Carolyn Astfalk's Blog, page 29
April 16, 2018
Interview with Catholic Teen Author T.M. Gaouette
Of all the genres, why write fiction for Catholic teens? How were you personally drawn to sharing your faith in this way?
Because there isn’t enough good Catholic fiction available for a demographic that needs God the most. Teenagers face so many confusing issues, not just the usual coming-of-age struggles that every teenager has to contend with, such as puberty, friendships, relationships, parents, and peer pressures, but also cultural issues that, as a result of the world we currently live in, present excruciating pressures. And in a world where God is literally pushed out, it’s become a crisis. Social media and this ever-growing device culture has significantly increased the anxiety of our teens, leading to more bullying, more depression, more suicide, more addiction, more teen pregnancy. I don’t envy teens in this society. The world is topsy-turvy and they need a balance. They need a light. And since we are all called to be lights in this dark world, I strive to provide this light in my fiction.
In your mind’s eye, who is your audience, your ideal reader?
Thirteen to eighteen-year-olds.
You’ve had the opportunity to visit a classroom of students who had read your book The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch. What did you take away from the experience?
[image error]This sixth grade class was extremely engaged. They had so many insightful questions, not just about the story and the characters, but about the writing process itself. It wasn’t just a story for these young boys and girls. They really connected with the characters and the struggles Benedict, Tommie, Micah, and others were dealing with. The students wanted to know more about them. They wanted to see more of them in a sequel. But most importantly, they all found a part of themselves in one or more characters, and it gave them hope. The experience was so inspiring, and it made all those years of writing The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch worth the effort. And it gave me the motivation to keep plugging away.
Your Faith & Kung Fu series is an original pairing. What parallels does the series draw between the two seemingly dissimilar topics?
[image error]Gabriel, the sixteen-year-old protagonist throughout the series, uses his kung fu to strengthen his faith. What Gabriel gets out of kung fu, he puts into his faith, such as physical and emotional strength, discipline, modesty, and balance. Kung fu is also an external manifestation of his internal devotion to God. He doesn’t need kung fu to get to God, it just puts him in the perfect mindset to receive Him fully.
If you could hire out someone to manage one aspect of the writing/editing/publishing/marketing business, what would it be?
I think probably marketing. It takes a lot of time and effort, and quite honestly, I’d rather spend my time writing the book because I love to write.
What are you working on now?
[image error]Currently, I’m working on book three of the Faith & Kung Fu series. This is a four-part series, and I hope to get the next installment out this summer, God willing. And, as you know, Carolyn, I’m also working alongside you and other CatholicTeenBooks.com authors to put together an anthology. It will give readers a sample of our writing styles and the variety of genres they can find at our website. So, I’m extremely excited about that.
“And since we are all called to be lights in this dark world, I strive to provide this light in my fiction.” @TMGaouette
Tweet This[image error]T.M. Gaouette is a wife, home-school mom, homesteader, and fiction novelist. She was born in Africa, brought up in London, and is now living in New England, where she raises goats with her husband and four children. Devoted to Him, Gaouette is dedicated to glorifying God by sharing His word through her fiction for teens, and young adults. She is the author of The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch, Freeing Tanner Rose (Bk. 1-Faith & Kung Fu), and Saving Faith (Bk. 2-Faith & Kung Fu).
Website: https://tmgaouette.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TMGaouette
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TMGaouette
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6037114.T_M_Gaouette
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/T.-M.-Gaouette/e/B008IAC4D0/
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April 10, 2018
New in Science Fiction – NEWEARTH: Justine Awakens by A.K. Frailey
BUY NOW
Found guilty of war crimes, Justine Santana, a Human-Android hybrid is shut down. Taug, an alien from Crestar, must eliminate his father’s mistake—a Human-Cresta crossbreed named Derik.
When Taug awakens Justine and charges her with the assignment to kill Derik, he never suspects that she might discover the meaning of love and her intrinsic humanity.
Cerulean from Last of Her Kind aides Newearth in her first tottering steps toward freedom . . .
[image error] Get Last of Her Kind FREE on Kindle April 10-12, 2018
Now, after the last war crimes trial, Cerulean would finally be free to help humanity resettle on Newearth. But this trial must come first. After all, Justine is human too . . .
Taug, an alien from Crestar, becomes entangled in inter-alien politics and is amazed by human decency.
