Suzanne Woods Fisher's Blog, page 136

Conversations with Dad

We took Blake to visit my dad at his Alzheimer's facility last week. Dad didn't recognize us, but he seemed pleased to have visitors.



When Alzheimer's is part of a family's life, sometimes...you just have to laugh! I hope this doesn't seem disrespectful, but check out Dad's lunch companions. Sound asleep. Kind of a quiet meal!

These next three pictures tell a story...watch Dad's eyes as Blake gets closer to him. Blake is a champion hair puller!


These next few pictures are of Blake and my mom. The kids call her "Honey."




You can see Blake's attention span getting short...he's starting to get wiggly....
Gotta go!

Author Spotlight: Catherine Richmond and KINDLE Giveaway!

Welcome to Author Spotlight! Each week will feature a different author. We'll get the scoop behind their writing life and dish a little. The authors will also be giving away a copy of their latest book. FUN.

The winner from last week's Author Spotlight with Joan Wolf is Catherine Rose! Please email my assistant Amy with your mailing address. (amy@litfusegroup.com)

This week debut novelist Catherine Richmond is in the Spotlight! To win a copy of Catherine's book, Spring For Susannah, leave a comment on this post!


Share a little bit about yourself. Married with kids? Empty nester? Do you work full-time and write when you can squeeze it in?

Thanks for having me on your blog, Suzanne!  I live on the Richmond Rabbit Ranch in Nebraska with my husband and keeshond-collie mix, Dakota. We have a daughter in med school and a son in journalism school. I am blessed to work as an occupational therapist.

And share something about your writing. What's your genre(s), your areas of interest…

Spring for Susannah is a historical romance.

How did you get started writing? Did you have a dream of being a published author?  

I was busy raising my family and working as an O.T., when a song sparked a story that would not be denied. Being a published author is "exceeding abundantly above all I could ask or think!" -Ephesians 3:20

After you started writing seriously--how long was it before you were published? 

Twenty years! The first draft was written in pencil in spiral notebooks leftover from my children's schoolwork.

Aside from a cup of good, strong coffee, what helps you get all of your "brain cylinders" firing so you can write well? Do you have any favorite places and routines when you write? How many hours a day do you spend writing? 

I don't like the taste of coffee, but I love the smell. You'll catch me inhaling in the grocery store, especially if someone's grinding coffee beans. Diet Coke is my caffeine of choice. I usually put on an instrumental CD to get started. When the weather's nice, I take my laptop and dog out on the porch to write. I try for a thousand words each day. On the rare days when the work flows well, I'll finish by 3 pm.

What has been the biggest help to you in the journey to publication? Writers' conferences? Writing groups? Your mom as your first draft reader?

My mom is a big help, but not as a first draft reader. She's a Virginia history librarian. I grew up near Washington, DC. When I wasn't hanging out at the library, I was visiting the Smithsonian or Mt. Vernon. I couldn't have asked for better preparation for writing historical novels.

The second biggest help has been Nebraska Novelists. The discipline of producing five polished pages each week, of giving and receiving critiques, has been invaluable. And the creativity of the other writers helps fuel my imagination.

RWA and ACFW keep me up to speed on changes in the industry, with everything from contract terms to changes in Facebook contest policies.

Is the "writer's life" what you thought it would be?

Don't you think our contracts should come with maid service? One of the items on my to-do list is to call Cyndy Salzmann, America's Clutter Coach, for a consultation. I don't have time to be disorganized anymore!

What are your biggest distractions? 

People who had thought of my writing days as their "shopping day." Tough love and use of the answering machine have solved the problem.

What was one of the best moments in your career and what was one of the worst?

Now is the best! The worst had to be a rejection letter that asked if I ever read any books - ouch!

What do you least like about being a writer? Most like? 

Deadlines. I'm compulsively thorough with research. With a deadline, I've had to be more focused, to research only what the story needs.

What is the role and importance of an agent? 

Spring for Susannah would have never been published without Sandra Bishop. She tracked me down while I was on vacation without my laptop. While taking her son to the doctor, she made the changes the publisher asked for and sent the manuscript back in time to secure the contract.

What advice would you give to new writers? 

Don't quit your day job, but do look for work that doesn't consume all your time and energy.

Pretend I'm a customer at a bookstore looking for a good book. Give me a one or two sentence promo to convince me to buy your book. 

Spring for Susannah is a mail-order bride story, about a timid woman who is surprised by love.

What's on the book horizon for you? 

My second book, Relying on Sophia, is about a missionary to the Ponca tribe. It shows the events leading up to the landmark civil rights trial that declared an Indian is a person. I'm excited to share this important bit of history with readers. My research connected five people involved in the trial with one church - what a message of empowerment to God's people!

