick says. “So we’ve taken the best of both of these worlds—celebrating Christmas with my mother on Christmas Eve after a festive Italian dinner at my in-laws. Unfortunately with the recent passing of my mother and Keri’s father, the traditions we’ve so cherished will change somewhat. But we’ll do our best to keep them.”
One tradition has always been to keep the kids close to home, and even though their oldest, Jenna, recently married, Evans thinks this Christmas will be even better than before. “We didn’t lose a daughter, we gained a son,” he says. “Jenna’s been gone away for school for quite awhile, so she’s actually closer now.”
This year, the Evans family—Rick, Keri, Alyson, Abby, Michael, McKenna, Jenna, and her new husband—plan to honor their traditions, and celebrate the memories of the family members who have passed away, while Rick’s fans enjoy yet another Christmas story by their favorite author.
Evan’s most recent novel, Grace, opens with the story of The Little Match Girl, then takes readers into a poor neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1962, where we meet two brothers who spend as much of their free time as possible looking for treasures in the garage and working on their tree house. When the older boy, Eric, meets a young runaway girl, Grace, and decides to help her by allowing her to stay in the tree house, he doesn’t realize that it will be his life that is changed forever. And so will yours as you read Grace.
Please visit them ONLINE.
by Lu Ann Brobst Staheli
Nearly sixteen years ago, Rick Evans wrote a book—The Christmas Box—as a present for his daughters, Jenna and Alyson. But like all good things, this story soon took on a life of its own. Passed from hand to hand among friends and neighbors, the book was an instant favorite with those who read it, and soon they were begging for copies to give to their friends
and family. Unable to find a traditional publisher, Evans self-published the eighty-seven page novella in paperback and distributed copies to bookstores in the Salt Lake City area.
The Christmas Box became a local best-seller, and the next year it hit #2 on the New York Times best-seller list, despite it’s humble beginnings and self-published status. National publishers clamored for the opportunity to release the book in hardcover. After a bidding war that is now historic, Simon & Schuster came out victorious, releasing the book in hardcover and paperback in 1993, where both editions hit the number-one position on the Times lists simultaneously, a feat never before accomplished. And The Christmas Box has been a seasonal favorite ever since.
I had the opportunity to interview Rick, the undisputable king of Christmas fiction, and I learned about not only The Christmas Box, but also about his family.
How did The Christmas Box change his life? Evans was quick to respond: “I could write an entire book on this…in fact I did—The Christmas Box Miracle.” But, all joking aside, he also says, “Besides taking me away (from home) every Christmas since I wrote the book, it fundamentally changed everything.” Evans had been in marketing before, but with a run-away bestseller like this, his new business became writing.
But not all of his books carried on the theme of Christmas, although recently he has returned to his literary roots. I asked Rick what brought him to focus so strongly on this season as the focus of so many of his novels. “There is wisdom in the saying, ‘Dance with who brung you to the dance,’” he said. “After The Christmas Box trilogy, I tried to distance myself from Christmas. (The Last Promise, The Locket, The Carousel, The Looking Glass, The Letter) It was a mistake. I’ve now reclaimed the season and my books have done even better.”
And the theme of Christmas has become a centerpiece for both Evans’ life and work. In addition to his novels (Timepiece, The Locket, A Perfect Day, Finding Noel, The Gift, and this year’s best-seller, Grace), children’s books (The Christmas Candle, The Light of Christmas), non-fiction (The Christmas Box Miracle), and special publications (Christmas Every Day, First Gift of Christmas), Evans has inspired the dedication of Christmas Angel statues in the U.S., Canada, France, and Japan, as well as Christmas Box Houses across America and a sponsored orphanage in Peru.
With all this Christmas spirit surrounding him all the time, it might be easy for Evans to want to step away, becoming more like Scrooge than feeling like Santa, but he tells me, “When it comes to Christmas in my own home, I’m more like…Santa? Definitely Santa. I love Christmas and giving.”
I asked about a typical Christmas in the Evan’s household, and discovered they are very traditional. “My in-laws are Italian, my mother Swedish,” Rick says. “So we’ve taken the best of both of these worlds—celebrating Christmas with my mother on Christmas Eve after a festive Italian dinner at my in-laws. Unfortunately with the recent passing of my mother and Keri’s father, the traditions we’ve so cherished will change somewhat. But we’ll do our best to keep them.”
One tradition has always been to keep the kids close to home, and even though their oldest, Jenna, recently married, Evans thinks this Christmas will be even better than before. “We didn’t lose a daughter, we gained a son,” he says. “Jenna’s been gone away for school for quite awhile, so she’s actually closer now.”
