East Texas Writers Association

Where Willows Grow - A Book Review

2007-10-03T22:47:00.000-07:00

Kim Vogel Sawyer has hit another winning home run with her novel, Where Willows Grow. The time period is 1936, and her main characters Anna Mae and Harley Phipps, a farmer and his wife, struggle to keep their farm afloat in the midst of the depression and the terrible drought that afflicted the mid-west during those awful years.

As Where Willows Grow opens, Anna Mae realizes she is pregnant with their third child. Though she loves her other two children, Dorothy and Marjorie, this is not the time to bring another mouth into the world to feed. Harley loves their farm but knows if he hadn't married Annie, the farm would have never been his. The knowledge of another child is a burden. Both of them know that they will love the new child, but will they be able to care for him or her properly?

The drought and depression have strained the Phipps' relationship. Harley feels the only way he can continue to provide for his family is to leave the farm, temporarily, to take on work across Kansas at a construction site. He shocks Anna Mae when he tells her of his plan. She's afraid Harley is leaving his family for good.

Throughout the book, Anna Mae has to rely on her belief in God and His promises to provide for all those who lean on him to get her through the lonely days and nights without Harley. But what does Harley have to rely on? His steadfast refusal to give his life to Jesus has left him to his own devices. Is it the final wedge that will split their marriage apart - permanently?

Much is written and discussed about voice in writing. Kim's voice will become more apparent as you read each new book. Her writing voice is an extension of her own deep beliefs. Where Willows Grow is a tender tale of love and determination. And if you are lucky enough to know the author in person, as I am, you can hear the words in her own soft, gentle speaking voice as you read them. But don't take that as a weakness. Behind those quietly spoken words there is steel. Kim Vogel Sawyer believes deeply in the message she writes in her novels. I challenge you to read one and not be touched.

Kim Vogel Sawyer won first place for her long historical, Waiting For Summer's Return, at the ACFW Conference on September 22. It is a wonderful book, which I reviewed earlier (see August 30, 2006 post). She deserved the win. Her gratitude was evident in her acceptance speech and the tears that flowed. Those tears were real, from her heart. My joy was such that when she won, I cried with her. I cried again near the end of Where Willows Grow.

kmparis

Off To the ACFW Writing Conference

2007-09-18T23:36:00.000-07:00

I'm heading for the 2007 ACFW Writing Conference in Dallas. So the blog will be silent for a week or so. I'm sure there will be lots to say when I return. So in the meantime, read a couple of good books!

kmparis

The Countdown Has Begun

2007-09-15T00:26:00.000-07:00

The clock is ticking. Do you hear it? Time is passing. Are you prepared? It is September 15, 2007. November first is 46 days away. So what, you ask?

So have you chosen a topic, done your research, plotted your novel, sharpened your pencils, stacked your blank CD's, straightened your desk, made and frozen casseroles for 30 days or arranged for the caterer to appear at your home with dinner prepared, warned your family that your designated writing time is yours and yours alone and only a blood loss of 1 liter or more is a reason to disturb you during the month of November? If not, go do that, now, right now. You have exactly 45 days and 21 1/2 hours to get everything lined up and in order so you can join us in writing a 50,000-word novel - the annual NaNoWriMo challenge.

I have one major task left to accomplish. I have to buy a new desk chair. Mine lost its lift a couple of weeks ago. Now it's too short and these pillows are not cutting it. I've put two in the seat and it does raise me up a few inches, but it's still not quite enough. They're a good substitute but not for long term. I plan on putting long hours in my chair in front of the computer so I can make my goal this year. Nobody better get in my way. I've learned to be hard-hearted over the past year. I'll not let anyone get in my way.

Hear that world - clear out, back off and leave me alone!

kmparis

Novels vs. Screenplays, Are They Really So Different?

2007-08-21T01:30:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that the format of a novel is completely different from the format of a screenplay. But are they really so different?

I don't think so. When writing a screenplay or play, the writer must include characters, plot development, dialogue, and settings. Aren't these same elements in novels?

Of course they are. The difference between screenplays and novels is in the format of the typed page. In screenplays the characters and their dialogue are set apart from the stage directions. At least in the screenplays I've seen in script form, the character's name is to the far left margin of the page with the dialogue written in block form to the right, leaving white space below the character's name. Stage directions, or rather the actions, are typed in parenthesis and italicized. The setting of the scene is usually typed at the beginning of the scene before any stage directions or dialogue are given.

In a novel the stage directions are written as part of the narrative in the novel and intertwined with the dialogue. The character's names are in the tags, and the actions show up, often, as beats. The setting shows up in narrative prose seen through the eyes of the characters as they "look" upon the scenery before them.

So, screenplays and novels are the same, just as cars and trucks are the same.

kmparis

When to Make Changes & When Not To

2007-08-18T01:15:00.000-07:00

Changes can be good, but only if those changes are made for specific reasons.

When writers create a storyline, the writer plots out ideas and characters and develops scenes and begins writing. Then the writer hits a wall. The story is not working. Now what?

The writer can resort to any number of ways to solve the problem. One of those ways is to pass what has been written to a friend or critique partner to read and make suggestions. Very effective - sometimes. What you, as the writer, need to remember about critique suggestions is whether or not the changes suggested make sense. Did the person doing the critique have a personal dislike of the writing? Or is the critique back by solid reasoning?

I have a friend who hates tomatoes and onion. If I entered a recipe into a contest where she is the judge, and I had both tomatoes and onions in abundance in my dish, how do you think she would score my concoction? I'll tell you, she'd score it very low.

Look at suggestions under a microscope. Weigh them carefully before abandoning your own ideas. But if the critiquer's ideas have validity then employ them.

What I find invaluable is the brainstorming sessions I have with friends. In a brainstorming session, ideas are thrown out without regard to how well they would work. Whatever comes to mind is allowable. You make note of them all, then later consider each one. Eliminate the ones that are completely from left field. Focus on the ones with potential. Sometimes it takes a couple of sessions or so before you settle on a solution to your plot problem. To me brainstorming should be a part of each critique group. Brainstorming is as important as the editing, if not more so.

kmparis

Falling Stars

2007-08-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the main event for the annual Perseid Shower. The sky is clear and there is no moon - perfect for viewing the sky.

The trick is to find a place without the lights of town interfering and without a stand of trees to block vision. Hard to do in east Texas. Even with the cities nearby growing and expanding, there are still thousands of acres of land filled with trees.

I think I have come up with a good place. It's a couple of miles from my home. There is a small hill that overlooks a plot of land where trees have been removed to provide space to grow hay. It faces the east, and there is a driveway leading to the top of the hill. The drawback? The drive leads to an old, family cemetery. Now, I know some people who wouldn't be caught dead (pun intended) sitting there watching shooting stars streaking across the sky in the middle of a cemetery, but that's not a problem for me.

I'm not superstitious nor afraid of the dark. I'll take a large, cold diet Dr. Pepper with me and lock my doors, just to be on the safe side. Too bad I don't have a camera that will take night pictures. I'll bet those pictures would be spectacular.

kmparis

An ETWA Writing Assignment

2007-08-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

Our president has hit on an ingenious idea, in my opinion. Monthly writing assignments for the members of the group and any visitors who wish to participate.

In July, Gay Ingram presented a program and at the end an assignment was given - write a 1,000 - 2,000 word piece in any genre on one of five topics. The topics were: a cabin in the woods, a cold morning, an empty parking garage, a woman on the beach, and one other that I can't remember at this moment. Brain lock is terrible you know.

Last night, at the August meeting, members brought in their projects and read them with the members present. They were wonderful. I did notice that each person who completed the assignment wrote in the same genre as they usually do. That's beneficial in one way because at least people wrote something.

Then before we were dismissed, the president gave out another writing assignment - take one topic and write it in three genres. These are shorter, only 250 - 500 words, but it will force each person who participates to write in at least two genres different from the genre in which he or she usually writes. The topic can be anything, even one of last month's topics, just so all three genres are on the same topic.

I'm a former teacher by profession, so this type of thing is exciting in itself. I came home and wrote the first of my three versions. Now, I chose a typical genre to start with - romance. But I plan on the other two versions to be a teen story and a science fiction story, or maybe a western. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that for a while. Can't wait to get typing on the next one.

kmparis

Flee the Night - A Book Review

2007-08-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

Flee the Night by Susan May Warren didn’t make my tears flee into the night; it brought them forth to my eyes. The ending to Ms. Warren’s romantic suspense novel made me sniff my tears back.

Along the way, Flee the Night brought a chuckle or two. Susan’s heroine, CIA operative on-the-run -– Lacey Montgomery -– needs to find her missing daughter and begin a new life, in that order. The world of conspiracy and terror that her late husband, John, drew her into quickly turned Lacey’s life into a nightmare. Will she ever wake up and find the nightmare gone?

Maybe Jim Micah can help out on that end. Ms. Warren’s hero, Green Beret-on-leave Jim Micah has all the tools Lacey needs to help her with both problems. But will he use them for her? Chances are Lacey’s going to be out of luck. Jim Micah happens to be her former friend and her dead husband’s best friend. Then what’s the problem? Jim Micah happens to believe that Lacey Montgomery has gotten away with murder far too long - the murder of her husband.

This was the first book I’ve read by Susan May Warren, but it won’t be the last. I’m now in search of the next book in the Team Hope series. I’m hoping that Hank and Sarah will be featured. They captured my attention immediately in Flee the Night.

kmparis

Boo Hiss - A Book Review

2007-08-04T02:45:00.000-07:00

Boo Hiss slithered on the scene and has taken readers aback. Rene Gutteridge’s newest installment in the Boo series has the town searching – for why a soccer field has just appeared in Skary, Indiana when there are no soccer teams, for why all of the sudden everyone in town is Internet crazy when the local coffee shop begins offering Internet access along with its new fancy coffees, and for a missing two-headed pet boa constrictor named Bob and Fred.

Throw into the mix a newly-wed couple, Melb and Oliver, who discover they are expectant parents unexpectedly, strife between newly-weds Wolfe and Ainsley Boone because of Melb’s and Oliver’s little problem, the hunt for Bob/Fred that goes on all over Skary, and the breach in reality for the town’s mayor thrusting the assistant mayor into the position of finding a solution to Skary’s money problems all alone, and you have a hilarious mix of plotlines to tickle your fancy.

Poor Wolfe is still at a loss, searching for that elusive new writing project. Facing editors to pitch projects is scary. It’s been a long while since Wolfe has had to do that. And poor Alfred, because of Wolfe’s desertion of his horror writing career, has had his career as an agent bottom out as well. Now Alfred, too, must find a new way to continue his career. Since Wolfe is so gung-ho Christian writing, Alfred figures he might as well join the bandwagon too. The results – totally insane.

