A Little Inspiration

I've been dealing with some issues the past few days that have cause a lot of depression and tears. I thought about skipping today's blog because I didn't feel like being creative or thinking of anything to post, but then thought I'd share a video. While searching, I found this one. It not only helped me realize that everything is going to be okay with me, but gave me hope. If there are any of you who are having a bad day or feeling a little down, I hope this will help you know . . . you are NOT alone.

Review: An Angel on Main Street by Kathi Oram Peterson

My first impression when I first picked up this book was: Is this an inspirational story about a mysterious person doing random acts of kindness?

So I snuggled into bed and turned to the first page and read.

All at once, I was whisked into a boy's world where he struggled with previous life's choices and made the commitment to walk brighter pathways. Suddenly, he is faced with many trials that could possibly lead him into relapses while others believe he has lost his way. It wasn't until I was five pages into the story that I realized that I did not know his name! As soon as that thought hit me, I put the book down, surprised.

Yes, Kathi is that good a writer. I felt as if I knew Micah Conners already without the introduction of his name. I was already drawn into the story, the characters, the setting, the theme. I was hooked.

As I read, I hoped that Micah would make good choices so as to avoid the heartache of consequences that follow from poor decisions. I cheered him when he had the strength to walk away from potentially precarious situations. I wept with him when his heart broke from lost hope. My heart warmed for him when he finally found faith and peace in his shambled world.

I am rather impressed with Kathi's gift of slipping into Micah's head and making him come alive. His emotions and thoughts and feelings remained true and so believable it had me laughing in certain parts and crying in others.

Just as in real life, the closer Micah drew to his goal, the more tangled life became. With the stout heart of a warrior, he fought for his beliefs and grew stronger from them though he felt lost and alone and afraid.

This story is so wrought with faith, courage, and strength, that I am making it a part of my family's Christmas celebration this year.

Kathi is holding fun contest called An Angel in Your Life Contest. The contest ends on December 15th. All you need to do is email her at kathiorampeterso@yahoo.com and share an experience you have had with someone who became an angel in your life! Kathy says "this contest celebrates the selfless, kind acts performed daily, many times unnoticed. If you are like me, many people have helped you through times of trouble. Let's face it, life is tough and the small acts of kindness shown to us by others needs to be remembered and celebrated especially during the holidays. Christmas brings out the best in people and I wanted to give others the opportunity to thank those who have touched their lives in a profound way. Hopefully this contest will remind us of the angels in our lives."

The winner will be announced on her blog. Both the winner and an "Angel" will be given a gift certificate from either Seagull Book or Deseret Book.

Kathy has asked that I share her book trailer with you--I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!


So, where does the angel part come into play you ask? Find out for yourself and add this wonderful story to your family Christmas tradition. May this wonderful story warm your heart as it has mine!

I Love Rebecca J. Carlson

I am on vacation this week and was going to email Rebecca to see if she would write a post for me this week. (Oh, I'm switching with Elizabeth BTW.) And before I could write her she sent me a funny guest post. Thanks so much Rebecca!! So here it is:

Your Security Certificate Has Expired

I couldn't get Gmail to work on my computer this afternoon. Firefox kept telling me the site wasn't secure. Baloney! I uninstalled Firefox and tried again, just in case something had gotten buggy.It still didn't work! My husband came over to help. In the "Untrusted Connection" window, he clicked on the technical details.
Here's what it told us:

www.google.com uses an invalid security certificate.
The certificate expired on 3/27/2010 3:20 PM."Expired in 2010?

It hasn't expired yet! What's it talking about?" I asked.My husband suggested, "Looks like we have a problem with the computer's internal clock."

"Oh!" I gasped, moaned, and then buried my face in my hands. "That's it! I set the date on the computer to June 2086! That's when my book happens, and I wanted to know what dates went with what days of the week."

So if I didn't answer your e-mail today, it's only because I left my computer 77 years in the future.

-- Rebecca J. Carlson
Looking for a good book?
http://rebeccasrecommendedreads.blogspot.com

Self Care is not Selfish

At times I tend to get caught up in everything I have to do. This week I have needed the reminder to take care of myself.

Self-care is a basic gospel principle. Even the common phrase "Love thy neighbor as thyself" denotes that we must first love ourselves, then serve others.

In order to give all we have to give means we must first be whole. In order to love and accept love from others we must first love ourselves.

Here's my suggestion: Take some time just for yourself this week. Away from your hubby, children, and yes, even those voices in your head. Do something just for you. Take a nap. Read a book. Take a bath. Go shopping. It's rejuvinating! And when you come back a happier person all those other little voices will thank you for it!

Spreading the FLU

***Before I begin I just want to add an update :) It's been 2 weeks since our new edition, Jefferson 7lbs 15 oz. and 21"long, came to our family and things are becoming "normal" again (which really means that things will happily never be the same again and we are adjusting well. For a 6th child he is an exceptionally easy baby.)!