Last question, how can readers find you and your books?

Website:  CatherineRichmond.com.
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fans-of-Catherine-Richmond/194495570591782
Twitter:  @WriterCatherine

Thank you for sharing your writing life with my bleaders! (blog + readers = bleaders)

Thank you, Suzanne!

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To celebrate her debut novel, Catherine and her publisher, Thomas Nelson, have teamed up to give away a Spring For Susannah Prize Package worth over $150!


One grand prize winner will receive:

* A brand new Latest Generation KINDLE with Wi-Fi and Pearl Screen

* Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond (for KINDLE)

To enter just click one of the icons below and then tell your friends! But hurry, giveaway ends on June 27th. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, June 28th at 5 PM (6PM MST, 7PM CST, & 8PM EST) during Catherine's Spring for Susannah Book Club Party on Facebook ! Catherine is rustling up some fun for the party - she'll be chatting about the story behind her novel, hosting a book club chat, testing your mail-order bride trivia skills, and giving away some GREAT prizes! Don't miss the fun and tell your friends!

Thursday on Amish Wisdom: Shaker novelist, Ann Gabhart

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in - go here and just click on the player in the top right corner.
 
Don't miss Thursday's show - we'll be chatting with author, Ann Gabhart. Will be talking about her latest book in her Shaker series, The Blessed. We'll also dig a little deeper and find out what motivates and inspires Ann.

About Ann: Living just thirty miles from a restored Shaker village in Kentucky, Ann H. Gabhart has walked the same paths that her characters might have walked in generations past. Her thorough research provides a convincing and colorful backdrop for her Shaker novels. Gabhart is the author of several bestselling novels, including The Outsider, The Believer, The Seeker, and Angel Sister.

Leave a comment {HERE} for your chance to win a copy of The Blessed. Winner will be notified via email next week.

About The Blessed:  A passionate love story within a dramatic historical backdrop

It is 1844 and Lacey Bishop's life is a tangled mess. Estranged from her own family, at age 16 she started working for a preacher and his wife. All is fine until the wife dies a few years later and the preacher convinces Lacey the only decent thing to do is marry him. That way she can continue to act as mother to the little girl who was left on his doorstep. But Lacey never expected he would decide to take them all off to a Shaker village. There she's still married but living in a community that believes marriage is a sin. And to make matters worse, she finds herself drawn to Isaac Kingston, a man who came to the Shakers after his young bride died. But of course any notion of love between them is only a forbidden dream. How will Lacey ever find true happiness?
Read the first and second chapters...

Make a Difference Monday: Simplify Your Life by Focusing on your Work

A couple of ideas to make your week day easier...

Simplify work. If you simply try to knock off all the tasks on your to-do list, you'll never get everything done, and worse yet, you'll never get the important stuff done. Focus on the essential tasks and eliminate the rest.

Make a Most Important Tasks (MITs) list each day. Set just 3 very important things you want to accomplish each day. Don't start with a long list of things you probably won't get done by the end of the day. A simple list of 3 things, ones that would make you feel like you accomplished something.

Declutter before organizing. Many people make the mistake of taking a cluttered desk or filing cabinet or closet or drawer, and trying to organize it. Unfortunately, that's not only hard to do, it keeps things complicated. Simplify the process by getting rid of as much of the junk as possible, and then organizing. If you declutter enough, you won't need to organize at all.

Have a place for everything. Age-old advice, but it's the best advice on keeping things organized. After you declutter. Read more here. • Simplify your goals. Instead of having half a dozen goals or more, simplify it to one goal. Not only will this make you less stressed, it will make you more successful. You'll be able to focus on that One Goal, and give it all of your energy. That gives you much better chances for success.

Single-task. Multi-tasking is more complicated, more stressful, and generally less productive. Instead, do one task at a time.


Simplify your filing system. Stacking a bunch of papers just doesn't work. But a filing system doesn't have to be complicated to be useful. Create a simple system.

Create morning and evening routines. A great way to simplify your life is to create routines at the start and end of your day. Read more on morning routines and evening routines.

Clear your desk. If you have a cluttered desk, it can be distracting and disorganized and stressful. A clear desk, however, is only a couple of simple habits away.

Establish routines. The key to keeping your life simple is to create simple routines. A great article on that here.

Live closer to work. This might mean getting a job closer to your home, or moving to a home closer to your work. Either will do much to simplify your life.

