The Ink Ladies

Please vote!

2010-10-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

One of the most precious freedoms we have in our nation is that of the right to choose who will govern us and represent us in our State and National Executive and Legislative offices. All citizens of the United States who have registered to vote have the duty and responsibility to elect sincere and diligent men and women who have pledged to be our voice and look out for our interests.

I urge you, if you are registered to vote, and if you have not already done so, to vote on Tuesday, November 2, for those who will stand up for the right and govern according to the precepts of the Constitution.

Thank you.

USA BOOK NEWS ANNOUNCES WINNERS AND FINALISTS OF THE “BEST BOOKS 2010” AWARDS

2010-10-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

Mainstream & Independent Titles Score Top Honors in the 7th Annual “Best Books” Awards

LOS ANGELES – USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of THE “BEST BOOKS 2010” AWARDS (BBA) on October 26, 2010. Over 500 winners and finalists were announced in over 140 categories covering print and audio books. Awards were presented for titles published in 2010 and late 2009.

Trail of Storms by Marsha Ward (iUniverse) was named the Finalist in the Western Fiction category.

USABookNews.com is an online publication providing coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the world online community.

Back at Last

2010-08-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

I'm ba-a-a-a-a-ck. I seem to have been gone a long time, but here I am again. I think the last co-author standing should get a party, don't you?

I've been busy, believe it or not. As I drown in slip-sliding paper falling toward me and my fingers on the keyboard (most of which I could shred, once I extract the odd computer disk, wedding announcement, and hardback book from the pile), it occurs to me that I could share how I keep track of my word count as I write.

Now understand, this can be as complex or as simple as I want to make it. I can use the Excel chart my friend J. Scott Savage sent me several years ago that nags me incessantly, or I can add and subtract words as I write and edit, or I can keep a simple running tally at the beginning and the end of my writing day. I kind of like the simple style nowadays, so I'll tell you how that last thing works.

I love the 9.5 inch by 6 inch one-subject notebooks for this task. They're not so big as to be in the way, and not so small as to disappear amidst the rubble on my desk. I open it up and draw three equally-spaced lines down the page. This gives me two sections of columns to fill up.

In the left-most column, at the top, I put the date. I can put anything else in the nature of notes in that column, like the times I start and end, the scene or chapter I'm working on, and how many hours I work. I see I have a notation saying slippery elm bark and chamomile tea. Ha! I know what scene that one was!

The second column is where I put the beginning word count opposite the date. If I'm starting fresh, this is zero. If I want to, I can add the word count when I do a save, when I get up for lunch, or what-not (I usually only put down the last three digits, or hundreds). The last figure I put in that column is the final word count of the day, unless I want to do a total of words written underneath it. I finish the day with a horizontal line drawn under all the notes for the day, in both columns.

The other section of two columns is for when I get to the bottom of the page. You knew that, right?

How do you find your word count at the beginning and end of the writing period?

If you're in Word, look for a menu item called Word Count. It might be in the Tools menu. That's where I'd look first, because that's where it is in my ancient Word 2003. Before you click it, highlight all your text. Then click Word Count, and you'll have a rough estimate of your words. I say "rough," because it will count every asterisk (*) and Chapter Heading, but it's good enough for starters. Do this again when you quit for the day, and you have the second count.

Or, you can use the software program I now use, yWriter5 (see below for another rapturous account), which tells me at the bottom of the main window how many words I write that day, along with the total of words in the project. I put those numbers in my notebook at start and end of day.

yWriter5 and its antecedents were written by novelist and computer programmer Simon Haynes of Australia. He couldn't find a writing software that suited his needs, so he wrote it. He updates it quite often, sometimes to meet suggestions of users, but it's a lean program written to use few resources of your machine. It even runs off a flash drive, so it's highly portable.

You can find yWriter5 at http://www.spacejock.com (Hal Spacejock is the hero of Simon's futuristic sci-fi series). There are several other useful programs to be found there, as well as a link to the new how-to wiki created by the folks in the next paragraph.

This software is free, not only no-cost, but free of nasty surprises like virii, Trojan horses, and other malware. There's an active community of users in a Google group who support each other. The old hands answer the questions of the newbies, and Simon occasionally pops in, too.

Can you tell I like yWriter5? Let's see how many converts I can make. Let's see, |||...

1,000 True Fans

2009-09-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

In my perusal of Twitter links, I ran across a reference to 1,000 True Friends, and decided to find out where it came from and what it could mean for me.

I tracked it down to an original post called "1,000 True Fans" on The Technium, written by Kevin Kelly, an "original thinker," blogger, and technology writer. I'm sure he is many other things, as we all are, but let's just call him what I already have, for the sack of brevity.

Kelly asserts that a creator--such as an artist, musician, or author, among others who create works of art--needs to acquire and maintain only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

He defines a True Fan as one who will purchase anything and everything you produce. If your 1,000 True Fans each spend an average of $100 a year on your work, your income will amount to $100,000 a year. Minus your expenses and taxes, that's a living for most folks.

Nice!

I probably spend $1,000 to $1,500 a year on books. I don't think the average person does that, but I hope some of my readers would spend some of their book money on my novels.

But do I have anywhere near 1,000 True Fans?

Let's see. As I write this I have 559 Facebook friends, 161 Fans on my FB Fan Page, 223 Followers on Twitter, and 69 Friends on Goodreads (although I'm sure a lot of those are duplicates), so, in theory, I'm nearing the 1,000 goal. But here's a question: Are they True Fans by definition? Do they each buy $100 worth of my product each year?

Well, no. Not all the friends I've mentioned above care that I write novels. Some are chums from long-ago school days. Some are extended family members I barely know. Some are friends or relatives of my friends. Besides that, I don't have $100 worth of product to sell to my True Fans, even if they each paid into my wild fantasy of making a living from writing. I have much work to do to create product for fans, and to make alternative and derivitive works available to my True Fans.

Kelly mentions that once you've found your 1,000 True Fans, you need to nurture them. You have to maintain direct contact with them. Technology makes this possible. Tweets and blogs and emails and Facebook help a great deal.

I still have a long way to go to achieve a fandom of 1,000 True Fans, but I hope I'm on my way.

Oh, and did you know WD-40 can be used to untangle jewelry chains?

yWriter5

2009-09-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

Remember the novel writing software, yWriter5, that I talked about a couple of weeks ago? I am absolutely loving it. I hadn't intended to begin writing until yesterday, but I started early, and already have put in characters, locations, and notes. Also, the best thing, of course, I have written five scenes, and I'm in the second chapter. Sweet!

Writer Appreciation Week

2009-09-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

Agent Nathan Bransford has proclaimed this Writer Appreciation Week. It's a good idea, and I encourage you to implement it by showing your appreciation to your favorite writer, living or dead.

One way you can accomplish this, if your fav is living, is by seeking out their online presence and sending them a message of gratitude. Do they blog, have a Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter account, book trailers posted on YouTube, or have a contact process on their website? Spread the love. Tell them how much you admire their work. Go to Amazon.com and make a comment on one of their books.

And that brings up books. Have you bought one this week? Go do it!

Trying out New Writing Software

2009-08-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

I've been testing a software called yWriter5 by Spacejock Software for a couple of days now. I'm starting to get the hang of it.

Today I learned how to make the first chapter not a Chapter but Information, and put in the brainstorming notes from my session with Connie Wolfe while we crossed the country a few weeks back. 470 words. Do they count for writing?

BTS Night

2009-08-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

I have been so absent here for the longest time! Marsha, I'm sorry you've been the Lone Ranger. At any rate, I thought I'd share some thoughts on school.

Aw yeah. Back to School night for both my daughters. Mark went with Nina and I took Anna. (And Gunder. Doh.) We talked to teachers, noted the required supplies, walked the crowded halls and said hi to friends they haven't seen for three months. Part of me was excited for Anna, and the other part wanted to throw up. I really did like school, but the drama with friends and hoping people would like me and wanting to look perfect, etc etc came back with a vengeance.

In terms of Anna's classes, I found myself being excited for her. The geography teacher said she needs colored pencils because they do a lot of maps. Natch. Ok, I so would have been all over that. I have a weird affinity for both colored pencils and maps. The math teacher was really cool and I think it'll be a good match for my daughter, and the English teacher was one I would have loved having as a kid. And she has the kids write something every day!

They're writing every day!

I think this is one of the most valuable skills that helps students across the board. If you can read and write, success in multiple subjects is much more attainable than otherwise.

I'm reminded of the line in "You've Got Mail," where Tom Hanks tells Meg Ryan that he wants to buy "bouquets of sharpened pencils." Dork that I am, I love that. My favorite pencils ever are the Ticonderoga Tri Write. They are unbelievably sexy. Yes, I just said that about a pencil.

All things considered, as much as I will miss the freedom of summer, I am looking forward to reestablishing routine around here. I'm much more organized during the school year. Summer becomes a free-for-all.

To my sweet children, I wish you good luck and fabulous friends and good study habits. I hope that you'll learn many wonderful and useful things this year, and that your successes will be satisfying.

Better stop before I get all misty-eyed.

More Character Notes

2009-08-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

Maybe I don't need that byline. I seem to be the Lone Ranger on this blog lately.

Anyway, I'm featuring Clayton Owen over on my character blog, so I thought I'd put my comments here, too.

Clay Owen is next younger than Marie. On his character card, I used a photo of actor Bruce Penhall of televisions's "CHiPs" (1977-1983) . I don't see him around much anymore. He was the World Motorcycle Speedway champion of 1981-82, which predated his '82-'83 role as Officer Bruce Nelson, a cadet in the California Highway Patrol, playing in the lineup topped by Erik Estrada, Robert Pine, and Larry Wilcox. Since CHiPs featured motorcycle officers, I'm sure his motorcycling skill stood him in good stead.

Now you know how long ago I clipped this photo from TV Guide(R).

Anyway, getting back to Clayton Owen, here's when I typed on his character card:

CLAY OWEN
At fifteen, Clay is still too gangly to be handsome, but he has promising features and a mop of crisp blond hair. His eyes are grey. Clay kept the family in meat for a year after James was drafted, is responsible, but when he pops his cork, look out, he is apt to do something rash and unthinking. He plays as hard as he works. In a few years, he will be a major character in the continuing saga of the Owen family.

Well, we'll have to see what surprises Clay will bring to the family's adventures. What do YOU think he's going to do?

Character Notes

2009-08-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

Many years ago, I typed notes about characters in my Owen Family novels on 3- by 5-inch or 4- by 6-inch index cards. It's pretty illuminating to go back and read those cards and see if anything I wrote remains true now, three novels later.

For example, one of my female characters is the elder daughter in the Owen family, Marie. She was born between James and Clayton, and is five years older than her sister, Julianna. She was first seen in The Man from Shenandoah, and appears in Jessie Bingham's memories in Trail of Storms.

I have two photos on Marie's card. They are both far too old for the real Marie. One is of a female newscaster whose name escapes me, and the other is of an actress whose name I never knew. Ha! I didn't need names for the photos. Their purpose was to provide a general physical description I could visualize and describe as needed.

Here is what I wrote on Marie's character card:

MARIE OWEN
Marie has thick dark hair and a beautiful smile. She loves a good mystery, and is good at ferreting out people's secrets. Her eyes range from hazel to dark brown, according to hertemperament . She enjoys teasing her brothers. Marie is aware of becoming a woman, but has no anxiety to wed. She would love to have several beaus to play off against each other, but will take what comes with a good will. She loves adventure, and looks forward to the trip west with high excitement.

I'm looking forward to getting to know Marie better. Are you?

A Glimpse at a Character in My Head

2009-07-29T00:56:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

Oops! I never should have brought up the subject of my character Elijah Marshall on my Character blog. He's demanding that I introduce him to you. Since I don't think any of The Zion Trail is on disk anywhere, I'll have to wing it from a typescript. Problem is, I have a couple of differing copies. I guess I'll try the one on top. It's probably the latest revision. Ha! From back in the late 80s! With two spaces after a period! I'll try to restrain my Inner Editor as I type. Here goes: Elijah Marshall in all his imperfect First Person glory.

THE ZION TRAIL
by Marsha Ward
Excerpt from Chapter One

As I made a half-circle at the end of the row, I pulled the horse to a halt, swept off my old hat, and wiped the trickles of sweat from my eyes with the back of my wrist. I ran my fingers through my dripping black hair to train it back from my eyes before I replaced my hat. Settling the shade once again on my head, my eyes caught a movement far up the road to my right. (Yikes! A big woopsie!)

Across the rows of fresh young corn stalks I saw the dust rising slowly into the air as two figures walked along the dry surface of the lane. I knew them for strangers by their dress, for no one in our area wore a black suit except on Sunday, and this was Tuesday.

Curiosity was part of my makeup, so I leaned on the plow a while, watching their progress and wondering about their errand. They saw me, and hopped the ditch to approach the fence as they came alongside my position.

At fifteen, I had reached nearly my full growth, and I wasn't beyond considering myself a man. I did as much as my father on the farm, except for the planning and the worrying, so I wasn't surprised when they hailed me as a man.

"Hello, Brother. Can you give us a drink?" the taller man called, indicating my water bucket under a nearby tree.

I wrapped the lines around the plow handles and strode to the fence. "Plenty, and welcome." I bent to shoo away a drinking yellowjacket, and lifted the pail to the top of the fence.

The taller man drank first, and I saw that he was older by three or four years than the shorter man. As they slaked their thirst, I wondered how long since they had tasted water, for they drank with great gusto, and an air of thankfulness.

Their suits were covered with the fine dust that abounded on our roads, but they seemed not to mind, giving all their thoughts to dipping water down their dusty throats.

While the shorter man drank, the taller one looked at me and smiled. "It's been a long, dusty walk. We're thankful for the water. I am Nathan Caldwell, and my companion is Matthew Long. We are ministers of the gospel, and would welcome the opportunity to preach in your neighborhood."

I stuck out my hand and pumped his. "My name is Elijah Marshal, and my pa will be glad to see you. He's a God-fearing man, and every man of the Lord is welcome in his house." I squinted up at the sun. "It's nearly dinner time. Come and eat with us."

Mr. Long grinned his acceptance as Mr. Caldwell nodded.

"Just follow the road to the first lane on the right," I directed them. "Tell my ma I sent you. I'll be along with the horse by and by."

They waved their thanks as I hauled the bucket off the fence and turned back to the plow. Old Tom still stood where I'd reined him in, flicking flies away with his tail and standing three-legged in the sun. His ears twitched at my approach, and I patted his flank before I unhitched him from the plow.

"Tom, boy, we've got company. Won't that make Ma's eyes dance!"

My Interview on CraziBeautifulWomen

2009-06-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

Lori Nawyn did a beautiful interview with me that has been posted on the Girlfriend to Girlfriend section of the CraziBeautifulWomen website. I hope you'll go take a look.

Although I've been down with the flu, I'm pretty much recovered now, and gearing up again into promoting my latest book, Trail of Storms. The novel has been getting very good reviews, often from people who didn't ever think they would enjoy reading a historical novel set in the Old West.

Have you ever read such a book? Are you open to the idea of expanding your reading universe, or do you tend to stick with one or two favorite genres?

URL Shorteners

2009-06-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

We all know how long URLs can get, those Uniform Resource Locators that point to website addresses. This is especially so when we're dealing with "absolute" URLs, or the unique addresses for exact blog pages or online magazine or newspaper articles.

Long URLs can be a nuisance. They can get so long in emails, for example, that they fold over into two or three or more lines, often "breaking" and causing problems for those unschooled in Internet use and how to reconstruct broken links.

With the popularity of social media sites and Twitter, where shorter messages are desirable or required, the problem of long URLs has become, well, a greater problem.

Thus, we have seen the growth in recent months of URL Shorteners, websites dedicated to converting the long URL to a smaller code that redirects the user to the absolute URL. One of the first,--and still probably the largest--is TinyURL.com, but there are dozens to pick from. Some I have seen used frequently by people I follow on Twitter are:
is.gd
bit.ly
short.to
tr.im
hub.tm
and snipr.com

See how some don't use the dot com domain convention? Dot com is the business or "commercial" top-level domain (TLD) extension we see in so many URLs. But...there are many more, like dot net, dot biz, dot us and even dot tv.

Those last two, dot us and dot tv, are actually "country code top-level domains," or ccTLDs. The United States has been assigned dot US by the governing body of such things, the IANA, or Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. Dot TV is the country code of the nation of Tuvalu, whose Ministry of Finance and Tourism rents out the use of the code to the television industry!

So it is with other URL shorteners that don't end in dot com. Bit.ly uses a Libyan address, is.gd originates on the island of Grenada, short.to gets its code from Tonga, hub.tm (hubspot) is authorized through Turkmenistan, and tr.im is licensed by the Isle of Man.

