Dream

I missed Music Monday this week, so thought I would share this song with you now. I love this song. It really spoke to my heart when I first heard it. Enjoy!!



DREAM - By Priscilla Ahn

I was a little girl alone in my little world who dreamed of a little home for me.
I played pretend between the trees, and fed my houseguests bark and leaves, and laughed in my pretty bed of green.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest swing.
I had a dream.

Long walks in the dark through woods grown behind the park, I asked God who I'm supposed to be.
The stars smiled down on me, God answered in silent reverie. I said a prayer and fell asleep.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest tree.
I had a dream.

Now I'm old and feeling grey. I don't know what's left to say about this life I'm willing to leave.
I lived it full and I lived it well, there's many tales I've lived to tell. I'm ready now, I'm ready now, I'm ready now to fly from the highest wing.

I had a dream

Writing Wednesday - ADVERBS!

According to Wikipedia, an adverb is described as:

An adverb is a part of speech. It is any word that modifies any part of language other than a noun (modifiers of nouns are primarily adjectives and determiners). Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives (including numbers), clauses, sentences and other adverbs.

Adverbs typically answer questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, how? and to what extent?. In English, they often end in -ly. This function is called the adverbial function, and is realized not just by single words (i.e., adverbs) but by adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses.

An adverb may be a sentence element in its own right:

They treated her well.

Alternatively, an adverb may be contained within a sentence element (here part of the subject element):

An extremely tall woman entered the room.

But, according to every writing expert and editor I've ever encountered it's a SIN!

Over and over I hear people tell me NO "LY" WORDS, so I try to stay away from them as much as possible, but dang it, sometimes I just have to slip one in to satisfy my adverb fetish. I mean, how else can you say, "'Stop!'" John said angrily."? (Okay, I totally didn't know what to do with that question mark. Am I good or what?) And to answer your question, there are other ways of writing that sentence. For example, show it in the action.

John slammed his fist against the car door. "Stop!"

Here you've solved two problems. You've gotten rid of the adverb and you no longer need that tag because John is doing the action before the dialogue. You've also made it more interesting to read. Here's another one:

Bill tightly clenched his fists.

Okay, first of all, clenching your fist actually means "to make a tight fist," so you don't need "tightly". This is an easy fix. Just leave it out. This is also a common mistake among writers, describing things that don't need to be described. For example:

She ran swiftly.
Tami whispered quietly.
Bill yelled loudly.

These are all redundant adverbs. You don't need them.

While I agree that adverbs are overused, I also think there is a place for them in writing, but only if used sparingly. (yep that was an adverb and I think it was used correctly) However, I do have to admit that there are a lot of famous writers out there who have made the adverb their best friend. JK Rowling is one of them. Stephanie Meyer is another. Does that mean they are bad writers? Perhaps, but they sure sell a ton of books and have made a lot of money.

Stephen King said, "the road to hell is paved with adverbs." A little harsh, but I think he got his point across. Strunk and White urge writers to avoid "cluttery, annoying" adverbs. For the most part, I think the annoying modifiers added to dialogue tags are what irritate people the most. "he said cautiously" or "she said bravely". Those kinds of adverbs drive me nuts too.

So, for those of you who LOVE adverbs, here's your chance to let them flow quickly and smoothly from your keyboard. Rewrite this sentence using as many adverbs as you can.

I ate everything on my plate.

Go for it. Write a sentence or two or three in the comment section that is flooded with them. What did you eat? How did it taste? Use all your senses and if you want to change it to 3rd person, go for it. Make us so sick of adverbs, we never want to see them again.

Then when you go to write on your work in progress, leave them OUT.

And just for fun, here is a word search for those who didn't quite get them out of your system.

Tagalong Tuesday

Welcome to Tagalong Tuesday, where I search through my writing buddies blogs and find quotes to share with my readers. For the full stories, just click on the links. I hope you enjoy today's selection.

Sometimes we put our lives on hold because we're living for what will happen when what is happening before us are the moments we'll never get back. (Kathi Oram Peterson - The New Year)

It's one of those stories that makes you want to Google every bit of information he dished out. Often, I found myself wondering, "Could this be true?" (Melissa J. Cunningham - The Lost Symbol - The Truth is Out There)

You can't find true love on reality TV. There is lying, ulterior motives, and people who will do anything for their fifteen minutes. No room for love in that equation. (Donna Milakovic - BreakDOWN of 2009)

I love the way it feels when the first sip explodes over your tongue and fizzes in your mouth. Those first several tastes are perfect—in every way satisfying.

