"Held" by Natalie Grant

As you've probably read from yesterday's post, I've been a little down the past few days. I have a huge decision to make that may influence the future of a dear friend, among others, and have been putting off the inevitable. This song was posted by a friend on Facebook and touched my heart. I thought I would share it. As with the song I posted yesterday, it reiterates the fact that we are not alone in our sorrow and moments of need. Enjoy.



Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
We're asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it's unfair

[Chorus]
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow

[Chorus]
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held
[Bridge]
If hope is born of suffering
If this is only the beginning
Can we not wait, for one hour
Watching for our savior
[Chorus]
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held
We'd be held

This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This is what it means to be held.....

A Little Inspiration

I've been dealing with some issues the past few days that have caused 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.

I'm not sure who the artist is, so if you know, please leave a comment and I'll edit my blog with her name.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you are all having a wonderful day with your family and friends.
From my family to yours . . . Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Music Monday

Song two on my play list as I write the second book in the Blood Bound series.





I’ll Come For You - Nickelback

Just one more moment
That’s all that’s needed
Like wounded soldiers
In need of healing
Time to be honest
This time I’m bleeding
please don’t dwell on it
Cuz I didn't mean it

I can’t believe I said I’d lay our love on the ground
but it doesn’t matter cuz I’ve made it up
Forgive me now
Everyday I spend away
My soul’s inside out
Gotta be someway that I can
Make it up to you now, somehow.

By now you know that
I'd come for you
No one but you
Yes I’d come for you
But only if you told me to
And I’d fight for you
I'd lie, it's true
Give my life for you
You know I'll always come for you

I was blindfolded
But now I’m seeing
My mind was closing
Now I’m believing
I finally know just what it means to let someone in
To see the side of me that no one does or ever will
So if you’re ever lost and find yourself all alone
I'd search forever just to bring you home,
Here and now this I vow

By now you know that
I'd come for you
No one but you
Yes I’d come for you
But only if you told me to
And I’d fight for you
I'd lie, it's true
Give my life for you
You know I’ll always come for you
You know I’ll always come for you


No matter what gets in my way
As long as there's still life in me
No matter what, remember
You know I’ll always come for you

Yes I’d come for you
No one but you,
Yes I’d come for you
But only if you told me to

And I’d fight for you
I'd lie, it's true
Give my life for you
You know I’ll always come for you

No matter what gets in my way
As long as there's still life in me
No matter what, remember
You know I’ll always come for you

I'd crawl across this world for you
Do anything you want me to
No matter what, remember
You know I’ll always come for you
You know I’ll always come for you

Book Review: "An Angel on Main Street" by Kathi Oram Peterson

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 First Review

I've been rounding up information for my website and thought it would be nice to have a blurb about my book on there. Ali Cross was nice enough to step up to the task. Ali just finished reading it, so decided to do one better and wrote a review.



Here's Ali's review:

“Blood Bound: Keeper of the Crystor is a tricky tale that takes your heart and mind on an exciting danger-filled journey. You start out with normal things, people you know, places you can relate to—only to discover that things are not as you’d expected, people are not just people and anything can happen.

At least, that’s how the story was for me. I liked Kira and could immediately relate to her feelings of insecurity and reclusiveness. So when Kira had to adapt to the changes around her, to learn and grow—I grew right along with her.

C.K. Bryant does a brilliant job of writing a fantasy that combines what we know with what we don’t, love with hate, danger with hope. She had me turning the page, sitting on the edge of my seat and wishing I could read the next book in the Blood Bound series right away. A truly excellent modern-day fantasy that I highly recommend for fans of fantasies that feature a strong female protagonist.” Ali Cross – Author of Desolation: The Devil’s Daughter

The above picture is one I used for inspiration for the character of Shandira. The artist is Larry Elmore. Thanks for the wonderful comments girls.

Music Monday

This is the first song on my playlist for the second book in the Blood Bound series, "Death's Betrayal." Enjoy.



What About Now - Chris Daughtry

Shadows fill an empty heart
As love is fading,
From all the things that we are
But are not saying.
Can we see beyond the scars
And make it to the dawn?

Change the colors of the sky.
And open up to
The ways you made me feel alive,
The ways I loved you.
For all the things that never died,
To make it through the night,
Love will find you.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late,
What about now?

The sun is breaking in your eyes
To start a new day.
This broken heart can still survive
With a touch of your grace.
Shadows fade into the light.
I am by your side,
Where love will find you.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love, it never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late,
What about now?

Now that we're here,
Now that we've come this far,
Just hold on.
There is nothing to fear,
For I am right beside you.
For all my life,
I am yours.

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?

What about now?
What about today?
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?
What if our love never went away?
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?
Baby, before it's too late,
Baby, before it's too late,
Baby, before it's too late,

Let Me Have It!

