Sunday, July 1, 2012

Fighting for What is Important

As we approach Independence Day, I hope we will remember what the day is really all about.

Remember the guy who wouldn’t take the flag down?

You might remember a news story several months ago about a crotchety old man who defied his homeowners association and refused to take down the flagpole on his property and the large flag that flew on it. Now you can find out who, exactly, that old man was.

On June 15, 1919, Van T. Barfoot was born in Edinburg — probably didn’t make much news back then.

Twenty-five years later, on May 23, 1944, near Carano, Italy , Van T. Barfoot, who had enlisted in the US Army in 1940, set out to flank German machine gun positions from which fire was coming down on his fellow soldiers. He advanced through a minefield, took out three enemy machine gun positions and returned with 17 prisoners of war. If that wasn’t enough for a day’s work, he later took on and destroyed three German tanks sent to retake the machine gun positions.

That probably didn’t make much news either, given the scope of the war, but it did earn Van T. Barfoot, who retired as a Colonel after also serving in Korea and Vietnam , a Congressional Medal of Honor.

What did make news was a neighborhood association’s quibble with how the 90-year-old veteran chose to fly the American flag outside his suburban Virginia home. Seems the rules said a flag could be flown on a house-mounted bracket, but, for decorum, items such as Barfoot’s 21-foot flagpole were unsuitable. He had been denied a permit for the pole, erected it anyway and was facing court action if he didn’t take it down.

Since the story made national TV, the neighborhood association has rethought its position and agreed to indulge this old hero who dwells among them.

“In the time I have left I plan to continue to fly the American flag without interference,” Barfoot told The Associated Press.

As well he should.

And if any of his neighbors still takes a notion to contest him, they might want to read his Medal of Honor citation. It indicates he’s not real good at backing down.


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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Laughter is the Best Medicine

I don't remember the last time I laughed, really laughed from deep in the belly until tears rolled down my face. Do you?
Laugh
I believe we're missing something nowadays, and the something we are missing is laughter. Yes, we smile. We might even giggle or chuckle, but we don't roar with laughter anymore. Is it because we don't have anything to laugh about? Or is it because nothing is funny?
 
I remember watching old Disney movies. Not the cartoons but the live-action movies. Good old movies such as With Six You Get Eggroll, The North Avenue Irregulars, Hot Lead, Cold Feet, and The Apple Dumpling Gang. I remember laughing throughout all of these, from beginning to end. Laughing out loud until I cried.

Do we laugh at anything anymore?

Not too long ago, I was reading a book while waiting at a restaurant. There was one scene where a single guy was babysitting three little boys. The situation wasn't necessarily funny, but the writer's gift for description was hilarious. I couldn't help but laugh while trying to keep quiet and not make a spectacle of myself. A woman at the next table asked what I was reading because she wanted to read something that would make her laugh, too.

There are so few good humorous stories being written. Why not? In this day and age, don't we need laughter more than ever?

What do you think? Inquiring minds want to know.
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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Can Love Really Survive All Things?



After having spent her entire lifetime pining away for all things Russian, Kate Barnes finally gets the chance to visit the storied land of her dreams. While on vacation in Moscow, Kate runs into the wealthy, distinguished Viktor Cherkasov - and much to the surprise of both of them, they soon fall deeply in love; however, with only ten days before Kate returns home – and Viktor’s son, Alexei, determined to keep them apart – can the two fated lovers overcome the obstacles threatening to sever their burgeoning bond…?

Available now in paperback and e-book at Amazon and Barnes&Noble.
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Friday, May 18, 2012

Road Trip!

The Great American Road TripNow that summer is almost upon us, the hubs and I are planning our annual road trip to Ocean City (NJ not MD). It's only a few hours from where we live but it is a world away. Quiet beaches, quiet dinners, quiet afternoon walks. You get the idea. It wasn't so long ago, though, that our road trips took days instead of hours.

One of our favorite trips was to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. We decided to drive instead of fly so we could enjoy the scenery along the way. BIG mistake. That year had record cold temperatures and the snow storms followed us all the way to the Louisiana border. It's a wonder we made it there and back in our old Chevy.

The longest road trip we ever took was to the Grand Canyon. It was the year after we got married and we were both between jobs. In no rush, we visited ten states as we meandered our way to Arizona. It was then that we knew our marriage would last forever - after eight weeks crammed in a car and eating fast food without killing each other, how could it not last!

What are your fondest memories of a road trip you've taken? Inquiring minds want to know.
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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Perchance to Dream

You wake up in the middle of the night, cold and shaking. What’s going on here?

You have just awakened from a dream, in this case a scary one. Did you know that most people have up to five different dreams per night. Some dreams last only a few seconds while others last up to twenty minutes, and they tend to get longer the more hours you are asleep.

Dreams have been seen as a connection to the unconscious. They range from normal and ordinary to overly surreal and bizarre. Dreams can have varying natures, such as frightening, magical, or adventurous. The events in dreams are generally outside the control of the dreamer, and can at times make a creative thought occur to the person or give a sense of inspiration.

Dreams are oftentimes where I get the inspiration for my fantasy short stories. Where else but my wildly vivid subconscious could I create far away worlds and situations?

Fellow witers, do you remember your dreams? Are they at the core of your stories? Inquiring minds want to know.
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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Spring is Here

Mother Nature has been kind this year to those of us on the East Coast. After one of the mildest winters that I can remember, she has brought us an early Spring.