There is much discussion on the competitive blogosphere of whether URL shorteners are evil or not, depending on if you need search engines to bump your site to the top of their lists to gain revenue or not. It appears using URL shorteners may confuse the issue of who gets the recognition for the visit to your site. Discussion also centers on whether longevity of the shortener sites will be a future problem.

I'd suggest that if you send an email or tweet or update your Facebook profile, using a shortener to suggest a link is of little concern, since those are momentary communications. If you post a link on your website--designed to be up and sending links to presumedly long-lived sites--you'd better use absolute, though long, URLs.

That's up to you to decide.

A Stellar Review

2009-05-27T17:31:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

Trail of Storms got another review that made me jump for joy. In fact, the reviewer, Jennie Hansen, who writes for Meridian Magazine, included her thoughts on the first two books in the Owen family series, as well.

Hansen begins by saying, "Trail of Storms by Marsha Ward is the third book in a western series featuring the Owen family that takes place during those first years following the conclusion of the US Civil War."

In between, she says some very lovely things, then ends thusly: "Historical and Western fans of either gender will enjoy this series from the compelling covers to the last word of this third volume. It's a series I'm glad I had the opportunity to read."

My reaction?

Happy Happy, Joy Joy!

2009-05-20T00:47:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

I've had a busy May. Not because I have children finishing up school, since I'm beyond that in my stage of life. It's because of the craziness related to having a new book come out, plus life in general. You can read about some of my adventures last week here or here.

Um, about that last link. Yes, I've taken on another blog. I've been asked to be a perma blogger at The Millennial Star. The Administrator joked about nepotism, since my nephew, Ben Pratt, already blogs there, but I don't think Ben lobbied to get me the post.

On Sunday evening I got word that a review of Trail of Storms had been posted on LDS Fiction Review. To my great delight, "Erin" (all the reviewers on the site are anonymous) gave me 4 1/2 Stars. The awesome thing about that is she doesn't even like historical fiction. Besides that, it's the highest rating she's given since she joined the site! The news made this week a very happy one.

Book Signing Fun

2009-05-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

First, a shout out to Cy Tymony, who commented on my last post. Thanks! Six books in the series!

Next, I had a solo book signing yesterday at the local library. It was four hours of fun talking to folks, checking my email, tweeting a bit, and selling a few books. Am I disappointed that the book sales were in the single digits?

NO!

Many authors mistakenly think book signings are about selling loads of books. Wrong. Book signings are about making contacts, sharing smiles, building friendships, directing people to the restroom, and getting to know the personnel in the location--in this case, librarians. They are about networking, building your brand, and reaching out to people to encourage them to read.

Too many people these days don't, you know. Read, that is. Too many other activities whirl them away in this fast-paced life of ours. They don't have time to sit down and relish living another life, perhaps another time, within the pages of a book.

That's really too bad, very sad. Humans need the recharging time, the relaxation and getting outside their own troubles for a while. I recommend reading for that respite.

Next time you see an author at a book signing, share a smile with them, even if you don't buy their book. They may not yet know that you can be friends for that brief moment, that they can enjoy the process of getting their name and their books known.

Researching

2009-05-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

By Marcia Mickelson

I don't like doing research. I just like to start writing even though I don't have all the information. That's probably why I could never historical novels. They require too much research.

Even with contemporary books, there is still research to be done. Thankfully, we have the Internet which makes research a lot easier. Even there, you can't find all the answers.

With my latest manuscript, I've had to research several aspects of the story. The Internet has played a large role, but I've also had to talk to people who have specific knowledge. Thanks to Facebook for helping me reconnect with a friend from high school who is now a doctor. He has been so kind to answer many medical questions I have. He has taken time to respond, very quickly, I might add to my questions.

There is a man in my church who is a police officer and he recently took the time to answer a few questions I e-mailed him. A friend of a friend of a friend took time to respond to an e-mail I sent her about Scotch. A sister-in-law of a friend answered some questions I had about Child Protective Services. The list goes on.

All of those e-mails, facebook messages, phone calls to people with extensive knowledge about certain subjects count as research. I'm thankful all of these kind people have taken the time to answer these questions. Doing the research is part of writing, no matter how undesirable the task is. Making sure you get it right as you write will make the story believable and stronger. So, research on.

Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things

2009-05-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

I frequently get books on tape from the library, since the tape player in my car functions while the CD player doesn't. I like audio books. They help me while away the time that I have to spend in my car to reach civilization. I also "read" them at bedtime.

Sometimes, though, the cassettes can jam, or stall, and necessitate winding from one mini-reel to the other by hand. This process is slow using a little finger. It goes a bit faster using the handle of a spoon or fork, but it's not really fast. I've longed for a manual audio cassette rewinder to tuck away for these occasions.

Last night was such an occasion. I'm "reading" Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, the unabridged version read by Martin Jarvis. It's a masterwork, but it comes on 120-minute tapes, and they are notorious for causing problems. If your tape player is underpowered, it can chug slowly along when it gets past the midpoint--slowing and distorting the reproduction, or lose power entirely. If you need to rewind the tape, forget it!

The tape stalled and needed to be rewound. I decided it was time to find my desired manual audio cassette rewinder, so went to my computer and googled the term.

The search came up with plenty of DVD cassette rewinders, and several for small video recorder cassettes, but the only options showing for audio cassettes were commercial products for up to six cassettes, running between $330 and $550.

Not exactly what I had in mind.

However, on page three was a reference and link to a book, Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things, which promised that a manual audio cassette rewinder was within my budget. I clicked on the link and arrived at Google Books.

Complete instructions--with illustrations--ensued about how to turn a large paperclip into the device I longed for. I immediately got up, found a paperclip and a pair of pliers, and made the item. It works GREAT! (Notice the turned ends? That's MY innovation to prevent pokes!)

Then I clicked on the Amazon link to the book, by Cy Tymony, and put it on my wish list. The volume has two follow-ups: Sneakier and Sneakiest Uses, etc. I highly recommend these books for interesting reading and for following your inner MacGyver.

Ahh...Women's Conference

2009-05-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

by Elodia Strain

Ahh…Women's Conference.

If you’ve ever known an LDS woman, you’ve probably heard of this hugely fun and uplifting event.

This year I was able to do a book signing on the last day of the conference, and it was AWESOME! Here’s why, in a nutshell:

First, I shared a time slot and table with Josi Kilpack, whose interview with Nancy Campbell Allen precedes this post. It was so fun to get to know Josi, who I realized I had only met electronically before. She’s as sweet and cool as her new book, Lemon Tart!

Second, I was able to meet so many of my readers—who hailed from everywhere from Spokane, Washington to Mexico! It was an absolute honor to meet you! You make what I do worth it. Thanks for stopping by to chat.

Third, I was able to think about the wonder of books. To think about my friends who have books coming out this month: Fellow Ink Lady Marcia Mickelson’s book Pick-Up Games is out this month, and it is FABULOUS. Really, I flipped through the pages of the thing like you wouldn’t believe. To think of those whose new books I’ve finally been able to read: I picked up a personalized copy of Ink Lady Marsha Ward’s, Trail of Storms and am falling in love with historical fiction again. And mostly, to think about how in an age when news headlines are almost too much to bear, there is no shortage of good books that can remind us of what’s good in our lives, in our world, and in ourselves.

Thanks, BYU, for another amazing conference!

THE Teen Writers' Conference

2009-04-27T22:17:00.001-07:00

Hey all- the following is an interview with Josi Kilpack, THE Teen Writers' Conference chair. I'm honored to be on the committee with her and am looking forward to this conference. It's going to be great, and if you know any kids aged 13-19, please pass the info along!!

NANCY: Tell us a little bit about yourself, Josi.

JOSI: I’m a mother of four, ages 15-7, and an author of 9 novels, with a tenth coming out in August. I have been a member of multiple writing groups, large and small, and a committee member and former conference chair for numerous writer’s conferences. In addition, I’m a frequent presenter to schools and groups, a fabulous cook (if I do say so myself) and amateur chicken farmer.

NANCY: You are the conference chairperson for an upcoming writers' conference for kids. Please tell us about the purpose of the conference.

JOSI: Several of the committee members and myself have been involved with putting together writing conferences for several years. We started small and have grown until our most recent conference had well over 250 attendants. Over the years we have had some teenagers attend our conference, and while they have enjoyed the experience, it seems to also be a bit overwhelming to walk into a two day, morning to night information-fest. So, we began discussing the idea of having a conference where the format, classes, and overall environment is created specifically to give kids, ages 13-19, the best overall introduction to writing conferences as well as instruction that will be most helpful to where they are now on their journey of being a writer. From there we started throwing out ideas and it really just rolled all together until we have this; THE Teen Writer’s Conference.

NANCY: What is your purpose for the conference? What do you hope the teens who come discover?

JOSI: Our hope is that the attendees will discover a lot of things, 1) that they are not the only kids that write, 2) that whatever goals or ambitions they might have in regard to becoming a writer are within reach, and 3) that it takes knowledge and time and concerted effort to accomplish those goals. Those of us on the committee, all of us being writers ourselves, have spent years honing our craft and are excited to help set these kids on that same path—perhaps earlier than we ever started.

NANCY: What kind of classes will you be offering?

JOSI: We will have classes that focus on actual elements of writing, as well as classes on book markets, the publishing process, and what they can do now to best prepare themselves for a future in writing. We have a variety of classes so as to appeal to both new and experiences writers.

NANCY: What if a teen would like to come, but is really shy? Will there be anything that will make him or her uncomfortable?

JOSI: Our entire focus and reason for putting this conference together is to create a comfortable place for young writers to come, learn, and flourish. We have been and will continue to put their comfort as our first priority because we know if they are intimidated and anxious, they will not benefit from this experience. However, we also expect them to be ready for this experience. Each youth, along with their parents, will need to determine if they are ready to be a part of this. Not all teen writers will be, and that’s okay. We hope to make this an annual event, so if this year won’t work, then perhaps by next year they will be ready.

NANCY: What is your overall goal for every youth that attends the Teen Writers' Conference?

JOSI: That they leave encouraged and inspired to do their best, to hone their craft, and to truly reach for the stars in regard to their writing and their life. We also hope they will make friends with one another and feel a sense of community among other writers their own age.

NANCY: How were you able to get such excellent editors and famous writers to attend?

JOSI: Well, in all humility I have to admit that they are my friends—my very good friends. We are like-minded people that saw a common goal and made it happen. I admire each and every person on this committee, and understand the sacrifice they each make to be a part of this. We are joined in this purpose as well as in our passion for great writing. I am blessed to rub shoulders with some of the best writers out there and the attendees get to benefit from that gift in my life.

NANCY: When is it and how do teens register?

JOSI: Registration is open for another 4 weeks. To register, attendees need to go to the website www.teenwritersconference.com and print off the registration form. Those attendees under the age of 17 will need parental permission to attend; then they will mail the completed registration, along with payment, to the address printed on the page. They, and their parents, will receive a welcome e-mail upon receipt of their registration as well as updates as the conference gets closer. Updates will also be posted on the website.

NANCY: Finally, this conference is for 13 to 19 year olds. Why that age group?

JOSI: We discussed this issue at length, and then simply decided since it was a TEEN conference, we would make it open to TEENS only. We feel that having them among their peers will help them relax and yet be willing to ask questions, meet other kids, and focus on the instruction we’re providing. For the older attendees, this will likely be a kind of introduction to adult-focused writer’s conferences, showing them what to expect and how the typical conference is organized. For the younger attendees, we hope they will come back year after year and continue learning about what they can do in the future.

NANCY: Any other information you'd like to share?

JOSI: We’ve had some parents express concern in regard to leaving their children at the conference without them. Again, this conference isn’t right for all teens, or all parents, but we do ask that parents consider the value of letting their children experience the independent nature of this conference. As a committee, we are dedicated to their safety and comfort; they will come to no harm while attending. And while we ask that parents stay clear of the conference rooms, there are many places on campus that are great for reading or getting some other work done if they worry about going too far away. We will also allow attendees to keep cell-phones on silent throughout the conference so that parents are only a phone call away. For those attendees without cell-phones, they are welcome to use a committee member's phone at any time.

NANCY: Where can people go to find more information, and especially to learn about the writing contest made available just for those who attend?

JOSI: www.teenwritersconference.com has all the details of the conference, contest, venue, etc. If something is not answered, there are e-mail links that will send you to us so we can give you the details you are looking for.

**And a final note from me- this is going to be so fun. What I wouldn't have given to have had something like this when I was a kid! I'm looking forward to it and am pleased to be teaching a class, myself!

Questions or comments? Check out the website or feel free to email me.

Easter At My House

2009-04-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

You know how some girls get a new Easter dress ever year? Those pretty, pastel, frilly dresses that overwhelm department stores every year? Well, I never got one of those special Easter dresses. I've always wanted one and still look longingly at the racks of pretty dresses each season.

My mom just didn't do Easter. I never got an Easter basket either, except for one year when my aunt gave us one. Don't get me wrong; my mom is great--really great. She's just not very traditional and doesn't give importance to customs she considers trivial. She does do Christmas every year just because my dad loves it so much, but if it was up to her, she wouldn't do Christmas either.

I think it all has to do with how these two holidays, based on the Savior, have been over-marketed to the point that they don't even resemble what they are supposed to symbolize. I understand that; but I still love holidays.

I don't go overboard though because I like my kids to not focus on Easter baskets and candy, but to remember why we celebrate Easter in the first place. So, they have an Easter basket that I reuse every year and put a few things in there for them. Simple things like candy, Matchbox cars, toothbrushes, pez dispensers, snacks. Nothing huge. They don't expect much and don't dwell on it. In fact, it's now 3:00 and they haven't even asked about them. I'll probably give out the baskets right before dinner or something.
Once, I celebrated Easter with some extended family and it was crazy. It felt like Christmas. Each adult gives each child an Easter basket so they end up with like 5 or 6 baskets filled with crazy stuff like clothes, electronics, purses for the girls, toys. I didn't like it. It's too much; way too much. I don't like my kids to have too much, just enough. Those kids tore through the baskets like it was Christmas (don't even get me started on Christmas with these folks), leaving behind baskets and trash in their wake. That was the last year we spent Easter with them. We like simple. So, we do a small Easter egg hung, small baskets, and some kind of lesson about the Resurrection.

People kept asking me what we're doing for Easter this year. Are we going to visit my parents who only live 2.5 hours away? I kept thinking, no we're just going to stay here--keep it simple. My mom just doesn't do Easter. As for Easter dresses? Well, I have 3 boys so I don't know if I'll ever get to buy one of those cute pastel-colored dresses after all. And me? Well, maybe my longing for a special Easter dress is perhaps long gone. I just wore a black dress today.

Write What You Know?

2009-04-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

So one of the most basic pieces of writing advice you're ever likely to hear is the old, "write what you know," phrase. It's certainly good advice; when you're writing about something with which you have a lot of experience, it's bound to come off sounding authentic and will draw your reader that much more into your story.

But what if you don't like what you know? Take me, for example. I'm a SAHM with a degree in elementary education. Now, there's probably a great story out there waiting for me where the heroine is a teacher and a bunch of crazy things happen. But that's really not what I want to write about. Now, anyway.

In my books, my characters have time traveled, been doctors, spies, private investigators, archaeologists, antique experts and survivors of the Civil War. Some of my heroes have been accountants, tech guys, former drug addicts, blacksmiths and victims of amnesia.

Nothing in my shorter novels, (those that exclude the Civil War seris), has ever happened to anyone I know. A lot of what I've written is what I call "escape fiction," and is totally out there. That's because it's what I like to read, as well. When I read for enjoyment, I like to be completely and thoroughly entertained.

I also happen to love research.

Eeewww! So many people hate research, but I really love it. And here's one of the biggest benefits to spending a bit of time researching: it becomes what you know! I know, how great is that! If you spend some time becoming familiar with something else- a different occupation, location, time period- you have moved yourself into the realm of knowing something about the subject and when you do that, all sorts of things open up for your writing. Suddenly it becomes very easy to imagine a character with a given set of traits who, when you put her into a given set of circumstances or a profession, takes off on her own.

I suppose what I mean with all of this is that while yes, you will write with your own set of experiences behind you, it's ok to venture out into the unknown and make it known. Don't be intimmidated about writing something you haven't personally experienced just because you haven't personally experienced it.

Crack open a book on ancient Egypt, google archaeology, buy a guidebook on India or England--the sky's the limit if you don't limit yourself.

Promoting a Book

2009-04-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

Since I received 12 cartons/packages full of my novels--Trail of Storms, The Man from Shenandoah, and Ride to Raton--this week, I'm keenly interested in moving them out of my 740-square-foot trailer.

What am I doing to help that happen?

