Purple Prose:
MOON

I started singing this song out of the blue in the kitchen tonight... and had to laugh.

Do you know the song?

Our piano player, Faye, used to play it at church when I was younger. I sing it sometimes when it pops in my head.. wonder if that's random???? (Nah, I don't think so either.)

So, if you have never heard the song it goes...
He's still working on me.
To make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars
The sun and the Earth and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be...
He's still working on me.

The 'He' of course is referring to God.

So, I have sung that song for years and years... never really thought much of it. But tonight I started singing it out of the blue and started just laughing. Not crazy laughter (because that would be weird lol), but more like "How did I not see this before???" laughing. I'm a bit slow...

Ok, follow me here... It only took God a week to make the Moon... the Stars... the Sun... the Earth... Jupiter... and Mars...

BUT He' s STILL working on me...

Think about it.. It only taken Him a week to make the other things.. but he's been working on me for the past 30 years (and hopefully 80 more to knock some sense into me... ).

So, the sun, the moon, huge planets, solar systems... GALAXIES... THEY were the easy part for God. They only took a week!

But the people... OH the people... they take constant work, correction, love, kindness, and sometimes a kick in the pants. Just like our own kids. Making a home is the easy part. Four walls, a bed, toys, and food and you have the basics (of course us, like God, want our kids to have the best so we have those 'Glow in the Dark' stars in their rooms and 'Ocean Wonder' night lights so they can go to sleep watching fishies swimming on their ceiling... ). But if you are a parent.. or if you've been around kids... you know that *THAT* is the easy part.

God has more kids than Jim Bob Duggar (and I so love the Duggars), and He cares for, provides, and loves all of us. No favorites... none barely scraping by. And He loves us so much that as HARD as he worked to give us everything (and lets face it.. sometimes we aren't very appreciative), He STILL makes time for each of us.

I have a hard enough time making time for THREE kids... how about billions???? (That's why I'm glad it's God's job and not mine.. have no desire to be Evan Almighty... I liked that one better than Bruce Almighty, but I digress)

Anyway, just some thoughts that made me laugh with "Well, duh Kelly, it only took you 15 years to figure that song out." tonight. I wanted to share them with you... so it wouldn't take you as long lol.

Now, go sing that song... WATCH THIS VIDEO! You can't deny a song sung by a sweet little 6 year old (I don't know this kid, but thought it was cute.) Watch it a few times and get it stuck in your head...

Much Love,

Kelly

Today's sweet Saturday Sample--
“Rachel, are you going to hate me forever?” Sid asked as he draped his arm around her shoulder. His dark red coat matched his hat so perfectly that Rachel wondered how long he had searched for a coat the exact same shade as his favorite headpiece.
“I don’t hate you,” she said, shrugging him off.
“Sure you do. You both do. Carly told me you did.”
“She did what?”
“Yeah, in the van. She said both of you royally disliked me, and I wanted to hear it from you.”
The soft sound of the running water echoed through the trees. It sounded peaceful, tranquil. If only Sid would be quiet long enough for her to enjoy it.

Rachel held on to the flimsy, wooden handrail as she started across the swinging, single person bridge across Deep Creek, which ran perpendicular to the trail. Deep Creek wasn’t very big; maybe fourteen feet across, and appeared more of a trickle than a creek. She didn’t even see a waterfall. It kinda bummed her out.
“Deep Creek,” Sid read the sign at the beginning of the bridge and followed behind her. “Original. Misleading, but original.”
Rachel couldn’t argue with that. A few boulders were scattered across the creek basin. To Rachel, it looked like if something bad did happen and the water actually covered those rocks, then the creek would live up to its name.
“I don’t know what Carly told you, but I don’t hate you.
Carly is her own person and can think or feel what she wants,” Rachel said once she reached the other side of the bridge. ”But I don’t hate you. I don’t like what you did, but I don’t hate you.”
“Look, I know I messed up. I more than messed up. I screwed up and hurt someone I care about. I know that. If I could take it back, I would. Can you just please talk to Carly when we get to the picnic area? Make her see that I’m not a bad guy.”
Rachel didn’t know what to say to that. She had always heard once a cheater always a cheater, but she also knew it was her Christian duty to forgive. “Come on. Help a guy out,” he added in a pitiful voice. “I told her I was sorry. What more does she want?”
“You’ll just have to figure that out yourself,” Rachel said, unsure of how to help him.
“Just talk to her. Pleeeeeeeeeeeease…”
“Okay!” she said just to shut him up.
“Thank you!” His face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he kissed her on the cheek before running up the trail toward Asher, who was leaning on a tree. “You’re the best!” he yelled back at her.
Rachel stopped walking. What had she agreed to, and what was Sid thinking kissing her like that? It wasn’t like he was letting his intentions be known, as her grandma liked to say. But still, being kissed — even in a chaste way — wasn’t something that happened to her every day.
She watched as Sid slapped Asher on the shoulder before running by him, and without thinking, her fingers went to the little spot on her cheek where his kiss had landed.
“If you get that riled up from a little peck on the cheek, I’d hate to see what would happen if you got a kiss on your lips,” Asher yelled, folding his arms with that same smirk he’d had at the snack machine. Rachel’s cheeks burned like fire, knowing what she must look like, staring all swoony-- ‐‑ eyed at Sid. When did she start swooning?
“On second thought,” Asher said, narrowing his eyes, “maybe it would be a fun thing to see.”
“That would imply that I’d let you.” Rachel made her legs move again.
“Very true.” Asher laughed, falling in step beside her.
“What are you doing on this trip anyway?” Rachel asked, harsher than she meant. Her mouth was in defensive mode.
He shrugged, not seeming to take any offense. “Didn’t have any other place to be.”
Awkward silence filled the space between them as they walked. Rachel just wanted him to run ahead with Sid and leave her alone.
“You should cut him some slack, you know?”
“Who? Sid?”
“Who else? Yeah, Sid. He messed up, sure. He cheated. We all mess up. Even perfect little Christians like you.” He had a lot to learn about her. “I’m by no means perfect,” she said, her voice hard.
“And neither is Sid.”
“I’ve never cheated on a boyfriend.”
“Have you ever had a boyfriend?”
Ouch, that stung. “That’s none of your business.” Sure, she had never had a boyfriend, but she knew without a doubt she wouldn’t cheat on one.
“I’m sorry,” he said, almost like he meant it.
“Whatev—”
“And Sid’s sorry too,” he said without skipping a beat. “Making out with Easy Emily wasn’t the smartest move. One, because her lips should be retired for excessive use, and two because it hurt someone he cares about a lot.”
Rachel knew he was right. She’d even used the same argument with Carly. For some reason, she just wanted to stay mad at Sid, more so after he thought it wise to buy her help with a little peck on the cheek. The kiss had irked her. And her reaction to it irked her even more.
Asher spoke when she didn’t. “You Bible types are all about forgiveness,” he shook his head, “until it'ʹs you who has to do the forgiving.”
“What do you know of the Bible, Asher?” she spat. “Do you even own one?”
Without warning, Asher stepped in front of her. She could either stop or run over him; she chose to stop. Her eyes came up to his chest, and she tilted her head up to see his face. That close, she could see how blue his eyes were and the little moon-- ‐‑ shaped scar on his chin. He didn’t look amused anymore, and the twinkle was gone from his eyes. “You think you know it all, don’t you? It’s all black and white with you. No gray areas. All or nothing. Well, guess what?”
He moved his hands to her shoulders and pushed her windblown curls back. “The world doesn’t work like that.” Asher lingered a moment, staring into her eyes. He stared so long, Rachel wondered if he was going to kiss her too, but that was stupid, because he obviously didn’t like her. Without a word, he turned and walked away.
Watching him go, her mind raced and felt completely empty at the same time.
She had no idea what in the world was happening on this trip.
~*~*~ Want to read more?
BUY LINKS: AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-The-Deep-ebook/dp/B009NWGMMQ/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_t_1
BARNES AND NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crossing-the-deep-kelly-martin/1113215706?ean=2940015565096

It's been awhile since I've posted. I haven't forgotten ya'll, just got busy.