His tentacles released the delicate equipment; Mitholie looked Taug in the eye. “The High Tribunal simply wishes you to . . . purge your father’s unfortunate experiment. That done, I’m sure this messy business can be consigned to the dark waters.”
Meet Bala and his wife Kendra, a couple joined by heaven who must endure the pains of hell—but despite every adversity—intend to make Newearth a better world for everyone.
“Kendra, Max would like to know why we had so many.” With a sweep of his hand over the children, he clarified his point.
Kendra’s nearly frantic chewing slowed to glacial speed as one eyebrow rose. “Well, you see, it’s our pleasure. We enjoy bringing new life into the world and training them to become wonderful citizens of Newearth.”
Bala stared at Kendra, his eyes rounding into orbs. “The truth? You told him the truth!”
New Release #scifi by @akfrailey Justine Awakens. Plus, Last of Her Kind -FREE!
Tweet ThisAbout the Author, A.K. Frailey:
[image error]As an author and teacher with a degree in Elementary Education, Ann Frailey has written and published nine books, and several of her articles have been published in national magazines. In 2016, she earned a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing for Entertainment from Full Sail University and won two course director’s awards.
Ann belongs to the Catholic Writer’s Guild, home schools, and maintains a mini-farm with her children and their numerous critters. She is currently working on a science fiction and literary, short story series, a new science fiction novel, and a science fiction, miniseries screenplay. To check out her short stories and information about her current writing projects, visit her blog: https://akfrailey.com/blog/
Website: https://akfrailey.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnKFrailey/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AkFrailey
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April 9, 2018
Anyone But Him Blog Tour
About the Book:
A New Adult Mystery Romance
Caitlyn Summer had always followed the straight and narrow path. Her perfect husband would love Jesus more than her and love her because of her love for Jesus. He would be faithful and gentle and have a heart for others. So how did she end up marrying the bad boy who got her high school best friend pregnant then pressured her to abort?
Unable to remember the past three years or understand why she would’ve moved so far from home, Caitlyn can’t believe she willingly married such an overprotective, bossy, and jealous man. In this emotionally-charged, new adult mystery romance, Anyone But Him, Caitlyn struggles to solve the mysteries of her amnesia and her marriage. Suspicious circumstances surrounding her husband tempt her to leave and start life over, but they also challenge her Christian faith and convictions.
The arrival of her first love, her husband’s younger brother, intent on helping her regain her memory, offers a glimmer of hope. Together they uncover secrets involving her coworkers and the local abortion clinic, but nothing to explain why she married this man. Who changed – him or her?
Anyone But Him by @LindenTheresa *NEW* 5-Star New Adult #Mystery #Romance
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My Review:
Anyone But Him is brimming with delicious romance, keep-you-guessing mystery, and a dose of humor. Wonderfully written with well-developed characters, and a solid plot – all hallmarks of Theresa Linden’s books. With her first novel aimed at the new adult market, I hope many, many more readers are introduced to her writing. It’s a joy to read novels both well written and underpinned by the Catholic faith and the values Catholics hold dear.
Book Trailer:
Chicken Florentine
As I read Anyone But Him, I knew I had to get the recipe that Caitlyn and her husband (or is he?) prepare! Click for a printable copy of the recipe and watch the video below.
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Chicken Florentine
Blog Tour:
April 5, Steven McEvoy, Book Reviews and More
April 6, Larry Peterson, It Makes Sense to Me and Cradling Catholic
April 9, Carolyn Astfalk, My Scribbler’s Heart
April 10, Ellen Gable Hrkach, Plot Line and Sinker
April 16, Patrice MacArthur, Spiritual Woman
April 18, Ellen Gable Hrkach, Plot Line and Sinker
April 19, A.K. Frailey, The Writings of A.K. Frailey
April 23, CatholicMom.com
April 23, Sarah Damm, Sarah Damm
April 27, Barb Szyszkiewicz, Franciscan Mom
About the Author, Theresa Linden:
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Theresa Linden
Theresa Linden is the author of award-winning Catholic teen fiction. Raised in a military family, she developed a strong patriotism and a sense of adventure. Her Catholic faith inspires the belief that there is no greater adventure than the reality we can’t see, the spiritual side of life. She has six published novels, and two short stories in Image and Likeness: Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body (Full Quiver Publishing). She holds a Catechetical Diploma from Catholic Distance University and is a member of the Catholic Writers Guild and the International Writers Society. A wife, homeschooling mom, and Secular Franciscan, she resides in northeast Ohio with her husband and three teenage boys.