Boo Hiss is fast-paced and captivating. You’ll turn page after page, looking for the next comic installment in the lives of Skary’s townspeople. And you’ll be sad when you reach the last page for the characters in Skary have become like friends to you, and you’ll miss them when the book is finished.

kmparis

The Reluctant Burglar - A Book Review

2007-08-03T00:52:00.000-07:00

Jill Elizabeth Nelson has written a suspense named Reluctant Burglar that will steal your attention. Reluctant Burglar is the first in Ms. Nelson’s To Catch A Thief series.

In this novel Desiree “Desi” Jacobs is pitted against her neimisis, Special Agent Anthony Lucano. Tony belives Hiram Jacobs and possibly his daughter, Desi are stealing priceless works of art. Before Tony can make his arrest, Hiram Jacobs is murdered. That leaves Desi. Is she involved? Or is she innocent?

Special Agent Lucano is a fake Christian, in Desi’s opinion. He joined their church just to harass Desi and her father. Now he is the one to announce to Desi the news of her father’s murder.
Desi is left to sort out the facts, alone, after the death of her father. Will Desi be able to clear her father’s name before her life is taken as well? Can Desi ever trust anyone again?

Tony continues to hound her in his efforts to solve his missing art case. Then the whole case explodes. Can Desi ever make sense of the pieces of her life raining down around her?
Jill’s writing style is easy to read and her characters are attractive. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in her series, Reluctant Runaway.

kmparis

Boo Who - A Book Review

2007-08-02T23:38:00.000-07:00

Boo Who is Rene Gutteridge’s next installment of the Boo series. And it follows with just as much fun as the original. Wolfe “Boo” Boone is trying to live a new life as Skary, Indiana’s newest used car salesman instead of writing the horror novels he is so known for all over the world.

But something’s not working. Wolfe finds the requirements of selling used cars a little too uncomfortable. Writing is what he knows, but he refuses, despite all efforts of his agent, to continue to write such things for the secular market. While he searches for a topic better suited to his status as a new Christian, Wolfe finds himself being overshadowed by the rising status of his finaceé, Ainsley Parker.

Alfred Tennison, Wolfe’s agent, devises a plan to get his best resource back on track – he’ll use Ainsley’s talents in cooking, decorating, etc., to make Wolfe jealous enough to return to his writing life.

Meantime the town has been inundated with mysterious figures flitting through the woods, strange screams in the night, and a psychological therapist who sets up for business in Skary, quite by accident, and has more patients than he ever dreamed of in his life.

Will all the new stresses in Ainsley’s life tear her apart from Wolfe and send their dream wedding down the drain? Will Wolfe give in to Alfred’s efforts and return to writing horror fiction? Will Sheriff Parker’s cat recover from his deep state of depression? All are questions that can only be answered by reading Boo Who.

kmparis

Before I Wake - A Book Review

2007-08-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

Before I Wake, Dee Henderson’s most recent novel, is just as gripping as the rest of her books. Rae Gabriella arrives in Justice, Illinois in search of a quiet place to settle and regroup her life. A former undercover investigator for the FBI, Rae is left dangling after her last case goes awry.

Rae’s former boyfriend, Bruce Chapel, has invited her to come to Justice to work with him as his partner in his private investigation service. Rae moves into town just as peace and quiet abandons Justice. On her way into town, Rae meets Sheriff Nathan Justice, thanks to her lead foot.

When bodies begin appearing in Justice, the town is flabbergasted. Could the murders be connected? Together Rae, Nathan and Bruce work to solve the crimes. Then Rae becomes a target. Why? What did she know? Time is against them. Will they figure it out before Rae becomes another casulty?

As usual, Dee’s writing grabs the reader and keeps the pages turning. The dash of romance Dee mixes into her suspense is just enough to satisfy readers who want it but not so much as to turn off readers who’d rather not have it.

Now, who will Rae Gabriella end up with – Nathan Justice or Bruce Chapel? We’ll just have to wait and see.

kmparis

The Wedding Caper - A Book Review

2007-07-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Janice A. Thompson has written a cozy mystery, The Wedding Caper, that presents readers with a slightly off-kilter ameuter sleuth. Annie Peterson has stumbled onto clues that point to her husband as the thief in a recent robbery of the Clark County Savings and Loan. Her clues? Warren has motive and opportunity – their twin daughters are both getting married soon, and Warren and Annie need money, thus the motive, and Warren works at the bank, thus the opportunity.

Could the Christian man Annie has been married to for the past twenty-seven years be guilty of such a felony? Annie sets about trying to stack up the clues so they point to someone, anyone else. The facts seem to be destined to stack up their own way and point directly to her husband. But then the case becomes even more clouded. Other suspects find their way to Annie’s list.

Janice places us in the mind of Annie when she writes the story in first person. We hurt for Annie as she tries desperately to rule out her husband. We laugh at Annie when she tries to hone her sleuthing skills over the Internet. We root for Annie to win the day and solve the crime in such a way that she will prove, without a doubt, that her husband is innocent of the crime.

If you like a light mystery versus heavy, dark ones, you’ll enjoy The Wedding Caper by Janice Thompson.

kmparis

Snitch - A Book Review

2007-07-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

I confess…I confess. I snatched Snitch from the arms of a stocking clerk in LifeWay Bookstore a few weeks ago. That’s right, straight from the young man’s arms. Shock, surprise, and awe flittered across his face. “I must have this copy,” I said as I made my way to the check-out counter to pay for my copy.

I didn’t need another book to read. I had just had a copy of another author’s newest book autographed to add to my ever towering stack of books to read. But I had to have Snitch. Rene Gutteridge’s Occupational Hazards series is just too enticing to put off purchasing. In fact, I read it immediately. I couldn’t resist – tempation got the better of me.

Snitch didn’t disappoint me. The characters are engaging, likeable and real. They have flaws; they’re not perfect, but they try. And the humor remains. For me, I think, the humor that Rene uses in her novels is one of the biggest draws of her writing style. Her style absorbs her readers. You’re in the midst of the book without trying.

Oh, yes, what is the plot of Snitch? Well, Mackenzie “Mack” Hazard, a member of the Hazard family (all former clowns), takes on a new job in undercover work for the Las Vegas Police Department. The task force she has been assigned to has a tough job – uncover the culprits in an auto theft ring operating in Las Vegas. The task force is headed by Sergeant Ron Yeager, a man a couple of years away from retirement. Yeager’s task force is comprised of rookies, expereinced undercover officers and a minister … a minister? Yes, an undercover minister on sabatical from his pulpit.

How can such a misfit group of people work together to achieve their purpose without getting them all killed? Read Snitch to find out if and how the task force solves their problem. Snitch is a book laugh-packed with thrills.

kmparis

Renovating Becky Miller - A Book Review

2007-07-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

Reading books written in first person is not usually my first choice, but I found Renovating Becky Miller so enticing that I forgot it was in first person.

Sharon Hinck drew me into the book by opening each chapter with a daydream Becky Miller was having. In beginning of each chapter, Becky loses herself in a movie she and her husband have seen on their weekly date nights. Then her real life comes crashing into reality!

Becky Miller’s life is not easy. She’s a mother, a wife, has a part-time job at her church working with the women’s ministries, and is disabled, just to add a little icing to her cake-of-a-life.

Already harrying, Becky’s life is complicated by the purchase of a new home for her family. What looked like the perfect solution to a cramped home life turns into a renovation nightmare for Becky and husband Kevin.

Will their marriage survive? Will the family survive? Will Becky remain sane, or will she lose herself in one of her daydreams and never come home?

I kept turning pages of Renovating Becky Miller partly because I had to know what Sharon would use as her next chapter opening, but mostly because I became engrossed in Becky’s life. I laughed and I cried and now I have to go back and find the first book in Sharon’s series about Becky Miller, The Secret Life of Becky Miller.

By the way, I guessed most of the titles of the movies Sharon uses as chapter opening scenarios, but in case you don’t recognize them, there is a list of them at the end of the book, just so you can satisfy your curiosity.

kmparis

Wild Rose - a Book Review

2007-07-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Ruth Axtell Morren has written a tender Cinderella story – Wild Rose. In this historical, Geneva Patterson is scorned by the members of her small fishing village, Haven’s End, rather than the members of her family. What family? She has none.

After the death of her father, Geneva is left alone to fend for herself. Her mother had passed away years before, and there are no siblings. Geneva lives her life as she sees fit, doing the best she can and ignoring the loneliness.

Only one bright light appears on Geneva’s horizon, Captain Caleb Phelps. He comes to her rescue when a group of village boys pick on her as she is tying to sell her fruits and vegetables. His kindness touches her and is branded in her memory.

Almost a year later, Captain Phelps returns to Haven’s End to live. He has fled from Boston where his name is running through the gossip mill. Even his father has succumbed to the rumors.

In a rough sort of way, Geneva and Caleb form a friendship. She offers advice and assistance in growing his garden, and he returns her help by loaning his muscles for her heavy work and treating her as an equal.

As you read, Wild Rose, you will be drawn into the story and the characters. You’ll cheer Geneva and Caleb along their journeys to freedom, joy, spiritual enlightenment, and love.

kmparis

Bygones - A Book Review

2007-07-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

Kim Vogel Sawyer has written another thought-provoking novel, Bygones. Marie Koeppler was shunned by her father when she left the Mennonite order in Sommerfield, Kansas to wed Jep Quinn. Her husband is killed early in their marriage, leaving her with a small child, daughter Beth.

Marie’s father’s heart is so hardened toward his daughter he refuses to even speak of her. As a result, Marie raises her daughter alone, abandoning her Mennonite beliefs. Her aunt, Lisbeth, never forgot her niece. She and Henry Braun, a friend of Marie’s, had prayed through the years for Marie to return to her home and her roots.

Unexpectedly, Henry shows up at the diner where Marie works in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He brings with him the news that Marie’s Aunt Lisbeth has died and left her property, a house and a café, to Marie’s daughter Beth.

The glitch – Beth must reside in Sommerfield for a minimum of three months in order to inherit the property. Marie’s dilemma – Will she allow Beth to go alone, or will she return and suffer through the three months in the midst of people who see her as a traitor to their way of life?

Marie chooses to go with Beth to help guide her and protect her. Marie realizes the time will pass quickly, but it won’t be without turmoil. Her motherly instinct spurs her to accompanying her daughter.

Henry is torn between his love of Marie, which never ended, and his duty to Lisbeth. His friendship with Lisbeth carries its own turmoil. Lisbeth held the belief that one day, with enough prayer and time, Marie would return to her heritage. Henry, knowing Lisbeth as he did, hopes her opinion will be proven true, but he is afraid to let his heart believe.

Can Marie resolve her emotional conflicts, as well as the mystery surrounding her return to Sommerfield? Or will she and Beth leave town once more amidst a cloud of accusation and controversy? Will Henry’s heart be broken once again, or will he find the love he has longed for during the past twenty years?