Wow! I've been so busy writing and trying to get my word count up with NaNoWriMo that I completely spaced about posting. So here's the deal. Last week I wrote about what to expect AFTER you're published and the anxiety of being in the public eye. Most of you and those who comment on my other blog said that giving presentations was the best part and looked forward to it.

So, here's your chance.

Give me a brief explanation of your presentation platform. What message do you want to leave with your audience, both those who read your book and those who listen to you speak. Will you be humorous or serious? Will you use props or just wing it with you and your fans?

Let me have it guys. I'm excited to hear what you've got planned. After all, we know you'll all be published and famous soon, right?

Letting Go

The baby quilt you see in this picture was made by the loving hands of my niece, Kathleen, over 16 years ago. She was only 15 and put hours of work into making it just right for a baby that never came. Unable to have children, my husband and I had applied for adoption and were anxiously waiting to get the call that our baby girl was here. We already had a boy from my husband's previous marriage, so requested a girl, even though we told ourselves it didn't matter and we'd take any baby, as long as it was healthy. Our son had a multitude of physical and mental disabilities and the thought of another such child with such problems seemed overwhelming. We had high hopes.

After almost 4 years of waiting, even though we were told the average wait was under 2 years, we finally got the call. They had a beautiful little boy for us. But before we could agree to be his parents they needed to inform us of his birth mother. She was mentally delayed and they feared it may be genetic. The child they were offering us was not only not a girl, but may have a disability. Our hearts were filled with joy, even though we knew the road may be hard. We told them yes.

Putting aside all the girl names we'd picked out, we brought our little boy home to a nursery decorated with pink carpet and pink gingham curtains. The bassinet had a pink bow and Minnie Mouse decals adorned the walls. In the closet were pretty little dresses and the dresser drawers were filled with pink little booties and Onsies that read "Daddy's Little Girl." I spent the next few days lovingly replacing the pink with blue and relying on friends and family to scurry around collecting needed "boy" things. My sister threw a baby shower so we'd have boy clothes and a name was picked.

Joshua Edward. Our pride and joy.

As the years have passed, the crates filled with all those little girl things have slowly dwindled as friends and family have brought little girls into their homes. With each new addition, I've given more and more away, slowly giving up hope that we'd get our little girl. Each time, the tears came and went, even though we never regretted the decision we made to bring Joshua into our home. Not even when he was diagnosed with Autism.

This week, my niece brought a precious baby girl into this world.

Rachel Tecia.

She is the most beautiful little gift from God I've ever seen. As this is Kathleen's 6th child (third girl) I thought it was time to return her gift. The quilt she so lovingly made remained in a box, unused, for all these years and is the last item of hope I clung too.

At 47 years old, I think it's time I let it go. But it's not that easy.

I've spent the better part of the morning fighting back tears, knowing our home will never be graced with the giggle of little girls or invitations to tea parties. I will never braid her hair or buckle her shoes for church. There will be no boy friends coming to court and no asking her daddy to give her away. And since our oldest son, Steven has passed away and Joshua will probably never get married, there will be no granddaughters to spoil in my golden years.

So, today is a tough one. As grateful as I am for a wonderful life and two precious boys, I have to let my hope of a little girl go. Life has been good to us and even though I still struggle with this one thing, I know that the Lord's will is in all things and that someday I will understand the choices that were made on my behalf. But for now . . . we welcome Rachel and hope that she will live a happy and healthy life. Thank you Kathleen for this precious gift. As much as I regret having to return it after all these years, it is time. Cling to this little one you hold in your arms. She is a precious gift and you are blessed to have her.

Blood Bound: Death's Betrayal

In a week or so I will begin the editing process on book one of the Blood Bound series, The Keeper of the Crystor, and am looking forward to seeing the finished product. I have learned so much about the craft of writing while creating this story and breathing life into the characters. It's hard to believe it started as a silly dream I had about a trip to the mountains with a friend of mine. I began writing it in April of 2007 just for fun. I wanted to see how it would sound as a story. The first three or so chapters are the dream.Who knew it could actually be written, published and in the hands of hopefully thousands of loving fans?

Yesterday I started writing the second book in the Blood Bound series, Death's Betrayal. After taking a much needed break from the fantasy genre, I'm back to loving my story. I didn't realize how much I missed it. I'm only about half way through the first chapter and have so many new ideas of where to take it. There will be more magic and a lot more danger because the setting has changed. Instead of being in Kira's world (our world) they are in Xantara, where Octavion, Lydia and even Kira's magical gifts and powers are strengthened. I can't wait see Kira grow into a warrior and kick some Darkord butt.

So stay tuned for more about Death's Betrayal and look for The Keeper of the Crystor in bookstores all over the country as soon as I find an agent and publisher. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Look Before You Leap

I heard a story on the radio this morning about a deer that jumped the fence at a zoo. It's activity was caught on cameras as it landed . . . right in the lion's den. Needless to say, the deer was injured so badly it had to be put down.

