moving day

I just did a quick tally and realized I've moved a total of 12 times since birth if you count my summers working in the national parks, etc. Randy says he married me to stop my moving:). He's only lived here in rural Joyce, Washington, moving from his folk's forty acres to our ten. Of course some folks have moved a whole lot more than me - and my brother is one of them.

For the past 17 years Chris, his wife Nicia, and their four wonderful kids - Andrew, Joshua, Daniel, and Kaylea have lived in Ecuador. All the kids were born there so Ecuador is their home. In just 7 days they'll be leaving permanently. Starting in March of next year, their new country is going to be Spain. Spain is the least churched country in Europe with a heavy Muslim influence. Their ministry - Team Expansion - had to be invited by another Christian ministry in order to come into the country.

I called Ecuador yesterday and talked to them as they ran around packing and selling and giving away items to church members and others. Yesterday Chris preached for the second to the last time in one of the churches their team planted in Guayaquil. Yes, they are all bilingual. Luckily the leap to Spain will just require an adjustment in dialect, not learning a whole new language.

Nicia has a wonderfully upbeat attitude about moving again. She said that it's actually a "liberating feeling" to part with possessions and clean out the house. She's lived in Chile, Africa, the US and Ecuador. And now soon-to-be Spain. They are all counting down till next Tuesday, November 11th when they'll leave Ecuador and fly into Dayton, Ohio.

So please pray for them as they try to make the best of this very busy week, saying goodbye to loved ones there, dealing with last minute expenses, packing, etc. Pray for the churches they'll leave behind and the Ecuadorian pastors and church members. Moving from country to country is no picnic! But like Nicia said, their lives have become so much richer because of it. Now that's a positive perspective.

If you've been missing the great pictures that usually go with these blog posts as much as I have, you now know why they are no longer appearing. My brother is too busy to post them! If Chris has time to read this, I hope he posts a picture of his wonderful family to put a face on this moving experience. If not, I understand! Hopefully when he has more time he'll be able to be our photographer again.

But as it is they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11: 16

the donut run and other fun stuff

Paul and I did a donut run this morning - a rare event since we live so far from the nearest Safeway. The donut case seemed to be listing from all the orange and black sprinkles, gummi worms, and frightening Halloween-type donut decorations. Paul loved them all.

We made it to the dress rehearsal for the local symphony at 10 am. Our violin teacher invited us to come and it was really neat. The conductor did his thing with a lot of passion (jumping around and leaping on the podium and waving arms). When Paul got tired of watching him he tuned into the tuba player and the big bass (a titanic-size violin, as he calls it). He liked the conductor, especially after he led him backstage to more donuts and candy corn:(
I wondered why the conductor was so animated (now I know). Somehow Paul managed to stay seated for 2 hours through Mahler and Tchaikovsky.

Randy and Wyatt stayed in the woods and made more cider. In my books they make mooonshine but here all we get is cider! Lots of wind and rain today on the first of November. Good writing weather! I've moved past page 100 of book 3 and am still smiling as I go (only I really don't know where I'm going with this one). But HE does so I'm okay.

Hope you are having some sugar today, same as us:) And reading a really good book.

seasons of life

As I look around at all the fall color I was thinking how there are seasons of life just as there are seasons of the year. At 47 I guess I'm in the fall of life. And it's a busy fall! But I know it's a short-lived season. This helps me keep perspective as I try to raise my boys, write, keep up with a home and a husband, stay active in church, and all the rest. Everyone I know is as busy as I am but in different ways.

So during this busy week, which we'll never have back again, we trade October for November. Trick or treating is tomorrow night - Paul is Indiana Jones and Wyatt is wearing some sort of a mask and carrying a plastic weapon. We usually attend a church harvest party but this year Randy wants to take us to town. We'll probably go to the pier and have a burger and watch the seagulls fight the raccoons for stray french fries, enjoy the sunset, and let the boys ring a few strange doorbells. Paul wants to bring his fiddle but I reminded him Indiana Jones doesn't carry a fiddle, just a whip! He thinks a fiddle is the next best thing.

I love November and am glad to see it get here. Some wonderful things happen in November. Wyatt turns 12 on Thanksgiving Day. And my publisher has a sales conference mid-month which features a catalogue with the upcoming summer line of books - mine included! I can't post the book cover for a few more weeks till any final changes are made. But I can post the recipe for my granny's Praline Pumpkin Pie which you will probably like even better than a book cover:)

So squeeze every second from these last few days of October as they'll never come again. Buy a good book. Take a walk. Bake a pie. Better yet, eat a pie. Listen to some fiddle music. Smile!

