Can I Quote You On That?

Okay, so I’m in the middle of trying to re-design my web site and I had a little slot of extra space. I decided it would be fun to include some quotes on writing in that spot. I found some really great ones, too.

But, the whole time I was gathering quotes from all these famous writers, I was thinking about my favorite quotes from a different set of famous authors; my friends from LDStorymakers. See, most of them have blogs that I pop in on every once in a while, but we also have an email group that keeps me from feeling too sorry for myself for living on the wrong side of the United States. I get to peek into their lives and careers every day. Though it’s not quite as good as being able to answer, “I’ll be there!” when the call goes out for, “Anybody want to go to lunch tomorrow?” (They’re all stinkers for having fun without me, let me tell you!)

It’s interesting what types of things can pop up when you start over 50 LDS authors chatting. I’ve included some of my favorite quotes for your enjoyment. To protect the . . . well, I don’t think you could really call any of us “innocent” per se . . . to protect their image as nice, normal, sane people I haven’t included any names. Let’s see if any of them recognize their words. ;)

• Writing to me is the freeing of my imagination and soul. When I give myself over to it the words pour out of me and it seems as if the words create pictures and stories in my mind that will tell a good story . . . In writing we allow those thoughts to grow and mature until someone, somewhere will be touched and their life enriched by the words you committed to the page.

• Writers are always asked why we write. I think people are creative by nature and we look for ways to express ourselves. For some people it's scrapbooking or sewing or gardening. For me, it's inventing characters and spending months obsessing over details of their imagined lives. Yeah, I know, it sounds sort of insane, but it's more fun than doing housework.

• Wanna hear something funny? On Meyer's My Space page, under her pictures, there's one of her standing in a bookstore, a closeup. Guess what's over her left shoulder? My book. She's trying to send me love hints. It's kinda cool. But she's not my type.

• I'm going on little sleep. A character of mine was so inconsiderate last night!

• I’ve been blogging so much . . . that I’m starting to suffer from itching, rash, bloody gums, and twitching eyes. I have no idea what that could mean.
  

• In honor of the [happy grammar] day, I will actually pay attention to my grammar check when it shoots those little green lines under my sentences, instead of arguing that sentence fragments are a stylistic choice and thus completely valid.

• We’d argue over every one of my semi colons. I got to keep most of them--including a few in dialogue. (Can you hear my victorious laugh?)

Discussion title:

• Need a cancer

On accurately describing dead bodies-

• My wife won't let me talk about this cool stuff anymore. . . .You get dead guy juice all over you.

Follow ups to describing dead bodies-

• I would never in this world have thought of that! Uh oh, now my mind’s going down the weirdest trails. Thanks a lot!

• If the dead guy was nine days gone, would they take the body to the hospital for ID, or would they take him to the morgue.....or the bait shop ;)

• Don't get me started (too late) because this only scratches the surface of my warped psyche.

• Anyone else would think I'm mental for actually saving this crazy discussion for future reference.

On a reality show about authors-

• They could film me sitting down to my computer, then my kids gathering around wanting their computer time. Or me sitting down to my computer and the phone ringing and it's a call I have to take. Or me sitting down to my computer only to hear screams and wails coming from the backyard. Or me sitting down to my computer and getting up quickly when I hear my 4 year-old and her friends squealing about the beautiful makeup they are painting with in my bathroom. Or me sitting down to my computer and looking out the window to see my daughter and her friend streaking down the street naked. Or me sitting down the computer and looking at the clock and realizing I was supposed to pick up my kids 5 minutes ago. Or me sitting down to my computer and my boys burst in yelling at each other and getting into a fistfight over the rules of some game they made up. Or me finally sitting down to the computer at 4:00 a.m. because I will finally be free of distractions, only to stare at the screen and realize that I can barely understand English, not to mention write any of it.

• Yeah, that would be a great show. . . . At least it would have nudity.

You know how they have those “good news” minutes in Relief Society where sisters share good news with each other at the beginning of the meeting? Do you suppose it would be okay for an author to share her good news for the week? Picture it:

Relief Society President: “Does anyone have any good news they would like to share?”
Sister A: “I’m going to be a grandma! My daughter-in-law is due in July!”
President: “Congratulations! Anyone else?”
Sister B: “My son just got his mission call! He’s going to Guatemala!”
Pres: “Wonderful! You must be so proud of him. Does anyone else have anything to share?”
Sister C: “I just made a huge breakthrough in my novel. I realized the book is too flat because it doesn’t have enough sources of tension and I need to give Jane some sinister motives of her own and a secondary evil plot to complement the main one. One murder just wasn’t enough for this book, but now that Jane is planning to do away with Sally, it’s all coming together. I’m SO excited!”
President: “Um . . . great.”

