Sarah Holman's Blog, page 121

Writing Saturday: G is for Galaxy

Today I would like to share the trailer and update on my latest book; The Destiny of a Galaxy.

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Why So Quiet?

You may have noticed the lack of posts and for that I am sorry.  Life has a way of not going they way you planned it. The past two weeks have been hard and crazy.  You see, I learned last week that my Grandken has stage four lung cancer.  This week, I learned that he will not live much longer.

These are hard times, on the one hand all my family wants to do is to be with Grandken and each other, but life must go on.  My brother has to got to job interviews and collage scholarship meetings.  Some of my sisters still have co-op to go to.  I have a job to go to, a book to finish, and a house to run (since my mom is up with her dad).

When my Grandken dies, I will have no regrets though.  I mean, I am sure that their will be times when I will wish I had asked him about something or heard more or heard more of his stories, but we all do that.  But I will have no regrets.

I will give another update as soon as I can.

Writing Saturday: F is for Feedback

It is always one of the scariest moments for a writer is when they send their book into the world for its début.  This may mean sending to the first person that isn’t family or a close friend.  It might mean posting it online, or even publishing it.  Whatever it is, there is always a part of you that wonders; “Will everyone hate this?”
Recently, I received my first negative review on Amazon for me book. Well, it was still three stars, but it was as negative as they have gotten yet.  I also got a review a positive review that made me shake my head and wonder what the person was talking about.  So here are some tips with dealing with negative feedback.
1. Learn to deal with it.  It is the sad reality, you can’t please everyone.  No matter how good your book is, someone will see something wrong with it.  You need to learn to not let their negativity bother you.
2. If you seriously can’t stand negative feedback, don’t ask for people’s opion and don’t look at reviews.
3. Look at the negative review in a positive light.  Sometimes people will read a review that says “hated the fact that there wasn’t a sermon in here” and they will go “Great!  I have been looking for a book without a sermon in it for a long time!”  So a negative review might win over a reader as well as a positive one.
4. Know that readers are different.  You are a writer because you saw a need that your book filled.  But readers are different.  Some people won’t read my books because they are science-fiction.  It doesn’t hurt be because I know that people are going to be different.
5. Never, never respond to negative feedback and encourage your friends to do the same. You can vote it down, you can do your best to hide it, but there is no quicker way to give attention to the negative review then by responding.
6.  Take a deep breath.  Don’t get angry.  You are an author and negative feedback is part of the job.  However, if you honor God in your writing and he is pleased, does it really matter what others think?

Book Review: By Faith, Not by Sight

Recommend for: American Idol fans, those looking for inspiration, those who are discouraged
From the back cover: A moving story of hope, faith, persistence and the power of dreams.
A piano prodigy, a nineteen-year-old college grad, a Marshall scholar, and an American Idol finalist. This guy had it made. He could sing.
He could ski blind. What couldn’t he do?
Even if you saw him in concert, you might not believe that Scott MacIntyre is blind, and you’d never guess that at nineteen, he faced a diagnosis that rocked his family and nearly took his life.So how did he do it? How did he overcome the odds?
This is Scott’s story, but he’d be the first to tell you that it’s not really about him. This is the story of how God used a dedicated family, a selfless acquaintance, hardship, and a host of characters to give him life, faith, determination, and experiences most can only imagine.
Peek behind the scenes to see how he learned to overcome his disability, how he made it in the music industry, how he found the love of his life, and how God taught him that in all things, we can truly achieve our dreams By Faith, Not by Sight.

I have a confession to make. There was only one season of American Idol that I somewhat followed, but I have never watched a full episode.  So why did I like this book? Because it will inspire you, lift your spirits, and praise God for his many blessings.
Scott MacIntyre was born blind.  Yet form an early age, he broke the mold for what a blind person could do.  By age six, he already had piano teachers telling his mother that they had taught him all they could and sending him to the next one.
Scott was not only a musical prodigy, but also an overcomer, learning to do many things like run, swim, dance, and cross a street even though he could not see. I was inspired by his can-do attitude, despite his disabilities.
When his health begins to crumble and his dreams seem to be slipping though his fingers, Scott asks God why.  It felt so real.  This was no sugar coated message about trusting God. Scott struggles to accept what is happening to him.
What I didn’t like about this bookThere was nothing I hated about this book.  The only thing that bothered me a couple of times is how girl crazy he sounded.  However, it was a very, very small part of the book and did not diminish how wonderful it was.  To give him credit, he also was mainly crazy about just one girl.
What I loved about the bookI loved how real this book was.  When I was having my own health challenges, I read lots of surgery messages on trusting God, but it was stories like these the helped me a lot.  He honestly struggles with why God seems to be taking everything from him that he loves.
I also like true stories about overcomers.  This book was a festinating look at someone who overcame the odds.  I could read stories like these all day.
I recommend this book for anyone wishing an encouraging read about a true person.
I received this book from  Thomas Nelson (through BookSneeze) in exchange for my honest review.  I was under no obligation to write a positive review.  The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

