Sara R. Turnquist's Blog, page 22

Autism quote from the movie “Loving Lamposts”

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GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY: Author Hannah R. Conway

Welcome, friends! I have a special treat for you today. I have author Hannah R. Conway on my blog today. She is a bestselling author, for one. Beyond that, she is a writing mentor (mine, in fact) and is very knowledgable in the craft of writing. She is also a phenomenal speaker. I can’t say enough good things about her! But I’ll let you meet her yourselves:

History Doesn’t Have to Repeat Itself

I’m so excited to be Sara’s blog & give away an eCopy of my latest novel, Up in Smoke! Enter to win at the end of this blog post!

Again, I’m super excited to be here. Sara is a dear friend, and talented historical fiction author.

I must say, though I write contemporary romance with elements of suspense and with military themes, I truly have a love for historical fiction. History in general brings a smile to my face, so much that I hold a degree in History, and even teach World History. So, anytime I get a chance to plot and shoot ideas back and forth with Sara, I’m all ears. The way she weaves history and fiction—beautiful!

Somewhere not so deep within me, lives a historical fiction story. One day y’all I will write it!

One of the things I love, and hate, about history is how it repeats itself. Historically speaking, we as a society forgo the lessons of our ancestors and doom ourselves to repeat their mistakes. Teaching history allows me to see those patterns, explore them, and discuss with my students ways we can prevent similar outcomes today, or in the future.

While it’s easy for me to cast a stone at our ancestors, and even present day folks for ridiculous repetitive destructive behavior while waving a pointed finger shouting “haven’t you learned anything?” I’m not innocent.

Countless times I’ve made the same mistake…sometimes knowingly. Ugh. Sad truth.

While writing my latest novel, “Up in Smoke”, my main character, Leanna Wilson, has a history of repeating her past mistakes too. Guess she and I have something in common. At a tender age, Leanna’s heart was broken by her first love, and the betrayal of her best friend. When Leanna’s life gets tough, she runs and puts her hope in people and things that do not fulfill, nor satisfy. This becomes a cycle in her life—history repeating itself.

As I continued to write Leanna’s story, I found myself identifying with her more. She and I both had a problem of letting the wrong history in our lives repeat.

How do we solve this problem?

Huff. Sigh. Groan.

And then it hit me. Wisdom. Wisdom only from God. He has to teach us the way, show us what needs to change in our lives, and create the change in us.

Isaiah 1:17 tells us to learn to do what is right.

How do we learn? By reading what God has to say in the Bible, and doing what it says. Eventually, the history repeating in our lives will be the right kind, the kind that lead to life, peace, and joy.

It seems Leanna and I have had to endure many self-repeating history mistakes, but it also seems like she and I at least now know how to get out of that cycle.

Let’s pray that we all will allow God to teach us the way, and the right kind of history to repeat.

Thank you for those words, Hannah. And for being here. Let me snag you for a few questions.

First, what motivated you to start writing novels?

This deep, deep desire; like, if I didn’t write, I would explode! Truly, I’ve enjoyed creating stories from a very young age, I simply needed to live a little before putting anything permanent down.

What a neat thought on that “live a little before putting anything permanent down”. I like that.

What author would you most like to meet?

Just one? I’d have to say Tosca Lee. Her stories pull me in, keep my up way past my bedtime, and leave me salivating for the next novel. Fan-girling a bit over here!

I know what you mean. I have a couple of those authors on my list

AUTISM: The Diagnosis

***When our son, Andrew, was first diagnosed, we started a blog (that we didn’t keep up with very well) called “Andrew’s Journey”. This is the first entry in that blog (edited for this post’s purposes).***

Andrew at 2

It seems like a lifetime ago that our pediatrician said to us that there was a possibility our sweet 2 year old, Andrew, might be autistic. It seemed unreal and I didn’t want to believe it was possible, so I just didn’t. But we agreed to have him tested to ease our doctor’s mind. What was the harm?

The first evaluation was with the Tennessee Early Intervention Services (TEIS). They nailed down his developmental delay and speech delay, but didn’t see anything that pointed to autism. We’re golden. (Sigh of relief.)

A couple of months later, received an unexpected call from the Vanderbilt Children’s Development Center. Apparently, Andrew was on their wait list to be tested by their psychologist. Okay, so this is the autism evaluation. Hold breath again. After solving a little hiccup with insurance (aren’t those fun?), we prepared ourselves for the 4 hour evaluation.

