Monthly Archives: February 2012

Weekly Book Review: What Happiness Looks Like by Karen Lenfestey

28 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Books, Weekly Book Review

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Book Review and Five Questions

Featuring What Happiness Looks Like by Karen Lenfestey

Joely’s fortune cookie read, “Your past will determine your future.”             Her sister Kate is desperate to assure her future includes a child.

Review by Holly Michael: Kate and Joely became my bffs when I read Karen Lenfestey’s, “A Sister’s Promise.” Karen more than delivers a great read with her second book, “What Happiness Looks Like,” (It’s a solid stand-alone book, if you haven’t read Karen’s first book.)

Picking up “What Happiness Looks Like” was like opening the door to a favorite girlfriend (two in this case). Kate and Joely are back and it’s time to grab a cup of coffee, sit with them, and find out what’s happening in their lives.

While reading “What Happiness Looks Like,” laundry doesn’t get put in the washer and dirty dishes remain in the sink. Karen’s well-defined, very likable characters face real life issues that strike at the heart of every woman. Her well-crafted fast-paced novel urges you to see the sisters through their through struggles and difficult choices, and cheer them on to the last page.

What does happiness look like for Joely? The life she’s living isn’t what she planned for herself. She’s made mistakes, wrong choices, and struggles with Lupus. But, that’s what makes her real. Who can’t relate? Her affair with Jake, her old fiancé (a married man) resulted in Joely conceiving Anna. Now, she’s a single mom, living with her sister. When Anna’s father comes back into their lives, Joely must protect her daughter’s heart in a way she’s not been able to protect her own. Can she trust Jake after he abandoned them and left them broke? Will her past determine her future? She likes another man, who better fits her definition of what happiness looks like.

What does happiness look like for Kate? She’s a career driven counselor, at age forty, battling infertility. Her firm stance on getting pregnant is driving a wedge between Kate and her husband, Mitch. She covets secrets and wonders if she should reveal them to her husband. Like Joely, Kate’s dreams of a happy life, aren’t coming together as she imagined either.

As the sisters resolve to figure out the difference between fairy tales and what they really need in their lives in this heartwarming tale, you’ll keep filling your coffee cup and turning pages until the characters finally discover what their happiness really looks like. The ending does not disappoint.

Holly (Q. 1): Most of your readers will have read your first book, “A Sister’s Promise.” Is “What Happiness Looks Like” a sequel?”

Karen: A Sister’s Promise” is Kate’s story of trying to decide if she’s willing to become a mother despite genetic and personal roadblocks. “What Happiness Looks Like” follows up with Kate and her sister, Joely, a few years later. This time, Joely is the main character facing a personal dilemma when she realizes her life hasn’t turned out at all the way she’d envisioned. It’s a sequel, but readers don’t need to have read “A Sister’s Promise” in order to enjoy “What Happiness Looks Like.”

Holly (Q. 2): Writers often write what they know. How do the characters in both books relate to your life experiences?

Karen: Like Kate, I worked as a high school counselor and that’s why the students Kate encounters seem so real. They’re composites of students I once knew and cared about. Joely is more who I’d like to be–artistic, out-going and upbeat.

Holly (Q. 3): You decided to self-publish and have had fantastic results. Can you share your self-publishing success story?

Karen: I worked on “A Sister’s Promise” for about three years–writing, querying agents and attending writer’s conferences. Fortunately, I received the Midwest Writer’s Fellowship which paired me with a published author as a mentor. Even after a major rewrite of my novel, agents would tell me it was a good story idea with strong writing, but not for them. I published it as an e-book on Amazon and sold over 25,000 copies. I owe a big thanks to my friends who mentioned my book on their Facebook pages and blogs!

Holly (Q. 4): Any advice for an aspiring author?

Karen: This is a wonderful time to be a writer. If you study what makes a good plot and create characters that people care about, you can share your work with the world. I think it’s important to join a critique group to get honest feedback, too. Thanks to technology, you have access to on-line critique groups no matter where you live. I’m fond of the www.internetwritingworkshop.org which is full of talented writers.