Kim Vogel Sawyer’s writing style will draw you into the lives of her characters with ease, and you’ll have to let the housework go because you can’t put Bygones down. So pick a time when you can send the kids off to friends’ homes and your husband is on an out-of-town trip, or else call the pizza delivery number and let them all fend for themselves while you lose yourself in Bygones.

kmparis

The Reliance by M. L. Tyndall - A Review

2007-05-13T01:02:00.000-07:00

Weigh anchors, set sail, and hang on for a stormy ride! M. L. Tyndall is back with book two of the legacy of the King's Pirates - The Reliance. In this second book, Ms. Tyndall brings back to the pages of her book the same characters she introduced us to in The Redemption. Captain Edmund Merrick and his bride, Charlisse, are abruptly torn apart when the pirate, Captain Morgan and his formidable pirate crew attack Fort San Lorenzo in the dark of the night.

Ripped apart from one another by an evil plan of Kent Carlton, captain of the Vanquisher and compatriot of Captain Morgan, both Edmund and Charlisse fall victim to the despair of grief. They are cast adrift by their separation and must battle evil doubts and temptations thrown before them by the evil one who tries to steal all Christians from their God. Can Edmund and Charlisse win their battles? Or will they each give in and sink to the depths of hell? Only by reading The Reliance will you find the answers to these questions.

Ms. Tyndall has once again managed to transport the reader back in time to the period where travel on the high seas was as dangerous from assault by pirates as it was by assault from tempest-tossed seas in the midst of violent storms. Although the book is the second in a series of three, it can be read and enjoyed without having read The Redemption. But, for those of us who did read the first book, this is a chance to see what has happened to Edmund and Charlisse in the past three years of their lives.

The Reliance is a page-turner that will have you staying up late to finish just one more chapter only to find that you've spent hours reading and are nearing the final chapter of the book while daylight brightens the eastern sky.

kmparis

We're Back!

2007-05-13T00:42:00.000-07:00

We've had a long hiatus due to many things happening in our lives. Hopefully this blog will be maintained and updated in a timely fashion from now on. If you're returning in hopes to catch something new, please forgive us for the long delay. Life happens. There are only so many hours in a day and so many days in a week. Thanks for your patience with us!

East Texas Writers' Association is a group of individuals who share a love of writing, or readers who love to read others' writing and want to associate with those who have a passion for writing. We meet every second Friday of each month. From January through November, we are currently meeting at Casa Ole on Spur 63 in Longview, Texas, next door to Kroger. Our meeting begins at 7:00 P.M. We have a short business meeting and then, generally, a program on some writing related topic. After a short break, members who wish to do so share a piece of writing with the rest of the group. Please join us when you are able and bring something of yours to share with us if you'd like. We welcome all visitors and hope those visitors will return the next month as new members. Our dues are $20 per year and must be renewed by the end of January each year.
kmparis

Boo by Rene Gutteridge - A Book Review

2006-11-01T00:22:00.000-08:00

Rene Gutteridge penned a sweet romantic comedy named Boo a couple of years ago. Strange title, strange town, strange people - but oh, so much fun to read. Rene is an artist, pure and simple, in the creation of touching comedy.

Boo is the nickname the townspeople of Skary, Indiana have given to the town's favorite celebrity, Wolfe Boone. Wolfe is a world-renown horror writer who has chosen to settle in Skary. The town is small and was on the verge of dying like many tiny places in America when the interstate highways bypass them. They have nothing to draw tourists to the businesses populating the town. So one by one the proprietors close out, shut down and fade into oblivion.

But, when Wolfe Boone moves into town things changed. Business owners renamed their establishments to reflect Boo's writing genre. A local, once ordinary diner formerly called Sylvia's, is now known as The Haunted Mansion and serves such ghoulish fare as "Bloody Fingers", French fries doused in ketchup, and "Queasy Quesadillas", a disgusting mixture of cheese, red tortillas, mashed green chilies and black bean paste.

Other shop owners joined the horror revolution turning Skary into the horror capital of the world, or at least rural Indiana. Pretty much everyone in town became gung ho on the horror train, except Ainsely Parker that is. Skary's version of Shirley Temple is completely turned off by the town's embracing of Wolfe Boone's eerie writing genre.

Ainsley refuses to join her fellow townspeople in adoring Wolfe's books. In fact she doesn't like him, even though she's never actually met him. She's seen him, of course, around town and in The Haunted Mansion, where she works as a waitress. But she refuses to serve him herself. Instead she makes anyone else working at the restaurant when he comes in as a customer wait on him.The renovation of Skary into a museum of sorts in honor of Wolfe's books brings tourists to town in droves, in the form of horror fans wanting to buy Boo's latest book in the town where he lives. They spend their money and their time there in hopes of catching a glimpse of Wolfe.

But now, there are a couple of problems. Wolfe is not the man of the reputation the town has created. Instead he's a kind and gentle person who's really lonely. He only has his pet German shepherds, Goose and Bunny, as close friends. It wasn't what he had foreseen when he moved into town. And it surely wasn't what he wanted. Now something's happened that has changed his life forever and is going to affect the future of the town - Wolfe Boone has become a Christian and plans to write horror no more.

Ainsley Parker, Martha Stewart's number one fan, and town do-gooder can't believe the change in Wolfe is for real. She feels like his "conversion" is a publicity stunt and that his true nature will surface once again, soon. Then she is forced to become acquainted with Wolfe and begins to see through the outer layers into the true man inside.

Throw into the mix a would-be suitor for Ainsley in the guise of Garth Twyne, local veterinarian, and Miss Missy Peeple, town busybody, and then top the whole thing off with more cats running loose than any town has a right to have, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Missy Peeple, who knows all the dirt on all the townspeople, uses her knowledge to her advantage to try to get Wolfe to return to his old ways. If he stops writing, then Skary will start dying again, and Missy is not about to let that happen. Using blackmail, she enlists various people around town into helping her.

Garth Twyne is pretty much stalking Ainsley, and there's nothing she can do about it. The sheriff, her own father, thinks there's nothing wrong with Garth's pursuit of Ainsley. In fact, he's all for it. Garth has hung around so long, that Sheriff Parker can't understand Ainsley's reticence in regard to his frequent efforts to get her to date him.

How will it all end? Will Missy Peeple succeed in causing Wolfe to backslide? Will the town really be destroyed if he never again pens another horror tale? Will Garth win the love of his life and get Ainsley to marry him?

Once more, Ms. Gutteridge has created a group of characters that could live right in your own town. I got so involved in the lives of the people of Skary that by the end of Boo I wanted to throttle Missy Peeple and kick Garth Twyne in the shins.

I would have felt bereft at the end of Boo because there was no more to read about Skary and it's people, but I didn't have to - there are already two more books in the series in print! Boo was released in 2003. It was followed by Boo Who in 2004 and Boo Hiss in 2005, and they will be followed by Boo Humbug in 2007.

Sitting in my to-be-read library are copies of the two released sequels in the Boo series. They came in the mail today. I'm going to start on Boo Who as soon as this entry is posted. I can't wait to get back to Skary, Indiana.

kmparis

Submerged by Alton Gansky - A Book Review

2006-10-31T01:32:00.000-08:00

Ohhh, a scary Sci-Fi book! I was really glad Submerged was a book so I didn't have a modern screen version flashing in front of my eyes as I read the prologue. Mr. Gansky's verbal description was enough to make me go Ewww, gross.

Did I quit reading Submerged? No, way. I was hooked. By the time I finished the book, late one night all alone in the mountains of North Carolina in a strange cabin, I was almost too spooked to turn off the light. Now that's good writing. I'm not easily scared by reading material. The last time a book frightened me this much was in the early 70's when I tried to read In Cold Blood. Now, that book I returned to the library unfinished. But In Cold Blood was about a real situation and this one I knew was fiction.

Alton Gansky has written a tight, page turning novel with characters that are engaging. As Henry Sachs lies dying in the hospital, his son Perry and a couple of friends drive to Nevada in search of clues to Henry's mysterious illness. In reading Submerged I could feel Perry's desparation as his mission drew him away from his father's bedside. He wants to find the answer to his father's illness, yet he yearns to be with his father and support his mother as she waits the final outcome of her husband's illness.

The group's journey is delayed and nearly ended by interference from government troops trying to keep everyone away from the area known to only a few as Lake Loyd. The top-secret underground base located beneath Lake Loyd seems to be the source of some fantastic incidents affected anyone entering it.

Henry Sachs and a team of scientists investigated the base four decades earlier, and now two of them are dead. Two members of the team remain. One of them is not expected to live out the week. The other one, Dr. Victor Zeisler, joins Perry's team in search of answers. He alone appears to have not been affected by the illness that has killed the other two members of the investigative team, Monte Grant and Cynthia Wagner. Why is Zeisler still alive?

Will Perry's team find the answers they seek? Will they make it out of the hidden base alive, or will they be affected by the unknown illness as well? Will Henry Sachs live through his ordeal? And what is the source of the power that drives the mechanisms inside the base?

Submerged is a thought provoking novel. It will speed up your heart rate. This is another novel you need to read during the light of day. It is not a book to read just before bedtime, unless you like having nightmares.

kmparis

Landon Snow And the Island of Arcanum by R. K. Mortenson - A Book Review

2006-10-30T00:08:00.000-08:00

As a fourth grade teacher, it was part of my job to encourage students to read as much as possible. When Harry Potter came on the scene it took the world by storm. Everyone was reading and discussing the books including students in my classes.

I had a problem because of the subject matter in the Harry Potter series. Other teachers in my building, my district and other districts were promoting the books even to the point of reading them aloud to their classes. Since I disagreed that the books were wonderful, I was an island of negativity in the ocean of promoters. I chose not to recommend the books to my students, but I didn't refuse to let them read the books. I didn't have anything to suggest in place of them.

It's too bad that I'm now retired. Landon Snow And the Island of Arcanum would be one book I could recommend to students to read. Instead of evil and sorcery, Landon Snow depends on the power of the Auctor, R. K. Mortenson's term in this series of books for God, to help him defeat evil.

Written for the upper elementary school age child, Landon Snow And the Island of Arcanum is book three in Reverend Mortenson's series. Landon Snow and his sisters, Holly and Bridget, are drawn into another world when they visit the Button Up Library. Characters from the first two books in the series reappear in this current installation when the three siblings are transported to what appears to be another time period, that of Noah's Ark.

All the animals from a place called Wonderwood have been sent to the island of Arcanum where they are held captive by the evil presence of Malus Quidam. Landon and his sisters learn of the animals' disappearance when they are confronted by the arrival of a vessel on their lonely ocean that seems to be Noah's Ark and is manned by friends Landon has encountered before, Vates, Epops, Trumplestump, Wagglewhip, Melech, Hardy, Ditty and Ludo to name a few.

The mission Landon and his compatriots must complete is an important one to the world of Wonderwood and carries much danger with it. Can Landon and his troupe save the animals of Wonderwood and return them home again? Or will Malus Quidam succeed in destroying the whole group and drawing them into his evil world?

Children will find Landon Snow And the Island of Arcanum entertaining, especially if they read the first two books in the series, Landon Snow and the Auctor's Riddle and Landon Snow and the Shadows of Malus Quidam, prior to reading this third installment in the series.

km paris

Just In Case - A Book Review by Mike Lantz

2006-10-29T01:29:00.000-08:00

I’d like to think that most people have a favorite book. I have several. One of my favorites right now is 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published, And 14 Reasons Why It Just Might by Pat Walsh.