This year, the Evans family—Rick, Keri, Alyson, Abby, Michael, McKenna, Jenna, and her new husband—plan to honor their traditions, and celebrate the memories of the family members who have passed away, while Rick’s fans enjoy yet another Christmas story by their favorite author.
Evan’s most recent novel, Grace, opens with the story of The Little Match Girl, then takes readers into a poor neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1962, where we meet two brothers who spend as much of their free time as possible looking for treasures in the garage and working on their tree house. When the older boy, Eric, meets a young runaway girl, Grace, and decides to help her by allowing her to stay in the tree house, he doesn’t realize that it will be his life that is changed forever. And so will yours as you read Grace.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Writing the Novel
Here's a note about a class being taught by my friend, Carol Lynch Williams and Cheri Earl.
Carol Lynch Williams and Cheri Pray Earl are holding two one-day novel-writing classes in January and February 2009. The January class is for writers who have never written a novel before (Level I) and the February class is for writers who have perhaps begun a novel but need work completing and polishing it (Level II).
Dates: Saturday, January 10th, 2009 and the tentative date for the Level II class is Saturday, February 7th.
Place: The Provo Library, Bullock Room
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (brown bag lunch discussion at noon: Plunging into Publication)
Cost: $50 for each workshop
What you can expect to learn from each class:
Both classes are interactive and discussion oriented and will include some hands-on writing exercises; neither includes a formal critique/workshop session.
Level 1: Structure; coming up with ideas; voice; good versus not-so-good prose; genre distinctions; plotting the novel; beginnings, middles, and ends.
Level II: *For this class students should have a novel-in-process or the outline of a novel to work from in class.
Diagnosing structural problems; developing ideas; strengthening voice; identifying strengths and weaknesses in the prose; defining the genre; improving the elements of the story arc; writing spectacular beginnings and unforgettable endings; brainstorming the murky middles.
If you’re interested in either or both of these classes, email Carol (carolthewriter@yahoo.com) or Cheri (cheri_earl@byu.edu).
Carol Lynch Williams is the author of more than 20 books for young readers. Her novels include The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson, If I Forget, You Remember, Pretty Like Us, and her most recent book The Chosen One, due out in May ’09. Her books have been recognized as ALA Best Books for Young Adults, IRA Teacher’s Choice Award, PEN Nomination among others. She co-writes the early mid-grade novel series George and Gracie, Just in Time (Fall ’09) with Cheri Pray Earl. She has her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and is the mother of 7 children.
Cheri Pray Earl graduated with her M.A. in Creative Writing from Brigham Young University in 1995. She began teaching freshman and advanced writing courses for the Honors program in 1993, where she continues to teach. As a part-time instructor, she has created and helped to write courses for Honors, including "Writing for Publication" as well as "The Publishing Lab,"
to encourage students to write for publication. She also teaches Creative Writing for the BYU English Department and the BYU Honors Summer Scholars Academy and was awarded Honors Professor of the Year in 2005.
Cheri considers herself a young adult novel writer, winning the Utah Original Writing Competition in 1994 in the YA novel category and taking honorable mention in 1997. However, her first publications are for younger readers. She is the co-author of an early chapter book series with Carol Lynch Williams, published by Peachtree Publishing (the first two books in
the series are scheduled to come out in the fall of 2009). Cheri also co-authored an American Girl non-fiction book with Rick Walton (scheduled to launch in the spring of 09). She lives in Provo, Utah, with her husband and three of her five children, two cats, and a dog.
Carol and Cheri organize the annual BYU-sponsored Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop which is now in its 10th year.
Carol Lynch Williams and Cheri Pray Earl are holding two one-day novel-writing classes in January and February 2009. The January class is for writers who have never written a novel before (Level I) and the February class is for writers who have perhaps begun a novel but need work completing and polishing it (Level II).
Dates: Saturday, January 10th, 2009 and the tentative date for the Level II class is Saturday, February 7th.
Place: The Provo Library, Bullock Room
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (brown bag lunch discussion at noon: Plunging into Publication)
Cost: $50 for each workshop
What you can expect to learn from each class:
Both classes are interactive and discussion oriented and will include some hands-on writing exercises; neither includes a formal critique/workshop session.
Level 1: Structure; coming up with ideas; voice; good versus not-so-good prose; genre distinctions; plotting the novel; beginnings, middles, and ends.
Level II: *For this class students should have a novel-in-process or the outline of a novel to work from in class.
Diagnosing structural problems; developing ideas; strengthening voice; identifying strengths and weaknesses in the prose; defining the genre; improving the elements of the story arc; writing spectacular beginnings and unforgettable endings; brainstorming the murky middles.
If you’re interested in either or both of these classes, email Carol (carolthewriter@yahoo.com) or Cheri (cheri_earl@byu.edu).