Holly (Q. 5): Will we get to devour another book featuring Kate and Joely?

Karen: So many readers have told me they want to know what happens to the sisters. In my next novel, the main character is a friend of Joely’s and is a newlywed whose husband suffers a head injury, which drastically alters his personality. The wife struggles between acceptance, hoping he’ll go back to the way he was, and walking away from the relationship. Please visit my website at www.karensnovels.weebly.com to read the opening chapters of both novels and my semi-humorous “Thoughts on Motherhood” blog. I love to hear from fellow readers and writers. Thanks, Holly, for interviewing me on your blog!

Holly: You’re Welcome! Thanks for the read!

India’s Ancient Roots of Christianity

27 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by in Christianity, India

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During my first visit to India, Shilpa, my niece, handed me a photo. “Christian, Hindu, Muslim,” she said pointing to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. In the photograph, Shilpa, a Christian, and her classmates (Muslim and Hindu) all had roles in their school Christmas pageant. (That’s me and Shilpa to the left. SO to a Shilpa in Bangalore!)

Then, newly married to an Indian native, the photo pleasantly popped one of my preconceived bubbles about India. While I understood Christian missionaries role in evangelizing India, I didn’t realize that, today, many of India’s best schools, hospitals, and social service organizations are run by Christians. And Muslims, Hindus, and those of other faiths study and work alongside Christians in schools and other organizations. Over the years, visiting Christian Holy sites, I’ve been surprised at the faces of various faiths mingled in the crowds.

Ancient Christian roots run deep in India, deeper and more ancient than when the 16th century British arrived to trade under the banner of the East India Company. While the British ruled India for more than two centuries, Christianity first landed on the shores of India with the arrival of St. Thomas the Apostle of Jesus Christ in A.D. 52.

On my first trip to India, my husband and I visited the San Thome Basilica in Chennai, (South India) previously named Madras, (meaning Mother of God).

San Thome is built over the tomb of St. Thomas, who was martyred in India. Only two other basilicas are built over the tomb of an apostle: St. Peter’s in Rome and St. James in Spain (Compestella, Santiago).

Below, my photo of the San Thome sanctuary.

My husband took this photo of me in solemn awe at the tomb of the apostle whom Jesus asked to touch the wounds of his resurrected body and believe.

Recently, while vacationing in Goa (a Portuguese settlement in Western India on the shore of the Arabian Sea) my husband and I visited Bom Jesu (good Jesus) Cathedral.

At this Holy Site, the incorrupt remains of St. Francis Xavier are displayed in a silver casket above a side altar, five hundred years after his death.

I shot the close-up below with a long lens

Altar at Bom Jesus

After leaving Bom Jesu, my husband and I roamed nearby ruins of the Church of St. Augustine, built in 1602 by the St. Augustine Friars. We opened our umbrellas when sudden whooshes of monsoon rains rolled in like a gentle breath.

Over on the shores of the Bay of Bengal in Southern India, a magnificent shrine was built after the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared with Infant Jesus to a Hindu boy under a banyan tree during the sixteenth century.

We visited Our Lady of Velankanni shrine twice. The first time was two weeks after the 2004 tsunami. My husband and I and Vicky Drachenberg (a parishioner), arrived in South India for mission work after our church sponsored a nationwide fundraising event. Though massive devastation surrounded all sides of the church, miraculously, water did not broach the shrine that Sunday morning. Those inside survived.

Our Lady of Velankanni Shrine

A few years after the tsunami, we visited the shrine again. Each September 8th, on the feast of our Lady, pilgrims show up in droves, arriving on their knees at the holy site.

On the same day in September, over in South Central India, a sea of devotees flood the festival at St. Mary’s in Shivaji Nagar, Karnataka.

When people ask my husband, an Anglo-Catholic Bishop in the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite (HCCAR), how long his family has been Christian, he answers, “Probably since the time St. Thomas came to India.”

Christianity is alive and well in India and has been for a very long time.

More on Christianty’s ancient roots: The National Geographic Magazine’s March 2012 issue features, “The Footsteps of the Apostles,” a piece that includes St. Thomas’ journey to India, along with other apostles’ travels.