AND

Let me make it a bit more clear. I think the element of romance is necessary in any well crafted story, be it romance between people or between a hero and an ideal.(L.T. Elliot - Boys and Beverages)

In my opinion, you can only cut out so many words and add so many things and change the sentences around so many times before it all starts to sound like drivel. (C. Michelle Jefferies - Until it Shines)

Thanks to everyone who wrote wonderful blogs. Please make sure you leave a comment on each of these blogs and let them know how much you love their post. HUGS

If you want to be considered for my Tagalong Tuesday, make sure you're blog link is on my blog, that you are a follower of my blog and that you have blogged within 48 hours of Tuesday morning. Thanks for visiting.

I Got What I Wanted For Christmas

Last week I posted this picture on Facebook and told everyone what I wanted for Christmas. I knew it was impossible, but the dream was to cuddle with my hubby on a cold winter's night, in front of a roaring fireplace, in mountain cabin. I love the mountains, and have always wanted to own a cabin where we could vacation as a family, or where I could go to write. Some place where things were simple and life could slow down. No phones, no internet, no television. Just somewhere I could breathe.

This year, the economy has hit us harder than usual (as it has with most people) and we knew the Christmas budget was going to be tight. In order to make sure our son had plenty of presents under the tree, my husband and I decided not to exchange gifts this year. No big deal, we told ourselves. We felt the desire to get back to basics and simplify our lives anyway and this was exactly what our family needed.

Now this doesn't mean we went all out with Joshua, quite the opposite. We were very selective, purchased clothing items he needed and then a few choice fun things we felt he would enjoy.

Come Christmas Eve, as always, we allowed Joshua to open one gift before going to bed. The one he picked was a very small package and ended up being a plastic snakes and insects we picked up at the dollar store. You would have thought it cost hundreds of dollors by the reaction we got. He loves those things and I truly think we could have taken all the other gifts back and he would have been perfectly satisfied with just having that one gift. He went to bed a very happy boy.

Completely satisfied, I told my husband I was headed to bed as well, knowing Joshua would be up at the crack of dawn to see what else he'd received. However, my husband had other ideas. He made me go to my office like a little kid being sent to her room for bad behavior. I was told to stay there until he said I could come out. Several minutes passed until he came to get me with instructions to enter the living room with my eyes closed. I was more than anxious to see what he had planned, for this was not something my husband had ever done before. He's a bit of a no nonsense kind of guy, never thinking ahead and planning, but heading out at the last minute to get a quick gift.

Once in the living room, I was allowed to open my eyes. He'd turned off all the lights except for the Christmas tree, and the TV, where he'd put on a DVD of a roaring fire in a fireplace. I was completely overcome by my emotions, grabbed him in a huge hug and bawled like a little baby. I hadn't even told him about my Christmas wish, he'd just seen it on Facebook and taken it upon himself to get me as close as he could to the real thing. For over an hour, we snuggled on the couch, watching the flames and listening to the crackle of the fire. It didn't take much imagination to wisk us away to that mountain cabin. As far as I was concerned, we were there.

After 23 years of marriage and hundreds of gifts exchanged for all occassions, I have to say that this one single gift meant more to me than all the others put together. It came from his heart in a time when he knew I needed something positive and uplifting in my life. Nothing else could ever top it, not even if we get that real cabin in the mountains some day. It will only be a close second to this past Christmas Eve.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed your family and the true meaning of Christmas. Thanks for letting me share mine with you.

Friendly Friday - Guest Blogger - Elizabeth Mueller

Are You Ready For Christmas?
By Elizabeth Mueller

Hello!

Many of you have been reading my posts since I have joined Mormon Mommy Writers. It's been such a wonderful honor for me to express the feelings of my heart there. I have learned a lot about writing
in the past year from proper sentence structure, the way editors like them, to etiquette within a critique group, to online presentation. You can also find me at elizabethmueller.blogspot.com.

Christine has asked me to guest blog for Christmas and I prayed and asked Heavenly Father what I should write about. The Heavens opened and down poured the thoughts I am compelled to share.

"Are you ready for Christmas?" That is the question I have been asked time and time again. Throughout my life to be honest. It always stops me and I have to think.

What does that question mean, exactly? It confuses me a bit, but maybe they mean if my tree is up and decorated. Have I gotten all of my shopping done? Presents wrapped? Food prepared? Cards mailed? Uh, well, kind of. I think it is nice to have all those things going for this particular holiday, but the reason why it confuses me is because I feel that Christmas is from the heart.

I am always ready for Christmas. It is much more than all those material things, oh so much more. To me, Christmas is service. Heavenly Father gave us His Son and we give to His children. With the awful nosedive of our economy, I know many of you are hurting and even feel uncomfortable when people ask if you are ready. Perhaps anguish haunts you when you think of your little ones and how you are unable to give them the presents that bring so much joy to
them.