First of all, I've let the entire contents of my email address book know that autographed copies of my new book are now available. This includes numerous Yahoo groups.

I'm letting my social networks know, as well. Events kind of snuck up on me, so I didn't have all of those in place previously, but now I've joined Goodreads, and Twitter is in the works for later today.

I'm sending out review copies of Trail of Storms. Conventional wisdom says you have to get reviews out before your novel is published. Indeed, many review sites won't take a book that has already been published. However, ARCs don't come with the iUniverse process. There are sites that will do reviews on already-published books. Since my book doesn't depend on a limited bookstore shelflife, I can get reviews from here on out for continued sales.

I'm planning a blog tour to publicize my new novel. If you want to be involved, please contact me here.

I've posted a book trailer on YouTube.com. I know of at least one book sale that will come from that.

I'm attending an obscene number of conferences and conventions this year, books in tow.

I hand out business cards to everyone I meet. These are specially prepared, with my novel's cover and information on how to obtain it. I print them from my computer.

I update my website and blog frequently.

I carry books with me wherever I go.

I hope it helps! =)

You're Invited: Ladies' Night at Cedar Fort!

2009-04-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

This Saturday, LDS bookstores everywhere are hosting Ladies' Nights. I've attended a number of these super fun events over the years, and this year I get to do a book signing at one! So, check out the invite below, and come join me for a night of fun and friendship!

(In case you can't read the address on the invite, here it is: Cedar Fort, 2373 West 700 South, Springville, Utah.)

Hope to see you there!

What is Her Goal?

2009-03-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

By Marcia Mickelson

Recently, I had someone evaluate my manuscript and at about page 34, she said what is the main character's goal?

That question really made me think. Sure, my character has goals in life and there are things she wants to accomplish, but my evaluator was right. I hadn't clearly defined what the main character's goal was--what she was in pursuit of.

So, now I'm revising and trying to make it clear what her goal is what she is in active pursuit of during the book.

Each main character should have a goal they're trying to reach and that should be clearly defined early in the book. Even if they don't obtain that goal, which a lot of times they won't, it still needs to be clear to the reader what that goal is. Why are we even interested in this book? If we understand their goal and want them to reach it, then that will make us care about the character. As writers, of course we want readers to care about the characters.

"Be Prepared" is not just for Boy Scouts

2009-03-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

I have to make this quick, as I have a class at 2 p.m., but I wanted to pop in here from my retreat to urge writers and other artisans to always be prepared to make a sale.

I'm at a retreat for members of TOPS - Take Off Pounds Sensibly - and for talent night, I asked if I could do a reading from one of my novels. The director said yes, and since I had copies in my car, I was able to find an appropriate passage to read.

I always carry copies of my books, but I wish I'd brought more. Although I hadn't intended to sell books here, all of them are gone!

Be Prepared!

Old Heroes

2009-03-20T07:24:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to drop in and share a link to a new blog with you. Check it out. The quote is very interesting!

Old Heroes

Cover judging

2009-03-19T22:25:00.001-07:00

I know I've done it. I've judged books by their covers. And a good cover will practically have the book leaping into my hands. I think covers are so crucial to a book's sales.

Of all my books so far, there's only one that I thought was kind of lack-luster. As for a favorite- it's a tie between my second book, No Time for Love, and my most recent, Isabelle Webb. Mystery/romance is what speaks to me with both of these images.

Have you ever read or not read a book based solely on the cover?

Trail of Storms is now available

2009-03-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

Trail of Storms showed up on Am azon.com yesterday. The listing says they don't have any books yet, but that will cease to be an issue once you start ordering. It's eligible for Free Super Saver Shipping (on orders over $25), by the way. If you don't own a set yet, order the other novels (The Man from Shenandoah and Ride to Raton) and get the series shipped to you for free.

The funny news is that someone already found out the book is available and has it for sale for a penny less than Amazon. It's a new copy, too.

It's also at booksamillion.com, although they've increased the online price there. Do they do that on all their offerings so you'll join the club and get a "discount"?

Soon Trail of Storms will be on BarnesandNoble.com (aka bn.com).

Go forth and buy. It's one way to save the economy. =)

Once you're read Trail of Storms, be sure to return to the online booksellers and do a review or put on a comment. Thank you. I appreciate that.

March Madness Contest

2009-03-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

By Marcia Mickelson

I'm hosting a March Madness contest on my blog. Go to www.marciamickelson.blogspot.com for details.

Confession: I really want one!

2009-03-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm even admitting it! I love, love books. I love owning them, holding them in my hands, writing all over them and keeping my favorites. I never thought I'd see the day when I would actually want an electronic reading thingie. This one is the Kindle 2, and it can all but fly you to the moon.

But this is so cool! Download entire books in nothing-flat! Someone tells you about a great book- say no more, download it now!

And yet...I will always love the act of walking through a bookstore on the hunt for something really good.

This will be yet another part of life I'll learn to balance. I'll always love the old-fashioned book. Yet, this cool, sleek new toy is just too yummy to resist. Someday I'll own one. And in the meantime...I'll keep flipping pages.

What about you? Preferences?

HURRAY!

2009-03-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

Trail of Storms has gone to the printer!

Although this milestone makes me very happy, I'm saving the "jumping up and down" for the day when the first carton of books is delivered.

=)

Pretty nice birthday week present, huh?

Edited 3/16/09 to add: Trail of Storms is now available as a trade paperback and e-book at iUniverse.com. Online book sellers will have the novel listed in a couple of weeks. Go see the book trailer at YouTube. =)

Fifty & Fabulous

2009-03-09T15:42:00.001-07:00

by Elodia Strain

Today one of my dearest friends is celebrating her 50th birthday.

This friend was my original BFF--there for me whenever and wherever I needed her. She was there when I went to Yellowstone National Park. There when I watched the Olympics for the first time. There for me after school during those years I got teased a lot.

She was the first to teach me about fashion, hair, and makeup. Sometimes she got a bit of flak for this, but for me, it was empowering to have a friend who could be an astronaut, an Olympian--or whatever she wanted to be--and do it all in heels!

In fact, it was playing with this friend that I first started to make up stories. Sometimes very elaborate ones that picked up every day when I got home from school.

Who is this friend, you wonder? Why none other than Miss Barbara Millicent Roberts--aka Barbie.

That's right, Barbie is 50!

And in celebration, today Mattel is throwing my dear friend a pink-carpet birthday bash in a 3,500-square-foot real-life Barbie's Dreamhouse--located in Malibu, California. Found in this dream house: A closet filled with thousands of shoes!

Now that's the friend I know and love.

(I want that Barbie rug! Photo from lasnark.com)

Happy Birthday, Barbie! Thanks for the memories!

What I've Been Up To

2009-03-08T20:06:00.001-07:00

By Marcia Mickelson

Well, I haven't blogged in a while and I haven't been present on Facebook much lately. What have I been doing, you ask?

1-Reading like a maniac. I'm trying to read about 8 more books before April 4th so I can vote for the Whitney Awards. I have never read so much in so little time in my life. I think I'm getting a little tired of reading. I'm ready for a break come April.

2- Not writing. I have been neglecting writing due to all the reading. It was a good time to have a break in writing, but I'm missing it. I've been waking up feeling a little aimless because I have no story running through my head right now. I need to get that story going soon.

3- Sleeping on the couch. My husband was out of town last week for training with his company. I get so scared at night that I don't like to sleep in my bed. So, I keep the lights and TV on and bring my blanket and pillow on the couch. It's the only way I can fall asleep when he's not here.

4-Trying to keep a 3 and a half year old busy. My Ruben is so different than my older boys. He doesn't like to sit still to play a game or do a puzzle or color. So, he goes from one activity to another. His favorite game is 'Get Me' in which I have to run around the house to grab him and kiss or tickle him. We play 'Get Me' at least once a day. He also loves to play Ruben Sandwich which is when I put him between 2 pillows to make a sandwich and nibble his ear. I just wish we could sit down and play a game of Memory or do a puzzle without him throwing everything in the air. Or, play some Legos without him demolishing what I build. He keeps me going with very little down time.

5-Trying to keep on top of my other 2 boys. My oldest has had so much homework lately as he's been preparing for a standardized test. With all their homework and appointments 3 days of the week, we've just been going, going. It will be nice to have Spring Break in 1 week. They need some down time.

Well, that's what I've been up to.

You Go Get Your Palace

2009-03-07T00:36:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite movies is Cool Runnings. It's about the first Jamaican Bobsled team and I really like the actors who played the four main parts, along with John Candy, their coach.

In one scene, one of the characters, whose name is Yul Brenner, dares to mention his dreams and he holds up a picture. He says, "I'm going to live there." Another character, Sanka, laughs himself silly at the picture because it's a photo of Buckingham Palace. So Yul gets all embarrassed and crumples the picture. A third character, Junior Bevil, retrieves the picture and straightens it out. He gives it back to Yul and says, "Go ahead Yul Brenner. You go get your palace."

I love that part of the movie the best. (I hope I've remembered everything more or less correctly. It's been awhile since I've seen it). Many times when I've been discouraged or ready to throw away a silly dream, I remember that line.

Makes me also think of Langston Hughes:
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die,
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

That's poetry I can wrap my brain around.

A Little Like Andy

2009-03-04T12:04:00.001-08:00

by Marsha Ward

I'm feeling a bit fractious today, with all the little glitches in my life that I'm having to endure, so here's a mini-essay a la Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes.

During the cold weather this winter, my mind wandered over a lot of options for keeping warm. At one point, I determined that if I kept my core temperature warm, maybe my skin wouldn't think it was so cold. I mulled over drinks of the warm-to-hot variety, since one can only ingest so much soup.

I don't drink coffee--never have--so that's out.

Hot chocolate is nice, but it has its limitations. Too much of it will send me packing into a small room of my home for long spells of time, where I won't be very productive.

Hot apple cider is okay if it's fresh, but the dried, packaged version has too many chemicals for my taste.

I settled on Postum, a roasted grain beverage from my childhood. It comes in two varieties: regular, and coffee flavor. Like I said, I don't drink coffee, so I set about looking for the regular stuff in my local grocery stores.

I looked and looked. In vain, it seems. Needing something, I bought Pero, which is made from barley, but I'd never tried it before. It's not quite the same flavor as Postum.

Since I don't like to be a quitter, the next time I was in town, I looked in another store, but they didn't even have Pero. I was with a friend, and when I was trundling my groceries out to the car, I mentioned my search.

"Oh, they don't make it anymore," she said.

"What?" I rejoined. "They don't make Postum?"

"I even called Kraft Foods, and no, they don't make it." My friend looked as downcast as I felt. "I have one last jar, and I'm nursing it along."

This is dreadful, folks. Postum has been on the market since 1895! When I moved, a friend helped me, and she threw out my jars of Postum, telling me I could buy more. Well, I can't. And that just stinks! I'm unhappy, Kraft Foods.

Ten Random Things...

2009-03-02T17:04:00.000-08:00

It's Monday, and although you may be unaccostomed to hearing from me on Monday, it is my day to blog. So, yeah, I made it!

On my facebook, I've been invited multiple times to write a note called 25 random things. I haven't done it but decided today on Ink Ladies I'll do ten. Here goes:

1. I saw the trailer for my neice's new movie today (Danielle Wolverton). Looks fabulous! Check it out here: http://www.uncheckablefilms.com/Trailer.html

2. I had a great weekend with all my children! I got photos too. I love photography.

3. I still want to buy a Ruesch side-by-side and will one day. It's like off-road racing! Speed and ruggedness!

4. I can't for the life of me figure out what to make for dinner, so I'm stalling.

5. My friend from high school posted photos of us at a high school Valentine's Day dance on Facebook. I had forgotten I'd gone with Chris.

6. The two movies we rented Saturday night were terrible. Really don't waste your time on Open Season 2 or All Roads Lead Home. If you saw either and happened to like them, well we have vastly different opinions on what makes a good movie.

7. I haven't queried an agent in about a month on my finished novel. Sometimes it's difficult to jump back in after multiple rejections.

8. I recently painted my son's room and added vinyl lettering. He loved it! We did it as a surprise for him.

9. I'm freelancing again. I write for the local paper and have an article coming out in another national magazine soon.

10. My friend, Jennifer Rasmusson, forwarded this link to me. It's a talk about creativity by a best-selling author. Fabulous! Check it out here: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/453

Well, that's it. Ten random thoughts. Have a great Monday and I'll do my best to blog next Monday with something that flows, something wonderful and captivating ...

Reading Binge

2009-03-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

By Marcia Mickelson

I'm on a reading binge. I've been reading so much this last month. I'm not a fast reader, but I'm really trying to read the Whitney Awards Finalists so I can vote next month.

I actually read an entire book in one day this week. I've never done that before. It always takes me at least 2 days to read a book. I've read three books this week and just started a new one tonight.

I have 10 books left to read before I vote. I'm not sure I can do it. That's a lot of reading, and I think my kids are tired of seeing my nose stuck behind a book. Here I go. Five weeks, ten books. Sounds doable, right?

Previously Engaged- The Movie

2009-02-28T16:25:00.000-08:00

by Elodia Strain

This month a movie based on one of my favorite books, Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic, has hit the theaters. I have a ten dollar bill I've set aside to use for my ticket to this movie, and it's been burning a hole in my pocket for two weeks now. And it's all got me thinking a little about the whole book-becomes-movie process.

So, today I thought it might be fun to cast Previously Engaged, the movie.

Hey, a girl can dream.

Annabelle Pleasanton is a girl with a good heart, an eye for a bargain, and a seeming magnet for bad luck. I think Emmy Rossum's sweet and approachable look would be perfect for this part.

Annabelle's best friend Carrie Fields-Newton is pretty and earthy with a devotion to green living and being a loyal friend. Chiara Zanni looks pretty much exactly how I picture Carrie in my own mind with the exception of eye color. But mabye Chiara would be willing to sport some blue contacts for the part.

Isaac Matthews is good-looking and athletic with a certain kindness about him that also accounts for his occassional--but endearing--cluelessness. Milo Ventimiglia comes pretty close to the way I picture Isaac--though Isaac has a few inches on 5 foot 9 inch Milo.

East-coast cool guy Alex Mikels is smooth--and has the suits, car, and beachfront home to prove it. Hayden Christiansen--you may recognize him as Anakin from Star Wars--would be perfect for the role with his sort of Abercrombie & Fitch look.

Former model, Chloe Payne is the girl of Isaac's family's dreams--to the chagrin of Annabelle. Chloe has it all together--the hair, the clothes, the charm. She's part pageant-girl part sly fox. I've loved Joanna Garcia since she was on Reba. She played that role--the cute, self-centered cheerleader--perfectly. She could definitely pull of a great Chloe.

So whaddya think, readers...would you watch Previously Engaged the movie?

Writerly Encouragement

2009-02-26T14:56:00.000-08:00

Long, long ago, in a mindset far, far away, in the days before I was published, I used to lap up positive writing quotations and stick them on the wall by my computer. Once I'm published, I used to think, I'll be over this insecurity.

Well, guess what. That mindset isn't really far, far away. I still grab onto positive thoughts regarding writing and publication because it's never a sure thing, especially in the market right now. What is a great career now can change on a dime if you're not careful.

One of the best quotes I came across was from Anne Rice. I think I found it in either a Writer's Digest or maybe online somewhere. I didn't write the source down and I wish I had. At any rate, this is it:

"...[People who write have to] a)believe in themselves totally, b)work like demons and c)ignore the rejections.
When you mail out a transcript, you are not turning in a paper for a grade. You can mail out a perfectly wonderful and publishable novel and then have it rejected 10 times. And the reason it's rejected is because you hit 10 different people who, for various reasons, don't want to work with this idea. You have to keep going. You have to never interpret rejection as a failing grade. They are not failing grades. they mean almost nothing...I kept writing and kept mailing out. My attitude was, 'I'm going to become a writer.' I was a writer."

And that's Anne Rice! Like her or not, you must admit the woman tells an amazing story and has done really, really well with it. The fact that, for me, this advice came from such a credible source was a real kick of inspiration.

I'm not sure how many writers read this blog, but if you're out there and wondering if your work will ever see the light of day, take heart! It's possible, it's doable, you just cannot, cannot quit. You hone the art, you perfect it, you polish and scrub it, you get objective, kind feedback, you work and work and work.

I love that billboard that has a pic of Edison on it. The quote is, "After the 10,000th try, there was light." Good thing he kept at it, or we'd all still smell like kerosene.

Blogging Seminar

2009-02-25T12:04:00.001-08:00

by Marsha Ward

Last Saturday I attended a seminar on Blogging. The main speaker was Dave Barnhart, whose business in Phoenix, Arizona, is called Business Blogging Pros. He also, naturally, has a blog for his business.

Here are some of the highlights of what I learned about how a blog can help a business owner, or by extension, a writer.

