Lydia Howe's Blog, page 52
December 4, 2014
Captive Trail - Book Review
Captive Trail
By Susan Page Davis
Find it on: Amazon
Texas Trails Series Book 2
Third personTwo points of view (I think)289 Pages
About the book:(From the back cover)
A girl has become a woman while in captivityA stagecoach driver longs to take her hometo the home she barely remembers.
Taabe Waipu flees her Comanche village. Somewhere in southern Texas her real family lives in the white world. For years she's struggled to keep the memories from fading.Butterfield Overland Mail Company driver Ned Bright finds a woman, exhausted and injured, lying in the road. He takes her to a mission run by Ursuline nuns.With hard work, Ned discovers Taabe Waipu's identity. He plans to unite her with her family, but the Comanche have other ideas.Doubt meets hope, and fear gives way to faith in the Morgan family.
Why I chose the book:
I've enjoyed stories about Native Americans pretty much since I can remember. Goodness, one of my dreams is to live for a year in a tipi. With wifi, of course. As I got older though, it seemed like a lot of the Indian/Western stories that were written for my age were either too violent or romantic for my taste. (Come on Authors! Balance, please, I'm begging of you!) From what I could see of this book it didn't seem to go overboard on either, so that was pretty cool. Oh, and again, I didn't realize it was the second book in the series...
What I thought:
I liked the start of the book. I really liked it. I felt like I was in the story right away, and that's important for me. It was intriguing trying to figure out what was going on and seeing things from Taabe's perspective was interesting. The snatches of things she could and couldn't remember made me wonder what it would be like if I was in her position and actually kinda reminded me of a book I'm working on (totally, totally different, though).
Quinta, a nine-year-old spit-fire was probably my favorite character. Her "duh" approach to life was fun to read about. This is the way it is, or should be anyway, so why are we standing here thinking about it? I liked her.
As the book progressed, I had the sad feeling that it wasn't exactly progressing after all. At least not as much as I was hoping it would. There didn't seem to be a big bang when anything unexpected happened.
Conclusion:
I did enjoy the whole book, just not as much as I thought I would. I plan on trying more books by the same author in the future.
There was a little bit of violence throughout the book and obviously the two main characters liked each other, but I didn't feel like either parts were overdone.
Rating:
I'm giving it three stars.
By Susan Page Davis
Find it on: Amazon
Texas Trails Series Book 2
Third personTwo points of view (I think)289 Pages
About the book:(From the back cover)
A girl has become a woman while in captivityA stagecoach driver longs to take her hometo the home she barely remembers.
Taabe Waipu flees her Comanche village. Somewhere in southern Texas her real family lives in the white world. For years she's struggled to keep the memories from fading.Butterfield Overland Mail Company driver Ned Bright finds a woman, exhausted and injured, lying in the road. He takes her to a mission run by Ursuline nuns.With hard work, Ned discovers Taabe Waipu's identity. He plans to unite her with her family, but the Comanche have other ideas.Doubt meets hope, and fear gives way to faith in the Morgan family.
Why I chose the book:
I've enjoyed stories about Native Americans pretty much since I can remember. Goodness, one of my dreams is to live for a year in a tipi. With wifi, of course. As I got older though, it seemed like a lot of the Indian/Western stories that were written for my age were either too violent or romantic for my taste. (Come on Authors! Balance, please, I'm begging of you!) From what I could see of this book it didn't seem to go overboard on either, so that was pretty cool. Oh, and again, I didn't realize it was the second book in the series...
What I thought:
I liked the start of the book. I really liked it. I felt like I was in the story right away, and that's important for me. It was intriguing trying to figure out what was going on and seeing things from Taabe's perspective was interesting. The snatches of things she could and couldn't remember made me wonder what it would be like if I was in her position and actually kinda reminded me of a book I'm working on (totally, totally different, though).
Quinta, a nine-year-old spit-fire was probably my favorite character. Her "duh" approach to life was fun to read about. This is the way it is, or should be anyway, so why are we standing here thinking about it? I liked her.
As the book progressed, I had the sad feeling that it wasn't exactly progressing after all. At least not as much as I was hoping it would. There didn't seem to be a big bang when anything unexpected happened.
Conclusion:
I did enjoy the whole book, just not as much as I thought I would. I plan on trying more books by the same author in the future.
There was a little bit of violence throughout the book and obviously the two main characters liked each other, but I didn't feel like either parts were overdone.
Rating:
I'm giving it three stars.
Reading Goal Exceeded
Time to celebrate!
On December 2nd I hit the 100th book for the year mark.
Celebration!!!
My goal was to read 50 books this year, so I feel like I can safely check off that goal.
And, since I'm all into lists and statistics, here some are for y'all:
Fiction = 74
Non Fiction =26
Re-reads = 33
First time reads = 67
Reviewed = 13
Books read each month: January - 8February - 5March - 8April - 6May - 10June - 5July - 9August - 10September - 7October - 14November - 15December - Still Counting
What about you? Do you like reading? Do you keep track of the books you read? This is the first year I have and I'm really enjoying being able to look back and have the list at my finger tips!