Walsh, a former editor and publisher, presents a concise and informative book about writing from an editor’s perspective and discusses the good things and bad things writers do (and don’t do). Walsh is humorous and serious at the same time. You have to laugh at some of his stories but then shake your head when you realize he is serious.

You’ll note from the title that there are over five times as many reasons why a book will not get published than there are why it might. And there are probably a lot more than that; Walsh never claims to have a definitive list. Definitive or not, the book is a good one, and it should make an excellent check list for any aspiring writer who thinks he might be ready to submit his book for publication.

Walsh’s list is too long for me to list here. Suffice it to say that much of Walsh’s advice to the aspiring writer is common sense, and practical advice though it may be, Walsh leaves little doubt there are numerous aspiring writers apparently lacking or deficient in this attribute. Certainly, should one aspire to publish, the writer would hope to use common sense to his own advantage; and in that sense, Walsh gives the aspiring writer a head start.

I have read and re-read this book and attempted to commit parts of it to memory. It is remarkable to me that such pragmatic advice should sound so profound. Here is just one example from “Reason #6 (why your book may never be published): You Think Writing Is Easy”:

“Great writers do not rest on their laurels and they do not ever feel they have produced their best work. They look for areas in which they have failed so they can improve and they want feedback that is honest and blunt. They know that biting criticism may hurt, but misguided praise can harm.” (p. 23)

That sounds almost Biblical to me. It’s hard advice, but it’s true. That’s why this book sets on a shelf in my study next to other books I think are essential to good writing. My personal recommendation is if you only read one book on writing this year, this should be it. I don’t think you can go wrong by reading and applying Walsh’s advice.

Mike Lantz, East Texas Writers Guild
Guest Reviewer

Moongate by William Proctor & David J. Weldon, M. D. - A Book Review

2006-10-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

Moongate by William Proctor and David J. Weldon, M. D. is a novel for the science-minded individual.The novel is set a few years into the future and presents some realistic predictions of technology that could conceivably develop by then, if some of it is not already here. Moongate is heavy with technology and suspense.

Scott Andrews is the central character. His job is to coordinate the construction of a laser-based fusion generator on the moon that will produce enough energy to allow Earth to forgo its dependency on fossil fuels for electricity.

An international team of scientists is headed for final training in Houston. Before all of them can arrive one of the members is killed in a car accident. His substitute is a Russian scientist with some suspicious philosophies. Andrews is unhappy with the new member and his associate, but there is nothing that can be done at that point without delaying the mission.

A series of accidents casts doubt on the success of the venture as the book unfolds. Scott Andrews receives information from his assistant back on Earth that exposes a secret, secondary experiment some of the team is planning. Can Andrews stop the experiment in order to focus on the primary mission in time?

Then the group receives a mysterious message. What does it mean? Who sent it? What impact will it have on the final outcome of the mission?

As a long-time fan of good science fiction, it was nice to finally read a book not chocked full of foul language and sexual scenes. Actually, this was the first book in the science fiction genre that I purchased and read that was published after 1963. It was in 1969 that I bought and read Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. It ruined science fiction in book form for me. After that I refused to buy anything with a publication date in the mid-60's and beyond.

Oh, it wasn't that I didn't want romance mixed with my science fiction. I'm all for romance in any genre, but why the need for crude vulgarity and sexual explicitness? I was excited a couple of years ago to realize that writers were producing science fiction and fantasy in the inspirational markets. Maybe I could start reading science fiction again. I bought Moongate at the American Christian Fiction Writers conference in Denver in 2004. I just got around to reading it. If you could see my stack of books-to-be-read you would understand. Also, I've been concentrating on suspense in order to write suspense.

Though the writing in Moongate was a little stiff and technical, I enjoyed the story. One of the secondary characters, Michael James, really caught my attention. I believe Michael James is a cross-over character from a novel by William Proctor titled The Last Star. This character interested me enough that I want to track down and purchase a copy of The Last Star in order to read it.

Moongate gave me hope that there is more good science fiction out there and more to come. I know now where to look for it - in the Christian bookstores.

kmparis

Scoop by Rene Gutteridge - A Book Review

2006-10-27T00:29:00.000-07:00

What fun! I received a copy of Scoop as a gift for working in the American Christian Fiction Writers bookstore during the 2006 conference in Dallas. I took the book with me to a late night chat that the Rene Gutteridge was giving on Saturday night. I had missed her during the book signing session earlier that afternoon, and I wanted to meet her.

Rene Gutteridge was a curiosity to me. I had read her novel, Ghost Writer, several years ago and liked it. It is different. It intrigued me. The main character was male. I thought Rene was male because she writes such a strong male character. I realized my mistake on Thursday, September 21, when I walked by her talking with a couple of conference attendees and saw her name tag. So when I was offered a couple of free books for volunteering in the bookstore, and I saw Scoop in the pile, I took it.

After the late night chat, I approached Rene with Scoop in order to get her autograph. She surprised me when she wanted to know how I had gotten hold of a copy - the book's publication date wasn't until the middle of October, a month away. The publishing company wouldn't even send copies of Scoop for her to sell in the bookstore, though she had pleaded with them. Apparently they had sent at least one copy in a shipment of books they were donating to the conference, and I was lucky enough to get it.

I took Scoop along with me on vacation the next week. I am now a die-hard Rene Gutteridge fan! What a sense of humor her writing has. I've bought and read books with labels on them claiming that my money would be returned if I didn't find them hilarious. I didn't find them as funny as the publisher claimed, but I never returned the books for my money back. I'm working too hard to get published to snub another writer that way. Those books were good - just not as funny as claimed.

But Scoop is a different story. From the obituaries prior to chapter one (Yes, I said obituaries.) forward through the end, I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. I just had to read parts of it aloud to my friend while we were at the cabin in North Carolina as we sat on the porch in our rocking chairs, reading. She laughed too. I was afraid that I would wake her up with my laughing from half way across the cabin that night as I cackled at the story I was in the middle of. We both had our doors closed and a closet and the bathroom separated the bedrooms, but I laughed so hard I was afraid she would tell me to be quiet.

Rene's characters are so real I'd like to meet them. Ray Duffey, news reporter, could be your next door neighbor. Hayden Hazard might be your sister. Roarke Keegan will bring tears to your eyes as you suffer with him through his trials. Your sympathies will go out to Gilda Braun, aging news anchor, as she nears the end of her broadcast career.

Scoop takes you into the world of broadcast news during an all-important sweeps week. For a small broadcast station in competition with a couple of larger ones in town, coming up with a scoop to bring in viewers is vital. So the hunt is on for a high-profile breaking news story.

Hugo Talley, Channel 7 news producer, is determined to make his station come out on top this year. So he orders his news reporters to be on the lookout. He knows, if they work hard enough, they will find him a good story. But a series of disasters within his news staff threatens to bury his goal and even lose his job for him. Can he save the week and bring Channel 7 out on top anyway? Or will Hayden Hazard, his new assistant, destroy the station with her goody-two-shoes act instead of helping him solve the problems? What does she mean, anyway, bringing prayer into the work place?

If you love romantic comedy, you'll rush out and get a copy of Rene Gutteridge's Scoop as soon as you can. And then, I'll bet you'll be like me and search for anything more by Rene that you can find.

kmparis

The Redemption by M. L. Tyndall - Book Review

2006-10-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

Swashbuckling pirates, battles at sea, a lady in distress, and a missing father all combine in The Redemption by M. L. Tyndall. This is book one in her Legacy of the King's Pirates series from Barbour.

The first surprise came when I realized that the pirate captain, Edmund Merrick, had already become a Christian. How could this be? How could he continue his "occupation" as a pirate and profess to be a Christian? The questions drove me to read as quickly as I could. Finally it dawned on me. Edmund was a British subject in 1665 working at the Queen's order. He was a "legal" pirate. He and his pirate crew hunt down Spanish ships for the Queen. The British were at odds with the Spanish during this time period. With these facts straight in my mind, I could finish the book.

The problem with not with Ms. Tyndall's writing; it was with my lack of quick knowledge of the history of the time period.

I must say that in spite of my confusion I had to keep reading. Edmund Merrick's character enticed me to keep going to see how he would deal with the conflicts he experienced between the requirements of his job and his need to follow a more Christian path. Would he change or revert to his pre-Christian ways?

In Lady Charlisse Bristol, M. L. Tyndall created a strong heroine. Her determination to live after the shipwreck that stranded her alone on a deserted island and to find her missing father made me want to cheer her on. As Charlisse struggles to get through all the trials, I wondered how much more could she endure?

I've watched a lot of movies about pirates and enjoyed them, but I've not done a lot of reading from this time period. I am looking forward to the next book in this series, though. Ms. Tyndall's writing style, characterizations, and historical settings made me wonder what will happen in The Reliance when it is published next spring. The weaving of the threads of historical facts is so well done in this novel that the unfamiliar nature of them became a rich background instead of a jarring intrusion.

The romance M. L. Tyndall writes in The Redemption drew me into the story as well. Would Edmund and Charlisse find a way to cross the ocean of doubt and fear between them in order to be able to acknowledge their attraction for one another?

Women readers will find this story captivating, yet it is written with a strong enough hero to attract male readers as well.

kmparis

Vacations From Vacations

2006-10-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Vacations are wonderful things - up to a point. Planning and looking forward to going on vacation can be exciting. The anticipation of the day coming for departure can be agonizing to wait for. Finally the day arrives, and you're off!

Vacation this year had been planned for Maggie Valley in the western mountains of North Carolina. Elaine and I were going to leave on September 29 and meander around until Monday, October 2. On that day we would move into the cabin we had rented (prepaid, non-refundable!) for 10 days. This was to be a sit and write and take short day trips vacation. No moving in and out of motels every day or so for us this year.

Before we could leave my house we got a phone call from my sister's boss - she had fallen and hurt her knee. They were on the way home from the hospital. I picked up her truck, and Elaine arrived. We cautioned Krissy to be careful, loaded Elaine's Trail Blazer with my stuff and headed out.

My mother was developing bronchitis, so I asked my two sisters to get her to the doctor for antibiotics - they didn't. Everything else seemed to be going smoothly. We stopped at Pigeon Forge for a couple of nights and checked into the cabin on Monday. Tuesday the 3rd I got a phone call from home. My mother's brother had died. The funeral was planned for Friday. I offered to fly home, but my mother said for me to stay put. Tuesday night Elaine got a phone call from home. Her mother had fallen on her face and given herself black eyes and a broken nose. Also on Tuesday another one of my sisters (there are 3 others besides me) had carpal tunnel surgery on her right hand. She did fine.

Enough, right? But no, it didn't stop there. Another phone call from my house on Thursday. My mother's youngest sister had been sent to the hospital. Saturday morning brought yet another phone call. A teacher friend I had worked with for 18 years was letting me know that her husband had just died.