... He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. Acts 14:17 NIV

passion

If you have a passion for words that passion should bleed through to paper (or laptop or whatever you happen to use). Recently I read a review of a John Grisham novel that became a bestseller. I consider Grisham the consummate Southern gentleman who writes books he says his granny can read. This particular reviewer found some fault with his writing but said what Grisham lacks in mechanics he makes up for with passion.

Passion is this: an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction; an ardent affection: the emotions as distinguished from reason. (Webster's)

For fiction to reach the reader, the writer must write with passion. An emotionally flat novel is like a flat tire. You just won't get very far. Real characters are so life-like they nearly breathe - they are loaded with passion. Think Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. Horatio Hornblower. Rhett Butler. The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm tired tonight so the list is short.

If you do something with passion you will do it well. I know of violinists and pianists who have played for many years and have all the mechanics of playing down but something is missing. They lack passion. Don't think you can work it up. Forget it. It's a gift:)

The Bible is full of passion. My very favorite character (next to Jesus) is Joseph. Start reading in Genesis 37. Keep going. Joseph was, and is, full of passion! His true life story contains all the elements of a bestseller which is probably one of the reasons why the Bible remains the bestselling book of all time:)

indian summer

Indian summer is here and we are having some crisp, sunny days and starry nights. Randy has made 16 gallons of cider so far and has 3 apple trees to go. The boys are excited about trick or treating this Friday night. I'm excited to get back to page 94 of book 3 after homeschooling and cleaning house this morning. When Randy comes home tonight we have to vote as election day is looming.

When I stopped reading the paper and listening to the news a couple of years ago, my mind felt a lot cleaner. I pray about the upcoming elections but don't stew anymore. If I feel I really need to know something I go to RealClearPolitics.com which is a very savvy unbiased site that features some of the finest political writers of our day. But I find 18th-century politics far more interesting! All that intrigue and scandal, spies, turncoats, and whatnot.

I've discovered a wonderful new writer and can hardly wait for Amazon to ship the first book. It's titled Daughter of Liberty by J.M. Hochstetler. The next title is Native Son. Both are fiction but heavy on the history which I love. You should really read as much as you can in the genre you write.

Wish you could look outside my window and see those big maples with their very vivid golds and greens swirling in all this wind. But I'm sure you have some of your own fall color to brag about:) Happy Monday.

write what you know

This week I walked into a winter wonderland at Wal-Mart and Costco and was reminded that the holidays are right around the corner. It was a bit of a shock since I just celebrated Christmas in this third book and am now firmly entrenched in the middle of a very cold Kentucky January, 1779.

In The Frontiersman's Daughter I have a cabin Christmas scene where Ian gives Lael a particular gift. My editor really likes this scene but you'll have to wait and read the book! In Red River Daughter my favorite scene takes place in the orchard overlooking the Red River in autumn.

Other favorite chapters in book 2 involve babies and nursing which had me relying heavily on my own sleep-deprived days when I felt like a cow:) At the time I nursed my boys I never imagined using that particular experience in a novel. Colonial women nursed their children or found a wet nurse in their stead. Forgive me for being graphic but I could write a few chapters on spraying milk, mastitis, cabbage leaves, the Dolly Parton look and all the rest. Nursing isn't for sissies! But it sure came in handy when writing this book, though I made sure my Red River Daughter had a far easier go of it than I did.

All of this brings me back to this post's title which is to write what you know. Writers are often told to do this and it simply means your work will be far more authentic if you write out of your own experience.

In The Scrivener's Daughter I have Roxie doing a lot of knitting. Lael can knit in book 1 but she is mostly all action. Knitting is a bit like playing violin. I admire those who can knit and play but I don't know how to do it (though I did squeak out Mary Had A Little Lamb on the violin the other day). But I think I'd better learn as Roxie knits her way through this next novel.

Anyway, writing is never dull, as you can see. Ask James Thom who mastered all kinds of Colonial tools, rifles and other weapons, hiked the Lewis and Clark Trail several times, and more in order to write his wonderful, bestselling books. By the way, I wrote Mr. Thom a letter not long ago AND HE WROTE BACK!

More later. Hope your Saturday is a good one and finds you learning something new!

autumn

I love autumn for so many reasons - cider-making, all those colorful maple trees amongst the evergreens here, pumpkins and Indian corn, kettles of soup and cornbread, and crackling fires.

I'm sorry for the shorter days though. I remember what one old pioneer said about spending cold months in an old cabin. He said his backside was always freezing while the front of him was burning up. I used to think I'd been born 200 years too late. But when you consider bed bugs, lice, bathing a few times a year, and living in constant danger from disease and Indian attack I'm glad to hold onto my 21st-century comforts.

