N.J. Lindquist's Blog, page 10
October 17, 2017
Christmas with Hot Apple Cider Book Tour
In some cases, she’s teaching a workshop as well as signing her new book; in others, she’s signings books and talking to people 1:1.
Local writers who are included in the book may also be present.
Thursday, Oct. 19 – Winnipeg – Chapters St. Vital – 12 to 2 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 20 – Winnipeg – Indigo Kenaston – 6 to 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 21 – Winnipeg – Hull’s Family Bookstore – 1 to 4 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 22 – Winnipeg – Chapters Polo Festival – 12 to 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 25 – Regina – Chapters Southland Mall – 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 27 – Saskatoon – Indigo The Centre – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 28 – Saskatoon – Kennedy’s Parable
11:00 a.m. – “Writing a Story Is Like Baking a Cake” workshop
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – book signing
Sunday, Oct. 29 – Prince Albert – Coles Gateway N. Mall
1:30 – 20-minute presentation on “Writing Your Story”
2:00 – 4:00 – signing books
Saturday, Nov. 4 – Red Deer – Kennedy’s Parable – 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
More dates
If you’d like to organize an event for your store, library, church, etc., please contact Les at partner@thatslifecommunications.com
June 16, 2017
I have a new Hot Apple Cider book coming this fall!
After a lot of work by a number of people, it’s well on its way to being published! So I’m announcing it here!
Gifts are an essential part of our Christmas season.
It began with the gift of Christ Himself, followed by the gifts of the magi, and then gift-giving became part of the culture. Christmas with Hot Apple Cider is an anthology of true stories, short fiction, and poetry that celebrate both the giving and receiving of gifts. The work of these 55 writers, both new and experienced, will give you a fresh appreciation for the love that is shown at Christmas.
loving grandparents teach their young grandchild a family tradition
an elderly man recalls the pain and delight of the year he knew he’d get no presents
a sweet young girl helps a woman heal from her loss
Canadian customs puzzle an immigrant family
a Jewish woman shares her childhood longing for the joy of Christmas
in a Nigerian orphanage, a teacher rediscovers how much happiness a simple gift can bring
These stories and many others will not only make you smile, reminisce, and perhaps shed a tear, but will also remind you of the true meaning of Christmas and the gift that gives us reason to celebrate every day of the year.
The book, Christmas with Hot Apple Cider, will itself be a wonderful gift. Readers will be entertained, encouraged, and inspired.
The 55 writers who will have stories or poems in this book:
Jeannette Altwegg
Brian C. Austin
Tandy Balson
Glynis Belec
Vilma Blenman
Bill Bonikowsky
Donna Bonnett Tanchez
Ann Brent
Lynne Collier
Janis Cox
Marguerite Cummings
Kevin Dautremont
Beverly DeWit
Patricia Anne Elford
Sharon Espeseth
Angelina Fast
Doris Fleming
Carol Ford
Ramona Furst
Valentina Gal
Theresa Goldrick
Laureen F. Guenther
Rob Harshman
Patrick Hennan
Evangeline Inman
Maureen E. Kowal
Marcia Laycock
N. J. Lindquist
Robin Livingston
Sally Meadows
Corinne Mordaunt
Shelley Norman
Kimberley Payne
Judi Peers
Margo Prentice
Gloria Raynor
Esther Rennick
Nikki Rosen
Rose Scott
Carrie Seavers
Jayne Self
Marian Shehata
Eleanor Shepherd
Martin Smith
Ruth Smith Meyer
L. June Stevenson
Susan Stewart
Melony Teague
John Paul Tucker
Tina Michele Weidelich
Robert White
Ray Wiseman
Grace Wulff
Melissa Yue Wallace
Ron Wyse
23 of the writers are new to Hot Apple Cider books; the others are in at least one of the books.
Our launch date
Our goal is to have the paperback books in stores in Canada before October 1st. It should also be available for purchase online in the US and other countries.
The ebook will also be available at Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Chapters, and other online sites.
And we look forward to doing signings in bookstores or libraries as well as at speaking events.
Get the ebook for Hot Apple Cider free when you subscribe to our Hot Apple Cider Books updates!
Learn more about the first four books in the series.
May 2, 2017
New Book Release – More Than a Friend
Also, until May 31st, it’s priced at only $2.99 U. S.!