It gets you Google juice. Google loves blogs, primarily because they always have new content. Therefore, your name or business name, can be on the top of the search engine lists if you blog with regularity.
It's free exposure. Influential people, like newspaper reporters and magazine editors, read the blogosphere. They might need background for an article, or is could be a slow news day and your input is just the thing they want to highlight.
It provides direct access for your clients/customers/readers. Once example Dave mentioned is GM Fastlane, wherein the management of a giant automobile company interacts with customers, actually providing customer service!
It humanizes you and builds trust in you and your business. This leads to the possibility that customers will drive past your competitors to buy your products, even when they are priced higher!
It leads to conversation in which your business is the topic.
It improves your business's image. Having a blog today is comparable to having a website in 1994. It brands you as a forward thinking, cutting edge business. Websites are pretty static, but blogs are highly updatable. Businesses need both.

Dave pointed out the usefulness of using business blogs to educate and inform, to do customer service, and to target the customer's needs. Writers do the same things with their blogs, in a writerly way.

When You DVR something...

2009-02-23T13:42:00.000-08:00

By Marcia Mickelson

We now have Direct TV with DVR and I love it. I love being able to record something easily and run through the commercials. Last night, I recorded the Oscars and watched it in half the time, fast-forwarding through the commercials and the boring parts.

Know what I forgot? I forgot that the Oscars always go over and into the news hour. Well, I only recorded the program for the duration of the Oscars, so I missed the last 3 awards. They went past the time and into the news hour. The three biggest awards of the evening, and I missed them. I checked on-line afterwards to see who won, but I guess I'll check Youtube to see the actual acceptance speeches. I love to watch the acceptance speeches.

So, nex time you DVR something, don't forget to record the show after your show if there's a chance it will go over.

My New Book

2009-02-22T19:33:00.000-08:00

by Elodia Strain

On this weekend’s Academy Awards, Tina Fey and Steve Martin paid tribute to the writers behind the movies that makes us laugh, make us cry, make us think, and even, in the best instances, make us better. When I think about the power of stories, I feel so amazingly blessed to do what I do. To put a cast of characters between two book covers is just the best thing in the whole world. So, this weekend kind of feels like the perfect time for me to officially announce into blogland the release of my new book, Previously Engaged.

So, here it is, in the form of the official book trailer—animated by my awesomely talented husband Jake!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkHjEIHFD6s

Thanks for watching!

Electronic Proofing

2009-02-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

by Marsha Ward

Today I'm working on the interior and cover proofs for my new novel, Trail of Storms. This process involves carefully examining every detail to see if I like the design, finding errors, making corrections, and suggesting changes. There's only one chance to get it right, and this is that chance. One thing I'm definitely requesting a change on: my name on the cover must be bigger, since one of my colleagues missed seeing it at first glance.

Yikes! We can't have that happening!

And in honor of Valentine's Day...

2009-02-14T11:04:00.000-08:00

"Is not this the true romantic feeling--not to desire to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping you?" -Thomas Wolfe

Truthfully, sometimes I'm desperate for life to not escape me, and other times I'm wishing it would just keep flying by so I can reap my eternal reward for sticking it out.

I love the days when I feel like I've got life by the throat and want to accomplish everything under the sun. Oddly enough, (or not oddly enough, if you ask my parents and grandparents), I'm happiest when I'm productive. Nice as it would be to sit around and do nothing but eat chocolates, (or chips and salsa), I feel such supreme satisfaction at having cleaned a horribly messy room or written thousands of words.

It's all about balance. That's kind of my life philosophy. Too much of any one thing leaves us lopsided. Everything in life requres balance, love included. Too much love and you're an obsessive stalker. Not enough love and you have damaged relationships.

Since it is Valentine's Day, I hereby give a shout-out to my husband. He makes me laugh, and always has. It's one of the things I love the most about him. When his sense of humor runs out, I'm kicking him to the curb. We're coming up on our 20th anniversary and I want him to know that it really does feel like it's flown by.

There's a quote whose source I can't remember, but in essence it's this: Eternity can be a long time, but with the right person, it's not long enough.

I'm glad I've signed on with someone who makes me laugh, or eternity would be long indeed.

I love you. :-)

Snowbound!

2009-02-11T15:40:00.000-08:00

by Marsha Ward

A couple of days ago when I opened my front door, this is what I saw:

That put me in mind of a scene in my first novel, The Man from Shenandoah:

The weather grew steadily colder as the men continued with the logging. James found his creek, and started cutting logs for a cabin for Ellen. Carl chose the wooded bench with a natural clearing in the center for his home site. An artesian spring rose just below the clearing, which became the headwaters of a little stream that ran to join the creek far below his father's home. Carl had staked out a homestead that took in both sides of the stream and down into the valley. Ida would favor the cabin being surrounded by trees, snugly tucked into the forest.

The walls of both cabins were half way to the top, and the Christmas party was ten days away when the good weather broke in late afternoon. White clouds laden with snow rolled down from the mountain summits. A freezing wind blew from the north, forcing Carl, working alone at the cabin, to pull his gray coat collar up around his chin. He saddled Sherando, headed him south, and told the gray gelding, "Take me to Pa's, boy."

The horse started off into the driven needles of snow. Carl hunched his back against the wind, crossed his arms, and stuck his hands beneath them. After a while, the trail lay through the sheltering trees between his cabin site and Rulon's, but at the end, there was still the meadow to cross.

Carl halted Sherando before he left the trees to let the horse rest. He dismounted and stamped his feet to restore circulation, beating his hands together to warm them.

"Sherando boy, this storm can't last long. I've got to get that cabin built before Christmas." Climbing into the saddle once more, Carl urged the gray into the biting wind. "It's only a quarter mile," he told the animal. "It's mighty cold, but you're tough, Horse."

The moaning wind blew his words away as the icy blast hit them. On every side, Carl could see only swirling white ice crystals. He gave the horse its head, trusting its instinct to reach the cabin.

Sherando moved slowly, fighting the cross wind as he headed west up the meadow. The wind increased and tugged at Carl, almost dislodging him from the horse's back. Ice caked his hair and snow sifted down into his collar. Then they passed the bulk of Rulon's cabin on the right, and Sherando changed direction to cross the creek.

The horse paused at the log bridge spanning the water, and Carl saw that ice was forming at the sides of the stream. He shivered, and urged the tired horse to step onto the bridge.

"Come on, boy," he shouted over the keening of the wind. "Them logs are set solid."

The gray stepped tentatively onto the slippery surface of the logs, then skittered hurriedly across.

"That's a boy," Carl shouted triumphantly.

Snatched by the wind, his voice carried to his father's cabin, and a light shined out into the white yard as the door opened.

James blocked out the light as he came through the door and caught Carl, who was sliding off the gray's back.

James called out, "Clay, grab them reins and take care of the horse. I'll get Carl into the house."

"You're well nigh froze, son." His father helped James assist Carl across the doorsill. "That blow came up mighty sudden. It's a wonder you made it back here."

Carl shivered, then said, "It's my fault I got caught. I want that cabin up so bad, I let the storm take me by surprise."

***

Morning came without a change in the weather, and Clay had to lean heavily against the door to crack loose the ice binding it to the jamb.

"Pa, that storm's still a-blowing, and the snow's piled up next to the door. How am I going to get out to feed the stock?"

"There's always a way for a man to feed his animals." Rod went over to the door. He tugged it open and faced a wall of white. "Fetch me a stick," he told Clay. "Maybe it ain't packed down tight."

Reaching as high as he could through the doorway, he flailed the stick into the snow. "It's still loose. Get some pails, boys."

Rod buttoned on his coat while Clay and Carl brought the buckets. "Clay, keep that second pail until I need it. Carl, you empty the full ones into the washtub."

Rod scooped out a pail full of snow at the top of the doorway and handed it over his shoulder to Clay. Taking the other bucket, he scooped again. Repeating the process until he had a hole big enough to crawl into, Rod then wiggled his way out the door and entered the icy cavern. "Clay, give me that stick again." His voice boomed in the confined space. "We'll see how deep this drift is."

Thrusting the stick into the snow above him, Rod felt a light resistance. He coughed as a load of snow fell into his upturned face. "Get me a longer stick," he commanded, angry at the elements.

Carl handed him Julia's broom, and Rod took it with a jerk. He stabbed it upward and broke through into the howling morning. New snow burst into his cavern, blinding him for a moment. Then he broke loose more of the crusty roof, and packed the snow down on one side to make a ramp to exit the hole. Triumphantly, he pulled himself out into the storm, floundering in the cabin-high drift.

"By gum, Colorado does everything in a big way," he shouted down to his family. "I have never seen a blow like this before."

Of course my door wasn't iced shut, nor does the drift reach the door top, but we do have about two feet of snow in a location where four inches is considered a good snowfall. I can truly better empathize with my characters now.

Trying not to Fall Asleep

2009-02-08T20:36:00.000-08:00

By Marcia Mickelson

So, I've finished my current manuscript, and it's all printed out. Now, I'm reading through it to proofread, revise, and edit. It's already gone through a good edit and some revisions. I'm just reading through to make sure I'm consistent. I've already caught several mistakes--things I forgot to take out during editing that makes no sense now.

I'm about 2/3 done with it, but for some reason every time I sit down to read it, I get really sleepy. I hope this isn't saying anything about how boring it might be. I don't think it's boring, I'm just really sleepy these days.

I had the opportunity to have a whole half day to myself without kids. So, I went to the library with manuscript in hand hoping to read for two hours. I think it's best to read through it quickly because it helps me check for continuity errors. If there's too much time left between reading, I might not catch something.

So, here I was in a beautiful, brand new library with no kids in tow. I didn't even have to step foot in the kids' section. And, what happened? I started to fall asleep. It was the middle of the day, about 1:00 PM and I could not stay awake. I lay my head down on the table for a few minutes and finally gave up after an hour. Again, I don't think my book is boring, but gosh I couldn't stop nodding off. It felt like my old days at BYU where I'd look for a secluded corner or couch to take a nap.

So, I gave up and just went home. The other night, I sat at the kitchen table to read over the manuscript again and a half hour later, there I was again falling asleep. I want to finish reading this thing, but I just keep falling asleep. I think I just need to get more sleep. It's 11:42 PM. I really better go to bed. I'll try again tomorrow and hope that I don't fall asleep reading my book. I might start to lose confidence in my manuscript.

Distinctive Voices

2009-02-06T09:35:00.001-08:00

Just sitting here listening to a little Fleetwood Mac and thinking that I'd know Stevie Nicks' voice anywhere. There are some voices like that- you recognize them right off the bat because they're so unique.

A few more that come to mind: Freddie Mercury, Barbara Streisand, Britney Spears, (much as I dislike her voice), Steve Perry, (until you hear his replacement for Journey, which sounds just like him!), Celine Dion, Elvis, (of course- and I can't stand his voice!), Ethel Merman!, Rod Stewart...

Ok, this list was way long longer in my head when I started this post and now I'm drawing a blank. You know what I mean, though. The kind of voice you hear in a new song and you don't have to ask who the artist is.

I'm probably un-American to admit to not liking Elvis. I do like Frank Sinatra, though, so that counts for something. (Sending pleas for forgiveness heavenward to my grandfather who thought Sinatra was a not-talent hack. We're not Italian, though, we're Scots. Maybe that's the difference. Had my grandfather been Italian, it would have been in the blood. I mean, can you be Italian and not like Frank Sinatra? I should think that would be morally reprehensible or something. Somehow defiling a natural law of the universe).

Trials of Trail of Storms

2009-02-04T17:52:00.000-08:00

by Marsha Ward

I've had a novel in the works for quite a while, entitled Trail of Storms. It seems to me that this book has an important purpose to someone somewhere, because I've been undergoing various trials in getting it published. I believe in an Evil One who doesn't not want me to succeed.

Among the trials I've experienced this past month: pretty severe depression, problems with Internet Explorer crashing and finally not loading and having to convert to Firefox browser usage (including finding all my favorites and bookmarked sites), problems with the iUniverse site timing out during uploads then not opening the author section, my manuscript getting corrupted and my having to revise margins and insert tabs

FOR.EVERY.SINGLE.PARAGRAPH!

Also, having to re-center each chapter heading and every three-asterisk scene break, several late nights that wreaked havoc on my eyes, electrical power failures at crucial times, etc., etc., etc.

Oh, did I mention all my italics were gone? I had to compare the manuscript side-by-side with a previous version to find them, and I certainly hope I found them all.

Among the tender mercies of my Heavenly Father, I count my wonderful friends who have literally saved me from sliding into deep despair, a son who traveled over 100 miles to fix my leaking roof, and God's hand in keeping my Internet connection going during the 2 hour and 49 minute upload of the photo file. I know He had His hand in the works, because I kept hearing the ominous click that signals the modem shutting off, but the connection maintained a live status and the photo kept uploading throughout. Not three minutes later, I lost the connection.

!

God lives, and He loves His Children!

Best Job in the World

2009-02-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I did it. I actually applied for "The Best Job in the World!" My kids are already planning for their six month stay in Australia and my husband's backing me all the way. He really encouraged me to give it a try ... think of it as the ultimate writing retreat, he said. So I did it, and I must say I'd love to actually get the job, because honestly, who wouldn't want to live on a tropical island for six months (besides my dad)?

Anyway, now all I've got to do is beat out about 30,000 other applicants and it's all mine! It's do-able. Go ahead, check out my application video and wish me luck!

My Application Video.

A Juicy Little Secret

2009-01-31T18:29:00.000-08:00

by Elodia Strain

When I find something I really love I like to tell everyone. To the lady in the grocery store mop aisle who’s looking at the Swiffer WetJets. “It will change your life.” To the woman asking if the massage therapist I just visited is any good. “Absolutely.” (Said with a sort of sleepy zen look on my face that I’m sure was even more convincing than the words themselves.)

So, I recently discovered the amazing and wonderful world of Pandora radio. And for those of you who have yet to use Pandora let me just tell you, like a Swiffer WetJet: It will change your life.

I have pretty specific music needs when I’m writing. I love to listen to music, but the music has to be slow and melodic and not too distracting. The best songs in this category go one step further and put me in this sort of heightened state of thinking and feeling, which for an author is like, the ultimate.

Sure, I have my iTunes. But let’s face it--hours a day of the same thing over and over can get pretty anti-creative. Enter Pandora. At this gem of a website (http://www.pandora.com/) you simply enter a song or an artist you like, and boom! a personalized radio station—made by what I can only think of as little musical elves—magically appears on your computer and starts to play. The best part: You can do this for as many songs and as many artists as you want! A couple of my current faves to write to: Kate Rusby radio and Sam Phillips radio.

Now, as a word of warning, for all its good points, Pandora does have one drawback. Once you start creating those awesome little stations for yourself, you just might find it hard to stop!

The end of a swimming season

2009-01-30T18:16:00.001-08:00

My daughter swam in Region finals today and I couldn't have been more proud. She worked so hard this year to keep on top of her grades and has been dealing with a lung issue we hope to soon have diagnosed. The meet wasn't quite what she would have wanted in terms of her times, but she was there and I was so, so proud.

Now, getting there was a journey in itself. For me, today, I mean. I now am babysitting my nephew, one-year-old Alex, and I have my four-year-old, Gunder, still at home. I figured if we left the house by 1:00 I'd make it to Bountiful by 1:45 to see Nina swim her last event. I had a funny internal dialog going on, sometimes peppered with comments from the two rugrats.

Me: Have to hurry. Got the bottle, drink for Gunder with lid, Cheerios in cup, diaper. Dang. Need wipies. Ok, got the wipies. "Gunder, stop with the jumping up and down! Put your shoes on!"

Inner voice: Patience is a virtue.

Me: Shut up. Ok, set the alarm, out the door. Buckle everyone in, no movie for Gunder. "Sorry, Gunder, no movie. You'll just have to listen to the radio. No, I'm not going back in." Listen, kid, my head's going to explode if you don't stop the whining about the movie.

Inner voice: He's only four.

Me: Again, with the shut up. What is with all this blasted traffic? Who's so desperate to get out of Ogden at 1:00 on a Friday? Does nobody work a full day anymore? My day goes till midnight! I never have an early day. Wish someone would offer me four tens.

Inner voice: Idle hands are the devil's workshop.

Me: I'll give you idle hands. Ok, finally moving. Good. Going faster. Passing Lagoon.

Gunder: "I see the roller coaster!"

Alex: "Aaaaarrrgggghh."

Gunder: "I dropped my Megazord!"

Me: "You'll have to leave it, buddy. I can't reach it."

Gunder: "Please, Mom! It's just right there."

Me: (Reaching and driving with one hand), "There. Now don't drop him again!"

Inner voice: You should keep both hands on the wheel. Isan't their safety more important than Megazord?

