Debbra B. Nance

August - Ahhhhh...

2009-08-04T09:39:00.004-06:00

So it's August and it is hot! We usually don't mind --after all we have a/c most everywhere. We're loving the fresh corn-on-the-cob, zucchini, tomatoes, melons, and lots of barbecuing and salads for dinner. Our kids and grands who live in Utah County have come swimming a few times and we often talk on the phone to the others. Plus, I have my eye on a little house that is for sale and we may make an offer.

As for writing? My good friend, Jane, and I are working out the details of her imagined world for a middle grade fantasy series. (I've always wanted to write a time-travel fantasy.) Jane is finishing the first book now, entitled, The Old Shoes. I'm helping with some editing and then we'll begin the next book. It is great fun to work together and I am excited for this project!

The bottom line is that I'm trying to relax more and take things as they come so life is good!

(For more details of my personal life see my other blog: http://grandmadebb.blogspot.com/ )

July 2009

2009-07-07T19:40:00.003-06:00

Still not writing, but I was invited and joined another online critique group for picture books. I've also applied for two jobs with a nearby city so life goes on. To know more about what is happening in my life, check out my other blog... http://grandmadebb.blogspot.com

May 2009

2009-05-08T12:27:00.004-06:00

I haven't been writing much lately. After getting several rejections from agents and some other setbacks, my motivation has evaporated. Plus my laptop is down so I have limited time on the computer. I have continued to read a lot of books so that goal is still intact. Perhaps I'll get back to the other writing related goals when my laptop is fixed, perhaps I won't. Time will tell....

For an update on my personal life, check out the link below:

http://grandmadebb.blogspot.com/

January 2009

2009-01-15T11:39:00.004-07:00

I haven't posted in a long time so here is a fast update. I completed the revision of my book The Picking Bag and renamed it Ammon's Journey Home to better reflect the story. In December, I sent it to an agent that Rick Walton suggested. I've had two people read it (they both liked it) and a third person has the manuscript. Perhaps the agent will like it as well, but I doubt I hear from her --even if she is interested-- for at least a few more weeks.

I received Eve Heidi Bine-Stock's three writing picture books for Christmas. I'd read the first two before and read the third one last week. I've concluded that writing picture books is harder than I thought--and I thought it was hard. I revised Miss Lavender's Shoes but haven't had anyone read it.

I've read a dozen plus books since the new year and set some goals (including a few for writing) and so it goes...

I read a great writing quote today with which I agree wholeheartedly: "The ending has to fit. The ending has to matter, and make sense. I could care less about whether it's happy or sad or atomic. The ending is the place where you go, "Aha. Of course. That's right.""-- Carrie Jones, author of NEED

Happy writing in 2009 everyone!

P.S. See my personal blog for the family updates and photos!

November Rain and Catching Up!

2008-11-02T13:15:00.011-07:00

It is raining today. Pouring rain, in fact, with some wind and colder weather. It finally feels like fall--or even winter. We've had beautiful warmer-than-normal weather until today. I took some photos from our window a few days ago because we have such a beautiful view!

It is amazing to me that it is November. I'm not sure where September and October went. My friend, Cinda Chima, did come for her writing retreat in September and she signed some books at Barnes & Noble and did a presentation on her Warrior Heir series at our local library. It was fun and great to see her! Another friend of mine from Ohio, Kate Tuthill, ended up being one of Cinda's writing retreat buddies so I got to see her as well.

October was a fun month for my writing! I won Honorable Mention for my book The Picking Bag in the Juvenile Book Division of the 50th Annual Utah Arts Council Original Writing Competition. My husband and I attended the Utah Literay Awards Ceremony for that presentation which was sponsored by the Utah Humanities Book Festival. Besides awards for the writing competition, they gave out the May Swenson Poetry Award and the Utah Book Award (for best published book of 2007). There was a photographer who took lots of photos, a unique musical group --two guitarists, an oboe player, a flute player, a bass player, and a fellow that played harmonica, mandilin, and accordian-- which sang and performed original music about Utah, and then a reception afterward with cheeses, crackers, fruit, and punch. It was very fun to rub shoulders with other authors and people interested in writing.

Also, I had the Writing Picture Books with Rick Walton workshop in October. It turned out well and we raised about $800 for non-profit projects! Author Kristyn Crow talked about what made good and bad PBs and gave us a handout with tips for writing good books. I presented the info I'd researched on using structure to write good PBs. Rick gave us a couple of handouts and talked about many aspects of writing PBs and then to learn what he had taught, we critiqued each other's works. Afterward, a small group of us went to dinner at The Cedars of Lebanon restaurant which was tasty and fun as well. The highlight of the workshop for me, was when Rick made a comment that I would be a published author soon.

