Alex Marestaing's Blog, page 4

More Stories Tour Dates Coming Up

It’s time to start packing my bags for 2017’s Story Tour. This year I’ll be heading to some new cities as well as revisiting some old favorites. This year’s theme is “New Voices,” and I have some awesome stories to share. So if you’re in the area, stop by and say hi. Here’s a first look (more dates and details on the way):

April 2017 – Orange County Christian Writers Conference, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim California (Across the street from Disneyland)

April 2017 – Wordsowers Conference,  Lifespring Church, Omaha, Nebraska (sponsored by 100.7 The Fish FM)

February 2018 – Northwest Christian Writers, Eastside Foursquare Church, Seattle, Washington (7:00 PM)

…And Coming Soon Sydney, Australia.

Love is a Cold Night…

“I like to think of the novel as more than a love story. It’s a story about love, about figuring out what love really means in a world where we’ve forgotten.” (Author Alex Marestaing on his latest novel Fifteen Seconds of Normal) 
Click on the cover to order your copy today.

When All That’s Left is Magic

It was nearly midnight and the streets were empty. My son and I were taking our dog on a walk, and talking, like we always did. The topic of conversation was a movie we’d just finished watching. It was good, really good, and we found ourselves holding back tears in the end.

“How do writers come up with that stuff?” my son asked as the road dipped downward towards a clump of houses.

A cold wind blew across our faces. A siren wailed off in the distance. A lonely dog howled. I wasn’t sure how to answer at first, so I didn’t.

“It’s magic,” I finally answered for lack of a better explanation.

Of course, I didn’t mean Harry Potter style, wand waving magic, but you can ask any artist, musician, or writer. When that perfect idea explodes, there’s no better word. See, beautiful art come out of nowhere, to normal people, living normal lives.  And these ideas take on a life of their own as they grow, and bloom, and change the world around us. Producer Quincy Jones said it best when he described the moment as “God walking through the room.”  I agree.

A while back I got this review from a reader who had read I’m Nobody: The Lost Pages and somehow connected with it.

It was so beautiful.

I don’t cry in books

I did with this one.

There’s no words to explain how this book made me feel.

It’s amazing how powerful these words are.

I’m Finally happy.

I love this book.

As you know, I’m not a cultural Yoda pouring wisdom into the world, nor do I have mad, Hemingway-like writing skills. Not even close. But somehow, in some way, a little story idea that came into existence out of nowhere meant something to a total stranger…and, as I told my son on our midnight walk,

…that must be “magic”.

Click on the book cover to learn more

 

Where the Summer Sun Never Sets

 

I took this from my bedroom window the other night. Sorry for the blur. There wasn’t enough light. I’m a couple of hours north of Stockholm, Sweden right now, in a place I call my second home.  I spend most of my summers here, hanging out with friends and family, and usually writing.
This summer’s been different though. It’s been a summer of in betweens. In between agents. In between publishers. In fact, this post is the first thing I’ve written this summer. It’s been weird, but good. Good because I’m learning that life is lived in the in between. It’s where dinner table talks are longer, sweeter. It’s where long walks to nowhere aren’t interruptions. It’s where smiles and worried looks are noticed.  It’s where my grip on faith gets tighter.
I don’t know what the future holds in terms of my writing. But I’m not going to waste this in between. Life’s too short for that.

“Papa” A Cool Animated Short from Natalie Labarre

Moment

 So my dog Milou came up to the back door yesterday, like he wanted me to let him in. Only, when I opened the slider, he ran back out into the yard like a two month old puppy (which he definitely isn’t) and stared back at me with those longing brown eyes of his.
The message was loud and clear, he wanted company. So with nothing else to do, I walked out into the California sun and plopped down beside him as he relaxed on the lawn. And there we sat, doing nothing but staring out at the evening sun as it painted a perfect rectangle on the green carpet of grass before us.
A breeze was blowing, this perfect mix of cool and warm that only spring in California can bring, and I turned my face to breathe it all in. And in those few minutes of nothing, my mind wasn’t lost in some book idea or wrestling with the latest worry. It wasn’t stressing about politics or theology or whether or not I was or ever will be enough. It was fully present, immersed in the glorious nothingness of the moment…and that was pretty cool.
So thanks Milou, for pulling me out and away and into the sun. We should do that more often.

Star Wars: As Told By Emoji – From Disney Insider

Saw this on Disney Insider today and had to post. Enjoy.

This Infinite Ache

Fifteen Seconds of Normal has been written, rewritten, edited, and rewritten some more. I even changed the title to This Infinte Ache for a couple of days before changing it back. The reason? This:
“There’s an unfortunate side effect of love,
an infinite ache that keeps us up at night”
I love this quote because it sums up the book. Love in all it’s warmth and comfort and strength…aches. In every kiss. In every goodbye. It’s always there, this hollow sting beneath the surface. We feel it at airports, and graduations, and funerals. Is it worth it?  I’ll let Sam answer that, one of my favorite characters in the book.
“Yeah, to love someone is to ache.
…but, to feel nothing is to sleep.
So, despite this pain and sorrow,
I cast my final vote, for faith, for hope
…for love.

…away and towards the sun (Fifteen Seconds of Normal)

A Sneak Quote

Fifteen Seconds of Normal is all written and on its way to editing perfection   Here’s a sneak quote peek at my latest YA novel…and no, that’s not the cover.