Me: Isn't my sanity more important than anything at all? Who wants to listen to him whine about Megazord until we get there. Do you want to listen to him whine about Megazord till we get there? Ok, making ok time...phone ringing, it's Anna. "Yes, we're almost there." Driving kind of fast...hmm. The car shimmies a bit at 80.

Inner voice: Old Arab saying, Do not stand in places of danger praying for miracles.

Me: Crap. And I did pray before I left the driveway. Front tire is kind of bald. Slowing down, darn you.

Inner voice: You should slow down more. We believe in being subject to kings, rulers, (something) and magistrates and in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.

Me: Some laws were meant to be broken. There are places in the world where this speed would be considered crawling. Again with the phone. "Yes, honey, I swear I'm almost there." Ah, good. There's the exit. And pulling up to a stoplight. Ok, good, got the green arrow. Checking watch. She'll be in the pool in four minutes. What? are you kidding me? A school zone with no kids and not even a crossing guard in sight. But the lights on the sign have been turned on. Blasted kids.

Inner voice: Suffer the little ones to come unto me and forbid them not...

Alex: Aaaaarrrrrrgghh!

Gunder: Mom, he's touching me.

Me: Ok. Parking lot. Oh look, there's Anna.

Anna: "Mom, are you just going to park right here?"

Me: "Yes. The snow covers up the yellow paint on the curb. Besides, there are two other cars right there."

Inner voice: Would you follow them off a cliff?

Me: At this point, yes. And didn't I tell you to shut up?

So, needless to say, the Inner Voice needs to work on her articles of faith. And she's annoying. And she always pops up when I'm the most stressed.

The good part of the afternoon was that I saw Nina's second race, and saw her get a medal. I saw her hug her dad and get teary-eyed on his shoulder- this, the girl who rarely cries. I saw my teddy bear of a husband get teary-eyed. This, the man who always does, bless his heart. He has been in love with his girls from the moment they took their first breaths, and as I watch him try to let go as they get older, my heart breaks a little for him, even as I laugh gently with him. Well, kind of with him. He's not laughing much.

My friend Jerelyn gave a talk recently where she was honored for Good Works. She said when she goes to bed each night, she thinks, "What was the best part of my day today?" and "What was my good deed today?" Well, I suppose my good deed for the day was not ramming my dinged-up SUV into the cars in my way as I frantically tried to see my daughter's race, and the best part of my day was watching Nina's face as her dad told her how proud he is of her and how much he loves her.

I hope I never forget that moment.

Depression vs. Hope

2009-01-28T15:47:00.000-08:00

by Marsha Ward

Creative people seem to have a gene that predestines them to live on the edge of madness, teetering back and forth between darkness and light. Many authors, musicians, artists have wild mood swings or battle the impending doom of depression. In some extreme cases, they lose the war, and we are left to mourn for them.

I've been dealing with depression lately. It's not fun, and sometimes I just want to drag myself into a hole and pull it closed behind me, shutting out the world. These feelings are crippling to an author, both to the mind, the spirit, and the body. They can be triggered by--among other things--events, powerful emotions, electrical spikes in the brain, or imbalance in brain chemistry.

The trick is recognizing the onset of the condition. I'm probably a little late in that recognition, but I hope not too late to prevent a full-blown depressive period. I need to get past this, because it's very difficult to write or even participate in life when I'm in such a hole.

Folks who have never experienced depression or mood swings have no understanding of these conditions. They tend to think depression is just a case of the blues that can be turned around with a fun outing, thinking positive thoughts, scripture reading, or fervent prayer. While I don't discount the positive effects of such actions, sometimes only medical intervention and medication will help. We don't expect a type 1 diabetic to forgo daily insulin. Medical conditions that result in depression also need medication, either for the long term, or for shorter periods.

God loves his creative children. He has given them immense powers of expression in a variety of media. He also holds out hope, though prayer, meditation, scripture study, priesthood power, the Gospel, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. These vital elements have been available to me to help me keep the darkness at bay, and I am using them. I'm also going to visit my doctor.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently gave a General Conference talk called "The Infinite Power of Hope." As I read and pondered it, and participated in a recent Relief Society lesson that was derived from it, I felt the stirrings of greater hope.

I've never doubted that God loves me and has great blessings in store for me, but external pressures, spreading myself thin, and taking on too many duties and responsibilities have almost tipped me over the edge into darkness. I'll always have to guard against that, but for now, I have hope to get me through until the darkness fades and I once again walk in the sunshine.

Words of Wisdom

2009-01-22T21:58:00.000-08:00

"Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for tomorrow."

--Thomas S. Monson

It's easy to get caught up in the "if only I'd," or "I wish I would have," mode of thinking. "I can't believe s/he felt/said/did that to me..." Sometimes we need to let go of all of that and live in the present. I know that thinking/dwelling too much on past pains can bog us down really fast and hold us there if we let it.

The quote above is from a Thomas S. Monson talk called "Finding Joy in the Journey," and it's full of good stuff. One particular paragraph states, "This is our one and only chance at mortal life--here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that elusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey--now."

I come from an impressive line of worriers. Combined with my Myers/Briggs personality profile which pegs me as an ENFP who thinks what could be is always more exciting than what is, it makes for a pretty schizophrenic person. I worry, or I think of what could be. The reminder to enjoy the here and now is really good for me.

There's an awesome quote in Kerry Blair's Counting Blessings. She speaks of the Mary/Martha "careful and troubled about many things," (if memory serves- I don't have the book right in front of me. It's on my nightstand). Kerry's quote is, in essence, "if you must be careful, be careful not to borrow trouble." That hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm often a borrower of trouble.

The whole message of finding joy in the journey is such a valuable one. It really isn't all about the destination. I love reminders of that because it allows me to take a deep breath, smile and appreciate the details along the way that make life so rich.

I'm Still Alive and Kicking

2009-01-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

I realize it's not my day to blog, but I had five minutes and had to stop by to let you know I'm still alive and kicking! My time has been completely dominated by my daughter's new website, but it's up, the publicity is rolling in and it's a success! One month online and we're pulling in good numbers of visitors, etc.

If you haven't already checked it out, it's FormalXchange.com. Now I'm going to sit back and get a chapter or two written in my novel, if I can remember the file name I saved it under.

See you all Monday!

Questions to Ask Before Marrying

2009-01-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading a really great book by one of my favorite authors, Melissa Senate.

In this book, Questions to Ask Before Marrying, the main character, Ruby, finds a New York Times article that includes, you guessed it, questions a guy and gal should ask before marrying. Ruby and her fiancé seem to have the questions covered, but the last one leaves Ruby more than a little confused.

One trip, two sisters, and a handful of stops in the great US of A later, Ruby finally knows the answer to the question.

This book was one of Senate’s best in my opinion with a fun premise, great character development, and vivid descriptions that made me feel like I was traveling across the country with Ruby.

I’m not sure if this New York Times article ever did in fact exist, but if I were writing my own article it would probably be questions for a modern bride to ask her husband-to-be and it might look a bit like the following:

1. When was the last time you said something like this: “Did that girl we just passed look like Heidi Klum? Huh, I didn’t even notice her.”?
2. True or false: Women like to be told they’re suffering from PMS.

3. Finish this sentence: Online multi-player video games are________.
4. Hearing the SportsCenter theme song makes you feel a) Giddy b) Relaxed c) Nothing compared to the way hearing our song makes you feel
5. Can you memorize this quote: “There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.”?
6. Over the past week how many items and/or areas have you left cleaner than when you found them? a) 0-5 b) 5-10 c)10-15 d) That depends if cleaning out your hard drive--so that Star Wars Battlefront won't crash--counts
7. When do you think I look best? a) When I’m dressed up for a date b) When I’m just hanging out in sweats and a ponytail c) When I’m wearing the colors of your favorite baseball team
8. True or false: There is such a thing as too many shoes.
9. The ideal special occasion gift comes from: a) The Heart b) Home Depot c) The list you found taped to your Bourne Identity DVD case
10. You’ll remember our wedding anniversary because: a) It will be etched in your mind b) It will be programmed into your PDA c) Hopefully the date will be the same as a historic Super Bowl score

Have anything you’d add to the list in my fictional article, blog readers?

Author Interview- Suzanne Reese

2009-01-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

I would like to welcome Suzanne Reese to the blog. Today, I will be interviewing Suzanne who is here to tell us about her newly-released book, Where Hearts Prosper.

Marcia: Tell us a little about yourself.

Suzanne: I am lucky to be a stay-at-home mom living in Draper, Utah. I have five children, though three of them have crossed the threshold into adulthood. The other two are 16 and 9. The youngest is a born performer, and keeps me busy with musicals, singing engagements, and band performances. (I even got roped into being a Pick-A-Little Lady last year in Music Man because he was too young to be in the play without a parent.) I also have a wonderful husband, a son-in-law, a spoiled dog, and a soon-to-be-even-more-spoiled grandson. I have a Bachelors degree in journalism from Utah State University.

Marcia: When did you first start writing?

Suzanne: I've been a story teller and writer as long as I can remember. When I was a young mother--probably 30 or so, I decided to try my hand at writing a novel. But I did it in the wrong order. I knew how to put together an excellent sentence, phrase, and paragraph or essay. But as it turned out I didn't know the last thing about writing an actual novel. The result was a story with many wonderful scenes strung awkwardly and incoherently together. I rewrote the book dozens of times while learning about scenes, pacing, plotting and so on. The manuscript still sits on a shelf in my house, and occasionally a friend or family member who read it and remembers one of those touching scenes asks me about it. But I tell them it served its purpose in teaching me the art of novel writing.

Marcia: Tell us about the book's journey to publication.

Suzanne: Where Hearts Prosper began soon after the disaster that serves as the inspiration and backdrop for the story - the flooding of the Virgin River in 2005. It took about a year to complete. The first publisher I sent it to declined, but had very nice things to say. Bonneville Books was the second.So it was a pretty painless process. The difficult part has been the editing--which felt very rushed--and the marketing. I'm not anything close to a salesperson, especially when I'm selling myself.

Marcia: What are some of your favorite books?

Suzanne: I don't have one specific genre that is my favorite (which helps explain why my current work is in an entirely different genre from Where Hearts Prosper.) My favorite authors are Jodi Picoult and Lisa Wingate.

Marcia: What else do you have in the works?

Suzanne: I'm very close to finishing a young adult science fiction novel with a working title of 'Perfectly Normal'. It is about a teenage girl from another planet who gets the chance to visit earth as a student ambassador. There's a lot of romance (and cute boys of course) and just a little science--which I know annoys true science fiction fans. But the teen girls in my life love it, and hopefully others will too.

Marcia: Thanks, Suzanne, for coming by to do this interview. I wish you great luck with your marketing and future books. For more information about Suzanne, go to her website http://www.suzannevreese.com/

Janette Rallison's My Fair Godmother

2009-01-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

by Katie Parker

Marcia's letting me step in and blog today with a review of Janette Rallison's latest book for young adults. Thanks, Marcia! It's great to be here!

How many times can I use the word “delightful” in one book review? My Fair Godmother, Janette Rallison’s latest book for young adults, just might drive me to set a personal record. It’s one delightful book.

No, the title isn’t a typo or a misprint. It really is “My FAIR Godmother.” This is because the fairy godmother in question--Chrysanthemum Everstar, or Chrissy for short--is actually still in training. As a magical godmother, right now she’s just fair. And while her wisdom does sometimes show itself in astonishing ways, she’d rather be out shopping than carefully listening to the wishes of her clients. Which is why, when Savannah’s boyfriend dumps her right before prom and starts dating her sister instead, and Savannah feels small and lost and like she’s missing all the pieces to a happy life, the minute Savannah tries to express her longings in words her godmother, Chrissy takes them all at face value and dumps her in the Middle Ages. And Savannah discovers that what she thought she wanted really wasn’t what she wanted at all.

Savannah’s heartfelt desire to have a prince take her to prom gets her whisked to the Middle Ages, first as Cinderella and then as Snow White. Actually, she doesn’t want a literal prince so much as she wants a caring and charming young man who would treat her as if he were a prince...but that’s not exactly what she says, so that’s not exactly what her “fair” godmother grants her. Once she manages to escape from these fairy tales--and some rather disappointing princes--Savannah tries to explain to her “fair” godmother what she really meant about having a prince take her to the prom.

And that’s when one of the guys from school is whisked back to the Middle Ages instead, with the task of becoming a prince so he can take Savannah to the prom. Needless to say, he isn’t too happy with her.

And that’s all really just the beginning of the story.

I just have to say that the whole story was plain delightful. It’s got your typical happy-but-insecure teenage narrator, going through typical teenage anguish over boys and sisters and proms and bikini tops and so forth (you’ll have to read about the bikini top yourself). And then you’ve got your standard fairy-tale-type story with slave girls dreaming of rescue by handsome princes, where magic is real and valiant knights slay dragons and all those kinds of things. Then you throw them together through the efforts (or non-efforts) of a wise fairy godmother lacking in maturity and common sense...and, of course, you have a strong writer like Janette Rallison doing all the real work...and you get one delightful, hilarious, thoughtful, and even dramatic novel that young adults everywhere are sure to love.

At first I wondered about this seeming departure by Rallison from traditional young adult fiction into fantasy writing, but it’s really not as much of a departure as it may seem on the surface. Because Savannah is still like any other twenty-first century teen who’s had her heart ripped out and desperately wants reassurance of her own worth. She’s still a modern-day teen, and readers can still relate to her. It’s just that her story takes some unexpected turns when magical creatures start appearing in her bedroom. (But really, how often do things ever turn out the way any of us expect?)

So I’ve reached the conclusion that “delightful” is a great way to describe this book. I laughed all the way through it; my notes that I made as I read are peppered with profound interjections like “Ha!” and “Hee hee hee.” Other things I noted frequently were Chrissy’s occasional words of wisdom to Savannah that helped her see that she was going to need to show some strength of her own, rather than sit and wait for Prince Charming to rescue her and make everything all right.

And the plotline--well, fantasy worlds allow lots of room for convoluted and unanticipated plot turns. For instance, we could suddenly learn that a person we thought was a person isn’t actually a person at all, but is actually a goat. Or the goat might be a person. Magic, used carefully as a story element, can allow all kinds of interesting twists and turns in a story. (It’s possible that I am actually a goat.)

Even without the magical elements, exactly how the story would work out kept me guessing until the end. This was a very fun book to read, and I’m not even (quite) young enough to be part of the targeted audience. I’m sure younger readers will love it all the more. Did I mention that it’s a delightful book?

Kids' Vacation=No Writing

2009-01-04T22:04:00.000-08:00

By Marcia Mickelson

So, tomorrow my kids go back to school. That means that tonight, they went to bed at a decent hour. That means that I was finally able to write tonight. I'm doing Tristi Pinkston's BIAM this month and I haven't been able to start so far. Today was my first day of the month to write.

I just can't write when my kids are home from school. During the day, it's impossible. At night, I let them stay up late and so then I'm unable to write. By the time they go to bed, I'm exhausted. I did no writing during the holidays or the two weeks they had off from school. I'm so glad to be back on a regular schedule.

Baby is trying to give up his naps. Okay, he's three, so he's not still a baby. My other two gave up their naps at two, so I really can't complain. With no naps, I don't foresee any writing during the day. That means, most of my writing will come at night. Tonight was pretty good. 1,924 words. It felt good. My goal is to finish writing the book this month.

Why Lit Groups Rule

2009-01-03T23:55:00.000-08:00

by Elodia Strain
(photo by austinevan)

About a month ago I got to do something that was a first for me as a writer. I partnered with the editor of my upcoming novel and wrote some book club discussion questions to go in the back of the book.

The project got me thinking a lot about book clubs (or lit groups or whatever you want to call them)—especially the ones I’ve been a part of in my life—and how cool they really are. Here’s what I like most about lit groups:

Reading books I might not read otherwise. I write chick lit so I read a lot of chick lit these days, but one of the best books I’ve ever read was forced on me in a book club: Galileo’s Daughter.

Having a variety of people with a variety of thoughts in the same room discussing the same book. I was in a book club in Spokane, Washington that consisted of an engineer from Idaho, a librarian from Seattle, a full-time mom from Utah, a flautist from California, and a substitute teacher from Maryland. The discussions we had in that group opened my mind in ways that are still a part of me.

The reading tips. I remember mentioning in one book club meeting that I was into Sarah Mlynowski novels. Another member of the group piped up with excitement that she loved Sarah’s writing style and started mentioning other authors I might like if I liked Ms. Mlynowski. Me and my new book club friend ended up trading books back and forth for a whole year, and I discovered authors I never would have without my friend's help.