Another good thing that happened in October, was that I spent a morning visiting with Rick at his office at BYU to talk about my internship. More about that later. For now, let me just say, I'm working on several WIPs and hope to revise The Picking Bag with six suggestions from the judge of the UAC writing competition and then, as Rick suggested, I will begin looking for an agent.

Finally (for now) in my last post, I said there was an SCBWI meeting that week, but I had it wrong and there wasn't one scheduled after all, due to a combined conference with the Southern Idaho SCBWI group in Boise. I had every intention of attending the SCBWI meeting in October in SLC until I discovered I had a flat tire just a few minutes before I was going to leave. Ah well, there is a meeting scheduled for this week that I plan (and hope) to attend. And I signed up for an all-day SCBWI conference in SLC for November 15th so I WILL get to meet some of the SCBWI members here in Utah.

September

2008-09-02T14:36:00.002-06:00

The end of summer has arrived. It isn't official yet, of course, but Labor Day has passed. School has started everywhere. And it *snowed* in our mountain's yesterday--that is early--but still, we knew it would happen eventually. To top it off, today the pool in our complex closed for the season. (Just when I was starting to enjoy it!)

But instead of lamenting anymore, I've decided to celebrate the beginning of this new season. After all, fall is traditionally a month for learning so I'll focus on what is ahead and hope to get some serious writing done.

I wish all my Northern Ohio SCBWI friends a great fall conference this weekend! I hope you'll all share your notes. The Utah/Idaho SCBWI group gets back into the swing of things tomorrow evening and I look forward to meeting some new freinds there. Plus my friend Cinda Chima from Ohio will be in town on the 24th for a library visit to discuss her Heir series.

All in all, it should be a great month. Happy writing to everyone!

Writing Picture Books Internship with Rick Walton

2008-08-05T13:58:00.003-06:00

I wrote before about attending the BYU conference earlier this year. Since then I've joined two listservs and two critique groups connected to people I met at the conference. I've also started an internship with Rick Walton who teaches writing picture books at BYU. He has published a lot of children's books and is very well known in Utah. He is a bit eccentric --he described himself as obsessive-compulsive, which he says drives him and everyone around him nuts, but he gets a lot done. I've found that he is very kind and willing to talk to authors about their own writing and he does a lot of pro bono projects. Check out his website if you're interested http://rickwalton.com/

We communicate mostly via email, though Rick has invited me to visit his office on campus if I'm ever at BYU. He has 2-3 assistants and about a dozen interns all the time. He assigns projects to the interns according to what they are interested in doing and learning. Each internship is different and lasts different lengths of time. For my internship, I'm setting up a workshop in October for writing PBs. It's a fundraiser for a project Rick is working on with JDRF. They plan to publish a picture book designed especially to help children with diabetes.

As Rick and I were talking about details for the workshop, we talked about three authors we know who use "structure" in different ways to write PBs. We decided that comparing these structure methods would be an interesting topic for research. So the bottom line is that I'm going to include that as part of my internship and I will present my findings at the workshop in October. I'm excited!

So for the first part of the workshop, Rick will teach his approach to writing PBs, how to find book ideas, etc. ; then I'll do a short part to explain the three structure approaches (about 30 minutes total); then attendees will critique each others PB manuscripts for the rest of the day. I think it will be very beneficial, and, since I'm presenting, I'll probably learn more than anyone else. Maybe even enough to get a PB published.

Twilight Series

2008-08-05T09:12:00.005-06:00

Okay, I'm like a bunch of other people in this country, I got hooked reading the Twilight series. I had resisted for sometime as YA romance stuff is not my favorite. But when both my daughters were reading the series and one called and said, "Mom, you've got to read them so we can talk about them together," I couldn't say no. I read the first book a couple of weeks ago. Halfway through there was a lull where I put it down and felt like I didn't have to read anymore. But I did read more, and then I was hooked to the end of that book and had to read the others. Book 2 and 3 were fine. There were times of excitement and "must read" and times when I wanted the story to move faster. (How many times can Bella comment on how beautiful Edward is or how much she 'wants' him or how she won't be happy until she's a vampire or how sorry she is that she's breaking Jacob's heart but she still wants him around???) Anyway, the 4th and final book came out on Saturday. I had decided I would wait and just borrow it from the library. But when I realized both my girls had purchased it and were reading it and were amazed at the unexpected plot twists, I couldn't wait. I made a special trip to Wal-Mart at about 7 p.m. Saturday evening and purchased my own copy.