The test itself was pretty comprehensive. They asked me a LOT of questions and played with Andrew in both structured and freeform activities. There was no doubt in my mind they would confirm TEIS’s findings of some developmental delays and a speech delay.

I miss that ignorance.

After all was said and done, the diagnosis was “Autism Spectrum Disorder”.  No one was more shocked than I.  I mean, I knew he had some challenges, but nothing I had read in my (admittedly limited) research on signs of autism seemed to fit my little Andrew.

So right there, in front of the evaluating team members, I started to cry. And cry and cry and cry. I didn’t stop crying for an hour. I cried when I told my husband on the phone while Andrew and I made our way home. I cried when I told my parents. I cried as I looked at my sweet boy in the back seat who had, in my opinion, been given a life sentence.

Over the next few days, my husband and I grieved. We grieved the life we had hoped for Andrew and the inability to use the word “perfect” in the same sentence with “Andrew”. And I was angry with God and the choice He had made for my son. So angry that, even a week and a half later, I couldn’t bring myself to pray.

In the next week, Greg and I dove into the information Vanderbilt had provided us (they sent me home with a packet). And, the more we read, the more overwhelmed we became. There seemed to be two questions pop up for every one answered. But neither of us wanted to trust the internet.

I knew Andrew was (and is) the same boy he was before the diagnosis, that we now simply have a name for what he’s struggling with. It just takes a little while for that realization to travel from my head to my heart. And my husband and I have both struggled with the inability to call him “our perfect little boy” anymore.

Once I was able to get my head above water, I started sharing with my closest friends. The amount of love, support, and sympathy we received was so touching. One of my dear, sweet friends and sisters in Christ shared a truth with me that has really been a turning point for me in my own journey to process the diagnosis. After she extended her sympathies and assured me we were in her thoughts and prayers, she then said, “Praise Jesus that Andrew was fearfully and wonderfully made. And while this diagnosis is a shock to you all, it is not a shock to the One Who formed him in your womb.”

At first I thought it was odd that we should praise Him at all, but my heart softened to this truth and I began to see light in the midst of my grief. Andrew is fearfully and wonderfully made. God promises this. God formed him in my womb. And for whatever reason, this was always His plan for us and for Andrew. The truth is that He will lead us and equip us on this uncertain road with all of it’s ups and downs, twists and turns. Even more than that, I can begin to say that Andrew is perfect…because God made him and he is a miracle.

***

The blog article went on to share our intentions for the blog.

But, I want to share with each of you that this road has been hard, it’s been sweet, it’s been trying…it’s been everything it promised to be and more. And Andrew is just 6! But the victories have been tear jerkers. The first time he spontaneously said, “Mommy, I love you”, I had to bite my lip to keep from bawling in front of him. And those months when he would self-harm were heart wrenching as you can imagine.

No, it’s not easy. It’s not fun. But it is his journey. Our journey.

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A quote for everyone touched by Autism/ADHD

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INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Author Tracy Popolizio

Hello all, and welcome to another Friday post! I have a great author to introduce you to. This is another Historical Fiction author friend I have met through the ACFW Historical Fiction Facebook Group. As you well know, I cannot say enough good things about ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). If this is your first time on my page (first: Hey! Welcome! Glad you’re here!), check out this post to learn more about ACFW (it is another author interview, but I share a bit about ACFW and some of the perks).

Author Tracy Popolizio is here today to share her book, The Longest New York Minute via interview and in a giveaway (details below). It is an interesting title, don’t you think? And it has an even more interesting thought behind it. Before I spoil the interview, let me just step out of the way and let you find out for yourself.

Welcome to my blog! Thanks for visiting today. First, Tracy, can you tell us a little about your novel?

A thirteen-year old girl, Jessica Bianchi, lives with her Christian family in an apartment in New York City. Her biggest problem is that her father doesn’t seem to understand her anymore. Life continues but then Tuesday, September 11, 2001, happens. The safe, secure world Jessica knows crumbles right in front of her eyes. The Twin Towers are attacked, her father is missing, and her mother is in another state. Jessica’s faith is tested in ways that didn’t seem possible. In The Longest New York Minute, I wanted to recap the events of the day from the perspective of a young girl.

