Author Archive

Posted on May 17, 2012 - by Regina

SIMPLIFY

Simplify.

S – Sing. Sing your heart out. When life gets complicated, just sing.

I – Ice Cream. Life always looks better when you’re holding an ice cream cone.

M – Magic. It’s everywhere. A flower blooming. The smile of a child.

P – PRAY. Need I say more?

L – Love. Love your neighbor. Love yourself.

I – Irony. Appreciate the irony which is everyday life.

F – Family. Remember why most of our UNsimple things happen – because of those folks that we love the most!

Y – Yellow. I just like the color yellow. It makes me happy.

So, in conclusion, when I have to stop and simplify, I have to let my mind travel to those places that keep me centered. God. My family. My friends. Music. Things that simply make me smile.

Try it. Especially the ice cream . . . . I’ll take a single scoop of double-fudge-toffee, please . . .

Posted on May 3, 2012 - by Regina

HEY, HEY . . .

We’ve talked about survival kits, tips for surviving, etc. Being a life-long reader AND television watcher, I try to justify the time I waste in front of the tube, or reading what some would call “fluff,” by learning something from what I’m reading and watching.

So, when I thought of “Survival,” I immediately placed myself in the position of some of my favorite book and television characters.

It’s a theme that shows up in books, movies, music, reality TV, and the real world.

If you’ve read the Hunger Games trilogy, you know exactly what I mean. If not, there are a plethora of other resources to draw from. Remember the Gary Paulsen novel, Hatchet? Boy survives a plane crash while everyone else dies, and he has to survive until help can get to him. In the Harry Potter series, Harry not only has to survive the Wizard world, but sometimes more importantly, the Muggle world of his aunt and uncle. Each is almost equally as dangerous.

The television show, LOST, put a new spin on survival. Not only did they have to survive normal desert-island stuff, but the weirdness that ensued during seven seasons of cliffhangers. Gilligan’s Island, on the other hand, gave us the wacky view of seven stranded castaways that we will never forget. Who among us, in a certain age-range in which this ground-breaking comedy was rerun every day after school, can not quote scenes, and put any plot device firmly in an episode of Gilligan’s Island? Hey, I even used it to teach “beginning, middle, and end” to elementary school children in a discussion of how plot WORKS.

Survivor, The Apprentice, American Idol, etc. are all based on survival in one form or another. In these “reality” shows, it literally IS survival of the fittest in their various areas of expertise. You get voted off the island if you don’t measure up or are a threat. You get “fired” by a guy with lots of money and bad hair. You get eliminated by audience votes from week to week. And all the time there is evaluation, criticism, and self-recrimination or defense.

And then there is the REAL world. Our day-to-day version of our individual “reality show.” If you’re a writer, you know that to survive you have to do one main thing – WRITE. It doesn’t matter what you DO, to survive, you mostly (you notice I didn’t use the word SIMPLY) have to just DO what you DO. Without procrastination. Without hesitation.

What can we learn from our fictional and almost-fictional heroes? From Hunger Games, use the talents you’ve been given. From Hatchet? Keep your tools sharp. Harry Potter teaches us to make sure you have friends nearby – or at the very least a great wand.

From LOST, keep your numbers in order and follow instructions, and Gilligan teaches us not to be afraid to laugh at ourselves. Reality shows always show me that I’m glad I live a normal life, and that there are no cameras tweaking every activity I’m involved in – a little mystery is good, I think.

The main thing I’ve found about survival is that life isn’t perfect, and it isn’t going to be. That’s what Heaven is all about, and we strive to get there, sometimes more than others. Life is about surviving the ups and downs, about realizing that God’s timing isn’t ours, and that when things don’t go our way it may just be a way to buy us time until that good and perfect gift comes along.

So, in the words of Gloria Gaynor, and later, Sister Sledge, “I Will Survive.” Hey, hey.

Posted on April 19, 2012 - by Regina

DEAR E-READER . . .

I was first introduced to the concept of DEAR (Drop Everything and READ) when I was in college, studying children’s literature, and preparing to be a school librarian. In fact, in the schools I have been a part of, we have observed, from time to time, DEAR time.

I’m thinking of working it in to the public library schedule . . .