Spreading the FLU
As I write my crafting books, create new designs and fabric patterns (to be soon submitted to fabric houses) I have discovered something amazing in my home and in the homes of those my family is close to!
My Children have caught the creative flu! My oldest daughter (13 yrs), as you have heard, has started writing her own stories (and has written almost 200 pages of her first book so far and is almost ready for a rewrite), she has also created many fabric designs as well (they are quite good), and is sewing up a storm plus creating her own patterns. This creativity has spread to her best friend, who has begun to write her own book and is reading more because of my daughters influence.
It doesn't stop there! Creativity is like a wild fire or better yet..the swine flu! It's highly contagious! My 7 year old daughter is writing her own story, crafting, drawing and even creating her own purse patterns. It has recently spread to my two sons (8 years and 11 years). They are drawing daily and creating homemade costumes of there own design and construction. I have also seen this creativity flu seize my sister!
All of you have contracted your own kind of creativity flu! I call it "Writers Flu".
Symptoms may include but not limited to:

• hearing voices in your head
• grabbing a pencil and paper or heading towards your computer at all hours of the day or night
• an intense need to share your thoughts and feelings or the thoughts and feelings of your characters with a computer/or write them on paper

This creativity flu is highly contagious and is sure to rub off on all who know you. The main thing is that your talents influence the lives of others. You may see it and you may never know it but you touch others lives daily with your talent. You are following and pursuing your dreams with each sentence you write!!! That energy is catching and enlivens people..influences people.. and even gives purpose to those who thought they had none.
It doesn't stop there! When your writing comes out and others read it, their lives will be forever changed. If your words are clean, uplifting and thought provoking; you will again influence and touch lives. So write, create, be free.! That is your God given talent and you will change not only your life and give it purpose but you will change the lives of all those around you!
Our new baby Jefferson, 2 weeks

The Dream Comes True!

After much thought and prayer and just weeks before my agent took my book: The Northanger Affect out to NY publishers. ((I bumped Pride & Popularity out, and brought NA up due to the hilarious Jane Austen rewrite of a girl addicted to Twilight theme throughout.)) The Lord reminded me yet, again, to contact Utah's own up and rising Valor Publishing.

Now having just moved my family of 6 1/2 kids from England and settling down in Utah, I was under the impression that I really could've used a large advance, which was the only reason why it took so long to contact Valor in the first place... Yet, deep down I knew that with little or no advance, it meant I would be getting my royalties immediately. Instead of years from now, had a big pub house forked over an advance.

But as of tomorrow, I will signing on with Valor Publishing. And can I just say, that since the very second I hit send on the email, I sent out to their editor Wednesday night, I knew I was doing the right thing. Never had the spirit comfirmed to me so strongly that something was so right.

By Thursday I had an appointment to meet them for lunch on Saturday. By Saturday (yesterday) I walked away knowing as I knew before, that this was where the Lord has needed me and wanted me, with his books, all along.

My release date is set for June 1, 2010--to coincide with the release of Eclipse. I'll be sent on a 21 day/17 city tour to advertise on TV, radio, signings and speaking engagements. It'll be a full schedule. But as they're providing me with a publicist I should be able to keep track of it.

The list goes on and on, with how well they take care of their authors: With Book Trailers, reviews, business cards--even hiring a band for my launch party if I want. LOL! By the way, I'm thinking about doing a Twilight/Jane fangirl bash--what do you think?

Thanks to Christine Bryant (our Staurday MMW writer) who introduced me to the idea of using her publisher months ago, I'm now seeing my dream realized in all the ways I could've hoped--except better!

Yay! To Valor Publishing!

Book Review: An Angel on Main Street

An Angel on Main Street by Kathi Oram Peterson

From back of book:

Micah Connors promised his mother he would be good in their new town. But with Christmas only three days away, being escorted home by the sheriff does not bode well. Can the towering officer be trusted not to tell what happened? Perhaps the ramshackle stable that has appeared on Main Street will sidetrack him from spilling the day’s events — or maybe his interest in Micah’s widowed mother will do the trick.

The last thing Dawn Connors needs is to hear her son is in trouble. She has enough to worry about with her husband gone and her daughter, Annie, ill. Even though Micah has told his sister the rustic structure in the middle of town is simply part of the town’s holiday decorations, Annie is sure that unseen angels are building the crude stable — which means baby Jesus is coming, and he can make her better.

Terrified that his little sister might die, Micah vows to find the baby Jesus for Annie, even if it is only a plastic doll. But as Micah gets nearer to his goal he finds angels are closer than he ever would have believed.

BOOK TRAILER:



BOOK REVIEW: By Christine Bryant

Unbelievably touching. I found Angel on Main Street to be heart warming, original and a perfect addition to our Christmas story reading tradition. I was surprised to find it told from the viewpoint of Micah, a young mischievous boy trying to be the new man of the house after losing his father. He was skipping school and causing trouble one minute and helping his mother take care of his ailing sister the next.