Wow. What a hard day of events to take on. What was the inspiration for The Longest New York Minute? Was there something that made this story worth it?

My daughter was in 4th grade and came home from school interested to know more about 9/11. When I couldn’t find anything age-appropriate for her to read, I decided to write a story for both my children so they could have an idea of what happened.

I commend you. That is no easy task. Especially with such a heavy subject. But we do need to make such important parts of our collective story accessible to our children as it is appropriate.

Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what did you want to be when you were a child?

No, I wanted to be a teacher. I used to write poetry and a few short pieces of work, but it was never something on my bucket list.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Probably only after I finished The Longest New York Minute did I realize I wanted to do more.

Interesting. You made it through a whole book…and one that must have had its challenges before you got bit by the writing bug (so they say). But, as you surely know, it’s not all roses and sunshine. There are parts of this whole gig that’s not for the faint of heart. What part of the writing process do you dread?

Always the editing. It’s always been a very difficult thing for me, even in high school. Now I think I dread it because it reveals the area I struggle most-forming the words in the most meaningful, effective way to reach the reader.

You are not alone

INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Author Kadee Carder

Welcome to a different kind of Wednesday! First of all, it’s my birthday. Happy birthday to me! Secondly, we have a returning guest. I know what you are thinking…it’s Wednesday, not Friday…guest authors are on Friday. Well, this is a special guest and I made an exception. My friend who I have never met in person, author Kadee Carder, has added a new book to her repertoire. And I just had to introduce you to it.

Some of you may remember Kadee from her Insurrection Trilogy. I met Kadee through our common publisher, Clean Reads. Kadee stands out because of how she truly inspires other authors and helps everyone along on their journeys. Not only their writing journeys, but where they are in life. That is a special quality and I admire her for it. But, let’s jump right in and get to her book!

Hey, Kadee! Thanks for being on my blog today. I’m excited to hear about your newest release. What was the inspiration for Here Be Dragons?

My preacher introduced the idea that people who do not know God are simply prisoners of war. What better way to free prisoners than by love? What better way to fight darkness than with light? Do we work on earth to accomplish material things or do we share encouragement, love, inspiration, and good works in the name of someone much greater than ourselves? Do we humbly help and teach? We humans aren’t just here on this planet to make money or fill time. We are here for life, and a life full. God put each of us here, doing good work he created long ago for us to do. We don’t do any of it for our glory or success, but to free the prisoners of war.

For those who are meeting you for the first time, tell us…did you always want to be a writer? If not, what did you want to be when you were a child?

I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a child. I dreamed of walking in the big, puffy white suit and dancing on the moon. Now I guess my sci fi novels are the best way for me to get there!

What suggestions do you have to help me become a better writer?

To become better at anything, two words a wise woman once told me: Persistence. Consistency.

Write every day, and teach others to write. Make a list of words you misuse or overuse, and in editing, yank those suckers out of there, especially passive voice (is, was) and unnecessary words like “that” and “there.”

That is the truth! Good words. We are always learning from each other. Speaking of…as you know, we learn directly and indirectly (through reading others’ works). What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading Royally Entitled by Melody Delgado.

Another Clean Reads author…and in my genre! I think you will find it a delightful read.

I always set a mood when I write… What kind of music, if any, do you listen to when you write?

I adore 90’s punk rock like Angels and Airwaves, Blink 182, Green Day, Skillet, and epic music like Imagine Dragons. If it’s a good workout song, I probably dig it, especially for my battle scenes.

Neat. I wouldn’t have imagined any different

Happy New Year 2018

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INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Author Amber Schamel

Hello! It’s that time. Friday. The day we look forward to meeting another author and hearing about what they have been working on. Today, I have award-winning author Amber Schamel on my blog! She is here to talk about her latest release and chat a bit. Amber is another member the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and we connected through the Historical Fiction genre page. And, again, I cannot recommend this organization enough for what it offers writers of all levels and stages. Check them out: https://www.acfw.com/

Hello, Amber! Welcome to my blog. Thanks for being on today. First, can you tell us a little about your novel?

Solve by Christmas is a clean, fun historical mystery set in Denver during the great blizzard of 1913.

