My Sunshine Maker

The last of my roses. Hubby brought them in to me the other day so they wouldn't get frost bitten. I think there was another reason too. Smile. Aren't they lovely?

Ah, true love!

Quote:

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. --James Matthew Barrie

Blessings!

Dwight Ritter Interview

How long have you known that you were a writer? Did you receive a clear "call?" Or have you just loved writing all your life?

Forever. Actually I remember clearly that I wrote my first novel when I was ten years old. It was just two pages long. The final line was, "Though hell should bar the way." My fifth grade teacher sent me home for using foul language. Mom sent me to my room.

When I first read Hemingway-around 16 or 17- I was struck with his "honesty," a word used by artists to describe a sense of clear reality. His short, choppy sentences and his realistic dialogue drew me to a typewriter.

I read William Goldman's Temple of Gold while still in college, and was hooked on a style of story telling and a "voice" so close to the one lodged in my head. So I began practicing it.

The first thing I ever wrote in the style that I wanted was a PBS documentary on the Amish. It was called "Being Amish" and it ran for twenty years. Twice I attended Sol Stein's writing workshop searching for a voice that might be acceptable to the mass trade markets. But I was in the advertising business supporting a family, so I wrote ads, tv commercials, jingles. I wrote several books about retail banking because many of my clients were banks. Those books were dry and factual (just what the publisher wanted). I experimented with children's books and El-hi curricula, publishing several titles. . .all without an agent. But I was NOT writing what I wanted to write. I still preferred "though hell should bar the way" even with the consequences.


What is the genre you write in? Would you explain what it is?

My style of writing is known as "literary narrative fiction or non-fiction." It is a vocal style incorporating vivid imagery and emotions; often written in the first person. I write what I see and feel. My favorite author is Toni Morrison. She says it the way I like to hear it. Annie Proulx, too. I also love a book by Carlos Eire called Waiting for Snow in Havana. There are others that exemplify literary narrative. Those are my favorites.


How do you spend your writing days? Do you set goals to reach a certain number of words per day? Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes you to write a novel?

I have the annoying habit of waking up at 5:00 A.M. I read for about two hours then I set out to write no less than 500 words. When I'm working on a book, I might write 1,000 or 2,000 words a day. I also spend a lot of time doing research (mostly through the internet), but I still get on an airplane to confront reality.


What is the spiritual message in your latest book? What can readers expect to get from reading it?

First off, I am not a "Christian Writer". I am a writer who is an active Christian. My only attempt at toeing the line as a Christian writer is my latest book, Emerson The Magnificent. The spiritual message is Faith. . .having it, losing it and finding it.


You recently had a book published. Would you take this time to describe it to us? How and where can readers buy your books?

Emerson is the story of an old man and his struggle to believe in a silent, invisible God. His faith journey is guided by a talking bicycle. I illustrated the book, as well. So now you might be thinking that this book is a children's book. Well it isn't. . .not necessarily. It's an allegory (A symbolic expression of a deeper meaning through a story acted out by humans or animals. . .even bicycles!) Many people consider allegories to be like a parable. As we all know Jesus spoke in parables to enhance the retention of certain key messages.


Where do you get ideas? Character names? Do you find your characters similar to you in any way?

I get ideas everywhere. My wife, JoAnn, and I travel in a large house trailer and I keep a running log as we go. My latest log is on my blog site http://thedwightritter.blogspot.com. JoAnn is a painter with galleries in Boston, Naples and Cape Cod. She won a national award in 2004 and her paintings are collected internationally by corporations and individuals. Her website is http://joannritterfineart.com/. She gets ideas from my writing and I get ideas from her paintings.


Do you ever feel like giving up? Most people don't understand the stress, the work, and the joy of being a writer. How tenuous becoming a writer is. Do you care to share how it feels, what discouraging/encouraging times you've gone through? Who's inspired you the most?

I have felt like giving up on many occasions. When you write books, it is easy to spend a year writing and re-writing. Then you send this work of art (which represents your entire being). . .you send this out to publishers who either never reply or tell you they do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Writing "for money" is truly a frustrating, lonely profession. . .unless you happen to have a best seller.


