Yeah! Sadie/Sophie!

I'll be sending you a book! Woot!

Last Chance for Book Giveaway!

 I'll pick a name late Friday!

Timeless topic that Teena Stewart tackled in her book, Mothers and Daughters: Mending a Strained Relationship. Even if you have a wonderful relationship with your mother, this book will open your eyes to things you never thought relevant.

Teena, is this your first book?
No. This is actually my fifth book excluding inspirational books in which I've had stories published. I've had two books released this year. This one on mother and daughter relationships and one called The Treasure Seeker: Finding Love and Value in the Arms of Your Loving Heavenly Father. It's about developing a close relationship with God and has a treasure and gemstone theme.

What prompted you to write on such a difficult topic as mothers and daughters? Seems people have been trying to figure out that dynamic for centuries.
Well, I definitely don't claim to have figured it out. The book came from my desire to improve my relationship with my mother, which at best could be described as strained. I've always envied women who have that amazing friendship going with their moms. After one particularly frustrating phone conversation with my mom which left me in tears, I shared some of my frustrations with my women's small group. I was stunned to learn that many of them also had painful connections with their moms. The idea of helping women work through this pain and encouraging them to hang in there and work on improving their relationship took root. I knew I needed to write the book. I ended up interviewing many different women who shared both the good and bad. I learned so much in the process.

What ideas do you have for future works?
I think most writers have more ideas than they know what to do with. Reigning them in is the challenge. I am about 3/4 of the way through writing a non-fiction book that allows Christians and those who are spiritually seeking to ask tough questions they have about spiritual topics many wrestle with but are afraid to voice. The book is tentatively called Walking on Broken Glass and I've been doing lessons from it for our small coffee shop church gatherings. But I am also working on some fiction. I have a rough outline for women's fiction book and am polishing up the first in a series for a romantic suspense.

Is nonfiction your specialty?
Years ago I started out wanting to write fiction but switched to non-fiction when I began writing articles, but now I am trying my hand at fiction again. I am finding it much more difficult to write than non-fiction although studying fiction writing has helped make me a better writer even in the non-fiction realm.

What would you say to encourage a new author to go the mile?

I think success is about 25% talent and the rest hard work and perseverance. There are many many talented people who never get published because they either never put it on paper, are afraid to submit, or give up after being critiqued or rejected. If you want to become published you need to have multiple projects going and you need to submit them so that when one comes back rejected, you still have the hope of something else getting published. It also helps greatly to have a critique buddy or critique group because it is so difficult to see your own potential growth areas.

Teena, thanks so much for dropping by. Visit Teena at her website for more information:

http://www.teenastewart.com/

"He's handsome," she said. "He's handsome", she said!

My head is spinning at the end of the day. I've seen so many strange and peculiar things happening in the basics of writing. I'm not talking about dangling modifiers and other obscure things that frighten all of us once exposed by well-meaning editors, but the very simple basics of grammar.

Recent queries from authors have included the most bizarre structure. The title above is just one of them. And not just a one-time mistake. I've read an entire manuscript with the quotation marks in quite interesting and creative places.

If you want an agent/editor to take you seriously, get a grasp of the basics of grammar, punctuation, and know how to put them together in a legible manner. Also, go to their sites and find out if they handle erotica before you tell them "I researched your site and found you to be the perfect agent for my work!" And then proceed to give an inspirational agent new lessons in "how to" graphic word by graphic word.

Does anyone do their homework anymore or more aptly put: "is there out their anyone whose listening"?

A Supercilious, Ridiculous, Puffed Up Blog

Okay, there’s a long, boring, dry list of things that an agent or editor really doesn’t want to see. One of them is verbose line after lengthy line while trying to get to the gist of the story.

When a story’s strength relies on adjectives and adverbs to beef it up, the story’s in trouble right out of the swinging, slat-deprived gate. A wonderful story can be told with virtually no adverbs and no adjectives. A few are thrown in now and then for flavor, but when the entire story depends on crutches to strengthen weak storyline, weak nouns, and weak verbs, then the writer is shamefully in trouble.

YES, a well-placed, once-in-a-while “addition” is fine, but I’m seeing a lot of submissions that depend on the flowery language while short changing the reader with little substance in the “meat” of the story.

Write a solid piece, neatly, accurately, and profoundly. A story that keeps the reader turning pages whether or not the guy looks like a super hero. And the girl need not have raven black hair and emerald, indigo, or ocean blue eyes. These are all fine if the rest of the narration forces the reader to continue reading on into the night. And not the dark and stormy night. Just the night when she or he should be sleeping cozily, but can’t because he or she is so adamantly engrossed in what is happening to wonderful Hero and air-head Raven Hair that the book just can’t be put down!

