Jennifer M. Zeiger's Blog, page 5

Symtoms of a Frenetic Life

As I’ve mentioned before, it took me a while to figure out reading as a kid. With a third grade reading level, it was humiliating to struggle through reading aloud or to finish tests when I was in the sixth or seventh grade. Maybe because of this, I treasure literacy in a way that makes it mind boggling if someone doesn’t at least want to try. 

So when I ran across this article the other day, The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books, I wasn’t even sure how to process it. How can this even be a thing? According to the article, professors are finding that they can’t assign say, The Iliad, for three weeks of their course and expect their students to read it. It’s not just the students who never read entire books, it’s the majority who don’t get through the assignment. The article postulates that there might be two reasons why college students today can’t make it through entire books. One was the usual boogie man of social media creating shorter attention spans, but the other one I did not expect. 

The writer suggests that, because curriculums teach to standardized tests where a student must read short passages and show comprehension, fewer and fewer schools are choosing books to teach and instead are picking short stories and such. Essentially, they’re not even asking students to read full books. 

I had never thought about that possibility. I remember standardized testing. I also remember reading Lord of the Flies and The Screwtape Letters and I don’t think one prevented me from accomplishing the other. But all that aside, this greatly saddens my heart. 

And as I thought about it, I started to wonder if there’s another reason for this trend. What if this is just one symptom of our frenetic society? At conventions, we hear all sorts of reasons why people won’t stop to look at books but one of the most common we hear is, “I don’t have the time.” This is usually said with a sad, almost apologetic expression and sometimes a wistful, “Maybe when…”

Yet our pace of life is expected anymore, even encouraged. I fear “when” will never come. Not unless we intentionally change something. We split our attention between soooo many things, that to sit and read almost feels like we’re not accomplishing enough. We don’t allow ourselves such time. So instead, we fill our lives with motion that essentially equates to getting randomness done but doesn’t necessarily add quality. Yet reading has been shown, over and over again, to foster critical thinking and empathy and creativity. What are we giving up for constant motion?

As a writer and a reader who struggled for the ability to read, I want to push back against this trend. I’m not entirely sure how other than to create books people might want to read and to encourage a slower pace in life, but I’m also unwilling to believe this is “just the way it is.” I believe we can chose a pace of life that adds more quality instead of quantity. 

How about you? What do you think contributes to this trend where college students, even students at ivy league schools, are struggling to read entire books? What do you think we can do to change it?

Blessings,

Jennifer

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The Greeting Ritual

Since moving to Texas, it’s become a common thing to hear the stray cats fighting ritual at night. Since there are dozens, and I’m not exaggerating, dozens of strays in this area, this wasn’t surprising. We just assumed they were establishing dominance and that we should keep a close eye on the Writing Sidekick. He sits outside with us sometimes on the porch, but is primarily an indoor feline. 

Anyway, the fights sound terrible, lots of hissing, yowling, and screaming. 

After a while, one of the strays noticed the Sidekick watching through the window and made it a habit of sitting on the bricks on the ledge outside and staring at him. As you can imagine, the Sidekick hates this. He hisses and spits and bats at the window but the stray, we’ll call him Oreo due to his coloring, just stares at him and refuses to budge like he’s teasing the Sidekick for getting so riled. 

On one such day, Oreo again decided to hang out and stare through the window but then, halfway through his torture session of the Sidekick, he hopped down, turned around, and sat on the sidewalk out front. 

Not a moment later, a black stray, we’ll call him Mange, wandered around the corner of the fence. He saw Oreo and halted, going Halloween Kitty like his life depended on it. Back arched, fur fluffed, head cocked sideways with crazy eyes. He didn’t meet Oreo’s gaze, instead looking just to the side of him. 

The Sidekick, who’d been quite riled, sat down beside me to watch. 

Mange stayed in Halloween Kitty pose and side stepped his way toward Oreo. He sounded terrible. Like another cat was taking chunks out of him from the screams and yowls he was emitting. Yet when he reached Oreo, they sniffed noses, and then he slow walked his way, still arched, down the sidewalk and left. 

No fighting. No claws involved. Just a very strange cat greeting. 

Then Oreo wandered away too. And he’s not bothered the Sidekick since although it’s not for a lack of trying. I think maybe the Sidekick realized that his posturing and hissing really weren’t necessary. He now just stares at Oreo instead of spitting. I’m not sure what that means but cats are strange, ya’ll. The ones around here have a greeting ritual all their own. 