“A beautifully written book filled with real, vulnerable characters. Glen, despite his quiet nature, is never wimpy and makes a fine, heroic role model for the book’s readers.… Ms. Lindquist is able to craft stunningly vivid guy-characters, a plus in attracting young male readers, yet she never neglects her female characters. Highly recommended.” Rosemarie DiCristo, Christian Library Journal
As Glen Sauten tries to finish up his last year of school and decide on his future, his top priority is to help his best friend Luke, who was injured trying to protect Glen from Charlie and is now back home, facing life in a wheelchair. And not exactly happy about it.
But Glen is also distracted by his up-and-down relationships with not one, but three girls. Not to mention Charlie, who just won’t go away.
Meanwhile, Nicole realizes she’s going to have to make the hardest decision of her life.
In order to survive, Glen and Nicole cling to God. To their surprise, they both find themselves saying and doing things they’d never have imagined. In the end, they realize that what really matters isn’t who you were in the past, or who you are now, but who you will become in the future.
Book 4 in the Circle of Friends Series
Winner of The Word Award for Best Young Adult Book
Winner of The Word Award Best Independently Published Book
“Circle of Friends is a fantastic series!… The authenticity of Glen’s (main character) journey is impressive. I kept thinking how is she going to be able to top this book, but she did, each book got better and better.” Herbie Kuhn, In-house Voice of the Toronto Raptors
The Circle of Friends Series
1. The Best of Friends
2. With Friends Like These
3. A Friend in Need
4. More Than a Friend
Buy This Book
18 Tips for Looking After Curly or Wavy Hair
No, I’m not a hair stylist. Just someone who suffered for years because I had no idea what to do with my unruly hair. So I’m offering some thoughts for anyone out there with curly or wavy hair who feels the way I did. I so wish I’d known these things when I was 5 […]
The post 18 Tips for Looking After Curly or Wavy Hair appeared first on N. J. Lindquist.
April 25, 2017
How I Discovered I Have Curly Hair
If you missed part one of this blog “My Hair Has a Mind of Its Own,” go here. Some days, I look back and wonder how I could have been so obtuse. I mean, as you can see by my picture when I was three, my hair was trying really hard to be curly. And yet, […]
The post How I Discovered I Have Curly Hair appeared first on N. J. Lindquist.
How I discovered I have curly hair
If you missed part one of this blog “My Hair Has a Mind of Its Own,” go here.
Some days, I look back and wonder how I could have been so obtuse.
I mean, as you can see by my picture when I was three, my hair was trying really hard to be curly. And yet, all during my growing-up years, even though we would tell people it was naturally curly, my parents and I just saw it as wavy and unruly. But not once did anyone tell me that curly hair needed a completely different kind of care than straight hair!
One of my mother’s brothers had curly hair. It was full of short curls. Mine never looked like that. So, in my mind, I didn’t have curly hair.
Except once. It was the oddest thing. Around my twenty-first birthday, I spent a weekend at a conference that was held at a hotel with an indoor pool. Our rooms circled the water, and it was really humid. The location was north of Winnipeg, and it was January, so while there was snow outside, we felt we were in a tropical resort.
I have no pictures, but over the three days we were there, my short hair just got curlier and curlier.
This was the one and only time in my life it had ever done that.
Now, I know why. It was, of course, the humidity. Because I grew up on the dry prairies, my hair was always dry. And curly hair like mine thrives on water.
The day after I got back to university in Brandon after that weekend, my hair was back to normal. But that experience left a question mark in mind.
I was reminded of it when I read the letter from the Post-Adoption Agency in Regina after I contacted them after my first granddaughter was born. I’d always known that I was adopted, but now I had been given some information about my birth parents. Two words jumped out of the brief description of my mother. “Curly hair.”
But believe it or not, even that didn’t make me think my hair was curly. Wavy, yes. Annoying, yes. But not curly.
So what finally got my attention?
In 1999, after I’d spent several years trying to figure out why I was so tired all the time and why my hair had virtually become straight, my doctor finally put me on synthroid.
In April of 2000, after letting my hair grow longer, I wanted to see if the synthroid had made a difference to the new growth, so I cut my hair and then let it air dry.
I was astonished by how curly it looked.
You can see the result in this picture. All I did was wash my hair and let it air dry.
(See the whole thyroid story here.)