Food. And, to take it one step further, food that matches the book. I’m hoping to sometime read Don Quixote again and have a whole Spanish feast. And I’ve gotten emails from people who’ve read The Icing on the Cake and made Portuguese sponge cake—a cake that plays a part in the book—for their book club meetings. There’s a good recipe for it here on Alison Palmer's review of the book.

An author or author interview. I never really knew this before, but you really can email the publisher of the book you’re reading and request the author's help with your book club. Most authors are willing to answer questions for book clubs, and some will even join your book club via telephone. In fact, some will even show up in person! Hmm...Maybe if enough of us email J.K. Rowling...

So blog readers, as you’re looking out at 2009—a span of empty months just waiting with books to be read, ideas to be formed, and fun to be had—maybe think about starting a book club. Or vamp up your current club. There are some really fun ideas for this at litlovers.com.

And if you have anything to add to the list of the best things about book clubs, jump right in!

Have a wonderful 2009 filled with many amazing books!

12 Days of Christmas--Medieval Style Contest continues

2008-12-31T09:38:00.000-08:00

by Marsha Ward

Somehow I think I missed announcing that a group of friends and I joined Joyce DiPastena in a neat holiday giveaway. Beginning on Christmas Day, we started giving away a gift a day for 12 days, running through January 5th. Today is Day 7, so get over to my blog to see what's still up for grabs. Go read the Rules, and then enter for a remaining day, or all of the ones left.

The winner of the Day 6 $25 Scentsy Gift Certificate from Kellydawn Zollinger is Jobie Marshall of Oregon. Congratulations, Jobie!

New Year's Resolutions

2008-12-28T21:19:00.001-08:00

By Marcia Mickelson

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions because I don't follow through on them. They're great ideas when you think about them in December, but by the time February comes along, it's too hard to follow through on them. So, I save myself the trouble and inevitable disappointment by not making any.

I do, however, have a goal. I am close to finishing the novel I started in March. I have 3-4 thousand more words to write, some editing to do, and about 5 MORE's. Then, I will be finished and it will be ready for a final edit and final read-through. I'm giving myself a self-imposed deadline of January 20th. It's really just a random date, but very doable if I apply myself. I've been a bit lazy the last month and have indulged in a little extra TV, but I need to get back on track. Once the kids are back in school and on a good bedtime schedule, then I can resume a good routine. I will finish by the 20th. I will finish by the 20th. I will finish by the 20th.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T13:01:00.000-08:00

by Marsha Ward

So I took my strained back on a walk (cold therapy, right), though the ice and snow drifts to the community mailbox array. On the way I dropped two garbage bags off in the park's collective bin (I'd call it a Dumpster, but that's yanno, a trademarked name). I didn't want to have them sitting around during the next storm, which I could see coming in from the west.

The mail had collected over the last couple of days, and since my box is the standard 4- x 6-inch slot, it can get filled up with junk mail pretty fast. I knew I had to make this trek, pain or not.

It was worth it. There was a key in my box along with sundry Christmas cards, ANWA renewals, and sad economic missives. In one of the big boxes reserved for packages, I found what I didn't expect to come until after Christmas: my Christmas present to myself.

Firefly!

I never saw the series until it was off the air, but my son converted me, and I've become a fervent fan since he did. After all, it IS a Western. With great writing.

I know Joss Whedon doesn't believe in God, but Merry Christmas to him and to all my friends everywhere.

(You may substitute your favorite seasonal holiday, but I'm a Christian, so "Merry Christmas" is my first choice of greeting at this time of year. Almost no one I know minds.)

Christmas Lights

2008-12-21T20:53:00.000-08:00

By Marcia Mickelson

On Saturday night, we took our kids to a neighborhood here in Corpus Christi that really puts up Christmas lights. The entire street decorates and puts on huge displays. Families were standing outside, many of them handing out cookies, candy, hot chocolate, or other treats as the sidewalks were filled with people walking by to see the lights.

There was a band playing Christmas songs in their driveway and groups of carolers standing outside homes down the streets. One home was displaying a huge projection screen on their garage of the Dallas Cowboys football game. Police was directing traffic and the streets were jammed with cars looking for a parking spot.

The weather was in the high 60s. It was a perfect night to stroll down the sidewalk looking at the lights and collecting treats. I was amazed at how excited these families were to decorate their homes and share their festivities with people that came from all around town to see what is called Candy Cane Lane.

My husband and I feel quite relieved that we don't live on this street. We would feel too pressured to go all out in decorating the outside of our home. The neighbors would hate us. We are lucky if we get a few strings of lights out. We didn't this year, by the way. It's much better to take a nice drive to see other people's lights than to go through all that trouble ourselves.

Facebook

2008-12-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

I've finally taken the plunge and signed up for Facebook. Wasn't sure what it was even all about but it's been a ball! In just a few days I've gotten caught up with several cousins and even found a couple of my husband's old missionary companions. There are a few other people I'm really trying to find. No luck yet, but I'm going to keep searching.

The biggest problem I can see at this point is that it can be very time consuming, if you let it, especially if you give in to requests that begin with: "Hey sexy," Hmmm. Not sure how he got in my friends list. I think I confused him with someone else.

But guess what? I realized you can actually unfriend someone. Not that I want to unfriend anybody, but who is this guy? It was at that point I realized I hadn't checked the married box. It's checked now though and It's so good to see photos of cousins who live all over the country, the ones I haven't seen in ten years or more.

Well, keeping it short today. I've got an article I've got to get finished for a friend of ours. See you next Monday!

Pay It Forward: A Giveaway

2008-12-14T20:34:00.000-08:00

Come by my blog for a Pay It Forward Giveaway. If you want a chance to win a copy of my book and are willing to give something away on your blog, then come on over.

The Dork Diaries

2008-12-13T23:09:00.000-08:00

(photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbaunach/)

by Elodia Strain

In fourth grade it was my glasses. In fifth, the fact that I was taller than all the boys. In sixth it was that not all of my clothes were—let’s say it with a French accent—Esprit. And in tenth it was the car I drove to school: the family station wagon.

To what am I referring, you ask? The things that over the course of my youth made me feel un-cool, dorky, dweeby, nerdy— whatever you want to call it.

But that’s the great thing about growing up. There comes a time when all the things that used to make you feel dorky, just make you feel, well, you. And so today, by way of this blog, I’m proudly celebrating the top 20 reasons I’m a dork—and proud of it!

I still remember every step to the Macarena.
I love Wheel of Fortune and am a proud member of the Wheel Watchers Club.
I sometimes go to movies that are aimed at people half my age. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, anyone?
I cringe when my younger brother says “Hecka.”
I used to say “Hecka” when I was his age.
I still use zit cream.
I want to wear high heels with jeans, but I’ve never gotten farther than my front door.
I like doing my taxes.
My husband and I have dozens of pet names that would probably make you want to throw up.
I was Valedictorian of my high school class.
I may or may not watch The Hills.
I often bust moves when I’m running on the treadmill.
I don’t know how to whistle. I just can’t figure it out.
I watch Novelas on Univision.
And I like them.
I still have N*SYNC and Backstreet Boys music in my collection.
And I listen to it.
I know how to make balloon animals.
I’m a little bit afraid of the MAC counter.
I sometimes pretend I’m Rachael Ray when I’m cooking.

So all you blog readers, spill: What things would make it into your "Dork Diary"?

Cherished Traditions

2008-12-13T22:50:00.001-08:00

Tonight we went to downtown Ogden to see the lights. The Christmas Village is growing and is a whole lot bigger with more displays than when I was little. It was fun to see the whole thing through my 4-year-old's eyes. As we drove down the hill and all the lights came into view, he said, "I'm so glad we're going to Christmas Town!" He even got to ride the train around the block.

Then we went to my parents' house and had Norwegian pancakes and the annual viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Well, by then it was a little late and we just saw the first part where Clark takes his family out to find the perfect Christmas tree. And it's just as well, because we'd have had to skip parts for the kids- you're better off watching the t.v. version if you have young-uns- but it was fun because it's a tradition, and as wacky as some traditions get through the years, they're still comfortable. They're still home.

We have a few holiday movies that are must-sees. A Christmas Story is number one on the list, despite the fact that my daughters aren't really fans. (Boggles the mind. How can you not like that movie?) My parents and husband and I enjoy It's a Wonderful Life, but my siblings and children hate that one, too. My dad has a tradition of stashing himself away in a vacant room on Christmas day and watching it by himself. My youngest sister found out he did that and was all kinds of distraught, thinking it was tragic that my poor dad watches that sad movie all alone on Christmas day. (Like he's in there sobbing into his bowl of popcorn, "Oh, no, George Bailey, no! You have so much to live for!") In reality, my dad is so glad to get away for some much-needed alone time that he's kicking his heels in unabashed glee.

My kids and I love Elf. That's already become a Christmas movie tradition for us, and I also like The Grinch, both animated and Jim Carrey. Then there are the old- time kids shows, like Rudolph, (which used to give me nightmares and make me throw up as a kid, what with the scary Abominable Snowman and all), Frosty the Snowman, and the 70s cartoon, Twas the Night Before Christmas. (There's a certain person of some significance in my stake who resembles Joshua Trundle, but I won't say who).

Such good stuff, and all the more fun because there are a few select weeks during the year when it's acceptable to watch them. Perhaps that's why I love them so much. They herald in the season for me, and they're a treat. Now all I need is a James Bond Christmas Special. Ah, then life would be complete. :-)

Getting Back on the Bike

2008-12-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

By Marcia Mickelson

When I was twelve we lived in Victoria, TX, oddly just an hour or so from where I live now. When we lived there, I used to prowl the neighborhood on my bike with my sister and cousins. We moved from Victoria to New Jersey and left the bikes behind. We'd outgrown them. That was the last time I owned a bike. I never did get another bike in New Jersey. I think I lost interest or something.

I didn't get on a bike for several years. I rode my college roommate's bike once and screamed the whole time. I'd forgotten how to ride a bike. Okay, not really. I know you never forget how, but I just couldn't do it anymore. I haven't ridden a bike since, but I finally decided to give it another try. My parents bought this bike for $5 at a garage sale and I've slowly been riding it, trying to get accustomed to it again. I've gone for bike rides with my 8 year old. I love going with him. I let him lead and just follow. He hasn't taken it easy on me, though. I think he enjoys that he's so much better at something than I am. I'm looking into buying a trailer so I can pull my little one behind me and go on bike rides with him. I think he's getting tired of the jogging stroller anyway.

On Saturday, we took the bikes to the beach. I'm really enjoying my husband having a pick-up truck now even though I used to make fun of pick-ups a long time ago. Riding on the beach is so cool. I loved it. When my 6 year old finds something that he loves, he says, "I want to do that every day." That's when I said after our ride on the beach. "I want to do that every day!"

One of these days, I'll have the whole bike thing figured out. At least I haven't fallen yet, but I've come close.

Am I Crazy? Or is this a...?

2008-12-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

I think I may be going crazy. I’ve been editing and Christmas shopping and absorbing the stress radiating off my pre-finals husband all week so maybe I’m just seeing things. But…what does this look like to you?

I mean today when I air-popped some organic popcorn and found this in the bowl, I was sure it looked like…Well if I tell you then it won’t be as fun. But maybe I’m just the only one who sees it.

Still, not too long ago fellow Ink Lady Tamra Norton saw Texas in her chili, like a message from the beyond saying that her penned-in-Texas book was about to take an amazing journey. So I’m thinking maybe this is my food message. Like the time my grandmother swore she saw the Virgin Mary in the masa in her tamale.

So tell me, what does this popcorn look like to you?

Maslow really knew his stuff

2008-12-05T12:33:00.001-08:00

So I've been sick for two weeks and am finally feeling like I'm back among the living. Cyberspace has sped right along without me, and the inboxes are stuffed full.

But feeling under the weather has made me appreciate Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs all the more. Man, that guy was really on to something when he came up with his triangle. (Actually, he built on the work of Skinner and others before him, but anyway. The Hierarchy of Needs was his own creation).

So at the base of the triangle, you have your physical needs. In order to build upward and appreciate other facets of life, one first has to have those physical needs met. After the physical comes safety, then love, then self-esteem and finally self-actualization where we reach the pinnacle and find our full potential.

Mmm hmm.

Some of us are still on the lower levels, but hey, it's all part of the game, right?

So anyway, I was sick over Thanksgiving. THANKSGIVING. What a waste! So much fantastic food and I barely enjoyed it. I did force myself to eat more than one piece of pie because, really, it's pie, but the satisfaction level was dismally, depressingly low.

I also had all this time to get some writing done, work on the house, decorate like crazy--I envisioned myself singing the Happy Little Working Song a la Enchanted in a beautiful Cinderella dress. Instead, I was sick. Absolutely drained. Had time to write. Didn't care. Had time to decorate. Didn't care. Had delectable food to eat. Didn't care.

I was sunk below the bottom-most level of the hierarchy and couldn't enjoy the most basic levels of the pyramid because of it! When you don't feel good physically, it's hard to make yourself enjoy anything else. It makes me appreciate friends of mine who are currently seriously sick and undergoing procedures and treatments. Makes me appreciate my mom who's had a minor stroke and botched heart surgery, who's on so many meds she sometimes veers to the left while trying to walk in a straight line.

When I was in high school, my history teacher had a bunch of lame sayings on his wall. One of them was the old, "Health is a crown on the well person's head, but only the sick seem to see it." I'm ashamed to admit I thought of this lameness more than once while I was sick, and I vowed that once healthy, I would never again just take it as my due. Good health is a blessing, and now that I'm starting to feel it again, I'm so grateful for it.

Of course, I had preschool this morning which totally wiped me out. Which is why I figured the laundry and dishes can wait. I'd rather sit and blog. ;-)

Missed you all!

New Website!

2008-12-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, so here's the spill, our new website is up and functioning! You've got to check it out and send the word along to anyone you know who might be interested. It's a website my daughter dreamed up where you can buy, sell and trade formals and wedding dresses. It's entirely free to post ads and buy dresses. Contact between buyer and seller is via a secure form, and they arrange the sell of the dress. Anyway, it's pretty cool. We've even put together a little "commercial" for her new site. Watch it here and let me know what you think. Go right to her website if you'd rather FormalXchange.com.

That's it for now. I just had to share the good news!

Sorry about the Hiatus

2008-11-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

by Marsha Ward

I've been gone for a few weeks due to a lot of turmoil going on in my life. I'm back, though, and have an announcement.

I've decided on how I'm going to produce my novel, Trail of Storms. Therefore, I will have it available to readers within the next 90 days, if everything goes smoothly.

The book begins in Virginia, and its characters journey across the Great Plains to Colorado Territory and thence through Raton Pass into New Mexico Territory. Here's an early 1900s photo of the Raton Pass area, to give you an idea of the rugged country through which they had to travel:

Think of going through this country by wagon! I'm thankful for good highways and luxurious vehicles.

Happenings...

2008-11-25T05:38:00.000-08:00

Does it feel like I've dropped off the face of the earth to everyone or just me? Okay, so I'm back, even if I am a day late ... or a month. My daughter had a fabulous idea to start her own business a month ago and it's been the only thing we've had time to focus on, but guess what? Her website launches next week and we're nearly ready to go!

So I've been writing keyword articles again and press releases and privacy policies ... but this time they've been much more fun. The website is great and I can't wait to tell you all about it! Let's just say that my rough and tumble tomboy has officially become a girl!

I'll fill you all in some more next week. I've got a few more articles to finish up for the site before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-23T20:09:00.001-08:00

By Marcia Mickelson

This year, we're having a nice, quiet Thanksgiving and I'm doing all the cooking. That's very different for me. I've never made a turkey before. This is my first attempt. Luckily, it will be just for my immediate family.Thanksgiving in my life has been a transitional event. Keep in mind that both of my parents were born in Guatemala and didn't celebrate Thanksgiving until they moved to the U.S. in their twenties. It was a brand new event for them and through the years, it has evolved for my family as we try to get it "just right."I remember when I was in fourth grade, a friend from school asked me what we had for Thanksgiving dinner and I told her we had turkey, rice, and salad. She was like, that's all? That's what you had. I said sure; I didn't know what "you were supposed to have." What is stuffing? Cranberries? What the heck is pumpkin pie?

As the years passed, we began adopting more traditional food into our Thanksgiving dinners. I now love stuffing; it's my favorite Thanksgiving food. Little by little, our family has picked up on all those important facets of the holiday. (Minus the year when our huge, extended family rented out a hall to have a huge Thanksgiving dinner. Sure, we had all the traditional food, but also some tamales and rice. And, then there was the huge sound system they set up for dancing. It was a regular dance party with all kind of Latin music. That year was a little weird, especially for my husband and his friend who joined us that year.)

So, we'll see how it goes this year. Any good suggestions for my first turkey?