Blessings,

Jennifer

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Starting Dehydrated

One year for our anniversary, my husband and I hiked to Conundrum Hot Springs in Colorado. The hot springs sit high in the mountains and are naturally occurring. Some work has been done to create deeper pools for people to sit in, but for the most part, the area is rugged and majestically beautiful in its untouched state. 

We’d planned to leave after my husband got off work, which meant our goal was to hike the about eight-mile trail in one afternoon. Not a terrible plan, just ambitious. Everything started off great. A cool, sunny afternoon, a steady pace, and for the most part, little elevation gain. 

I started to feel woozy about ¾ of the way into the hike. Because we’d left in the afternoon, I hadn’t thought about my lack of water consumption earlier in the day and I’d started the hike dehydrated. Then the elevation began to rise. The hike from the trailhead is relatively gradual until the last portion where you gain over 2,000 feet of elevation to reach the hot springs near the tree line.

That probably wouldn’t have brought me to tears. But the snow and the snow melt that year had taken down a bunch of trees and the Conundrum trail had yet to be cleared. Dusk was setting in as we found the previously clear trail now obscured by thick trunks and needles. 

Although we were only a short distance from finishing the hike, it took us several hours to find our way as night set in. 

After climbing over, going around, and retracing our tracks several times through heavy branches, we finally reached the sign showing the spread-out campsites for the hot springs. We’d made it. I promptly sat down and started crying, and then threw up. Elevation sickness is a real thing, and it feels like you’re freezing with shivers, nauseousness, and dizziness. 

Thankfully, after the first night, the elevation sickness subsided, and we were able to enjoy our weekend with wine and raspberry crumble dessert.

Such adventures often bring unexpected challenges. Back in 2017 when The Adventure was published, I had hardcovers, paperbacks, and E-books on my radar but nothing more. Perhaps that’s why it’s taken me this long to approach audiobooks. It just wasn’t a thought in my head that there was a fourth format to consider. Yet the audiobook market is still growing. 

I kind of feel like I’m starting the audiobook process dehydrated. Like there’s way more I should be doing to prepare for it. But honestly, I don’t know what that “way more” is. So, this last week I reached out to a company who produces and distributes audiobooks and essentially said, “I know nothing, tell me stuff.”

We’ll see how it goes. I’m hoping, fingers crossed and lots of prayer, that the unexpected hiccups are less uncomfortable than elevation sickness. Just because the hike started dehydrated doesn’t mean the weekend was terrible. In fact, it’s one of my favorite anniversary memories. So, I’m tentatively excited, and a lot nervous. Yay for doing new things 

Blessings,

Jennifer

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The Why Within

I’ve tried to write this Why post a few times and realized it’s difficult because this is a topic I usually discuss over coffee or dinner with someone. One of those topics that’s personal and deep and best had when you can meet eyes across the table and know that, although we might not agree, there’s still warm affection reflected there. 

Unfortunately in writing, we don’t have the luxury of sitting at the same table. But I guess we have a different kind of connection. One where we get to peek inside one another’s minds, if we chose to be transparent, and see the soul within. 

I’ve written before about My Why. Why I write. Why it matters to me. The struggle to read as a kid and the awe when it finally clicked and I discovered other worlds inside the pages of books. (Side note, there’s a debate between my sister, her husband, and I about which book he actually first handed me, Eye of the World or one of David Edding’s books. I honestly don’t remember at this point but I suspect my brother-in-law is right that it was Eye of the World. But that’s off the current topic now )

However, there’s another, even deeper Why that I don’t often talk about because it’s so, so personal. It touches on the core of who I am in all matters of life. 

You see, I’d write even if I never shared my stories because it’s a form of worship for me. I used to think this was weird. How can putting fictional stories on paper somehow draw my soul closer to the One who created me? It seems frivolous. 

But then I realized, God’s a creative being. And he loves stories. Half of Jesus’ words in scripture are stories. And the first indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament was over the man commissioned to create the artwork for the tabernacle. To create beautifully cut stones, wood engravings, and works of gold, silver and bronze and more. (That’s in Exodus 31:1-6 if you’re interested.) 

Tolkien called us ‘sub-creators’ because we’re made in the image of God and when we create, we’re reflecting the beauty, complexity, and power of the One who created us. I love this. 

Perhaps you don’t believe any of this. If we were sipping coffee together I’d smile and ask, “What do you believe?” or “Why do you love writing/reading/or whatever it is that’s your passion?” and we could have a conversation. Not to argue or change each other’s minds, but to understand each other and have a deeper connection as human beings. 

