Radio Interview with Fred and Wendy

Just because I know you're dying to hear it, here's the radio interview I did for Globe Radio. Fred promised to edit out anything I said that was dumb, but I don't have a sound card so I can't double check that. It's probably just as well . . .

Feeling Blessed

Just over three years ago, I had an emergency c-section. My baby was breech and would not turn. I had planned a natural home birth, just as I'd had with my previous three children, and when you are preparing for a natural birth, you aren't necessarily thinking about having a c-section. I was mentally unprepared, and physically as well -- the bag I took to the hospital was filled with strange odds and ends grabbed by my mother in the heat of the moment, containing my hairbrush (which was important) but no change of clothes (which would have been important, too.)

Benjamin was born safely (but mad) although his Apgar scores weren't all that great. It was upon his delivery that the doctor told me I had a heart-shaped uterus, which I didn't know before, and that's why the baby couldn't turn. I was told that any future pregnancy would be accompanied by a lot of ultra-sounds to make sure everything was in the right place.

I spent some time feeling sorry for myself during my recovery, which was awful. I couldn't stand up straight for three weeks. I reminded myself daily that I was blessed--the baby was alive and healthy, I was fine, and it could have been so much worse. I felt additionally blessed when Medicaid picked up the unexpected $10,000 bill. But I still resented the fact that I'd had to have surgery.

The other day, I happened upon this article at Families.com: "Let's Talk about Having a Bicornuate Uterus." That's the medical term for my condition, and as I read not only the article, but the comments afterward, I realized just how very blessed I am.

Many women who have this condition have difficulty conceiving or carrying to term. There is a 55-63% survival rate for the infants of women who have this condition. There is a 15-20% rate of preterm birth and can cause fetal growth retardation.

Commenters in the trail mention uncontrolled bleeding and kidney problems.

Reading this article made me realize just how very blessed I am. Many women in my position can't have children at all, and I have four gorgeous, smart, healthy children, three of whom were born with no complications at all. I have never had a miscarriage. I have never had kidney problems. I have never had problems conceiving. As I go down the list of all the things that could go wrong because of the bicornuate uterus, I am amazed at how smoothly motherhood has been for me this far. I may have to have another c-section, as we are planning to have one more child, but if that's the case, I'll go into it so much more aware of how truly blessed I am. I'm a woman who, the statistics say, shouldn't be able to carry to term. If a c-section is the worst I have to endure to be a mother, surely I can appreciate the process and feel so very blessed that it's not worse.

More Reviews of Whitney Award Books

As promised, here are more reviews of the books that are up for Whitney Awards this March:

Beyond the Horizon

The Deep End

Bullies in the Headlights

Gordon B. Hinckley Passes Away

Gordon B. Hinckley, fifteenth prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away tonight. He was surrounded by his family, he was in his apartment, and he slipped away peacefully. What a lovely way to pass to the other side. I'm sure he was joyously met by his sweetheart.

I loved President Hinckley. His wit, his energy, his devotion to the Church and the love he showed to all the members will be missed. I remember how he moved the Church forward by building temples in so many new areas. He helped change the world's perception of Mormons by publicly sharing our beliefs and that we do believe in Christ. He established the Perpetual Education Fund. He traveled all over the world to meet the Saints wherever they might be.

He always seemed like a grandfather to me. He was never pompous or overbearing. He spoke the truth plainly and without apology, but he was never harsh. I remember the first General Conference after he became the prophet. President Monson commented that he and President Faust had each received a pair of roller skates in the mail with the note, "These are so you can keep up with President Hinckley." How true that was.

I will miss President Hinckley. But I know that the Church is still in good hands. We've seen how the organization of the authority of the Church keeps us from being without a prophet--how blessed we are to know that no matter what happens, there is always a masthead. I will love and support our new prophet as well.

Don't Fight Your Characters

I was over on another blog last night and left a comment to the post about letting your characters have their head. In the comment trail, I said:

You've got to listen to (your characters). You gave them life but they're the ones who have to live it.

Then I stepped back and looked at it. That was pretty good, if you ask me!

