Follow You, Follow Me

Meet and Greet on the blog today!

In case you haven't heard, I'd love to find a home for my novel

The Keeper, a Christmas Romance
48,400 words
Full manuscript available upon request


These are my 'Getting-to-Know-Me' questions for GUTTAA.
However,  What I'd really like to do is get to know you better.
You meaning anyone reading my blog, ah, that is anyone besides my Mom, (hi Mom ;)
So just for fun, pick a question and answer it in the comments. And for my non-writing friends--I think (hope) I still have some left--tell me about your hobby!

And as an added Friends Friday bonus - if you follow me I will follow you. I mean your blog, I will follow your blog. You knew that right? That sort of explains the purpose of the you tube video at the end of this post. (Did Phil know he was singing a blogger's theme song) Enjoy!

-Where do you write? Wherever my lap top is. Usually my desk. Occasionally someplace as exotic as the library. If I am in a place more exotic than the library, I can assure you, I am writing there. (okay, maybe a little.)

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see? A binder. Hmm. The door to the laundry room. Or the door to the bathroom. I'm stopping there because it doesn't really get any more interesting.

-Favorite time to write? Any time I get to write is my favorite time!

-Drink of choice while writing? Do you really want to know? Water. Let's see if the next question will lend itself to revealing some personality...

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence? Silence. Mostly. There are some instrumentals I can play but not for very long.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it? Can I say that my last inspiration found me? I don't feel like I went looking for it. One day, not sure why, I was thinking of some of my favorite Christmas memories and next thing I know, I'm writing a novel. Go figure.

-What's your most valuable writing tip? This last question is a curve ball. This has been all 'lets play nice and ask some warm up questions' and now wham! pressure. I need to come up with a writing tip!! No, make that a valuable writing tip. Okay, drum roll... "Don't. Stop. Writing." 

Comfort Zone in the Rear View Mirror

Potpourri Thursday = Different Things To Share That Smell Great! 
Ok, not exactly. But I don't have to really explain potpourri, do I?


Just thought I'd let you know I've kissed my comfort zone goodbye.
A good friend told me about this awesome blog/contest/get-an-agent fest and suggested I join. And so what do you think I did? Nothing! (Really, I sat there looking at the email thinking, 'no, no, no, not gonna do it!) Until the aforementioned friend, in subtle-good-friend fashion asked, "what could it hurt?" Which I took to mean: "get off facebook and do something with your writing!!"  Ugh. So before I could leave my chair to stock up on the day's supply of chocolate - I signed up.Wish me luck, or a teddy bear, or lots more chocolate! 

And in other news: I am now sporting bangs. For the first time in maybe ten years. Maybe I'll post a picture sometime after I get around to doing my hair. . .

What else? I would like to disconnect my phone until the election is over. Am I the only one getting a zillion political calls?

WIP Wednesday

Work-In-Progress Wednesday

Okay class, how do you spell revisions?

M-O-L-A-S-S-E-S.


Sums it up for me, how about you?

Tuesday Triumph

You might notice my new blog schedule. Yesterday was Marriage Book Review Monday. And if that wasn't too much excitement, today is Tuesday Triumph. I promise not all days will be full of (slightly overused) blog title alliterations. Potpourri Thursday has no poetic effort! Friday will have something to do with Friends and Wednesday will be dedicated to the Work In Progress. But as for Tuesdays, I thought I'd share some triumph, large or small or somewhere in between. And I'd love to hear about yours too!

So here goes. Drum roll please. . . I am learning Yoga. 
You can stop laughing now. Okay, now? 

Why is this my triumph? Let's just say I bought some very comfortable exercise "yoga" pants, I don't know how many months (ahem, years) ago with the intention of signing right up and getting all stretched out. Never happened, until now. I'm learning slowly, but it feels good to do something I've been wanting to do for a while. How about you?

Marriage Book Review Monday

Have you ever noticed there are a lot of marriage books out there?

It took me a while to figure out I loved reading books on the subject. (Someone may have pointed out to me I might be a marriage book junkie :) I've decided to dedicate Mondays on the blog to marriage book reviews. Why? For the fun of it, or maybe I think happy marriages are important, possible and worth the work! Or maybe I miss doing book reports in school. . .

(This post also appears at Making Marriage Merry - an awesome marriage blog! Check it out!)

For Starters:

Title: Teens, Temple Marriage & Eternity

Author: Allan K. Burgess

Publisher: Deseret Book

Year: 1988

How I found it: Christmas Gift

Available on Amazon: Here

Audience: LDS teens and their parents, great for youth leaders, too.

Hardcover, 105 pages

                

This little gem of a book is an easy read. The writing is straightforward and organized into concise chapters with summaries. Burgess draws on experience as a Seminary teacher and counselor, as well as teachings of latter day prophets and general authorities.

I received this as a Christmas gift as a teenager. I think it was the first "marriage" book I’d ever read. I was 14 and of course, I hadn’t met my future husband and though I wouldn’t be married for years to come, I read the book within a day. What can I say? I’ve been fascinated by marriage for a long time. Time and experience has only increased my interest in, as well as my deep appreciation for, the gift of marriage.

               

From the front flap:

“Why should I get married in the temple?” “What happens when I go to the temple for the first time?” “Why are the covenants made there so important?” . . . Allan K. Burgess, a seminary teacher with considerable experience in counseling teenagers and young adults, answers these questions and puts to rest some of the myths and concerns you may have about the temple. Besides learning how to prepare for your first visit to the temple and what to expect from it, you will also learn the importance of the covenants you make and the rich blessings in store for you if you honor those covenants.”

What I appreciate:

The concept he teaches about the difference between a temple wedding and a celestial marriage. The wedding is an event that takes place during one day and ends. The marriage can last a lifetime and for eternity if it is celestial. It is a process that requires two people motivated to keep their covenants.

        This idea might have been the most beneficial for me to learn as a young woman. Our youth are taught much about planning to marry in the temple, and rightly so, but sometimes the focus can be on the event of the wedding instead of the covenants or the quality of the marriage relationship after the wedding day.

     

Quote from Chapter Two, page 25:

                “Many young people labor and live under false notions, feeling that a marriage contract , and especially if it is a temple marriage, solves all the problems; and many people further think that marriage is a sort of perpetual motion program. Once set in motion by a marriage ceremony, it will never run down. I want to tell you that there are no marriages that can ever be happy ones unless two people work at it.” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], p. 307.)

 Quote from Chapter Six, page 60:

                “He helped her kneel at the altar, and then he walked around to the other side of the altar where he knelt across from her. As their eyes met, I noticed tears. . . .  You could both see and feel the joy that they felt at that moment.”

My two cents:

                Great read for teens and their parents.  Keep in mind the book was published before the digital revolution – so no advice regarding the internet, facebook, etc. Also, he discusses temple worthiness and uses a number of real life stories (names changed, of course) that include serious topics-therefore probably best suited for mature teens.

Up Next Week:
           The Five Love Languages/Gary Chapman