Carol Lynch Williams is the author of more than 20 books for young readers. Her novels include The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson, If I Forget, You Remember, Pretty Like Us, and her most recent book The Chosen One, due out in May ’09. Her books have been recognized as ALA Best Books for Young Adults, IRA Teacher’s Choice Award, PEN Nomination among others. She co-writes the early mid-grade novel series George and Gracie, Just in Time (Fall ’09) with Cheri Pray Earl. She has her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and is the mother of 7 children.
Cheri Pray Earl graduated with her M.A. in Creative Writing from Brigham Young University in 1995. She began teaching freshman and advanced writing courses for the Honors program in 1993, where she continues to teach. As a part-time instructor, she has created and helped to write courses for Honors, including "Writing for Publication" as well as "The Publishing Lab,"
to encourage students to write for publication. She also teaches Creative Writing for the BYU English Department and the BYU Honors Summer Scholars Academy and was awarded Honors Professor of the Year in 2005.
Cheri considers herself a young adult novel writer, winning the Utah Original Writing Competition in 1994 in the YA novel category and taking honorable mention in 1997. However, her first publications are for younger readers. She is the co-author of an early chapter book series with Carol Lynch Williams, published by Peachtree Publishing (the first two books in
the series are scheduled to come out in the fall of 2009). Cheri also co-authored an American Girl non-fiction book with Rick Walton (scheduled to launch in the spring of 09). She lives in Provo, Utah, with her husband and three of her five children, two cats, and a dog.
Carol and Cheri organize the annual BYU-sponsored Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop which is now in its 10th year.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Star Trek - The Wait is Over
My husband got the chance to work on a few days of the new Star Trek movie, and finally the trailer has been released so we can see how those scenes came together. Click the link and you can see it, too.STAR TREK TRAILER
My Crazy Life
If you haven't been over to check out Josi's blog on Writing on the Wall about "Write What You Know," and this comic rings all too true for you, then now could be the time to read what she has to say.
In the meantime, I have three minutes to write an update of my crazy life. Two weeks ago, I attended and presented at the Book Camp for WriteWise in Salt Lake City. Heather Moore and I teamed up for two classes: How to Work with Your Editor and Self-Editing Your Manuscripts.
Last week, I was again off to Salt Lake to attend T. Harv Ecker's Millionaire Mind Intensive where I learned lots of ways to increase my income and avoid the pitfalls of today's economy.
I took a few hours off from that on Thursday night to take my boys to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert at the E-Center. I've been to a tons of concerts in my life, and I'm here to tell you this, one ranks as #1. The place was sold out, the concert was rockin', and I think we've just found a new Christmas tradition in our house.
Today I was the guest lecturer for Dr. Kay Smith's Young Adult Literature and Literacy Methods classes at UVU. It was really great to have the chance to talk with next semester's student teachers, as well as future English teachers and writers about the things that I know from all these years in the classroom and as a writer.
Tonight I taught my online class for WriteWise, and tomorrow night it's back to the E-Center for the Carrie Underwood concert.
Wrapped around all of that were actual days teaching my regular classes at Payson Jr. High School, working on a screenplay and the Herrin book, and trying to balance time with my family. It's a good thing Thanksgiving break is almost here. Maybe I can stop long enough to think about all that I am grateful for!
Saturday, November 01, 2008
PARENT Job Description
Alan Osmond sent this to me awhile back and I never got around to posting it. I ran across it again tonight and thought I'd go ahead and share.
PARENT Job Description
If it had been presented this way, I don't believe any of us would have done it!
POSITION:
Mom, Mommy, Mama, MaDad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop
JOB DESCRIPTION:
Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
The rest of your life! Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.00. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.
POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:
None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.
WAGES AND COMPENSATION:
Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.
BENEFITS:
While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.
** A FOOTNOTE:
THERE IS NO RETIREMENT -- EVER!!! ** If you are fortunate enough you will become grandparents!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Will I See You at Book Camp?