It got me to thinking about the choices we make in life and how sometimes, even though we think there may be something wonderful on the other side of the fence, the reality isn't always pleasant. I've made a lot of choices in my life that I'm not proud of, but I always seem to work things out and come up still breathing. I guess I've been lucky.

Sometimes we go into a situation only thinking about that one little thing that's held up in front of our eyes that looks so great you've just got to have it, like that used car that is a great deal, or the painter that will paint the entire house for half what the other guys will. You pay the money, drive it off the lot or agree to a color, thinking everything will work out just how you want it to.

I have a friend who paid a lot of money to go to a writer's workshop that lasted a week. The author sponsoring it made all kinds of promises about teaching them the craft, only to disappoint her. She anticipated spending several hours a day having information presented to her, but was given an average of only two. She was then told to go back to her room and given an assignment which she spend all afternoon and evening working on. The next day the author in charge, said he didn't want to see them, it was practice. She felt cheated of the opportunity to glean from this persons experience and knowledge and most certainly robbed of the money she invested in what she thought was going to be the experience of a lifetime. She didn't even know if she'd done the assignment right or if she'd failed miserably.

I've made some choices lately that leave me thinking I should have been a little smarter and done my homework. But now there's little that can be done. Even though I know the road ahead could be a little rocky, I have to believe that it will all work out and those things I've lost in the process will make way for better things that will bring me joy. I guess the best thing to do is try to have a positive attitude, pray for strength and guidance and push through it.

In the meantime, I will take the car to the mechanic before buying it and get references on the painter, along with a million other things I should be doing.

"As Long As You're Dreaming . . ."

While you're dreaming of getting published and holding that beautiful book with your name printed on the front cover, think about what all that means. I think some people believe all they have to do is write the book and then sit behind a table once in a while and sign a few autographs. They couldn't be more wrong.

I've been giving a lot of thought to the marketing plan and what kind of image I want to portray to my readers. After attending a book launch party this weekend, I realize that there is a lot to selling a book. Not only do you have to be available for those book signings, but you also need to be willing to speak in public, make presentations to schools or universities (depending on your genre) and even teach your craft at writer's conferences.

There's also a lot of traveling involved. Unless you have someone who can afford to fly along with you, this could be a very lonely job. You think sitting behind a computer all day is lonely, try three weeks going from one city to another, living in dumpy hotel rooms and flying with a plane full of strangers. Sounding more glamorous by the moment, isn't it.

My point is this--plan for it. While you're waiting to hear back from that agent or editor, think things through. What will my platform be? Can I really get up in front of people and sell myself and my book? Is there someone who can tag along to make the trip easier and more exciting? What can I do now to make my book sell better? Set up a blog or website? Facebook or Twitter? How can I sell my book before it is even accepted for publication?

Thinking these things through and getting started now will put you ahead of the game. When that agent comes to you and asks, what do you have to offer, you'll be ready. When you give that pitch at the next writer's conference and the editor pops up with a wild question about marketing, you'll stand out in the crowd as being prepared and confident.

So, tell me. What will you do? Do you have a unique twist to your marketing plan? Is there something about you that is different enough to stand out in the crowd? And last but not least, what will you tell people about yourself?

The Party Is Over, But The Memories Live On

My husband, Ed, and I had a wonderful time at Mark Shurtleff's Book Launch party hosted by Valor Publishing Group. It was held at Barne's and Nobles in the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City. What a wonderful event this was. I was so busy enjoying the music and readings and all the people that I neglected to take pictures of everyone. I did happen to snap a few, so thought I would share. If anyone took more and wants to share, I'd really appreciate. You all have my permission to copy these and use them wherever. Enjoy.

Mark Shurtleff reading the first chapter of his book,
"Am I Not a Man, The Dred Scott Story"
Brought tears and chills to the entire room.

Me, Ali Cross, Kimbery Job & Daron Fraley

Shanna Blythe, Me, Elizabeth Mueller, Kimberly Job & Karen Hoover


After the party, a few of us went next door to the Tai restaurant. Oh, man was the food good . . . oh yeah, and the company was pretty awesome too.

Ali & David Cross & My hubby, Ed

L. T. Elliot, Shanna Blythe & Elizabeth Mueller

Stacy Gooch Anderson & Karen Hoover


And then, as if we didn't get enough of each other Tuesday night, we had to have lunch at Ali's house the next day. Tons of fun and girl chatter.
My poor hubby sat in on the whole thing and I must say he did pretty well. Thanks for being such a great supporter and loving my friends, sweetie. Love you!

L. T. Elliot, Ali Cross, Me, Karen Hoover & Elizabeth Mueller
We were so sad that Shanna Blythe and Shari Bird were not able to join us. Maybe next time.

Nichole Giles and Me
(Added this photo late, thanks Nichole for sharing)