Links:
Website: http://www.theresalinden.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theresalindenauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindenTheresa
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7537721.Theresa_Linden
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April 4, 2018
An Open Book
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Welcome to the April 2018 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!
[image error]De-escalate: How to Calm an Angry Person in 90 Seconds or Less by Douglas E. Noll provides the reader (or, in my husband’s case, listener) with practical tips for dealing with angry family members, co-workers, etc., by being the peacemaker. My husband’s only at the beginning, so he hasn’t formed an opinion about the book, but he’s hoping that it will help him understand angry emotions, both in himself and in others.
[image error]I recently downloaded Quenby Olson’s The Bride Price, a Regency romance. I’ve “met” the author through 10 Minute Novelists, but she also lives locally. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every book I’ve read by her, and she’s a skilled and talented author. (I’m also impressed by her productivity given the craziness of motherhood and family life.) I purposely haven’t read the book blurb so that I can enjoy this story as it unfolds with no expectations, confident that I’m in the hands of a capable author.
[image error]I’ve also been reading a series of young adult books by Glenn Haggerty. Run is the second in the Intense series. (A prequel novella, Escape, precedes it.) The central character, Tyler Higgins, is learning to navigate friendships and bullies amidst adventure that keeps him in peril. I like that through his (very normal) mistakes and flaws, Tyler persists, finding courage and growing in wisdom and grace. Run is Christian YA (not heavy-handed) alive with action, and probably best enjoyed by pre-teen and teen boys.
[image error]I picked up the final book in the Michael Vey series, Michael Vey 7: The Final Spark by Richard Paul Evans from our local library. My son zipped through the book in a couple of days. (I think it’s easy reading compared to his school-required selections.) My son is glad to have completed the series but remarked that some of the plot seemed contrived. “Too convenient,” is what I think he said.
[image error]He’s also read and is studying Medea by Euripedes, another in the line of Greek tragedies he’s been reading. The bloodshed in Medea centers upon revenge as Medea kills her own children to punish her husband. Fun stuff, the classics.
[image error]The Riddle of Penncroft Farm by Dorothea Jensen is one of my daughter’s new favorites. This, too, is set in her favorite time period: the Revolutionary War era. The book takes place in and around Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and includes a bit of mystery and a ghost story as well as history. I’m thinking we’ll have to make a trip to Valley Forge this summer since she was too young to remember our previous visit.
[image error]Still working through the Lois Lenski collection at the library, my fourth grader is also reading Judy’s Journey. The story follows a family of migrant farmers up and down the East Coast of the United States as they look for work. As you can imagine, that kind of lifestyle would be difficult for a child moving from school to school.
[image error]Fresh off school celebrations held for Dr. Seuss Week, my kindergartener has been reading (and reading and re-reading) There’s a Wocket in My Pocket. I don’t consider myself much of a Dr. Seuss fan, but this is one of my favorites. (I wouldn’t mind a few nupboards in my cupboards, provided they keep it clean.)
[image error]In time for Easter, my youngest daughter picked up The Berenstain Bears’ Easter Sunday from the back of church. This is part of the Christian line of Berenstain Bears books written by Mike Berenstain and published by ZonderKidz. (I prefer the older books by his parents, Stan and Jan Berenstain.) While there’s nothing here my kids don’t know, it would be a good introduction to Easter for a child with only a secular understanding of Easter or one who has not attended church. And I actually did learn something. Apparently there are people who don’t believe we should celebrate Easter with chocolate and candy. What!?! (N.B.: That’s not what the Bear family believes. )
[image error]I’m also reading The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward and Marjorie Flack to my youngest children. I can hardly believe that I haven’t included this book somewhere in a blog post before. This tattered softcover book was among the books my husband brought from his parents’ house years ago. Inspiring to moms everywhere, this country bunny has her industrious charges so well-disciplined that eventually the little bunnies can handily run the household. This frees the mother bunny to take on Easter bunny duties. And wouldn’t you know that all those years of mothering made her a particularly compassionate, determined Easter bunny.
What are you reading? Share it at An Open Book and find new book recommendations too! #openbook
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Want more details on An Open Book? You can also sign up for An Open Book reminder email, which goes out one week before the link-up. No blog? That’s okay. Just tell us what you’re reading in the comment box.