And, don't forget Elodia's contest. See the previous post for a chance to win a $20 BN gift card.

A Few of My Favorite Things (And a Chance to Win a $20 Barnes and Noble Gift Card)

2008-11-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

My friend Kimberly Black recently blogged about a few of her favorite things. With Thanksgiving just around the corner I thought I’d follow suit. So here they are: a few of my favorite things in no particular order. And at the bottom of the list are instructions on how you could win a $20 Barnes & Noble gift card!!!

1. Dentyne Fire gum.
2. Nic’s Sticks nail polish pens-It’s like nail polish for writers! I’m much better at holding a pen than a brush, so I have these in pretty much every color including my current favorite-midnight blue
3. Sun Kill Moon-Perfect writing music. And my husband loves that the band name was inspired by Sun Kill Moon the boxer.
4. My pillow-top mattress and flannel sheets-Luxuries I’ll always be grateful for. My dad grew up very poor, and he never had sheets until my mom—his high school girlfriend—bought him his first set. The story still makes me cry.
5. My Gilmore Girls box sets-It’s hard to find a show you can watch over and over, but this is so genius, so intricate, that even after multiple viewings there are still things I miss.
6. Victoria’s Secret Pink sweats-I’m addicted. I wear them much more than jeans. I don’t care if Stacy and Clinton say you shouldn’t wear sweats out of the house.
7. My sister-She makes me laugh when I need to laugh, lets me cry when I need to cry, and still remembers playing Saved by the Bell with our Barbies and buying the first cassette tapes that were all ours: Debbie Gibson and Tiffany.

8. Pink Grapefruit-The Sunflower Shop (our area’s answer to Whole Foods) down the road has specials where they sell 10 for $1. I take my reusable totes and buy like 30 at a time and eat a grapefruit with every meal for ten days straight.
9. The Community Pool-Passes are only $13 a month, so I go a few times a week and enjoy the water and watching the tween birthday parties—complete with cute swimsuits, cute water tricks, and cute-lifeguard watching.
10. My hip hop dance videos-I love dancing, and this way the people in the class can’t see me, but I can see them!

So what are your favorite things? Write your answers in the comments and if we get the comment number up to 20 by the end of Thanksgiving day, the names of everyone who left comments will go into a hat, and we’ll pick a random winner who will win…a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card just in time for Christmas!

Broad Spectrum or Dig Deep?

2008-11-21T17:07:00.000-08:00

I had a conversation with Tristi Pinkston at the Provident Book Grand Opening about different approaches to historical fiction, and I've often thought about the approach I took to my Civil War series. Tristi and I basically discussed the difference between taking a big look at something, kind of like stepping back and taking in the panoramic view vs. narrowing in on one slice of an event and delving deeply into it.

For example, when I wrote Faith of our Fathers, my goal was to give the reader a very broad overview of the WHOLE thing. Different cities, battles, events, etc. In order to do that, I created characters and placed them in strategic places so we could see all of those events through their eyes.

This approach allowed me to look at the whole of the conflict, but at only, say, a foot below the surface. If an author were to take one particular town, for example, and focus on one family during the Civil War, she would be able to go more like six, ten, fifteen feet deep. As far as she wants to, really.

Historical Fiction is an interesting animal. Seems like people usually love it or hate it. Purist, arm-chair historians tend to prefer the nonfiction approach to history. For readers who like a more humanized, (for lack of a better word), look at history, the fictional element helps. Fiction is also more entertaining, usually, and many readers enjoy that element.

There is danger in fictionalizing history, I think. I felt this weight when I wrote the series. As an author, you run the risk of people thinking that the "truth" as you see it as an author is, in fact, gospel. Sometimes it's just personal opinion. I felt a huge responsibility to portray real, living people as they were, and not to allow my view of things to alter what they may have said or did. I would venture to guess that other authors of historical fiction would agree with me. You just don't want to get it wrong! When I wrote that series, I said a lot of prayers.

Any strong opinions on this, one way or another? Do you prefer fiction or non when it comes to reading your history? Do you like a broad overview or an in-depth chunk?

Writers Conferences and Other things on my To-Do List

2008-11-20T21:29:00.000-08:00

By Tamra Norton

If I'm not snorkeling in Hawaii or romping through castles in Europe (neither of which I've experienced, but both on my to-do list...along with becoming Stephenie Meyer's BFF, dancing with Maksim Chmerkovskiy and being adopted into the Jolie-Pitt clan--Auntie Tami Jolie-Pitt. I wonder how it would look on a book cover?) I can't think of a better way to spend an entire Saturday than at a writers conference. Just this past Saturday I attended the Brazos Valley SCBWI Conference in College Station, Texas (go Aggies!). In a word--outstanding!

I've been to several conferences over the past five years--even spoken at a few--and I've come to the conclusion that aside from the act of BIC (bum in chair, a.k.a. writing) and, of course, reading-like-a-nut-job, attending conferences is one of the best ways to hone the craft of writing and assist in that seemingly elusive quest for publication.

Here are some of the highlights from my past five years attending various writers conferences.

Hanging out with my writer buddies--it just doesn't get any better. These are MY PEOPLE. They totally get that I have conversations in my head with my characters, look for them on street corners and in Target, even cry with them. Really. I'm normal...right?

Schmoozing with editors and agents from some of the largest and most respected NY publishing houses and agencies. We've talked shop. They've offered invaluable advice in their presentations. And I've resisted the urge to stalk them during down time at the conferences. These meetings have lead to numerous manuscript submission opportunities which wouldn't have been available had I not attended the conferences.

Schmoozing with published authors--many, my literary idols! For a solid hour I sat next to Joan Bauer and we chatted during the author signing portion of one conference. She signed about 75 books. I signed 4. And last year at a pre-conference mingle-thingy, I had a great conversation with Kimberly Willis Holt as we compared our "military kid" books. Fascinating...and freaking fun!

I've had several "first chapter critiques" by numerous editors and agents including agent Erin Murphy and author and SCBWI founder Lin Oliver. Wow--now that was the coolest experience ever. She even highlighted a part of my manuscript the next day in her presentation--now that was a validating moment!

Because of one of these "first chapter critiques" at an SCBWI Houston conference, I (or my first chapter) won the Joan Lowery Nixon Award--mentorship through the editing process of that manuscript by National Book Award Finalist, Kathi Appelt. Working with Kathi was a phenomenal experience, and that manuscript, MAKE ME A MEMORY went on to be published by a regional publisher and was chosen by the Utah Commission on Literacy as a Book-of-the-Month selection. Its sequel, MAKE ME A HOME was published this year.

Oh, there have so many memorable experiences! These are only a few. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend attending a writer's conference. Who knows, maybe I'll see you in Hawaii one of these days. I definitely plan on snorkeling...either before or after attending the Maui Writer's Conference--one more thing on my to-do list!

Why Facebook is Like High School

2008-11-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

by Elodia Strain

I finally gave in. I made myself a Facebook page. I resisted for so long, but I was an advertising major in college and my ad training just wouldn’t allow me to let a good marketing venue sit untouched anymore.

So I sat down at my computer one day, no big deal, and signed up. I uploaded my photo and typed in my favorite movies and TV shows and felt relieved to have finally done this. But the relief was soon to be replaced by something more akin to, well, panic.

It started when I was Friended by an old high school pal, I’ll call her W. I was so excited! I clicked on her page, feeling exhilarated by the prospect of virtually catching up. But soon I was staring at the page, mind whirling.

My page didn’t have a cool background on it like W’s. I just had the white and blue normal ole Facebook page, but W found some trendy wallpaper on some website that apparently specializes in that kind of thing.

I also didn’t have tons of photos on my page like W did—amazing photos that made her look like the coolest person ever to live. I quickly scanned my photo folder to see what I could upload—but most of my photos are of me and my husband, taken by one of our outstretched hands.

And then there were W’s friends. Two hundred and some of them. I stared at the little friend box on the bottom of her page in shock. W and I are from a small California town. How did she have 278 Facebook friends? And how did her friends have so many friends? (Up to 980 in one case.) And, was it just me, or was this whole Facebook thing suddenly feeling a lot like high school? I mean, I was feeling like a total loser, something I haven’t really felt in quite this way since I left the hallowed halls of Los Banos High.

All of a sudden I had the pull to get myself a cooler page, some cooler photos, and some very cool friends.

I started with the friends. But the question was, who did I know? Over the next few days, I discovered the answer as friend requests started coming into my email box. More friends from high school. A few people who read my book. Old roommates. And even some complete strangers.

So this was how so many people had so many friends! I wasn’t a total loser. I just needed to dig out my old yearbooks and college directories—like everyone else was apparently doing—and I’d easily be on the cusp of two hundred friends. Whew.

Relieved, and pretty weirded-out that I’d gotten so sucked in by Facebook, I decided to forget about my boring page and lack of glam photos for now. Because if I were to go back to my high school self and tell her some words of wisdom, they would be: “Don’t worry so much.” And I have to practice what I preach.

It's the Little Things...

2008-11-14T10:43:00.001-08:00

Winning a gajillion dollars would be wonderful, don't get me wrong. I collected those McDonald's Monopoly pieces last month, reasoning that someone has to win, it might as well be me. Alas, it wasn't me.

I've realized lately, though, just how little things can bring so much joy. Like discovering a certain four-digit code.

A few months ago, my car battery died, so my car stereo thought it had been stolen from the car and locked itself up. It required a four-digit code to reactivate and because we bought the car used, the magic card displaying said code was no longer in the glove box. (What a silly name, "glove box." Like any of use it for gloves anymore. It ought to be called, "Collection of Crap Box.")

So the stereo routinely gave us three tries to guess the code, and then it locked itself up again for a random amount of hours. I could never figure the rhyme or reason behind that number of hours, either. But anyway, the code option would come back on with a loud BEEP, and the kids and I would scream, "Code Time!"

We tried so desperately to guess the code; we all took turns and I was waiting for the moment when someone would guess the right combination and we'd have music in the car again. I was going slowly insane from the quiet. Well, relative quiet. When the kids weren't in the car, it was quiet.

Time came and went and we couldn't get the dang code. I kept thinking of Terminator 2 where the young John Connor has that PIN code contraption that he sticks into the ATM and gets money out on people's stolen cards. (That was when John Connor was a delinquent and before he was destined to save the world.) I needed one of those machines.

I finally just called the dealership, (duh), and asked if there was any way, even though we bought the car used, if they could look up the stereo code using my VIN number. My heart sank, the lady said "no." BUT, if I took off the casing around the stereo and pulled out the stereo itself, I could find the manufacture number and model number on the stereo, and THEN she could look up the code.

Yesterday, I took out my screwdriver and pried the face off the stereo. Oops. Silly me, the lady meant we had to take off the ENTIRE CASING AROUND THE STEREO, THE VENTS AND CONTROL NOBS. Hmm. I decided I needed reinforcements for that, so I tracked my husband down at work and asked for his help. I was relatively certain I could get the casing off, but I wasn't sure I could do it with any kind of, shall we say, finesse.

So we got the casing off, called the woman at the dealership, and got the magic code! I was slightly disappointed that we hadn't managed to guess it, but I was desperate enough to not play the Code Time Game any longer. It was amazing. Punch in four little numbers and voila! Paradise!

It was in that moment when I realized how grateful I am for little things. My stupid little stock stereo in a car that has its share of dings, (again with my finesse issue), and the glorious sounds that poured forth had me in absolute ecstasy.

I started thinking about the other little things I'm grateful for. My kitchen, for instance. It's a galley kitchen, ridiculously small for more than, say, half a person to be in at any one time, but I have all the little gadgets I feel I need to make yummy stuff for my family. ( I even use white flour to cook with, on occasion. Take that, David Woolley!) And even though I don't have all the counter space I'd like, I'm not lacking for anything I feel I need.

My house is small, but we have heat, running water, and fun Norwegian decor. My children each have a bed, miscellaneous and sundry age-appropriate paraphernalia, clothing and cute hair. My husband has the job of his dreams and I get to write pretend stuff for a living.

So yes, while I was genuinely bummed that I didn't collect both Park Place and Boardwalk, (did anyone notice the profusion of Park Place pieces and total lack of Boardwalk this year?) it really is ok. I have a good little family, food in the cupboard and music in my car.

Life is so good. :-)

Happy Veterans Day

2008-11-11T06:44:00.000-08:00

By Tamra Norton

Today, Veterans Day, my mind and heart can't help but turn to our brave servicemen and women who have dedicated their very lives to protect the many freedoms we enjoy in this country. What a huge sacrifice! But it's not theirs alone...

My heart also turns to their families, separated by many miles, and often oceans from sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives... Can we even understand how they are feeling today? I'd imagine there are a mixture of emotions--pride, for sure! But also concern for their loved one's safety and well being. Sadness for days and memories missed.

Today I'm going to give the ones I love an extra hug. And today we will say an extra prayer--for those serving, and for those at home.

Click here to read my friend, Alison Palmer's awesome Veterans Day Blog...where she also happens to talk about my two children's novels, Make Me a Memory and Make Me a Home--both dealing with military children.

Know Your Stuff

2008-11-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

By Marcia Mickelson

A month ago, I was toying with the idea of going back to work. I did job searches, sent my resume around, and did a few interviews. I received a call from a children's hospital in town. It was the perfect job for me. It was part-time with great hours; I would be off in time to pick my kids up from school. The job was in the Interpretation Department. I would be translating for Spanish-speaking patients and their parents. I grew up speaking Spanish and am fluent. I've also had several jobs in the past that have included translating.

I thought about brushing up on my Spanish in preparation for testing I had to do, but I felt fairly confident. I've basically been translating all my life. It would be easy. Boy, was I wrong. The first part of the testing was written. If I did well, I would come back for oral testing, followed up by an interview. The written test was hard! What was I thinking? There were 40 medical terms written in English, and I had to translate them into Spanish. There were words like congestive heart failure, jaundice, and other medical terms that I have no idea how to say in Spanish, much less spell. There were also 2 paragraphs to translate. One from Spanish to English, which was easy and the other one from English to Spanish which was very hard, especially because it kept repeating the word pulmonary and I had no idea how to say it in Spanish.

I was overly confident prior to the test; thought I knew enough to not study the night before or at least brush up by looking through a dictionary and testing myself. Yes, Spanish is easy for me, but medical terms in Spanish not so much. I learned a very important lesson. Confidence will only get you so far; you have to know your stuff if you want to succeed. So, I never did get the call back about the oral exam. Guess I didn't do so well. I've decided not to go back to work. I'm just going to stay home and continue writing.

What If Dr. Frankenstein Had Loved His Monster?

2008-11-07T21:54:00.001-08:00

(Slight change of plans for tomorrow's signing- the Provident Bookstore grand opening has been moved back one week to November 15. All the times are still the same, as far as I know.)

I wanted to send a shout-out to my book club friends and tie in to my odd post title. Book Club met last night and my sweet friends read my newest book this month. So we talked about it and they gushed appropriately for my ego's sake. The hostesses made Indian food and the main hostess wore her Indian shirt.

They were so good to me, and I was really grateful. Also, one of my friends mentioned that she wants to be Isabelle when she grows up. Me too! I love Isabelle. She's all things that are smart and brave and clever. Her flaws and weaknesses only serve to make her that much more wonderful.

When I wrote her in the Civil War series she was little more than a secondary character, a good friend of one of my main characters. It didn't take long, though, for Isabelle Webb to leap to the foreground and there were times I had to hold her back a bit. By the end, she got lots of her own scenes.

So this series is for her. She's so wonderful, and I do say that without guile. This is not an autobiographical book- I only wish it were! But I've come to love this character so much and was so gratified to see that other readers love her too.

So my question for readers is this: have you ever read a character and thought, "Man! I wish I could be her/him!"

My question for writers is this: who's your favorite character you've written to date and why?

Or am I the only writer out there egotistical enough to be totally enamored of one of her own creations? ;-)

Things to Look Forward To...

2008-11-03T06:01:00.000-08:00

By Marcia Mickelson

It's November, and there's a lot for me to look forward to this month. Let me share:

Election Day. I just love staying up into the night watching election results come in. And, we have DirecTV this year, so there will be about 100 channels covering the election.

David Cook. David Cook (from American Idol) is releasing his first album this month. I watched him on Saturday Night Live and am so excited for his album.

Twilight. I've read all four books in the series and am excited about the movie coming out this month. If you're interested in taking a quiz to see which Twilight character you are, go to my blog.

The Lexington. On Wednesday, my 3rd grader is taking a field trip to the USS Lexington, a WWII Aircraft carrier that has been turned into a museum.

Pull Ups. By the end of this month, we will be all out of pull-ups (training diapers) and that means my 3 year old is officially potty trained. I won't have to buy diapers for a long time, at least not til the next baby. No, that's not an announcement.