I feel the same way. My husband did not lose his job, but we are working toward our third year without a pay raise and it was only this year that the company he works for cut his income by 10%. With a mortgage, a car payment, utilities, food, gas for his commute along with four kids to support, it has been a struggle. I am a stay-at-home mom, but both my husband and I feel very strongly that I should stay home with the kids. I am forever grateful for this.

Bearing this in mind and how I know my financial circumstances is more common than I'd care for, I feel differently about Christmas. Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong or tacky with making presents for your loved ones. In fact, those are the best kind. Heavenly Father has endowed each and every one of His children with gifts. Think about what they are. Listening. Being a friend. Sincerity. Patience. Tidy. Singing. Writing. Drawing.

A thought. I made a coupon book for my daughter's 13th birthday. In this book I included cleaning her room, doing a load of laundry including folding and putting it away for her. A load of dishes and many more. This, I must confess, is the most popular gift I could have ever given--my other kids are complaining how unfair that I have never thought to give them one, too! So guess what they'll be getting for Christmas? I will be very busy for the next few months!

I feel that the kind of gift that we could give that would bring most joy to our family and friends is the kind straight from the heart. One with out price. Christmas is about giving, service and love. The very thing that Christ did for us when He was on Earth.

It is my hope that this Christmas brings true joy and fulfillment to you and your loved ones no matter your circumstances. Remember that Heavenly Father loves you and wants you to be happy.

Merry Christmas!

Elizabeth wrote a beautiful poem about this and posted it on her blog today. Please go there and read it. Click HERE.

Thanks for being my guest blogger today, Elizabeth. Your post has touched my heart and given me a lot to ponder. May you and all those visiting my blog today, have a Merry Christmas and find time to be with their friends and family. I love you all.- Christine

Writing Wednesday

Well, I guess I'm supposed to write something profound for the writing world today, but the truth is, I'm a bit empty. So, I'm going to take some much needed advice from a friend and refill my cup. How, you may ask? By reading. Reading is a huge part of writing. We must take in as much if not more than we give out. If we don't fill that reservoir where we get all our ideas from, we will dry up and blow away.

So, here's what I'm reading:

The Middle Princess - By Shanna Blythe (This is a work in progress and so far is very good) It's important to read for other writers in order to give back what others have given to you when they've critiqued your work. A very important part of writing is helping others and allowing others to help you.


Comes highly recommended by my friend Ali Cross.









In hopes I can get out of this slump I'm in.








Sorry, today's post is lacking in so many ways, but hopefully by next week I'll be filled with ideas and be able to post something wonderful. In the meantime . . . happy reading.

Tagalong Tuesday

Welcome to Tagalong Tuesday, where I search through my writing buddies blogs and find quotes to share with my readers. For the full stories, just click on the links. I hope you enjoy today's selection.

Eros thought of the many girls that swooned before him. Their arms warm. Their lips soft. Their bodies willing. None of them ever measured to the way Angelina felt in his embrace. (Elizabeth Mueller - National Kissing Day)

As we sat quietly in our living room and talked of Christ, the spirit filled our home and hearts, reminding us of the immense love created by a newborn babe in a manger years ago. And as a mother, I am eternally grateful for His life, His example, and His sacrifice--not only for me and my mistakes, but especially for my children's. (Lori Conger - Our Testimony of Christ)

It is never sterile but dirty work that must be prodded with a hot poker and excised with the realization of the pain if it isn't done right. It will infect and fester, laziness growing gangrenous. (David West - Colosus of Ink)

Not that it matters if people see me in a poor light, just…well, you all know. It’s not easy being green. And I’ve never liked the idea of living in a cave. (Nichole Giles - Not the Grinch...)

My bishop didst call me to be Relief Society president. I didst sob in his office. Saith yea, cameth home, and sobbeth some more. (Joyce DiPastena - ...Chronicles 2009)

Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by their covering, cast them away as ugly or heavy or hard. Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom, with power. Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the Angel’s hand that brings it to you. (Melissa J. Cunningham - Take Joy)

Maybe instead of writing off my elbows altogether I can just have a layer of fat added to them. The same fat that seems to protect the rest of my body from similar pain. In fact, I have a few areas that have collected more than their fair share that could contribute to the cause. (Kasie West - Death to Elbows)

Thanks to everyone who wrote wonderful blogs. Please make sure you leave a comment on each of these blogs and let them know how much you love their post. HUGS

If you want to be considered for my Tagalong Tuesday, make sure you're blog link is on my blog, that you are a follower of my blog and that you have blogged within 48 hours of Tuesday morning. Thanks for visiting.

Music Monday

First real day of Christmas Vacation with Joshua home and we're off to a rocky start. It's gonna be a long two weeks. Here's a song I've been humming all morning. Thought I'd share.