I started reading and read not quite half before deciding it was too late to finish it that night. I didn't read it on Sunday but finished it last night. For those who haven't read it, I can say it has a happy ending and Stephanie Meyer tied up every loose end possible. But though it was happy and, therefore, I couldn't say anything was really wrong with it. I didn't find the ending satisfying. Maybe I've read and critiqued too many books. But for me, the good and evil sides have to be equal in strength and the good side has to win "fair"--no last minute unknown swooping in and saving the day. And though that isn't what happened in the 4th book, something seemed "off" to me. Stephanie Meyer built the story up and up and up to a huge climatic moment and then it dropped/resolved in a split second and everyone walked away happy. It felt too much like she "told" us what happened and didn't "show" us what happened. So bottom line? Great job Stephanie Meyer for changing how YA fiction is written--another YA author called it a new niche "clean teen." And congrats that your book will be a movie. But if you write a sequel, I'll probably skip it. I think I've read enough YA vamp/wolf stuff for quite a while. That is unless my girls read it and want to chat.

Verla Kay - Writing Real Books Now

2008-07-22T16:11:00.002-06:00

In the world of writing for children, a lot of people know Verla Kay (see her website at: http://www.verlakay.com/). I read a quote from her today that I really like: "People sometimes ask me when I'm going to write a 'real' book - for adults. I give them a big smile and tell them, 'When my stories are no longer good enough for children, then I'll write for adults.'"

Persistence is still the key

2008-07-09T13:48:00.005-06:00

I read a great quote today by Steven Mooser who is the President and Co-Founder of the SCBWI. "There are three things you have to do to be a successful writer, read a lot of children's books, write a lot, and rewrite what you do. I can almost guarantee anyone that if they spend years learning, they will publish a book. It just requires learning and persistence."

I read an ICL archived chat where another publisher author said it took 8.5 years for her to become successful writing children's books and the moderator was amazed that she'd done it so quickly. Sort of puts things in perspective, doesn't it?!

NOH SCBWI Brochure/Registration Form Done!

2008-07-03T15:28:00.002-06:00

I'm still serving as the Marketing Coordinator for the Northern Ohio SCBWI. We've been working on finalizing details for their Annual Conference in September. My job for the conference, was to create the six page brochure that includes the registration form. I've done it several years now but it still takes tons of time. Jean emailed me the last detail last night and I plugged it in and emailed the completed brochure to the printer and to Rhenee to upload it onto our website. WAHOO! It is done!

BYU Writing for Young Reader's Conference

2008-07-03T15:02:00.002-06:00

I recently attended the BYU Writing for Young Reader's Conference. It was the first non-SCBWI conference I had attended, though I heard about it from a fellow SCBWIer from Ohio who said it was excellent. He was right! I only attended the afternoon sessions but it was well worth the time and money and I hope to go again next year.

Author Lisa Wheeler gave a great workshop on Picture Books. Her handout teaching how to reduce wordcount was very useful. Author Claudia Mills was also delightful--her workshop on how to write books in one hour a day was motivational, helpful and hilarious! I enjoyed hearing all of the authors read clips from their books and the mingles (Q&A time available with the authors, agent, and editors) were helpful too. Martha Mihalick, Associate Editor, Greenwillow Books, was one of the editors. And it turns out she edited Marlane Kennedy's book, The Pumpkin Queen. Marlane is in the N OH SCBWI with me. It was really fun to meet her editor! Martha and I had a nice chat and she gave me her business card which was even more fun. Stephen Fraser, of Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency, was the agent. He was very approachable and made everyone feel like they could succeed. The BYU conference is like the SCBWI conferences in that attendees are allowed to submit to the editors and agent who presented. So I will do that and see what happens. I would enjoy working with Martha and/or Stephen.

Cinda Chima to visit West Jordan

2008-07-02T21:35:00.002-06:00

My friend Cinda Williams Chima is coming to Park City, Utah for a writers retreat in September. While here, she will be making a library visit at the West Jordan Library on September 24th at 7 p.m. Cinda's third book in the Warrior Heir series will be out in August so it will be good timing. It will be lots of fun to see Cinda again. If you love fantasy, you'll enjoy her books. You can read more about Cinda on her website: http://www.cindachima.com/Warrior%20Heir/Warrior_Heir.htm

Commencement Speech Worth Hearing

2008-06-07T14:42:00.000-06:00

http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

J. K. Rowling spoke at a Harvard commencement. Her speech entitled, "The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination," is excellent! Check it out with the above link.

No Book Contract

2008-05-15T15:33:00.000-06:00

If you've looked at my blog before, you may have noticed that I used to have a link to my publisher and to the illustrator for my picture book The King's Lunch which was due out this fall from Open Book Press. I found out Tuesday that the project has been cancelled.

