Laurie L.C. Lewis's Blog: Bloggin' It Up Here, page 61

HAPPY COINCIDENCE

Joyce DiPastena is one outstanding author whose Medieval romances have soared high with readers and critics. I had heard the high praise her work was earning. Her research is considered impeccable and her characters are rich and smart. So months ago, on my January trip to Utah, I picked up a copy Of Joyce's "Illuminations of the Heart," with the intention to save it for some perfect, self-indulgent moment. Professional obligations prevented that from happening.

A few weeks ago I was thrilled w...

Example-of-the-Believers

Example-of-the-BelieversCopyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

"AWAKENING AVERY" pre-release GIVEAWAYS!!!

GETTING TO KNOW "GEORGE"

George O'Hara is an aged former jockey washed up in a tragic fall at Hialeah. This sweet character is one of the quirky friends Avery makes while summering along Florida's Gulf Coast during her healing season.


People who know George know he's sitting on a gold mine--a lucrative piece of prime Sarasota real estate--and they attribute his odd, 5-ingredient-or-less recipes, and extremely modest lifestyle to eccentricity. But Avery discovers the truth about George...

LIFE LESSONS LEARNED THROUGH STORIES

In 8th grade I was selected to attend a one-hour-a-week class for Language Arts Enrichment. Mr. Pyles was a "cool" teacher who seemed to enjoy that hour as much as we did. Our lessons were rather unconventional for the day. We didn't read books to discuss literary devices. Sometimes we didn't read books at all, opting instead to watch a movie. You see, Mr. Pyles wasn't teaching us to analyze the structure and form of literature. We were studying the messages woven through good writing in all ...

WHY THE WHITE HOUSE LOST A POSTER CHILD FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM

I ran for student body president in high school, and having spent three years working in the rank and file, I had learned what platform promises could be ethically and legally made. My opponent offered students things he could never deliver--smoking privileges, policy changes, the sun, the moon and almost everything in between. Decades later we've spoken about that race, and in hindsight he laughs over his naivete. Even then, most of us could determine between the deliverable and the undelive...

THIS WEEK'S DRAWING--GETTING TO KNOW AVERY

Each week during the promo for "Awakening Avery" we're going to host a contest that highlights one of the characters in the book.

This week we're focusing on Avery.

__________________

"You're depressed," the doctor declared.

Ya think? is author Avery Elkins Thompson's sarcastic response to the astute diagnosis for the malaise that set in following her husband's untimely death. Avery's carefully controlled world is imploding, and her adult children fear they are losing her too.

"You're just a s...

PREVIEW "AWAKENING AVERY"

PREVIEW THE FIRST ELEVEN PAGES OF
AWAKENING AVERY

by Laurie Lewis (Available now at Deseret Books andThis is the Place)

CHAPTER ONE


Logan, Utah
Late February

Everyone knew it was inevitable—everyone but Avery Elkins
Thompson herself.

She smashed the television first, though she hadn't intended
to. She had fumbled with the remote for ten minutes, trying to
figure out how to record an NBC special, and when the TiVo
brought up the screen with the list of programs to record—his
list, filled with westerns a...

SHELLI IS THIS WEEK'S WINNER!

Shelli, you are this week's winner! Send me an email with your mailing address and we'll get this copy of "Book in a Month" off to you!


A new contest will begin tomorrow, so check back!Copyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

BEING A MOTHER

Maintaining balance in life is the number one struggle for most of us. Parents and spouses struggle over it, our kids do too as they get older. Here's a tender story about an intuitive daughter-in-law who understood that mothers always need to feel like "mothers". I'm blessed with especially good daughters and daughters-in-law. I also try to keep a weekly "date" with my mom. This week has been one of the hardest weeks for me, and I almost cancelled, but after reading this story today, I'm so ...

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: D.N. GILES: "The Sharp Edge of the Knife"

An author's intimacy to a subject or story adds an extra dimension to a novel. Their passion can drive your research and writing, but does it blur your objectivity or muddle your ability to balance emotion and fact? Sometimes you just don't know until you get into it.But most of us will find fascinating stories that beg to be told buried in our family history. "Counting the Cost" by Liz Adair, a finalist in the 2010 Whitney competition, is a perfect example of a rich, tender story based on a ...