On December 2nd I hit the 100th book for the year mark.
Celebration!!!
My goal was to read 50 books this year, so I feel like I can safely check off that goal.
And, since I'm all into lists and statistics, here some are for y'all:
Fiction = 74
Non Fiction =26
Re-reads = 33
First time reads = 67
Reviewed = 13
Books read each month: January - 8February - 5March - 8April - 6May - 10June - 5July - 9August - 10September - 7October - 14November - 15December - Still Counting
“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” - Groucho Marx
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” - Dr. Seuss
“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.” - William Styron
“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” - Stephen King* * *
What about you? Do you like reading? Do you keep track of the books you read? This is the first year I have and I'm really enjoying being able to look back and have the list at my finger tips!
December 3, 2014
My Identity
Yesterday I sat down with my computer determined to write.
Writing has not come easily recently. It's more like I have to fight the words to get them on paper. Even blogging hasn't been as natural as it used to be. Right now I have a strong urge to go and take a walk then come back and finish this post. Or maybe I should start my load of laundry. Or read some more of that book. Or clean my office. Or go work in the kitchen. Excuses are easy to come by and the more I don't feel like doing something, the more easily justified my excuses seem to be.
It's not the writing itself that has me tripping, it's more what comes after the writing. Or what doesn't come after the writing, to be more specific.
I know it probably sounds silly, but I sort of have this happy expectation that when someone publishes a book, they sell copies of it. Or that when someone hosts a giveaway, they'll get lots of entries for it. Or that when someone pours their life into a project for four years that people will actually show interest in it.
I don't know why. I guess I'm a natural born optimist.
Then reality crashes down.
I publish a book. I sell a few copies, mostly to family and friends. I host giveaways worth a couple hundred dollars and some of them only had three people enter them. (By the way, if you're the winner to one of my giveaways, I've emailed you to let you know.)I work and work and work on a project and then hardly anyone seems to care.
It's a good reminder that my life is little. Minuscule. A tiny drop that in the grand coronation of life doesn't make much of a difference.
A family friend visited last year and she told me she wanted to write a book one day and asked for advice on how to get started. I happily gave her some advice and a lot of encouragement. It's hard, but you can do it! It's hard, but just keep going, it will be worth it in the end!
This year she came back and brought the subject up again. I pasted a smile on my face as I nodded, feeling like a hypocrite. It's hard, was all I said, no advice attached. What I wanted to say was It's not worth it. Run the other way. Forget it. You'll spill your heart onto paper and no one will take any notice.
I've discovered a very important truth: Being an author is not easy. It's not all rainbows and glitter and strawberry cheesecake.
It's not the hard work that gets to me. It's not the edits. It's not the hours spent alone each day perfecting my craft. It's nothing to do with the actual writing.
It's the balance between needing to have something to look forward to and knowing how to handle disappointments.
Being a writer means you have to be self-motivated. I don't have anyone standing behind my shoulder cheering me on as I eke out another difficult scene. I don't have anyone tell me Just one more thousand words and you'll be done. I set my own limits. I give myself rewards. I'm the one pushing myself to reach the next level.
To motivate myself, I look into the distance, imagining what it will be like to have a completed book. To sign a copy for a random stranger. To have kids love it. To be a real, live, breathing author on a book tour.
Then my day dreams don't pan out. My expectations aren't met. My grand plans seem like a dud.
And I'm back to the basics. Back to trying to figure out how I'm going to make this thing work. Back to the reality that I'm a struggling-along-in-obscurity-hard-working-author who's pretty much clueless.
In October I went and stayed with my oldest sister for a week to help her out with her six kids because she wasn't feeling well. One of the days when I was there she prayed something like Please bless my sister for spending a week doing the most unglamorous job possible. My eyes popped open. My sister is a very thankful person and all I could think of was that my sister had thanked me more in one week for helping her than I'd been thanked in my entire writing career for being a writer.
Helping out with dishes, housework and laundry had seemed so much more rewarding than being an author because I got to see the fruits of my labor right away. I knew that what I was doing was being appreciated. That I was making a difference in someone's life. I was making their world better at that moment.
Being an author is more about faith. Faith that some day you'll reach a point where you're making a difference. Where the hours, the years, you've slaved over a manuscript will actually end up bearing fruit. That one day your writing will touch someone's life and make it better.
But when you reach a point where you think you should begin to see the reality of the daydreams that helped keep you going and instead all you see is the road continuing to stretch in front of you with no end in sight, then what do you do?
You stumble. You fall. And you want to stay down. Getting up seems like too much work. Too hard. Not worth the pain it will cause.
I recently asked an artist friend how he did it. How could he continue going year after year? I can't keep going without giving myself something to look forward to, yet if everything I look forward to falls flat, then how am I going to be able to continue motivating myself?
By finding your worth, your safe place, in God. That's what my friend told me. Yes, it's ok to look forward to something, to dream about it, to imagine it, but ultimately my encouragement needs to come from God.