And my personal all-time favorite:

• The characters just took over. They don't let me do anything I want anymore. But I'm not going to talk to them about it. They scare me.

Thanks guys, you make my life so much more fun!

Enjoying the Journey by Jamie Theler with Deborah Talmadge

I have a confession to make. I read a lot of “how-to” books (which frightens my husband a bit, trying to figure out which “how-tos” I might actually try). The “how-to” books that I don’t read are probably the ones that could help me the most. I don’t read “Life is great, this is how to be happy” books. Why? They depress me. Their “simple” steps to happiness are far from simple for me and I come away feeling even worse about how I’m living my life. If what they say is true then obviously it should be easier and I’m getting something major wrong that I can’t seem to fix. Make sense?

I know it’s counterintuitive to everything the gospel teaches but that’s the power of Satan. He knows me well and makes sure I notice how inadequate I am in the face of such “simple” solutions that seem to work for “everyone else”. So that’s the big confession, I don’t read books that might actually be of use to me because I’m too afraid they won’t work and I’m too far gone already.

I love and respect Jamie Theler and Deborah Talmadge, authors of Enjoying the Journey: Steps to Finding Joy Now. When this book came out, I put its title on my reading list because I like to rejoice in my friend’s successes. Sadly, it kept finding its way to the bottom of the list. Even though I knew Jaime was real person with real problems and real outlooks she obviously knew something about this whole life thing that I wasn’t getting. I didn’t want to find out what that was. I didn’t want to have to admit that even though she got it, I couldn’t.

I know that my personal struggles are nothing compared to those many men and women face, but still they are struggles because, well, I struggle with them. Just like many of you, these trials can weigh me down until I switch from enjoyment to survival mode. Sadly, I probably find myself in survival mode much more often than I find myself in enjoyment mode.

Eventually it did happen. I opened the book and began to read and I was bawling before I was half-way through the first chapter. Jaime was describing me and the way I feel when others seem to point out what I’m lacking. Jaime and Deborah weren’t afraid to talk about their own human frailties. They’d tried everything that seemed to work for everybody else and still felt a void. Their answer? We don’t have all the answers for you, but we know where you can get them. We’ll teach you how to ask God and work with Him. He’s the only one who can make things right for you.

I know it sounds weird, but for me that was the most important part of the book- knowing that the people who wrote it honestly understand where I’m coming from. I didn’t feel belittled, incompetent, or talked down to within these pages. They aren’t testifying of their own triumph over huge and seemingly insurmountable trials, just every day things we all face. They are human and understood I am too.

I love the fact that each chapter not only lays it on the line and gives valuable insight but the authors don’t leave it at that. Most of us can read a self-help book and say, “Yeah, that’s what I need to do” but not come away with any realistic idea of how to accomplish it. Enjoying the Journey really wants to help you. Jaime and Deborah not only give you the thoughts and ideas, they give you the simple (yes, really) steps and methods you can use to make it happen in your own life in a practical down-to-earth way.

If you’re humble and open-minded, if you truly desire to make the most out of your time here on earth, there’s great wisdom to be found in Enjoying the Journey. If your like me and can’t figure out how to get a batch of laundry folded, much less establish a house of order, then just plant that first seed of faith. Buy the book; place it on your bedside table where you can see it. One day when you’re feeling brave just take a peek. Just a little one. See if you don’t feel at home within this book’s cover. If you’ll at least try, you’ll begin to figure out where your own joy in the journey can come from.

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How I Celebrated Independence Day

Okay, I know the 4th of July is all about celebrating America but this year I decided to celebrate something else: peace and quiet.

I sent my family on vacation Thursday night with out me. Yes, I do that sometimes. Then, by Friday morning I had turned off every electronic device I could get my hands on. I was declaring my independence from technology for the weekend. No computers, no phones, no stereos or tvs, no alarm clocks, I didn't even cook or go any where. The only things I didn't shut off were the fridge and the hot water heater (I'm not a barbarian you know).

All in all it was bliss. Yes, I think I spent too much time working on housework rather than enjoying my peace as much as I should, but I really did have a good time. If you ever get the chance. I highly recommend it.

