Raising Ripples is a young teen novel concerning human trafficking. The characters have animalistic traits, and their DNA is not necessarily stable. Seven-year-old Ripples is looking for his best friend. When he disappears, his older sister, Foxii, and her new friend Pterro follow his clues to find him. His sister is also captured and Pterro must find a way to believe in himself and the God of his friends to lead the Safety Authorities to not only Foxii and Ripples but to several others who also had been taken from their families.
1. Foxii is described as a ‘Rebel without a cause’. As young people, what do we want to rebel against, and what kind of causes are worth the effort?
2. Newgale has access to wander the city looking for kids. Why doesn’t she simply run away from her kidnappers? Why does she keep doing the work of kidnapping other kids? What lies does she tell herself?
3. Ripples seems to be the least affected by the entire ordeal. Why do you think this is? What kind of long-term effects could show up later, and how could he avoid them?
4. The quotation from Mother Teresa speaks about ripples. What kind of ‘ripples’ were caused or used in the story? What kind of ‘ripples’ do we cause on a daily basis? Both the good and the bad.
5. Human trafficking is an issue in our world. Have you ever heard of someone going missing? How could people be taken or sold around us in today’s society? How can we stop this from happening?
Rocky Rulers is a YA novel with deep themes and interesting characters. The reader follows Petra as she realizes that her home is a deteriorating society and searches for a new perspective on life. She meets several unique people, some of whom are of great importance to her past as well as the future of the Mountain Realm. Her friends try to manipulate the outcomes of the situation and though they are successful, they are injured in the process. Eventually, Petra and Pterro return to the Mountain to confront the Queen and her partner, neither of whom has the best interest of the Realm or the people in mind.
1. What societal changes does Petra see in the Mountain Realm? How long would it take a society to start to fail? How does it compare to modern society?
2. As this story is set somewhere in the future, how believable is the prevalence of crime, prejudice and the extremes of the different living conditions in the story? What ways could this have been avoided? Do we have these same issues in our world now?
3. Gabe chose to leave his family at a young age. Though he has people and places he stays he does not feel that he fits anywhere. How much of this is his own doing and at what point could he change the situation? Where do you see Gabe living in the future?
4. Reef is an intelligent, personable character but was not chosen for specific training or a career out of high school. Why do you think this happens? What potential future careers do you see him excelling at? Do our schools and education fail people like this too?
5. The families of the characters are vastly different, each with its own benefits and challenges. How much did their families shape their identities and in what ways? Do our families shape our identities, and is this beneficial or a detriment to our futures?
Rule #1 of writing good books and living a good life
No one wants to be lectured unless they are paying for the seat in the lecture hall. We want to communicate, have a conversation and be a part of the social interaction. With writing we are often told to show not tell. This means don’t lecture, explain or babble on about the beauty of the landscape or the backstory for too long. Have the characters see, hear and experience the situation through their thoughts, words and actions. This makes for a much better story. It helps the reader experience the situation right along with them. They become part of the story.
In life it is the same. People don’t want to be told about life and how they should think or live. They want to be shown the world and experience it with someone and eventually exist in that world on their own. When we lecture our kids about how life is – they don’t listen. They are looking around, touching things, wiggling their bodies and not listening. But when you take their hand, walk with them and point things out, they are far more attentive to what we say. Even more so, they watch us when we aren’t paying attention. They see and hear everything. I whisper something to my husband about our daughter and she calls out from two rooms over, “I heard that” You better believe they are listening!
So what are they seeing and hearing? Is it the same thing we are trying to tell them? Do our actions speak louder than our words? They are watching us very closely and in their minds they are cataloguing things that make sense, things that don’t and deciding, even at very early ages, what they believe. When our actions give them mixed signals it makes it harder for them to believe our words. Once someone has made up their mind and the longer that the thought is reinforced, then the harder it is to change. Logic, after a certain point, doesn’t really come into the discussion. When was the last time that you actually changed someone’s mind?
It takes effort to open your own mind and allow someone to tell you that you are wrong. Then you must weigh all the possibilities. Next and probably the hardest part of all, you must remove all of the emotional and inter-personal baggage surrounding that thought. If you can only look at the idea and not the person who first presented it to you or the person asking at the this moment, then you might see the flaw in your logic and change your mind. But it is so hard to say that you might be wrong. It takes even more effort to start preaching the truth that you now know. That wrongness is going to taunt you for a long time.