Thanksgiving. It will be fun for my kids to have a whole week off and just relax.

Texas in my Chili--Really!

2008-11-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

By Tamra Norton

So the other day I was fixing lunch for the kids (chili mac--a staple at our house), and when I opened the can of chili and took off the lid, I found something very interesting--the state of Texas--really. I found Texas in my chili. Apparently a hunk of chili fell from the top, center of the can, which resulted in an almost perfectly shaped cut-out of the state of Texas (where we happen to live AND where this particular can of chili was made.

Now I know what you're thinking. What in the heck does this have to do with writing? Well, my friends, I'll tell you...

Was it simply a coincidence that I found Texas in my chili? I think not!

A miracle? Ummmmm...okay, so not exactly...

But was it incredible? Astonishing? Fantastic? Sure, why not. My kids and I got a huge kick out of it.

Personally (and please, don't read too much in to this like Tami has turned coo-coo-nutzo or anything), I think it's a sign from the heavens telling me that my little ol' "fairy tale" manuscript from this little ol' author from Texas is going to be picked up by some fancy schmancy agent, and shopped around to some fancier schmancier east coast publishing house. And the end result will be something much more incredible than a hill'a chili beans.

Just sayin'...

The Book Was Better!

2008-10-31T09:08:00.001-07:00

There's a reason people say, "The book was better."

When we who love to read get involved in a story we see things a certain way, we experience the book individually. I've heard that the same book is never the same to various readers, and I believe that. Reading is a unique, usually solitary experience and the reader finds herself living that book in her own way until she discusses it with others and broadens her perspective on it. Maybe she'll agree with other opinions, maybe she won't, but she comes away from the book with her own feelings about it.

J.K. Rowling once said that a young girl standing in a signing line was a little upset that there were so many other people there, that she felt Harry Potter was her book. I love that! And it's one of the reasons that I sometimes have a hard time with audio versions- it's like the reader is intruding on my experience or something. I know, weird.

The reason I bring all of this up is because I was thinking the other day about one of my very favorites, The Count of Monte Cristo, and the movie version that came out in 2002. I have loved the book for ages. I suggested it for my local book club, we read it, and then went and saw the movie together. (Should have seen us all, a bunch of married Mormon women, staring at the screen with our mouths agape at James Caviezel).

But other than the eye candy, I was really unhappy with the way the story had been totally altered.

I mean completely.

Why does it have to be that way? Monte Cristo gets a happy ending in the book! Why couldn't Hollywood have stayed true to the story?

It's funny to listen to my kids say, "That didn't happen in the book," when they watch movies. And one of my favorite memories along those lines was when I was first married and my husband had read John Grisham's The Firm. When the movie came out, we sat in the theater with him muttering the that-didn't-happen litany through the whole of it. The reason I was so tickled by this is because my husband isn't a reader.

So, I'd have to say that overall, the book is better than the movie. My Junior English Seminar teacher at Ogden High School once told us that this was true for every movie she'd seen except for the movie adaptation of A Separate Peace. I hated both the book and the movie, so I can't say I agree with her.

What about you? Can you think of any movies out there that are better than the books? Have you seen a movie adaptation that made your blood boil because it was such a shame they slaughtered your favorite book so much?

Life

2008-10-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

by Marsha Ward

Do you ever get the feeling that you're drowning in all life has brought to you?

That's how I feel today. I thought last week was bad, when a dear friend died. I thought yesterday was bad, when I got a rejection on a major piece of writing. Then today's news happened, out of the blue with a phone call, and I have some things to really cry about.

Sometimes I wish I were a turtle and could pull my head in and ignore the world. That's not gonna happen, though. I've got to buck up and muddle through everything. Wish me luck!

Keyword Articles

2008-10-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

I told my husband the other day that we should sell our house. So what if the economy is slow, house prices have dropped and we really don't want to move? I know how to sell the house, every last detail from putting in on the market to preparing it for an open house. I even know the steps to a successful closing! I also know how to repeat keywords so they don't sound repetitive.

Yeah, I just finished a series of keyword articles on selling a home. Now I'm working on the wonders of Utah. I'm no sports fan, but I can now tell you the names of every professional and semi-professional sports team in Utah, what they play and where. I can also tell you that the Utah Jazz originated in New Orleans in the 70s and moved to Salt Lake City in 1979 where John Stockton and Karl Malone earned names for themselves, but I won't bore you with the details.
Some of it has actually been fun and educational ... oh, and it's a paying job ... and now I'm exhausted.

I just updated the online calendar for the chamber and can tell you every upcoming event in the Cedar City area from now until Christmas. Anyone coming to visit soon? I'll direct you to the right location. How about a bonfire and smores at Brian Head on Christmas Eve? Sounds fun to me, but cold ... too cold.

I think soon ... very soon ... I'll be ready to get lost in a good book and I just happen to have one started in my Word program.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

2008-10-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

posted by Marsha Ward - In this time of grave concern about political and judicial assaults upon the institution of the family, I thought it was appropriate to remind or inform our readers of the following.

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

"We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

"All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

"In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

"The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

"We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

"Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

"The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

"We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

"We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Grandma Love

2008-10-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

By Tamra Norton

Last week I experienced something truly amazing--the birth of my first grandbaby. I was able to be with my daughter when she gave birth, and even though I've been through the process seven times myself, it was a completely new experience in the role of Grandma. Here was my baby having a baby. I was terrified, overjoyed, and everything in between. But my baby did great, and her baby is absolutely incredible--I'm sure the most brilliant grandbaby in the universe. (But I'm not prejudice or anything...)

Exhausted

2008-10-20T21:26:00.001-07:00

I know it's my blog day, but it's been a long one ... Short and sweet: I've had to put my novel aside for a little bit to work on some keyword articles, lots of them. It's a change of pace, but as always I'll be glad to get back to work on what really fulfills me.

I Can't Kill Him

2008-10-19T22:16:00.001-07:00

By Marcia Mickelson

I haven't written in over a week. My BIAM goal is not going well. I have to kill one of my characters, and I just don't think I can do it. I've researched several times the symptoms of his death. I know exactly how he's going to die and why he has to, but as I sit down to write that scene, I can't kill him.

I'm so close to finishing this book; less than 10,000 words to go. All I have to do is kill him. I don't think I've killed any of my characters before. In Reasonable Doubt, one of the characters is already dead as the book opens, so I don't think that counts.

This is the first time I've had to kill someone, and I think that's the reason I'm having some writer's block. I really want to finish this book, and my goal was to have it done by the end of the month. I don't think it's going to happen. He still needs to die and I will do it, but I just don't know when. Maybe I need a few more days off and then I'll try again.

Greatness vs. Mediocrity

2008-10-17T00:04:00.001-07:00

When I was 17 years old, I had my wisdom teeth removed over a long weekend from school and my parents rented the movie, "Amadeus." Imagine me bawling my guts out with a swollen face as they dump Mozart's body into a common grave and then poor that guck all over it to make it decompose faster.

Yeah. Nice wisdom teeth memory.

But what has stuck with me from that movie is the whole concept of Greatness vs. Mediocrity. Here we have Salieri, a nice enough composer, who is forever coming in second, (or third, or fourth), to Mozart, who was lecherous and scandalous. Salieri was a God-fearing man who couldn't comprehend that God would put such incredible talent into what he perceives as such a sinful vessel.

At the end of the movie, we are led to assume that Salieri poisoned Mozart and Salieri is in an "insane assylum" for trying to end his own life. He is wheeled down the hallway with his throat all bandaged and is basically calling himself the king of mediocrity as all of the other unfortunate inmates are running around half-crazed.

For YEARS that scene has haunted me as a writer. At times I have found it almost paralyzing as I try to write stories knowing full well that there are so many works of genius in the world that the best I can ever hope for is to be someday wandering around with a bandaged throat and calling myself the Queen of Mediocrity.

Somehow I've managed to stumble through this funky mind block and produce a few books. Some have been well received by readers, others have not appreciated my efforts so much. I've reached the point where my skin has thickened a bit and I'm able to try to focus my attention on all of the people who have said positive things about what I've tried to do.

But still! I'm no Chaim Potok. I'm no Dickens or Austen or Bronte. I'm no Barbara Kingsolver or Kaye Gibbons or Sandra Dallas. I'm no Tom Clancy or Stephen King or my personal hero, Frederick Douglass. So where does that leave me? What am I to do with that?

I'll tell you what.

I had an incredible epiphany a couple of years ago. I was thinking about classical music and how much of it leaves me in a real downer. I've played piano since the age of 8 and had a mother who loved classical music, so I'm no stranger to a lot of it. But man, some of it depresses me so much. Mozart is rarely an exception to this, for me. So as I was loading some music onto an iPod a while back, I loaded Vivaldi, some Handel and three select pieces of Grieg for their sentimental value, having grown up with a Norwegian mother who was often homesick.

NO MOZART.

I realized that as brilliant as he was, and as much of a genius as he was, I didn't want him on my iPod. Other than his Queen of the Night Aria, he depresses the blazes out of me!

And I started to realize something else. If I had only a few reading choices left to me in this life, as much as I admire Dickens, I don't think I'd pick him. Don't even know that I'd pick Potok, whom I love. I'd pick some fun, escape fiction.

*GASP*

Genre fiction? That's my choice if stranded on a desert island? Yes. (Aside from the scriptures, which is a given. I mean, come on). I would choose something that would lift my mood and spirits, and for me, genre fiction- romance, thrillers, mystery- that does it for me.

So while Mozart is indeed a genius and beloved by so many, and he deserves to be, he's not my favorite. And it's ok. And it's ok that I'm not a writing genius. I've received a few emails and letters here and there from people who say I've given them some reading enjoyment and it warms my heart like no other. I've been able to give people a few hours of reading pleasure and provide for them the same kind of experience I love to have as a reader. I am at peace with my talents and my limitations. I hope to live another 40 or 50 years and continue to improve my craft. I absolutely love what I do and that is such a blessing.

I guess, in the end, even if I am wheeled around in a crappy old wheelchair and moving my hand in circles like the queen at my mediocrity subjcts, I can die happy knowing that for a little bit, I helped someone escape and have a fun reading experience. I lifted a mood for a bit.

Like Vivaldi. :-)

At it Again...

2008-10-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

So I've been at it again, making little movies on my home computer to share trips with others. As it got cold outside I had to revisit my Samoa photos and today, a trip to Kolob.

We love to hike and one of our favorite places to go is Kolob Canyon! Ah, so pretty, prettier than through the main entrance of Zion National Park, of which it is a part. We've hiked this particular trail several times, in the summer, winter and fall. It started as a research trip for a novel and became a favorite place.

I took lots of landscape photos the first time out ... did I ever mention I love photography? Anyway, it's a hike to the double arch alcove. Anyone been there? It's about five miles round trip, but it's not too hard. My six year old has done it twice.

There's another hike up Kolob we're thinking of taking soon, it's over 20 miles up the canyon, where you spend the night rustic style and hike back again. Of course, we'd leave the littler ones home and wait for it to warm up before we commit!

I'm always looking for great places to go hiking and visiting. What are your favorite spots to travel?

You Stay Here

2008-10-12T15:16:00.001-07:00

By Marcia Mickelson

Here's my three year old hugging his cousin. It's funny how the exact same phrase can mean different things in different circumstances. When he doesn't want me to leave the house, he'll say, "Mom, you stay here."

A few weeks ago, my parents were visiting and they wanted to take him to Burger King while the other two were at school. I was helping him into his car seat and he said to me, "Mom, you stay here." He didn't want me to go with them; he wanted special time with Grandma and Grandpa. That was fine by me. I had somewhere to go anyway.

It just makes me laugh that the exact same phrase meant two different things.

Things to do Before I Turn Thirty

2008-10-10T22:50:00.000-07:00

by Elodia Strain

Back in college my friends and I were big fans of the TV show Friends. One epiode I remember well is: “The One Where They All Turn Thirty--” which shows the characters’ thirtieth birthdays. In this episode, Phoebe, who was always my favorite of the female characters, spends her day catching up on her list of things she wanted to do before she turned thirty.

Well, this month I celebrated my birthday. And, since I’m now a lot closer to thirty than I am to twenty, I thought it might be fun to start my own list of things I want to do before I reach this milestone birthday.

Here are a few of the things on my list:

Write a book that gets reviewed by Kirkus Reviews

Go to Hawaii

Watch my favorite movies in Spanish

Know enough about my iPod that I don’t have to ask my husband for help anymore

Know the moves on my favorite dance-workout DVDs as well as the instructor

Re-read the classics I read in high school

Go on more adventures with my husband

Find the perfect pair of jeans

Be able to lower my heels completely in yoga’s Downward Dog pose

Learn at least one song on the guitar

Become a favorite aunt

Design and sew my own grocery totes

And finally, because I believe in shooting for the stars, become the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question

So what’s on your list? What do you want to do before you turn 30, 40, 50, 60, 70?

Location, location, location

2008-10-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

Not long ago I read a discussion some fellow authors were having about how they see strangers in a crowd and begin to imagine stories about that person. I could relate to this author oddity, which is probably shared by a lot of other imaginative people as well, but I realized that even stronger for me than people is the setting.

How strange! When stories are all about characters, why is the biggest trigger for me the place? I don't really know. All I know is when I see an old Victorian home that could be fantastically beautiful but looks slightly eerie, I imagine all kinds of gothic romance. That slight twinge of scary along with the promise of a brave heroine and a tortured but dashing hero who will be ultimately emotionally saved by that brave heroine...Ah! Such good stuff!

The first four books I wrote are what I call Romantic Adventures. I don't know anyone in real life who would have these things happen to them. But so much of these books, to me, were the settings. I picked places I want to go see. The first, Love Beyond Time, was a Civil War time travel. (A noble enough first effort, but kind of hokey). The second, No Time for Love, takes place in London, Greece and South America. The third, (my personal favorite and is now, ironically enough, out of print), A Time for the Heart is set on an archaeological dig in Guatemala, and the fourth, Echoes, (recently re-released and available wherever fine books are sold), takes place in Savannah, Georgia and the Tuscany region of Italy.

Now, of course, I do extensive character sketching and back story in my personal notes before I ever even begin to write a book. I plot like crazy and make notes to myself to keep all the twists and turns straight. But oh, how I love the setting. And as a reader, with a delicious setting I can almost forgive weak characters or silly plotting. Weeelll, maybe that's actually stretching things a bit, but you see what I mean.

How about you? Where does setting fall in your list of priorities, either as a reader or a writer?

Six Words

2008-10-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

Save the Family - Save the World!

~Marsha Ward

Dashner Does Houston

2008-10-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

By Tamra Norton

My good buddy James Dashner, author of The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters, published by Shadow Mountain came to H-town for a week of school visits and Barnes&Noble events, so of course, I insisted he stay at "Hotel Norton" while he had events in the northern parts of my fair city.

Knowing James was coming and doing his presentation to a bajillion elementary schools, I asked if he wouldn't mind doing his presentation for the homeschoolers and others in my area. After a quick visit with the lovely Rebecca Denham, YA librarian at the awesome Barbara Bush Branch of the Harris County Public Library, the gig was scheduled, and I was psyched. I've seen James in action numerous times--even team taught a few classes with him--so I knew his presentation would be fantastic and get the kids pumped about reading, writing, and "Changing the World"--the theme of his book tour. He did that, and more!

I don't want to give away too much of James' presentation, but if you've ever been curious about what The Dude looks like in tights... Well, I've already said too much. But here are some photos, complements of the incredible and lovely Sunbum.

Me, James and my two youngest kiddos.

Every kid went home with an autographed poster.
And a bookmark!

The maaaahvelous Sunbum (my adopted daughter, if her mom would let me) and her fave author.

"Friends of the Library" not only had books for sale, but a nice spread of cookies, fruit and vegetable trays, punch and even cheese (which James gobbled up before anyone arrived).

What happens when James eats too much cheese!

James and me at Nauvoo Books--the rockin'-est bookstore in Houston!

Come back again, James...but maybe not during hurricane season! :)

Halloween ...

2008-10-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

Halloween ... again? It's coming and I've committed to dressing up, again. Okay, so I had a ball last year, but can't quite figure out how to top the costume. I mean how can you top a punk rock outfit and blue hair?

My daughter picked out the clothes at our local D.I. and my best friend did my hair ... oh, she's an abstract artist ... a good one, so you can imagine! We were actually going for a mohawk, but no amount of gel could keep it upright, so we settled for this peacock looking do.

Now? Well, we've entertained multiple ideas. One friend has already ordered a French maid outfit, but that's not quite something I can even imagine! We've even talked of going as the Spazmatics, but seriously, who wants to dress up as a nerd? Oh well, a few more weeks and a couple more trips to second-hand stores and something will have to surface.

Anybody have any grand ideas?