The news wasn't totally unexpected because I received an email in February stating that the wife of the editor of OBP had lost her battle with bone cancer and passed away. The email further stated "this has caused a re-evaluation of the viability of our company for the short and long term. Some of you have been notified about the future of your publication while others are still awaiting notification."

Since then I've been waiting to hear what the fate of my book would be, and now I know. My friend Dan is the one who told me. He said he was sorry and that I would receive an official letter releasing me from the contract. He said they really liked my book and he thinks I can find someone else that will publish it. He said OBP received more than a thousand query letters and from those, they asked for 50-60 manuscripts to read. He said mine was the best of all of them.

Those were kind words and I hope he is right and that I will find another publisher. But in the meantime I am very sad and feel like I've lost a dream.

F517 - Another Sign of the Computer Age

2008-05-06T13:34:00.000-06:00

My husband and I went to get our Utah driver's licenses yesterday because we couldn't put it off any longer. The place is only open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We arrived at what I hoped was the optimum time of day --10:00 a.m.-- later than when people going before work would go, yet earlier than those going during their lunch hour would go. Still, there was a line reaching to the entry doors when we arrived. We learned that before reaching the front of this initial line, a completed form was required for each person. So my husband stayed in line while I began filling out my form. He reached the front before I was done so he stepped out of line and began completing his form.

When I finished my form, I went to the back of the line (which had grown longer) and waited. My husband joined me when he'd completed his form and we waited some more. Eventually we made it to the front of the line where we turned in our forms, showed our ID and proof of residency, and answered questions. The worker gave us back our paperwork with a ticket numbered F517 and said to take a seat until our number was called.

We sat and waited. At first numbers were called quickly B190 to station 9, B191 to station 8, C247 to station 14, B192 to station 6, A019 to station 10, B193 to station 9, B194 to station 7, D326 to station 11, F515 to station 4. We had hope--a number F had finally been called! Then more B, C, and D numbers were called. It might have been funny to watch this beehive of activity, except it went on and on and on.

Then we noticed fewer and fewer workers at their stations and the numbers were called slower and slower. Was it break time? There didn't seem to be any order as to why or when the numbers were called. Why for intance were two B's called in a row? Where were the people who had been in the initial line right before us? Why were the workers (those that were still working) continually leaving their stations? There was no way to tell where you were in the queue or which number would be called next. Plus where were all of the workers? At one time there were only four workers at the 16 work stations.

Nearly an hour after arriving and when my patience was wearing thin, we noticed more workers coming back to their stations and the numbers were again called quickly. F516 was finally called and eventually our number was called too. We went to the assigned station and, in about five minutes, we had each taken an eye test, answered more questions, had the written test waived (since we'd had Utah driver's licenses before) and paid our fees. Two minutes later, another worker took our photos, we electronically signed our names and were issued temporary licenses complete with photos. Our regular licenses will be mailed in a couple of weeks so the ordeal was over for another five years.

I asked the worker how the numbers and stations were assigned because it seemed to be such a random system. Her reply was that "the computer did it" and I guess that explains everything.

Conference Theme and Acorns

2008-04-19T17:15:00.001-06:00

Even though I moved to Utah, I'm still on the Board of the Northern Ohio SCBWI. Obviously, I don't make it to many meetings. But I do give my 2 cents worth on topics of concern via email and telephone, and I'm still doing the quarterly mailings and working on the Annual Conference Committee. I'll be creating the Conference Brochure and Registration Form again this year and it is now time to choose our theme. While brainstorming, I looked online at several websites and found some inspiring/interesting/encouraging quotes. I also found some funny/silly ones and I had to pass them all on. Several are most apropos for writers. . . . Enjoy!

Henry Ward Beecher "All words are pegs to hang ideas on."

Ben Franklin "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."

Mark Twain "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and the lightening bug."

Robert Frost "All the fun is in how you say a thing."

“Thinking Outside the Sharpie”

I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.

Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with the software.

Bacon and Eggs: a day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

HECK is where people go who don't believe in GOSH.

A picture is worth 1,000 words, but it uses up 1,000 times the memory.

Remember that half the people you know are below average.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand.

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Strange that psychics have to ask you for your name.

He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." (Bill Gates of Microsoft, 1981.)

"Fred Astaire Can't act, can't sing, balding... Can dance a little." (MGM talent scout, 1928.)

"What can you do with a guy with ears like that?" (Jack Warner, movie mogul, rejecting Clark Gable, 1930.)

"You ain't goin' nowhere son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck." (Jim Denny of the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, firing Elvis Presley after his first performance.)

"I'm sorry Mr Kipling, but you don't know how to use the English language." (Editor of the San Francisco Examiner, rejecting a short story from author and poet Rudyard Kipling.)