Make a Difference Monday: Simplify Your Life by Focusing on your House

Simplify home. Think about all the stuff you do at home. Sometimes our home task list is just as long as our work list. Endless! So focus on the most important, and try to find ways to eliminate the other tasks.

Get rid of the big items. There's tons of little clutter in our lives, but if you start with the big items, you'll simplify your life quickly and in a big way.

Edit your rooms. One room at a time, go around the room and eliminate the unnecessary. Act as a newspaper editor, trying to leave only the minimum, and deleting everything else.

Edit closets and drawers. Once you've gone through the main parts of your rooms, tackle the closets and drawers, one drawer or shelf at a time.

Simplify your wardrobe. Is your closet bursting full? Are your drawers so stuffed they can't close (I'm talking about dresser drawers here, not underwear). Simplify your wardrobe by getting rid of anything you don't actually wear. Try creating a minimal wardrobe by focusing on simple styles and a few solid colors that all match each other.

Make your house minimalist. A minimalist house has what is necessary, and not much else. It's also extremely peaceful (not to mention easy to clean).

Find other ways to be minimalist. There are tons. You can find ways to be minimalist in every area of your life.

Consider a smaller home. If you rid your home of stuff, you might find you don't need so much space. If you can be comfortable in a smaller home, it will not only be less expensive, but easier to maintain, and greatly simplify your life.

Simplify your life with less car. You don't need to go tiny, especially if you have a family, but try to find as small a car as can fit you or your family comfortably. Maybe not something you're going to do today, but something to think about over the long term.

Create a simple weekly dinner menu. If figuring out what's for dinner is a nightly stressor for you or your family, consider creating a weekly menu. Decide on a week's worth of simple dinners, set a specific dinner for each night of the week, go grocery shopping for the ingredients. Now you know what's for dinner each night, and you have all the ingredients necessary.

Streamline your life. Many times we live with unplanned, complex systems in our lives because we haven't given them much thought. Instead, focus on one system at a time (your laundry system, your errands system, your paperwork system, your email system, etc.) and try to make it simplified, efficient, and written. Then stick to it.

Make a Difference Monday: Simplify Your Life by Focusing on Technology

How's the life simplifying going for you?

What do you think of some of these ideas?

Reduce your communications. Our lives these days are filled with a vast flow of communications: email, cell phones, texting, Facebook, Twitter, and so on. It can derail your day! Devote a certain amount of time to e-mail or phone calls or whatever...and stick to it.

Reduce your media consumption. Media in our lives — TV, radio, Facebook, — can dominate our lives and keep us from nurturing important relationships. Don't let it. Simplify your life by limiting it.

Purge! Get rid of the stuff you don't want, the stuff that ends up unused and creates clutter. Get boxes and trash bags for the stuff you want to donate or toss.

Make a Difference Monday: Simplify Your Life

Most people are drawn to the Amish because of the appeal of "the simple life." Here's the thing--a rural, off-the-grid life is not simple. But I do believe the Amish have a very good filter system to hold on to what's important and eschew the rest. They have deeply held convictions about priorities. Now that...is the key to the simple life.

And you don't have to 'go Amish' to incorporate that concept into your life!

But how do we do it?

For the next few Mondays, I'm going to post suggestions about how to simplify life. I'd love your input, too! What simplifying tips do you have? What's worked for your family? Are there any tools that have really helped you de-clutter or get organized? Blogs? Websites? Do share!

The Long List...(btw...these are umbrella type Q's--but important ones to think through. Next week, I'll add more practical suggestions).

Make a list of your top 4-5 important things. What's most important to you? What do you value most? What 4-5 things do you most want to do in your life? Simplifying starts with these priorities, as you are trying to make room in your life so you have more time for these things.

Evaluate your commitments. Look at everything you've got going on in your life, from work to home to kids' activities to hobbies to hobbies. Think about which of these really gives you value, which ones you love doing. Which of these are in line with the 4-5 most important things you listed above? Consider dropping those that don't line up.

Evaluate your time. How do you spend your day? What things do you do, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep? Make a list, and evaluate whether they're in line with your priorities. If not, eliminate the things that aren't, and focus on what's important.

Here's a big one. It is so hard! For so many reasons...

Learn to say no. This is actually one of the key habits for those trying to simplify their lives. If you can't say no, you will take on too much.

Author Spotlight: Joan Wolf and KINDLE Giveaway!

Welcome to Author Spotlight! Each week will feature a different author. We'll get the scoop behind their writing life and dish a little. The authors will also be giving away a copy of their latest book. FUN.

The winner from last week's Author Spotlight with Tim Sinclair is Amber! Please email my assistant Amy with your mailing address. (amy@litfusegroup.com)

This week Joan Wolf is in the Spotlight! To win a copy of Joan's latest book, A Reluctant Queen, leave a comment on this post!