Have you ever heard of pitchmadness? Well, if not, it's a contest where you enter a 35 word pitch and the first 250 words of your novel. 'Slush readers' read the pitches and choose their favorites. Then the team captains pick 15 each (60 total). Those pitches are loaded on the websites and the participating agents get to 'bid' on the pitches (the rules will be up tomorrow).

WELL, I'm SO Excited because my 4th novel (wow... I can't believe I've written FOUR!) was chosen to be on #thedreamteam by captain Brenda Drake! I'm OVER THE MOON! Honestly, I never thought it would go that far. I love it, but I didn't know if others would. Even if I don't get an agent, I had confidence now that this is a good book and has potential :) Fingers crossed!

In other news, Thursday is the day I lose my mind ;) (just warning you ahead of time). I've decided to do a blog tour--- but not just ANY blog tour. A ONE DAY BLOG BLITZ.

TWELVE people (you read that right) have graciously turned their blogs over to me to help get the word out about SAINT SLOAN (sequel is being plotted now... leave a comment if you are on Team Aaron or Team Ray-- *I* know who she ends up with, but you never know... I *could* be persuaded ;) )

On Thursday, I'll post the blog links as well as how I did in Pitchmadness!! It's going to be an interesting week!! (Plus, I'm getting my content edits back for B.I.G. is Beautiful! Squee!)

Here are the WONDERFUL people who have agreed to host me on their blogs:

Wendy Knight-- author of Feudlings
J.F. Jenkins-- author of The Corruption of Mila
Christi Corbett-- author of an upcoming June AP release :) (her blog: http://christicorbett.wordpress.com )
J. Andersen-- author of At What Cost
Felicia Rogers-- author of Labor of Love
Patricia Kiyono -- author of The Calico Heart
E.A. West-- author of Imperfect Beauty
J.L. Salter-- author of Rescued by that New Guy in Town
Sherry Gloag-- author of Vidal's Honor
Zanna Mackenzie-- author of The Love Programme
Lynn Spangler-- author of an upcoming AP release (March 28th!!) www.lynnspangler.blogspot.com.
Stephanie Robertson-- (here's her blog: www.thewritesteph.com )

*Some authors have more than one novel out... I'm just giving you a sampling. Click on their Amazon author page and learn more about their books :)*

HUGE thank you to all the authors who are helping with this! :)

One thing I would like to ask... I have a small medical test on Wednesday I'm a little nervous about. I'm sure it'll be okay, but I wouldn't mind some prayers :) I'll give you more information on it in a different post.

SAINT SLOAN and Grace Award Nominee CROSSING THE DEEP available now published by Astraea Press~ Pure. Fiction.

Zanna Mackenzie is on my blog today, talking about her new book, THE LOVE PROGRAMME! I'm so excited to have her (I just love her book cover! Seriously, it's gorgeous!)

Here's Zanna...

Many thanks for hosting me on your blog today!
My novel, published by Astraea Press, is called The Love Programme, here’s more details:

Thanks to an embarrassing incident involving a wedding and her ex-boyfriend Marcus, Lucy has to leave her home town in a hurry and needs a place to escape to for a while.
Best friend Fiona is convinced now would be a good time for Lucy to get herself a new life with some potential for romance thrown in. Fate seems to agree when Lucy is given the once-in-a-lifetime chance to star in a TV show and be a contestant on The Love Programme - two weeks of luxury living on a grand Highland estate coupled with, she hopes, fun and romance in wildest Scotland.
When Lucy meets Paul - the young, handsome owner of the Highland estate - she thinks she may have found the love of her life but who is the mysterious Hannah and what part does she play in his life? When she discovers that Marcus is planning to follow her to Scotland to win her back Lucy has some serious soul searching to do. Does she have a future with Paul, with Marcus or is she yet to find the man of her dreams?

There’s a sneak peak at chapter one below and the book can be downloaded now on Amazon
Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=zanna+mackenzie