"And finally there is the story, seemingly based mostly on truth, that Fred Smith, the founder of the multi-billion-dollar FedEx carrier corporation, originally proposed the FedEx concept in a college examination paper - for which he was awarded a C grade.... It's a good story... and helps confirm not only that great oaks grow from tiny acorns, but also how difficult it is to recognize a particularly good acorn before it's grown."

Photos

2008-04-15T11:01:00.001-06:00

I used to scrapbook. I had baby books for each of my four kids and photo albums for the whole family. Then some 10+ years ago, I noticed a few of the old photos starting to fade and yellow. I realized those weren't on acid free paper so I began to redo all of the albums. My mother had a small advertising business at the time and I helped sometimes. She traded advertising with a lady who did Creative Memories. So I got new albums, cool paper, stickers and all the stuff to go with them. When my kids got married, I gave them their books (or in the case of Joe the photos and album since I didn't have his completed) and I redid the old family albums. I continued making family photo albums and in January of 2005 had Cal's and my first 30 years of marriage chronicled in photos. My kids all wanted the photo albums. To solve the problem, our oldest scanned each page of the albums, put them on DVDs, added music and nifty extras; and now everyone has copies of those photos.

Now it is 2008. I have almost 3 1/2 years worth of digital photos and the task of scrapbooking them seems overwhelming. But a friend told me about a website (http://www.shutterfly.com/ there are many others also available) where you can upload your photos and put them in albums with fancy paper, lettering, etc.--essentially online scrapbooking and then share those albums online or have them printed. There isn't a cost to put the albums together or share them. The companies make their money when you order copies of photos or printed albums, etc. I am just about finished scrapbooking 2005-2007. It is great fun!

Musings on Writing

2008-03-30T16:58:00.000-06:00

I met a gal this morning after church who was visiting from Maine. Her sister and I had been talking the other day and her sister mentioned she'd written a novel for teens and was planning to get it published as soon as she finished her third revision. I told them that writing the book was the easy part. I always find it interesting when people think that they could write a children's book and get it published in a snap. This is not the case in my experience and it isn't just the YA books like Harry Potter that take time to write. The shortest picture books are probably the hardest to write. You must have a beginning, middle, climax, end, fully developed characters, engaging dialogue, wording that evokes enough wonderful images to illustrate 32 pages, and do it in about 500 words or less. If you think writing for children is easy then you haven't tried it. The gal I met this morning hadn't heard of the SCBWI so I told her about it and gave her their website. I told her she would find a whole bunch of people there who are willing to help her in her goal. That is one of the great things about SCBWI, everyone is writing for different age levels and different genres so we all support each other in our writing goals.

Time is the Key

2008-03-14T11:50:00.000-06:00

I've been out of town for a week visiting family in Washington state. We had a great time and I especially enjoyed a visit with my son and his wife! Now I'm home trying to catch up on everything. I had thought I might get a few hours to work on writing on my trip but it didn't happen. Writing after all is work. You must take the time to write down the story brewing in your head or nothing happens. I'm amazed at people like my friend Cinda Williams Chima who seem to write so effortlessly. She mentions in a blog (http://cindachima.blogspot.com/) that she was "in 300 pages" writing her latest YA novel. She is an excellent writer who can really spin a tale and she has published one book a year for the past three years and has more on the way. But I read a quote today from Shelly Becker (http://www.shellybecker.com) with a somewhat opposite view. She said, "One important thing I learned in the process of writing Mine! Mine! Mine! is patience. All of my previous works were rushed. I was eager to write a story and call it finished. Writing doesn't work like that. It takes time to develop a story. A lot of time. Sometimes months and sometimes years." Obviously, writing is different for each author. It IS a process. I went to dinner with my husband and some friends a few weeks ago and we were talking about writing childrens books. One man said he had tons of stories that he knew would make great childrens books but he never had time to write them down. And I guess that is the point: Talking or thinking about writing, going to conferences, and reading books about writing aren't enough, if you don't write down your story, if you don't start somewhere, you will never write a book. Finding or making time to write is the key and that is where I am at.

Food for Thought

2008-02-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

I finished reading a short biography of Eleanor Roosevelt earlier this week. I was impressed by her constant desire to be of service and to help others no matter who they were. She was an amazing woman! I also found a clipping in an old file I had, regarding a play about Joan of Arc who was condemned to die. The playwright, Maxwell Anderson, had his heroine say: "Every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in little or nothing. One life is all we have, and we live it as we believe in living it, and then it's gone. But to surrender what you are, and live without belief --that's more terrible than dying --more terrible than dying young." The article continues "The pages of history and literature tell stories of many heroines, some from real life and others from the imagination of writers. Noble women of strength hold our attention and win our admiration. [Now is] a good time for [us] to determine what [we] are willing to 'give up [our] lives' for or to what [we] wish to devote [our] time, talents and energies."