Would you roughly explain how you "chose" (or was chosen) a publisher? Do you just go "inny, minny, miny, moe?" Grin. Now, that you're published, can you sit back and relax from the success you've experienced?

One doesn't "choose" a publisher; not any more. Publisher's choose writers. That is 99.999% of the time. Further complicating the issue, publishers choose writers through literary agents. I met Jon Bauman at a party in Santa Fe. He had just published Santa Fe Passage. I asked him how he got his book published. He said it was "fairly easy." He met an editor of St. Martins Press at a cocktail party, sent him his manuscript and bango. That happens every once in a million years! The rest of us send out query letters till we're blue in the face. We finagle for a contact at a publishing house. We cry over our rejections.. . but for some strange reason we keep on trying.


Do you mind telling us some of your likes and dislikes? Hobbies, interests? Where would you like to travel if you could? Etc.

My wife and I love to travel. Annually we leave our home on Cape Cod and head west (my daughter lives in Colorado). We've met the most wonderful people on the road. . .great Christians, and great people who would make great Christians. For about eight years I traveled weekly to Europe, Central America and South America. Often JoAnn came with me.

My hobbies? I build hot rods. What more can I say? Those gleaming, lowered, loud concoctions of cars from the thirties. I have a 36 Ford that is on my web site and a 40 Ford pickup housed at my daughter's barn in Colorado.

I also am an avid fly fisherman.


Would you give us your blog or webpage so everyone can check it out? Anything else you'd like to share? Promotional information?

I have pretty much done that, but let me do it again so people can contact me.

Personal website: http://www.dwightritter.com
Emerson The Magnificent website: http://www.emersonthemagnificent.com
Personal blog: http://thedwightritter.blogspot.com/
JoAnn's website: http://joannritterfineart.com


Thank you, Dwight for being on my blog today. We wish you success with this book!

Blessings!

Thoughts for Those Who Eat

Writers (wait--everyone does) need to be healthy, so . . .

• Slow down. Your stomach lies. Get that. Believe it. It's not going to starve to death in the next hour.
• Another lie the stomach is famous for is that you can eat two scoops of those mashed potatoes. Nonsense.
• Regardless of what you learned from your mother, leave something on your plate. It not only is great for reducing your food intake, but it gives you a feeling of control.
  
• Begin cutting back on fats. Try using a healthier margarine. Shop around till you find one you like. Use no-fat spray for cooking. Watch the cheeses; search for tasty, healthier ones. Eat lots of veggies and fruits.
• Drink water; lots of it. If you don't like water, flavor it with something you like--lemon juice, a dash of juice, or a blended piece of fruit.
• Make healthy smoothies. There are no rules, choose your favorites, use low-fat milk, water, or juice.

• Start exercising. If you're not used to it, start while sitting in a chair. Work your legs and arms. Then move into more as you're able.
• Walk the pet. Play with the cat. Multitask. Use your imagination while dusting, sweeping, listening to music.
• Remember: it doesn't happen in a day. Take one meal at a time. One day at a time. Don't beat yourself up. Keep at it. Take small steps. Small improvements.

And make sure you check with your doctor.

Smile.

Quote:
Happiness is a direction, not a destination.

Blessings!

Don't Forget!

Dwight Ritter's Interview Coming up next week! He's the author of the fascinating book, "Emerson, the Magnificent." What's it about? Ah, check out the blog Wednesday, October 28th!

Blessings!

MY Yolkensteins

Fun egg faces I made for my ACFWOhio meeting last Saturday. Everyone got a kick out of them.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Quote:

If people talk negatively about you, live so that no one will believe them.

Blessings!

Stephanie Morrill Interview

Hi, Stephanie, I'm thrilled to have you today for an interview.

(Folks, don't forget to comment for a chance to win one of Stephanie's books. AND don't forget to go back and look for the questions I posted about Stephanie for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate.)

How long have you known you were a writer? Did you receive a clear "call?" Or have you loved writing all your life?