But, since I don’t have that luxury and I’m inclined to share the entirety of this writing journey, I instead share here and hope my affection speaks in the transparency of my words and the joy storytelling brings me.

Maybe you can enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, and if you’re feeling so inclined, share a bit of what your passion is in the comments below. 

Blessings,

Jennifer

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Trying New Things

Earlier in the year I attended a convention called Inkers Con. It wasn’t to sell books but to learn more of the business side of writing. To expand my horizons on what’s possible. Special book boxes. Ways to market. Ways to find an audiobook reader. What platforms work for each kind of book format. The list was huge! But I wanted to try and learn new things.

The danger in such an event is that there are soooo many options on what can be done, it’s easy to feel like I have to be a high octane person who somehow gets it allllll done to make this business work.

It takes awhile to step back and process what I actually want to do versus what doesn’t fit my writing or the little business I’m building.

To be honest, I’m still processing all the things. But one of the ideas that caught my attention was changing up the ebook covers at will to see what catches peoples’ eyes and what doesn’t. Maybe I’m old fashioned in this. I love print books and once I buy a print book, the cover I see is part of the total package. So the idea of changing covers, well, just felt strange and never occured to me before.

But it’s also an easy thing to play around with to see how an image speaks to readers. So this is one of the ideas I’m trying out.

And my first change up is on the Quaking Soul ebook cover. I actually kind of love it, but it still feels strange. Maybe someday I’ll get over that.

Quaking Soul Ebook

Here’s to new things!

Blessings,

Jennifer

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Remember

I was traveling over the last few weeks for a wedding back in Colorado. (Thus why I’ve been absent for a bit ). I love getting to live in different places. Getting to see new vistas and learn each place’s unique history. I love the chance to explore. But there’s also something that speaks to the soul when you return to a place and remember its beauty.

There’s the saying that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” This is true for me of places as much as it is of people. There’s a deep pleasure in sitting down at an old, familiar haunt, say a restaurant, and soaking in the surroundings, the cooking food, the ambiance, and letting all the pieces bring back memories.

The wedding in Colorado was at a resort up in the mountains. It nestled in a valley at around 8,500ft of elevation where the morning air is always crisp and the trees grow thinner but hardy. And where the aspens like to reside.

Of course, I took an early morning walk one day and listened to the wind in the leaves. And I was reminded of why I chose aspens for Na’rina’s tree in Quaking Soul. If you look for “aspen dryad” in Greek Mythology, you won’t find it. (And if you do, please share!). But these trees, that in reality are entirely conntected underground and are the same organism regardless of how individual they look above ground, are so perfect for a delicate, but deceptively strong tree nymph. I remember why they were so perfect for Na’rina’s character.

Having lived away from such aspens for awhile, some of the nuances had grown dim. The susserating whisper of the leaves. The powdery trunks. The sharp, clean scent off dew damp bark. Now I find myself just as in love with these forests, perhaps even more in love with them, as when I grew up around them.

Blessings,

Jennifer

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Jockey Trouble – Charge the Paddock

Welcome back for the last installment of the Jockey Trouble Adventure! Readers voted to charge the paddock in hopes of freeing the other stolen horses.

If you missed the posts leading up to this one, you can find them here: Jockey Trouble, Whistle for Coaster, and Chase the Man.

If you don’t want to hop back to the previous posts, here’s a quick recap: You’re a jockey traveling by train with your metal horse. When you stopped at the station, the horse, Coaster, got left in the train car while you were on the platform. You whistled for him to jump and, when he did, a horse thief fell out of the train with him. You chased the man only to stumble upon his group and find they’d already stolen three other horses. Readers voted to charge the paddock to free the horses.

Let’s jump in and see how this adventure ends!

Jockey Trouble 2 – Charge the Paddock

Coaster rears up onto his hind legs and screams, challenging the thieves who have turned to face you. On instinct, your legs tighten and you lean tight over his neck to keep from losing your seat. 

In the paddock, the other automaton horses scream in response. 

They’re already riled. It won’t take much to break the paddock and free them. And you’ve yet to see a flesh and blood horse like the thieves’ horses that won’t break away from an automaton’s charge. It’s like they know, deep down, that the metal horse weighs more. 

“Charge!” you scream. 

That’s all the encouragement Coaster needs. His hooves hit the ground hard enough to rattle your teeth. 