But what if you are not wrong. What if you can strip it back and your idea still stands. Then your preaching the truth is justified, right? You should tell everyone else that they are wrong, help them be correct and then everybody will be on the same page. Right? Well, maybe not the way you think. Put the invitation to discuss the idea out there. Ask them why they think they are right. But don’t lecture. Maybe don’t even talk. You didn’t discover your truth by having someone pound you over the head. You needed to discover the truth by quietly analyzing your own proofs and motives. So do they.
Show, don’t tell is just another way of saying lead by example. In a world where people only get 30 seconds or 150 characters to say what they are thinking or feeling at this exact moment we have to be succinct. Table time suppers are not the one hour they used to be, ten or fifteen minutes at most if at all and our lives are full of rushed goodbyes. Where and when do we get a chance to just talk and listen to each other and share our views without judgement. Our actions are even more important now then they have ever been in the past. Our social interactions both in-person and online are fast and furious so make the moments count.
If we are unsure of exactly what we are supposed to be doing remember there is a perfect example all recorded for us to follow- the Gospels. WWJD was an excellent
motto and a straight forward plan of action, not just words on a bracelet. I was reminded of a verse I used to say on a weekly basis. The leader would call out: What does the Lord require of you? We responded: To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. Micah 6:8. Its that simple. Act , love, and walk. Yelling across the web is not part of it, lecturing is not going to work. Besides Jesus taught mostly using stories. He was an author, he knew the rule – Show don’t Tell. He lived it.
This week try to act justly not just say the words of justice. Then love mercy. Show someone mercy, both in your thoughts and your deeds. Then go for a walk, experience the world around you and humbly take Jesus’ hand. He has things to tell you.
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We honour milestones, birthdays, anniversaries, and even the end of a life. These are big events but we should also celebrate the small moments. A project finished, a new job, or even just a ‘we made it’. This does not mean every kid gets a trophy but a ‘Well done, I’m proud of you’ is also important. Maybe even more important.
This week I am celebrating finishing a first draft of my second book. First drafts are weird. They have a begginning, middle and end but that doesn’t mean they are the full story. They are full of forgotten story archs, unexplained characters, and a thousand spelling mistackes. So, how can it really be finished?
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There is enough to work with, I think. Enough of the idea got onto the paper (or screen) that now someone other than me can understand what I intended. They will have questions which the second draft will try to answer or that part will be deleted. Spelling mistakes will hopefully be caught, and punctuation placed approipiately. But more important the first step to achieving the goal of the story has been accomplished. It has been read by another person. Now its time to get to work to make it better.
I feel like sometimes we celebrate too much and other times, not enough. Big family dinners for no reason at all, just an opportunity to get together. This should be celebrated, Trying something new that worked out reasonably well – a hug and a word of joy, even when it still needs work. Even the day when you want the world to stop so you can just get off – but you got up and went to work anyway, even if your only goal was making it to lunch break. Celbrate what you are doing.
That being said, don’t make your celebrations so big and stressful that you start to resent or not feel the joy. Sometimes Christmas becomes a three week event that leaves me feeling like I totally missed the point. Focus. I think we need to focus our celebrations. We should be celebrating the real point of the celebration.
Not all celebrations require decorations and fancy napkins, but some do. Flowers or new clothes, maybe a couple do. A toast to the lucky individual or maybe just the cook, this is good. These are words, words of joy for where you have come from, words of encouragement for the next step in the journey. Words from the heart, especially when the wine is flowing. But you don’t need the glass to say the words. Look them in the eye, tell them they are good, valid, important to you. Tell them that their efforts are seen, acknowledged and appreciated. What you say means a lot.
This week share what you are celebrating, tell someone of your accomplishments. Ask others about what they are doing, and celebrate with them. Gifts and fancy dinners are not needed and neither are trophies. Use your words – because words can change the wolrd. Even if they are spelled wrong.
Simple answer, no. A book doesn’t change the world, the people who read it change the world. Kind of like that gun reference. In the same way though, the availability of the book is a big factor in who is holding that book. Gutenberg proved that a very long time ago with a book that still helps a lot of people change the world. My book is less important but I hope it helps someone.