The object had been to write. We were managing to work on a new book and a new food product we're developing during all this mess. I didn't get a chance to work on my individual work in progress, but that was okay.

Sunday came and went without any new tragedies. The rain came down steadily from Saturday night through Sunday. We attended church at the Maggie Valley United Methodist Church on Sunday, and then decided to try Mexican food in North Carolina. Bad idea. It usually is when Texans try to find Mexican food out of state. We eat Tex-Mex, and most other people cook true Mexican food. It is usually much more bland and doesn't fit the taste buds of Texans.

Oh, by the way, don't try barbecued beef brisket outside of Texas either. It's not a good thing. Pork and chicken might be alright, but not brisket. Too dry - too tough, and the sauce requires finagaling with in order to get the correct taste. We managed to mix a decent sauce when we ate at Butts on the Creek in Maggie Valley. It took combining the molasses version with a good bit of the honey mustard version and adding a big dash of the spicy vinegar sauce they had on the table in order to bring it to Texas standards.

Our plan for Monday was to drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway toward Deep Gap, North Carolina. The mission for the day - see the trees along the parkway, take lots of pictures and buy cheese curd (pounds of it) and fresh apples. The first part of our mission we would accomplish along the parkway, and the second (and most important part) was to get to Deep Gap and buy the cheese curd and apples. Those items alone would be worth the 300 mile round trip.

Elaine had gotten up, dressed and then woke me up. I showered and dressed as she cooked a little breakfast and packed the ice chest for the day. I ate quickly and grabbed the jelly, butter, etc., to put back in the refrigerator. She picked up the ice chest and started to the car. Before I could make it across the room with the stuff in my arms I heard the crash of the ice chest hitting the ground. I winced and asked, "You didn't fall, did you?" Elaine has a tendency to be just a little klutzy from time to time. Ask her sometime about falling down the side of the mountain in Arkansas when she was a teen.

As you can surmise, she slipped on a step and sat down really hard. Her right foot slipped forward, but her left foot hung behind her, knee bent completely back and a little twisted. She answered, "Uh, yeah," to my question. I dropped the food and went out the door. She had straightened out her knee and was rubbing her left ankle and trying to stand up. She managed to get to her feet and walked around for a few steps. She thought she might have sprained her ankle. Back up the stairs she went (there are about seven steps from ground to porch) into the cabin to take off her shoe, sock, and brace (yes, she already had a brace on her left foot/ankle). She rubbed some Aspercreme on her ankle and various other spots on her body that were smarting from the fall and put her shoe back on along with the brace. We got to the car to get gas and decide whether to go ahead with our trip or rest for the remainder of the day. Once in the Trail Blazer, me at the wheel since she was a little shaky, Elaine decided she'd better get her ankle checked out.

We had been on vacation in the area a couple of times before and stayed in the town of Waynesville about 6 - 7 miles from Maggie Valley. We knew where the hospital was, so we headed there. Elaine is an R.N. and the last place she wanted to visit on vacation was a hospital, but check it out we did. Nice people, but we'd rather not have met them, if you know what I mean. The doctor was cute but much too young for us. The nurse-tech turned out to be a retired nurse who had lived in Dallas for 20 years working in the area. The final diagnosis - hairline fracture of the outer leg bone just above the ankle!

The prescription - a "boot" up to her knee, crutches and no weight on the broken leg until she could get back to Texas and a doctor here. As I mentioned before, Elaine is not a ballerina and Grace is not her middle name (mine either!). I could see her trying to "hop" up the stairs to the cabin for the next three days and falling backward to the ground when trying to use the crutches. We talked it over, and I suggested a walker instead. We conferred with the nurses when they arrived; they agreed and supplied her with a walker.

After being released came the flurry of activity to fill pain meds and call work to let them know what had happened to her and to find the number of a doctor back home who accepted her insurance and had an open appointment for the next week. We did this while away from the cabin because we didn't have much "tower" for the cell phones in the cabin. Finally we got back to the cabin about 3:30. We started out at 9:15 that morning.

It is extremely difficult to carry things while using a walker. I was experienced. Oh, not for myself but by watching my mother on hers. Elaine had to use her walker as crutches and hop instead which increases the difficulty of carrying things. So the retired teacher, untrained except in minor first aid becomes the nurse to the nurse. Not a pretty sight, let me tell you.

Then the thought struck me. Elaine couldn't load the car. I'm slow due to being very overweight and out of shape. I commented on that and figured it would take a long time for me to get it all done. Elaine is much faster at packing the car. I did work out a plan so that she could help, but she just laughed at my suggestion. I had my backpack with me. I could move everything to the porch, drive the car to the edge of the porch, Elaine could get down the stairs to the ground and put on the empty backpack. I would fill up the backpack and she could hop over to the car and unload the backpack before coming back to the porch for another load. She laughed and refused. Can you believe it?

On Tuesday, after the broken leg incident, we tried once more for the Blue Ridge. It was gorgeous and cold. We took many rolls of pictures and made it to Deep Gap for cheese curd and apples. Along the way there was another phone call from my home. My mother's bronchitis had turned into pneumonia and the ambulance had taken her away to the hospital. In a way it was a relief. I had been more worried about her being at home and suffering. In the hospital she would get the medications and breathing treatments she needed to get well.

Wednesday brought more rain and packing. We had lots of dirty clothes, so I loaded them up and went to wash in the afternoon. On the way into Waynesville I passed a gasoline station we had been watching for over a week. The price kept going lower and lower. A few days before it dropped to $1.99 9/10! That day it had dipped to an all-time low (in recent history) of $1.97 9/10. I pulled in and filled up. I wasn't risking a rise while I was at the laundramat, no sir. I knew it might drop a bit lower, but I refused to wait. When I drove back by it was still at the same price, thank goodness.

I packed as much as I could Wednesday night and finished up Thursday morning. On the way out of town we took pictures of Maggie Valley and stopped to drop off the keys to the cabin and tell them to clean off the stairs before the next renters moved in and apply that slip resistant gritty "stuff" to the steps to keep someone else from slipping when the steps get wet. We hadn't reported the accident because a clause in the contract prevented Elaine from filing a claim for the cost of her injury. There is a little gray area in the contract, but we let it drop. Someone with a really good lawyer might win the point though.

The trip home was uneventful except for traffic delays in getting through Knoxville, due to construction, and again (same reason) in getting through Memphis the next morning. There was a positive point at the end of the day on Thursday. We checked into a motel, The Old English Inn in Jackson, TN and there were two, yes two, wheelchairs in the lobby for use by customers! A surprise for Elaine after a tiring day. She could ride to our room instead of hop. Oh, she could do some of the driving since it was her left leg that was broken, and that was a great help. And she made a record of NOT stopping to take bathroom breaks - too far to hop to the facilities often. McDonald's holds the record for being about the shortest distance from car to restroom in case you're interested.

All in all it was a good vacation. The weather was beautiful most of the time. The trees were blooming glorious shades of red, yellow, and orange. We got to see an expanding herd of elk near Maggie Valley. There was a quilt show the first week we were in Maggie Valley - perfect scheduling in my opinion. I found $115 in the cabin the first night we were there, but, sigh, turned it into the rental agency and never heard about it again. Someone had hidden it beneath the base of a pole lamp in my bedroom. I moved the lamp that night to place it beside the bed so I could read at night and not have to get out of bed to turn off the light. There was a wad of money staring up at me from the floor. I thought it was fake at first. We laughed a lot at the weird situations cropping up almost daily. We made it home with 8 1/2 pounds of cheese curd and about 20 pounds of fresh apples and 10 pounds of fresh oranges.

My mother got home from the hospital on Monday of this week and is doing well. Elaine saw her doctor on Tuesday and was fitted with a hard cast so she could finally WALK again and go back to work next week. The film hasn't been developed yet because I forgot to take it with me to Wal-Mart when I picked up medicine for Moma on Monday, and I haven't been back since. My sister with the torn knee has an appointment next week with a specialist in Shreveport, so things are settling down.

Still, it has been a busy week since we got back. I haven't had time to take a vacation to get over my vacation, though. Maybe I can have some time to myself next week. Maybe.

kmparis

Writing Conference - ACFW

2006-09-27T23:48:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe it has been so long since I posted an entry! I knew I had been busy getting ready for the American Christian Fiction Writers conference, but my goodness it has been forever. Please excuse me.

The ACFW conference is a tremendous experience. I added an extra day because I went to what the organizers called the Early Bird Conference. I wasn't sure what I expected, but it turned out to be a brainstorming session for the attendees. I came away with some good ideas to add to my work-in-progress (wip), Wyoming Wind. Deborah Raney and Colleen Coble were the reviewers/moderators of the session. They reviewed and critiqued submissions from 44 participants during the month preceding the conference. If they had as much work put into all 44 submissions as they did mine, they spent most of their waking moments over the last four weeks at their computers working on our work, not theirs. What dedication to the art of writing in the development of future published writers!

This is the third ACFW conference I've attended. The first was in Houston, followed the next year by the one in Denver. I missed the Nashville conference last year, but this year's was held in Dallas. Next year's conference will be held again in Dallas. If you're looking for a good writing conference to attend let me suggest the ACFW conference. It's expensive, but the cost includes all meals served from Thursday evening through Sunday breakfast (except Friday night this year). The hotel provided two snack breaks per day on Friday and Saturday as well. This is a Christian fiction writing conference, but that shouldn't make any difference. Most of the workshops presented focused on the art of writing which would apply to all writers of fiction, Christian or secular.

Another major plus to this conference is the availability of agents and editors. With your registration fee you can request a private meeting with one agent and one editor. I nearly cancelled both of my meetings, but I went ahead and met with an agent and an editor. The meeting with the agent was less than successful. She wasn't interested in me or my wip. She suggested that I speak with an editor for Love Inspired to pitch my wip idea. I already had an appointment scheduled for Melissa Endlich (the Steeple Hill/Love Inspired editor representative at the conference), so I met with her on Saturday and had a measure of success. She asked me to contact the company when I had my wip completed and send it to them at that point.

Am I excited about that? Sort of. I have the same feeling that I had when I went to an interview with Pat Smith, former superintendent of Marshall ISD, twenty-two years ago. I knew I was going to get the job at MISD before I went to the interview. The problem - I didn't want the job. I didn't want to work in Marshall. But I went. I got the job, and I spent the next twenty years working for MISD. Was it what I wanted? No. I wanted to teach at Sabine ISD; right here at home; just down the street. I didn't want to spend twenty years driving from home to Marshall and back ten months a year. I told myself I'd work for MISD for a while and then get a job closer to home. I applied a couple of times at Sabine ISD after that, but each time I left the interview I prayed that I wouldn't get the job. I didn't get either one. I knew I was supposed to stay in Marshall. I can't tell you why. I still don't know.