Share a little bit about yourself. Married with kids? Empty nester? Do you work full-time and write when you can squeeze it in? 

About myself.  Well, my husband and I have lived in Connecticut for 35 years where we've raised two kids and many animals.  We were both born in New York City, however, and I root for the Yankees and he roots for the Mets.  We have lively dinner-time discussions.

My writing time differs from that of most writers I know.  I only write two hours a day.  I just can't seem to generate anything else after two hours.  I can edit material I've already written, but my creative juice has been drained.

How did you get started writing? Did you have a dream of being a published author?

I got started writing when I had my first child and retired from teaching high school English.  It was the classic case of a lonely stay at home mom in a new town with no friends.  So when the baby slept, I wrote a book.  I sold it, the publisher gave me a contract for two more, and I went on from there.  A Reluctant Queen will be my 45th published book.

And share something about your writing. What's your genre(s), your areas of interest…

I am probably best known for my regencies, but the books that have lasted longest are my historicals - a trilogy about Dark Ages Britain: The Road to Avalon, Born of the Sun and The Edge of Light.  I came close to a movie contract once or twice, but so far nothing has panned out.

After you started writing seriously--how long was it before you were published?

I got my first book published when I got an agent.  Before that I sent it around to publishers on my own and it regularly came back.  When I got an agent she sold it to one of the companies that had rejected it in the first place.  Go figure.

What are your biggest distractions?

My biggest distractions?  Well, when I was a mom with young children it was the kids, of course.  When they finally went to school it was better, but I always had a horse that needed to be ridden and a dog that needed to be walked.  And after school there were all those fun sporting events to attend with the kids.  I think that's how I settled on two hours a day.  I also have a terrible time writing in the summer - I got used to taking off while the children were out of school!

Today my biggest distraction, and it is huge, is that I run my church's food pantry.  With the recession this ministry has expanded to include putting people up in hotels, finding them apartments, paying utility bills, etc.  It's really a full time job because I have to keep careful paperwork to account for all the money and supermarket cards I use.  But it's very worthwhile, so I just do the best I can.  Right now, I'm lucky if I get one and a half hours in on the book.

What do you least like about being a writer? Most like?

For me, there's nothing not to like about being a writer.  I was home for my kids.  I made a great deal of money in proportion to the time I put in on my work, and I did something I loved doing.  Perfect job.  I was lucky, though, to start when I did.  The market was much more open, much less compartmentalized than it is now.  I wrote what I felt like writing and my publishers published it.  How great is that?  It's not that way any more.

What advice would you give to new writers? 

My advice to new writers - get an agent.  I would never have done as well as I did if I didn't have an absolutely super agent in Aaron Priest.  And my new career in Christian fiction has come about because of a wonderful agent, Natasha Kern, who believed in my books and got them sold.

Pretend I'm a customer at a bookstore looking for a good book. Give me a one or two sentence promo to convince me to buy your book. 

Well, if you like a great love story, if you enjoy reading about far away places and different times, if you like a book with an inspiring theme, then A Reluctant Queen is for you.

What's on the book horizon for you?

My new book for Thomas Nelson will be the story of Rahab.  I'm into biblical women right now.

Last question, how can readers find you and your books? 

A Reluctant Queen is available at bookstores and online at Amazon and Amazon Kindle; Barnes and Noble and Barnes and Noble Nook.  It is also available as an audio book.  I would just love it if your readers would give it a try. www.joanwolf.com

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To celebrate Joan Wolf's debut Christian Fiction title, A Reluctant Queen , Joan and her publisher, Thomas Nelson, have teamed up to give away A Reluctant Queen prize package worth over $150!



One grand prize winner will receive:

* A brand new Latest Generation KINDLE with Wi-Fi and Pearl Screen

* A Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf (for KINDLE)

To enter, just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, the contest ends on June 20th. Winner will be announced on June 21st during Joan's A Reluctant Queen Book Club Party on Facebook (details below)! Hope to see you there – bring your friends!



Join the fun on June 21st! 

Joan will be wrapping up the blog tour and Kindle giveaway promotion during her  A Reluctant Queen FACEBOOK party on her FB author page. During the party she'll announce the winner of the Kindle, host a book chat discussion, test your trivia skills (Is Esther's story in A Reluctant Queen fact or fiction?), and more. Don't miss this chance to meet the author and make some new friends!

Today on Amish Wisdom: Money Secrets of the Amish!

Tune in on Thursday at 4:00 pm Central! To listen in - go here and just click on the player in the top right corner.