The only problem was when my family came home Sunday night the little bit of chaos was a little over-whelming. It really wasn't bad but I was just not used to it any more. It took me a few hours to be really happy they were home again. ;) Of course, almost immediately after walking in the door my teenage daughter "just had to" check her email... then the fact that the computer was on and just sitting there was once again created a magnetism I couldn't ignore. I was eventually sucked in with needing to check my mail as well and it was all downhill from there.

There was also that small nagging of guilt at knowing that there were messages on the answering machine that were probably people needing stuff and refusing to find out what it was. I'd turned off all the phone ringers, but forgotten to shut off the answering machine. It was painful but also very gratifying to be able to tell myself that neither number could have been someone calling me for a true emergency and odds were whatever they needed someone else could help them just as well as I could. Still, my pathetic martyrdom's brain felt like I was letting the world down by refusing to interact for a weekend. Thankfully, I was able to talk myself back out of such nonsense in due time. I needed that time and I'm glad I took it, whether the rest of the world understands or not.

I have to admit that I did cheat a few times over the weekend. Here's a summary:
Spilled bath salts on my bedroom carpet, used the vacuum to get them up.
Got frustrated that my hands can't write as fast as my brain can create new material and broke out my mini-computer for an evening of frantic story plot typing.
Used the blender to make a smoothie as I needed to use up an ingredient before the end of the weekend.
Talked on the phone to my children twice and my husband once.
Used one lamp instead of a candle at bedtime the first night after discovering that my husband had rudely taken all of the lighters in the house with them on the camping trip.

I know it seems weird and maybe even impossible in your mind, but that was part of the reason I did it. I just wanted to see if I could. Turns out that for the most part I was happier than I've been in a while. Go ahead, challenge yourself sometime. See if you can put aside all those modern "conveniences" that so conveniently take over our lives, just for a day or two and see how you feel.

House of Secrets by Jeffery S. Savage

I recently had the pleasure of re-reading a favorite book of mine: House of Secrets by Jeffery S. Savage.

This is the first book in the Shandra Covington mystery series, and I love it. If you’re a mystery fan, but hate having to skip whole pages because of negative content, then these books are for you. The main character is LDS and there are a few cultural references. Aside from that it’s just a clean and exciting novel that anyone could pick up and appreciate. There are no covert or not-so-covert gospel messages and valuable insights, well except maybe: don’t go into houses that have been standing empty for years, there’s probably a good reason no one else is dumb enough to go inside.

Yes, this is a guy writing a female main character. I understand he has a lot of help making sure he portrays us correctly. Still, I have one bone to pick with him about Shandra. I do not know any women over the age of 20 who can eat as much as Shandra does and be as skinny as she is. Yeah, I know there are a few choice women out there with “high metabolisms” that makes this possible. For the rest of us pleasantly plump people we can only roll our eyes and get mildly jealous at the very mention of such a thing. Sure, I share her passion for food, but her waistline makes her less real to me. Sorry Shandra but you really need to gain a few pounds.

My husband claims that the plot in House of Secrets is fairly predictable. Whatever. The man thinks everything is fairly predictable. I don’t think he’s ever been surprised in his life. He’s also one of those who reads Stephen King and the like on a regular basis, so if that’s the type of book you crave it may be a little too mild for you. I couldn’t say for sure because for me it’s just right. Skinny heroine all, House of Secrets definitely earns a place among my favorites.

Jeff Savage is the master of cliffhanger breaks. Be forewarned that he is very skilled at not letting you go once he’s got you reading. The very first sentences hook you and then he spends the rest of the book reeling you in bit by bit. Just when you think you can put it down at the end of the chapter he’ll end with another point of tension that just draws you further in.

There are many who are still cursing his name for the ending of the second Shandra Convington mystery. He’d better get the third volume out pretty soon or there could be lynching mobs after him. Actually, a little bird told me recently that he is working on the editing process on that one right now. Yeah!

Ok, now here’s the best part. Click on one of the links for House of Secrets. Go on, I’ll wait. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
Yep. It’s super saver time! As part of their summer clearance Deseret Book is offering House of Secrets for only $2! Go get one. Now. I promise it’s more fun than the two double cheeseburgers from McDonalds that you could have spent your money on.

