Tuesday, November 05, 2013

A Little Freaked Out ...

Generally speaking, an author will take their life experiences and use them to shape the books they write. I've done this scads of times. For just one example, in Strength to Endure, when Claude and Liesl are taking a walk, that's totally taken from watching my husband take our baby daughter for a walk. We learn about the world around us through the things we go through and those things help enrich our writing.

But I've got a little problem.

Things I've written about have started happening in my life.

That's totally backwards.

When I first published Dearly Departed, in which my main character breaks her ankle, I got an e-mail from a reader who told me she was reading the book, put it down to go get her mail, fell off her porch, and broke her ankle. We had a good laugh about it, but broken ankles aren't so fun.  I later ended up breaking a bone in my foot and got a cast and a wheelchair, and you'd better believe my readers thought that was pretty hysterical.

My book Secret Sisters is about a Relief Society presidency. When I wrote it, I had never been in a presidency before - I'd served on the board, but not the actual presidency. Well, this last June I was called to be the second counselor in my ward. That's right - I'm now a Tansy.

Both of these things are pretty funny coincidences, but I didn't think much of it until today. See, last night, a mouse ran out of my closet, turned around, and ran back in. My husband disabled it with a broom, finished the job with as gentle a knock with a hammer as he could manage, and then disposed of the body in the Dumpster.

Folks, I just described the first chapter of Taking Out the Trash,, which was published last year. Except in the book, the death occurred in the kitchen and there was no hammer involved.

So what does this mean? My books are coming back to haunt me?

Um ... I've written about murder ....

Saturday, November 02, 2013

Guest Blog by Tony Graff

A year and a half ago, I had the opportunity to review Juniper Crescent by Tony Graff. I enjoyed that novel, and you can read the review here.  Tony has just released the next book in the series and I'm delighted to host him here today.

 


Which Isis Are You?
            Bullying's still a hot topic in the media. Something tells me that's not going to change anytime soon. Most of the attention goes to the LGBT community and the tragedy that they face for being themselves, and I empathize with them. But that's only a single face in a great, big stone of prejudice and thoughtlessness on the acts of others.
            If we take a step back, we see a great variety of reasons that someone would become a target of hazing.
            Note I didn't say victim. But, that's a soapbox for another time.
            Growing up we've seen that even something as small as wearing glasses makes someone the object of ridicule. Throw in talking a different way, enjoying a different type of food, having two moms, two dads, one parent, no parents, reading, not having cable TV, or even liking a certain color and you've got a tiny portion of the reason young children suffer bullying.
            Adults don't have it any easier, the name-calling just changes. Political alliances, moral alliances, religious views, job status, family size, even the car we drive can give someone fodder to continue the abuse.
            I think that's one of the reasons I loved writing Hallow Terrace. Just about everyone faces hazing of some kind. Some choose to be a victim, others become a bully themselves, and the strongest people become neither.
            But, that's the harder part. There really isn't a book or even an app that can teach someone how to be the person that can withstand bullying without succumbing or adopting its practices.
            So far, the only thing that I've seen that can build a person like that is having a passion stronger than words and harder than punches. Something to love that is more powerful than anything another person can throw.
            The question is, what makes you worth being bullied? It sounds an odd question, but that can be the greatest strength you have. That's the question I pose to every character who's become an Isis.

            For me, it's writing. Even if I never become a New York Times bestseller, I'm still going to write. Whether it's with NaNoWriMo (good luck to everyone participating), a short story, or another novel, I will write. It's my sanity and my passion, no matter what anyone else says. I'm also lucky enough to know people who have also found their passion, including other authors.

You can purchase Tony's new book by clicking here
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