Daniel Powter - Bad Day

Sean | MySpace Video

Had A Bad Day - By Daniel Powter

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to gray
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee you go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carryin' on

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Will you need a blue sky holiday?
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carryin' on

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day

(Oooh.. a holiday..)

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
And the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong

(yeah...)

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

To Blog or Not to Blog?

This past week I've been trying some new ideas on my blog. For one thing, I changed the background. I've been blog hopping, looking at other blogs and trying to get some ideas on where I wanted to go with mine. In the process I discovered a lot of bloggers out there are still sporting the Blogspot template they picked when they set up their blog. For some that may be okay and exactly what you want, but for me it was down right BORING! While searching for a background that I liked, I came across some fun sites I thought I'd share with you. They are easy to load under customize/add gadget/html. All the instructions are on the sites and are very easy to follow:

Delightful Dots

Shabby Blogs

My Style Backgrounds

The Cutest Blog on the Block

Scrap-e-Blog

Aqua Poppy Designs

Most of those have a "scrapbook" look to them. There are others like, PYZAM.COM, that offer a huge variety, but installing the code is a little bit tricky for the novice blogger.

Something else you'll want to do when sprucing up your blog, is add some fun stuff to your sidebar. You can get tons of ideas by just clicking around from one blog to another. You'll want a good picture of yourself and a short bio, too.

In trying to create more traffic on mine, I've also come up with some ideas to bring other bloggers on board. I have a theme for most of the days, like:

Music Monday - I post a song and the lyrics along with a brief reason why I like it. Does it fit my mood? Does it go with the book I'm writing? And so forth.

Tagalong Tuesday - I search through all my blogging friends sites who have posted within the past 24 hours and pick a sentence or two to quote on my blog. Then I link it back to their story, so they will get some traffic as well.

Writing Wednesday - I try to put something writerly on there, but not always.

Thursday - Is just a misc. day.

Friendly Friday - I have a guest blogger, post a picture, short bio and their story along with links back to their blog, again creating more traffic for them. This week it was Valerie Ipson. Her post was great if you want to check it out HERE.

Saturday - I usually post the same thing I post here. (okay, I'm lazy, what can I say)

Sunday - Don't usually post anything unless it's spiritual.

So that's it. I know I won't be perfect and I'm sure I'll miss a day here and there, but picking themes will help me know what to write and help create a buzz so when my book gets published I will already have readers lined up. Just in the past 4 days, I've picked up 3 more followers and have had over 100 visitors.

Hope this helps those that are just starting out or who may not have a blog yet. And for those that are pros, leave us a comment about how you blog or where you get your ideas.

Friendly Friday - Guest Blogger - Valerie Ipson

Meet Valerie Ipson, my first guest blogger on Friendly Friday.

Here's a little bio:

I am currently finishing up the first draft of my first novel about a girl who helps her small-town Texas high school, and ultimately herself, heal from tragedy by challenging "popular" tradition--the one that says the popular kids rule. At least that is what it is about right now. I have no idea what might happen when the second draft starts leaking out of my brain. Anyway, I'm a wife to one and a mom to 8 with a brand new daughter-in-law who majored in English with an Editing Emphasis... WOO HOO! Hit the jackpot there!

The Perfect Gift

by Valerie Ipson

I bought a very cool kitchen gadget recently. It's called a safe can opener. It opens cans somehow just under the lid's rim and not around the top, thus no sharp edges to cause nasty nicks and cuts. Believe me, I know about those because I have been wrestling with my old can opener--the one that developed the sadistic habit of always leaving the can uncut in two sections of the lid, and always on opposite sides, so it took the jaws of life, or really brave fingers, to pry it up enough to scrape out its contents a teaspoonful at a time.

Anyway, as I was using my safe can opener last evening, cutting along so safely and all, I sighed a happy, contented sigh--the kind that can only come when using awesome, cool kitchen gadgets that work the way they are supposed to. I remembered all the other sweet gadgets I had seen at Albertsons when seeking out the can opener...a variety of knives, garlic presses, pastry brushes, flexible cutting boards. Yes, that's what I said...FLEXIBLE CUTTING BOARDS. I mean, how have I lived without a flexible cutting board? I just don't know. According to the photo, you chop the vegies, then pull up the sides to dump them ALL ENTIRELY INTO YOUR PAN OR BOWL. Revolutionary, my friends. My life would be complete if Santa brought me one this year.

In fact, when my husband asked for Christmas gift ideas, several of these kitchen gadgets topped the list. He balked at my suggestions, saying they were household items. (I've taught him so well, haven't I?) My oldest daughter also complained, saying, "These are things you just go buy, they don't go on your Christmas list." (I've taught her well, too). Ladies, I'll understand if you choose not to allow your husbands, family members, and friends to read this--and yes, I've seen the video making the email rounds of men who were put in "the doghouse" because they bought their wives "household" items as gifts. One gave his wife a really nice vacuum, but I'm here to say, "Give me a vacuum, make it a Dyson. I'm okay with that."

