Sarah Holman's Blog, page 76

Film Friday: Beyond the Mask

This movie has action, adventure, a bit of romance, and set in the American revolution. Yes, just about everything I want it one movie. Besides, my sister worked on the marketing team so I feel that I have a special tie to the movie.

Pros: Strong faith message, clean, action packed, introduction to historical time period.

Cons: a bit choppy at times, some parts of plot hard to follow, and lots of explosions.

Note: There is one chaste kiss at the end. While I personally felt that it was both form a moral and film standpoint fine, some people might want to know about it

Welcome to my New Writing Corner!

Yes, I redid my writing space so that it looked fresh and ready for the new year. One wall holds mostly quotes and bits of of paper with ideas and whatnot while one wall is my encouragement wall and holds art and letters people have written me about my writing. Above me, I have my ever growing Revloutinay war books, copies of the books I have written, and my small collection of books on writing. 
Snoopy is my writing mascot, has been ever since last year when Mom gave me "Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life." My sister, Rose gave me a stuffed little Snoopy for Christmas, my mom gave me the comic strip, and my friend Jessica made the round Snoopy and drew the pretty drawing of Snoopy and Woodstock. 

Tell me about your writing/work space.

Adventure Between the Pages: The Widow of Larkspur Inn

Buy it HereDescription:When Life Seemed Its Worst, Gresham AwaitedJulia Hollis' opulent life in Victorian London crashes to pieces when her husband passes away. Worse, she is told by his bankers that he gambled away their fortune. Now, the family's hope rests on The Larkspur, an old abandoned coaching inn in the quaint village of Gresham. Driven by dread and her desire to provide for her children, Julia decides to turn the dilapidated inn into a lodging house. But can she--who was accustomed to servants attending to every need--do what needs to be done and cope when boarders begin arriving? And then an eligible new vicar moves into town...
I don’t think there is a fiction book I have enjoyed as much since earlier in the year. It has also been a very long time since I have read a book for adults that wasn’t centered around romance. Yes, this book has some romance, but that really isn’t the focus of the book.Julia was my favorite part of the book. Her attitude in the face of hard circumstances was so different than most books. She actually had a good attitude, with some understandable moments of irritation and frustration.  So many main characters of books are dramatic and have rotten attitudes and then learn their lesson. Julia had lessons to learn, but she has the attitude thing down.
All the other characters were so charming that I cannot wait to see what happens to them in the next book. They were all charming, but each had their own problems. The actor who has spells of despondency (we would call him bi-polar now), the old lady that is so rude her son kicked her out, the two gossips who make lace, and the nobleman who thinks of nothing but his flowers. There are many more characters, but it was never confusing to keep up with them. They all made up a rich tapestry of characters that make up the town of Gresham.
The author obviously researched the time period, including little details of daily life, making this book feel very real and believable. The descriptions made it very easy to visualize the town and places.
The message of the book was not hard-hitting, but the characters’ faith was unmistakable. In a very subtle yet powerful way it is shown that God does not always take away our troubles, but makes something beautiful out of them.
I highly recommend this book for those who like historical fiction, stories that feel real, and are looking for a book that feels different than most Christian fiction.

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Letting it Out

As I said in my look back at 2015, it was a mixed year for me. While I got to do a lot of amazing things, I also had to deal with some very hard things as well. Many of the things I have gone through, I have wanted to share, but many of them were matters I felt I couldn't on my public blog. The events have left me feeling very emotionally weak, so I decided to take a step back from a lot of things I do what I needed to recover.

If you have read my blog for any amount of time, you probably have found out that writing means a lot more to me then just the stories. When I write, I spill a lot of my emotions into the words. The stories often are my way of coping and processing what is going on around me. When I am feeling most overwhelmed by life, it usually is because I haven't had the time to write.

So, to deal with a lot of the emotions that have building inside the last part of 2015, I have taken the month of January and am throwing myself into writing. I am trying to write about 5,000 words a day and also spend a lot of extra time at the feet of Jesus. Even though I have only been at this about a week, I am already feeling better.

I am very grateful that my life is such right now that i could take this time to really step back from a lot of things and focus on what helps me to heal. I am sure, with the help of God, I will come out at the other end of this stronger and better because of this.

How do you recover from emotionally hard times?

Weekly Goals: Digging in

This January I am doing sort of a writing retreat. I am
spending most of my days pounding away at my keyboard. I needed this, and have for a long time, and I am finally letting myself do it. Writing is cleansing for me. When things wound me, I often let them sit and fester. Talking about it is like lancing the wound, and writing is the healing balm. This month is my month of healing balm.