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April 1, 2018
Bonnets, Baskets, & Bunnies: An Easter 2018 Link-Up
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If you’re expecting a charming and witty run-down of Easter festivities, you many want to keep moving. If, on the other hand, you have about two minutes to glimpse a REAL Easter, scroll on.
Holy Week started with one sick kid at home and my slicing open my pinky on a tin can, so let’s just set the bar accordingly, shall we? LOW.
As I adapted to life with a pinky splint and multiple sick kids, a silver lining did emerge. I could not manage washing dishes with said splint and therefore am enjoying a week-long dishwashing reprieve.
On Good Friday, I made my annual trek to the one local supermarket that bakes and sells paska bread. Over the years, I’ve learned this store, just slightly beyond our usual range, is the only reliable source of our beloved Easter bread. We scored four raisin loaves this year, apparently outwitting the little old lady who beat us to the punch last year. Paska bread secured![image error]
Stations of the Cross were a regular part of my Catholic school childhood (and now my children’s), but I’ve struggled to make it to those services for many years. (Let’s blame small children and, to be honest, the fish fry.) My absence at Stations made me especially grateful to attend on Good Friday.
By Holy Saturday, I had exchanged one sick kid for another. I took the healthy kids, and we headed for the parish Easter egg hunt.
Throughout the many hours we were there for setup, the event, and cleanup, my husband sent me increasingly pitiful texts of our pathetic little tear-stained sickie. Oh, my heart.[image error]
The festivities included relay races, bubble making, Easter bingo, and Resurrection chalk art. The kids all seemed to have fun and left with substantial Easter candy booty.[image error]
And then, courtesy of his siblings, the recuperating little master got his own private egg hunt.[image error]
From an ancient homily for Holy Saturday, from The Divine Office:
The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.
Best wishes for a happy and blessed Easter!
Happy Easter! “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
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March 29, 2018
The Lent You Want and the Lent You Need
Christ on the Cross by Leon Bonnat (image in the public domain)
In my experience, God cares little for the Lent you want as evidenced by delivering the Lent you need. I’d intended to write a little more about that, including how little I’d “done” this Lent in the way of the three hallmarks of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. And then a little about the sick kids piling up in my living room this week and the cut on my pinky that sent me to the urgent care center.
But, instead, I’m going to direct you to another blog. Jenny Uebbing wrote on essentially the same topic, and I’m fairly certain it’s better written and more entertaining than what I would have offered.
A blessed Holy Week and a joyous Easter to you!
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March 19, 2018
Relevant Fiction Reviews: The End of Life
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Because fiction excels at creating empathy, books that involve deeply personal, emotionally-intense issues help readers consider situations in a whole new light. Over the years, I’ve read many books that touch on life issues – both at its beginning and end. These books are ones that touch on end-of-life issues.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a review for Waking Rose, which I loved when I read it many years ago. (There was actually a time when I didn’t review almost everything I read!)
And finally, there are four dystopian series listed. I hope you’ll click through and read more about these exceptional books!
Next Relevant Fiction Reviews (May 2018): novels that deal with the beginning of life.
The Song of David by Amy Harmon
The amount of reading and writing I do has resulted in my dissecting every book I read – what works, what doesn’t, and why. Somehow, in Amy Harmon’s books, the magic remains. Not a sleight of hand cheap card trick magic, but the kind of magic that leaves me numb, wondering how. Free from the distraction of analyzing what and why, I’m drawn into a love story so personal, so moving, that my heart is ripped to shreds – in a good way – every time.
The Song of David is beautiful, poignant, and even, at times, funny. My heart soared as Tag – no, David – fought and loved, truly, and allowed himself to be loved. This story’s beautiful message of embracing life in spite of suffering – maybe because of suffering – needs to be shared far and wide.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t add how much I appreciate that in each of Amy Harmon’s books, sex is never cheapened or, when present, treated with the dignity and privacy called for. Like each of her novels, it elevates, allowing to reader to savor the glorious devastation of love and life, even in its imperfection.
Dying for Compassion by Barbara Golder
Forensic pathologist Jane Wallace is such a well-developed character that at least 1/2 the enjoyment in this series comes from getting in her head for the duration of the mystery.