When sabotage threatens the Rudin Sugar Factory, Detective Jasper Hollock believes this will be his first real case. But dear Mr. Rudin—the only father Jasper has ever known—holds a different assignment for his private investigator.

Mr. Rudin charges Jasper to build a “case” of reasons for his employer to continue his life. If he fails, Mr. Rudin will end it in suicide on Christmas night.

As the incidents at the factory become life threatening, Jasper’s attempts at dissuading Mr. Rudin prove futile, and Jasper is left staring at the stark reality of his own soul. Time is ticking. Jasper must solve both cases by Christmas before Mr. Rudin, the company, and Jasper’s faith, are dragged to perdition. Will this be the Christmas Jasper truly discovers what makes life worth living?

A mystery and a historical!?! I am always happy to hear more about historicals! Care to share the more historically significant events behind your story?

There are two big historical elements to Solve by Christmas, and they were both SO much fun to incorporate. The first is the great blizzard of 1913. This storm still holds records in Colorado today! In fact, it was all the snow from this historic storm that spawned the ski industry in the state.

The second element is the union wars taking place in the city during that era. It was a time when labor unions and regulations were gaining ground, but it was also a turbulent time. Riots, strikes, court cases…all of this and more. There was a militant unionist group growing in Denver during 1913, so I chose to use them in the story as well.

As if history itself wasn’t inspiration enough, I love asking writers where that nugget, that spark, that first seed of a story comes from. What was the inspiration for Solve by Christmas?

I needed a story idea that would be of shorter length. I had already determined that I wanted to make it a Christmas story. As I was thinking about that, I wondered about plots with a deadline of Christmas. By Christmas…that was intriguing. As I made a mental list of different story lines one came to mind about a detective who had to solve a case by Christmas. I liked that idea, because I’ve always had a fascination with detectives and mysteries. Then the though popped into my head, what if the case the detective had to solve wasn’t a “case” as he thought? And there’s where it began.

Intriguing! Of course we love writing…it’s the flame inside us. But it’s not all roses and sunshine. There are things about the craft that not every writer loves. What part of the writing process do you dread?

Editing is a love/hate deal with me. Okay, mostly hate. It’s that phase of writing where I question everything and get that feeling like, “Why am I doing this? I am horrible. What an awful sentence! Oh.my.word. I can’t show this to the world. I’ll never be able to leave my bedroom again.” But when I look back and see something absolutely awful become an intriguing scene, that’s pretty cool.

Editing truly is a necessary evil…

Many great authors speak to how important it is to read others’ work. I know as much as we learn from craft books and conferences, we pick up things intuitively from reading fiction as well. What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading Hope for Christmas by Linda Shenton Matchett, Jodie Wolfe and Terri Wangard. Those three are blogging buddies of mine, so I was super excited to read an anthology with all three of them! I love Christmas stories, so I am squeezing as many as possible in before the season is officially over.

As my readers already know, I set the mood for my writing sessions. And music is a big part of that. What about you? What kind of music, if any, do you listen to when you write?

I listen to soundtracks. When I start planning a new book, one of my preperations is to find some music that fits the genre, feel and emotion of the story. I create a playlist that I listen to while I write. Since I do a lot of writing in the car with my family, I need a way to plug in and get my mind into the story. Music helps SO much with that.

Solve by Christmas was kind of a hard one to get a playlist for. I ended up using a lot of music from the Titanic soundtrack (same era, you know). Not so much the ones that ended up on the film, but the other songs from the time-period that came as a bonus.

Interesting. I’m a movie soundtrack girl, too. Instrumental music only.

Can you tell us something about your newest release that is NOT in the blurb.

There is a very slight romance thread between Detective Hollock and another character. There’s also an underlying element of learning not to rely on our own abilities and intellect, but instead seeking our answers in Christ, not ourselves.

I like it. What’s next? Do you have any current projects you’re working on? Care to share?

Ha, I have a lot of current projects.

INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Author Dana Romanin

Hello, all! Another Friday, another wonderful author for you to meet. Dana Romanin is another author in the Clean Reads publishing family. As many of you know, I just love being a part of this group of authors. We help each other, encourage each other, and give much needed advice. This group is how I met Dana. So, she is on my blog today talking about her novel and even offering a giveaway (details below).

Thank you, Dana, for being on my blog today! First, can you tell us a little about your novel?