Sections of my upcoming novel, Crooked Lines follow the trails of Christianity throughout the subcontinent of India.

Machinima: The Next Big Thing in Book Marketing (Animated Book Trailers)

25 Saturday Feb 2012

Posted by in Book Marketing, Guest Blogger

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Guest Blogger: Rhonda Gill

Rest in peace, Oprah’s Book Club. Rest in peace, Borders Group, Inc. Facebook has higher audience numbers than ABC affiliates can count on their collective fingers and toes, and Amazon sells more e-books than hardcover and paperback combined.

This shift in the way people shop for, choose, and purchase books has a direct impact on how we, as writers, reach our audience. Potential buyers might Google the title or author, browse through electronic reviews, and make their decision based solely on how much they learn during a brief web-surfing expedition. Self-published authors and traditional publishing houses alike have scrambled for innovative marketing strategies to promote their books. Word of mouth has morphed into social networking, and websites like Goodreads have become the armchair literati’s go-to resource when it comes to sniffing out the current bestselling titles.

Holly asked me to write about a concept I’m developing, which is animated book trailers produced with professional 3D modeling tools. (Above left is a screenshot of characters in Amanda Borenstadt’s novel, Syzgy.)


(Left on Stonehaven, the machinima was created using The Sims 2. A straight-up machinima film)


The idea of book trailers is not new; quite a few novels already have them. But production costs for quality live-action film puts them out of reach for many authors. What’s unique about my approach is the technology—I don’t need a production team and a cast of actors. With no salaries to pay, I can keep pricing reasonable and still provide a new or self-published author with the same kind of marketing tool implemented by industry moguls.

Do I think animated trailers are appropriate for every novel? No, I don’t. I suspect an author will know instinctively if their work lends itself to 3D rendering. I’m a big fan of photorealism, which means I prefer to work with extremely lifelike media rather than cartoons. Debate rages about this within the animation universe; old school diehards avoid the dreaded “uncanny valley” on pain of death, and the newer generation of animators strives to leap clean over it. I belong the latter camp. It’s hard for me to take a character seriously if their ears (or nose or eyes) are bigger than their fist, or if they’re green or purple and have clown shoes for feet.

That being said, I discovered machinima as a result of my addiction to The Sims 2. Wikipedia defines machinima as “the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production.” In plain English, this means that machinimators hijack existing 3D content from video games and manipulate it to film little movies.

When I grasped the storytelling potential of this medium, I conducted an experiment. I adapted a dear friend’s novel-in-progress to a machinima film using The Sims 2 as my platform. What did I learn? The most important thing was how high interest soared among serious, even scholarly writers. I was stunned. But I also learned that no matter how cleverly one hacks the game files or how innovative the customization might be, Sims still look goofy to the uninitiated.

When considered alongside legal issues that could arise from commercial use of an EA Games product, the dodgy graphics generated by the Sims 2 game engine convinced me to research other options. The two dedicated machinima software applications on the market now are Moviestorm and Reallusion’s iClone. I prefer iClone because it is almost one hundred percent customizable, with photorealistic rendering and extremely lifelike animation capability, including a MoCap plugin that works with standard Xbox Kinect technology. To put it simply, in the right hands, iClone software can produce extremely realistic 3D animation. Plus, it’s royalty-free, which means I own all rights to any work product generated using that software.

Along with filming a project for other writers comes the need to create content specific for their characters and story. For this I use 3DS Max, which is sold by Autodesk. This software is as powerful and professional as it gets, which is good. It also has a nearly insurmountable learning curve, which is bad. Especially for someone like me, who has no formal training in digital arts.

Still, I’m already backlogged until September with requests for book trailers. So am I excited about this? You bet I am. Not only because of potential benefit to me, but because of the doors this might open for indie writers and publishers around the world. I can’t guarantee that animated book trailers are the Next Big Thing. But I do believe they’ll play a role in tomorrow’s publishing world.

I’m blogging about my experiences with iClone and 3ds Max at www.dolittlesaymuch.wordpress.com

For more information about machinima: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinima

Amanda Borenstadt’s blog

Location. Location. Location. Description. Description. Description.