Once you create a character, you have given them a form of life. It may all be in your imagination, but think of it as another realm. They live, breathe, and communicate in that other realm. They're just as real in their realm as we are in ours. When you give your character attributes and then add plot and dialogue, you'll find that they stray away from your original intent for them. Just like children, as they get older and start to develop their own personalities, they'll diverge from their parents' original dreams for them and become something else. Sometimes the divergence will be wide, sometimes only slight -- but the divergence is there.

When we try to force our characters to become what they aren't, it's a lot like trying to force our children. They resent it, the relationship is strained, and the story doesn't flow. However, if we work with the character and come to a compromise, we'll be much happier. And, if you're brave enough to let the character take total control, you may find that the story becomes much better than you had originally outlined.

Don't be too rigid with your characters. Allow them room to grow. Don't force them into your mold. Let them go and see what happens. It's an exciting process.

Internet Promotion, a Review, and the Whitney Awards (Oh, my!)

I read LDSPublisher regularly. Today she was talking about the importance of being a presence on the Internet and how a potential reader/publisher should be able to find you immediately by doing a search. One of the nice things about having such an unusual name is that when I put "Tristi Pinkston" into an Internet search, I come right up. Are you establishing your web presence so that when a reader wants to see what you're written, they can find you? Read LDSPublisher's blog about that -- she'll steer you toward some great ways to become more findable.

While taking LDSP's challenge to Google my name, I saw a review listed that I hadn't known was up. Framed over at Framed and Booked made my day with this great review. I read her regularly as well but haven't made it over for a few days, so seeing this review on the Google list was a great surprise.


Last but not least, the Whitney Awards finalists have been named. This is such a great thing for the LDS market -- I can only imagine the positive impact this will have and I predict that as more and more authors strive to produce Whitney-quality literature, the voting process is going to get more difficult because all the books will be so good. If you'd like to check out the finalists, see how you can participate, or learn anything else about the Whitneys, click here. I'm on the Academy and get to cast my vote, so I've been reading as many of the nominees as I can get my hands on. I'll post links to the reviews I do so you can see what I thought.

So far, I've reviewed:

Book of a Thousand Days

The Operative

Counting Stars

Sheep's Clothing

Spires of Stone

Land of Inheritance

Eclipse

My reviews don't give away who I think should win -- I want people to make up their own minds and not be influenced by me. I'll keep posting reviews as I get all the nominees read.

Feeling Groovy

That is right -- I am feeling groovy.

Let me share a little background. You know I'm going to anyway -- might as well get comfy. Go grab a soda; I'll wait.

As a writer who uses world history as her main storyline, I spend a lot of time researching. My basic writing method goes something like this:

1. I get an idea for a story I want to tell. Sometimes it's from reading a book, seeing a movie, overhearing a conversation -- whatever the source, I get an idea.

2. I start learning all I can about that era. I watch movies, I watch documentaries, I read books (fiction and nonfiction both) I search the Internet, I talk to people who know about that era. I take notes the whole way through. Usually during this stage I start to visualize where my characters will be when each thing happens.

3. I type up all my notes and I make a timeline of what happened when so I can make sure my characters get where they're supposed to get on time.

4. Then I start writing the book, referring to the timeline, pausing to verify what happened at certain key times, double checking dates and locations. After the book is done I have to check that all again.

It's a long process. It's a lot of hard work. It takes time and concentration and study. But don't get me wrong -- I love it. I love learning the things I do and digging out details and creating them into a story. But the research can be very hard. Reading about the attack on Pearl Harbor and then the bombing of Hiroshima was very hard on me. Learning about the Holocaust and the concentration camps made me feel gray inside for months. It's a hard thing, emotionally, to do.

Okay, enough of the background.

I'm doing a Book in a Month challenge over on my other blog and my project is a contemporary comedic mystery. Today I had one of the most productive days of my life and wrote 4,940 words -- not all in one sitting, but on and off throughout the day. Believe it or not, I even turned the computer off for part of the afternoon. I know -- don't go into shock on me here.