So when I was publishing my book there were so many questions that I needed to think about in terms of getting it into people’s hands. Does that specific book catch the eye when it is on the shelf? Is it easy enough to read? Does it hold your attention, keep your interest, challenge you? Do you want to read more? And even more basic-is the book in your local library, neighbourhood store or on the platform you normally use? Can you get the book you want read?
In order to help my book be available I have put in an application to the Winnipeg Public Library, a school library as well as Hull’s bookstore. They are currently reviewing it and will let me know. The best way to get a book into either a library or a bookstore is to get lots of people to request it. So if you know someone who might like to read my book or anything else specific that isn’t listed than please request it, fill out the little form and ask. Encourage your friends to as well. So now I wait. Maybe I should read someone else’s books for a bit.
At the beginning of summer I was looking to boost my summer reading pile. Looking forward to lazy afternoons and early unrushed mornings. I ordered six books off of Thriftbooks.com. I had a specific list of authors and books I wanted so I started looking locally. I looked on the Winnipeg Public Library and couldn’t find these specific books, there were others in the series or by the same authors but not the first book in six series. I looked online at local stores websites but only found one or two. Again more from those authors and even more in those series. Big named e-books didn’t have all of them either. So I ordered all of the books I wanted from one place -Thriftbooks.com and paid almost the same amount in shipping as I did for the books. They arrived in only a couple weeks.
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1. Piers Anthony – On a Pale Horse
This one because a few months ago my husband tried to find every book in the series Incantations of Morality. All the rest were found at used book stores around Winnipeg except this one. I read this book when I was in high school but I might still give it another read. I haven’t decided yet.
2. Cornelia Funk – InkHeart
I need my daughter to read this one. She has her own writings and drawings and I think she would love this concept. It really intrigued me when I read it shortly after it first came out. Unfortunately/fortunately when I started talking it up and showed her the book she said, “Yeah I have that one on my shelf, I just haven’t got to it yet.” So I got an extra copy now. Books seldom go to waste, they make very good birthday gifts too.
3. Mary Doria Russell – The Sparrow
This was a completely blind purchase. When I put several hashtags in for my book including Christian and science fiction, this was one of the books that came up as comparable (or Comp Title). This was a strange and difficult journey. Worth it in so many ways and yet I was disappointed by the ending. It went in a way that I couldn’t follow. I wrote more about this book in a previous newsletter (Be careful little Eyes).
4. Ted Dekker – Black
Again a blind purchase because it was also in the Comp Title list but I do not feel like this is what I am writing at all. I was curious about what other Christian Science fiction writers had done and this is certainly that and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the Circle series in the future (they are available locally). It taught me what my book is not.
5. Mercedes Lackey – Arrows of the Queen
I had heard the name in mid-grade fantasy listings and found a audiobook preview. I listened while crocheting and very much wanted to finish the story. I found the writing style to be a similar story telling style to my own. I should not have been surprised that the story was not finished at the end of the first book as it is the first in a very long series spanning several decades of writing. Way to reel me in.
6. Martha Wells – The Cloud Roads – Volume 1 of the Books of the Raksura
Her name came up in every search I did for comp titles, and was that search engine correct! I found a sample, the first couple chapters and began reading. I devoured it, read 69 pages with only getting up to pee and grab sustenance once that whole time. When the actual book arrived it was the first I continued to read. I read all through the night and finished it in a couple of days. The characters, the world, even the style of writing – all comparable to Rocky Rulers. Then a few weeks later one of my adult kids decided to stock up on their own reading list – The MurderBot Diaries. She bought the series having no idea that I had already read a book by the same author so she is now intrigued to try something new.
And isn’t that the entire point of comparable titles. Its not to find an exact copy in another format of the story you just read. It is to make the next book approachable, relatable and just different enough to make you reach and challenge you in a new direction. Reading one more book gives you one more perspective and all of this leads to you, the reader, making little changes to your thoughts, actions, words and therefore, changing the world. For you and hopefully others but only if you can find the book you are going to read.