23 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in Best Web Sites for Writers, Inspiration

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Frothy whitecaps shimmer under a pale disc of a moon as waves crash onto the shoreline and cascade like thunder over my ankles. A continuous oceanic roar swallows my acclamations of awe.

Words can hardly describe the majestic beauty of many places I’ve been blessed to visit, but as a writer, I wrest the best sensory descriptions from my mind onto pages. The scene described above was in Goa, India at midnight on the shore of the Arabian Sea.

Consider another beach scene. Crystal blue water merges into snow-white sands while sheep rest under rocky outcrops. Iona, Scotland, one of the most beautiful places in the world. Below photos by me.

Come away from the sea to ancient ruins in Walsingham, England. Breath musky fragrances along ivy-lined paths and twiggy thickets. (see my photo in my header. That’s from Walsingham. I also took this photo there.

I can’t even find words to describe the vivid colors of nature in Kent, Connecticut in Autumn.  Here’s a photo I snapped.

The Wind River Canyon in Wyoming must have been carved by the breath of God. You can’t just drive through it. You have to stop at the turn-outs, let go of the air in your lungs, and whisper, “wow!”

Thanks to God and to my wonderful husband I’ve been able to visit these and many other incredible places. Sometimes the grandeur of the locale laughs at my words that dare to describe it’s beauty.

Even photographs can’t do justice to what the eye sees. From Tiger Hills, India, watching the sun appear over the Kanchenjunga-one of the highest peaks of the Himalayas-and turn the white snow-capped mountains to gold is well…sorry no words. But I can tell you a place that helps me find words when I’m at a loss. The Bookshelf Muse.

I’ve incorporated a lot of my visits all around India in my novel, Crooked Lines. Look at this picture.

It’s mist falling on a Tamil Nadu hill-station around my husband and our nieces and nephews. Isn’t my niece Shilpa, cute? She’s a sweetheart.

Hazy whiteness and curls of smoky air currents obscure the surroundings. Muted light and color can hide movement. Cool dewy sensation to the skin.

The words above are lifted from The Bookshelf Muse Blog. The website is chock-full of inspiration. I can replace the word “surroundings” with my own words. I can play with the words, using my own creativity.

I’m a stalker at The Bookshelf Muse. I peek at the Settings Thesaurus, check out the Weather Thesaurus, linger at the Symbolism Thesaurus, creep around the Color Texture and Shape Thesaurus, and park myself at the Emotion Thesaurus until I cry in amazement at the words the site inspires me to string together. The Bookshelf Muse provides a plethora of help for any writer.

So, if you travel or even if you don’t, take The Bookshelf Muse wherever your journey takes you. And journey back to www.writingstraight.com too. It’s a great place to visit. One of my favorites.

Ash Wednesday and Hashtags

22 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Inspiration, Social Media Information

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Today, my forehead bears a mysterious ash mark, a symbol of repentance and seeking God’s forgiveness and also a reminder of my mortality and hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

My incoming tweets also bear a mysterious mark. The hashtag (#)

The Bible tells us in Joel 2:12, 13: “…Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.”

Now that’s good news!

The news about hashtags? Google tells me the # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It’s a way to categorize messages. You can use the hashtag symbol before relevant keywords in your Tweet to categorize Tweets in Twitter Searches. Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message will show you all other Tweets in that category. You can use them anywhere in the tweet and often these hashtagged words become Trending Topics. An example is @hollymichael #writingstraight.com.

Now, I understand that #writingstraight.com is now a link to search results for all Tweets containing “#writingstraight.com” in the message. While I’d love for my blog to become a trending topic and have eternal life, I’m even more excited about me, Holly Michael, having eternal life.

Weekly Book Review: Ghost on Black Mountain by Ann Hite

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Books, Weekly Book Review

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Weekly Book Review and Five Questions

Featuring: Ghost on Black Mountain by Ann Hite

ONCE A PERSON LEAVES THE MOUNTAIN, THEY NEVER COME BACK, NOT REALLY. THEY’RE LOST FOREVER.