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=zanna+mackenzie

Chapter One
“I’m so glad he’s marrying someone else,” whispered Lucy, watching the groom shuffle nerv-ously from one foot to the other at the top of the aisle.
“It could have been you up there,” replied Fiona. “How many times did Marcus ask you to marry him?”
“Three,” Lucy replied, shifting position for the fourth time in as many minutes. Why did church pews have to be so uncomfortable? “The first time when we were five, then again at twenty and finally,” she paused, reliving the moment in her head, “eight months ago.”
“Well,” Fiona said, as the organ struck up, filling the cold but pretty church with overly loud mu-sic, “it looks as though you’re safe from any more proposals, because I think the bride has just arrived.”
Amelie Marchant made her way slowly down the aisle, blonde hair in an elegant chignon, de-signer dress looking a million dollars. Beneath her thin veil it was clear she was smiling, no doubt savouring each precious second of being the focus of everyone’s attention, yet keeping her own attention firmly fixed on Marcus, who was awaiting her arrival at the altar.
Fiona nodded in approval. “She looks gorgeous. Her dress is exquisite.” She nudged Lucy. “Doesn’t the little bridesmaid look sweet in deep pink?”
“Yes, she’s Amelie’s niece apparently.” Lucy let a small sigh of contentment slip from her lips as Amelie reached the altar and stood close to Marcus. Finally she, Lucy Stokes, was going to be free of Marcus Brandon. He was marrying someone else, hallelujah! She would, at long last, be able to live her life exactly the way she wanted to. The whole reason she was here today was to witness the ceremony for herself. To know it was for real.
Okay, so she and Marcus had been childhood sweethearts. They’d played at the whole boy-friend-girlfriend thing on and off, sometimes quite successfully, for well over fifteen years. When she’d reached her twenties Lucy had sensed they didn’t have a future together, and she’d been trying to get Marcus to realise the fact ever since.
When she’d broken it off with him for the last time, to say he hadn’t taken kindly to the idea they were no longer an item was a major understatement. Over time she’d grown used to his persistent phone calls, the fact he often just popped round to see her and casually suggested, if they were both at a loose end, they might go for a drink or to the pictures.
Even when she’d plucked up the courage to attempt to date other people, it had been a complete disaster. Friadon was a small town and Marcus seemed to know every detail of where she went, when and with whom. On more than one occasion he’d tried to talk her out of going on a date, and she suspected, but couldn’t prove, he’d persuaded at least one of her dates to stay well away from her, causing her to be stood up, all alone in the heavy rain, outside the local cinema.
Six months after they’d split up, in a completely misguided attempt to woo her back, he’d gotten down on one knee and proposed to her for the third time at the travel agency where she worked. Armed with a huge bouquet of red roses and a bottle of champagne he’d asked her to marry him one last time. It had been in front of several customers too; Lucy had been pink with embarrass-ment. When, riddled with guilt, she’d gently declined his offer yet again, he’d gone off and met Amelie. Eight months later here the two of them were standing at the altar about to become man and wife.
Realising the ceremony was already well under way and she’d missed the first bit through not paying attention, Lucy tried to focus on what was being said, forcing the memories of Marcus from her mind. Yes, they’d enjoyed some fun times over the years, and she had to admit there had been occasions when they’d been completely great together, but it was all in the past now. His future lay with Amelie.
Clearing his throat the vicar glanced nervously towards the congregation and asked, “Does any-one here object to the marriage of Amelie Marchant and Marcus Brandon? If so, speak now or forever hold... ”
“I object.” The words were barely audible but Lucy heard them and fear shivered up her spine.
The vicar, looking as though his worse fears were being realised, glanced around anxiously, un-sure what to do or say next.
“I object!”
This time the voice was louder. The vicar grew red-faced and flustered.
“I’m sorry, sir, did you say you object?”
The bridegroom nodded solemnly. “Yes, I’m afraid I did.”
Those in the first few rows of the church heard the faintest of whimpers escape from beneath the bride’s veil and her knees appeared to buckle just a little.
Fixing a stern gaze upon the unwilling groom the vicar muttered, “Why exactly do you object, Mr. Brandon?”
Marcus addressed the packed congregation, his eyes scanning the rows, seeming to search for someone. Then in a loud, clear voice he announced, “I object because I’m still in love with an-other woman!” Raising his right hand he pointed to an area, three pews back on the right, just in front of a stone pillar. “Lucy, my love, will you ever take me back?”
There was collective gasp from the congregation; the bride fainted on the spot, sinking to the floor to be quickly swallowed up in a cloud of ivory silk and lace. Lucy, covered in embarrass-ment from head to foot, used her generously proportioned purple feather hat to try to hide her face, clasped her matching purple purse to her chest and ran from the church as fast as her kitten heels would carry her.
****
“Poor woman. Imagine being left at the altar.” Fiona licked her lips and placed her fork back on the now empty plate, having demolished a generous portion of blueberry cheesecake. “It’s the kind of thing you never recover from, surely.”
“I know, I know, and I’m mortified everybody thinks I was in some way to blame.” Lucy sighed and searched in her handbag for a tissue. “I tried to call Amelie afterwards to explain there was nothing going on between me and Marcus, but her mum slammed the phone down on me. Eve-ryone hates me and I haven’t even done anything wrong.”
“So, where is Marcus now then?”
“He flew out to Portugal yesterday after the wedding to stay with his sister and her family. He rang me from the airport and asked if I’d fly out to join him, can you believe it?” Lucy shook her head in despair. “What do I have to do for him to get the message?”
“Well, he’s obviously still crazy about you.” Fiona sighed and then pinched the uneaten biscotti from the side of Lucy’s cup and saucer. “In some ways it’s rather romantic.”
“Fi! It’s not and you know it! You’ve known me since school, and you know how he’s been driving me crazy for years! You, of all people, should understand!” Lucy replied, trying to re-trieve the stolen biscotti from Fiona. “I want some freedom from him. I want a life. I want to be able to try to find my Mr. Perfect.”
Fiona shook her head despairingly. “Not Mr. Perfect again. Don’t tell me — the man of your dreams needs to be,” she started to count on her fingers, “One, he needs to be fabulously wealthy. Two, he needs to be drop dead gorgeous. Three, kind and loving, attentive and thought-ful. Four, intelligent and successful. Five…”
Lucy held her hand up in protest. “Well, a girl needs to aim high.”
“I understand about you and Marcus. He’s not the man for you, but I’m afraid you’re not being realistic in the male wish list department. Firstly, you swap and change your mind about things all the while, and secondly, you know Mr. Perfect doesn’t even exist,” Fiona said, with a regretful smile. “I’m sure we all wish he did, but he doesn’t. Never has.”
Looking like a child who’d just been told Santa Claus wasn’t real, Lucy replied, “Okay for you to say. You’ve found your soulmate and are heading for the Friadon wedding of the year in a couple of weeks.”
“Yes, this is true.” Fiona nodded, a blissful smile appearing on her face. “But don’t forget I was realistic. I know Luke’s the one for me. I accept he’s not Mr. Perfect. He doesn’t shower me with roses or gifts, he goes down to the pub with his mates to watch the football far too often, and he’s not made of money. Oh, and he hates shopping!”
Lucy shook her head, pretending to disapprove. “And yet you still love him!”
“Yes, I do.” Fiona snapped the biscotti in half and handed one piece to Lucy. “Didn’t you ever love Marcus?”
“No. Well, maybe I thought I did when I was younger. We were great together for a while.” She sighed, stirring her coffee absentmindedly. “I suppose I’ve never had much chance to date other guys, to experience life. That’s part of the problem. Marcus always wanted us to go absolutely everywhere together when we were dating.”
“I don’t know how you’ve managed. To reach the ripe old age of twenty three, and you can probably count the number of boyfriends you’ve had on three fingers.”
Lucy buried her head in her hands, a curtain of straight blonde hair falling forward to hide her face. “I know. It’s crazy. And now I’m hated by pretty much every female within a ten mile ra-dius because they think I’m a trollop and I’ve been carrying on with Marcus whilst he’s been en-gaged. I’m completely innocent in all of this, yet I’m the one getting bad-mouthed.”
“They’ll get over it.” Pausing for dramatic effect, Fiona added, “It’ll just probably take a long while. In the meantime you’ll have to get used to being thought of as a wanton woman.” Patting her hand reassuringly, she said, “Anyway, I’m still your friend.”
“Great, thanks,” muttered Lucy, head still in her hands. “Sometimes I just feel this overwhelming desire to move away from here, to get myself a new life.”
“Well, do it then. For goodness sake you’ve been whinging on about it enough for the last few years.” Fiona popped the biscotti into her mouth. “Think about it. What’s stopping you from leaving Friadon anyway? Well, apart from my impending wedding of course.”
Warming to her topic she said, “It would do you good to get away from this small town mentali-ty. You should have done it years ago. Go off and explore, find out what you want from your life. You’ve never had a chance to date properly without Marcus peering over your shoulder. It must have been awkward.”
“It was.” Lucy shrugged, staring at a large crumb of biscotti on the table. As she had a good idea how infrequently the table tops were cleaned in this café, she resisted the strong urge to scoop the crumb up and lick it from her finger. “Anyway, at my age, shouldn’t I have my life all mapped out by now? You know, what I want from men, work, the whole caboodle.”
Shaking her head Fiona reached for the last of her coffee. “Nah, it’s just a popular myth. Gener-ally things just happen, and they’re probably not what you were planning but they usually kind of work out for the best in the end.”
Looking at Lucy, she said, “Remember how you used to complain about how boring Marcus was? Saying how you’d never been in a relationship where you’d been totally swept off your feet, how you wanted to find a man you could be completely crazy about for the rest of your life? Always going on about how you wanted to find your Mr. Perfect, the love of your life?”
Lucy pushed a lock of hair behind her right ear, frowning. “And your point is?”
“Go find the man for you, have your adventure, enjoy yourself,” Fiona added encouragingly. “All of the hearts and roses stuff, the handsome looks and pots of money business we all, at some point, crave. Doesn’t matter. They’re not the real recipe for happiness in a relationship.” As Lucy’s face took on a not-this-lecture-again look, Fiona said, “You’ll see, I know you will. You just need to find the right man first.”
****
Business had been slower than usual at the Price Right Travel Agency where Lucy worked. “Isn’t it boring when nobody comes into the agency?” She sighed as she deftly slid a pair of scis-sors through some plastic wrapping on a pile of holiday brochures proclaiming Turkey to be ‘paradise in the sun’.
Her boss Melanie glanced up from her computer with an irritated expression on her pixie-like face. “I imagine we’re being boycotted thanks to your little shenanigans with Marcus.”
Trying to wedge some brochures with a picture of a gorgeous sun-drenched Turkish beach on the front onto the shelving, Lucy said, “For the tenth time, Mel, I didn’t do anything. What do I have to say for people to believe me?”
Mel shook her head. “I’m not here to judge your love life but when it starts to affect my busi-ness…” she paused, choosing her words carefully. “For starters Marcus was one of our best cus-tomers. He even booked his honeymoon here. Goodness knows what will happen there. Nobody has asked about the chance of a refund yet. What with Marcus paying for it and then jetting off to Portugal straight after the non-wedding, he hasn’t had a chance. I expect he’ll be in to try to sort it all out when he gets back.”
“He’ll lose his money. I’m pretty sure walking out on your wedding isn’t covered under his in-surance,” said Lucy with a grimace, feeling guilty about how Marcus and Amelie wouldn’t get to enjoy the five star hotel he’d chosen on a gorgeous stretch of beach on Cyprus. If she remem-bered rightly the place had three restaurants, five swimming pools, a spa and a gym. Everything you could wish for. She’d helped him to choose the place. Now she was the reason he wouldn’t be going there.
“Perhaps it would be best if you took a bit of a sabbatical. Have you thought about it at all?” Mel asked with more than a hint of encouragement in her voice.
“Sabbatical?” Lucy queried, the brochures in her hand slipping to the floor. “Not a polite way of saying I’m fired is it?”
“Of course not. I’ll hold your job open for you. Just consider it an opportunity to take a few weeks off to go and have yourself a bit of fun. Hopefully by the time you return, all the gossips will have moved on to someone else and the next Friadon scandal.”
“You’re serious aren’t you?” Lucy asked, sitting down on several bundles of as-yet unopened brochures.
“Definitely. I have this friend who works for a small TV production company. They’re doing some sort of programme about love and one of the girls has had to pull out at the last moment for family reasons. They need a replacement right away and the filming is supposed to start in two days. Craig, my friend, doesn’t want to have to go through all the audition info again to choose someone else. I bet you’d be ideal.”
Sceptically Lucy asked, “What sort of love programme? It’s not something tacky is it?”
“No, no,” Mel answered, tapping away at her computer keyboard. “I think the idea is for three girls and one boy to spend two weeks together at some glam location. It’s properly organised and supervised. Each of you would get to go on your dream type of dates. It’s all about the psycholo-gy of finding the love of your life.”
Lucy got to her feet, then swayed unsteadily as her sandals slipped across several of the glossy holiday brochures scattered about the floor where she’d dropped them minutes earlier. Stooping to gather up the brochures before a customer (should one of them ever appear) broke their ankle on them and sued the agency, Lucy contemplated Mel’s suggestion. “So it would all be quite tasteful then?”
“I should imagine so. I think they’ll be having a psychologist on hand too, so after each date you can talk about how you think things went. There’s a complete relationship analysis service avail-able so you can learn about yourself, men, and your attitude towards dating. Sounds ideal for you.”
Realising she’d been holding her breath for a few seconds, Lucy let it out in a long sigh. “Okay, I might be interested. Shall I call this Craig or will you?”