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The First Year by Crystal Liechty

Ok, first I have to say that I love the cover of The First Year by Crystal Liechty. If for no other reason, I would have bought this book just to have a copy of that picture. It’s just very cute. Oh, and the story isn’t half bad either.

How many of us can relate to those little nagging feelings that crop up every once in a while saying, “Oh man! Why did I ever marry this guy?” Fortunately for most of us, these moments are gradually replaced with more moments when we say, “Wow, what an awesome guy I married!” That’s what marriage is all about—learning about each other and how to work together to make you spouse and family the best they can be. Love is a gradual process over years of wanting that love to grow. That’s the message of The First Year.

Marriage is the jumping off point that throws you firmly into another world you may or may not have felt prepared for. Without any outside factors it can be very hard to get through. Add in the world and things can go from very hard to seemingly impossible. What would happen if at those moments when you’re questioning your sanity for even getting married, the man you thought you were supposed to marry showed back up in your life? What if he was also trying his best to convince you that you were married to the wrong man? What if it started to seem like he was right, like your husband really didn’t love you? What if it seems all of your friends are facing significant difficulties in their marriages as well?

Yeah, you’ve just stirred in a healthy helping of angst into the marriage mix. Fortunately, thanks to Crystal’s fun-loving style, you get a full dose of humor stirred in as well. Though there were a few times when I felt like I’d stumbled over a plot shift, overall I found myself anxious to turn the page. I was involved in these character’s lives. I wanted to see them succeed and find that happier place that can and does exist in married life.

I learned some valuable lessons while still having a lot of fun. For instance, things are not always as they seem. Yes, that first year is very difficult. You need to learn to trust your feelings. It’s also about realizing that you can’t fully understand or see into another person’s heart or life. The best things you can do for yourself, your friends, and your spouse is to turn to God first. If you trust the tiny nudgings from the Spirit that brought you to that point in your life, you’ll be able to find the path that will lead you out safely on the other side. The First Year is about trials, commitment, and dedication. It’s about dragging yourself, sometimes kicking and screaming, through that adjustment period and coming out the other side with a stronger commitment to marriage and your spouse. The First Year is about the best thing in the world: learning how love really can conquer all.

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Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg

I’m taking a break from LDS titles today to share a rare gem I found. I hardly ever pick up titles off of the adult fiction section of the library, I blush far too easily. So that’s why this book really surprised and pleased me. Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven, written by Fannie Flagg of Fried Green Tomatoes fame is just a fun, feel good story. The title caught my eye and I didn’t realize that it was actually part of a series until I went to look up its information for this blog. I never suspected or felt cheated while reading Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven because I hadn’t read the other volumes. I just got caught up in the story and let it sweep me away. Now that I know I can re-visit the characters in other volumes they’ve definitely been added to my “to-read” list.

In Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven an older woman, Elner Shimfissle, dies and gets a peek at what heaven is like. The author’s take on heaven is an absolute hoot! Ok, so it’s secular, not gospel doctrine, but you can still see some interesting examples of what life in heaven might actually be like. Quiet honestly, I’d be surprised if they didn’t have tuba lessons and fresh-from-the-oven cake there.

Meanwhile back on earth, Elner’s entire community is spreading the news of her death like wildfire. Each person is mourning the loss of a woman who was just simply living her life but managed to have a lasting effect on almost everyone she knew. Some of these remembrances are very touching and poignant. They’ll make you stop and think about your own life and the lives of those you’ve loved in the same way this town loves Elner.

In the end the woman is sent back with a message to “hang on”, among other things. The announcement of her supposed mistaken death causes more uproar than the original prospect of her loss. Sadly, not many really get to hear her message of hope and a majority of those hearing the tale do not believe she is in her right mind. I say— who cares if she wasn’t! We can all use a little reassurance and nudge to just do our best and look for the good in life. That’s just what Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is all about.

Best of all you don’t have to read it with your trusty black marker clutched in your hand. Yes, you will need it— approximately twice. One page contains a diatribe by one of the characters where he is arguing with himself. He peppers in a few double-hockey-stick references. Another section contains a woman’s contemplations about her love life with her husband. It is very clean, mainly dealing with the differences between men and women but there is a mild blushing potential.

On the whole, I would certainly encourage you to take a little trip to heaven the next time you need to remember to “hang on because good things are coming”.

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Forged in the Refiner’s Fire by Elizabeth A. Cheever and Candace E. Salima

What is your greatest challenge? What is the hidden sorrow that brings tears to your eyes every time you try to express your worries and concerns to your Heavenly Father?