Heather B. Moore and I will be teaching two classes at the WriteWise Book Camp this week. Here's the agenda. Hope to see some of you there. Location: Salt Lake Downtown Marriott
Monday
9-11 a.m. Richard Paul Evans
11-12 Meet Your Designers
12-12:30 Hall of Fame
2-2:45 p.m. Breakouts:
Rance Parker - Self-Publishing & How I Got into Cosco
Dian Thomas - Publicity
Meagen Bunten - Ins & Outs of Free Web Marketing
3-4 p.m. Breakouts:
Brandon Mull - The Road to Fablehaven
Dian Thomas - Book Proposals
Phil Davis - Self-Promotion with The Box
4-6 p.m. Richard Paul Evans & Robert G. Allen
Tuesday
9-12 Robert G. Allen
12-12:30 Hall of Fame
2:30-3:15 p.m. Breakouts:
Phil David - Self-Promotion
Heather Moore/Lu Ann Staheli - How to Work with Your Editors
Joycebelle Edelbrock - Out of the Box Marketing
3:30-4:30 Breakouts:
Mark Steele - The Importance of Your Website
Heather More/Lu Ann Staheli - How to Critique Your Own Book
Joycebelle Edelbrock - Out of the Box Marketing
4:30-5:30 Richard Paul Evans & Robert G. Allen
Wednesday
9-10:45 a.m. Richard Paul Evans & Robert G. Allen
11-12 Lyle Mortimer/Cedar Fort Publishing
12-12:30 Hall of Fame
2-2:45 Breakouts:
Joycebelle Edelbrock - Self-Publishing Checklist
Brandon Mull/Ranse Parker - Where Do We Go from Here? #1
WW Illustrators - Working with Illustrators
3-3:45 Breakouts:
Joycebelle Edelbrock - Self-Publishing Checklist
Brandon Mull/Ranse Parker - Where Do We Go from Here? #2
WW Illustrators - Panel Discussion with Illustrators
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Some People Will Do Anything for Votes. . .
I saw this on a friend's blog and couldn't resist! Hope my readers all can have a sense of humor in this election year.
Friday, October 24, 2008
The Professional
I know this is one of those silly emails that gets forwarded a million times, but I related to the fact that sometimes we need professional help, even if they aren't exactly what we thought we would be getting. Smile when you read this.
The Coat Hanger. . .
A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her small daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication. She got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in the car. She didn't know What to do, so she called home and told the baby sitter what had happened.
The baby sitter told her that the fever was getting worse. She said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."
The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been left on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time had locked their keys in their car. She looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this."
She bowed her head and asked God to send her help. Within five minutes a beat up old motor cycle pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head.
The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful.
The man got off of his cycle and asked if he could help. She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?
He said, "Sure." He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute the car was opened.
She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man."
The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour."
The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud, "Oh, thank you God! You even sent me a Professional!"
The Coat Hanger. . .
A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her small daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication. She got back to her car and found that she had locked her keys in the car. She didn't know What to do, so she called home and told the baby sitter what had happened.
The baby sitter told her that the fever was getting worse. She said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."
The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been left on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time had locked their keys in their car. She looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this."
She bowed her head and asked God to send her help. Within five minutes a beat up old motor cycle pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head.
The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful.
The man got off of his cycle and asked if he could help. She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?
He said, "Sure." He walked over to the car, and in less than a minute the car was opened.
She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man."
The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour."
The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud, "Oh, thank you God! You even sent me a Professional!"
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Season of Sacrifice
If you’ve ever looked into your family history, you might find stories there that are much more exciting than just the names and dates on a genealogy chart might predict. That’s just what happened for author Tristi Pinkston as she read two family history books and discovered that her ancestors had been among those who were on the wagon train known as the Hole in the Rock expedition. An idea was born, and soon Season of Sacrifice was underway.Season of Sacrifice is the story of Sarah Williams, a young Welsh immigrant, coming to Utah to join her sister Mary Ann Perkins. When the Perkins are asked to join the San Juan mission to pioneer a trail through Southern Utah, they take Sarah along to help care for the children. But a six-week journey turns into six agonizing months of hard work and toil as the Saints blast their way through a cliff to bring their wagons through what would become the famous Utah landmark Hole in the Rock. Finally settled in the San Juan, Sarah's true hardship begins when her brother-in-law Ben Perkins asks her to be his second wife. With their faith and testimonies challenged to the core, both Sarah and Mary Ann struggle to find the true meaning of Christ-like love and obedience.
Tristi explains, “I was blessed to have access to a short life history written by my great-great-grandfather as well as several life sketches written by his descendants. I relied heavily on the family history books, as well as books written about the expedition that had been put together by scholars in that field. I also found another LDS novel which had been well researched. That gave me even more insight into the people and their experiences.”
When writing a novel such as this, it might be easy to offend a family member in some way. To insure this didn’t happen, Tristi visited with her father who assured her that the project had to go forward. “I didn't want any of them to feel that I was trying to make money off the story,” Tristi says. “My goal in writing this has always been to commemorate the past and to help my children understand the richness of their heritage, not to make money.”
Of course, when writing historical fiction, an author must take liberty in recreating people, conversations, and sometimes even events, but Tristi says, “I stuck as closely as I could to the journals and family history books. It's my hope that I've told it in a way that mirrors the real experience as much as possible. To be honest, I didn't know a lot about these ancestors on a personal level when I started the project. Of course, the stories have been passed down through the generations and I knew who they were, but it wasn't until I started the research that I felt like I came to know them as people.”