This story is just really flowing for me. I haven't had to stop to refer to a timeline once, or think about phrases, or historical feasibility, or any of it -- I'm just writing a story, and I can't tell you how liberating it feels. I never will stop writing historical fiction -- I love it too much -- but this vacation from the research and the checking and fact finding is turning out to be so good for me. Instead of proofreading for dates and places, I'm just going to be looking for plot holes, punctuation, and flow. Instead of making sure that car really was invented back then, I'll just be making sure my dialogue works. Wow -- I truly do feel like I'm having a vacation for my brain. It's still work, but it's so different, I'm utilizing other thought processes and giving my research ones a break. It definitely feels groovy.

Blackout!

There are times when having a good imagination is not a good thing.

My husband took the three older children on an errand last night and I was here with sleeping three-year-old. I was having a nice, quiet, relaxing evening which I sorely needed -- my kids spent the entire day yesterday trying to kill me. Well, not really, but it felt like it. Basking in the peace, I settled in to an evening of Internet surfing when all of a sudden the power went out.

Not a big deal. I lay down on the couch, thinking I'd take a little dose until the power came back, but then my imagination started to work overtime.

What if it wasn't really a blackout. What if a murderer had cut the line to the house and was, at that moment, preparing to come in and murder me?

Okay, as soon as I had the thought, I knew I was being silly. I could plainly see that the neighbors on either side had also lost power. (Unless the murderer planned to kill the whole trailer park, I was fine.) But that didn't keep me from dashing to the door and locking it.

Then I heard a strange beeping noise. I couldn't figure out what we owned that was battery-operated that could beep.

Enough of the darkness -- this was no little blip. I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed the emergency candles and -- amazingly -- found the matches too. With a flick, the room came to life and I wasn't afraid any more.

Back before flashlights, back before halogen bulbs and all the rest, there were candles. Blessed, blessed candles. They require no batteries. They're cheap (I get mine every year at the Wal-Mart after Christmas clearance, 8 inch tapers for a nickle.) They're pretty. They're comforting. They don't glare -- they glow.

I settled in and read by candlelight until my family came home. With the three-year-old double insulated in his bed, life was good.

You know, except for that whole murderer thing.

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

My friend Kimberly forwarded this e-mail, and I thought it was too good not to share.

In response to the question, "Why did the chicken cross the road . . . "

DR. PHIL : "The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on 'THIS' side of the road before it goes after the problem on the 'OTHER SIDE' of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his'CURRENT' problems before adding 'NEW' problems."

GEORGE W. BUSH: "We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here."

COLIN POWELL: "Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road."

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN: "We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road."

JOHN KERRY: "Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it."

NANCY GRACE: "That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks."


PAT BUCHANAN: "To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American."


MARTHA STEWART: "No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs whenthe price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information. "


DR SEUSS: "Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told."


ERNEST HEMINGWAY: "To die in the rain. Alone."


JERRY FALWELL: "Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends,that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side'. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that."

GRANDPA: "In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough."

BARBARA WALTERS: "Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road."

JOHN LENNON: "Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace."

ARISTOTLE: "It is the nature of chickens to cross the road."

BILL GATES: "I have just released eChicken2007, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken. This newplatform is much more stable and will never cra...reboot."

ALBERT EINSTEIN: "Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?"

BILL CLINTON: "I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken? "

AL GORE: "I invented the chicken!"


COLONEL SANDERS: "Did I miss one?"


DICK CHENEY: "Where's my gun?"


AL SHARPTON: "Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens."


Hillary Clinton: "I have vast experience with chickens and if elected, I will ensure that EVERY chicken has the ability to cross any road they desire."

And She's Off!

We took my mom to the Missionary Training Center this morning. Here she is, in front of the building with her luggage:



Yeah, I know she's sideways. Tip your head and you'll be fine.

Here I am with her right before we said goodbye:



This is not a camera trick -- she really is that short.

It will be kind of weird to have her gone, but we wholeheartedly support what she's doing and it will be fun to see her have such a good time.