So, in the spirit of DEAR, in the last two weeks, I have read all three books in the Hunger Games trilogy. Oh my. I won’t get into plot, or a review, but let’s just say that it was worth every thing I dropped to read them!

You can imagine my chagrin, however, when, after reading book one, the other two books were not available either at my house (my daughter’s set had been loaned out), OR my library (talk about a waiting list . . . sigh . . . )!

So, I did what any enterprising librarian with an electronic device would do. I purchased and downloaded books 2 and 3 onto an iPad. And now I am a convert.

While I still love the feel of paper and pages, I must say that the idea of making the font as large as I need, and turning the page with a mere swipe of a finger is enticing. The only drawback is that you don’t have the BOOK on the shelf. Oh, it’s in the reader, but there are no page numbers, so if I were truly studying a book, I would need the hard copy.

But for those DEAR moments when you’ve simply GOT to see what happens to Katniss and Peeta next? E-books. It’s quick, it’s painless – and if you watch Facebook and author blogs, you’ll find a lot of great FREE books available out there!

Posted on March 22, 2012 - by Regina

DRESSES . . .

Your dresses should be tight enough to show you’re a woman and loose enough to show you’re a lady.–Edith Head

Dresses.

Long dresses, short dresses, elaborate, simple, work-related, evening attire . . . I love dresses.

So when I see a cover with a beautiful dress – or even one that just catches my eye – I’m hooked.

That’s what got me started with Deeanne Gist’s and Julie Klassen’s books, and now Tamera Alexander’s!

Did I mention Laura Frantz? Oh, boy, does she ever have the DRESSES! I can’t wait until her next series comes out!

When I am drawn to a cover with a beautiful dress, I always wonder, will this dress actually be featured in the book? When I picked up Tamera Alexander’s book, “A Lasting Impression, a Belmont Mansion Novel,” I had to wonder if that magnificent dress on the cover could possibly belong to the poor waif in the beginning of the novel. I found it, late in the book. I won’t spoil anything by saying that it had to be the most romantic part of the book – which made the dress even more important to me!

As beautiful as all of Deeanne Gist’s covers are, my personal favorite is “Beguiled.” A contemporary, the cover looks like something that could be “Flapper” era, or the current era. A suspense thriller co-written with author Mark Bertrand, this novel brings the historic areas of Charleston to life in the current day. If you’ve visited that beautiful city, you’ll feel that you’re walking the streets right along with the heroine!

Our own Inksper author Lorna Seilstad has magnificent dresses on her heroines, as well! As a librarian, I can’t help but notice that when Lorna’s books are tagged and displayed as a staff “favorite,” it seems to fly off the shelf, and one of the comments invariably mentions the beautiful dresses on the cover!

I could go on, being the girly-girl that I am, but just take note, the next time you’re in your library or favorite bookstore, just how absolutely enchanting are the covers on the books. See if, sometimes, beauty alone just MAKES you reach out and check out that back cover!

Posted on March 8, 2012 - by Regina

DREAM, DREAM, DREAM

Many of you know that I spent the month of February rehearsing for and performing in the pit orchestra for a community production of “Oklahoma!” One song that was the BANE of the orchestra’s existence was the “Dream Ballet,” where there is no singing AT ALL, and you go from one theme to another with action and dance between. I hear the actors and dancers did a great job – the musicians could only imagine!

On top of that, I’ve been recovering from a minor illness – but one that had insomnia as a side-effect! Not fun for a girl who is fond of her sleep!

So you can imagine my delight, when last week, for the first time in nearly a year, I actually slept so well that I had DREAMS!

That made me think – what if there was a holiday in which you remembered all those cool dreams you had, and you woke up with the words simply pouring out your fingers! You have to realize, I have really cool dreams – at least to me. They’re usually stories. Sometimes I’m an observer, sometimes I’m a character in the story. In fact, my first completed novel started out as a dream. I’ve dreamed television episodes, movies, and about the school where I went as a child.

So that’s my writer’s holiday. We’ll call it “In Your Dreams.”

Mom, when are you going to write about your “kidnapping” dream? Talk about a story . . . .

Posted on February 23, 2012 - by Regina

NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS

On Monday, Kim wrote about a very important aspect of the movies, and that is the MUSIC. Today, I want to take it one step further, into what I consider one of my favorite genres of movies – the movie musical.

Yep, just lost some of you . . . .