I have lots of favorite words: "Mommy", "I love you", "I'll help", "It's naptime"...

But this morning, I found two more to add to the list: "Daddy, look."

Now, there are a few reasons this caught my attention this morning.

1. It was Daddy look, and not Mommy. Mommy gets asked, ne told, to look all. the. time. Now, you are going to think I'm complaining, and I'm not. I love it-- but-- it gets old the 40th time you see the same cartwheel (I'll admit it). It was nice for Daddy to be singled out if only once in a blue moon.

2. Daddy was here to look. I've mentioned before that my husband hasn't been on first shift long (since October or November). For as long as my girls remember, Daddy wasn't here in the morning because he was either coming home from work (3rd shift) or sleeping (2nd). They didn't get to see him a whole lot.

We were grateful he had a job of course, but it was hard on us. I still salute the single parent families, the military families, and all others who have to do it on their own. It can't be easy.

Anyway, back to the point, my middle daughter (who turned 5 today :)) ran down the hall with her new backpack as I was coming out of the baby's room. I heared her say, "Daddy, look!" He said brightly, "Yeah, I like it." And she giggled and ran off.

My heart melted.

It might seem like a little thing, but it was big to me. After all of these years of being the primary caregiver, the booboo kisser, the cook, the cleaner, the 'look' person-- and now I get to share it with my husband who seems to get a kick out of it as well.

Kids need their daddies (if they are able to be around). Sometimes, a Daddy lives in the same home, but isn't around (and it may not be their fault). I've been there, and it's so So hard!

I mentioned last post that I watched the movie Courageous. I know it really affected my husband (and me as well). I don't want to miss my kids growing up. I don't want to miss an opportunity to look at a cartwheel or a silly little song. My husband told me tonight... (when I looked at him angrily because he was aggrivating the girls as we walked into the store... yes, Walmart. They were being loud, and I wanted them to be not so wound up.)... "Kelly, have some fun."

Hmmmm... What a novel idea!

Proverbs 17:6 "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers."

Linked with: Winsome Wednesday and Women Living Well Wednesday  

Today, we are talking about movies made out of books. I'd love for Crossing the Deep to be a movie someday. IMO, it would make a good one :)

A few days ago, I bought Beastly because it was on sale (I know) and started reading it. I'd seen the movie, never read the book. The book starts out a bit... differently from the movie. So far, though, I'm liking it a lot. (It's kinda ironic to me, though that the 'fat witch' in the book is played by a rail thin Olsen sister in the movie).

But this isn't a review of Beastly or Twilight or Harry Potter or The Green Mile or Shutter Island or anything like that. It's strictly book vs. movie. Which do you generally like better?