No matter what trial, station, or stage of life you may be in Forged in the Refiner’s Fire can offer a source of understanding, hope, and comfort. Co-authored by Elizabeth A. Cheever and Candace E. Salima, Forged in the Refiner’s Fire is a collection of true stories. On every page and in every chapter you will read of real people with a variety of very real problems who have learned to rely on the Lord and come out stronger than they were before.

The opening pages of Forged in the Refiner’s Fire include the following quote:

“In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a Refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this way the divine image can be mirrored from our souls. It is part of the purging toll exacted of some to become acquainted with God. In the agonies of life, we seem to listen better to the faint, godly whisperings of the Divine Shepherd.” James E. Faust

The book itself is definitely a testimony to the truthfulness and power of those words. It’s a great place to look for understanding and perspective as we each struggle with our own trials of fire.

I carried Forged in the Refiner’s Fire with me to the library in order to snag some reading time while my children were in an activity. Because of my great love for Candace and the poignant way she tells her own story in “Lean Not Unto Thine Own Understanding”, I’m afraid I made a complete spectacle of myself bawling my eyes out in front of a bunch of wary strangers.

“My Journey of Journeys”, “He Loves Me in Spite of My Weakness”, and “Working Under the Hand of the Lord” were also stories that touched the deepest parts of my nature, sharing several messages I personally needed to hear.

If you feel rushed when you begin to read, a couple of the stories might seem to be a little long and drawn out. I don’t feel this is actually such a bad thing. The individual author is just trying, the best way they know how, to help you experience their thoughts and feelings. Just as you wouldn’t interrupt a dear friend’s train of thought as they were sharing such things with you, read attentively. It’s worth it. Though Forged in the Refiner’s Fire shows high quality work, this book is definitely one that is to be read and understood through the heart. Its greatest strength is its ability to portray emotion and support, not literary acclaim. It’s one of those books you want to take a highlighter to so you don’t forget where to find all the little gems of wisdom. Forged in the Refiner’s Fire deserves an honored place on your bookshelf. You’ll want to know you can easily reach out and grab it when ever your heart needs comfort.

I’m thrilled to also provide you with this video spotlight of Candace Salima sharing her own thoughts and feelings about Forged in the Refiners Fire. Take a moment to watch her spirit shine through and inspire you.




Candace is currently doing a virtual book tour. You can follow her progress and gain more insight into Forged in the Refiner’s Fire on her own blog, Dream a little dream with me . . .

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Counting Blessings by Kerry Blair

Several months ago I learned a beautiful lesson from one of the sweetest people I am privileged to know. She taught me about problems and elephants. Yes, that seems like a strange combination but when she explained it, it worked. I learned that problems can be just like elephants: it’s all in the perspective. Even the smallest elephant, held in front of your eyes can become huge and block out everything else around it. Big elephants cause the same problem. Every problem needs to be part of a bigger perspective. If all we ever look at is our elephant, then we miss out on everything else in our lives and in the lives of those we care about.

She was discussing a very difficult elephant in her own life. At first, my heart broke for her. Then, she taught me about elephants and asked those of us who would read her words to help her keep her own elephant in perspective. She asked us to remember that she was more than her problem. She asked us for elephant jokes. My time reading her words started with tears of sorrow and ended with side-splitting tears of laughter. I’ve never read so many dumb elephant jokes in my life. I found a few favorites and a greater love for my friend.

I had Kerry Blair’s latest title on my “to read” list because I loved and respected her. After learning about elephants, I was eager to sit at her feet once again. I soon moved that book from “to read”, to “bought”, to “read” and I loved every minute of it.

Have you ever wanted to have a dear friend take a soul-baring chocolate brake with you? That’s what reading Counting Blessings by Kerry Blair feels like. Her sweet, wise spirit radiates out from the pages and covers your own heart with a comforting blanket of love and testimony. Each essay shares an intimate look at the issues many women face, through the eyes of Kerry. It’s a great place to gain perspective of your own elephants and the blessings hiding behind them.

You can open her book to any chapter and find yourself being gently taught and inspired. It’s a true joy to experience and I highly recommend it for those quiet moments when you need a little chocolate, a gentle touch, and council of a wise woman. Whether you’ll begin with tears of understanding or laughter, I can’t predict. What I can promise is you’ll find both experiences in this special little book: Counting Blessings.

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