The thieves scramble and one draws his pistol before his horse whinnies and bolts to the side, throwing him from his saddle. 

Coaster jumps over him.

You cringe, dreading his landing on his damaged knee, but he hits the ground and keeps going. He wouldn’t feel it at this point if he did break something, but you didn’t hear anything snap either, so you take it as a good sign. 

The paddock draws nearer, and you brace for impact. “Straight through,” you yell into Coaster’s ear like he can understand. Perhaps he does. 

He adds even more speed and crashes into the wooden paddock. It cracks and splinters hit your face. The other automatons take that as their cue and start ramming into what’s left of the wooden fence. Then they take off after the thieves until they disappear over the rise. 

Reining Coaster in slowly, you slip out of the saddle to check his knee. 

“Looks none the worse,” you tell him. “We’ll need a smi—” You stop as a blue, metal nose nudges your arm. Coaster’s not blue. The new horse snorts and starts sniffling at your pocket where you have a glow stone still. 

There’s another nudge against your back and you ever so slowly stand up to find the three automaton horses ringing you and Coaster. 

“I’ve got enough to handle with one of ya,” you grumble. “Shooo.”

You pull Coaster along and start walking back toward town. For a moment, the horses just watch, but then the blue horse trots to catch up and noses your pocket again. Coaster snorts at him in protest.

The other two follow not far behind, their heavy hooves thumping on the grass.

“Guess we can head back to town. Maybe yer owners are there.” You doubt it as their race blankets indicate they were taken from several different locations, but you’re not sure what else to do with them.

“Worth a try,” you mutter. Until you can find their owners, you’ll just have to deal with three extra horses. 

The End

Yay! You ended up with some new friends!

Thanks for joining in this adventure. These shorter stories are “seeds,” as it were, for potential future books and reader interaction is super helpful for me.

Until next time, blessings,

Jennifer

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Jockey Trouble 2 – Chase the Man

Welcome back for the third installment of the Jockey Trouble Adventure! Last week was a close vote between chasing the man who tried to steal your horse and attending to Coaster but it landed on chase the man.

If you missed the first two installments here’s a quick recap: You’re a jockey traveling by train with your metal horse. When you stopped at the station, the horse, Coaster, got left in the train car while you were on the platform. You whistled for his to jump and, when he did, a horse thief fell out of the train with him.

Let’s see what happens! (If you’d like to read the first two parts, here are the links: Jockey Trouble and Whistle for Coaster)

Chase the Man

The horse thief has a good lead on you already but he doesn’t have Coaster and Coaster’s a force to be reckoned with even on a damaged knee.

“Open right kneecap,” you tell Coaster. 

He snorts and his right kneecap flips open on a hinge. It’d been an expensive modification to have voice prompts added to his design, but you’ve never regretted it as it does away with the need to carry a lot of tools. 

You flip the switches needed to deactivate his pain sensors and close things back up. As long as you stay away from uneven ground, he shouldn’t damage anything further. The sensors are there as a warning system more than anything else. 

“Now let’s catch a thief.” 

You swear Coaster’s red eyes glow brighter. He sidles sideways, eager, as you hop into the saddle. This is where you and Coaster belong. His stride lengthens out into a ground eating gallop while you lean close over his neck. 

The man, who’d grown small with distance, begins to grow, getting closer by the second. He disappears over the horizon as the ground dips away. Not wanting to lose him, you urge Coaster on and crest the hill in time to see him join two other men on horseback. 

They’re close. Too close.

“Hey!” One of the men points and the thief spins to look.

In the second you have before they give chase, you take in the scene. Beyond the men is a paddock with three other automaton horses. They’re decked out with the blankets used to identify them for racing but none of the men are jockeys as they’re too big. 

You can race for town and hope to find help but you’re a little worried about how long Coaster’s knee will hold out.

Or you can charge directly through the men and hit the fence. At a full charge, it’s unlikely the wood would put up much resistance to Coaster’s metal chest plate. But then again, there’s a chance the impact will further damage him.

Do you…

Race for Town?

Or

Charge the Paddock? 

Thanks for joining in this adventure! Leave your vote in the comments below and we’ll return next week to see how the story ends

Until then, blessings,

Jennifer

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Jockey Trouble 2 – Whistle for Coaster

Welcome back for the second installment of the Jockey Trouble Adventure! Last week started this adventure where you’re a jockey traveling on the train with your metal horse. When you stopped at the station, some things went wrong and the horse, Coaster, got left in the train car while you’re on the platform. Readers voted to whistle for Coaster and see if he’ll jump.