Here are my thoughts: (The bold titles link to where you can buy the books on Amazon :) )

Twilight: Book better
New Moon: Book better
Eclipse: Book better (I sense a theme)
Breaking Dawn pt 1-2: Movie better (but saying that, I was team Jacob, it's hard to really get into Breaking Dawn if you're Team Jacob lol. Not a bad book, though.)

Shutter Island: Probably liked the book better. To me, it was easier reading about it than actually seeing it on screen. Leonardo Dicaprio and Michelle Williams did a great job, though.

The Green Mile: Never watched the movie nor read the book.

It and The Stand: (Can I just say the Kindle cover of IT makes my hair stand on end... Pennywise... EEK!) I like the movies better. I tried to read the books, but couldn't get into them I think I just have a block with Stephen King, though. Nothing against him or his writing. My sister loves his books. I love the ideas behind them.

So there you have my very limited assessment of Movie vs. Book. I've never read Harry Potter and have only seen 1 of the movies, so I'm not the best to determine which I like better.

You're turn. Book vs. Movie. Of the ones you've seen/read, which did you enjoy more?

Every Saturday, a group of writers get together to offer you some low calorie sweets :) My snippet today is from CROSSING THE DEEP.

“Rachel, are you going to hate me forever?” Sid asked as he draped his arm around her shoulder. His dark red coat matched his hat so perfectly that Rachel wondered how long he had searched for a coat the exact same shade as his favorite headpiece.
“I don’t hate you,” she said, shrugging him off.
“Sure you do. You both do. Carly told me you did.”
“She did what?”
“Yeah, in the van. She said both of you royally disliked me, and I wanted to hear it from you.”
The soft sound of the running water echoed through the trees. It sounded peaceful, tranquil. If only Sid would be quiet long enough for her to enjoy it.
Rachel held on to the flimsy, wooden handrail as she started across the swinging, single person bridge across Deep Creek, which ran perpendicular to the trail. Deep Creek wasn’t very big; maybe fourteen feet across, and appeared more of a trickle than a creek. She didn’t even see a waterfall. It kinda bummed her out.
“Deep Creek,” Sid read the sign at the beginning of the bridge and followed behind her. “Original. Misleading, but original.”
Rachel couldn’t argue with that. A few boulders were scattered across the creek basin. To Rachel, it looked like if something bad did happen and the water actually covered those rocks, then the creek would live up to its name.
“I don’t know what Carly told you, but I don’t hate you.
Carly is her own person and can think or feel what she wants,” Rachel said once she reached the other side of the bridge. ”But I don’t hate you. I don’t like what you did, but I don’t hate you.”
“Look, I know I messed up. I more than messed up. I screwed up and hurt someone I care about. I know that. If I could take it back, I would. Can you just please talk to Carly when we get to the picnic area? Make her see that I’m not a bad guy.”
Rachel didn’t know what to say to that. She had always heard once a cheater always a cheater, but she also knew it was her Christian duty to forgive. “Come on. Help a guy out,” he added in a pitiful voice. “I told her I was sorry. What more does she want?”
“You’ll just have to figure that out yourself,” Rachel said, unsure of how to help him.
“Just talk to her. Pleeeeeeeeeeeease…”
“Okay!” she said just to shut him up.
“Thank you!” His face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he kissed her on the cheek before running up the trail toward Asher, who was leaning on a tree. “You’re the best!” he yelled back at her.
Rachel stopped walking. What had she agreed to, and what was Sid thinking kissing her like that? It wasn’t like he was letting his intentions be known, as her grandma liked to say. But still, being kissed — even in a chaste way — wasn’t something that happened to her every day.
She watched as Sid slapped Asher on the shoulder before running by him, and without thinking, her fingers went to the little spot on her cheek where his kiss had landed.
“If you get that riled up from a little peck on the cheek, I’d hate to see what would happen if you got a kiss on your lips,” Asher yelled, folding his arms with that same smirk he’d had at the snack machine. Rachel’s cheeks burned like fire, knowing what she must look like, staring all swoony-- ‐‑ eyed at Sid. When did she start swooning?
“On second thought,” Asher said, narrowing his eyes, “maybe it would be a fun thing to see.”
“That would imply that I’d let you.” Rachel made her legs move again.
“Very true.” Asher laughed, falling in step beside her.
“What are you doing on this trip anyway?” Rachel asked, harsher than she meant. Her mouth was in defensive mode.
He shrugged, not seeming to take any offense. “Didn’t have any other place to be.”
Awkward silence filled the space between them as they walked. Rachel just wanted him to run ahead with Sid and leave her alone.
“You should cut him some slack, you know?”
“Who? Sid?”
“Who else? Yeah, Sid. He messed up, sure. He cheated. We all mess up. Even perfect little Christians like you.” He had a lot to learn about her. “I’m by no means perfect,” she said, her voice hard.
“And neither is Sid.”
“I’ve never cheated on a boyfriend.”
“Have you ever had a boyfriend?”
Ouch, that stung. “That’s none of your business.” Sure, she had never had a boyfriend, but she knew without a doubt she wouldn’t cheat on one.
“I’m sorry,” he said, almost like he meant it.
“Whatev—”
“And Sid’s sorry too,” he said without skipping a beat. “Making out with Easy Emily wasn’t the smartest move. One, because her lips should be retired for excessive use, and two because it hurt someone he cares about a lot.”
Rachel knew he was right. She’d even used the same argument with Carly. For some reason, she just wanted to stay mad at Sid, more so after he thought it wise to buy her help with a little peck on the cheek. The kiss had irked her. And her reaction to it irked her even more.
Asher spoke when she didn’t. “You Bible types are all about forgiveness,” he shook his head, “until it'ʹs you who has to do the forgiving.”
“What do you know of the Bible, Asher?” she spat. “Do you even own one?”
Without warning, Asher stepped in front of her. She could either stop or run over him; she chose to stop. Her eyes came up to his chest, and she tilted her head up to see his face. That close, she could see how blue his eyes were and the little moon-- ‐‑ shaped scar on his chin. He didn’t look amused anymore, and the twinkle was gone from his eyes. “You think you know it all, don’t you? It’s all black and white with you. No gray areas. All or nothing. Well, guess what?”
He moved his hands to her shoulders and pushed her windblown curls back. “The world doesn’t work like that.” Asher lingered a moment, staring into her eyes. He stared so long, Rachel wondered if he was going to kiss her too, but that was stupid, because he obviously didn’t like her. Without a word, he turned and walked away. Watching him go, her mind raced and felt completely empty at the same time.
She had no idea what in the world was happening on this trip.