I must be getting old. My Christmas gifts no longer define me. No longer will I be offended by the gift of a potholder. (Have you seen my crusty, scorched collection of potholders? Seriously, new ones are in order). I guess I figure if it will make me happy, then it's the perfect gift. And when I am pressing garlic and brushing pastries and chopping flexibly on cutting boards...believe me, I will be so happy!

If you don't have a safe can opener, you should ask for one for Christmas.

Check out my writer's blog at http://valerieipson.blogspot.com

For vinyl lettering go to http://vinylsignsanddesigns.blogspot.com

Make sure you hop on over to Valerie's blogs and take a look. And thanks for being my guest, Valerie. I love this post.

Whatever!

I've tried to think of something that starts with a "TH" that would go with Thursday, but I'm drawing a blank. I know, I know, there's "thankful" and "thoughts", but I wanted something different than what others might be doing, so I've decided to just leave Thursday open for whatever happens to tweak me that day. Hey, there ya go. Tweaking Thursday. Nah, doesn't quite work, does it.


Anyway, today I want to share a couple of my favorite lines from "The Keeper of the Crystor," the first book in the Blood Bound series.

He ducked and twisted his body just before she hit, sending her knuckles into his rock-hard shoulder.

“Ouch!” Kira pulled her hand back and tried to shake the pain out of it. “Why did you do that?”

He raised one brow and grinned. Two deep impressions appeared—one on each cheek—dimples. “You hit me,” he said. “Are you finished?”

"No."

* * * * * *

She was so numb from her grief that for a brief moment, she let herself wonder what it would be like to have Octavion love her like that—willing to protect her and to risk everything to keep her safe. She was suddenly drawn into her own fantasy—his warm embrace, seeing herself in the reflection of his deep blue eyes—and then there was his smile, the way he raised one brow while the tiniest smirk bored dimples into the hollow of his cheeks. The tenderness of his touch as he brushed a single tear away fed into her desires even as she trembled in fear of him. How she longed to be seen through the eyes of someone who was capable of loving like that.

Okay, that's all you get for now. I've just finished the edits on this book and will be working on my synopsis and query this weekend. I hope to have my list of agents all figured out before the end of the month and send this out. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can find one that believes in my book as much as I do.

Writing Wednesday

Going Back To Where It All Began

I'm starting something new today. Writing Wednesday. I hope to post a blog every week that has something to do with my writing, whether it be about my personal struggles or triumphs, a sample of my work in progress, or simply a personal tidbit of information I've learned about the craft. Since this is the first post, and because I literally feel like I'm starting over in the publishing game, I've decided to take you back to where it first began.

I dug through a few boxes to find these pictures. I know. I know. They should be decoratively displayed in an acid free scrapbook, but I just haven't done it yet. All my pictures are organized in photo boxes, anxiously waiting for me to be creative with something besides my fictional stories. Someday, I'll get to them. Anyway, the first one is the earliest memory I have of me writing. I never felt whole unless I had a tablet and pencil in my hand. More often than not, you could find me hidden away in some little crevice of the house, writing or drawing. Even though the scribbles were not yet formed words, they were masterpieces to me.

And then there is this cutie patootie. I love this picture and just had to share it. In going with the writing theme, I have to assume I'm primping for my first book signing, or perhaps that movie premiere. I had to look just right when I walked down that red carpet, ya know. I was about two in both of these pictures.

As I came to these pictures, and thumbed through several more, I realized something.

I miss me.

Somewhere along the road, I lost something near and dear to my heart, my inner child. A few months ago, my writing friends and I started reading, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. In one of the chapters it talks about finding your inner child, and at the time I thought I had. I did the exercise as assigned in the book, wrote my morning pages and even took myself out on a date (all part of the plan in the book). But now as I look back I realize I never really found her. Not really.

So that's my plan over the holidays. I want to get in touch with my inner child, find her, play with her and bring her back to life. What better time to do that than Christmas.

Tagalong Tuesday

As I surf blog land each week, I come across interesting quotes from other writers. Below is a selection of those quotes and the links so you can read the entire post on the author's site. Enjoy!

Christmas was always a special time with Mom. She had a whacky side, my mom, and when she let it all hang out? Man oh man, she was F.U.N. (Ali Cross - Christmas Traditions)

“Galael took step after excruciating step, the film of death retreating from his eyes though the images of murder were blazoned across his brain.” (L.T. Elliot - Inside the Mind of L.T)

To deny a story life, I think, supresses that creativity we as writers have and to deny is to starve that muse. (C. Michelle Jefferies - I Say, Write It Anyway)

Space pirates! Space pirates who come to our planet and turn it into an intergalactic Tortuga! (Donna Milakovic - Off Track)

WARNING: When you eat this mouth-watering, temptingly luscious chocolate, you will never, EVER look at Hershey's the same again. You must enter the contest at your own chocolate-fetish risk! (Jenni James - Contest: Want Chocolate? How about YUMMY British Chocolate?)