Nellie Clay married Hobbs Pritchard without even noticing he was a spell conjured into a man, a walking, talking ghost story. But her mama knew. She saw it in her tea leaves: death. Folks told Nellie to get off the mountain while she could, to go back home before it was too late. Hobbs wasn’t nothing but trouble. He’d even killed a man. No telling what else. That mountain was haunted, and soon enough, Nellie would feel it too. One way or another, Hobbs would get what was coming to him. The ghosts would see to that. . . .

Review by Holly Michael: Just for fun, I read Ann Hite’s Ghost on Black Mountain under the covers on Halloween night. As a Christian who almost never reads ghost stories, this book shattered my bias. This masterfully crafted work of literary fiction is a cross-over meant for all. If you delight in eerie ghost stories, this book is a must read. For those who only read Christian fiction, the teachings of Christ sparkle on the pages of this book like jewels hidden between the lines. Ann Hite pulls you into the character’s lives and hearts and weaves a compelling spooky mountain tale that haunts you (in a good way) long after you’ve finished the read.

The main character, young and naïve Nellie Pritchard, meets Hobbs Pritchard while serving in a church food line in depression-era North Carolina. Then, the trouble begins for sweet Nellie.

Ann Hite breaks her novel into six parts, told from the point of view of women connected to the charismatic Hobbs Prichard. Each woman’s viewpoint allows us to better understand Nellie, her choices, and her life on Black Mountain. Nellie is warned by the living and the dead to escape from the mountain and from Hobbs, but she mistakenly holds onto love and vows and the good only she sees in her husband, while she puzzles together the truth.

Themes of abuse and love, the powerful and the weak, forgiveness and revenge are beautifully woven into this tale. Mystical settings, eerie atmosphere, beautiful prose and characters with depth unite in this delightful unforgettable tale.

Five Author Questions for Ann Hite:

Holly Q 1: Ghost on Black Mountain was released by Gallery Books an imprint of Simon & Schuster September 13, 2011. Is this your first novel?

Ann: This is my first published novel. My first written novel became a semi-finalist in the ABN Contest in 2009. I’ve tucked it away in a drawer for now. I think all aspiring novelists have to write at least one book they put away. It’s how we learn to write a novel. But I do intend to pull it out one day and give it some Black Mountain magic.

Holly Q. 2: Your Genre weaves literary fiction with Southern Gothic folk-lore and the paranormal. How did you choose this genre?

Ann: I would say that it chose me. But I have a great love for literary fiction and being from the part of the South soaked in folklore and ghost stories, this part came naturally. When I was young I loved a ghost story better than watching TV. There is a family story of murder and spells. I’ve always believed this to be the beginning of my fiction writing love.

Holly Q. 3: What recognition has the book received?

Ann: I’m excited to say Ghost On Black Mountain is one of the ten finalist, out of fifty entries, for the Townsend Prize given every two years to what is deemed the best fiction, and Ghost was nominated for Best First Novel for the Georgia Writer’s Association’s Annual Awards. Head spinning stuff for this fifty-four year old writer who wondered if she would ever crack big publisher’s code. But it truly a matter of writing and rewriting and never giving up. A good book will get noticed in its own time.

Holly Q. 4: Did you ever consider self-publishing?

Ann: When I decided I wanted to be a published novelist, I did my research of the publishing business. I read books that publishers bought. I studied the stats in both traditional and self publishing. I decided I wouldn’t be happy unless a publisher, preferably a large one, wanted to buy my book. I decided if I believed in my book than I should wait out and not give up. After thirty-something rejections and an almost with a small publisher, Simon & Schuster made me an offer. There is this illusion out there that the big publishing houses spend tons of money on promotion. And they do with some books they know are going to be successful, famous memoirs being one category. A novelist with any publisher has to willing to do a lot of work themselves. Being with a large publisher opens doors that smaller publishers or self-publishing authors can’t open. This helps to spread the word to readers a lot faster. For me this was the right decision.

Holly Q. 5: Any advice for aspiring authors?