So submit a request to your local library to see mine or other books. Send me book suggestions for what to read this fall and if you see my book somewhere, send me a picture. One of my main goals was to see my book in libraries, even if its your own personal library. Or show me what books have helped you change the world.
I have been struggling with my stories lately, most of the last month or maybe longer. I wasn’t really worrying about it because well, the first book was written over two years and then edited over another. Why should the TWO books I have been working on suddenly appear in the last eight months?
I don’t push myself to write everyday. I am fully aware that that is the number one things writers are told is to make time to write everyday. For me though, there are some days when I can’t look at a screen without feeling a headache and some days when typing actually hurts so I write when I can. I am blessed that I don’t rely on my writing income to buy groceries or pay the mortgage, I have a hard working husband for that. Thank you Theo. So writing and the stories that come out of it are on my time, when I feel well, and can focus and actually have something to say.
The problem is that I have had time and good days and the writing that happens is what my grandmothers might have called pap, a flavourless slurry of water and grain that always reminded me of papermache, not the nutritious baby food that it was intended to be. So how had I lost the flavour and texture and nutrition from my writing? My characters had goals, the endings were already written, but I couldn’t seem to move forward.
Actually, that’s exactly where I was stuck with the stories. The characters were traveling in both stories. Traveling, talking, moving from one place to another and never arriving, anywhere. Yes they needed to change locations but I couldn’t seem to write what would happen next. They were stuck in this endless loop of movement without growth.
Sometimes I feel like I am in that same loop. Marking time, we called it in the military. Its the action of marching in spot while waiting for the next command. I get up everyday, do stuff that is necessary and then go to bed at night without anything meaningful being said or done. There is no growth, no change, no climax in my story and therefore no glorious ending.
I was up a little early today, but not moving well at first. This means I sit on the couch until medication kicks in and I read if I can. I reread one of my stories, another big no-no in the writing community. As I read I realized exactly what had gone wrong. It was so simple and obvious that I know that I missed it in the other story as well AND it was also true in my life too.
I don’t write Christian books that preach salvation. That is not my gift. I do write stories that encourage discussion about beliefs and activities like going to church and celebrating religious holidays and praying. The stories don’t make a big deal about it, it is just apart of people’s lives and for some people it isn’t, but it might be.
I have a religious curious character who is kind of out there on his own without a family or home, though he has good friends they aren’t always nearby or available. He has asked for help in the dark when he is scared and help has been there for him. He keeps meeting more and more people who also know a God or at least know about a God. They sometimes have different names like Creator or Lord and usually interact in different ways with their beliefs but he is beginning to think that maybe they are all the same God.
Churchoftherock.ca
Before I had a chance to do any repairing of my stories it was time to go to church. Not the church I grew up with, not the church that I raised my children in or got married in. Its just a church. They preach the bible and the love of God and a mighty group of believers sing God’s praises, or in this morning’s service they sang ‘What a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus’. The sermon was about the presence of the Holy Spirit. Accepting the invitation, being involved in the interaction and the experiencing the amazing impact of the Holy Spirit.
The pastor there uses the phrase regularly that every time you pray-something happens. Sometimes your prayer is answered, sometimes it changes the situation, and sometimes it changes you. I had forgot to pray. I forgot to accept the invitation. My God is always holding out His hands waiting for me to accept the help He is offering, I don’t have to ask for Him to come, He’s already here, just waiting on me. So I prayed. I reached for His hand and grew and moved forward again.
The characters in my stories had set out on their journeys, the lead up to a climax and the awaited endings. But they forgot to pray. Or really I had forgot to write that they prayed or talked or begged the Creator to make things happen. They wanted to end this situation and have it work out better than when they started. Just like I did but neither of us could move forward and grow and change without God. I went back and wrote in the prayers and discussions for my characters and now the journey is almost over. The end is in sight.
So pray and see what happens.
(I know I talk about my characters as if they are doing things I don’t have control over, but it is true. I put my fingers to the keyboard and some very surprising things happen that I have to write my way out of. Just trust me. This is what the creative process looks like for me. I am not actually crazy. Ask any writer.)
purchased at Dollartree on Pembina
Challenge this week is to keep track of your prayers, exactly what did you ask for. Then keep track of what happens. Are they answered, changed or are you changed to suit God’s purpose? Note that this may take longer than a week. As that old Sunday school song goes, “Sometimes God answers wait when I pray”. But pray anyway, and grow a little more while you wait.