This second installment is shorter and has a smaller cast (I think) than the first. With a less intricate but more immediate mystery to solve, more time is spent on Jane’s love interest, the passionate Irish author Eoin Conner. Readers learn about Eoin’s past, including his involvement in the Irish Troubles and his universally-despised wife, Fiona. Ireland and Telluride, Colorado settings help pace the action as the mysteries are revealed.
The novel also includes a thought-provoking treatment of end-of-life issues and the morality of so-called “death with dignity.” There is a nice balance in the examination of both going to extreme measures and euthanizing suffering individuals.
Angelhood offers important messages about hope and regret through the first-person account of 17-year-old Nanette, who, in the first chapter, puts a gun to her head and pulls the trigger. From there she embarks on her “angelhood.”
Despite the name, the body-less souls, and the acquisition of wings, the period of “angelhood” bears more resemblance to purgatory than angelic life. In order to gain her own redemption, Nanette is assigned a charge whom she must prevent from making the same fatal mistake she did in taking her own life.
Nanette shadows a friendless, angsty poet named Vera, whose mother has succumbed to breast cancer. Despite Nanette’s frustration with Vera’s anti-social, “loser” ways, she takes her task seriously and struggles to find means to influence Vera’s behavior and help her see the wonderful possibilities around her.
Throughout the novel, Nanette and other angels, including her mentor of sorts, Warren, engage in spiritual warfare in defense of their charges and their own journey towards sainthood. Darkness and evil tempt and taunt, eager to draw souls to their eternal torment.
Interspersed with the action are Nanette’s memories – both those leading up to her suicide and happy memories with her sister, mother, and fellow theater geeks. Not only does concentrating on positive memories help her to grown in grace, it also enables her to see clearly the rashness of her life-ending decision.
While Nanette had seen death as an escape from her various troubles, she now realizes that not only has peace eluded, her but her absence has had profound effects on her family members as well. Her perspective matures and broadens, allowing her to see hope where in the past she felt despair and to recognize, in theater terms, that comedy and tragedy exist side by side.
There are several twists, turns, and revelations along the way to maintain tension and keep the reader engaged.
In the years following the suicide of a friend’s 15-year-old son (also by gun), I’ve become hypersensitive to its frequent portrayal in media. While its depiction here made me uncomfortable, the overriding, hopeful message integrated so seamlessly into Nanette’s memories and experiences convinced me of its valuable message for teens in particular, who think their life isn’t worth living and the world would be better off without them.
I listened to Angelhood on audiobook, which opens me to distraction more than reading print does. It can also be a challenge to hear over the noise level and kid interruptions in my home. I did, however, enjoy the narration, which fit Nanette’s voice well.
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Waking Rose by Regina Doman
[image error]The Gifting Series by K.E. Ganshert
The Liberty Series by Theresa Linden
I Am Margaret Series by Corinna Turner
The Memoirs of Jane E, Friendless Orphan by Erin McCole Cupp
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March 16, 2018
Seven Quick Takes
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Fostering Friendship Edition
–1–
For the last several years, I’ve become acutely aware of the dearth of friendships in my life. For that reason, when I caught wind of The Friendship Project: The Catholic Woman’s Guide to Making and Keeping Fabulous, Faith-Filled Friends by Michele Faehnle and Emily Jaminet last year, I was eager to read it.
If you haven’t gotten a copy, I recommend it (and you can read my review here). There’s plenty of practical suggestions, but to be honest, I need to go back and make a list of baby steps to get started.
The Friendship Project was a catalyst for thinking more about friendships and how they arise and where they are missing in my family’s lives. This post is less about my friendships, but about helping my children foster friendships.
This post is my attempt to foster a conversation about how friendship may have changed for my children’s generation and how we as parents can help our children make friends.
–2–
Despite being a lifelong introvert, friendship was not an issue for me growing up. And while I grew up as the only girl in the cluster of 100 or so homes where we lived who did not go to public school and living on a dead-end road without any real neighbors, I had friends. Close, good, best friends from school. We frequently played at one another’s houses multiple times per month, including frequent sleepovers. We tagged along on vacations and day trips. Many of the girls in my class roller skated together weekly. Throughout grade school, high school, and college, I never lacked for a friend with whom I could share everything, one or more whom I happily “wasted” time going places or simply doing nothing.