At some time or another, everything is going to fail me. My daydreams will fall through. I'll make mistakes. People will let me down. Even when I'm a bestselling author my life will have twists and curves I wasn't expecting.
Safe places aren't really that safe after all,
Unless they're in Jesus.
When we take our eyes off the ultimate goal, off the real prize, that's when discouragement wash over us like a tsunami wave.
My goal in life isn't to be the most acclaimed author. My goal in life isn't to have hordes of people stampeding into bookstores, rushing to get a new copy of my latest book. My goal in life isn't to be a larger-than-life author who can do no wrong.
My goal in life is to be the person who God created me to be. To give God glory in the good, the bad, and the oh-my-goodness-is-this-really-happening moments. My goal in life is to share God's love and truth with the world. My goal in life is become more like Him and to help others become more like Him, too.
Writing is a means to that end. Writing is the gift God has given to me to help share Him with others. Writing is how I can multiply my life and make it far more effective than I could ever be on my own.
Writing is my chance to extend my influence beyond the little flame of life I'm living that will all-too-soon be snuffed out by the reality of time.
Writing is a gift, not an identity.
Being a writer is part of who I am, but being a writer doesn't need to define me.
Being God's child, that IS who I am.
That IS what defines me.
On my own? I create nothing that's worth lasting throughout all eternity.
In Him? I'm priceless. I'm remarkable. I'm a ransomed princess.
How in the world could I even dare define myself by the meager worth of the world's acknowledgement of my literary achievements when I've been bought by the blood of the Creator of the universe?
Having a spectacular turn-out for a book signing would be nice, but it doesn't compare to the realization that the King of Kings has endowed me with the gift of being able to spin words into sentences, paragraphs, stories.
Somehow I end up confusing priorities. I look at people and seek their validation. I try and morph my writing style into what I think they want so they'll praise me. I'll assume an act of happy success, even when I'm screaming inside that I can't keep going. I hide my true feelings, seeking the approval of numbed strangers.
I forget that I've been given my words by the Creator of Languages.
The words I use to express my thoughts and feelings are a gift, yet I try to hide them. I corner them, beating out the truth from their expressive descriptions, then throw them together in some semblance of order where they reflect thoughts, but not my own. Emotions, but not the true ones.
I hide behind my ability to make sense and then justify it, telling myself that people don't really care.
And maybe they don't care. But I do.
So many people out there are hurting and alone. Alone. Not because other people can't understand what they're going through, but because each of us hides behind a facade of having it altogether and so we're afraid to be honest and let the crack of our imperfection show through.
We each struggle to find our identity in what we do, in who we're seen as. We forget that our identity has nothing to do with us. It's all about Him.
Book sales, friends, achievements and skills don't define who I am. Those are gifts. Not Identity.
My identity,
my safe place,
is found
solely
in God.
Writing has not come easily recently. It's more like I have to fight the words to get them on paper. Even blogging hasn't been as natural as it used to be. Right now I have a strong urge to go and take a walk then come back and finish this post. Or maybe I should start my load of laundry. Or read some more of that book. Or clean my office. Or go work in the kitchen. Excuses are easy to come by and the more I don't feel like doing something, the more easily justified my excuses seem to be.
It's not the writing itself that has me tripping, it's more what comes after the writing. Or what doesn't come after the writing, to be more specific.
I know it probably sounds silly, but I sort of have this happy expectation that when someone publishes a book, they sell copies of it. Or that when someone hosts a giveaway, they'll get lots of entries for it. Or that when someone pours their life into a project for four years that people will actually show interest in it.
I don't know why. I guess I'm a natural born optimist.
Then reality crashes down.
I publish a book. I sell a few copies, mostly to family and friends. I host giveaways worth a couple hundred dollars and some of them only had three people enter them. (By the way, if you're the winner to one of my giveaways, I've emailed you to let you know.)I work and work and work on a project and then hardly anyone seems to care.
It's a good reminder that my life is little. Minuscule. A tiny drop that in the grand coronation of life doesn't make much of a difference.
A family friend visited last year and she told me she wanted to write a book one day and asked for advice on how to get started. I happily gave her some advice and a lot of encouragement. It's hard, but you can do it! It's hard, but just keep going, it will be worth it in the end!
This year she came back and brought the subject up again. I pasted a smile on my face as I nodded, feeling like a hypocrite. It's hard, was all I said, no advice attached. What I wanted to say was It's not worth it. Run the other way. Forget it. You'll spill your heart onto paper and no one will take any notice.
I've discovered a very important truth: Being an author is not easy. It's not all rainbows and glitter and strawberry cheesecake.
It's not the hard work that gets to me. It's not the edits. It's not the hours spent alone each day perfecting my craft. It's nothing to do with the actual writing.
It's the balance between needing to have something to look forward to and knowing how to handle disappointments.
Being a writer means you have to be self-motivated. I don't have anyone standing behind my shoulder cheering me on as I eke out another difficult scene. I don't have anyone tell me Just one more thousand words and you'll be done. I set my own limits. I give myself rewards. I'm the one pushing myself to reach the next level.