And through that journey, she feels she came to know Sarah the best. “I identified with each character in a different way,” Tristi says. “But I would have to say, I'm most like Sarah, my great-great-grandmother.” If there were any character she would like to know more about, it might be Tom Wilcox. “It might be fun to see what happened to Tom after Sarah set sail,” Tristi says. “Or to Thomas while in Australia. A lot of possibilities there!”
Many people don't understand that marketing plays a huge role in success as an author. When asked about her marketing strategies, Tristi says, “Mainly, I've gotten out there and interacted with the reading public as much as humanly possible. I've done book signings, library events, readings, boutiques, literacy events and firesides, all to create name recognition and to help people put a face to that name. I've also done virtual book tours and other forms of Internet marketing, which is hugely helpful.”
Her advice to anyone who wants to become and author? “Actually do it. Don't talk about how you want to write a book or how much you would like to be an author— do it. The only thing standing in your way is you. And after it's written, let someone who knows what they're doing edit for you. Don't be too proud to accept constructive criticism.”
Because many of my readers are students or teachers, I asked Tristi what were her favorite books as a teen. “Wow—what didn't I love! I'm an avid reader and gobble up anything contained within two covers. Let's see—Little Women, Girl of the Limberlost, Anne of Green Gables, A Wrinkle in Time, The Prydain Chronicles, everything by Norma Johnston and Ann Rinaldi. Ann is actually the author who got me interested in writing historical fiction.”
Although researching family history was an interesting experience for Tristi, she has decided to do something completely different for her next project. She says, “I'm writing a series of contemporary mysteries about an elderly Relief Society presidency who turns to espionage to save a family in their ward from wrack and ruin. It's off the cuff silliness and I've had so much fun writing it.”
And it sounds like a lot of fun for those of us who will be reading it.
If you’d like to read more about Tristi, or purchase a copy of Season of Sacrifice, visit her website at http://www.tristipinkston.com/.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
The Race Against Time is On!
As some of you know, I've been working lately on sample chapters for a memoir with Jake & Erin Herrin titled "Conjoined at the Heart" about their family's experience following the birth of Kendra and Maliyah, conjoined twins who were separated at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City on August 7, 2006.
As often happens in the world of publishing, unexpected deadlines can pop up, and what seemed like a leisurely amount of time to finish a book can suddenly turn into a harried race to cross the impossible deadline.
Well, that is certainly what is happening here. I had word this weekend that the Herrin's will not only be appearing on the Discovery Health channel in October, but also on Oprah! The air date for Oprah is October 23rd. That means the book has to be finished, and it has to be finished NOW!
A publication contract has been offered through BookWise Publishing, and I'm off to the races trying to take my 10 sample pages to a finished product in record time. Watch out critique group, here I come. Pages will be flying at you as fast as they come from the printer. It's a good thing I've always worked well when writing under a deadline.
But still, wish me luck!
Congratulations to Devin Davis - As Magic Shifts
"When the world is at war, even enemies will unite against the rising evil."The Headmasters of a magical institution receive the prophecy that a demon threatens the peace in their land. The institution’s soldiers march onward with the aide of the magic of the forest, the energy of the mind, and the mystery of the dark arts. Just one army and one group of wizards go to fight the war of the century!
Congratulations to Devin Davis on the release of his first novel, As Magic Shifts. I had the opportunity to edit this manuscript, and Devin tells a great story. If you like fantasy, and you'd like to help launch a brand new author's career, you can order his book by visiting his website: The Works of Devin Davis
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Words of Wisdom
"You can't make a poor person rich by making a rich person poor. Instead you must teach them the concept of abundance to help them reach that goal."
Mark Victor Hansen
If only we could teach this idea to Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Harry Reid, and the rest of the Democratic party.
Mark Victor Hansen
If only we could teach this idea to Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Harry Reid, and the rest of the Democratic party.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Not Entirely British - a Guest Blog
Just letting you ll know I'm the guest blogger today on Anne Bradshaw's blog, "Not Entirely British." My topic is "For Reading Out Loud," an essay on using reading aloud in your home like teachers do in school. There is also a suggested list of books to read aloud to your family.
You can find the blog at: http://annebradshaw.blogspot.com/2008/09/for-reading-out-loud-by-lu-ann-staheli.html
You can find the blog at: http://annebradshaw.blogspot.com/2008/09/for-reading-out-loud-by-lu-ann-staheli.html
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Part 2 of the Blog Tour for Surprise Packages
I had the chance to interview authors Nancy Anderson, Lael Littke, and Carroll Hofeling Morris via e-mail, and found out some background about not only Juneau, Deene, and Erin, but also each of the three authors. This is that interview.