Now I have that feeling about Love Inspired. I'd rather be published by Multnomah, Tyndale, Bethany House, or Barbour. But is that what God wants for me? I don't know. We shall see. Of course I have to finish Wyoming Wind and have it written well enough for them to accept. I think I'm a little daunted by the prospect. After all I have to produce 60,000 - 65,000 words and don't have a lot of time in which to get them done. So I'll set a goal of January 1, 2007 for myself to complete the rough draft and see what happens.

I'm leaving Friday morning to go on a writing vacation to the mountains of North Carolina with my friend and writing partner Elaine. Normally we both have a laptop to carry with us. Mine died last month. I'd arranged to borrow one from my niece, but she's had an offer to purchase it by a friend of her brother, so it went back to her. I can't afford to buy it myself right now and go on vacation, so I may have to write on Wyoming Wind by hand while I'm on vacation because Elaine and I will be writing on a couple of projects for ourselves during that time using her laptop. That also leaves me without Internet access, so I won't be writing on this blog during that time. I hope to have a couple of guest bloggers during the next two weeks, but if not, I'll see you when I come home.

kmparis

Critiquing, An Art

2006-09-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

As a writer I look for assurance that my writing is of high quality. I want everyone to love, or at least really enjoy what I write. So when I hand over my books to someone else to read I'm hoping they will tell me they loved it and can't wait for another one to be printed.

Four years ago this month, I went to a writing conference, my first, walked into a 15 minute interview with an agent, and walked out with the woman wanting to represent me. Talk about an ego boost, wow! The agent had read the one book I had gotten published in July of that same year and loved it. I flew on a cloud for weeks. It was validation that my writing partner and I were good.

But was that true? Four years have passed without another contract. The agent? Well, she is a sweet woman but didn't manage to sell anything for us. About six months ago she asked to be released as our agent because she hadn't done us any good. Thus I became a free agent again.

Was the agent a good judge of my writing? I don't know. But I have been seeking a good critique group to join. I had been in a group with five other ETWA members. It was good for as long as it lasted. One problem with the group I had joined was that we were too diverse, I think. Members started dropping out until only two of us remained, so we disbanded.

It might have been too early for me to be part of a critique group. Again I don't know. I do know that sharing my writing with others is fine as long as I'm not in the room at the time. I am, after all, a shy person. Hush, those of you laughing right now, I am shy, introverted and insecure. Unbelievable, some of you are saying. It's true, but that's another story.

I have grown as a writer and person in the past four years. I find it easier to read sections of my books aloud to other people now, although marginally. What I do know is that I want honest appraisal of my wips, works in progress. If I am to improve them I require an honest critique. A simple, "That's great!" doesn't work. To give a good critique takes an analytical person with a good ear or eye. Critiquing is an art. There are several ETWA members who fit that role, but one of them performs a critique well consistently. Gay Ingram hones in on exactly what is wrong or missing from any writing I share with her every time.

She started her own business, Line By Line, several months ago. This business is an editing and reviewing service for manuscripts. I haven't spoken with her about how well it is doing, but I hope she is being successful. Take my word, she's good. If you have a book that needs work but are unsure of what needs changing, you might consider hiring Ms. Ingram to help you out. From the price listed in her advertising brochure, she is in line with other such services. You can contact her at gayingram@att.net if you need to discuss hiring her.

Handing over a manuscript and having someone else read it then giving suggestions is so much more attractive a proposition to me than sitting with a group and reading it out loud, and it might be to you as well. It feels safer somehow. Since you pay for such a service I feel that the feedback would be honest. An editor is not concerned with being your friend only in giving you a quality critique.

But I need to work on getting more comfortable with sharing my writing in front of others. So I have joined another critique group recently. I go to my second meeting with them next week. There are seven members in this group. Two of them are temporarily unable to be there physically, but we are emailing our sections to one another each month as well as meeting physically to present our critiques. That's going to work out well I think. The first time we met it took 3 1/2 hours to finish. We not only had to each tell what we noticed, but we had to read the section presented by each member first. Even with a six page limit that takes time. Having the section ahead of time to read and make notes will cut down on the amount of time it takes.

I left the first meeting invigorated and excited. Five women and two men make up the group. Most of us write in a different genre from the rest. One is writing science fiction, another fantasy (dragons), one writes non-fiction, while another one is writing an adventure set in the middle east, there is a romance, and I'm writing a contemporary inspirational suspense. Though we were careful to be as positive as possible, honesty in what we noticed that needed work ranked high during each person's response to what was read. I noticed that each person also made sure to point out the strengths of the piece of writing.

Most of us are new to one another. I foresee that this group will be successful as we grow to be more comfortable with one another. I hope so. It's what I need at this point in my journey to become published many more times.

kmparis

The Signs of Our Times

2006-09-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

Have you been in your car lately? Did you have to fill up the gas tank as you were driving? Did you notice anything different at the gas pump?

Don't say this too loudly to anyone, but the price of gasoline is down dramatically. At least it is around here in East Texas, most especially at the four stations near my house.

I drove my sister to a doctor's appointment on Monday morning. As we passed the Citgo station I noticed the price per gallon of regular unleaded had dropped to $2.35. The Chevron station's price hovered at $2.39 a gallon, but the Exxon station's price had dipped to $2.33 per gallon. I was excited! Can you really say excited to describe seeing $2.33 a gallon? I remember feeling outraged at $2.33 two years ago.

My best friend and I have been planning our vacation for the past several months. We laid out trips to different sections of the country. Which one we decided upon at the last moment depended upon the price of gas. We took a risk last month and booked a cabin in the western mountains of North Carolina. A long drive, yes, but reachable in two fairly easy days. Our short run plans were to Eureka Springs if the price of gas had continued to climb as it had been doing all year. But the price of gas had begun a slow descent about 3 months ago.

Why? Dare I ask that question? Have the refinery companies decided that the obscene profits they made last year need to be tempered a little? I know it's not because the price of petroleum has crashed because end-product users have cut back on usage enough to make the company owners feel the pinch. I've had to stop and think, not twice, but about 5 times before making the decision to drive into town to shop. I put off doing anything I don't have to do in order to save gasoline. I don't fill up when I do need fuel. I only put in about 1/2 a tank unless I'm driving long distance. Are there enough other people doing the same sort of cutting back to have made a difference?

As far as the price of a barrel of raw petroleum, well I've been told that the price of gasoline is set not on what a barrel of crude is actually selling for but on a prediction of what it might cost at some undisclosed time in the future. A prediction of what it might cost? What gives these people the right to do that to us? I guess it's because they know they can, and we'll pay a quarter of our paychecks each month to keep our tanks filled. I have heard that more people are riding public transportation in cities where it is available, sales of high-consumption vehicles have dropped, buyers are trading in gas-guzzlers in favor of more economical cars, and I'd bet sales of hybrid vehicles have risen. Now, I haven't actually done any research on the subject, but I bet if I did my opinions would be supported.

Vacation is only two weeks away. My prayer is that the prices will continue to drop instead of rising as we leave and that prices are falling in other parts of the country as well. Wouldn't it be nice to see a 1 following the dollar sign again when we drive up to the pumps? Sigh. As the tired old saying goes, if wishes were horses then beggars would ride. Stranger things have happened.

kmparis

Book Review - Without A Trace by Colleen Coble

2006-09-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Without a trace - do these words call to mind a mystery, a disappearance, or a murder maybe? For most people they probably do. In Without A Trace by Colleen Coble all three appear and are intertwined with skill.

Bree Nicholls and her best friend, Naomi Heinomen are the Kitchigami K-9 Search and Rescue team along with their dogs Samson and Charley. Their first task in Without A Trace is to locate two missing children, one of whom is diabetic and in need of his medication. Time is a ticking bomb as the SAR team goes to work hunting for the brother and sister pair in the forests of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Colleen Coble paints a vivid picture of the area Bree Nicholls calls home. The reader can see the mountains and the trees and can feel the cold as winter approaches. The urgency to locate the children of a local resident bursts through to the reader with Ms. Coble's smooth writing style. In the background is the knowledge that Bree is anxious to find the missing kids alive because her own son was lost in an airplane crash along with his father a year before. No one has been able to locate the crash site, not even Bree and Samson. Bree doesn't want another parent to have to suffer the pangs of grief over a missing child.

In her attempt to locate Timmy and Emily alive at all costs, Bree butts heads with the ranger in charge, Kade Matthews. Kade's need to locate the children may stem from a different point, but it is just as strong as Bree's. He wants the search to proceed his way, and Bree insists on doing it her way. When the search ends Kade has to grudgingly admit Bree's methods worked.

The strife between Bree and Kade continues throughout the book because his actions lead Bree to be suspicious of him when another local resident ends up dead. The Kitchigami SAR team finds the woman's body at the base of a cliff and moments later Kade Matthews appears out of the woods nearby. Coincidence? It seems so until an autopsy proves the woman died a short distance away and had been carried to the bottom of the cliff. Who killed her? She and her husband seemed to be at odds with one another. An old boyfriend argued with her in public and moments later her uncle attacked her verbally about a business deal she was about to conclude. Was the murder one of those people, someone else, or the mysterious woman roaming the forests nearby? Did Kade do it?

A year has passed since since the plane crash widowed Bree. She finds herself being drawn to Kade in spite of her misgivings about him. As she learns more about the man she grows more attracted. The unsolved mystery of the climber's death, Kade's stormy relationship with his teenaged sister, and his religious bent all bind together to keep Bree from allowing herself to let go of the past and explore a possible future with him.

Bree doesn't believe that the God Naomi, Anu (her mother-in-law), her sister-in-law, and even Kade worship could be as benevolent as they claim. If He were why would He allow her family to be destroyed? If God could let her husband betray their marriage and then take Rob and their son, Davy, away from her why would she want to devote her life to Him?

Readers become enthralled with the characters Colleen creates in Without A Trace as they grow to know the residents of Rock Harbor and are drawn into their world. Will Bree discover the crash site and be able to bury the bodies she will find with the carcass of the plane? Will she find the true love God has for her? And what about the murderer, will it turn out to be one of the people of the town? The only way to find out is to read Without A Trace. I think you will enjoy the search.

kmparis

The Aftermath - Five Years Later

2006-09-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

A warning and an apology. It is not my intention to say that the entry that follows is one felt by all members of ETWA. It is not. It is mine alone. There may be members who believe as I do politically; there are many who don't. I have tried not to pour too much of my political standing into this recollection of September 11, 2001. I just felt the need to reflect on the incidents that transpired that day and some since. I apologize if I offend anyone reading this today. Please feel free to reply to this post as you will. If any members of ETWA wish to post on this same topic with their own memories, point of view, etc., they may contact me, and I will see that their posts are published promptly. kmparis

As I woke this morning my mind went directly to where I was five years ago on this day. It was a Tuesday. The cloud I had floated on since Sunday,after receiving word about the upcoming publication of my first book, still carried me high off the floor. I took my fourth grade class to the music room around 9:30 a.m. on that September 11. As I passed the computer lab, I saw a group of teachers and staff gathered around a TV monitor.