• I've know I was a writer since first grade. My elementary school really emphasized reading and writing. We had writing every day and when we finished our story, we got to go to the "publishing office," which was a tiny room in the school. We picked our cover and binding, then they typed up our story, bound it, then returned it to us to illustrate. When we were done, we read it to our class. I loved every bit of it except the illustrating. From then on I told people I wanted to be a writer.

What is the genre you write in? Would you explain what it is?

• I write young adult fiction. My books are geared to girls between the ages of 14 to 18.
  

How do you spend your writing days? Do you set goals to reach a certain number of words per day? Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes you to write a novel?

• My writing days were pretty uniform until my book released. These days I'm often doing more marketing than actual writing, and marketing includes blogging, commenting on other blogs, Facebooks, Twitter, school visits, giving interviews, and all kinds of other things. When I'm writing I try to get a thousand words done a day. I often do more, but a thousand is always the goal. It takes me about 4 to 6 months to write and edit the average book.

What is the spiritual message in your book? What can readers expect to get from it?

• While it's not something I set out to write about, the overall spiritual theme I see is that you're never too far gone for God. He always loves you. He always wants you back.
  

You've recently had a book published. Would you take this time to describe it to us? How and where can readers buy your book?

• Sure. My latest book is Me, Just Different It's the first book in The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series. Skylar Hoyt is a girl who seems to have it all--she's pretty, popular, and has a great-looking boyfriend. Her senior year should be the best one yet. But a horrible experience at a summer party has changed everything. Now she's vowing to make better choices, including going back to church. But as Skylar tries to gain new perspective on life, the world as she knows it begins to fall apart.


• Her parents are constantly fighting. Her younger sister has a big secret that Skylar is forced to keep. the guy she's dating is annoyingly jealous. And the new guy down the street is just plain annoying. In the midst of the chaos, Skylar starts to wonder who her real friends are and even more importantly, who she is.


• Me, Just Different is available wherever books are sold.
  
  

Where do you get your ideas? Character names? Do you find your characters similar to you in any way?

• I feel like ideas come to me in snippets. For example, when I wrote about Skylar, I wanted her to somehow be trapped in a relationship with a guy who SHOULD be her dream boyfriend, but who she wasn't attracted to. But that can't sustain a whole novel, so I pieced together other ideas. Like an idea about two sisters who look totally different that each other, but are both beautiful.


• Naming characters is one of my favorite parts of the process. A lot of my names, specifically main character names, are names I liked for my own children but were vetoed by my husband. When I hear names I like, Imake a note of them. And I spend a lot of time on babynames.com.


• Usually my main characters have a little bit of me in them, but I don't think Skylar and I share a single trait. We both like the same kind of ice cream, and the similarities end there.

Do you ever feel like giving up? Most people don't understand the stress, the work, and the joy of being a writer. How tenuous becoming a writer is. Do you care to share how it feels, what discouraging/encouraging times you've gone through? Who's inspired you the most?

• I remember a very dark season of rejection that lasted almost all of 2007. Every lead I had with an agent or publishing house turned into nothing, and I received criticism form people who I didn't anticipate receiving it from. I remember walking into Barnes and Noble, looking around me, and thinking, "There's a TON of books in here. Why do I think they need one more? What do I have to say that hasn't already been said by someone who's published?" And there was one day--the day I received the unexpected criticism--that I curled up on the floor of my apartment and just laid there feeling like a failure. The only real bright spot writing-wise during that year came December 21st, when the woman who became my agent, emailed me and said, "Hey, this premise looks interesting. Send me the first chapter, okay?"
  
• Now that I'm published, I don't often feel like throwing in the towel. Interviews and school visits still make me so nervous that I often look up at heaven and say, "Please don't make me do this. This scares me a lot. Please get me out of this, okay?"
  
• My husband really inspires me. The man works hard, and he's talented at basically everything he touches. Seriously, It's a good thing he has no interest in writing a novel because I'm sure whatever he turned out would totally kick my butt. It inspires me to do my best. I don't want to let him down.
  