I was also touched by the faith of a little girl who believed the magic and true meaning of Christmas, the baby Jesus, would save her life. Finding Micah doing everything in his power to bring that to pass was both heart wrenching and spiritual fulfilling. Without giving away too much of the story, including the tearful ending, I just have to say you will not be disappointed.

Angel on Main Street has touched my life and the characters will remain in my heart for quite sometime. Well done, Kathi.

* * * * *

Kathi is hosting a contest through December 15th. “To enter, write about an experience you’ve had with someone who became an angel in your life. This contest celebrates the selfless, kind acts performed daily, many times unnoticed. If you are like me, many people have helped you through times of trouble. Let’s face it, small acts of kindness shown to us by others needs to be remembered and celebrated especially during the holidays. Christmas brings out the best in people and I wanted to give others the opportunity to thank those who have touched their lives in a profound way. Hopefully this contest will remind us of the angels in our lives” (Kathi Oram Peterson.)

You can enter by emailing Kathi here. The winner will be announced on Kathi’s blog, and both the winner and their “Angel” will be awarded a gift certificate to either Seagull Book or Deseret Book.

To purchase your copy of Angel on Main Street, click HERE!

My Inner Two-Year Old

I've been doing alot of research on writer's block, and working through the low points. The biggest thing I'm learning is that there is alot of mental work that goes into writing. You have to be in tune with your inner self. Lots of books and writers sometimes refer to thier creative side as the child within. The child loves to play and have fun. But when you try to make them work they suddenly turn petulant or find something else to do. That description seemed to accurately describe my problem lately. I've been so wrapped up in the fact that I need to work, work, work to get published. I'm quite ok with working hard for it. But somewhere along the way I forgot to enjoy it. I forgot to find happiness in it. As a result, writing has been like pulling teeth. My inner two year old has dug in her heels and she's not budging. The more I try to bully her out of the corner the more she hides.

Another person i met virtually at The Muse Online Writers Conference is Tamlyn Leigh. (Don't you just love her name?) She has a blog that helps writers find their bliss. She also had a class where she assigned us all to write about our inner two year olds. She had us describe their reactions to writing, their likes and dislikes. So I'm going to introduce you all to my inner two year old. (BTW, the picture is really me at about age 3, but I couldn't find any pictures of me at two.)


My inner two year old has brown hair and big brown eyes. She even has little dimples when she smiles. She loves to be happy and play. She hates any form of work. She loves to sing and dance to any song with a beat. She doesn’t care that she’s terrible at both. Demands on her time drives her crazy. When it comes to writing, she loves new stories. She loves the twists and turns and gets absolutely giddy when she writes about a side kick to the head (even though in retrospect, it really wasn’t that funny.) She loves dreaming about authordom, and her published life. Reality is no fun to her. Editing hurts her feelings and has her cowering in the corner as her side kick to the head gets cut. Rejection letters cut her to the quick and leave her refusing to jump through all the hoops, cuz that’s no fun. She needs to be taken by the hand and told that it’s ok. She needs a big hug and to be told that I love her.

My lastest mission is to have fun with my two year old. To let her play, to convince her that even editing is a blast. To find the fun in life.

Feel free to introduce us all to your inner two year old in the comment section. My toddler would love to set up a play date!! I can't wait to meet them all.

Joy in the Journey

I used to think how lucky certain writers were when they signed a contract and became published authors. I would compare myself to them and even murmur, thinking that they had a timely break and hope that I would have an angel swooping down and magically turn me into a published author over night.

I felt forlorn until I took a look at the marketing plan. I thought, wow, of course one would need to work to promote the book to real success!

Since then, I've decided to take one day at a time. I can enjoy the freedom of writing without a deadline--and after doing NaNo (already done my 50K + words), boy I can surely feel the pressure of that.

Why bite my nails and think, "Rats! I want a contract right now! I want my book published right now!" Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? Well, I want to be like the tortoise, enjoying every step of the journey and getting there when I get there. Not to rush the Lord's hand in these things.

That's what it boils down to, is trusting the Lord in all things--even in regards to when I will be published.

Tell me how are you enjoying your journey with writing, where ever it may be?

"Crazy Uncle Joe"

One essential thing to good stories are interesting characters. Especially the lead. So, my question to you is: What makes a character interesting?

Is it their profession? Is it their past experiences? Their personality?

What if you want your main character to be an every day, average Joe? Will that, then, not make a good story?

Think of one of your favorite books and tell me: What makes the MC interesting to you?

I'll start. Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" is full of interesting characters. What makes the two main sisters interesting, though, is how they react in contrast to each other. (The one sensibly, and the other not.)

So... maybe what makes a character interesting is the way in which it relates to the story being told? For example, a cop might not be an interesting character in, say, a story about fairies... but would definitely be a more interesting character in a crime-thriller.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and observations!