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Photo by Aman Shrivastava on Unsplash
–3–
We lead busy lives. Today, in most households, both parents work full-time, and children are involved in multiple activities. The dearth of free time and the lack of opportunities for unstructured play make it harder to make and keep friends.
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Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
–4–
Neighborhoods used to be built for walking. Walking to the corner market, the penny candy store, the playground. We didn’t have any of those things in that cluster of homes where I grew up. (I don’t call it a neighborhood because it never felt that way to me.) What we did have, and what even my friends that lived in real neighborhoods had, was room to spread our wings. There was always an empty lot, a patch of woods, or in my case, acres and acres of woods to roam. I did a lot of roaming alone or with my dog, but when I had friends over, it was nothing for us to walk the hilly paths around my house, crisscrossing bike paths, hanging from tree swings or building shacks. And our parents didn’t worry about us going off to do those things independently.
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Photo by Paul Jarvis on Unsplash
–5–
My friends and I communicated in two ways: in person and by telephone. The telephone, however, had limits. Most households had one line, and parents didn’t want you hogging it for hours at a time. We couldn’t communicate by personal cell phones, text messages, or via video game systems. We spoke, and mostly in person.
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Photo by Pavan Trikutam on Unsplash
–6–
Here’s where I know my husband and I have failed our kids. What I enjoyed as a child and they do not, is a home that welcomes friends for parties, dinners, or just hanging out. While the house I grew up in was small, the age difference between me and my brothers was so great that I was, in some respects, raised as an only child. I had space to be with my friends, inside and outside the house. We lack space in our home for a variety of reasons I’m not going to go into here. Suffice it to say, our house with four kids of varying ages and precious little space, isn’t great for having friends over. There’s simply not physical space around a table or in bedrooms, and we haven’t even had adult friends over in many, many years. This one is totally on us.
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Photo by pacoruiz64 on Pixabay
–7–
My children have friends, even ones they’d call best friends. But they don’t do things out of school with them. They don’t often go their houses or go places. They don’t even ask us to do those kinds of things. It’s not even on their radar. Help me out. Is this what modern friendship looks like, perhaps in part to the issues above or others? Or are we an anomaly? Is this unique to my family? Help a mom out.
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Photo by Evan Dennis on Unsplash
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For more Quick Takes, visit This Ain’t the Lyceum.
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March 7, 2018
An Open Book
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Welcome to the March 2018 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!
[image error]In the car and as he moves about the house in the early morning and late night, my husband has been listening to Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. The author examines, through research and interviews, what she’s found to be the key to success in a wide variety of endeavors ranging from spelling bees to business, independent of a person’s intelligence or circumstances. It’s a mixture of characteristics she calls “grit.”
[image error]It wouldn’t be An Open Book without a Star Wars book, now would it? My husband also just completed Phasma: Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi by Delilah S. Dawson. Captain Phasma is a First Order officer, and this is her story. Apparently there’s more to her than a gleaming chrome helmet.
I’ve read so many good books lately, including the historical romance The Lackemaker (Laura Frantz), the contemporary romance novella The Cupcake Dilemma (Jennifer Rodewald), and advance review copies of Theresa Linden’s Anyone But Him and Amanda Lauer’s A Life Such as Heaven Intended (both coming next month).
[image error]As for what I’m currently enjoying, Tammy L. Gray’s Until I Knew Myself, the first book in her Brentwood Series, is open on my Kindle. One of the things I love about her contemporary romances is that she’s not afraid to address life outside a Christian bubble. I’m only at the beginning of the novel, and while I know it will include a redemptive theme, these characters haven’t a hint of God in their lives (and it shows). Looking forward to seeing how this group of wayward childhood friends find their way to peace.
[image error]I’m also listening to a book I previously read in 2013: Love’s Reckoning, also by Laura Frantz. I’d never read beyond this first book in the Ballantyne Legacy series, and I’m refreshing my faulty memory before completing the audiobook series. The first book takes place in the post-Revolutionary War period close to where I now live. The series moves from York County, Pennsylvania to what’s now the Pittsburgh area (where I grew up). I’m looking forward to enjoying this story of a Scottish blacksmith apprentice and the daughter of the master blacksmith a second time.
[image error]I’ll say right off the bat that my children are being much better educated than I was. Much. As a classics major, I’ve never read a Greek tragedy, yet these are not even my son’s first. He is reading them as part of his Humanities courses. He recently read Agamemnon by Aeschylus, and he’s recounted the bloody tale for me several times while studying. (And let me say, there are some startlingly funny Agamemnon/Taylor Swift memes out there. Think “Bad Blood.”)