My husband is a mechanic and seems to really love tools. Sometimes so much that he can’t get started on a job until he has exactly the right tool in his hand (including last minute runs to the hardware store). This has often annoyed me, both the delay in repairs and what I considered to be a waste of money. Why couldn’t he just use that adjustable wrench or the worn out screwdriver, I would ask. Recently, though I learned something about that. I bought a lawn mower.
The right tool for the job
We have a lawn mower that needs repairs, often. And the grass was getting long. Again. I wanted something that I didn’t have to ask for help with. Not to refuel, maintain, adjust, or even start. So I used some gift cards and bought a light weight, push-button electric mower for use with a cord. As I easily finished all three yards in one morning I thought, ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?’ If I can operate it myself I can use it when I need, I can finish the job or take a break when I need to. The right tool has made the lawn care possibilities endless ! Well maybe not endless, I don’t intend to mow everyone’s lawn, but my neighbour’s yard is now a possibility.
While I was walking behind this gentle machine I thought about the kids in school who don’t like to write until they get that one, thick, super-cool marker or don’t read until someone shows them just the right book. These are tools too. both the object and the person who knows to offer it. Is part of our resistance to doing things because we don’t have the right tool? What if the right tool is actually the right words? Sometimes rephrasing the question or request is all that is needed to get my kids in motion.
My youngest is sometimes shy, or in modern speak-has anxiety. When new situations come up one of the things we do is practice. I give her a script. Maybe we go to the store deli: “Hi I would like 100g of pepperoni, please.” Point to the one you want if there are options or tell the person it is for pizza. Make sure to thank them. Then go to the cashier. Say hi, make eye contact, give them the cash. This doesn’t seem like a big deal for many people but when you can’t think of words when you’re scared then having a script takes one stressful aspect out of the situation.
God understands anxiety, Moses had it, David had it, even the disciples had anxiety. God/Jesus gave them words, and therefore tools to get the work done. ‘When you are praying say this:’ ‘When someone says this to you, respond with this.’ The Holy Spirit still gives us the words and tools we need but we have to listen first and sometimes it is very hard to hear them. Or we can also read them in the Bible, and devotionals online or in books. Often I hear the exact words I need in someone else’s voice. My mom’s, a favourite aunt’s, my children’s, my pastor’s, my friend’s and even my husband’s voice sometimes. We need to find the time to read the words, or listen for them.
One of my characters has anxiety and I hope that some of the lessons he learns throughout the book will give a child reading it the tools they need to deal with their own stress and anxiety. At one point he doesn’t know what he should do so he thinks of someone else, what would they do. The friend’s words comes to him. He listens first.
This week’s challenge is to very deliberately use your words as tools. Whether you explain something clearly or use them to encourage, think about what you are saying and what the person will remember. Will it be love that they hear when they need it most, when they are full of sadness or anxiety, will yours be the voice that comes to them?
Rocky Rulers is now available on all major online stores and through
I also have a stack of books at my house, so just ask!
Figuring out right vs wrong when you are frozen with anxiety is hard. Your fur stands on end, ears twitch and your tail flicks nervously from side to side. Breathe with me. And again. You’ve got friends. You don’t need to know history, lore or magic to join these teens through personal struggles and major catastrophes while they change the world for everyone around them.
When we think of ears we automatically think about hearing. The words rhyme so its an easy link to make but it more than that. Hearing is passive. We hear the neighbour’s AC machine turn on, our partner’s snores, the second step that creaks under the dog’s paw. Sometimes, when I have a headache I want to block out these noises and can’t. Its because hearing is not a sense we have an off switch for. We close our eyes during the scary parts of a movie, we spit out that bad tasting food, and we even pinch our noses shut but not our ears. When we cover our ears it actually makes the noise louder.
So if hearing is passive then listening is active. It takes conscious effort to listen and is somewhat of a dying art. Even though my mom can’t hear everything she used to, she is a great listener. She will move her chair so her good ear is near you. She watches your mouth and moves her lips to follow what you are saying. She asks you to repeat the parts she isn’t sure she got right the first time. She actively listens to your voice and the words you are saying. She has to in order to understand but so do we.