Wanna 'TREAT' this Halloween? I'm participating with Lisa Orchard, author of THE SUPER SPIES and the HIGH SCHOOL BOMBER (and lots of other authors) for a Spooky Good Giveaway! One winner will win a Kindle Fire ! We are playing a game called 'bobbing for books'. Here’s how to play and enter the contest via Lisa Orchard’s blog 1. TWEET about the giveaway and then FB share. (Each time you do this, comment on Lisa's blog with the tweet/facebook status URL, HERE) 2. Buy a participating author’s book(s) and post the confirmation code of purchase/book title in a comment on Lisa Orchard’s blog. 3. Enter as many times as you want! There is no limit. 4. Winner will be chosen on OCTOBER 30th. Tweet/share = one entry. Book bought = two entries so enter often... BUT don't forget to leave a comment on Lisa's Blog for each book bought and tweet/fb post to get credit for the giveaway. **All books are clean reads. NO purchase necessary. The amount of chances to win depends on how many entries you have. HERE ARE THE BOOKS... “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer” By: Lisa Orchard

An innocent game of Truth or Dare spins out of control when Sarah Cole discovers the dead body of the Cat Lady and what’s worse? The lead detective believes they’re responsible for the old woman’s death. Sarah realizes it’s up to The Super Spies to snare the Cat Lady Killer…or die trying.. A great Halloween read! BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble

“Crossing the Deep” By: Kelly Martin

Sixteen year old Rachel Harker expects the hiking trip in the mountains to be short and painless. Four days later, injured and scared, she just prays to make it home alive. BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble

“Hauntings of the Heart” By Joselyn Vaughn

When lost love shows up on your doorstep, what do you do? Minnie Schultz slams the door in his face. With the help of some paranormal investigators, an Elvis impersonator and a couple of nosey friends, can Minnie and Gordon find the future they were meant to have? BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble Find more of Joselyn’s books here: http://joselynvaughn.com

“Abiding Echoes” By: Kay Springsteen

Love is family… Love is endless… Love is timeless… Love is abiding… BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble Find more of Kay’s books here: http://kayspringsteen.wordpress.com/

“Vala Appointed” By: J. F. Jenkins

Identical twins Anj and Zes Willam have always been considered odd, even in a world where myth is real. Their magic is powerful and intense, as well as their secrets. None more so than Anj, who has the biggest secret of them all. BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble

“Double Crossing” By: Meg Mims

August, 1869: Lily Granville is stunned by her father’s murder. Only one other person knows about a valuable California gold mine deed — both are now missing. Lily heads west on the newly opened transcontinental railroad, determined to track the killer. She soon realizes she is no longer the hunter but the prey. As things progress from bad to worse, Lily is uncertain who to trust—the China-bound missionary who wants to marry her, or the wandering Texan who offers to protect her … for a price. Will Lily survive the journey and unexpected betrayal? BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble
“Cruel Justice” By: Mel Comley

The headless body of a wealthy widow is discovered decomposing in Chelling Forest. Detective Inspector Lorne Simpkins and her partner, DS Pete Childs are assigned to the case. A few days later another victim, this time a young girl, is discovered. Who could the killer be and what’s the connection between the two victims? BUY LINKS: Amazon/ US Amazon/UK Find more of Mel’s books here: http://melcomley.blogspot.fr/

“Moonlight on the Palms” By: Lisa Greer

When professor Astrid Kent’s estranged mother dies, she returns to her childhood home of La Casa De La Luz to set things right. But secrets, murder, and her mother’s ex-husband—Astrid’s former fiance before she fled Texas in shame—threaten to entangle her at every turn, even as another man vies for her heart. BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble: Find more of Lisa’s books here: http://www.lisalgreer.com/

“Prepare to Receive More” By: Benecia Ponder

A Step-by-Step Guide to Forming Your Prosperity Partnership with God. BUY LINKS: Amazon:

“The Trouble with Charlie” By: Catherine Bennett

Love. Desire. A psycho bent on revenge. But can Charlie Reynolds recognize the most dangerous of the three? BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble

“At What Cost” By: J. Andersen

When sixteen year old Maggie Reynolds discovers she’s pregnant at the beginning of Junior year, she’s scared to death to tell her parents for fear of what they’ll do. Luckily, her boyfriend suggests another alternative: abortion, but will it really solve all her problems like she hopes it will? BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble

“The Legacy” By: Patricia Kiyono

A family finds and embraces its samurai heritage. The Legacy introduces the Tanaka family, whose story begins in The Samurai’s Garden, available beginning November 6 from your favorite ebook distributor! BUY LINKS: AMAZON

“The Last Time Keepers” By: Sharon Ledwith

When Amanda Sault and her four classmates are caught in a major food fight at school, they are given the choice of suspension or yard duty. It was a no-brainer. A two-week crash course in landscaping leads the kids to discover a weathered stone arch buried in an overgrown backyard. Instead of a forgotten lawn ornament, it turns out to be an ancient time portal from the lost continent of Atlantis. BUY LINKS: Musa Publishing Amazon Barnes and Noble
“There your Heart will be Also” By: Felicia Rogers

The Renaissance Hearts Series – Begin the adventure with Sarra and Cedric. BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble Find more of Felicia’s books here: http://feliciarogersauthor.weebly.com/

“A Collie Rescue” By: Lindsay Downs

Former Army Sergeant Sandi Charleston, diagnosed with PTSD and homeless barely survives day to day. By a miracle of fate she meets Taz, a uniquely special collie, who helps turn her life around. BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble Find more of Lindsay Downs books here: www.murdersandmysteries.wordpress.com

“A New Dream” By: Elaine Cantrell

Former NFL player Matt McCallum and baker Violet Emerson find a common dream for their lives, but a loose end from Matt’s past returns to jeopardize their future. Will love be enough to save their new dream before it turns into a nightmare? BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble

“Psychic” By: John Warnock

What if you awoke one day and discovered you had ESP? Would you feel blessed? Or would you feel cursed? BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble: Find more of John’s books here:http://www.johnwarnock.info/

“Secrets of Catalpa Hall” By: Lori Lapekes

BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble Find more of Lori’s books here: http://lorilapekes.com/

“No Job for a Woman” By: Sherry Gloag

Circumstances demand Julian and Deborah learn to work together and Julian dares to dream that he might gain the love of the only person he’s ever given his heart to. But will Deborah live long enough to discover that by releasing everything she values, she will gain everything her heart desires? BUY LINKS: Amazon Barnes and Noble Find more of Sherry’s books here: http://www.sherrygloag.com/

****Please be aware that the KINDLE FIRE will be gifted from Amazon and sent directly from there. Therefore, if the winner receives a damaged prize, myself and the participating authors are not held liable for any damages. The winner must work with Amazon to get a replacement. WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED on OCTOBER 30th.

by David Farland @DavidFarland

I would like to welcome David Farland to my blog today. He often teaches writing workshops, and has trained a number of people who went on to become international bestselling authors—people like Brandon Sanderson in fantasy, Brandon Mull in middle-grade fiction, and Stephenie Meyer in young adult fiction. In addition to being an author of adult fantasy, he has just released his YA fantasy novel, Nightingale (blurb at the end of post).

###

Here’s an exercise that I use to help teach authors how to handle an opening scene.