Abby’s Letters is a story about sisters, first love, and forgiveness. It’s about a seventeen-year-old girl who fakes her mom’s life in order to keep her little sister from going into foster care. Along the way she discovers things about herself, her cute next door neighbor, and most importantly her dead mother that changes the way she looks at life forever.

Interesting… What was the inspiration for Abby’s Letters?

Well, the idea for my story came from a morbid newspaper article I read years ago. It was about the amount of unclaimed bodies crowding the morgues. They’d just be written off as John or Jane Doe and would be stored for months, even a year or longer. It was sad to think that someone could die and nobody know or care enough to claim them. Then I thought, unless there was a reason no one claimed them. Maybe they were protecting someone. And Abby’s Letters stemmed from there

It is true that inspiration for writers comes from anywhere. I totally get it.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been seriously writing for almost seven years. Before that, I was more of a dreamer. I was enamored with the idea of being an author. I’ve dabbled in writing since I was a preteen and I had this romanticized “Anne Shirley” type notion of what writing was supposed to be like. But I didn’t have a good reason for why I wanted to write. Therefore, if it got too hard, which it inevitably does, I just didn’t do it. I’d give up. I never thought it was possible to actually become a published writer, because it just seemed too doggone hard. But it wasn’t until I became a youth group leader that I figured out why I wanted to write— to encourage, comfort, and bring light into hurting girl’s lives. Once I figured out why I wanted to write nothing was going to stop me. It didn’t matter how hard making it in publishing was, I wasn’t going to quit because I had a reason not to quit.

I love that. You really have a wonderful personal inspiration. Something you said is really true. It does get hard. There are parts of the process that are not as fun. What part of the writing process do you dread the most?

The part of the writing process that I dread the absolute most is writing the blurb and synopsis. I can write 400 pages, but ask me to write one paragraph about that 400 pages, and I’m paralyzed.

I always ask, because we are always learning from each other… Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer?

The best advice I can give is don’t fight the story. Don’t shy away from writing the tough stuff. There are parts in Abby’s Letters that I didn’t want to write. I wanted to do some things differently, but that wasn’t the story. I wanted to take the easy way out, but I had to dive into those scenes and write them anyway.

I always have to set the mood when I write…and music is a key part of that. What kind of music, if any, do you listen to when you write?

The music I listen to depends on my character’s personality. One of my character’s personality most matches French music, so when I’m writing in his POV I listen to the French Cooking Music on Pandora. Another one of my characters has a lot of issues so Julia Michael’s Issues song is perfect for her scenes.

Do you have a favorite time of day to write? What about a favorite place?

I write best in the morning. My brain is completely fried by the afternoon so I found that the best time to write is first thing in the morning after the coffee kicks in. And my favorite place to write is anywhere that I’m not interrupted. I have three kids so that can be hard to find.

I totally get that. I have three of my own, so it can be challenging

GRIEVING: The holidays are not quite the same this year

Every year, I hear the very thoughtful words of the wise mention how the holidays are not the “most wonderful time of the year” for everyone. That for those who have lost loved ones during the year, it can be a time of painful reminder of their absence. It is not that I didn’t believe these sages in my life. I just never knew how true this was.

Until now.

The loss of my mom is not the first loss in my life.

I was very close to my grandparents. And had a close friend that was lost in a tragic drowning accident while I was in college. But it’s so different. So very different.

Perhaps part of it is the place she held in my life.

Maybe there is some truth to the idea that you experience all the previous losses again each time you lose someone else. So, in effect, I am dealing with this very difficult loss and reliving these other losses at the same time.

I don’t know.

But I do know that I ache.

I hurt.

And the joyfulness of the season seems to elude me.

I can stop and be thankful for the many, many blessings in my life. My mom’s influence being one of them. But none of it detracts from the pain of the loss. And I come back to that over and over.

Perhaps that’s okay. For this to just be a different kind of year. Part of the “new normal”.

Maybe this year, I can lean in to the grief and let it be. Lend my tears to the loss. Honor her memory and the absence of her laughter at our gathering.

Without dreading it. Or worrying if I’m upsetting someone else…acknowledge that it is what it is. For me. And for everyone else. That we all must take it as it comes.

And Christmas is what it is this year. No expectations. No forcing ourselves into any molds.

For better or for worse.

In that freedom, perhaps we will find some peace.

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