We are changed people when we listen.
When I was in high school, I remember a teacher telling us to listen actively. He meant for us to be taking notes and forming opinions about what we heard but I think listening actively involves stopping. Stopping our brains from thinking about our own words. Stopping distractions for both the speaker and the listener. Stopping by not just not interrupting the other but not even forming a response until the other person is completely finished speaking. And stopping being distracted by all the other noise and activity.
One of the ways that we taught our kids to get someones attention was to gently place their hand on the person’s arm. People couldn’t ignore such a simple and yet personal touch. Often when I see some one really listening they place their hand on the speaker’s arm or shoulder. I think it is partly to let them know that they are being heard but it also serves the purpose of keeping the listener zeroed into the speaker. We glide our finger tips under the words on the page, we point or drag a finger along the line on a map. Touching uses a second sense, its a back up for our ears.
Somehow we listen with our eyes too. If I am talking on the phone I will often close my eyes to close off distractions and picture the person on the other end of the call. We see nuances to words by the half shrug that accompanies them or how deep the passion lies when their eyes light up and almost sparkle. Did you know that when you watch someone you automatically start to breath in rhythm with them. We mimic other peoples movements, taking on the same posture and position of the other person. It is a little funny to watch an interview sometimes but without thinking about it we make a connection in our unconscious minds and act on it.
So we absorb the speaker’s deep regret as well as their immense joy, their struggle to understand and their expression of wisdom.
In order to listen to people we need to make a choice. Remember, hearing is passive, listening requires focus and so much more. The reward is truly knowing another person. Not just hearing their words and internalizing them. Their varying ways of communicating make their words become part of us the listener. So we absorb the speaker’s deep regret as well as their immense joy, their struggle to understand and their expression of wisdom. We are changed people when we listen. There is no limit to what you can learn when you listen. When you choose not to listen, you will have no idea what you have lost.
Your challenge this week is to listen first. When talking with someone, really listen. Give them 100% of your attention while they are talking. Put down your phone, look them in the eye, maybe even touch them in order to stay focused. Listen. Listen with your ears, take in not only what they are saying but how and why as well. Watch their body language change. Don’t be planning what you need to say, just focus on them first. And when it is your turn to speak, listen to that still small voice from deep inside your heart and repeat the words that the Spirit gives you to say.
I just finished reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. It was on my read list because it hit several of my hashtags. I wanted to know what my book (the next one, not the one just published) would be comparable to. So Christian, science fiction, speculative fiction, character growth were typed in and the result spit out, among others, was the The Sparrow. So I read it completely blind. No information beyond that. I would not recommend this book to just anyone.
The ending hurt, disgusted, and shocked me. It shouldn’t have because all the information was out there right at the beginning but having been on this journey with her amazing characters somehow I forgot. And was blindsided to the point of tears. When I could see again, I read the author’s notes and interview. I thought about what she said and became a little angry, with myself. Her beliefs were not in-line with mine. Her reasons for writing were exactly what I was looking for but her inner self, the core that everything else is hung on, doesn’t match mine. So the resolution of the book was not what I believed, both the actions and the character’s outlook.
Being challenged by the books we read is a great reason to read! Not everything is about information or entertainment. The ones we truly remember are the ones that shape our inner core. In some cases they make us want to be more like them, in others the exact opposite, but for most it’s more like tweaks than about-turns. Would I behave differently? Could I make a better decision? Would I be brave enough? We ask ourselves questions, we think about outcomes. We reflect on our own lives and make the tiniest adjustments. Sometimes we don’t even realize that this is what we are doing. Seeds of self doubt can easily be planted or maybe someone recognizes too much of themselves in the villain. We need to read with awareness.
Books with helmets and knee pads
I have kids. I taught my kids many things, held their hand or bike seat and cheered them on. I did my best but at some point I did need to let go. They wobbled and swerved and yelled as they bumped off the sidewalk and into the grass. They might be scared and need a hug but they were safe. Knee pads, elbow pads and helmet still firmly in place despite the grass stains.
