Scribbles

Ponderings...

My youngest son brought me a book to read to him last night.  Cloudy, with a Chance of Meatballs.  It's a delightful story that I read to him a lot ... when he was six.  But he's twelve now, and as I (of course!) agreed and tucked us into his bed to read, I asked ... any reason why?  
"Because I'm growing up mom, and you won't be reading to me much longer."
 
Arrgh! a spear to the heart!  He's growing up!  And of course, he's my youngest. 
 
I've been plagued recently with insomnia as I wake up and stare into the night, realizing my oldest is going to away to college in just a few months.  I remember his infant days as if they were yesterday. WHEN DID HE GROW UP? 
 
We had five days off this past week.  One because of MLK holiday, but two because it was -25 below.  The kids lounged around the house, made messes, watched television, played games ... while I tried to work.  Harrumph.  
 
At one point, as I tapped out a story, they were all gathered around me in the family room, wrestling, laughing and generally being teenagers.  I think I typed the same words three times.  I couldn't wait for school to start.
 
Except, now the house is too quiet.  I miss their laughter and I fear the regret I may feel when the house is permanently quiet.  Did I read enough to them?  Did I drop everything and play a game?  Was there enough laughter, and encouragement, and grace?
 
There may be more insomnia ahead. 
 
All this tug of war of emotions has brought me to my knees, clutching Psalm 90:12.  "Teach us (me!) to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." My Strong's Concordance equates the word "number" with:  weigh out, appoint, prepare.
 
Makes me think about how each day has significance, or weight, merit, and that it is also  appointed, or chosen.  Signified to have meaning.  And that I must prepare for it.  Maybe not with grand parties, but perhaps a heart willing to set aside my work and embrace the unexpected weighted moments. Maybe play a game of Catan. 
 
Or build a snowfort.
 
The verse goes on to say (in KJV) "that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."  Strong's expounds on "apply" with the words abide, attain, employ.  It has both a receiving and a utilizing connotation.
 
I think regrets come with we don't weigh our days, our actions, when we don't see the significance God has put into each day.  When we see our time as something trivial, hours to get through.  But God has chosen each day to have significance.  Teach us Lord to rightly number of our days, to not live for the trivial, but to appoint and prepare and value our time. Because as we do that, wisdom will bloom in us, and we'll know how to apply it forward.  We'll learn how to live a life without regrets. 
 
Just some ponderings as winter closes in on us.
 
I'm excited for my book The Perfect Match to hit the shelves again!  It's about a woman fire chief who sets off a few sparks in town!    
 
Thank you for reading, and for your encouraging letters.  I weigh those in my heart as well - knowing their significance.  God Bless and keep warm!
 
With a grateful heart,
Susan May Warren

It’s not easy to write a sequel...

This month's Christian Fiction Online Article: Craft Tips and Techniques from Today's Blockbusters
 

Back to Deep Magic of Narnia: How to Write a Successful Sequel 
 
It’s not easy to write a sequel...

 

I love series books. I can’t help it-I get to know a character or a group of people and I want to stick around with them, to know them and watch them journey on. I am sure this is what made Dee Henderson’s O’Malley series a must-buy on my list. And why I flock to movies one, two, three, four, five, and six (whatever order you want to put them in) of Star Wars and Harry Potter. As soon as we hear the word “sequel,” whether to a great book or movie, we’re caught up in the magic, the images, and the emotions of our favorite books and movies. We long to dive back into that world, to be enchanted again with the story, the characters, and the fictive dream.

But sadly, we’re so often let down. How many “sequel” movies have we watched only to leave the theater with a sense of disappointment? Or how many second books have we put down, thinking, I can’t read the third?

It’s not easy to write a sequel . . . much less make it better than the first. I had mixed emotions about Prince Caspian. I didn’t love the ending, but perhaps because I knew Susan and Peter’s adventures were over. But I did enjoy the romp through Narnia a second time-so let’s take a look at the elements of a successful sequel.

 

Read the rest here!

Write a book with My Book Therapy Voices in 2009!

Remember those games you used to play where your friend started the story, and you finished it?  Or the “Choose your own ending” books?  Ever wanted to be a part of the story process, giving input on the character’s decisions, learning how to write a book as you go?  Me too!