Don't miss this encore presentation with Erik Wesner and Lorilee Craker. They're talking about Lorilee's just released book, Money Secrets of the Amish and Amish finance and money tips. Lorilee's book is sometimes touching, sometimes humorous and always helpful. She pulls us into the family rooms of the Amish and shows us how they make ends meet. Story after story illustrates savvy money management: trading for goods and services, shopping for bargains, living with less, avoiding debt, curbing the desire to impress others. And Craker's journalistic bent provides plenty of takeaway value for the non-Amish. A very worthwhile read whether your bank account is bursting or busting. It's a fascinating interview.

Leave a comment {HERE} for your chance to win Lorilee's book! Winner will be notified next week via email!
About today's guest host:
Erik Wesner is an independent expert on the Amish and their business practices, and previously spent a decade as a sales manager and record-breaking salesperson at Nashville's Southwestern Company. He divides his time between Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he has strong ties to the Amish community, and Poland, the country of his roots. He also writes the popular blog Amish America at amishamerica.com, covering Amish business, culture, and other topics. For more info, please visit Erik's website: http://amishbusinessbook.com/

About Money Secrets of the Amish: Discover the money-saving and wealth-building secrets of America's thriftiest people, the Amish.
Author and journalist Lorilee Craker was just like the rest of us, feeling thepinch from the financial fallout of 2008. As a freelancer, her income was going the way of the dodo-family dollars seemed like an extinct myth, the bank account some archaeological evidence of past prosperity.

Then, inspired by a news segment covering the Amish and how they emerged from the economic crisis unscathed, she realized it was time to learn a thing or two about their time-tested approach to personal finances. While the middle-class was wringing its hands over the family budget and the wealthy were weeping over their slashed portfolios, the Amish were content as always, spared from the cares of the world and worldliness. They not only had financial health to support their lives, they exuded a wholeness that eludes so many when the financial bottom drops out.
In Money Secrets of the Amish, readers go on an "Amish money makeover," learning the choices, secrets, and disciplines that safeguarded the contentment and the coffers of America's favorite plain folk by spending less, saving more, and getting happier doing it.

About Lorilee: Lorilee Craker is the author of 11 books, including the New York Times Bestseller "Through the Storm" with Lynne Spears. Her latest book, "Money Secrets of Amish: Sharing, Saving and Shoofly Pie," releases in July 2011. Lorilee is also a mother of three, and an entertainment writer for The Grand Rapids Press in Grand Rapids, MI. Her website is LorileeCraker.com.

Lorilee is also the proud wife of sweet, country, guitar-slinging Doyle and the proud[image error] mom of three rabble-rousing kids. Lorilee has written eleven books now, which seems nutty but is a true story. Two baby name books (A is for Adam and A is for Atticus), four parenting books (When the Belly Button Pops, the Baby's Done, O For a Thousand Miles to Sleep, See How They Run, and Loving Life with Your Preschooler (used to be Wide Eyed Wonder Years), one mom's devo, Just Give Me a Little Piece of Quiet, two marriage books (We Should Do This More Often, and Date Night in a Minivan), and one collaboration, Through the Storm: A Real Story of fame and Family in a Tabloid World with the lovely and amazing Lynne Spears.

She speaks quite a bit at MOPS groups and other mom-type events, which she loves, and she moonlights as an entertainment reporter for The Grand Rapids Press, where she gets to go hear the rock bands of her youth for "work." Her favorite recent interviews: Wynonna Judd, Deborah Norville, Vivian Campbell from Def Leppard, Henry Winkler (who kissed her twice and made her almost fall over....the Fonz!), and always, JY from Styx.

The loves of her life, besides God and her family, include the country of Canada, the cities of Winnipeg and Chicago (okay, and Grand Rapids, too!), her Grandma's farm in McTavish, Manitoba, Anne of Green Gables, Jane Austen, chocolate, girlfriends, and the late, great Winnipeg Jets (Save our Jets!).

Ham & Swiss on Rye

Today, my son emptied out the milk carton and announced we needed more milk. He was heading out to a physical therapy appointment at 11 (remember his broken foot? Getting better!), so I gave him a short grocery list and some cash.

MilkEggsPick up two sandwiches at the deli: one for you, one for me (ham and swiss on rye)
So a few hours later, he returned with the groceries. The sandwich he picked up for me was...

Ham and swiss on rye. That was it. No mayo, no mustard, no lettuce, no tomatoes. Just a very dry sandwich.

Sigh. I am surrounded by very, very, very literal men. My Husband, my two sons.

Any cures? Or commiserations?