To motivate myself, I look into the distance, imagining what it will be like to have a completed book. To sign a copy for a random stranger. To have kids love it. To be a real, live, breathing author on a book tour.
Then my day dreams don't pan out. My expectations aren't met. My grand plans seem like a dud.
And I'm back to the basics. Back to trying to figure out how I'm going to make this thing work. Back to the reality that I'm a struggling-along-in-obscurity-hard-working-author who's pretty much clueless.
In October I went and stayed with my oldest sister for a week to help her out with her six kids because she wasn't feeling well. One of the days when I was there she prayed something like Please bless my sister for spending a week doing the most unglamorous job possible. My eyes popped open. My sister is a very thankful person and all I could think of was that my sister had thanked me more in one week for helping her than I'd been thanked in my entire writing career for being a writer.
Helping out with dishes, housework and laundry had seemed so much more rewarding than being an author because I got to see the fruits of my labor right away. I knew that what I was doing was being appreciated. That I was making a difference in someone's life. I was making their world better at that moment.
Being an author is more about faith. Faith that some day you'll reach a point where you're making a difference. Where the hours, the years, you've slaved over a manuscript will actually end up bearing fruit. That one day your writing will touch someone's life and make it better.
But when you reach a point where you think you should begin to see the reality of the daydreams that helped keep you going and instead all you see is the road continuing to stretch in front of you with no end in sight, then what do you do?
You stumble. You fall. And you want to stay down. Getting up seems like too much work. Too hard. Not worth the pain it will cause.
I recently asked an artist friend how he did it. How could he continue going year after year? I can't keep going without giving myself something to look forward to, yet if everything I look forward to falls flat, then how am I going to be able to continue motivating myself?
By finding your worth, your safe place, in God. That's what my friend told me. Yes, it's ok to look forward to something, to dream about it, to imagine it, but ultimately my encouragement needs to come from God.
At some time or another, everything is going to fail me. My daydreams will fall through. I'll make mistakes. People will let me down. Even when I'm a bestselling author my life will have twists and curves I wasn't expecting.
Safe places aren't really that safe after all,
Unless they're in Jesus.
When we take our eyes off the ultimate goal, off the real prize, that's when discouragement wash over us like a tsunami wave.
My goal in life isn't to be the most acclaimed author. My goal in life isn't to have hordes of people stampeding into bookstores, rushing to get a new copy of my latest book. My goal in life isn't to be a larger-than-life author who can do no wrong.
My goal in life is to be the person who God created me to be. To give God glory in the good, the bad, and the oh-my-goodness-is-this-really-happening moments. My goal in life is to share God's love and truth with the world. My goal in life is become more like Him and to help others become more like Him, too.
Writing is a means to that end. Writing is the gift God has given to me to help share Him with others. Writing is how I can multiply my life and make it far more effective than I could ever be on my own.
Writing is my chance to extend my influence beyond the little flame of life I'm living that will all-too-soon be snuffed out by the reality of time.
Writing is a gift, not an identity.
Being a writer is part of who I am, but being a writer doesn't need to define me.
Being God's child, that IS who I am.
That IS what defines me.
On my own? I create nothing that's worth lasting throughout all eternity.
In Him? I'm priceless. I'm remarkable. I'm a ransomed princess.
How in the world could I even dare define myself by the meager worth of the world's acknowledgement of my literary achievements when I've been bought by the blood of the Creator of the universe?
Having a spectacular turn-out for a book signing would be nice, but it doesn't compare to the realization that the King of Kings has endowed me with the gift of being able to spin words into sentences, paragraphs, stories.
Somehow I end up confusing priorities. I look at people and seek their validation. I try and morph my writing style into what I think they want so they'll praise me. I'll assume an act of happy success, even when I'm screaming inside that I can't keep going. I hide my true feelings, seeking the approval of numbed strangers.
I forget that I've been given my words by the Creator of Languages.
The words I use to express my thoughts and feelings are a gift, yet I try to hide them. I corner them, beating out the truth from their expressive descriptions, then throw them together in some semblance of order where they reflect thoughts, but not my own. Emotions, but not the true ones.
I hide behind my ability to make sense and then justify it, telling myself that people don't really care.
And maybe they don't care. But I do.
So many people out there are hurting and alone. Alone. Not because other people can't understand what they're going through, but because each of us hides behind a facade of having it altogether and so we're afraid to be honest and let the crack of our imperfection show through.
We each struggle to find our identity in what we do, in who we're seen as. We forget that our identity has nothing to do with us. It's all about Him.
Book sales, friends, achievements and skills don't define who I am. Those are gifts. Not Identity.
My identity,
my safe place,
is found
solely
in God.
December 2, 2014
Winning the Battle - Book Review
Winning the Battle
By Stephanie Perry Moore & Derrick Moore
Find it on: Amazon Goodreads
Alec London Series #4
First personOne narrator153 Pages
About the book:
When Alec starts 5th grade he's a little upset that his dad is now the principle and therefore he'll have to deal with getting picked on by the other kids. With his mom in Hollywood, his grandma sick, the school bully threatening him and his dad wrapped up with his job, Alec feels alone and pressured.