I share this experience to show you the way to deal with bad news in a mature manner. The main character in this story may or may not be me depending on how crazy she comes off. (Kasie West - Maddeningly Unhelpful Advice-How to Avoid Overreacting)

So, that's it for today's version of Tagalong Tuesday. Come back every week to see if I'm quoting you.

Music Monday

As the world around me seems to be falling apart, I seek for comfort from the Lord and from the Savior. When I heard this song, it seemed very appropriate.




STORM By Lifehouse

How long have I been in this storm?
So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form
Water's getting harder to tread
With these waves crashing over my head

If I could just see you
Everything would be all right
If I'd see you
This darkness would turn to light

And I will walk on water
And you will catch me if I fall
And I will get lost into your eyes
I know everything will be alright
I know everything is alright

I know you didn't bring me out here to drown
So why am I ten feet under and upside down
Barely surviving has become my purpose
Cause I'm so used to living underneath the surface

If I could just see you
Everything would be all right
If i'd see you
This darkness would turn to light

And I will walk on water
And you will catch me if I fall
And I will get lost into your eyes
And everything will be alright

And I will walk on water
You will catch me if I fall
And I will get lost into your eyes
I know everything will be alright
I know everthing is alright

Everything is alright
Everything is alright

Choosing the Right Path

Last Sunday, I blogged about missed chances. What if while going down the right path, something happens and your journey is cut short? What if you make a mistake or someone else makes a choice that changes the course of your life? That's how I felt when I lost my contract with Valor, like maybe that was my one change to get published and that the right path had been cut short.

As the comments came in, there was one that spoke directly to my heart and made sense to me. Teri wrote:

With trials and disappointments, I have often remembered an article I read in the Ensign, almost 20 years ago. It was an article where a man wrote in about an experience he had with his son, being lost in the mountains. They had prayed at a fork in the road and felt very impressed to take one of the roads. After about 5 minutes of driving, they came to a dead end. When the son asked his father why they would feel impressed to go down a road that dead ends, the father responded something like, "The Lord told us that, so we would know without a doubt which way to go. We could have driven for hours and been doubtful if we had taken the correct road first...now we know exactly which way to go."

While not the same as your situation, perhaps now you know that Valor wasn't the right path for you to take. Now you will never have to wonder if you should have gone there....because you know.



As I thought about what that meant, I wondered if the Lord led me down that path in order to teach me a lesson. Maybe my book wasn't ready for the national market. Maybe all the rewrites Valor had me do was to prepare it for bigger and better things. And maybe now that I'll be on the RIGHT path, I won't ever look back and wonder if Valor would have been better for me. Now as I go down this other path, I can know that the Lord is leading me where I need to go. The hard part is having patience and letting things happen in His time. I was so close to seeing my dream come true, that starting over with query letters, agent research and the nerve wracking waiting game is going to drive me insane.

But even knowing all this, I think having faith in the Lord, that things will be okay, is the hardest for me. I had absolutely NO reservations with walking down that other path. I wasn't afraid, I wasn't nervous, nothing. I knew in my heart that it was the right thing thing to do and I put it in the Lord's hands. Day after day, I prayed that he would guide me in the right direction and I turned it over to him completely. So now . . . I guess I don't trust my instincts. Will I make the right choices in the future? Will I do something that messes up what the Lord has in store for me? Is that what happened this time? All I can do is work my tail off to do everything right and hope He has a Plan B.

I'm currently seeking representation for:

BLOOD BOUND
The Keeper of the Crystor
(The first novel in a series of four)

A completed 128,000 word Fantasy Romance set in modern day.

In this tale of magic, mystery and forbidden love, Kira Edwards finds herself falling for a man whose overwhelming primal instinct to devour anything with a pulse puts her life in danger. His ravenous behavior forces him to put distance between them and his feelings for her aside to keep her safe. However, the spicy little red head who’s captured his heart has other plans.

Hiding from a painful past, Kira lives a life of independent seclusion, trusting no one but her best friend, Lydia. When she learns that Lydia has been keeping a secret—that she’s from another world—Kira feels betrayed. Kira soon discovers that, by taking it upon herself to accept a magical healing charm, she holds the key to saving Lydia’s life and protecting her from her enemies, a band of Royals who have come through the portal from their world to hers.