Ann: Write. So often writers get caught up in groups and discussions to the point they spend all their writing time debating whether to use a period or a comma. They research to the point that they forget to get started writing. Anything to keep from writing. It’s so much more fun to talk about writing. But what it comes down to is placing one’s bottom in the chair each and every day. Turn off the internet. Unplug your land-line. Hide your cell. Write. Don’t think about whether the writing is good enough or not, just write. The more you write the better you become. And finally, read. Yes READ! There seems to be more and more aspiring writers that seem to find the time to read. How will one ever be their best at writing without reading? Every day I make time to read. It’s part of my job ;).

Website for Ann Hite

Guest Author Rich Maffeo: The Write Mission

20 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by in Guest Blogger

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The Write Mission

Could God use you in a writing ministry? Perhaps the idea of writing for Him has crossed your mind a time or two, but you’re not quite sure where to begin. This essay will help point you in the right direction.

Starting out. The most difficult part of writing is often knowing what to write about. Some of the best advice I ever received as a new writer was, “write what you know.” That counsel has helped me generate and publish nearly one hundred and fifty articles in Christian magazines across the country.

What do you know? You might start with your testimony, sharing with readers why you committed your life to Jesus Christ. When your testimony is published, thousands of people will have an opportunity to “read all about it.” Perhaps one of those readers will say to herself, “If God could forgive that lady after all she did, surely He can also forgive me.”

Your testimony is not the only thing you can share with others. Think how your life is full of experiences through which God has taught you more about Himself. Have you struggled with a difficult situation and found His strength to endure? Others need to hear about it. Why? Because not everyone who prays for work finds that job they’ve prayed for. Loved ones die no matter how many churches beseech God for healing. Families divide regardless of the prayers lifted to God’s throne for reconciliation. Christians from all walks of life suffer almost unbearable heartache, but do so with Christ’s ever present help in their time of trouble. And His presence makes all the difference in the world to them. If you are one of those who have been so “encouraged” then God can use you to encourage others. The apostle Paul understood the benefit such suffering and subsequent sharing can be for the Body of Christ when he wrote: Blessed be God… who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort them who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted of God (2 Corinthians 1:3).

Or perhaps you could re-tell the story of some great missionary or evangelist of earlier centuries and slant it toward young readers. Do you have a gift to weave tales? Try your hand at Christian fiction. The things about which a person can write are limited only by his imagination.

Study the Market. By reading examples of what publishers want, you will learn how to form ideas into articles acceptable to editors. When you study the magazines, take note of the types of articles they usually print. Are they personal experiences? How-to’s? Humor? Devotions? How are their testimonies handled? If you don’t have access to a particular magazine for which you would like to submit an article, write the editor requesting a recent issue or two. Resources such as The Christian Writers’ Market Guide (check your public library, or order a copy from online booksellers) lists addresses and requirements to receive back issues.

Join a Workshop. Join an on-line writer’s workshop where you can submit your work for free critique by other members of the group. I belonged to this one for several years and highly recommend it: http://www.internetwritingworkshop.org/. You can also conduct your own internet search for online writers’ workshops and find many others.

Expect Rejection. Rejection comes with the territory. Rejections do not necessarily mean your article is trash. Sometimes there’s just no telling why one editor will reject a perfectly good manuscript, and another will pay you for permission to publish it without any changes. So when your form-letter rejection slip arrives in the mail, review the manuscript and make whatever changes you think may be necessary. Then send it out to another magazine.

Be organized. Keep good records, especially noting who you sent what and when you sent it. This is important not only so you don’t send the same manuscript to two different editors without realizing it, but if you are successful in your ministry, you will need accurate records of expenses and sales when you prepare for the April 15 deadline each year.

Writing for the Lord can be a very fruitful ministry and mission. For example, some magazines have circulations of 10,000 to more than 100,000 readers. Think how many people could be encouraged in their faith, or how many non-believers might re-think their rebellion and turn to Christ after reading your article.

So put your thoughts down on paper, polish what you’ve written, re-read it and polish some more and then submit it to a magazine editor. And may God bless your ministry for Him.