Karate lessons seem to be the fix-it-all cure Alec's needing, but he soon finds that karate, and the karate teacher, isn't all he thought it would be. Struggling with school, housework and relationship issues leaves Alec learning to rely more on God.
Why I chose the book:
It's really hard for me to find contemporary Middle Grade fiction (which is what I write) that has a good message. It's even harder to find contemporary MG fiction that's written for boys. When I saw the book I was excited and requested it right away.
What I thought:
I didn't realize that the book was the forth in the series so I'm guessing there was some background that I would have been able to grasp better if I had read the first three books before this one, but really I didn't feel lost at all.
I really enjoyed the book. It wasn't fast paced; it was very much of a character driven book (compared to a plot driven book), and I like that.
It was easy to relate to Alec. He was just a normal kid who was going through a hard time and had a clear, easy-going way of explaining how he felt about stuff. There were a lot of times when he was just like "I'm frustrated and I don't even know why." I liked that because I can relate to the feeling. Plus, his way of praying throughout the book was pretty cool, because it was just so real. A lot of times I feel like skimming over prayers in books, but not Alec's.
There were word search puzzles at the end of each chapter and even though I didn't actually do them, I thought the idea was really cool. Plus, a letter to his mom which I really liked.
The only thing I didn't like: There was a little bit of a thing going on with Alec liking a girl which I thought was a bit premature for a fifth grader but it was handled well and was a very minor part.
Conclusion:
The book was written by a husband/wife team which I think is really, really cool. I enjoyed it a lot and will hopefully be reading more in the future.
Rating:
I'm giving it four stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
By Stephanie Perry Moore & Derrick Moore
Find it on: Amazon Goodreads
Alec London Series #4
First personOne narrator153 Pages
About the book:
When Alec starts 5th grade he's a little upset that his dad is now the principle and therefore he'll have to deal with getting picked on by the other kids. With his mom in Hollywood, his grandma sick, the school bully threatening him and his dad wrapped up with his job, Alec feels alone and pressured.
Karate lessons seem to be the fix-it-all cure Alec's needing, but he soon finds that karate, and the karate teacher, isn't all he thought it would be. Struggling with school, housework and relationship issues leaves Alec learning to rely more on God.
Why I chose the book:
It's really hard for me to find contemporary Middle Grade fiction (which is what I write) that has a good message. It's even harder to find contemporary MG fiction that's written for boys. When I saw the book I was excited and requested it right away.
What I thought:
I didn't realize that the book was the forth in the series so I'm guessing there was some background that I would have been able to grasp better if I had read the first three books before this one, but really I didn't feel lost at all.
I really enjoyed the book. It wasn't fast paced; it was very much of a character driven book (compared to a plot driven book), and I like that.
It was easy to relate to Alec. He was just a normal kid who was going through a hard time and had a clear, easy-going way of explaining how he felt about stuff. There were a lot of times when he was just like "I'm frustrated and I don't even know why." I liked that because I can relate to the feeling. Plus, his way of praying throughout the book was pretty cool, because it was just so real. A lot of times I feel like skimming over prayers in books, but not Alec's.
There were word search puzzles at the end of each chapter and even though I didn't actually do them, I thought the idea was really cool. Plus, a letter to his mom which I really liked.
The only thing I didn't like: There was a little bit of a thing going on with Alec liking a girl which I thought was a bit premature for a fifth grader but it was handled well and was a very minor part.
Conclusion:
The book was written by a husband/wife team which I think is really, really cool. I enjoyed it a lot and will hopefully be reading more in the future.
Rating:
I'm giving it four stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
November 2014 in Review
What I focused on in November:
1. My book release 2. Busyness at the private retreat where I work 3. Thanksgiving/Family time4. A trip to Nebraska
Birthday Challenge and Dream List Update:
Birthday List:
1. Read 23 Non-fiction books - Read 2 in November
15. No texting for 23 days (not in a row) - Did four of the days
22. Make 5 blankets for a pregnancy center - Started one
Dream List:
Have a girly movie night with my sisters/friends Haha, I we had one in NE but I ended up sleeping through most of it....
Write and publish children's chapter books that teach them to grow and set goals, have good habits, be leaders, etc... I published my Action Kids book in November!
Reading Update
Books read in November: 15 While anticipating the release of my book I was rather stressed out and so I'd lay in bed at night and read. And read. And read.I read ten books in the first nine days of the month. Yeah... It was crazy.
Fiction: 13Non-Fiction: 2
Only three non-fiction books in two months? Ugg. I'm going to have to work on that one.I think I'll try for four or five of them in December...
I also signed up with two new book review sites and ordered four books to review. Fun times.
Traveling:
This month I was gone for nine days, from the 21st-29th. My sister and I drove to Nebraska with some friends (18 hours and four states away) and then flew home. It was an amazing trip that I still need to blog about.