When we give our children books there is a little less control. I did read the first of almost every series that my five children read once they reached chapter books. Luckily they read some of the same series or that to-be-read list would still sitting beside the bed. I didn’t agree with all of them. I discussed my concerns with my kids, I asked questions and encouraged them to ask questions. Not just of me but of themselves too. When a book crossed a line that they didn’t want to follow, I never pushed, even if it was a school assigned book. I don’t believe in sheltering kids from all the things of this world that might be scary or troublesome but I do believe that we need to equip them.
Author Awareness
One way of knowing what to expect from an author is to read up about them. Read the author bio, listen to interviews, read reviews from other people or authors. Look for the words that align with your inner core. What do they believe? Do they write for an audience that your child is involved in or can relate to? Is the maturity level the same as where your child is right now regardless of age? What message is the author trying to send? Then you make a decision. Should they read this alone or with help? Will we discuss this afterwards? Then let them read. I don’t recommend banning books, it will make them even more likely to be read and then you will have no control or input. Its about conversation and communication.
For your own books I recommend something similar. Join a book club, read it with a friend, or look for a reader’s guide. There is a reader’s guide at the end of The Sparrow. I went through the questions and answered for myself. What do I believe? How would my outlook have been different than the character’s resolution? Will this book change what I believe? No, it will not, though I did find the characters fascinating and the concept fresh and exciting, I will continue to believe what I believed before I read this book. I am secure in my faith.
Housekeeping and Updates
First, my book is available as a e-book on all major sites. It is available to order in either hard cover or paperback on the Friesen Press website and will shortly be available to order a physical copy at major book sites as well (about two weeks). I will also have physical copies in about two weeks if you wish to purchase directly from me.
Second, THANK YOUs. I recieved very few responses about being sure to thank the people around you. For myself, I thanked a lot of people in person with no effort at all but I seldom thank people online. So I know where I need
to work on that. I also realize that I need to leave the house on a more regular basis. That is a totally different situation though. So please respond to my challenges and questions when ever you read them. Give me tips or reminders. I need them and I will make an effort to thank you for your critiques as well.
Now for this week’s question:
How has a book changed you for the better? Is there a book that has changed you for the worse?
So, I did it. I’m a writer. Well, I’ve always been a writer, at least since I was making wiggly letters touch both the top and the bottom line on the page. Now I wrote a book. Somehow that’s not new either. I remember stapling together a couple of sheets of paper containing a story and illustrations! So what exactly did I do? Publish a book? Nope, that wasn’t me, editing had a lot of help with that one too. . . Maybe I authored a book.
I did not do it by myself. THANK YOU!
We say things like, “I am an author.” but what does that actually mean? Cambridge says writer of a book, article etc. Or my favourite definition: someone who creates or begins something. Wiki says that an author is a creator of an original work that has been published. I am really glad to find out that being an author does not require me to be an authority on something. The two words grew from the same root but are not related it seems. I am not an expert, not even about my own book.
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A few years ago I got a head injury. Wasn’t my first, it didn’t even seem to be my worst. But I didn’t really get better. Things are more stable, I know what to expect, most days, but it did leave a few holes that aren’t and probably won’t be repaired. One of them is memories. This is both a blessing and a curse. The funny stories I don’t remember of my own life or those of my kids are the curse part. Along with whether we have milk in the fridge or what time it is right now are also lost. But the blessings are that I can open presents I wrapped myself and still be pleasantly surprised. So it is with writing my book, every time I read it I get excited, “What’s going to happen next? Will everyone be okay?” Then I laugh and remember that I wrote the story. I don’t remember writing it, though. I can point to specific moments or places when I was writing. I know what started it and few parts in the middle if I concentrate but while I am reading, NO IDEA! Its kind of fun that way.
So I really need to thank all those people who read the story, made sure it keeps making sense, pointed out the spelling mistakes and the sentences I forgot to finish. My family, who suffered through last minute suppers, a million post it notes and me asking the same question more than once (or three times) before I understood and remembered their answer. So I did do it. I created an original work and started something new and am now a published author but I did not do it by myself. THANK YOU!
Your challenge this week is to simply say Thank You to three different people EVERYDAY for what they do for you, or just for being themselves. These people can be online but bonus points if your appreciation is expressed in person or accompanied by a hug or handshake. Pay attention and keep track, it easy to forget. Let me know who you remembered or who you forgot. I’ll let you know my results next week