Curious, I stopped on the way back to see what was going on. I never made it to my room that period. I spent the next 45 minutes glued to the TV along with as many of the other staff members as could be away from their posts without abandoning any students. We watched replay after replay as the hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon. Then we watched the news broadcasts in Pennsylvania covering the crash of United 93 as terrorists failed in achieving their assigned mission.

The horror of what had happened left me feeling so many emotions - fear, sorrow, shocked disbelief among them. The tears and anger came later. The secure world of the greatest country on Earth had been blown into dust with the collapse of the twin towers.

The question running through my brain was, "What do I say to the 22 students I had to pick up and guide through the remainder of the school day?" In my mind I kept expecting and waiting for the superintendent to issue an order to shut down school for the day. It never came.

It is said you always remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when a tragic event occurs. In my experience, that is true. The assassination of John F. Kennedy, my grandparents' deaths, my father's death, the start of the Gulf War in 1991, the destruction of both the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles, and now 9/11, each event flashes in brilliant technicolor in my mind with unexpected triggers - a smell, a taste, a sound, a picture.

On September 11, 2001 I finally understood what my parents and their ancestors must have felt on December 7, 1941. I had seen numerous movies, read many books, and studied the history of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Now I could feel the pain of those alive on that day. What I felt now was no longer academic sympathy but personal empathy.

The tears came on my drive home that evening. I never did say anything to the class that day. I couldn't. I would have broken down in front of them. The days following lead into weeks of raw pain. Each day it was difficult to get through the morning's opening ceremonies at school; the Pledge of Allegiance caused me to tear up daily. Veterans' Day that November filled the entire building with more emotion than I had ever seen. I did cry during the school's celebration that day, but I was in good company. Most of the adults and many of the children cried along with me.

Five years have passed, but the sharp pain of the devastating destruction on that day was nearly as great this morning as it was in 2001. The sight of President and Mrs. Bush as they placed a wreath on the crash sight in Pennsylvania brought a fresh rush of tears.

What were the long term results of that horrific day? A resurgence of patriotism, a pride in our country that had been missing for decades, more flag waving than I'd ever seen, an awareness of the brevity of life, and a knowledge that we are not exempt from the terrorism of fanatics. Some of these things were positive changes, some negative. Support for the President's war on terrorism, at first so high, has plummeted because it has taken so long to bring it all to an end. Americans, especially, expected a swift, decisive resolution to the surprise attacks on American soil. After all we had marched into Iraq in January, 1991 and by the end of February, 1991 all that remained of the Gulf War was the mop-up. Or so we thought.

The fear of flying after that day has segued from anxiety for our lives into aggravation at the delays and inconveniences as security procedures and restrictions have increased. No longer can we board a plane with a pair of nail clippers in our carry-on luggage. The latest no-nos are liquids and gels. You have to pack any items in those forms in your checked luggage. My question there is, if the lip gloss you carry in your pocket or purse or the gel deodorant in your overnight bag could be an explosive (don't forget that bottle of water in your hand), why is it safer for them to be in the luggage compartment instead of the interior of the plane?

Have the nearly 3,000 murders of innocent bystanders been forgotten by the masses? I hope not. I pray not. Those of us that escaped any direct link to the people killed in the three successful attacks and the one aborted attempt can put the events of that day behind us. After all no one we knew personally was killed. The people who died belonged to someone else. What we must realize is that it could have just as easily been one of us.

I received an email just yesterday pointing out that one man still lives because his son started kindergarten that day and he stayed home from work to take his son to school. Another person is still alive because of a pair of new shoes which caused blisters that made him stop in at a drug store to purchase bandages. There were a number of other such stories in that email. Were they all true? I don't know. I didn't take the time to check the urban legends website for confirmation.

The pain, horror, and determination to never let such an attack happen again should be retained by all of us still living. A sign on a local hamburger chain just up the street from my house said it all to me, simply and concisely - Remember.

kmparis

Guidelines Are Meant To Be Followed

2006-09-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

I listened as Patricia LaVigne told how being the contest co-ordinator had been a learning experience for her. Her emphasis was those entries that hadn’t included page numbering of any kind. Our brochure included guidelines yet some entries had disregarded them.

Perhaps this blog is where we can help new writers and wanna-bes understand the importance of following guidelines. If you’re writing for yourself or family and friends, the guidelines are not important. But if your fondest wish is to see your writing published, then entering contests is a good place to learn the importance of guidelines. Learn the rules and follow them. Here are a few:

All manuscripts should be typed on 8 ½ X 11 white paper with one-inch margins on all sides. Lines on the paper should be doubled spaced. This is to make it easy for the editor to make notations when they are considering accepting a submitted piece. Most editors prefer the following fonts: Times New Roman, New Courier and Ariel, in that order. Every manuscript should include a header that contains name of piece, page number and author’s name. Most contests ask that you exclude your name on everything but the cover page. One reason to read and follow guidelines. All of these features are part of every Word program in the computer. Take the time to get acquainted with your equipment and use them.

Electronic submitting has made some changes in editorial preferences. You may notice this piece does not have the five-space indent to indicate the beginning of a paragraph. Instead a space is used to denote a new paragraph. Some publishers prefer the submitted manuscript be posted within the body of the email; others accept it as an attachment. That makes it important that you learn the guidelines and preferences of every publication where you’re considering submitting your work. An up-to-date version of Writer’s Market is an invaluable tool for all writers seeking publication.

Success as a published writer depends of achieving a degree of professionalism. The ability to produce good writing is not enough. Learning the tools of your craft and incorporating them are solid steps to becoming a successful writer.

Gay Ingram www.freewebs.com/gayingram/

Writing Conferences

2006-09-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to attend a writing conference is a multi-faceted jewel. It's exciting to look forward to on one hand, but it can generate a lot of nerves.

The Annual Conference of American Christian Fiction Writers will be held in Dallas beginning Thursday evening, September 21. I'm getting to go this year. It will be my third ACFW conference in four years. I missed last year in Nashville because I was going on vacation soon afterward and hadn't saved up enough money to do both.

I found ACFW (then it was ACRW - R for Romance) in early August of 2002 when I was looking for writing conferences to attend during an Internet search. The conference that year happened to be in Houston. So I arranged for a personal business day from school, paid my registration fee and ACFW membership fee, and took off for Houston.

Her Home or Her Heart had been published in July, but I still felt like such an amateur. I still do! I missed the Meet and Greet on Thursday evening, got to the hotel at 1:00 a.m., and walked into the breakfast room about 20 minutes before the first session was to begin. I was there alone. I knew no one and felt sure all the other women walking around were multi-published writers leaving me the low man on the totem pole. They weren't all heavily published by the way. Most of them hadn't even had one book published.

Attending conferences is nothing new to me, except that all the conferences I'd ever attended were teaching conferences. I had entered a totally new territory. My writing partner had chosen not to attend with me. It was up to me to represent us and our writing. I signed up for a personal critique, a meeting with an editor, and a meeting with an agent. I walked away with a request for a proposal from the editor and with the excitement of an agent who wanted to represent us as a writing duo and as individuals.

What has happened since then? We were rejected by the editor, and the agent represented us for over three years but never sold anything. Just six months ago she emailed us and said that since she hasn't done us any good she was releasing us from our contract.

I managed to get my friend to attend the ACFW conference the following year in Denver, but she didn't enjoy it. Not her thing. So here I am once again going solo to ACFW. But that's okay. I have more confidence in myself as a writer, and I feel as though I should be going. Good things are going to happen.

I'm nervous about the Early Bird Session which will be held all day on Thursday prior to the opening Meet and Greet session at 6:30 p.m. Two well published authors, Deb Raney and Colleen Coble, will be conducting the workshop and have in their hands twenty pages of a novel I have started, plus my synopsis and a three sentence hook for the book. I'm supposed to leave that session with all the tools I need to polish the synopsis, the hook and prepare the first part of the book so that it is editor ready as a proposal. I understand that my writing will be shared with the rest of the class. What have I let myself in for?

Oh, well, it's too late to back out now. The only thing I could do is not show up for the session. But then I'd be wasting the $35 extra I had to pay, and I'd always be a coward. I might never finish the book. So I'll go, grit my teeth, and wait for the results. I'm just praying they will find it salvageable, and that I won't pass out before they finish with me.

kmparis

ETWA's September Meeting with Pamela Dowd, Guest Speaker

2006-09-07T01:27:00.000-07:00

Time for the September meeting of the East Texas Writers Association is here. Friday, September 8, we'll meet at Casa Ole on Spur 63 in Longview at 6:30 p.m. for dinner (optional). The meeting will officially begin at 7:00 p.m. Pamela Dowd will be our guest speaker. Her topic will be on revision. I'm sure it will be terrific as usual. I've attended one of her writing workshops. She is organized and knowledgeable. We're expanding the time alloted from thirty minutes to approximately sixty to accommodate her topic.

Pamela has quite a number of publishing credits in several different venues. Among them are some novellas, magazine articles, anthology works, and greeting cards (she even had her own line - Cookie Jar Greetings - published by Warner Press). She has acted as a judge for the ACFW Genesis Fiction Contest for unpublished writers.

Ms. Dowd's accomplishments don't end with writing. Besides being the mother of three daughters, she has been a private school principal, a pre-school director, a kindergarten teacher, a legal secretary, and a children's clothing designer. What a wealth of experiences for her to draw from for her writing. We are lucky to have her as our guest speaker this month. We hope to see everyone on Friday.

kmp

Violet Dawn ... Continued

2006-09-04T00:41:00.000-07:00

Stop. Let's not leave this topic of Violet Dawn just yet. There's more to the story.

Readers of Violet Dawn have a unique experience in store if they wish to participate in something special Ms. Collins has created for them. It is a sort of living, ongoing view into the lives of the characters she has created.

In the book the character of Bailey Truitt, owner of the Java Joint, has started a blog called Scenes and Beans to stimulate interest in her business and the town of Kanner Lake. In reality Brandilyn Collins has begun that blog for fans of Kanner Lake so that we can get to know the townspeople better.

Wait, you say, these are fictional characters. How can they write anything? Well, Brandilyn has worked all that out. She enlisted the aid of friends to begin the blog posts. These writer friends have auditioned and won the privilege of portraying one of the characters and writing a blog post as that character.

As a reader I often wonder at some of the back story of characters that could not be written into the book itself. The Scenes and Beans Blog allows us to get to know the characters more intimately. Take a look for yourself at http://www.kannerlake.blogspot.com. The authors of these character blog posts are doing a wonderful job.

Then after you've read Violet Dawn, read the Scenes and Beans Blog posts, and wish you could be a part of this wonderful idea visit the Kanner Lake website at http://www.kannerlake.com/scenesandbeans.html to learn how to audition for a chance to write one of the blog posts yourself. That's right you might get to be one of the guest bloggers.

What a great idea! Not only do the readers have something to look forward to with the coming of the next Kanner Lake installment, Coral Moon, but we can keep up-to-date with the lives of characters such as Leslie Brymes, Sarah Wray, Jake Tremaine, Wilbur Hucks, and others by reading the Scenes and Beans posts.