  

Would you explain how you "chose" (or was chosen) a publisher? Do you just go "inny, minny, miney moe?" Grin. Now that you're published, can you sit back and relax from the success you've experienced?

• That, "can you sit back and relax?" made me chuckle. In a word, no. I think you can only sit back and relax when you've decided you no longer want ot be a published author
  
• My publishing house, Revell, chose me. Well, we chose to submit it to them, but basically they chose me. I love being a Revell author. The team there is awesome, and I have the honor of being in the same catalog with great writers like Melody Carlson and Julie Lessman.

Do you mind telling us some of your likes and dislikes? Hobbies, interests? Where would you like to travel?

• Likes: writing, reading, coffee, and my family: particularly, my husband, daughter, and dog.


• Dislikes: things that take me away from what I've listed above. And spiders.


• If I could travel anywhere . . . hmm . . . I'd like to get back to Europe. Spend more time in Ireland. Do a Jane Austen tour in England.

Would you give us your blog or webpage so everyone can check it out? Anything else you'd like to share? Promotional information?

• My website is www.StephanieMorrillBooks.com. There you can check out my blog, sign up for my newsletter, and read the first chapter of Me, Just Different. If you're in the Kansas City area, I'm having a couple book signings in early November, so check those out.

Thank you so much for having me, Carole!

Thank you for being here, Stephanie.

There you have it, folks, interesting information about the new young adult author.

Look for my next interview, Wednesday, October 28, with Dwight Ritter. He's the author of "Emerson, The Magnificent."

Blessings!

People Who Get Something Done . . .

. . . work at it.

• It is always better to fail in doing something than to excel in doing nothing.
• Good resolutions are like babies crying in church: they should be carried out immediately. --Charles M. Sheldon
• The past should be a springboard, not a hammock. --Edmond Burke
• The secret of success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching.
• Don't be content to be the chip off the old block-be the old block itself. --Winston Churchill
• Don't ask, "What if it doesn't work?" Ask instead, "What if it does?"

AND . . .

Many of us have heard opportunity knocking at our door, but by the timee we unhooked the chain, pushed back the bolt, turned two locks, and shut off the burglar alarm--it was gone!

Three more questions for Stephanie Morrill's interview contest:

• What's Stephanie's husband's name?
• What state does Stephanie live in?
• Who's Stephanie's publisher?

Comment with your answers!

Blessings!

Mrs. Deer

The Tale of the Deer and Two Humans

Coming home Sunday a week ago, we were making good time.

Sticking pretty close to the speed limit, not too tired,

and within an hour and half away from home.

We've traveled that route many times so we know to

keep a sharp lookout for all the deer.

We've swerved, stopped, gasped, stomped on brakes, and clutched dashes when they stick those dainty feet onto the road.

They peer at you with those doeful eyes like:

• "Stop! I'm trying to get to the other side. Can't you SEE that?"

or:

• "No one will dare hit me; I'm too, too beautiful!"
  

I cringe when I see one--if I'm in a car.

That Sunday night (making good time)

we were in a left lane (three lanes), with concrete lane dividers separating us from the opposing traffic.

And it happened.

Yep, Mrs. Deer jumped that thing and landed in front of us.

1. Now hubby could have swerved.
2. He could have stomped on the brakes.
3. Or he could have taken wings
   (like that ancient story about Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang--anybody remember that one?)

He did none of that. In a split second decision he knew that:

• Traffic around us that would have involved the other cars if he'd swerved.
• Stomping could have sent the car out of control.
• And, unfortunately, we didn't bring our car wings along.

We hit the deer.

What did I learn?

• I could have been killed and would have had about two to five seconds of realization.


• The young guys acting like lunatics in the shabby vehicle following/passing/showing off, were really decent kids out having fun. They were good enough to stop and make sure we were okay.


• To be happy we weren't hurt anymore than we were. Car hurt (light, grill, airbags, windshield), but so what? We're still alive!

Quote:

Happiness is always an inside job!





Blessings!

Upcoming Interview . . .

. . . with young adult writer, Stephanie Morrell!

Some fun things!