Rich Maffeo’s blog, Rich Maffeo’s Website, Rich Maffeo’s Books

Rich Maffeo Bio: I was born into a Jewish home in 1950. Twenty-two years later, I discovered Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, and I served Him in evangelical Protestant churches for more than thirty-two years. During those years I read the Bible dozens of times. In 2005 I was received into the Catholic Church after reading the Scriptures which better defined for me Catholic faith and teaching.

NFL Aspirations and Novelist Dreams: Follow the fairytales as they come true

19 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in Football, Jake Byrne

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I don’t remember the dream, only the worried face that popped into it. Jake. My four-year-old. Why was his face in my dream? Minutes later, a tap on my shoulder woke me.

“Had a bad dream, Mom,” Jake said.

I lifted the covers, pulled Jake close, and kissed the top of his head, amazed at this strange connection that allowed my son’s fears to travel from his dreams into mine.

Mom’s have connections like that with their children. Sometimes a prickle of worry regarding one of my kids will flash in my mind like a sudden rainstorm pocking up a calm lake. I stop, drop, and pray. Most times, I discover those feelings were on the mark, and my child needed prayers.

Jake had dreams of becoming an NFL player. What little boy doesn’t? Then as a sophomore in high school, he was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Jake refused to accept it as an obstacle. He wanted to play football on a college scholarship. He pushed himself hard: extra workouts, more discipline, never missing a practice. Jake gave his diabetes and his football dreams to God.

“Maybe God want’s me to have diabetes for a greater purpose,” Jake often expressed.

For the last last four years I’ve watched Jake start as a tight end for the Wisconsin Badgers. (Jake Byrne #82) Now, Jake has an agent and a good shot at the NFL.

Like my son, I proclaimed lofty dreams when I was a child. I wanted to be a novelist. I held onto that goal, learning and improving my writing skills in spite of rejection letters and self-doubt obstacles along my path toward publication. Now, an agent is reading my novel.

Jake and I aren’t sitting back, biting our nails as we wait for our dreams to happen. I’m working on my second book, blogging, and preparing to become a novelist. Jake’s preparing for the NFL draft.

If a boy with type I diabetes can work hard and become an NFL player, then his mom can be a novelist. Lofty goals? Fairytales? NFL player and Novelist. Sometimes we just know what we want and with God’s blessing, hard work, a little God-given talent, and support from others, it can happen.

Mother and child connections. Funny we’re both, at the same time, standing at the cusp of our dreams becoming reality, ready to wake up and be the people we were meant to be.

Follow my blog as I share about connections, hope, and writing. I’ll keep you posted about my book and other books to come and how Jake fares in the upcoming draft.

Guest Blogger: Welcome Author Francene Stanley

17 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Guest Blogger

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Guest Blog: Francene Stanley

I’m new to this blogger business too. I love the way you’ve set up your page with an inspirational picture on top, which sets the scene for a crooked path along a journey. Of course, the path has to veer around a tree–those ancient beings who breathe for the planet. We rely on their greenery to release gases that prevent the sun from scorching us. Without trees, we’d cease to exist. Yet we turn a blind eye to the destruction of forests, and instead concentrate on the book in our hand. The shame of treasuring paper. But that’s another story.

My reason to write built up gradually. Over the years, I came to understand how one thing influences another. My wisdom increased and I wanted to share my learning. Let me diverse. The dark areas along the forest path seem to weigh a person down. Sometimes I confess a desire to give up–to shut down, sit and moulder–and never bother to contact another person. But, I struggle on until the canopy overhead lightens and the truth shimmers into my mind. That test taught me how to continue, even though I couldn’t see the way ahead.

In each story I write, the personalities carry their own load from the past. They enter the dark forest and plough on, in their own way. Some stumble but they always learn something. What am I trying to say?

Even the worst thing that could possibly happen to a person can build up strength. In fact, trials seem to work for good. I say ‘can’. Maybe this doesn’t happen every time. If a person is too overburdened, they couldn’t listen to the little voice inside that whispers encouragement. On the other hand, if a person lives a privileged life and faces no major challenges, they have no opportunity for growth.

