Sarah Richards's Blog: The Chocolate Moose, page 5

Two secrets. One Friendship.

Autumn has avoided her uncle once again.
Will her past remain a secret she can forget again?
Craig understands Woodmere better than Autumn can imagine.
Will their friendship be destroyed before it begins by keeping his past a secret?

Two secrets. One friendship.
Will they learn from the past before it is too late?

The first five chapters have given a brief taste of what is to come.

Family. Friendships. Heart ache.
Which one of these is responsible for the tear on Autumn's face?

All of these questions are answered by reading the rest of the book.
Available online in paperback and eBook formats through major retailers.
Once you've read it, I look forward to hearing from you!

Who is your favorite character?
Mine is Craig.
What is your favorite moment and why?
This is a hard one. Many spring to mind: Craig in the locker room, Autumn's personal gym triumph, and the flight of a kite boarder. Beating all of these though is the 'son of a monkey' scene. Best Quote from the book?
'Latin isn't dead, it is just for the enlightened and elite of society.'

Happy Reading![
author:Sarah Richards|6574293]

Unknown Childhood Dreams.

A firm believer in "treat others as you want to be treated", I sent a message through Goodreads to my favorite childhood author. A thank you to Tamora Pierce for writing books that still influence my imagination to this day.

What I never expected was a reply.

Photo Credit: Sarah RichardsChecking Goodreads via mobile app while my husband filled up the car with gas, I was looking for a book recommendation reply.
What I found made me squeal with disbelief and delight.
I had a message signed "Tammy".

As soon as I got home I ran through the house to the office.
There I have a bookcase with a whole shelf filled with her books.
I quickly found my favorite and  pulled it out to show my husband who was still confused by my excitement.
Being honest, it didn't clarify things for him.

Knowing it was going to rain for a few days, we took the opportunity to get some exersise.
My Siberian Husky took the lead and walked my husband and son. 
I skipped, for two miles!

A childhood dream I didn't know I was holding on to came true.
What an amazing time we live in!

Technological advancements have allowed me the privilege of exchanging correspondence with the creator of my favorite childhood books, Tamora Pierce.

Who was your favorite author growing up? 
Which book did you read to most?
For my husband is was Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. For my son it is J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Share yours below in the comments box or with me directly at sarahjorichards@gmail.com. 
I promise to read every one!

Because I said so.

As a mom, I want my son to just do things my way. Life would be easier if original thought didn't lead to disobedience.

As a writer, it is easy to do the same thing to the characters in my books.Instead of allowing them to be their own entities, I tried to make them into what I envision. As if my preconceived notions and limited understanding of the big picture are enough.
I strive to gain more knowledge every day. I want to learn more.

Then I realized the more I know, the less I truly know. For every new fact, and every earned insight or life lesson I gain, there are hundreds of new questions I encounter.

He wanted to see how it worked!
This is life.It may seem daunting at first, but don't let it get you down.Embrace your own limits and step over them.
This epiphany struck during church this last Sunday.  My husband and I work hard to make my son learn he needs to be quiet and respectful in church. No loud sounds. No running down the isle. No sleeping on the pew. The list continues.

I've even used the "because I said so" line in my best stern whisper. Now he wants to know why.

If we hadn't taken time to start answering this question, the ones that followed may not have been asked.
If I didn't show compassion like God with Jonah, I never would have hear him shout for the whole congregation to hear, "Hey look! It's Mom!" as I walked up to cantor, to sing the psalm.

The same holds true for writing. If I didn't listen to my characters and just continued writing things my way, some awesome twists wouldn't have happened.
My son is better for not listening to the power trip of "because I said so".He is now starting on his own journey of faith, not just doing the motions.He doesn't simply follow the directions for his Legos, he revises them to be better engineered.
My books are better for not following the original outline "because I said so".The characters have become more dimensional, realistic to Readers.The plots have become surprisingly unpredictable, but cohesive.
From the statement "because I said so" comes the logical and reflexive response "why?".
Now I strive to find an answer for every "why" question.

Becuase I said so.

As a mom, I want my son to just do things my way. Life would be easier if original thought didn't lead to disobedience.

As a writer, it is easy to do the same thing to the characters in my books.Instead of allowing them to be their own entities, I tried to make them into what I envision. As if my preconceived notions and limited understanding of the big picture are enough.
I strive to gain more knowledge every day. I want to learn more.

Then I realized the more I know, the less I truly know. For every new fact, and every earned insight or life lesson I gain, there are hundreds of new questions I encounter.