• I'll give away a $10 gift certificate to one person who successfully answers every question about Stephanie up to the October 21st--the date for her interview here on my blog! Three questions this week (today & Friday); three questions next week on Monday.
• STEPHANIE'S giving away one of her first books (Me, Just Different) to some fortunate person who comments or emails me after the interview is posted!

Question: What is the name of the series her first book is part of?
Question: What genre does Stephanie write in?
Question: Name ONE of her writing critique partners!

You can find some of the answers here on my blog; some here:
www.StephanieMorrillBooks.com

Send me your answers by email or comment.

Quote:
People are funny--they spend money they don't have, to buy things they don't need, to impress people they don't like.

Blessings

Things I've Learned . . .

. . . that will serve as "Living Tips" for today!

I've learned that if you're the boss and you stop rowing, you shouldn't be surprised if everyone else rests too. (how true! how true!)

I've learned that everyone can afford to be generous with praise, it's not something available only to the well-to-do. (how marvelously wonderful!)

I've learned that what you are thinking, you are becoming. (Whoa! and ouch!)

I've learned that there's no substitute for good manners. (Is there anything more beautiful than a truly, well mannered person regardless of the situation?)

I've learned that it's harmful for parents to live out their athletic fantasties through their children. (or any other dream; let them do their own living and dreaming! Your job is to pray, encourage and hope!)

I've learned that you should keep your promises! (smile)



Quote:
God's gifts are never loans; they are always deposits.


Blessings!

I NEED HELP!

Sorry, not mentally. Smile.

How can you help me?

• I need you to spread the word about my blog. Ask your friends to pop in now and then.
• Become one of my followers. It's easy and you'll have another followerer for your blog too when you let me know you've signed on.
• Enjoy the contests I occasionally sponsor. Who doesn't enjoy a free book or free gift certificate now and then? I know many of you email me with comments too. Thanks for those!
• Buy and read books from the authors I recommend!

And big thanks to all of you.

Quote:
God uses ordinary people. You don't have to be smart or beautiful (thank God!) . . . all you need is a pure heart. --Rick Warren

Blessings

Heads Up

Coming soon:

• Interview with young adult author Stephanie Morrell published with Revell. AND she's giving away one book. How cool is that?
• Interview with Erica Vetsch: new author with her first book coming soon.
• Don't miss the interview with Rick Barry for exciting information on his books.
• AND: L.York Lyons with her intriguing "Dear John" books.
• Information on the Flint Hills area where a friend--Deb Vogts--set her first contemporary books. We were privileged to drive through there recently and got pics.
• And more . . .

Quote:

Victory belongs to the most persevering. --Napoleon Bonaparte

Blessings

Tongue in the Cheek Tips

Gotta say, the list is perfect for wannebe writers. The last on the list is a lot of fun put together by fellow writer Sam after a pompous wannbe writer decided to pester an excellent agent for representation. Some of us learned a lot from her/his pompous knowledge. Smile. Enjoy and take what you can use!

Mr. Greatest-writer-since-the-Gutenber-Press thought he(she) had a thing or two to teach (agent). Actually, I learned some things from him, though not in the way he intended.

1. Have a teachable attitude.
2. Be humble
3. The rules apply to you. Really.
4. Don't attempt to intimidate somone just to get your way.
5. Use appropriate self-promotion.
6. Don't take yourself too seriously.
7. And when writing, do not use big words and long sentences just to impress the reader because most of the time, the usage of extraeous, redundant, and multisyllabic verbiage; long protracted sentences; undefined acronyms; and passive voice often confuses (that is, befuddles [confounds]) the reader, thereby inhibiting communication; furthermore, the greater the length and complexity of the sentence, the easier it is to make an error in punctuation or grammar, it is therefore recommended to writer shorter sentences to facilitate improved communication as this will prevent the reader from getting the impression that you're a pompous know-it-all.

Ah, so right, Sam. Thank you for putting it so succinctly!


Quote:
We are all pencils in the hand of a writing God who is sending love letters to the world. --Mother Teresa
Blessings!