1) Especially at the beginning of a tale, use “resonators” to better tie into your audience's subconscious. "Resonators" are often words that identify your piece as belonging to a particular genre, such as fantasy, romance, or horror. They are part of the secret language that is used within a particular genre to give the writing more power by referring to previous works written in that genre.
2) Avoid the use of “to be” verbs in the opening of your tale. In particular, if you describe an inanimate object, try to do it using only active verbs. It is all right to use metaphors and similes to create motion. For example, “hoary pines guarded the hillside, while an ancient rock brooded at its top.”
3) Appeal to all of the senses--sight (don’t just describe the colors of things or their shapes, but also their textures), sound, smell, taste, touch (hot/cold/wet/dry/ firmness/softness). A great rule of thumb is that if you want to bring a thing to life, really get the reader to focus on it, you need to describe it at least three times, preferably using different senses so that you don’t become repetitious.
4) Create a sense of physical motion in your description. There are several ways to do this. For example, you can have physical motion as mentioned in point two. But you can also have motion nearby. For example, if I were to continue describing the hill, I might place crows flying up from the pines, or a stiff wind that makes the boughs sway.
5) Add a sense of temporal motion in your description. For example, in describing a car you might describe how it has changed over time—from the moment that it was bought new in the showroom, to what it looks like now, to what it might look in another twenty years.
6) Add emotive motion to your description. Describe precisely what your protagonist feels about the place or thing that he is seeing, but pay particular attention to how that emotion changes. It is all right to use internal dialog.
7) Use precise language. That means that if you are describing a person, consider using his name. If you want your reader to envision a pine forest, let them know that it is a pine forest, not just a forest, lest they imagine oaks or palms.

Here is a sample of the opening description from my novel Nightingale (available as an enhanced novel on the iPad, complete with its own illustrations, soundtrack, animations, and author interviews). I didn’t try to use all of the tips listed above, just enough to bring the scene to life. Never make yourself a slave to all good advice:

She raced through a thick forest, gasping in the humid air. Sweat drenched her, crawling down her forehead, stinging her eyes. Dogs barked a quarter mile behind, the deep-voices of mastiffs. Her vision reeled from fatigue, and she struggled to make out a path in the shadows.

Fireflies rose from the grass ahead, lugging their burden of light, lanterns in shades of emerald and citrine that pushed back against the gathering night. Eighty thousand stars wheeled through otherwise empty heavens. Without even a sliver of moon or the glow of a remote village, the stars did not shine so much as throb.

She could run no faster. With every stride, Sommer stretched her legs to the full. A mastiff keened, not far back now. It was almost upon her.

Her pursuers were faster than any human, and stronger than she. At nineteen, Sommer was in the prime of her life, but that made no difference. A desperate plan was taking form in her mind.

The dogs were trained to kill. But she knew that even a trained dog can’t attack someone who surrenders. Nature won’t allow it. And when a dog surrenders completely, it does so by offering its throat.

That would be her last resort—to lie on her back and give her throat to these killers, so that she could draw them in close.

She raced for her life. To her right, a buck snorted in the darkness and bounded away, invisible in the night. She hoped that its pounding would attract the dogs, and they did fall silent in confusion, but soon snarled and doubled their speed.

The brush grew thick ahead—blackberries and morning glory crisscrossing the deer trail. She heard dogs lunging behind her; one barked. They were nearly on her.

Sommer’s foot caught on something hard—a tough tree root—and she went sprawling. A dog growled and leapt. Sommer rolled to her back and arched her neck, offering her throat.

Three dogs quickly surrounded her, ominous black shadows that growled and barked, baring their fangs, sharp splinters of white. They were huge, these mastiffs, with spiked collars at their throats, and leather masks over their faces. Their hooded eyes seemed to be empty sockets in their skulls.

They bounded back and forth in their excitement, shadowy dancers, searching for an excuse to kill.

I can still get away, Sommer thought, raising a hand to the air, as if to block her throat. By instinct she extended her sizraels—oblong suction cups that now began to surface near the tip of each thumb and finger. Each finger held one, an oval callus that kept stretching, growing.

Though she wasn’t touching any of the dogs, at ten feet they were close enough for her to attack.

She reached out with her mind, tried to calm herself as she focused, and electricity crackled at the tips of her fingers. Tiny blue lights blossomed and floated in the air near her fingers like dandelion down. The lights were soft and pulsing, no brighter than the static raised when she stroked a silk sheet in the hours before a summer storm.

She entered the mastiffs’ minds and began to search. They were supposed to hold her until the hunters came, maul her if she tried to escape. Their masters had trained the dogs well.

But a dog’s memories were not like human memories, thick and substantial.

Sommer drew all of the memories to the surface—hundreds of hours of training, all bundled into a tangle—and snapped them, as if passing her hand through a spider’s web.

Immediately all three mastiffs began to look around nervously. One lay down at her feet and whimpered, as if afraid she might be angry.

“Good dogs,” Sommer whispered, tears of relief rising to her eyes. “Good!” She rolled to her knees, felt her stomach muscles bunch and quaver. She prepared to run.

“Where do you think you’re going?” a deep voice asked.

There are more dangerous things than mastiffs, Sommer knew. Of all the creatures in the world, the man who spoke now was at the top of the list.

Grand Prize Winner of the Hollywood Book Festival, placed first in all genres, all categories.

Winner of the 2012 International Book Award for Best Young Adult Novel of the Year!

Finalist in the Global Ebook Awards.

Some people sing at night to drive back the darkness. Others sing to summon it. . . .

Bron Jones was abandoned at birth. Thrown into foster care, he was rejected by one family after another, until he met Olivia, a gifted and devoted high-school teacher who recognized him for what he really was--what her people call a "nightingale."

But Bron isn't ready to learn the truth. There are secrets that have been hidden from mankind for hundreds of thousands of years, secrets that should remain hidden. Some things are too dangerous to know. Bron's secret may be the most dangerous of all.

In his remarkable young adult fantasy debut, David Farland shows why critics have called his work "compelling," "engrossing," "powerful," "profound," and "ultimately life-changing."

"Superb worldbuilding, strong characters, and Dave's characteristic excellent prose. --Brandon Sanderson, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
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Nightingale Website

David's Website

Three weeks ago, I attended the first SCBWI conference in my city. One of my favorite talks dealt with something I struggle with: setting.

Crystal Stranaghan, publisher for Gumboot Books, did a great job of showing us how setting can be used in dishing out conflict. And it goes beyond the typical man against environment scenario we’re familiar with. You know, throw in a hurricane or blizzard when everything is going otherwise hunky- dory.

In her explanation, she used New Moon and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer as an example. In the books, we have the protagonist, Bella. But unlike most of us, she has two guys mooning over her (excuse the pun!): Edward, the vampire, and Jacob, the werewolf. And let’s just say there’s major conflict between those two without adding anything else to the mix.

Because of a treaty, the Cullens (Edward’s vampire family) aren’t allowed to enter La Push, the native reserve where Jacob lives. Naturally, Edward’s fangs get bent out of shape because he can’t keep an eye on Bella whenever she visits her friend, Jacob, on his turf. Conflict.

The story takes place in Forks, the rainiest place in the States. On those rare sunny days that hit the town, Edward can’t be seen in public because he goes all glittery. Not exactly a human trait. That, too, makes it difficult to keep an eye on Bella. Conflict.

You get where I’m going with this? Stephenie did an awesome job in using the setting to heighten the conflict within the story.