When "becuase I said so" isn't a good enough answer.
This is life.It may seem daunting at first, but don't let it get you down.Embrace your own limits and step over them.
This epiphany struck during church this last Sunday.  My husband and I work hard to make my son learn he needs to be quiet and respectful in church. No loud sounds. No running down the isle. No sleeping on the pew. The list continues.

I've even used the "because I said so" line in my best stern whisper. Now he wants to know why.

If we hadn't taken time to start answering this question, the ones that followed may not have been asked.
If I didn't show compassion like God with Jonah, I never would have hear him shout for the whole congregation to hear, "Hey look! It's Mom!" as I walked up to cantor, to sing the psalm.

The same holds true for writing. If I didn't listen to my characters and just continued writing things my way, some awesome twists wouldn't have happened.
My son is better for not listening to the power trip of "because I said so".He is now starting on his own journey of faith, not just doing the motions.He doesn't simply follow the directions for his Legos, he revises them to be better engineered.
My books are better for not following the original outline "because I said so".The characters have become more dimensional, realistic to Readers.The plots have become surprisingly unpredictable, but cohesive.
From the statement "because I said so" comes the logical and reflexive response "why?".
Now I strive to find an answer for every "why" question.

Sleep. Spider. Coffee.

Sleep.
I treasure it as much as I do coffee.
I suppose opposites really do attract, and like a marriage, there are always conflicts.

I require coffee to become the Lego building, slide racing mom I need to be.
This requires energy.
I found myself continuously drinking coffee during the day like a chain smoker inhales cigarettes.
Coffee anytime past noon means I won't be able to fall asleep until after midnight.
With a four-year-old who loves getting up early, this is a major problem.

The reincarnation of these memories into a vivid nightmare scared Autumn into a state of consciousness that was never, and should never, be achieved without copious amounts of coffee. (Left on the Edge)

One of these moments happened to me. 
Except I wished it had been a nightmare.

I had not overdone the amount of caffeine I had consumed that day, so I was deep in blissful sleep.
Normally I do not sleep well when my husband is away for work, but this was a welcomed exception.

At about 2 a.m., I was woken by a presence.

"Pssst," he kept repeating. 

I peeled my sleep crusted eyes apart to see him standing centimeters from my nose.

"Mom, I found a spider!" The excitement he felt was tangible.

Thinking this was one of my son's sleepwalking adventures as his subconscious pretended he was a member of the Wild Kratt's team I played along in hopes he would go back to bed.

"Let me see sweetie," I said.

I don't know what I had been expecting him to put in my hand.
A used tissue. A piece of fluff. An imaginary spider.

It was actually a spider!
Big and black. 
Actively crawling out of my hand and up my arm.

I shot up out of bed and ran for the bathroom.
The toilet was my destination.
Not to throw up.
To flush that creepy crawly away.
Far. Far away.

I tucked my son back in to bed.
He was asleep before I left his room.
There was no way I was going to obtain the level of sleep that had been robbed from me.
I went to the kitchen and made coffee.

Have you ever woken up this way? 
Been startled out of your slumber into a state of consciousness that only coffee should provide.

I would love to hear your story.
Write it below or email me directly at sarahjorichards@gmail.com.

Re-released in Paperback & eBook!

The day I have been waiting for has finally arrived.
I feel as giddy as my husky on the first snow day of the year.

Left on the Edge third edition is the best edition yet.
It has been edited by Alex Stefansson and it reads like a new book.

It is available in paperback and eBook from amazon as well as other retailers. For the full list of availability go to the Woodmere Trilogy official site.

Read it and decided for yourself if it is better!
Sarah Richards

Star Wars Parody

This post is a self confessed, but humorous, moment of nerdy weakness.
My son received this Wookie toy from an uncle-whom-shall-remain-nameless.

Denali has a few things to say about this new addition to the toy box.

Click here for Howl Wars
 

The thing to know about huskies is they need the last word. 
They need to howl the longest.
It is a superiority thing. 
He needs the Wookie to know he's alpha.
That he's in charge.

Lego Inspiration.

Once again, this week it's just my son and I.
Like many families, my other half is gone for work.
It could be a day, a couple days, a week or two.  
This time it is a week.
The duration of his absence does not feel as long as it did the first few years.
I've adjusted personally, but not completely as a mom.
Now I have to find ways of occupying every minute of the day.

I am sure I am not the only mom whose had this moment of panic.
I cannot tell you how to fill all the hours of the day on your own.
Today though, I stumbled upon an easy solution any mom can do, slow motion animation.
Read on if you would like to know the steps to my new secret.