Non-Sequitur - Another Cartoon

2008-02-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

Here's another cartoon to make you smile. (Click on it to see it better.) Keep writing!

Good Words to Write by....

2008-02-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Writer Phyllis A. Whitney lived to be 104 years old. She published more than 60 books (mostly mysteries for adults and children). In her book "Guide to Fiction Writing," she ascribed her success as a writer to persistence and an abiding faith in her abilities. She wrote, "Never mind the rejections, the discouragement, the voices of ridicule (there can be those too). Work and wait and learn, and that train will come by. If you give up, you’ll never have a chance to climb aboard."

Speed Bump - cartoon for writers

2008-02-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

Here it is without going to the link...Enjoy!

Random Thoughts for a Snowy Afternoon...

2008-02-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

I received another email survey today--perhaps you've seen them? The survey lists a series of questions which someone has answered and then forwarded to you. You are then supposed to answer the questions yourself, return it to the person who sent it to you, and forward it on to more friends. In this way you are supposed to learn more about your friends. These emails have been going around for months, maybe years. After about the third survey I received, I quit forwarding them. But I still enjoy reading the random questions and I answer and return them. Most questions are straight forward (e.g. what time is it, what color socks do you have on, what was the last thing you ate, how many cities have you lived in, what book are you currently reading). These are easy to answer. Other times the questions require more thought (e.g. what are you afraid of, what is your favorite saying, who is your favorite author). These are not as easy to answer. Sometimes to really answer the question they would require me to divulge more than I'm willing to share. I'm sure there is a lesson in that somewhere. But for now, in case you're wondering: According to my computer, it is 3:31 p.m. My socks are black. I last ate ice cream. I've lived in 12 cities. I just finished reading The Rhyming Season and I'm always reading the Book of Mormon. My fears are my own. I have many favorite sayings and too many favorite authors to list. Now I'm off to write a few letters and enjoy looking at the snow.

Getting Back to Writing

2008-01-18T14:04:00.001-07:00

I’m married to a Virgo and he fits the astrological sign—very organized, neat, and likes a regular routine. After nearly 33 years together, I’ve found that I like those same things as well. I haven’t established a routine since we moved to Utah, though I’ve been enjoying my roll as mother, grandmother and daughter more than I was able to in Ohio. But I hope to establish a routine soon—particularly with my writing. I’ll begin today with my blog.

I went to a workshop at the Northern Ohio SCBWI conference last September taught by Laurie Knowlton (http://www.laurieknowlton.com/). She made a comment then that stuck with me. She said (and I’m paraphrasing) that the reason writers can write for children is because they never really grow up and she admitted she is still about six years old at heart.

Sometimes I think I’m stuck at about age eleven or twelve. Perhaps it is because we moved from my small hometown to a big city when I was twelve and that was a traumatic experience for me. It was worsened by the fact that the week before I was to start at my new Junior High, we went “home” for a visit and while riding bikes with my cousins I crashed and ended up in the emergency room. A trip last night to the ER (for tests with a family member) brought those memories flooding back.

I clearly remember that fateful Saturday, sitting on a bench in the hospital, waiting for the doctor to arrive from his interrupted golf game. My mother and aunt had gone shopping while my older sister, our cousins, and I were supposed to be taking care of each other. (See photo above of some of the cousins, I'm second from the left.) Jacki, Paula and I decided to ride bikes. Jacki and I were older so we took turns pumping Paula on two bikes. We got to the top of the highest hill in the area and started down. We went faster and faster--it was thrilling! Paula was on the back of my bike at the time and all of a sudden she started hollering that her pant leg was stuck in the spokes. I steered toward the edge of the rode, hit gravel, lost control and sprawled to the blacktop. I remember lying on the grass under a tree, looking up and thinking how much trouble I was going to be in because I didn’t have my shoes on and mother didn’t like us to go barefoot when we rode bikes. Someone helped Jacki call another aunt and then we were at the hospital. Paula wasn’t hurt much, but I knew I was pretty banged up when I overheard a passing stranger say, “I wonder how many cars were in that accident.” I had two black eyes, three broken teeth (from hitting the handle bars), a possible concussion and numerous scrapes, road burns, bumps, and bruises. Needless to say, I was still banged up when school started and that was a turning point for me, something that affected my life for years.