What will Brandilyn Collins come up with next? Hold everything. Is that Java Joint cup for sale for real?

kmp

Book Review - Violet Dawn by Brandilyn Collins

2006-09-03T00:37:00.000-07:00

Seatbelt Suspense, what could that mean? It is the watchword by which Brandilyn Collins's writing is known. Now I understand what it means. To read one of her works is like stepping into the front seat of a race car being controlled by an invisible driver. You'd better tighten that seatbelt and slip on the shoulder straps because Ms. Collins will take you for the ride of your life and you have no say in the matter.

Violet Dawn by Brandilyn Collins thrusts the reader into a world of murder on page one as Paige Williams steps innocently into her own hot tub at 2:00 a.m. one warm Idaho night. What happens after that I won't reveal. You'll have to read the book for yourself.

One of the best parts of Violet Dawn is the characterization of the antagonist as a snake, a black mamba. The evil Black Mamba is creepy, eerie, and I'm truly thankful that he/she is only a figment of Ms. Collins's imagination.Thrown into the mix of quirky characters that venture into the town of Kanner Lake's popular gathering place, the Java Joint, is S-Man. Now he is a little weird and most definitely "spaced-out", but this character made for some chuckles to lighten the mood from time-to-time throughout Violet Dawn. But is S-Man's manner for real or affected to hide something more sinister?

Getting to know the local population of Kanner Lake in the first book of this series is like moving to a new town or to a new job. Bits and pieces are revealed about several of the locals and lead me to want to know more about them. What will happen to Bailey Truitt's husband as his health condition progresses? Why is Wilbur so irascible? Will Frank West fall in love with the new girl in town? Brandilyn, when is the next book of the series, Coral Moon, due out? I mustn't miss that one.

Teachers of writing instruct their students to open their works of fiction with something, anything that will "grab" the readers and propel them deeper into the chapters ahead of them. Too many times a slow start will discourage a reader and one of two things happens: 1. the potential reader flips to the first page of a book, reads it, decides it starts too slowly and never buys it/checks it out of the library, or 2. the reader reads a few pages finds it moving to slowly, puts the book down, and never returns to it. Brandilyn Collins doesn't appear to have a problem with compelling readers to continue with one of her works. That is if the books don't give the reader nightmares.

My recommendation - if you're easily frightened then read Violet Dawn in the bright sunlight after the break of dawn, not during the black of night, if you wish to get a good night's sleep.

kmp

Book Review - The Long Quiet Highway by Natalie Goldberg

2006-09-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

When I spied Natalie Goldberg's newest, The Long Quiet Highway, on the library's shelf, I knew it was a must-read. Her first book about writing, Writing Down The Bones, has been hailed as a classic and is recommended reading for any serious writer. Even as a recent re-read, Bones's message remains as clear and honest as the first time I absorbed its pages's words many years ago. I was not disappointed. In this new work, Natalie's refreshing open style is very evident.

In The Long Quiet Highway, Ms. Goldberg weaves together the personalities, the places and events of her personal life so that the reader comes to realize her personal life and her writing life are so intertwined, it would be impossible to separate them. She describes in her own honest way all that has contributed to making her the outstanding writer she is. As she shares events that were epiphanies, places that spoke to her soul, and people who helped her discover the important things of life, we also come to realize that the miracle of being alive every moment, every breath we take is the most important asset a writer can possess.

If your goal as a writer is to become rich and famous, this may not seem like an important book for you to read. But if you are seeking the purpose for this inner compulsion to record your life, this need to write it out in hopes it will help you make sense of it, than The Long Quiet Highway may just be the key to unlock the hidden treasures.

Natalie Goldberg doesn't linger over professional achievements or dwell on the recognition the world has awarded her. She remains a writers' writer, the quintessential teacher, a leader who encourages her students by her own example to continually push aside the falseness and seek to uncover the truth, no matter how painful. Reading her own self-revelations in The Long Quiet Highway gives the reader hope and the encouragement to open themselves wide to the wonders of experiencing life. She helps you to know that as a writer we have an obligation to share with the world the view of truth as we see it.

Gay Ingram -- www.freewebs.com/gayingram/

Another Month Gone - Already?

2006-09-01T00:17:00.000-07:00

How can it be? It's September, 2006 already! Time flying by at a more rapid pace as one grows older must have something to do with Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

I propose that we inhabit some sort of personal space ship, and that as we grow older those space ships accelerate faster and faster toward the speed of light. At mid-century status we feel as though time has sped up, while the youngsters around us feel time drags by.

Remember how it was when you were ten? Christmas couldn't come around quickly enough. Now, as a person having reached double nickels, it feels as though there is never enough time to do everything. We moan and groan at the thought of having to wade through all those shoppers getting ready for Christmas and make elaborate plans to complete all our shopping prior to Thanksgiving. But we won't make it; we never do.

Crafters out there better get busy. You do realize that as of today you have three months and three weeks, that's 116 days for you who are counting days already, left until Christmas. You'd better get into high gear in order to finish all those projects you'll need to have done by December 25.

Well, Wal-Mart hasn't put out the Christmas displays yet. At least they hadn't as of two days ago. But look out - they should appear any moment now.

kmp

Book Review - DragonKnight by Donita K. Paul

2006-08-31T00:32:00.000-07:00

Knights, wizards, fair damsels in distress, a quest, and Good verses Evil fill this novel by Donita K. Paul. A fantasy - yes, and DragonKnight is a most delightful one.

Bardon, a squire in service to Sir Dar, has been granted a sabbatical in order to contemplate his future. Should he continue his training and become a knight of Paladin, or should he give it up and search for something else he is to do with his life? Those are his choices. Having been granted a year in which to search his soul, Bardon and his dragon, Greer, take off for the isolated cabin of Sir Dar. Only when they arrive they find the cabin already occupied by two emerlidians, Granny Kye, N'Rae, and a minneken from the Isle of Kye, Mistress Jue Seeno.

Granny Kye and N'Rae are to be off on a quest to search for and rescue Granny Kye's missing son who also happens to be N'Rae's father. Jue Seeno is N'Rae's protector, a funny job for a woman the size of a mouse. Bardon is drawn into their quest because he feels it is Wulder's will for him at this time. Only too late does he realize that the ladies expect him to be in charge of the whole quest to rescue N'Rae's father, Sir Jilles, and a number of other Knights under a spell the evil wizard Risto cast many years before. Time is of the essence. The knights must be rescued and released from the spell holding them captive before the Wizard's Plume, a comet passes beneath a northern star called Eye of the North.

DragonKnight is the third in a series of books by Donita K. Paul. It is a Christian fantasy. Does that sound implausible? At first glance, yes. But read the book. It is filled with wonderful images that the reader can quickly associate to parallels of Christianity.

DragonSpell and DragonQuest are the first two books in this series. Although it would be nice to read the novels in order, it is not necessary to do so in order to understand DragonKnight. Ms. Paul's third book is able to stand on its own. Her descriptive images of each of the creatures encountered are so well done that the reader can easily picture them in his or her mind. The cast of characters outlined at the beginning of DragonKnight as well as the glossary at the end provide even the most novice fantasy reader with a complete understanding of the world of Amara when added to the skillful writing plotted out by Donita K. Paul.

Who should read this book? Everyone. Male, female, old, and young, oh, especially the young who are so drawn to the world of fantasy, because this book and its first two companions are filled with spiritual truths that the young should experience. DragonKnight has something for everyone - adventure, love, and redemption.

Will Squire Bardon and his party complete their quest and rescue the Knights before it is too late? Will Granny Kye be reunited with her son, Sir Jilles? Will N'Rae see her father alive? Will Squire Bardon find the will of Wulder for his life? Read the book and find out.

And, oh, yes, the dragons. Be prepared to have your preconceptions of dragons totally reversed. Not all dragons are evil, fire-breathing monsters, at least not in Donita K. Paul's world. Some of them are quite large and beautiful, some of them are very small and cute, and some of them can even talk. Stand guard, though, on your emotions - the evil, fire-breathing dragons exist alongside the good dragons. Watch out for the ugly, two-headed snake dragons, they enjoy the fresh catch of the day.

Book Review - Waiting for Summer's Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer

2006-08-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

What a story!

Kim Vogel Sawyer created a believable story of a mother and wife suffering the pangs of grief after the loss of her four children and husband.

Summer Steadman finds herself alone in a small Mennonite community in Gaeddart, Kansas during the fall of 1894. So deep in mourning that she finds food repugnant, she has allowed her body to become weakened. Her soul has become as emaciated as her body. No longer sure that God loves her or anyone else, Summer's only real wish is to join her family in death. It seems God has other plans for her, though.

Peter Ollenburger, a local gristmill owner, is in need of a teacher for his son, Thomas. Since the young boy is housebound after an accident resulting in broken ribs and can't ride his horse to school, he is falling behind in his studies. Peter's wife, Elsa, would be the logical choice to be his teacher, but she died six years earlier. Peter needs someone to live on his property and give the boy his lessons until he is fully recovered. After learning that Summer Steadman has lost her family to illness and has need of a position, he proposes that she come live in his home as Thomas's teacher. When objections to the impropriety of the situation are brought to his attention, Peter agrees that Summer could live in his shariah rather than in the house with the family. Wanting only to be close to the graves of her family, Summer accepts Peter's proposition and moves to his property.

What awaits the reader of Waiting for Summer's Return is a journey of relationship renewals. Summer and Peter both travel the path toward new knowledge of people and God. The trip is filled with bumps and ruts much like the road to the town of Gaeddart. As Thomas grows to know his temporary teacher, his affection for her grows to become the love of a child for a mother. Neither Summer nor Peter had planned on this complication. What are they to do? How will God orchestrate the symphony of their lives?

Kim Vogel Sawyer's writing is a joy to read. Her characters catch the reader's heart. It is hard to put the book down in order to carry on with life. Waiting for Summer's Return is one of those books you will want to keep reading to the point where the dishes will stack up in the sink and the laundry will go unwashed because you have to read just one more chapter. And that chapter leads to another and then another. Go ahead read those chapters. The dishes and the laundry will be there when you finish the book.

2006-08-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

The world of writing is varied just as our writers' group is varied. We are celebrating our 30th year as an organization. Writers are often loners - its the nature of the work. Most of us work alone on our endeavors, often segregating ourselves from our family and friends in order to do what we are driven to do. But we yearn to have the association of other writers. It is that yearning that causes us to seek out the company of writers in the form of a writing group or guild. East Texas Writers Association began 30 years ago just for that purpose.

We gather together once a month to fellowship at dinner, participate in a program provided by a guest speaker, and then share our writing with one another. We meet on the 2nd Friday of each month at Casa Ole on Spur 63 in Longview, Texas at 6:30 p.m. Dinner is optional - fellowship abundant! Writers in all genres are welcome. We run the gamut from non-fiction to fiction, published to non-published. If you're in the area, join us as a visitor. See how we fit into your life. Even if you're just visiting the area from out of state, as one young lady did at our last meeting, stop by and check us out. She was from Chicago!