Lael tells me, “For years Nancy, Carroll, and I vacationed together on writing retreats and worked on our own writing projects. Then in 1998 Nancy said, ‘Why don't we write a book together?’ It didn't matter that a novel with three authors had seldom been done. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, we said. So we figured out a character apiece, had them meet at BYU Education Week, and gave it a go. Nobody was more surprised than we were when it worked!” Carroll added, “At first, we approached writing the book in a casual manner. When we got together, we would read to each other what we’d written since the previous vacation. But we finally got serious when all of a sudden, it seemed, we had enough text generated that it began to look like a real book!” Nancy says, “I was just trying to think of ways to keep us vacationing together. And look where it has taken us. What an adventure.”
Each author has taken on the role of one of the characters in the books. Lael says, “We each wrote from the viewpoint of a single character with her own life and problems, then we intertwined those stories to show the influence the three women have on one another's lives.” Carroll recalls, “I still remember how Lael’s character, Juneau, showed up full-blown during our initial conversation! It took longer for my character (Erin) and Nancy’s (Deenie) to make themselves known.” Nancy adds, “It was great fun to write Willadene and to work with Carroll and Lael on the joint scenes. But to develop Deenie's story completely, I wrote what was essentially a whole novel. Chopping it down by 2/3s was surgery without anesthetic.”
I asked what the authors felt they might have in common with their characters, and Lael jumped in to say, “Quite a bit, probably. I think we've all three earned the title of Crusty Old Broads, which is in no way derogatory. It came up in the first book, when the mouthy grandson of Gabby, the woman Juneau, Erin, and Willadene are staying with for Education Week, gets angry at her and calls her a crazy old broad. The three women are shocked, but Gabby says, ‘To tell the truth, I don't object to the old broad part. There's something of longevity and strength in those words. It's the choice of adjective I don't like.’ They all consider what would be a more appropriate adjective, and Juneau suggests ‘. . . the oft-used and respected crusty.’ Deenie approves and says, ‘Like a fine sourdough bread. Warm and nourishing with some real texture.’ So that's what a Crusty Old Broad is, a term of honor.” Keeping their sense of humor about the title, Carroll says, “We actually use crustyoldbroads as our blog name!” Only women who are almost like sisters can get away with a nickname like that for each other.
Almost Sisters, as well as the other two books in the trilogy, almost didn’t come to exist at all. Nancy explains: “I never really thought as far as having the book published. I thought we'd go on and on forever just writing about the lives of these women. It was quite a shock to me that Lael queried Deseret Book and started the ball rolling. Making our gigantic manuscript into three books should have been easy, but by the time book two was finished our characters had changed so much, the material we had for book three didn't work any more and we had to start from scratch. That was a shocker!” Lael adds, “When our one book grew to be longer than the Encyclopedia Britannica, we got worried. I had been reading Dean Hughes's Children of the Promise series and suggested we try it as a trilogy.” And Carroll adds, “It was either that or a 1200 page book! it takes a truly dedicated reader to turn that many pages.”
Just because this series is over, doesn’t mean the three women are finished writing together. Lael says, “We are cooking up another book, but with different characters and in a different time period. We enjoy working together, and there's some kind of synergy that sets in when we brainstorm.” But Carroll says, “I think we’d have to reconsider another book though if Juneau, Erin, and Deenie start keeping us awake at night. So far, I’m sleeping well.”
Writing a book alone can be a daunting task, so I was curious what it was like to write with three women, all living apart from each other. Carroll said, “Technology was a challenge in the beginning, when we had computer and document compatibility issues. Nancy and Lael were writing in WordPerfect, and I wrote in Microsoft Word. They are PC users and I’m a dedicated Mac user. Also, Lael’s computer was so old, it didn’t even have a USB port for data transfer! But by the time we were on the second book, we were all using Microsoft Word, Lael and Nancy had new laptops, and we all had thumb drives for data transfer. What a relief!”
Lael talked about the positive aspects of writing together. “It's exciting when we work together and the ideas begin flowing and events connecting so that they lead somewhere. I don't know that it's more rewarding than writing a book alone, but it's lots of fun to be together, especially when we meet for a week at a nice resort. I have a couple of timeshares, and since my husband is dead, I like to invite people to use them with me. Nancy, Carroll and I have been all over the country for our writing retreats, which are actually thinly disguised vacations. Except when a deadline is imminent!” And Nancy agrees, adding “Writing alone is work. Working together is entertainment.”