2016 Publishing Plan

This year, the Tales of Taelis series is going to be my main focus. There are some stories in that series that have been on my heart, to write and publish, so I will be doing that. Also, the second book in the Kate's Case Files will be released.
January:Tales of Taelis short story: William
February:Tales of Taelis short story: Eleanor
March:An Easter short story
April:Kate's Case Files Book 2
May:Tales of Taelis short story: The Prince
June:Tales of Taelis: Courage and Corruption
July:Tales of Taelis short story: TBA
August:Tales of Taelis: D and D(Still working on a title)
September:  Tales of Taelis short story: TBA
October:Tales of Taelis: Escape and Endurance
November:Tales of Taelis short story: TBA
Decemeber:An Christmas short story

Which title are you most excited about?

Film Friday: Sue Thomas

This is a new feature of the blog: short movie reviews every Friday

Do you wish there was an exciting TV show that the whole family could enjoy? Sue Thomas is a great pick. This show is clean, action packed and with really good morals. 

Pros: Positive mentions of God, conservative principles, little blood, no cussing, and clean relationships. 

Cons: The romance is fairly shallow, can be very intense, sometime leaves you wishing characters were more overt about their faith.

Adventure Between the Pages: Violets Are Blue by Elizabeth Rose

Buy it Here Age Appropriate For: 13 and upBest for Ages: 13-18
Description:Meet Violet Bradshaw, a young girl living with her large family in Eastbourne, Great Britain. Ever since she was a little girl, Violet was best friends with Lillian Prescott. But all that is about to change when the Bradshaws move to America, leaving everything they know behind. Will Violet and Lilli maintain their friendship, though an ocean now divides them? Will they ever see each other again?
While I had a job this summer, I purchased a couple of books by homeschooled authors that had been on my reading list for a very long time. This one had been on my list almost since I started Homeschooled Authors, and so I bought it.
There is always a bit of trepidation in reading a book by someone so young. Elizabeth Rose was 13 when this book was published, and one would think that the book wouldn’t be that well written. Elizabeth Rose really did an amazing job for her age, and while younger readers will probably get the most out of it, older readers might enjoy it too. The story is told well and the vocabulary is so good that it is easy to forget it was written by someone so young.
Violet is a sweet girl whom many readers will understand. While she is a good girl, she has her share of mistakes and issues that make the book feel real and believable. Her struggles and triumphs are easy to identify with and will be very relatable for readers.
Historically, the book was well researched. The book will introduce readers to the life of American immigrants, the hardships of factories, and the Titanic. I think this would be a great introduction for younger members of the family to this time in history.
Before you hand it to younger readers, there is something of which parents should be aware. Violet, at one point in the story, has thoughts of self-harm. I won’t give any details as it would give away part of the story. The situation was handled in a good way, but younger readers might need parental guidance through that section of the book (chapter 25).
I recommend this book to those who like historical fiction, are interested in immigrants or the Titanic, and who like a well told story.

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A Moment of Insight

There are moments when I am suddenly struck with deep insight and it catches me by surprise. There was a moment like this as I set across for my dear friend Kelsey, talking about some of the things that had been on my heart.

"It has been so hard," I told her. "I want to blog about these things, but I can't. If I shared on my blog, because they involve other people, feelings would be hurt or it just isn't mine to share in the first place."

"Why is it important for you to share on your blog?" She asked.

"Because it is how I cope with things, process what is happen, and see good come from it when people says it encourages them."

I didn't even think about my answer, it just spilled out, but in that moment, I gained insight into myself. I hadn't even realized that I had done it, but that is often what my most heartfelt blog posts are; me processing and dealing with something that is burdening my heart. In 2015, many of the things that were burdening my heart I couldn't share with the world. It isn't that they are so dark that I am afraid to share, but more often than not they were things that were not mine to talk about. Even though I am a pretty open person, there are some things that don't go past close family and friends.

It is probably the second biggest factor in why their were so few blog posts last year, the first being the fact that I didn't make blogging a priority, 2016 is going to be different. I can't promise I can share everything that is on my heart, but blogging is a much higher priority to me. I have missed sharing my life with my readers.

Have you ever had a moment of insight that surprised you?

Weekly Goals: New feature of the blog

Well, a new year and a new blog feature. You can follow along with me and see my goals for the week and see how many I can complete. If nothing else, I am going to have a lot of fun making a bulletin board every week.