And if anyone knows a simple way to turn pictures the right way without it being a twelve-step process, I'd appreciate it.

More Outings with Camera

I'm telling my life story backwards here. If we were going in proper chronological order, my last post would be here and this post would come after. Oh, well -- just scroll down and read 'em both.

On Friday was my interview with Globe Radio. On Thursday I took my new digital camera to the lunch of the Beautiful Bodacious Babbling Blogger Babes. (Try typing that five times fast.) We met at the Brick Oven where I had a very nice chicken and Canadian bacon calzone. Even better than the food was the company, and I got to take pictures of everyone to post here.



Donna, Candace, and Ali




Heather, Karlene, and Julia




Donna, me, and Candace

I'm really going to enjoy this whole digital camera/upload pictures to blog thing. You guys are probably going to get sick of pictures of every aspect of my life.

Interview with Globe Radio

Yesterday morning, my husband and I got up early and drove up to Salt Lake Community College to meet up with Busdriver Fred and his wife W. P. (aka Wendy) to be interviewed for Globe Radio. Apparently gremlins got into the system and messed up the universal power supply, because everything was down when we got there. With the help of two building maintenance men, Fred was able to record the interview, but we weren't live. He apologized, but you know -- I'm actually glad it wasn't live because when it's taped, you can go in and edit it. He promised to take out anything I said that sounded dumb.

I've never been on the radio before and in fact, I don't care for the way my voice sounds when recorded. So I'm going to trust that Fred made me sound marvelous.

Here are some shots:



Matt, me, and Fred




Wendy, me, and Fred


I'll post the link to the interview here as soon as I get it.

This was also the maiden voyage of my new digital camera. These are the first pictures I've uploaded and posted. I made Matt install the software and do a trial run, and then I practiced. It's pretty easy!

If You're Not Doing Anything in March . . .

I've been asked to be a presenter at the ANWA Conference in Gilbert, Arizona, on March 1st. I'll be teaching an extended version of my "Writer's Voice" class I taught last year at the LDStorymakers Conference. This class will be offered twice throughout the day, and you'll also hear from Kathryn Jenkins of Covenant, as well as Kerry Blair and other fabulous presenters. Click here to check it out.

On March 21st and 22nd, come join me in Sandy, Utah, at the 2008 LDStorymakers Writers Conference. I'm heading up the Boot Camp with Candace Salima and we're also teaching a class on Internet promotion and blogging. I just discovered that our class is right across from Brandon Sanderson's, so we may not have a soul coming to hear us -- that would be sad. But if you're not interested in writing fantasy, you could come fill up some of our chairs. It's going to be an awesome class whether we have two or twenty participants. Click here to find out more about this conference which has been dubbed the best conference west of the Mississippi and is endorsed by Lisa Mangum of Deseret Book.

Preorder "Season of Sacrifice," Get Free Shipping!

The year is 1879. President John Taylor of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has asked his intrepid members living in southwest Utah to travel across the state and set up a colony in southeast Utah. One hundred and eighty wagons are prepared and head out in October, the people sure that they'll arrive by Christmas. They didn't know what dangers they would face, from a passage through rock that seemed impossible, to the threat of starvation. Six weeks stretched into six months. Babies were born on the trail. Faith was tested but did not falter, and at last the group straggled in, their wagons tested to the limits, their horses on the brink of death.

This is the story of the Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers. I am descended from Benjamin Perkins, one of the most notable of these. He engineered the passage down the hole you see in the picture, giving the wagons a safe way down to the Colorado River. "Season of Sacrifice" is Ben's story, taken from family history books, texts written on the subject, and Ben's own life story. Written like a novel, yet historically accurate in every regard, you'll not only learn about this historic feat of courage and daring, but you'll feel what the pioneers felt and rejoice at their success.

This book will be available mid-to-late March. If you would like to preorder a copy, leave your name in the comment trail along with how many copies you would like. I will pay the shipping on every copy you purchase. I don't know the purchase price yet -- that will be determined within the next few weeks. I'll contact you and let you know.