As for other future projects, Nancy tells me, “Who knows what characters will present themselves. I have a young adult fantasy bubbling in the back of my mind that Carroll has expressed interest in working on with me.” Lael says “We're working on separate projects right now, with Nancy and Carroll doing another women's novel and me building another YA novel, which is what I did for decades before I met Nancy and Carroll. I wasn’t anticipating writing another book together, but one day three characters moved into my head, which was pretty well vacant at the time. They arrived almost fully developed, and when I told the others about them, Nancy and Carroll immediately began building onto these newcomers. So we have an excuse for more writing retreat/vacations together.”
Because many of my blog readers are jr. high school students and teachers, I was curious about books each of these three women loved from their own childhood, or books they have recently read that touched them in some way. Lael says, “My very favorite novel when I was a teenager was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. My mother gave it to me when I was 13, and totally loved it despite the fact that I lived on an Idaho farm and Francie lived in Brooklyn. I knew her inside and out because she was I. She was me. I was her. That book had a tremendous influence on the writing style I developed in college, and during the ten years I lived in New York City, I spent a lot of time in Brooklyn. As for a recent YA book, I liked Hattie Big Sky, probably because it took place in a Montana farming community, a familiar setting for me, and I liked its strong anti-prejudice theme.
Carroll says, “As grade schooler (a long time ago!) I loved Wilder’s Little House books and The Secret Garden. Other favorites (now and then) include A Separate Peace, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Light in the Forest, and the Great Brain series.
Nancy worries that her junior high school favorites are outdated for today’s readers. Because I teach there, I’m here to assure her, they are not. She says, “I loved reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, especially the Martian series. I was hooked on the novels by Jean Stratton Porter, published around 1910, as well, like Freckles and The Girl of the Limberlost. (My own personal favorites.) When my children were growing up I discovered Chronicles of Narnia and the Swiftly Tilting Planet series. I liked The Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Giver. My grandchildren introduced me to Harry Potter—a great read aloud. My granddaughter who is in her first year of high school recommended a series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians for fun and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler to make you think. She especially liked the challenge and the story of The Odyssey.”
Their advice to writers who would like to enter the publication world has a similar theme to what we’ve heard from so many others. Lael says, “Go for it. Overcome rejection letters. Read a lot. Study. Develop your craft. Most of all, persist!” Carroll encourages writers to, “challenge yourself with new experiences. Meet all kinds of people. Ask ‘What if?’ Read, read, read. Write, write, write.” And Nancy says, “Keep on reading and writing in the genre that you like the most and don't let a rejection stop you!”
And that’s the same advice I would give as well. Thanks ladies for sharing more of the story behind the story.
Lael tells me, “For years Nancy, Carroll, and I vacationed together on writing retreats and worked on our own writing projects. Then in 1998 Nancy said, ‘Why don't we write a book together?’ It didn't matter that a novel with three authors had seldom been done. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, we said. So we figured out a character apiece, had them meet at BYU Education Week, and gave it a go. Nobody was more surprised than we were when it worked!” Carroll added, “At first, we approached writing the book in a casual manner. When we got together, we would read to each other what we’d written since the previous vacation. But we finally got serious when all of a sudden, it seemed, we had enough text generated that it began to look like a real book!” Nancy says, “I was just trying to think of ways to keep us vacationing together. And look where it has taken us. What an adventure.”
Each author has taken on the role of one of the characters in the books. Lael says, “We each wrote from the viewpoint of a single character with her own life and problems, then we intertwined those stories to show the influence the three women have on one another's lives.” Carroll recalls, “I still remember how Lael’s character, Juneau, showed up full-blown during our initial conversation! It took longer for my character (Erin) and Nancy’s (Deenie) to make themselves known.” Nancy adds, “It was great fun to write Willadene and to work with Carroll and Lael on the joint scenes. But to develop Deenie's story completely, I wrote what was essentially a whole novel. Chopping it down by 2/3s was surgery without anesthetic.”
I asked what the authors felt they might have in common with their characters, and Lael jumped in to say, “Quite a bit, probably. I think we've all three earned the title of Crusty Old Broads, which is in no way derogatory. It came up in the first book, when the mouthy grandson of Gabby, the woman Juneau, Erin, and Willadene are staying with for Education Week, gets angry at her and calls her a crazy old broad. The three women are shocked, but Gabby says, ‘To tell the truth, I don't object to the old broad part. There's something of longevity and strength in those words. It's the choice of adjective I don't like.’ They all consider what would be a more appropriate adjective, and Juneau suggests ‘. . . the oft-used and respected crusty.’ Deenie approves and says, ‘Like a fine sourdough bread. Warm and nourishing with some real texture.’ So that's what a Crusty Old Broad is, a term of honor.” Keeping their sense of humor about the title, Carroll says, “We actually use crustyoldbroads as our blog name!” Only women who are almost like sisters can get away with a nickname like that for each other.