New States I was in: Missouri and Nebraska
I was only about 20 minutes away from Kansas. I really wanted to go there and check another state off the list. Oh well. At least now I've been to half the states, so that's pretty cool.
Nebraska is flat and windy, people. It was amazing.
What I've been Learning this Month:
This month wasn't really my cup of tea. I had a lot of expectations when it came to my book release and they all pretty much fell flat. It was discouraging and hard for me to deal with at times. I had some really good, long talks with three of my friends who are also artists and they all helped me keep on track.
*Being a writer is a process. It's long, difficult and can be discouraging, but in the end, it will be worth it*It's ok to step back and just enjoy life for a happy interlude and not feel guilty about getting behind with writing*Non-artists aren't going to understand what I'm going through at times, but they'll think they do understand and that's ok. They're trying to help*There will be intense times of feeling alone. The best thing is to use those times to learn to grow*I'm a human that writes, not a writer that's human *The amount of sales that I do or don't make, the amount of pageviews I get and comments that are left do not define my worth as a person. I need to have my identity in Christ, not in being a writer*Trust is hard*Trust is an essential part of being a balanced human so even when I'm hurt I need to learn to trust again*Having good friends who you can talk over deep things with is non-compareable
Other Things:
* Medallion, our guard dog up at the goat barn, had puppies. We've got cute little half mutt, half purebred pups stumbling around now. Anndddd... I think that the 'half-mutt' part of the equation makes them full-blooded mutts.
*My cell phone broke the rest of the way. It came apart back in August and I've had it taped together and discovered a wide variety of tricks to make it still function part way, but it's all gone now. *Sniff, sniff.* I hope to get another one this week.
*I got to do a book signing in a mall in Nebraska! I haven't blogged about that yet, but it will be coming up soon.
* * * Now it's your turn! I'd be delighted to hear about some stuff that you got to do/learn/see this month!
December 1, 2014
Rise and Shine - Book Review
Rise and Shine By Sandra D. Bricker
Find it on: Amazon Goodreads
Third PersonSeveral different Points of View284 Pages
A fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast
About the book:
Shannon wakes up only to discover that she's been in a coma for ten years due to a diving accident on her honeymoon. During those ten years so much has changed in the world, mostly with technology practically exploding. The biggest change of all, though, is that her husband died several years before from cancer.
Shannon has a hard time dealing with her doctor, who's a stranger to her, having been great friends with her husband. Also, her best friend is now being married with three children and of course there are other changes that happen in a ten year period of time.
Shannon has to figure out how to dive back into life and deal with a foggy memory, changed preferences and a distrust for God.
Why I chose this book:
I requested to review this book for a couple of reasons 1) It's a fairy tale retelling and I've wanted to read a fairy tale retelling for a long time but they always seem to have magic in them. I could tell by reading the review of this one that it didn't. 2) The back of the book says "...Into a whole new world of madness where reality television has taken over the planet and everyone's life appears to revolve around a tiny screen on their cellphones!" That intrigued me. Imagine falling asleep in 2004 and waking up in 2014. Lots of changes, folks. 3) I don't normally pick and chose by the cover of the book, but I thought this one was really pretty.
What I thought:
Sadly, I was disappointed. The book seemed to hold so, SO much promise. The idea is so intriguing and I felt like the book didn't do it justice. I kept waiting to actually connect with the characters or at least feel something, but it never came.
There were great comparisons in the book, but for some reason, they felt as if they were just randomly thrown in instead of going with the character who was using them. I have no clue why I felt that though.
The characters could have been developed so much, and yet it felt like we stayed on the surface with them. Plus, there was head-hoping and as an author I don't do well with head-hoping. (Explaining stuff from two different character's point of view in the same paragraph.)
Over all, the book didn't seem very realistic. The way they just threw new information at her and the way she responded was so against the way I work that I just could. not. climb. into. the. story. And, the main character had a lot of her life confused with the old TV shows that they'd played in her room during the time she was in a coma. As someone who watches very little TV, it just pushed the connection even further out there.
Conclusion:
Just because I didn't enjoy this book doesn't mean you won't! It has a 4.8 rating on Amazon, so that means a lot of people have enjoyed it. Of course not everyone can like every book, so don't let me keep you away from something good! :)
And, even though I didn't exactly like this book, I'm still glad I read it and I'd be happy to read another book by the same author sometime in the future. Who knows, the next one might be just my style...
Rating:
I'm rating it with two and a half stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Find it on: Amazon Goodreads
Third PersonSeveral different Points of View284 Pages
A fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast
About the book:
Shannon wakes up only to discover that she's been in a coma for ten years due to a diving accident on her honeymoon. During those ten years so much has changed in the world, mostly with technology practically exploding. The biggest change of all, though, is that her husband died several years before from cancer.
Shannon has a hard time dealing with her doctor, who's a stranger to her, having been great friends with her husband. Also, her best friend is now being married with three children and of course there are other changes that happen in a ten year period of time.