The highlight of a normal day is when daddy comes home. 
He will be plastered to the living room windows. The face and finger prints show a progression from each pane to another as he paces in anticipation. 

Then the moment of arrival.
Peals of joy and shouts of exclamation are kept in time with the percussion of his jumps which shake the dishes in the cupboards above my head as I cook dinner.
I breathe in and out slowly as a smile spreads to my face.

Help has arrived!
No longer am I the sole source of entertainment. 
My bag of tricks can once again be wondrous come morning. 

From the moment the dog is fed and we all sit down at the table, my day is feels done. 
The evening is my treasured time of day. 
My son is happy with his dad and I can work...uninterrupted!

Now from sunrise to sunset I am responsible for filling every minute.
The simple solution is to let the TV be the substitute parent.
I don't believe in letting my son watch much TV.

My secret...Legos.
(Keep reading! I promise this is good and easy.)

I had never played with Legos until I had a son.
My husband is an engineer and my son is his mini-me, in looks and interests.
(Poor kid inherited his Koosh Ball hair. Oh, if only it were still the 80s!)

Tired of hear "Oh Mommy! That's not quite right."  from my four-year-old, I sat back and pulled out my camera. As he started over, inspiration struck.

Stop motion animation!
It's simple. 
Follow these steps and you will become Super Mom (or dad) in your kids eyes. 
(I have a son, so these steps will be written as I know them. Substitute your child(s) gender(s) appropriately.)
Make a pile of Legos needed to make the car.Take a picture.Kid completes step one of the instructions. As he looks over what to do next, take a picture.Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the car is built.Roll the car it in increments until it reach the end of the box/table. Then I had my son take it away as I snapped a couple pictures.Take a picture of the empty surface.Put pictures in a movie making software. Windows Live Movie Maker came with my laptop.Add captions and music.Then watch the magic!
At first my son didn't understand why I was taking pictures, but then his watched the movie. 
His face was priceless as he whispered, "Wooooow!". 
We watched it over ten times in a row before he looked at me with reverence and asked, "Can we do that again?".

The week is half over, and he still hasn't bored with this magic trick.
It has passed the time quickly and productively.
Give it a try and share your creations with me!
Use either the comments box, facebook,or email me directly at sarahjorichards@gmail.com.

Red Pen of Editing

I am excited to announce  
Left on the Edge is going to be re-released!

While I have done my best before originally publishing the first book of the Woodmere Trilogy, it has been brought to my attention the numerous typos and grammatical mistakes you, the readers, have found.

Syntax, weird typos and other grammatical no-nos are interrupting the flow of the novel.

The red pen of editing is being uncapped.

Left on the Edge is undergoing professional help.

Alex Stefansson, author of Paradise Squandered, has graciously agreed to polish up Left on the Edge.

The high caliber of his attention to detail when it comes to all things related to writing can be read for yourself on his blog , or in his novel .

Services exchange is being done.
My design and illustrative skills are going to create a new book cover for Paradise Squandered, while Alex makes the words in Left on the Edge sparkle with his brilliant grasp of the English language.

Being a designer for many years has taught me to accept my inadequacies like editing, while history has taught me to learn from them. So, I fully intend to have a professional editing eye look intently at Taken in the Woods before it is to be released. (This may effect its October release date, but I will keep you posted!)

Midnight Inspriation

Settled perfectly in the dip of the mattress with the blankets cocooning the temperature to perfection and the pillow gently supporting my head, sleep comes swiftly to whisk me peacefully into the dark oblivion of REM.

Artist Unknown.Suddenly, my eyes snap open and see the clock.
It's midnight.

I have two choices.
I can go back to sleep with the hope I will remember what woke me come morning-OR-I can get up and write it down.

What would you do? 
Get up or try going back to sleep?

I almost always get up. 
Normally I can't get back to sleep even if I want to because the idea that has struck the gong in me head will not be silence with a damper until I get up and get it out on paper. It can be a sketch, doodle or vague description. As long as it is out of my head and on paper, I will be able to return to slumber.

Approximately 93% of the time the idea that got me up is pointless. 
A nonsensical thought with flawed logic.

So why get up? 
Why bother losing sleep?

Hope for the remaining 7%. 
Where in which my subconscious has truly unraveled a solution to a scene in one of my books or figured out the correct angle of perspective to perfect a drawing.

Midnight inspiration is a blessing and a curse for the creative.