Last week saw several record temperatures in New Jersey, prompting the trees to flower even though it is still March. All around town, I see the dogwood and cherry blossoms in bloom, and the green buds on other trees and bushes. It is a stark contrast to the winter of 2010-11 that seemed to never end. I'm not brave enough to risk a cold by going out without a sweater or jacket just yet, but I have forsaken my scarf and hat.

As I walk through the park today, the sights and smells of a beautiful morning make me want to rush home to work on my new novel. Thanks to the rain of several weeks ago, it had been taking on a somber tone but I now have the urge to go back and rewrite those scenes into more cheerful ones.

As a writer of contemporary romance, my novels are based on people I know and set in places I have been. Looking back, I also can see that the mood of the story took a cue from what was happening in my life. I can pinpoint my own highs and lows by how I described a scene or by the interaction of the characters.

Is this a writer's gift or curse? Is it harder to write an upbeat chapter when it is gloomy and grey outside the window? A good writer might try to put all else out of theirs minds and concentrate on the words before their eyes, but is it possible to completely blot it out.

Fellow writer, share your thoughts.
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Monday, March 5, 2012

Guest Post by Brian Holers, author of the literary novel, Doxology

Please enjoy this guest post by Brian Holers, author of the literary novel, Doxology. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.



Not just for Christians

One of the beauties of self-publishing is that the gatekeeper has been fired. In this new world of books made possible by the Internet, no one is left to guard the door. To tell the reader what is what. This state of affairs may introduce an element of confusion for dogmatic readers, but the good news is, new breeds of literature are being created.

Self-publishing allows literature to cross over in new ways. Traditional Christian fiction publishers, for instance, disallow most references to sex, and even the most juvenile profanity. Self-publishing changes this. Not to suggest a writer should ever debase a genre—as writers we are obliged to choose our words carefully. But the old Christian books kept many readers away. “I’m not going to read that. That’s Christian. It’s boring.” Still, nearly every Christian I know periodically swears, fights, and even becomes amorous from time to time. Christians like good stories too, with depth of character, excitement, whimsy, action. The success of a book like The Shack shows the need for stories of real people dealing with real problems, in a faith-based context. It doesn’t even have to be good literature.

As humans, we all look for answers. Stories are stories. Conflict builds to crisis, which leads to a form of resolution. Sure, some people never doubt their faiths, even in the face of horrible tragedy. Others do. Some never ascribed to a faith in the first place, and instead spend their days casting about for a context to this condition we call humanness. The problem with much traditional Christian literature is this; when a character is pushed to a crisis, and the only change we read is “he fell on his knees, then and there, and accepted Jesus into his heart,” that incident may describe a beautiful sentiment, and may have value to a real person in real life, but as a reader, it doesn’t tell me anything. A reader wants details. He wants to see the sweat break out. She wants to hear the thoughts and words that accompany the character’s condition. Literature is literature. We want to see development. We want to get inside the characters. We want to get to know them. That’s why we care. Regardless of the genre label put on the book.

Doxology is a story in between. The book has a religious message; given its primary setting in rural north Louisiana, that message is Christian. But the characters are just people. They experience the same emotions all people do—love, joy, loss. Their conflicts grow and grow until they must be resolved. Like real people, they go astray, take paths of separation from God, or just from what is good for them. They experience desires that can never be fulfilled, want things that can never be had or even understood. They discover the traits in their lives that aren’t working, and set out to find new habits that will work. Many Christian values are universal—a belief, despite evidence to the contrary, that our lives are worthwhile. An understanding that letting go, and learning how little we are in charge, makes life more manageable. A certainty that the kindness and compassion we offer to others is returned to us a hundredfold.

Some say God. Some say the universe. But we all–when we’re honest, and when we pay attention, have a sense of something looking out for us, giving us what we need. Putting people we need into our lives. We give credit for these gifts as we see fit. Good literature promotes a point of view by showing the reader how a character’s modes of operation and beliefs work for her (or don’t). Good literature, whatever its genre, lets the reader inside. Lets the reader do part of the work. Doxology, in this vein, is a story at the crossroad of God and man. It presents God as the characters experience God, and as real people experience God, looking out for them, giving them what they need. Coming to understand how God has been there all along.

Doxology is a love story. Faith plays a role, as it helps the characters find answers and resolution, improves their lives. Like Jody and Vernon and the others, we all look for redemption from brokenness of the past. They and we find it, as people both real and imaginary alike do, in family, friends, productive work, a sense of place, a faith in something greater. Doxology is a story, first and foremost. Its characters face problems. Their conflicts grow. They look for resolutions and ultimately find them, imperfect as they are. We the readers get to know them, and we care. We sympathize. They matter.



As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Doxology eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!



To win the prizes:

1.Purchase your copy of Doxology for just 99 cents

2.Fill-out the simple form on Novel Publicity

3.Visit today’s featured social media event

Help my blog win:

The tour blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card. When you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to VOTE FOR ME.

About the book: Fathers, sons and brothers reconnect over tragedy in this blue-collar Southern tale of love, loss, and the healing power of community and family. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: An arborist by day and a novelist in every moment he can steal, Brian makes up stories from the treetops. Visit Brian on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.







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