Not long after that, I happened to spot a book in a sales bin. After leafing through it, I bought it.
Andre Talks Hair, by Andre Walker
While most of the book wasn’t really what I needed, I did find the first part interesting because he separated hair into 4 types, and subsets within those.
Straight – with 3 subsets
Wavy – also with 3 subsets
Curly – with 2 subsets
Kinky – with 2 subsets
In trying to decide where mine fit, I wavered between Wavy Type C and Curly Type A, but finally decided that it was just remotely possible I fir under Curly Type A.
I felt dazed.
And I still wasn’t sure what to do next. And after suffering through all those hairdressers making my hair short (none of whom had ever said the word curly), I’d been cutting my own hair since I first grew it long in my early twenties.
Not long after this, however, I began doing a lot of speaking all over Canada. I knew I needed to look more professional.
With some prompting from a friend who gave me the name of her stylist, I decided to go to a “high-end” stylist.
I really hoped he’d know what my hair needed. Turned out he did and he didn’t.
The good parts:
When I asked him if my hair was curly, he said yes.
He told me I should never brush it and I should get a comb with large teeth.
He recommended I use products for curly hair.
The not-so-good parts:
He thought I should keep it fairly short.
He styled it with a comb.
He dried it with a blow-dryer.
He made it go where he wanted it to go.
So things were better, and I no longer thought of my hair as bad or unruly, but…
Eventually, I stopped speaking and focused on writing.
Since I hated getting my hair dyed, I stopped and let it go au naturelle.
And then I let it grow it long.
And experimented with it.
But I still wasn’t happy with it.
Until I started doing more research online and found another book.
A book I found practical, informative, and really, really helpful.
The Curly Girl Handbook by Lorraine Massey with Michele Bender
I found this book so helpful! I identified with many of the stories of people who also didn’t know their hair was curly or how to care for it. I really liked the pictures and the CD, which showed different kinds of curls.
This book identifies 7 types of curly hair:
Corkscrew
Botticelli
Corkicelli
Cherub
Wavy
S’wavy
Fractal/Zigzag
I decided that mine might fit into the Corkicelli group. Which was weird. Looking at the pictures of people with those curls was not looking at my hair. And yet… the possibility was there. If I just did the right things.
And the good news was that the book gives all kinds of advice as to how to look after curly hair. Not only what not to do, but also what to do.
So now I can wash my hair on any random day, let it air dry, and it ends up with actual curls.
Like in this picture, which I took after trying their advice for a couple of weeks.
Yes, those are actual curls that formed with no help from me other than to wash them with the right kind of products and let them air dry.
Wondering what the secrets are? Stay tuned for my next blog.
April 18, 2017
My Hair Has a Mind of Its Own or If Only I’d Known Years Ago That It Was Curly!
I don’t think I’ve ever actually hated my hair, because I was always glad I didn’t have hair like my mother’s, but sometimes I came close to hating it. Age 1 When I was very young, I blamed my mother. Not for my hair, but for hurting me when she washed, brushed, or combed it. […]
The post My Hair Has a Mind of Its Own or If Only I’d Known Years Ago That It Was Curly! appeared first on N. J. Lindquist.
“My Hair Has a Mind of Its Own” or If Only I’d Known Years Ago That It Was Curly!
I don’t think I’ve ever actually hated my hair, because I was always glad I didn’t have hair like my mother’s, but sometimes I came close to hating it. Age 1 When I was very young, I blamed my mother. Not for my hair, but for hurting me when she washed, brushed, or combed it. […]
The post “My Hair Has a Mind of Its Own” or If Only I’d Known Years Ago That It Was Curly! appeared first on N. J. Lindquist.
April 11, 2017
An Unexpected Pregnancy, a Difficult Birth, and Easter: a True Story
This might sound strange, but I never really expected to give birth to any children. I don’t know why. I didn’t expect to get married either. Didn’t anticipate it. Didn’t plan for it or anything. But I did get married, and I did get pregnant. And the whole time, I felt as if it was […]
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April 4, 2017
Am I Weird? A Children’s Book Made Me Feel Better About Being Me
For most of my life, I’ve thought I was kind of weird. Or maybe that there was something wrong with me. Perhaps the easiest way to explain is to tell you how I write my short stories and novels. People are always talking about how to make fictional characters seem real. And there are lists […]
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