Afraid for her life, Lydia summons her brother, Octavion, who is cursed with a heart that is half lion, and half tiger. His primal instinct drives his desire to take Kira’s life even while falling in love with her. To keep her safe, he must deny his unbridled feelings for her and keep his distance—an impossible task while trying to protect both her and his sister from their enemies.

Kira’s decision to stand by her friend and the man she’s falling in love with helps her embrace her inner strength, bringing her the confidence she needs to stand up to the forces that seek to destroy them all. Kira’s quick-witted sense of humor makes a wonderful contrast to Octavion’s explosive temper, causing both to give in to their only common emotion . . . love. Will that love be enough to suppress Octavion’s fierce desire to take her life? Or will Kira be able to tame the wild beast that lives within his heart?

Those readers who bought their first vampire novel in high school are now in college and looking for something fresh and original to captivate their thirst for adventure. They also crave the dangerous—yet desirable—hero, and the modern day woman who seeks to be loved by someone she should fear. THE KEEPER OF THE CRYSTOR is sure to captivate this audience.

If you are interested in seeing the completed manuscript, please email me at christine@ckbryant.com. Thanks for stopping by.

SOOOO FUNNY!!

What a funny thing to do. This homeowner wanted to play a prank for the holidays, so put a fake man hanging from the gutter. Read his story below. I'm still laughing. I would totally be one of those stopping to help the poor guy out.


Quote from the homeowner:

"Good news is that I truly outdid myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever.Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard."

Music Monday

I think this song says a lot about where my heart is right now.
I know it's time to move on and forgive the past. Enjoy!

"Forgiveness"

by Leona Lewis

Ummmmmm, ummmmmmm

[Verse 1]
I don't wanna spend another day,
Pointing fingers while im placing blame,
Im no angel, imperfect myself, cos baby I am only human,
And I don't wanna put it all on you,
I admit I did some painful things its true,
And im sorry for them, no making amends,
For always thinking I was innocent

[Chorus]
Starting today, im gunna change,
Don't wanna make the same mistakes,
Cos I can see a new horizon,
The ice around my heart is melting,
And the hurt I feel is slowly dying,
Now im, no longer crying,
The bridge we burnt is being built again,
Its leading to a new begining,
And it may never be the way it was,
And thats because im talking about forgiveness,
Forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness,

[Verse 2]
I wish we could take back the things we said,
Cos what we saids not always what we ment,
We lost our heads, in the moment,
And the words we used them like a weapon,
But no one wins if we both walk away,
And we hid behind the people we became,
We're warmer than that, we're better than that,
And i still cherish all the things we had,

[Chorus]
Starting today, im gunna change,
Don't wanna make the same mistakes,
Cos I can see a new horizon,
The ice around my heart is melting,
And the hurt I feel is slowly dying,
Now im, no longer crying,
The bridge we burnt is being built again,
Its leading to a new begining,
And it may never be the way it was,
And thats because im talking about forgiveness,
Forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness

[Bridge]
If everybody could forgive and forget (just forget),
Think of all the time that we could spend, being friends,
Think about all the lives we could change,
And all the love we could make,
Baby how the world would be a better place,
In the ennnndddd, ohhhhh,

[Chorus]
Starting today, all that we will change,
And ill make the same mistakes, you know that,
I can see a new horizon,
The ice around my heart is melting,
And the hurt I feel is slowly dying,
And im no longer,
The bridge we burnt is being built again,
Its leading to a new begining,
And it may never be the way it was,
And thats because im talking about forgiveness,
Forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness,

Forgiveness [x6]


If everybody could just forgive,
The world would be a much better place,
ohhhhh
Forgiveness

Evel Knievel Didn't Get a Second Chance

This is my backyard.
I can walk less than 1/4 mile and stand on the canyon rim and see this beautiful view.
I can see parts of it from my living room window.

If I drive 5 miles, I can see this spectacular view from the Perrine Bridge that spans the canyon when entering Twin Falls. The lush green grass you see is a golf course. We've spent many hours there, enjoying a summer evening playing 18 holes.

This is Shoshone Falls.
It is about a mile from our front door and in the spring, when they release the majority of the water, we can, not only hear to roar of the water cascading over the falls, but can feel the mist in the air as the breeze carries it toward us. The evenings here are peaceful and quiet.

But that's not why I'm telling you about it. Something else happened here in the 70's, and for some reason, it bored its way into my head today and I've found myself drawing comparisons to the event, and what I'm feeling about losing my contract with Valor.

* * *

On September 8, 1974, Evel Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon.

The mound of dirt they used to build his ramp, still exists and is located about 3 miles from our home. For months before the actual attempt, preparations were made. There was a lot of hype involved with sponsoring this jump, mostly because of the anticipated crowds of motor cycle gangs and onlookers. But after a lot of hard work and cooperation from everyone, the day came for the big event.