I want to share optimism. I want to think that good thoughts can influence more than we know. If a person who reads a story of mine gains a grain of optimism, I will have accomplished something, which may then go on to influence even more. Say I dropped a pebble into still water. The ripples would spread in a circle, and touch the shore in many different places.

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Note from Holly Michael: I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Francene and her husband when my husband and I traveled to England recently. Francene, the photograph on the top of my blog was actually taken on an earlier trip to England, at Glastonbury.

http://francene-wordstitcher.blogspot.com/ Francene Stanley just signed a contract with Solstice Publishing for her book, Still Rock Water. I am a fan of her writing!

About About

16 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in Inspiration

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Last night I woke breathless from a nightmare that my brand new blog was running naked in the blogosphere. Ever have those dreams? You’re walking through the halls of school without pants, wondering if anyone notices? The problem (not with me, with my blog)? The “about” link was left blank.

So during a seven hour round-trip drive from Kansas City to Arkansas today, I thought about “about.” My blog needed to be well dressed to go out into the world, be popular, and make friends. The best clothes for my blog should have tags like connecting, inspiring, helping, friends, teaching.

Now, my “about” link reads: Writing Straight is from the maxim, God writes straight with crooked lines. Crooked Lines is the title of my first novel. Through life’s crooked lines and learning curves, people are the dots that connect. This website is about friends connecting to inspire, encourage, and share about writing and life. My writing successes are not mine alone. God has sent me helpers and encouragers, “dots” that have connected one line to the next in my writing career.

Tanya Dean Anderson, former Guideposts for Teens/Sweet 16 Editor, believed in me and didn’t snicker out loud at the 27 edits of my first essay. She stuck with me, teaching me the formula for this magazine. Betsy Kohn, the subsequent editor, helped me become a better writer, then entrusted me with assignments, then editing stories for the website.

Years ago, alone with three little kids, the small Stars critique group reached out through my computer screen and suddenly I had, as my children said, “people in my computer.” These peeps busted open a new online world of writing help and encouragement. Nearly every person in that group became a published author. Dori Chaconas, Verla Kay, Stacy Dekeyser, Karma Wilson and others became teachers and friends.

Demanding editors, while working as a features writer for a newspaper and others who hired me for freelance writing/editing projects helped me to grow as a writer.

For the past ten years, friends on IWW critiqued my nonfiction and on NovelsL, my fiction (Crooked Lines and my current WIP: I’ll Be Seeing You.) Carol Kean from IWW is a stand out writer who offers countless hours critiquing and encouraging. This personal trainer whips novels into shape, one chapter at a time. Rasana Atreya eagle-eyed my India chapters. Love her book and blog, On Getting Published, Good Books, and living Goddesses, is chock full of helpful information for writers. When my husband and I traveled to London, we met Francene Stanley, another excellent critiquer and supporter on IWW. Edith Parzefall, the Book Doctor, did a fantastic job with final edits of Crooked Lines. I highly recommend hiring her.

I’ve learned and grown as a writer with help from devoted IWW critiquers and now friends: Walt Ramsey, John Tucker, Bob White, Brian Clifford, Len Hume, Don McCandless, Carolyn Richer, Bill Weldy, Laurel Lamperd, Les Denham, Deb O’Neil, Jennifer Kilby, Rhonda Gill, Rick Bylina, Ellen Tanguay, Pepper O’Neil, Bill Backstrum, Silvia Villalobos, Judith Quaempts, Carmel Fitzgerald, Lynn Hinkey and other talented writers. IWW has a treasure trove of helpful talented writers.

And thanks Ann Hite for paying it forward. (Ghost on Black Mountain, a pager-turner that kept me under the covers with my kindle until early hours of the morning and whose characters in this compelling story stuck with me long after the story ended.) Congratulations on your nomination to the 48th Georgia Author of the Year Awards.

My goal is a community of writers and friends who support, teach and encourage. I welcome advice from guest bloggers and comments. I have great plans for this blog and invite other join me on this journey. Bear with me as I figure out this blogging stuff. I’ll soon add more, more author links, etc., as I learn how to keep my blog appropriately dressed.