Shannon has to figure out how to dive back into life and deal with a foggy memory, changed preferences and a distrust for God.
Why I chose this book:
I requested to review this book for a couple of reasons 1) It's a fairy tale retelling and I've wanted to read a fairy tale retelling for a long time but they always seem to have magic in them. I could tell by reading the review of this one that it didn't. 2) The back of the book says "...Into a whole new world of madness where reality television has taken over the planet and everyone's life appears to revolve around a tiny screen on their cellphones!" That intrigued me. Imagine falling asleep in 2004 and waking up in 2014. Lots of changes, folks. 3) I don't normally pick and chose by the cover of the book, but I thought this one was really pretty.
What I thought:
Sadly, I was disappointed. The book seemed to hold so, SO much promise. The idea is so intriguing and I felt like the book didn't do it justice. I kept waiting to actually connect with the characters or at least feel something, but it never came.
There were great comparisons in the book, but for some reason, they felt as if they were just randomly thrown in instead of going with the character who was using them. I have no clue why I felt that though.
The characters could have been developed so much, and yet it felt like we stayed on the surface with them. Plus, there was head-hoping and as an author I don't do well with head-hoping. (Explaining stuff from two different character's point of view in the same paragraph.)
Over all, the book didn't seem very realistic. The way they just threw new information at her and the way she responded was so against the way I work that I just could. not. climb. into. the. story. And, the main character had a lot of her life confused with the old TV shows that they'd played in her room during the time she was in a coma. As someone who watches very little TV, it just pushed the connection even further out there.
Conclusion:
Just because I didn't enjoy this book doesn't mean you won't! It has a 4.8 rating on Amazon, so that means a lot of people have enjoyed it. Of course not everyone can like every book, so don't let me keep you away from something good! :)
And, even though I didn't exactly like this book, I'm still glad I read it and I'd be happy to read another book by the same author sometime in the future. Who knows, the next one might be just my style...
Rating:
I'm rating it with two and a half stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
My Week
Y'all don't even know how much my blogging break last week surprised meIt was not what I was expecting at allBut it was just what I needed
I spent the week with a houseful of delightful friends...
Filling my heart up with warm memories as I drifted through my days Holding little hands Hugging happy girlsListening to sweet voicesReading to eager childrenWorking alongside diligent helpersLearning new thingsFinding fresh beautyand being loved for who I am
Recently stuff has been a bit stressful and unplanned as far as writing goes Stepping back from writing and seeing the bigger pictureSeeing myself outside of being a writerSeeing myself in a new way and readjusting my mindsetWorked wonders
So often I confuse being me with being a writer My loving, accepting, caring, touching friends Helped me to remember that I am a human Who writesI'm not a writerWho's human
This week wasn't what I had plannedBut it was just what I needed
I spent the week with a houseful of delightful friends...
Filling my heart up with warm memories as I drifted through my days Holding little hands Hugging happy girlsListening to sweet voicesReading to eager childrenWorking alongside diligent helpersLearning new thingsFinding fresh beautyand being loved for who I am
Recently stuff has been a bit stressful and unplanned as far as writing goes Stepping back from writing and seeing the bigger pictureSeeing myself outside of being a writerSeeing myself in a new way and readjusting my mindsetWorked wonders
So often I confuse being me with being a writer My loving, accepting, caring, touching friends Helped me to remember that I am a human Who writesI'm not a writerWho's human
This week wasn't what I had plannedBut it was just what I needed
November 28, 2014
When Life Hands You Lymes #48
When Life Hands You Lymes, part 48.
I woke up what seemed like a moment later when Mom hit the rumble strip, I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to begin a conversation with Mom. Usually, I loved to ride. Feeling the rhythm of the road gave me a chance to think, and rest. Rest. That’s all I wanted, really. It seemed so long - so - unfairly long - since I had shut my eyes and simply existed without this exhaustion, this numbing tiredness that medicine could not relieve, and sleep could not relax. Yes, I loved to ride. But now? How can you relax when your craving for relief is only trumped by the knowledge that every mile is taking you closer to needles, without a cure, and pain without answers?
The tired was so heavy now, like a ball and chain, immovable. Some days the chain seemed longer, freeing me to pretend - almost - that it wasn’t really there, that maybe somehow it wouldn’t be there tomorrow. That this was all just a fluke, that things that broke for no reason could somehow be fixed by no reason. But now it was back, and the chain was short and taunting. I closed my eyes. Needles, or not, I had to.