Writing Saturday: E is for Ephesus

In Aubrey Hansen’s exciting novella, Red Rain, she filled her book with wonderful characters. One of the things that I loved about this book was the names of the characters.  They were so different, so unique, and they fit so well.  I mean, who will ever forget characters named Philadelphia or Ephesus?  The names stick to you as much as the characters do.


When writing a book, naming the character can be hard.  Many of us want a unique name that won’t make our readers scratch their heads or through their hands up in defeat when trying to pronounce it. Those of us who write fantasy and science fiction also strive to have a method for how we name our characters. Aubrey did both brilliantly by naming two of the main characters after cities in the Bible.

In my Destiny Trilogy, many of my characters named after stars and space related objects mixed with familiar names.  This fit the science fiction theme of living among the stars.

Whatever your book is, you can use this idea of having a naming scheme to help you name your characters.

Multitudes on Mondays; My Faith

Yesterday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. This is the time of year that we are reminded of our faith and the blessings that come with it.

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#181. Grace ~ I don't have to earn my way

#182. Prayer ~ always being able to cast my burdens on God

#183. Living Hope ~ I serve a living God and have a living faith.


Source #184. Peace ~ The peace that surpasses all understanding

[image error]#185. Joy ~ it comes from know that what you are living for is worth it.


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#186. Encouragement ~ Sometimes God knows we need a hug from someone with skin

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Source #187. Bible ~ God's love letter to us


by Christina Hastings #188. Praise ~ That comes from the heart when we see that God at work.

[image error] #189. Princess ~ I am God's kid!

#190. Love ~ Nothing can separate us from the love of God 

Writing Saturday; D is for Destiny

Image from NASA
Destiny is one of my favorite words if you haven't noticed.  Today I want to share a little bit from my soon to be published book The Destiny of a Galaxy.
"Are we going to do some training today?" Daniel asked Quint, placing a helping of eggs on his plate."Yes, but I think for today we'll stick to the simulators. I want you to practice landin' in the simulator a little more before you try it for real." "Don't tell me that you are teaching him how to land?" Maria asked, with raised eyebrows."I am. Is there anythin' wrong with that?"                          "I thought, considering…""Hey, I have a near perfect landin' record," Quint said defensively, pouring himself some orange juice."Near perfect?""I only crashed once. It was an emergency landin'." "What was the emergency?""Daniel, are you ready to go?" Quint asked, deliberately ignoring Maria's question.
Copyright 2012 by Sarah Holman.  You are not allowed to use any of this without permission

Great finds

Here are some of my favorite blog posts and finds recently

March of Books link up
Consider it Joy
Mandie (I really enjoyed this movie)
A wonderful post on beauty 
My new favorite shampoo and conditioner.  It makes my hair feel like silk!
Homeschool Authors now has a blog button!

Multitudes on Mondays; Words

Words.  I use them everyday.  I speak them, I write them.  I craft with them, I use them.  Words are a huge part of who I am.  But how often do I thank God for my favorites?  Well today, I am taking the time to do that.
#171. Destiny#172. Joy#173. Adventure#174. Faithful#175. Family#176. Blessing#177. Friend#178. Chosen#179. Redeemed#180. Loved

Writing Saturday; C is for Courage

It takes Courage to write, Courage to share your writing, and often your characters need a lot of Courage to make it through the books.  I hope these quotes inspire you to be courageous!

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We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.  ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ~ Winston Churchill 
How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them.  ~ Benjamin Franklin
Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened. ~ Billy Graham 
 You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice -Anonymous