In an excellent book on writing entitled, "Past Perfect, Present Tense", award winning author Richard Peck states “A word writers use is ‘epiphany’.… In fiction writing, the epiphany is a sudden breakthrough of understanding, of self-awareness. It’s that moment of change that changes every moment after. It’s the lightbulb switched suddenly on over somebody’s head. Novels tell of epiphanies acted upon. In real life we have epiphanies all the time. But we wait for them to go away. Change is too hard, and threatening. That’s why we have fiction. Stories are better than real life, or we wouldn’t have them. Stories for the young present the metaphor of change upon the page to prepare the readers for the changes coming in their lives. Non-readers will never be ready. ... Fiction writers have only questions, and the eternal question all fiction asks the readers is: What if I were the character in this story? What would I do? This is the great gift readers receive: They can be anybody and go anywhere. They can try on all these lives to see which ones fit. … A story isn’t what is. It’s what if? Fiction isn’t real life with the names changed. It’s an alternate reality to reflect the reader’s own world.”

A story isn’t what is. It’s what if? I like that. Happy writing everyone….

Moving News / Reconnected At Last!

2008-01-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

January 7th: We moved from Toledo on December 26th as planned. Several friends and family members came to help load the moving van so we were done in about an hour. I was starting to get teary but our son-in-law was so cheery reminding us that we were moving West to be with all our family and saying they would be with us before too long so we couldn’t get sad. We all hugged and then we got in the truck and started on our way. The roads and weather were good though it was very cold (e.g. zero degrees in Rawlins, Wyoming). We drove for 10 hours the first day and 14 the next. We hit two areas where the roads were slick and/or dangerous but we were blessed to make it through without any problems. We arrived in Utah at my Mom’s about 1 p.m. on the 28th and moved into our new place the next morning with lots of help from family members and new friends from our church.

I LOVE it here! We have gorgeous views of the mountains! It is almost exactly the same view we had from our front window when we lived in Sandy, Utah. I’ve decided this place is quite similar to the one we had in Toledo except everything is a little bigger, newer, quieter and/or nicer.

Saturday afternoon we went to Provo to visit our kids and grandkids. Saturday was also our younger son’s birthday. We’ve talked to him nearly every day since we moved here. The time difference is only one hour now which makes a huge difference! Sunday after church we went to dinner at my sister-in-law’s and on the way home stopped at my niece’s to visit my sisters who were visiting and more family members. Monday we went back to Provo for our oldest grandson’s 9th birthday party. My Mom has been over several times since we got here and we plan to visit my husband’s father soon. It is great being close to most everyone again!

We’ve worked hard unpacking and organizing and our place is taking shape. We ended up buying some new furniture for the living room, a new washer and dryer, and a couple of shelves, some picture frames, a filing cabinet and I don’t know what all from thrift stores. My husband has been hanging pictures and putting stuff together for days and I’ve been using Tung oil and Old English polishing up everything to cover the scratches and scuffs from moving and fixing up the vintage items I got from the thrift stores. We are very comfortable now and almost done. The other stuff we need (another desk chair, etc.) will have to wait a while.

There was a mix up with our phone/internet/cable hookup so we’ve been out of the loop for almost two weeks but we hope to be connected today.

January 9th: It took until tonight to get my new wireless system up and running but it is working now thanks to my hubby. Hooray!!

I'll be posting regularly again. Happy New Year to everyone!

Enjoy Life!

2007-12-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

Life can be tough --I am a cancer survivor so I know--but life can also be good. (Side note: I went for my quarterly exam today and my CA125 bloodtest was 7 which is great!) One of my favorite sayings is by Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and says, "In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." Children often see the good things in life and are full of joy. That is one reason I like to write for them. I read a quote by Channing Pollock the other day that shows an interesting perspective, "Contemplating the adolescence through which we scorned the wrong, some of us must wish . . . that we could be born old, and grow younger and cleaner and ever simpler and more innocent, until at last, with the white souls of little children, we lay us down to eternal sleep." If you want a good story to read this time of year that includes the innocence and fun of childhood, you might enjoy an old favorite of mine entitled, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. Joyous Noel!

Reluctant Readers

2007-12-17T08:02:00.001-07:00

A comment on my first blog says: "Your publisher is interesting to me because of its focus on reluctant readers. I'd love to see a discussion about reluctant readers.... I thought my daughter qualified as a "reluctant reader" but other than a few conversation with a publisher and a librarian - both of whom specialize in books for RRs - I haven't really found any good resources on the label."