Let’s see what happens! (If you’d like to read the into to this, you can do so here.)

Whistle for Coaster

The train’s picking up speed, its wheels clacking beside you as you run. Placing thumb and forefinger to your lips, you let out the most piercing whistle you’ve ever given. 

It’s buried under the noise of the train whistle that sounded at the same time. Puffing for air, you try again. This time, the piercing sound carries over the clacking of wheels. You stop running. Either Coaster heard and will jump or you’ll have to catch the next train to find him.

“Come on, you chunk of metal, jump!” you grumble. 

Like he hears you, there’s a metallic horse scream and Coaster flies out of the train car. 

He’s not alone. 

A bear of a man sails out with him, hanging onto his harness for dear life. Coaster lands perfectly, but then the man hits the ground and rolls, fouling his footing. Coaster’s front knees buckle and crunch when they hit the ground. 

The man grabs for his harness again.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” you scream, running forward. Although Coaster is metal, he still feels things. Not only that, you’re not sure there are any smithies nearby qualified to work on him. 

The man pivots, startled. 

At the same time, Coaster jerks his reins free and tries to stand. He manages it, but even from a distance, you can see his mishappen knee. You’re not sure if it’s Coaster’s damage or that you’re running at him, but the man curses and runs. 

Hot anger courses through you. He’s clearly a horse thief and you want to catch him as this is probably not his first theft. 

But there’s Coaster to think about too. He’s moving around on his leg now without too much discomfort, but he’ll need fixing. 

Do you…

Chase the Man?

Or

Let Him Go?

Thanks for stopping by and participating in the adventure! Leave your vote in the comments below and we’ll return next week to see where this story goes.

Until then, blessings,

Jennifer

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Jockey Trouble 2

It’s time for another adventure! I ran the Jockey Trouble adventure origninally in 2021, so I figure it’s about time to explore it again. That’s the beauty of these adventure stories. You can reread them and find a whole new ending each time.

If you aren’t familir with multi-ending adventures, here’s how this works. You’re the main character in the story below. At the end of this section, you’ll be given two choices on what to do. Leave your vote in the comments and next week, I’ll post whichever option gets the most votes. This will run for the next four weeks

Let’s jump right in!

Jockey Trouble

You sneeze as dust in the train car wafts through the air, stirred up by the stamp of Coaster’s metal hoof. The horse might be all metal, jewel, and grit, but he hates train rides. 

“Hold it together,” you admonish the beast while staring into his ruby eyes. “Next stop’s ours at the Madon Open Race. All we got to do is get off without damaging anything and the race money’ll be as good as ours.”

In response, Coaster huffs and kicks the wall, denting it in slightly in the oval shape of his steel hoof.

“We can’t pay for damages, you ornery chunk o’ metal.” You grab his bridle and breathe a sigh as you feel the brakes of the train engage through vibration in the floor.

“Almost there.” You pull a warm glow gem from your pocket. As a metal-bodied horse, Coaster loves anything that warms his ever chilled steel. His red eyes fixate on your palm just as the railcar door slides open. 

“Less than five to unload,” says a burly rail worker before moving away. 

“Easy does it.” You hold the glow gem up and pull gently on Coaster’s reins. He takes a couple steps just as a mouse skitters past his hooves and off the train. 

Coaster snorts and bucks, pulling the reins clean out of your hands as he rears back and then bumping into you when he lands.

You stumble back and feel the edge of the car against your instep but you’ve too much momentum to stop and you land on your backside outside the railcar. The glow gem sails out of your hand and thuds against the platform before rolling beneath it. 

Coaster’s still bucking inside, his hooves hitting walls. 

“Calm your metal hide!” you shout, turning away to retrieve your glow gem. 

You’re head and shoulders under the train platform when you hear the whistle. 

“It’s not been five!” Scampering backwards, your shirt catches on a nail. With a couple extra tugs, a clear ripping sound, and a sharp prick against your back, you crawl free only to see Coaster’s car—door still open—five cars ahead already. Racing for it, you wonder if you can jump onto the train as it gains speed. It’s that or whistle for Coaster and hope he jumps. Sometimes he listens, sometimes not. 

Do you…

Jump on the Train

or

Whistle for Coaster

Thanks for joining in this adventure! Leave you vote below and we’ll see how this continues next week

Blessings,

Jennifer

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