When the time drew near, Evel was lifted by crane and placed into his "rocket" cycle.

Anticipation grew.

People cheered.

The countdown began.

And then it was time.

Engines were started and the rocket spewed, and finally . . .

Lift off!!

But then something went wrong with the chute. Just as he was leaving the ramp, it flew out the back of the rocket, keeping it from making its journey across the canyon and to the other side.
(If you look closely, you can see it near the flag)

He failed.

As the chute continued to open and Evel and his rocket drifted into the river, onlookers were shocked and disappointed. Rumors began to circulate immediately about how this could have happened. Was it a malfunction, or did Evel chicken out at the last moment and pull the safety latch. Nothing was ever confirmed, but there were a lot of people who traveled many miles, spent thousands of dollars and got nothing in return.

I find myself feeling the same way.
I've built myself up, dreaming of being published, listening to the promises of a huge launch party, national book tour, speaking engagements, book signings, and so much more, and then someone pulled my chute.

I'm sure the same kind of rumors are circulating, who's to blame, was it something she did? Was it a malfunction in the company? The fact is, it doesn't really matter. Time will pass and nobody will remember the reasons why, nobody will even care.
I'm just left with a broken dream and a few great pictures.

No, I'm not feeling sorry for myself, I'm just not sure where to go from here. Yes, I will finish the edits I started with my editor and muddle through. Yes, I will send out those query letters to agents and do whatever I can to find someone else who loves my book as much as I do.

But here's my question.

Evel only got one shot. What if that's all I get? What if that's it? It's rare enough for a writer to get published in the first place, but to find another publisher who wants the same book is nearly impossible.

So, that's where my head is right now. I'm down in the bottom of that river, waiting to be saved, knowing full well that I'll have to swim to the shore and hike out by myself. Maybe I'll get lucky and someone will throw me a rope, eh?

Choosing a New Path

While I clumsily muddle through finishing the rest of my edits on "The Keeper of the Crystor", I try to stay focused on the path ahead. Keeping a positive attitude is difficult, when I realize I'm starting over in the publishing process, and that once again, I have to prove myself and my book worthy to be out there on the bookshelves.

I've decided to search for a national agent first. My book has already been accepted in the publishing world, so I know it's just a matter of finding the right agent at the right time. My story is new and interesting, my voice is fresh and easy to read, and my characters are lovable (especially Octavion). What more could an agent want.

The biggest problem, is getting an agent to read past the first few pages. Especially when they only request a query. That means the query letter has to rock, have a great hook and make the agent want more. No pressure there, right? UGH!

Wish me luck. I think I'm going to need it.

Allow Your Own Inner Light to Guide You!!

There comes a time when you must stand alone.

You must feel confident enough within yourself to follow your own dreams.

You must be willing to make sacrifices.

You must be capable of changing and rearranging your priorities so that your final goal can be achieved.

Sometimes, familiarity and comfort need to be challenged.

There are times when you must take a few extra chances and create your own realities.

Be strong enough to at least try to make your life better.

Be confident enough that you won't settle for a compromise just to get by.

Appreciate yourself by allowing yourself the opportunities to grow, develop, and find your true sense of purpose in this life.

Don't stand in someone else's shadow when it's your sunlight that should lead the way.

Author Unknown

A Piece of God's Cake

With all that's been going on the past few days, I've been finding comfort in the many emails and phone calls from friends, both within the writing community, and out. I just want to tell you all how much I love and appreciate all of you and thank you for your support in this. I have a long road ahead of me if I'm going to get published, and as soon as I stop feeling sorry for myself, I'll get busy. ;-)

In the meantime, here is something Nichole Giles sent me to give me a little hope.

Thanks Nichole.

Sometimes we wonder,
'What did I do to deserve this?' or 'Why did God have
to do this to me?' Here is a wonderful explanation! A
daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going
wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up
with her and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her
daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter
says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.'

'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers.

'Yuck' says her daughter.

'How about a couple raw eggs?' 'Gross, Mom!'

'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking
soda?'

'Mom, those are all yucky!'

To which the mother replies: 'Yes , all those things
seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put
together in the right way, they make a wonderfully
delicious cake! '

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He
would let us go through such bad and difficult times.
But God knows that when He puts these things all in
His order, they always work for good! We just have to
trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring
and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk,
He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and
He chose your heart.

If you like this, send this on to the people you really care about.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as
well dance!

Crushed Dreams

As some of you may or may not have heard, my book, The Keeper of the Crystor, is no longer going to be published with Valor Publishing Group. There's not much to say about it, except that I have absolutely NO regrets in making the choices I did, even though my dreams have been crushed and my future is uncertain.

Thanks to all the friends who have sent emails and given their support. It means a lot to me.