“It’s just...so...so heavy right now.” The quote from a movie I had watched echoed through my brain. It was about a girl who was sick with an incurable disease and slept all the time. When I watched the movie a year ago I had thought it was weird. I mean, really, who could be tired all that time? It seemed rather dramatic and I had actually had the nerve to laugh at it. Now I felt dread rising and falling with each exhausted breath I took as I imagined that this was how I would live out the rest of my days. Life itself was heavy and tedious. How was I expected to continue on with life when I didn’t have anything to look forward to. At times it seemed the tired was all there ever had been, or would be... “Maddie, we’re here, wake up.” Mom’s voice came through my rapidly darkening thoughts. Reaching over, she gave me a light squeeze on my leg. “I’m awake.” I mumbled the words as I unbuckled and got out of the car, then I opened my eyes. The world looked light and cheery as normal, not the solemn and sad world I had some how fallen into. “Are you ok?” Mom gave me a side hug and then held the door open for me. Mom went up to the window to sign me in, but I just slumped down in the first chair I could find. I glared down at my arm, trying to wish away the needle I would have stuck into me in just a moment. Needles and I are enemies. “Madalyn Emerson.” The nurse stuck her head out the door in an all-too familiar way. It was like them calling me to my punishment for living life. Life should be a gift, not a punishment. But who asked me?
I woke up what seemed like a moment later when Mom hit the rumble strip, I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to begin a conversation with Mom. Usually, I loved to ride. Feeling the rhythm of the road gave me a chance to think, and rest. Rest. That’s all I wanted, really. It seemed so long - so - unfairly long - since I had shut my eyes and simply existed without this exhaustion, this numbing tiredness that medicine could not relieve, and sleep could not relax. Yes, I loved to ride. But now? How can you relax when your craving for relief is only trumped by the knowledge that every mile is taking you closer to needles, without a cure, and pain without answers?
The tired was so heavy now, like a ball and chain, immovable. Some days the chain seemed longer, freeing me to pretend - almost - that it wasn’t really there, that maybe somehow it wouldn’t be there tomorrow. That this was all just a fluke, that things that broke for no reason could somehow be fixed by no reason. But now it was back, and the chain was short and taunting. I closed my eyes. Needles, or not, I had to.
“It’s just...so...so heavy right now.” The quote from a movie I had watched echoed through my brain. It was about a girl who was sick with an incurable disease and slept all the time. When I watched the movie a year ago I had thought it was weird. I mean, really, who could be tired all that time? It seemed rather dramatic and I had actually had the nerve to laugh at it. Now I felt dread rising and falling with each exhausted breath I took as I imagined that this was how I would live out the rest of my days. Life itself was heavy and tedious. How was I expected to continue on with life when I didn’t have anything to look forward to. At times it seemed the tired was all there ever had been, or would be... “Maddie, we’re here, wake up.” Mom’s voice came through my rapidly darkening thoughts. Reaching over, she gave me a light squeeze on my leg. “I’m awake.” I mumbled the words as I unbuckled and got out of the car, then I opened my eyes. The world looked light and cheery as normal, not the solemn and sad world I had some how fallen into. “Are you ok?” Mom gave me a side hug and then held the door open for me. Mom went up to the window to sign me in, but I just slumped down in the first chair I could find. I glared down at my arm, trying to wish away the needle I would have stuck into me in just a moment. Needles and I are enemies. “Madalyn Emerson.” The nurse stuck her head out the door in an all-too familiar way. It was like them calling me to my punishment for living life. Life should be a gift, not a punishment. But who asked me?
November 27, 2014
Happy Thanksgiving
Hello everyone from a very happy blogger who has taken a very unplanned break from blogging. I'm on my phone so I'll have to catch y'all up later, but I wanted to pop on and say that I hope y'all are having as amazing a day as I am.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
November 22, 2014
Action Kids Blog Tour Wrap Up
Good morning, everyone!
First of all, a big THANK YOU to everyone who took part of my blog tour, celebrating the release of my book, Action Kids' Club. It's been a busy couple of weeks. Even though this is the end of the tour, there are still six giveaways going on, so check them out if you get a chance!
Every comment you leave one of my blog tour posts until tomorrow at midnight (on this blog or one of the blogs that hosted me) will give you an entry to win this giveaway, check out the link for more details.
See the other giveaways here: Mrs. Mommy Booknerd's Reviews, Nayu's Reading Corner, Bookworm Blather , Writing in Wonderland, and on my blog, a $50 GiftCard!
You also might want to check out the Action Kids blog and Action Kids Facebook for continuing fun, stories, trivia and games.
And last, but certainly not least of all, thank you, thank you, thank you to all the blogs that hosted me during this tour! I really appreciate you.
I hope y'all have a great Saturday!
First of all, a big THANK YOU to everyone who took part of my blog tour, celebrating the release of my book, Action Kids' Club. It's been a busy couple of weeks. Even though this is the end of the tour, there are still six giveaways going on, so check them out if you get a chance!
Every comment you leave one of my blog tour posts until tomorrow at midnight (on this blog or one of the blogs that hosted me) will give you an entry to win this giveaway, check out the link for more details.
See the other giveaways here: Mrs. Mommy Booknerd's Reviews, Nayu's Reading Corner, Bookworm Blather , Writing in Wonderland, and on my blog, a $50 GiftCard!
You also might want to check out the Action Kids blog and Action Kids Facebook for continuing fun, stories, trivia and games.
And last, but certainly not least of all, thank you, thank you, thank you to all the blogs that hosted me during this tour! I really appreciate you.
I hope y'all have a great Saturday!