Here at My Book Therapy, we love to write, and we love to teach writers how to find their voice. So, in 2009 we’ll be writing a book together!  

Starting in January, we’ll create characters, a plot, develop conflict, the black moment, the epiphany and finally…the happy ending.  Then, week by week, you’ll be a part of the creation process, voting on the next step of our hero’s journey, watching the book take life, and learning the nuances of crafting a story. You’ll Blog-A-Book with the My Book Therapy authors and get tools to help you how to write your own novel.   

And, at the end of the year, we’ll have a book we’ve all created, something that we’ll publish!  And, best of all, part of the proceeds will go to support IJM, an organization that fights human trafficking around the world. 

I’m really excited about our new project, and can’t wait to see what the collective mind put together.  

So, Come and Blog-A-Book.  Learn.  Fellowship.  Bless. 

My Book Therapy…Discover the writer in you.

Kiss from Ted Dekker

A note from Susie…

Ted Dekker never disappoints.  Every book he writes puts me on the edge of my seat, makes me think.  He’s a brilliant storyteller – and Kiss is no exception.  I opened the book about 10pm one night thinking…yeah, just the first…chapt..e…r….Three hours later, I was still reading.   (Ted!  I gotta get some work done!  Stop writing such great books!)  Kiss.  Romantic Thriller?   Another Genre Invaded by Ted Dekker and his Quest for World Domination.

It’s working.

 

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
KISS
Thomas Nelson (January 6, 2009)
by
Ted Dekker
and
Erin Healy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.

After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.

Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. Dekker's body of work encompassing seven mysteries, three thrillers and ten fantasies includes Heaven's Wager, When Heaven Weeps, Thunder of Heaven, Blessed Child, A Man Called Blessed, Blink, Thr3e, The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White), Obsessed, Renegade, and Chaos.

*******************

Erin Healy is an award-winning fiction editor who has worked with talented novelists such as James Scott Bell, Melody Carlson, Colleen Coble, Brandilyn Collins, L. B. Graham, Rene Gutteridge, Michelle McKinney Hammond, Robin Lee Hatcher, Denise Hildreth, Denise Hunter, Randy Ingermanson, Jane Kirkpatrick, Gilbert Morris, Frank Peretti, Lisa Samson, Randy Singer, Robert Whitlow, and many others.

She began working with Ted Dekker in 2002 and edited twelve of his heart-pounding storiesbefore their collaboration on Kiss, the first novel to seat her on "the other side of the desk."

Erin is the owner of WordWright Editorial Services, a Colorado-based consulting firm specializing in fiction book development. She and her husband, Tim, are the proud parents of two children

ABOUT THE BOOK

Let me tell you all I know for sure. My name. Shauna.
I woke up in a hospital bed missing six months of my memory. In the room was my loving boyfriend-how could I have forgotten him?-my uncle and my abusive stepmother. Everyone blames me for the tragic car accident that left me near death and my dear brother brain damaged. But what they say can't be true-can it?

I believe the medicine is doing strange things to my memory. I'm unsure who I can trust and who I should run from. And I'm starting to remember things I've never known. Things not about me. I think I'm going crazy.

And even worse, I think they want to kill me.

But who? And for what? Is dying for the truth really better than living with a lie?

Sometimes dying with the truth is better than living with a lie.

After a car accident puts Shauna McAllister in a coma and wipes out six months of her memory, she returns to her childhood home to recover, but her arrival is fraught with confusion.

Her estranged father, a senator bidding on the White House, and her abusive stepmother blame Shauna for the tragedy, which has left her beloved brother severely brain damaged. Leaning on Wayne Spade, a forgotten but hopeful lover who stays by her side, Shauna tries to sort out what happened that night by jarring her memory to life. Instead, she acquires a mysterious mental ability that will either lead her to truth or get her killed by the people trying to hide it.

In this blind game of cat and mouse that stares even the darkest memories in the face, Shauna is sure of only one thing: if she remembers, she dies.