This is my third published novel, and my favorite to date. I've loved every minute I spent writing this book and I feel sure you will enjoy it. The free shipping special ends at midnight, February 25th.

Why is Tristi Self-publishing?

A long, long time ago, Shanna asked why I was going to self-publish a book. I'm sorry I didn't answer for so long -- we're having a crazy week at my house and lots of things are going by the wayside. I was quite amazed to see that the last time I posted, it was Wednesday -- I think that's the longest I've ever gone without blogging.

The answer:

It's all Warren Jeffs' fault.

The explanation:

My book is the true story of my great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Perkins (pictured). He was a Welsh immigrant who participated in the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition in southern Utah in 1879-1880, and it was he who engineered their passage through the rock. He was an incredible man and left a legacy that I'm proud to call my own. He also happened to marry his wife's sister after settling in Bluff, making him a polygamist.

The book is well-written, emotional, and contains some of my best writing ever. But because of the Warren Jeffs brouhaha, the LDS publishers have become cautious about publishing stories that contain polygamy. The book was rejected by four LDS publishers for various reasons, but largely stating their concern about polygamy.

I don't want to let this book sit in the back of a closet somewhere, gathering dust. I strongly feel that I owe it to my progenitors to share their story of faith and courage. So I'm going to self-publish it, with the help of my good friend B.J. Rowley and his publishing imprint, Golden Wings. I'm so excited to be proceeding with this project. You'll hear more about it as we go along.

New Year Ramblings

2007 was pretty interesting. We baptized my oldest son in January, took a pay cut in the fall, had two funerals in February, I was a speaker at the League of Utah Writers Spring Workshop as well as the Conference Fairy at the LDStorymakers Conference, and my kids started karate. Other than that, it was pretty normal.

As I look ahead at 2008, I'm excited at the prospects. So much has finally fallen into place and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

I'm not going to make a list of resolutions or goals. Instead, I'm going to make a list of things I'm going to do. I'm also going to take Karlene's advice and write down the things I accomplish as I do them -- it's so much more motivating than thinking about the things I didn't do.

This year I'm going to --

1. Self-publish a book. This is already in progress.

2. Publish an additional book with a traditional publisher.

3. Lose 97 pounds.

4. Get my house weeded down to just the things we use and love.


There are a few other things in the offing that I can't really mention until they're more concrete, but this is a good start.

Happy New Year, and let's concentrate on making our goals happen, rather than waiting for them to happen to us.

When is Enough, Enough?

Shanna said:

Tristi,
I have a question for you. How do you know when you should stop revising and start submitting? Or how do you know when you should start submitting a novel that you know still needs some revising?

I'm going to answer the last part of the question first. If you know the book still needs some revising, I wouldn't submit it. If the editor reads it in an imperfect form, they'll think that's the best you can do. You can't include a letter that says, "I know this still needs work and I intend to do it, but I thought I'd see if you liked it first." They can't decide whether or not they like it until they see it in as perfect a form as you are able to get it. So, if you know it's not done, don't send it in.

The first part of the question is a little trickier. The LDStorymakers joke that when you're ready to throw it under a bus/throw up if you have to look at it again/kill yourself rather than go through another edit, you're ready to submit. That's true, in spades, but not the entire answer. Some questions to ask yourself are:

1. Is this book as good as you can possibly make it? When you read it, do you find places where you think, "I could have done that better?"

2. Have you asked others to read it? Have at least three people, with critical inclinations, read it and picked it apart for you? Have you taken their advice (when needed) and done what they said?

3. Have you checked every spelling on every word, every punctuation mark, every page break, to make sure that you haven't left out anything important and that all your words are spelled correctly?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of manuscripts submitted that look like rough drafts. They are poorly spelled, badly punctuated, and do not look professional. Your manuscript needs to look crisp and clean. Your plot needs to be seamless. Your dialogue needs to be engaging and interesting. Your characters need to resonate with the reader. If any of these elements are out of place, you are not ready to submit.

On the other hand, perhaps all these things are in place. And if they are, why are you sitting here reading this blog? You should be at the post office! Go! Go!