[image error]He’s now beginning Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Spoiler alert for the tragedies: There will be blood and a slew of bodies on stage by the end of the play. And now I understand what an Oedipus Complex is.
[image error]My Revolutionary War-period fan just completed Johnny Tremain: A Story of Boston in Revolt, a Newbery Medal winner by Esther Forbes. My daughter really enjoyed this book, which she said is about an orphaned and injured silversmith finding his place in the world. John Hancock and Samuel Adams make appearances. While the recommended grade level is 5-7, I think I’d like to read this one myself.
[image error]My daughter is also finishing a book she picked up on the recommendation of a friend: The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane. The title is a reference to a baseball pitch, as the main character, Molly Williams, joins the (boys’) baseball team in the wake of her father’s unexpected death.
[image error]I recently purchased Jean Schoonover-Egolf’s third entry in the Molly McBride series, Molly McBride and the Party Invitation: A Story About the Virtue of Charity. The bright illustrations kept my kids engaged in the story about a little girl who is reluctant to invite the class bully to her birthday party. Understandably so. What follows is a difficult lesson (for children and grownups) in loving others as Christ loves, despite their flaws.
[image error]One of my little boy’s longtime favorites that was brought out again last week is The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark by Deborah Diesen and Dan Hanna. We enjoy the rhyming, repeated text, and the illustrations are colorful, clever, and fun to linger over. Our copy is well-loved (read: tattered). One quibble with this book: The plot involves a fish trying to recapture a missing pearl for a clam. A clam. I suppose “clam” is easier to rhyme than “oyster,” but pearls come from oysters, and let’s not forget it. Even more disturbing, not a single Amazon review mentions this error. Perhaps we all need a lesson in bivalve mollusks.
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February 26, 2018
Guest Post: 10MINCON is Coming! Register Now.
As writers, some days we struggle to find ten minutes in a day to dedicate to our writing. We scrape together small snippets of time each day, adding words to our work-in-progress. Those words add up. Our small things, brought together, can make something great.
The writers of the Facebook group 10 Minute Novelists believe that this is true. Started by Katharine Grubb, who wrote the book, Write A Novel in Ten Minutes A Day, the Facebook group offers tips, encouragement, and community for time-crunched writers world wide.
August 9-11, 10, 2018, 10 Minute Novelists will be hosting their first ever conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. The theme is fitting: Small Things Brought Together. The conference hopes to bring this online community of hard-working writers together for learning, support, and fun. Through the speakers and learning opportunities, they hope writers can make connections, amplify writing energy, and add tools to their writing toolbelt.
Our small things, brought together, can make something great. www.10mincon.comTweet ThisTheir speakers include:
James Scott Bell, bestselling author of Plot & Structure, and award-winning thrillers like Final Witness, Romeo’s Rules, Don’t Leave Me, Blind Justice, Deceived, Try Dying, Watch Your Back, and One More Lie, will give the keynote.
Donald Maass, founder of the Donald Maass Literary Agency and author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009), The Breakout Novelist (2011) and Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012), will speak on The Fire In Fiction. This hands-on presentation will reveal how master contemporary novelists make every book great—and how participants can use the techniques of greatness in their current manuscripts.
Janice Hardy, founder and owner of FICTION UNIVERSITY, is the award-winning author of The Healing Wars trilogy, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins, and of multiple books on writing, including the bestselling Understanding Show, Don’t Tell (And Really Getting It). She’ll be speaking twice on Saturday: Planning Your Novel in Ten Easy Steps: 10 Surefire Steps to Planning a Bestseller! and (later that day) on Revision Readiness: How to Revise.
For more information go to www.10MinCon.com . The conference price is $329, but will go up to $379 after March 1, 2018. Price does not include travel, airfare, or hotel accommodation. Price does include lunch for Friday, August 10 and Saturday, August 11. Hotel accommodation information is also available at www.10MinCon.com.
Pam Humphrey, author of Finding Claire and Finding Kate, has been a member of 10 Minute Novelists since March 2016. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, sons, black cats, and a leopard gecko.
The post Guest Post: 10MINCON is Coming! Register Now. appeared first on Carolyn Astfalk, Author.