If you would like to read the first chapter of KISS, go HERE

Watch the Video Trailer

What people are saying about KISS:

“The human brain could actually be the real final frontier—we know so little about it and yet it drives the world as we know it. So when authors like Erin and Ted bravely explore these mysterious regions, going into complex places like memory and soul and relationships, I become hooked. The creativity of this suspenseful story is sure to hook other readers as well. Very memorable!”
~Melody Carlson, author of Finding Alice and The Other Side of Darkness

“Dekker and Healy prove a winning team in this intriguing, imaginative thriller.”
~James Scott Bell, bestselling author of Try Darkness

“Kiss by Erin Healy and Ted Dekker is a superb thriller that hooked me from the first sentence. The original plot kept me guessing, and I may never look at a kiss the same way again. I’ll be watching for the next book!”
~Colleen Coble, author of Cry in the Night

“The writing team of Erin Healy and Ted Dekker has taken me through a page-turner with Kiss. It’s one of those books that you think about when you’re not reading it. I highly recommend it, especially if you don’t mind staying up late because you can’t put the book down!”
~Rene Gutteridge, author of Skid and My Life As a Doormat

Elvis Takes A Backseat

The latest release by Leanna Ellis

Claudia, a young widow is determined to fulfill her husband's last request by hauling a three-foot bust of Elvis Presley in the backseat of a vintage Cadillac from Dallas to Memphis to return it to its rightful owner. The road trip-taken with an eccentric aunt who actually knew the "King of Rock 'n' Roll," and a temperamental teen with a suspicious mind of her own-hits some royal roadblocks and detours as these women uncover pieces of their past along with the bust's mysterious history. What they find along the way changes their lives forever.

To hear an interview and buy the book here!

Quick Facts about Leanna:

Favorite color: Red!

Favorite animal: Lions…and of course my adorable dogs and snooty cats.

Favorite food: Blueberries, strawberries, dark chocolate (never mixed with fruit of any kind), cheese enchiladas and guacamole.

Favorite beverage: Diet Coke…and some times Sangria.

Favorite vacation locations: I love the mountains. Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Ouray, Colorado. But I also love the ocean and going to Hawaii. I won the Golden Heart award while in Hawaii. Then another time, I signed with my agent while vacationing there. Swimming with large sea turtles is one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. England and Scotland is where my husband and I honeymooned and we cannot wait to get back over there.

Find out more about Leanna at here website, www.leannaellis.com

Tell me something I don't know about YOU!

I'm honored to be Deena's Author Of the Month over at A Peek at My Bookshelf.

She has a fun list of things you may or may NOT know about me.

Scoot on over to the post and check them out...and tell us something no one knows about you, and we'll draw a winner for a goodie on Jan 15th!

Happy Reading!

Craft Tips and Techniques from Today’s Blockbusters

From December issue of Christian Fiction Magazine

Craft Tips and Techniques from Today’s Blockbusters
Indy and the Great Promise: A study of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

...who can argue with the magic of Connery and Ford as father and son...
I’ll never forget the first time I met Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Fresh from the Stars, Han Solo—um, er, Indy was exactly my kind of hero—a little bit arrogant, a little bit unassuming, a whole lotta cute, and best of all, he was searching for the ark of the covenant. In an age when most people still knew their Sunday school dogma, it was a quest worth investing in. And the premise, keeping the most holy of artifacts out of the hands of an evil empire—the Nazis—well, right there the franchise became a classic.

But Indy two—remember it? I didn’t think so. Sure, we all went, hoping for a continuation of the fun from Raiders, but in the Temple of Doom, what we got was a dark, mystical, creepy quest in the Far East, where Indy suddenly begins to speak a different language when muscled and sweaty priests try to rip his heart from his chest. I hated it.

Thankfully, the franchise took the clues and ended the trilogy with the formula that worked: Indy going after the relics of our faith in the Last Crusade, my personal favorite (who can argue with the magic of Connery and Ford as father and son?).

Another hit, and it revived the magic of the Indy Chronicles.

Fast forward a couple decades and the old believers still love Indy. Yet, it’s time for a new guard. So, Indy is revived, and still looking good, despite a few years on him, enters the screen the same old arrogant, lip-curling rebel, this time taking on the Russians. (And, as a gal who lived in Russia, I can tell you that the accents are good!) 
 
Read the rest here!