Here are a few gems I'm putting in The Scrivener's Daughter, taken from some old rules of civility and decent behavior:

1. Shew nothing to your Friend that may affright him.
2. Shift not yourself in the Sight of others nor Gnaw your nails.
3. Kill no Vermin as Fleas, lice, ticks in the Sight of Others, if you See any filth or thick Spittle put your foot Dexteriously upon it.
4. Make no Shew of taking great Delight in yur Victuals, Feed not with Greediness, nor cut Bread with your Knife Greasy.
5. Put not another bit into your Mouth til the former be Swallowed let not your Morsels be too big for the Gowls.
6. Labour to keep alive in your Breast that Little Spark of Celestial fire Called Conscience.

Common courtesy should never change. I especially like #6.
Happy Thursday.

a novel experience

I've just climbed down from my desk and finished singing the Hallelujah Chorus so now I can tell you that I received my book cover today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The designer did a wonderful job of capturing the essence of the story itself. I won't say any more till I post it here and hope that will be soon. Seeing your name in print on a book cover is truly a novel experience, no pun intended:) Strangely enough, it was the last thing I noticed.

I received a preliminary cover design last week but the art team wanted to change a couple of things. I do know that covers can go through several stages until things are just right so what I post might not end up being the real deal in the end. It is interesting to track the changes made. I've spent the last few minutes (well, the last half hour or so!) comparing the first and second design. And singing as I go!

I've read that authors sometimes throw a "diplomatic fit" if a cover isn't to their liking but honestly, this is all such a gift, I'm about to burst! I'm so glad the 40 year wait is over!

I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:6

creative timing

I just heard an interesting bit of news on the radio this rainy morning having to do with creativity. New research shows that people are most creative from 1-4 a.m. This strikes me as odd because most of the people I know are in bed at that hour except my brother Chris, the Ecuadorian night owl. The least creative time is 4:33 p.m. These researchers also found that folks are most creative in the shower which leaves me wondering how on earth they measured that? But they found that most people didn't write their creative thoughts down on paper and so lost them altogether. Maybe we writers are simply the ones who make it to the pen and paper stage.

Personally, I get my creative ideas when I take walks. Music helps, too! Right now I'm listening to the soundtrack from The Last of the Mohicans. It's the perfect music for thinking 18th-century thoughts! I loved the movie, especially the cliffside scene when Uncas and the evil Indian, Magua, fight. I won't say more in case you haven't watched it except to add that it was filmed on the Biltmore estate in beautiful North Carolina and takes your breath away.

An editor friend of mine recently told me she thinks my books are like the Little House on the Prairie books but with adult themes. I thought this was very clever and I'm flattered. For all of you Little House haters out there, I am truly sorry! But I love being compared to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Even Wyatt likes the Little House series and has read Farmer Boy several times (probably for those wonderful descriptions of frontier food).

Speaking of food, it would be a wondeful day for a kettle of soup and some cornbread. The snow level is pretty low on the mountains this morning though it's pouring rain here in the valleys below.

He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth His ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His cold?
Psalm 147:17-18

wedding recovery

Many a man in love with a dimple makes the mistake of marrying the whole girl.

The days just prior to marriage are like a snappy introduction to a tedious book. -Wilson Mizner

Happiness untold awaits them when the parson consecrates them. -W.S. Gilbert

I love weddings. Guess that makes me a romantic at heart. My boys went to a wedding when they were small but the only thing they remember was the chocolate fountain so this wedding was a real treat for them. We arrived at church a little before 7 o'clock and it was a wet, windy, Washington night. Halloween weather! Our little church was overflowing and the usher couldn't find a seat for us. We are friends of the "sound man" who sits near the front with his computer system so his wife came and squeezed us into their pew:) Wonderful view!

The church was filled with those big blue hydrangeas which are blooming right now. Lots of attendants and two flower girls and one ring bearer. The groom wore his navy uniform and the bride wore a very beautiful gown and viel. Three pastors officiated so I consider them thrice wed! The ceremony was very moving and lasted an hour.

When we got to the reception Paul asked "Where is the queen?" I think the bride would have liked that. All the food was wonderful and THE CAKE had a crystal bride and groom with a navy anchor on top! Every layer was a different kind of cake but my favorite was the chocolate fudge.

So there we were sitting at our candlelit table with 300 other people in the reception hall. Wyatt, dreamy like his mother, was looking around and enjoying all the beautiful sights and sounds and tastes. Randy was his usual quiet self. And Paul, my nine year old realist, turns to me and says, "Mommy, when a man wants to dump a girl does he have to go to the law?" I think I choked on my cake! And this from a kid who watches no tv!

Anyway, I wish Alana and Robert every happiness. And lots of boys like Paul:)