Remember, it’s all about the story. Even poor grammar and punctuation can sometimes be overlooked if the story is so amazing that it simply HAS to be told.

Johannes Gutenberg/Laughing at Us?

No, I don’t think he’s turning over in his grave. I think he’s laughing at us. A pioneer in his day, he must be thinking, “Did you really assume this was the end of it?”

And I have to say, most of us did. We thought the printed word was the beginning and ending of the mass communication that changed society.

Gutenberg’s press, considered by most to be the most influential change of the second millennium, brought not only books, but communication of events to the masses. No longer was word of mouth or letter the only means by which a group of people could hear about changes in society. No longer could kings and despots prevent knowledge from trickling to the masses.

I attended a writers’ conference 12-15 years ago at which one of the secular publishing giants’ Sr. Editor spoke. When asked about “electronic” books for our computers, she laughed. Holding her hands in the shape of a book, she said, “Smell the paper. Smell the ink. Take this with you wherever you want to go. The printed book will NEVER die. Never even have its profits reduced by more than mere fad. Computerized books? A passing fancy.” Or something to that effect. None of us saw the Kindle, the Nook, and others just around the proverbial bend.

BTW, she no longer is senior editor there. Like many of us “oldies” she just didn’t see it coming. The last year and a half have been overwhelming: to readers, to writers, to agents, to editors. Changes are happening so fast, I can put together a proposal for a client one day, and learn the next that the house I was sending to has morphed again. And the proposal is now obsolete at best.

Not since Gutenberg printed the first word has there been this much change. I realize computers ushered in this amazing technology, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the printed word has NEVER changed this much in nearly 600 years. 600 YEARS!!!!

And we are living in the time.

Gutenberg was a deal changer. He understood the concept that nothing remains the same.

Are YOU ready to jump on board and be part of the change, or will you be left behind with your hands in the shape of a paperback, digging your nails in, refusing to give up the smell of musty paper?

I, for one, old as I am, have embraced the changes.

I just wish I knew what lurked around the corner. I don’t like to be surprised!

Who Do You Depend On?

I just read this in a devotional: Self-sufficiency is a myth perpetuated by pride and temporary success. WOW!

I’ve always been one to be PROUD of the fact I take care of myself. Do it alone. Stand on my own two feet. Now, I do give it the “thank you God for making all things possible because I’m a believer” and I really do believe that, but how often do I see my

We tend to “stand on our own two feet” when things are running smoothly, there’s enough money in the bank to cover all the bills, and the pantry’s full. And we put God aside to fill in and help out when the going gets tough.

As writers we call on the great guru of writers’ block. Please help me. I’m not sure where this is going. I need help. Help…help…help!

Pride: And at the book signing? “Oh thank you. I don’t know where the idea came from. I woke up one morning and this story was swirling in my head.”

Temporary Success: “I’m on the bestseller list. I knew it. I just knew this story had what it takes to go all the way.”

Self-sufficiency: “Look where I am now. Who would have thought? But I knew I could do it. Deep down, I just knew it!”

We don’t need Him when we’re like this. We don’t need anyone. And isn’t that a solitary, sad way to be?

As easily or as difficult as any climb can be to the top, we need to remember Who lifts us. Who is always there. Who cares more than anyone else when we fall.

Really? You Won't Hire Fat People???

Texas hospital won't hire obese workers! We all saw it coming. And now, 1984 really is here. Appearances folks; it's all about appearances. So you won't hire a wonderful, hard-working lady who tips the scales at 250#, but YOU WILL hire that perky little size 6 cutie, who eats like a trucker, then goes to the bathroom and pukes. BUT she only weighs 110# so it's okay????

I know we're getting bigger as a society, and shame on us, but it isn't up to employers, Obamacare, or anyone else to dictate to us how we should look.

The article below should make a lot of people angry! While we have the choice not to listen to a dietician who weighs 300#, she also has the right to keep on working. Perhaps that is something she works hard at recitifying each day, but it's her cross to bear. She is food addicted. Hers just happen to be an addiction that shows. What better person to know all the pitfalls about food addiction. Perhaps she is, after all, the best teacher. How about the alcoholic who beats his wife nightly? Isn't he a risk to the healthcare system? But nobody knows because he doesn't tell and she covers the bruises with makeup.

Boy or boy, now I'm riled! How about you? Any other size 6's out there with bad teeth, weak heart, and many other maladies that just don't show? And before the legitimate slim people string me up, I know that's not always the case, but we need to explore all sides of the issue.

1984, here we comes, just a couple decades late!

http://www.kens5.com/news/health/Texas-hospital-wont-hire-very-obese-workers-144292175.html