So next time you’re looking for conflict, see if you can do the same within your story dynamics. Maybe all you need to do is change the location of the scene. Pretty cool, huh?

Have you ever looked up at the sky, saw the moon, and thought, “Wow, that would be a wicked shoot”? But when you looked at the photo, the moon is nowhere as big as the one you saw (obviously, though, it’s the same moon).

That’s because our eyes work differently than a camera lens. If you have an SLR camera, then you can switch to a zoom lens. If not, you can still take pictures of the moon, but you you’ll need to zoom in as close in as your camera will allow and use the scenery to draw the eye to it (which you should do anyway). This can be done using leading lines, framing, rule of thirds, etc.

All of these photos were taken with my point & shoot camera.

As promised, today is SPREADING THE AWESOME. Over 60 writers are reviewing books they love so much, they gave them a 10 star rating. So here’s my review for the YA contemporary novel, Twenty Boy Summer, by debut author Sarah Ockler.

Book blurb: According to Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna light-heartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie—she’s already had her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

First line: Frankie Perino and I were lucky that day.

Anna had been in love with Matt since she was ten and he was twelve, though no one knew that, including her best friend, Frankie. But on Anna’s fifteenth birthday, her birthday wish finally came true, and Matt moved from being her best-friend-that’s-a-boy to something more special. Because he wasn’t sure how his sister, Frankie, would take the news. He asked Anna not to say anything. He would tell Frankie during the annual family trip to Zanzibar Bay, the following month. But he never had the chance. He died in a car accident.

Anna is left grieving, and unable to tell anyone the truth. Instead, she writes in her journal letters to Matt even though she knows he’ll never read them, and relieves the memories of the month before he died.

Twenty Boy Summer is a beautifully written story, which I had a hard time putting down. It’s a great example of how to write emotions that leave the reader feeling the joy and pain of the main character. How does Sarah do it? She frequently juxtaposes sadness against humor, a technique that works extremely well. When Anna blinks back the tears, so do I. The characterization is strong, and the ways the different characters deal with their grief is believable.

While there are places where you feel Anna’s pain, not to mention her frustration at keeping the secret from her best friend, it really isn’t a sad story. (Okay, I did go through a number of Kleenexes, but there was no major sobbing involved.) Anna wants to move on and help Frankie move on, too. And although she harbors a fear that she’ll forget Matt, something she never wants to do, a romance does develop between her a local boy. And yes, the romance is so worth it. I mean, really, who wouldn’t want to date Sam?

For those of you who aren’t into books loaded with diary entries, this book’s for you. We only see a few of the letters Anna writes to Matt. Most of the details about the month before he dies comes from Anna’s memories . . . including the delicious kiss. Trust me, it was really delicious. Blue-frosting delicious.

The paperback version came out this weekend. I have a copy for some lucky follower who lets me know in the comments that they want to win it. You get an extra entry if you tweet about the contest (please include your Twitter @). You have until Thursday May 6th at 11:59 pm EST. I'll announce the winner during this week's Cool Links Friday.

The next stop on the SPREADING THE AWESOME tour is Janna Qualman’s blog. Check out her review for Second Honeymoon (adult) by Joanna Trollope. For you YA lovers, there’re still plenty more novels being reviewed today. And more chances to win great books.
I’m off now to check out some more reviews. *winks*

I didn't put together a writing post for today. Instead, I decided to list those authors who I love and who might have influenced my writing. I figured this was easier than listing the books I love since that would be one very long list.

YA Contemporary

• Sarah Dessen (Favorites include: Lock and Key, Along for the Ride, The Truth about Forever, Just Listen)


• Sarah Ockler (Her debut novel is Twenty Boy Summer. I cried. A lot.)


• Lurlene McDaniel (Hit and Run, Breathless, Prey, Letting Go of Lisa. I went through a gazillion boxes of Kleenexes with Lurlene’s books).


• Jay Asher (Yep, another Kleenex box worthy author.)


• Simone Elkeres (Perfect Chemistry. Definitely steamy. The book inspired me to add some Spanish to Lost in a Heartbeat to make the characterization stronger.)


• Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak and Wintergirls)


• Bethany Griffin (Handcuffs)

• Lisa McMann (I can't get enough of her Wake series.)


• Alyson Noël (Actually, Saving Zoë had an influence on my current novel, Lost in a Heartbeat).


• Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instrument Series. If only I could write imagery like she does.)


• Richelle Mead (Dimitri. Need I say more?)


• Daniel Waters (Generation Dead and Kiss of Life. Brilliant themes. They’re the only zombie books I like.)


• Stephenie Meyers (I’ll admit I’ve switched to Team Jacob after seeing New Moon in the theatre.)


• Libra Bray (I loved the Gemma Doyle series—The Great and Terrible Beauty, etc.)

Hope you all have a safe and happy New Year's Eve. And best wishes for the New Year.

Stina

These days many point & shoot cameras give you the same flexibility seen with SLR cameras. This is great news for those of you who want to stretch your creative limits. And for those of you who don’t want to bother with such complexities as speed and aperture—and they aren’t really that bad—these cameras makes things easier for you too.

The secret resides in the symbols found on your camera as shown above—or some variation of them. No, they aren’t hieroglyphics or ancient runes—though they might seem that way—but they’re the foolproof way of getting great photos (most of the time).

Here’s the rundown of what they all mean. The symbols on your camera might be slightly different, but the definitions are the same. Also, your camera might not have all of these options, especially since this is a picture of my film camera and not my digital one.

Person and moon: This setting allows you take pictures of people against the night sky or during dusk. You’ll need a tripod or else your pictures will be blurred.

The running person: Perfect for action shots. Unless you want your subject to be blurred, this setting will freeze him or her in mid shot.

The flower: Allows for close up photography, but is limited in scope. Don’t expect to take shots your BFF’s ultra-cool belly button ring and have it fill up the frame.

The mountain: This gives you a greater depth of field. Objects both front of and behind your subjects are in focus, such as in a scenic shot.

The head and shoulders (yes, that’s what it’s supposed to be): This is the best choice for portraits. The focus is on your subject and the background is blurred so that it is less noticeable. It makes for a less busy photo and is more pleasing. It’s also a great way of dealing with a less than exciting background.

The happy face: This is the normal mode—whatever that means.

Auto Pict: The camera pretends to read your mind and determines what your goal is (portrait, landscape, macro, moving object). Naturally, like anything that pretends to read your mind—for example your parents—it’s not always correct.

TV: Speed (see tip #8). You pick the shutter speed and the camera chooses the best aperture base on available light.

AV: Aperture (see tip #7). You select the depth of field and the camera chooses the correct speed for the best exposure.

M: Manual. You choose both the aperture and camera speed. It is the most flexible and enables for the ultimate in creativity.

ISO: Film speed. See tip #6. This might be found elsewhere on your camera.

B: (not shown here). This one might not be on your camera. You can take those cool nighttime shots where the stars streak across the sky. You’ll need both a tripod and a shutter release cable to use this function.

Whew! A lot of information, but essential if you want to make the most of your camera and your creative powers. Just make sure you read your manual—which might be as long as Stephenie Meyer’s novel, Twilight—to fully understand how to use your equipment.