Almost Sisters, as well as the other two books in the trilogy, almost didn’t come to exist at all. Nancy explains: “I never really thought as far as having the book published. I thought we'd go on and on forever just writing about the lives of these women. It was quite a shock to me that Lael queried Deseret Book and started the ball rolling. Making our gigantic manuscript into three books should have been easy, but by the time book two was finished our characters had changed so much, the material we had for book three didn't work any more and we had to start from scratch. That was a shocker!” Lael adds, “When our one book grew to be longer than the Encyclopedia Britannica, we got worried. I had been reading Dean Hughes's Children of the Promise series and suggested we try it as a trilogy.” And Carroll adds, “It was either that or a 1200 page book! it takes a truly dedicated reader to turn that many pages.”
Just because this series is over, doesn’t mean the three women are finished writing together. Lael says, “We are cooking up another book, but with different characters and in a different time period. We enjoy working together, and there's some kind of synergy that sets in when we brainstorm.” But Carroll says, “I think we’d have to reconsider another book though if Juneau, Erin, and Deenie start keeping us awake at night. So far, I’m sleeping well.”
Writing a book alone can be a daunting task, so I was curious what it was like to write with three women, all living apart from each other. Carroll said, “Technology was a challenge in the beginning, when we had computer and document compatibility issues. Nancy and Lael were writing in WordPerfect, and I wrote in Microsoft Word. They are PC users and I’m a dedicated Mac user. Also, Lael’s computer was so old, it didn’t even have a USB port for data transfer! But by the time we were on the second book, we were all using Microsoft Word, Lael and Nancy had new laptops, and we all had thumb drives for data transfer. What a relief!”
Lael talked about the positive aspects of writing together. “It's exciting when we work together and the ideas begin flowing and events connecting so that they lead somewhere. I don't know that it's more rewarding than writing a book alone, but it's lots of fun to be together, especially when we meet for a week at a nice resort. I have a couple of timeshares, and since my husband is dead, I like to invite people to use them with me. Nancy, Carroll and I have been all over the country for our writing retreats, which are actually thinly disguised vacations. Except when a deadline is imminent!” And Nancy agrees, adding “Writing alone is work. Working together is entertainment.”
As for other future projects, Nancy tells me, “Who knows what characters will present themselves. I have a young adult fantasy bubbling in the back of my mind that Carroll has expressed interest in working on with me.” Lael says “We're working on separate projects right now, with Nancy and Carroll doing another women's novel and me building another YA novel, which is what I did for decades before I met Nancy and Carroll. I wasn’t anticipating writing another book together, but one day three characters moved into my head, which was pretty well vacant at the time. They arrived almost fully developed, and when I told the others about them, Nancy and Carroll immediately began building onto these newcomers. So we have an excuse for more writing retreat/vacations together.”
Because many of my blog readers are jr. high school students and teachers, I was curious about books each of these three women loved from their own childhood, or books they have recently read that touched them in some way. Lael says, “My very favorite novel when I was a teenager was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. My mother gave it to me when I was 13, and totally loved it despite the fact that I lived on an Idaho farm and Francie lived in Brooklyn. I knew her inside and out because she was I. She was me. I was her. That book had a tremendous influence on the writing style I developed in college, and during the ten years I lived in New York City, I spent a lot of time in Brooklyn. As for a recent YA book, I liked Hattie Big Sky, probably because it took place in a Montana farming community, a familiar setting for me, and I liked its strong anti-prejudice theme.
Carroll says, “As grade schooler (a long time ago!) I loved Wilder’s Little House books and The Secret Garden. Other favorites (now and then) include A Separate Peace, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Light in the Forest, and the Great Brain series.
Nancy worries that her junior high school favorites are outdated for today’s readers. Because I teach there, I’m here to assure her, they are not. She says, “I loved reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, especially the Martian series. I was hooked on the novels by Jean Stratton Porter, published around 1910, as well, like Freckles and The Girl of the Limberlost. (My own personal favorites.) When my children were growing up I discovered Chronicles of Narnia and the Swiftly Tilting Planet series. I liked The Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Giver. My grandchildren introduced me to Harry Potter—a great read aloud. My granddaughter who is in her first year of high school recommended a series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians for fun and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler to make you think. She especially liked the challenge and the story of The Odyssey.”
Their advice to writers who would like to enter the publication world has a similar theme to what we’ve heard from so many others. Lael says, “Go for it. Overcome rejection letters. Read a lot. Study. Develop your craft. Most of all, persist!” Carroll encourages writers to, “challenge yourself with new experiences. Meet all kinds of people. Ask ‘What if?’ Read, read, read. Write, write, write.” And Nancy says, “Keep on reading and writing in the genre that you like the most and don't let a rejection stop you!”
And that’s the same advice I would give as well. Thanks ladies for sharing more of the story behind the story.
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