I have to admit that I was a little intimidated by the term when I first read on OBP-Hoshi's submission website that their focus was on the "reluctant reader." The site further states: "We want stories that will entice, encourage and bring illumination. Stories that will make reading, a child's bliss forever. We are actively seeking stories for reluctant readers." http://www.openbookpress.com/submissions.htm

Because I've always loved to read, I loved the idea of writing books that will make reading a child's bliss forever, but I wasn't sure what kind of book would "entice" a reluctant reader. I googled the term and found a couple of opinions that rhyming books and poetry can be good for RRs. So after a succesful query letter, I sent OBP a picture book I'd written which includes one character who always speaks in rhyme. OBP loved it and THE KING'S LUNCH will be published Fall of 2008. I hope many reluctant readers will love it too.

So who are reluctant readers? According to what I've read, they include:

1. Children who are intelligent and interested in reading, but don't read well;

2. Children dealing with learning problems which keep them from reading well; and

3. Children who read well but have little or no interest in reading.

I believe children in the first two categories could be helped to read with practice, time and patience. Whereas children in the third category must be enticed to read with subjects of their own choosing--maybe with graphic novels/comic books or with nonfiction or sports or poetry. You can't force a child to love to read. Hopefully you can show by example and provide different types of books so a child will learn to love to read --eventually-- even if it doesn't happen until he or she is an adult. For additional information on reluctant readers, you may want to check out the resources at: http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/reluctantreaders/

For the Birds

2007-12-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

We have a bird feeder on our deck. Last year, we enjoyed watching four female and four male cardinals visit us regularly. This year we've had many sparrows, a bluejay, and a lone red breasted nuthatch visit regularly but only one occasional female cardinal. Today three more cardinals came --two male and another female. The bright vermillion color of the males is beautiful against the white snow.

Snow!

2007-12-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

Lucas County is under a Level 2 Winter Storm Warning. That means no unneccesary traveling so we were in essence "snowed in" today. Since I'm nursing a bad cold it seemed perfect. I curled up with a warm blanket, read scriptures and other church magazines, listened to Christmas music, talked on the phone with my daughters, had a nice dinner with my husband, and rested. It was just what I needed.

12 Days of Christmas

2007-12-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

Traditionally the 12 Days of Christmas start December 25th and go into January. But many people I know celebrate them before Christmas. If you celebrate it this way, today is the first day of Christmas. Years ago, my family had a secret friend provide us with 12 Days of Christmas surprises. It had been a tough year financially for us and the love and gifts he gave us were greatly appreciated! Our secret friend would leave something on the porch, ring the doorbell and run. I remember the first day he left a large frozen turkey with a note. I think the twelfth day he left Christmas tree ornaments and the sixth day he left a small gift for each of us. Most of the time we didn't realize our secret friend had come until we heard the doorbell ring and by then it was too late for us to see who he was. However, one night after a big snowstorm the lawn was covered with about eight inches of snow with a hard ice crust on top. Our secrect friend hadn't come yet even though it was quite late at night. As my husband and I lay in bed, all of a sudden we could hear someone crunching their way across our lawn. We knew it was our secret friend. We could have hurried to the window to see who he was, but we decided to keep his secret. All of these years later we still don't know who our secret friend was, but we've never forgotten his kindness and generosity. We've also followed his example by helping with secret Santa projects or giving anonomously when we can. It is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit!

Victor Talking Machine

2007-12-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

In mid-November, Gordon, my previous boss sold his building and semi-retired. As part of closing his office, he was getting rid of an old wind-up phonograph. When he found out I was interested in it, he gave it to me. I was thrilled! Every time I play it, I will think of Gordon. The phonograph is a Victrola, by the Victor Talking Machine Company circa 1924, and includes about a dozen records and several packets of new needles. One of the records has the date of September 1903 printed on it. With some adjustments and the help of my son-in-law, we got the Victrola to work again. It is absolutely amazing to me that someone could figure out the technology to put sound on a disc that could be played over and over again. It is no less amazing to me that we now have CDs, computers and the internet. Isn't life grand?!!

2 "b"s or not 2 "b"s

2007-12-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Though most people call me Debbie, my given name is Debbra. I'm often asked if that is the correct spelling. Yes, my name has two "b"s. My mother was a fan of Debbie Reynolds and named me after her. I've been telling people for years that Debbie Reynolds also spelled Debbra with 2 "b"s because I thought my mother told me that bit of trivia years ago. Perhaps she did, but whoever told her was mistaken. I learned today that Debbie Reynolds' birth name is Mary Frances Reynolds. Who knew?

Just Starting

2007-12-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

Today is a new beginning for me-- I've become a blogger! I started this blog so that those interested in my writing can find out about my books and other writing projects. I will add links to my publisher(s) as they become available.

If you check my profile, I've listed West Jordan, Utah, as my home. The truth is that I currently live in Toledo, Ohio, but I will be moving with my husband to a new home in West Jordan in 19 days. I better get packing!