But seriously, did you know that in the last 73 years, 19 movie musicals were nominated for “Best Picture, and 8 of them won in that category?

Movie musicals run the gamut of comedy and drama, modern and historical, animated and a mixture of animation and live-action.

Who can forget the sweeping fight scene in “West Side Story,” or Eliza Doolittles transformation in “My Fair Lady?” Or that “Beauty and the Beast” was the first fully-animated feature nominated for a Best Picture Oscar?

Then there were the classics that won Oscars for such things as the musical score (Oklahoma, 1955), acting, costumes (The King and I, 1956).

Probably the most popular movie musical of all time is “The Sound of Music,” which was nominated for a whopping TEN Oscars, and won FIVE (Directing, Film Editing, Music score, Best Picture, and Sound).

In my research, I did find an interesting tidbit on the movie musical. In the 1950s and 1960s, they were a staple of Hollywood, and garnered Best Picture nominations nearly every year. By the time the 1970s arrived, they were waning. 1971 saw the nomination of “Fiddler on the Roof,” and 1972, “Caberet,” and after that? Nothing until the 1991 nomination of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” and then not another until 2001’s “Moulin Rouge” and 2002’s “Chicago.” I’m not sure what this tells me about society in general and the musical – that’s a treatise for another time, I’m sure, but I thought it was quite interesting!

In the last few years, musicals have made somewhat of a comeback with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera,” Steven Sondheim’s “Sweeny Todd,” and others. These huge Broadway hits have helped to bring the musical back into the public eye. After all, put Johnny Depp in a show, and it’s bound to be a hit!

I have a personal affinity for the movie musical. When I was very young, “Oklahoma!” was shown on television on a regular basis, and as I got older, “The Sound of Music” took its place as a standard. I’ve since had the opportunity to not only watch many more musicals through their availability on DVD and Netflix, but have been able to see the productions on the stage, which is an experience that can’t compare to watching a movie. Oh, I’m not saying it’s better or worse – just completely different!

And now? This weekend I finish up a run playing in the orchestra pit for a local production of “Oklahoma,” in which my teenaged daughter is playing the part of the feisty “Aunt Eller,” and my older daughter is stage manager. Oh, by the way, my older daughter was “Sister Margaretta” in “The Sound of Music” last fall.

I guess you can say musicals, in any way, shape, or form, are in my blood . . . Popcorn, anyone?

Posted on February 9, 2012 - by Regina

LOVE Rejoices in the TRUTH

It (love) does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 1 Corinthians 13:6 NLT

Truth. What is it about this word that not only gives us a feeling of peace and confidence, but also a feeling of almost, well, dread?

Because, as a famous movie quote goes, “You can’t HANDLE the truth.”

It’s a fact. We go along trying to build ourselves or our situation up in our own minds, and then when something comes to light that is TRUTH, we’re surprised. Sometimes it’s pleasant, sometimes it convicts us down to our very toes.

That’s where I am right now. I want the truth, but can I handle it? Fortunately, with God, I CAN.

Here’s a song that I love, and always, ALWAYS makes me turn toward the light, The Voice of Truth. Listen. Enjoy. Shed a few praise-tears, or a few thank-you-for-pointing-that-out-Lord tears.

Voice Of Truth

But above all, REJOICE in the truth. After all, that’s what God deals in, isn’t it? God is LOVE. God is TRUTH.

Posted on January 26, 2012 - by Regina

A CHAT WITH SUSAN PAGE DAVIS

About a year ago, I went, in fear and trembling, to my first area writer’s group meeting, which at that time consisted of myself and three other ladies in the Western Kentucky/Western Tennessee area. I mean, two of these ladies were PUBLISHED authors! I mean, they even put their pants on differently, don’t they? Well, it didn’t take long, over Culver’s burgers and ice cream, to find out that published authors are regular folk, and that having a good friend like Susan Page Davis is sometimes the best encouragement an aspiring writer can have!

Susan is the author of thirty-seven published novels. Prairie Dreams is her new series from Barbour Publishing. A Maine native, Susan now lives in Kentucky with her husband, Jim. She’s a past winner of the Carol Award and the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest.

Welcome, Susan! What was it that inspired you to become a writer?

I have always made up stories, and I have written them since I learned to write. I’m not sure what got me started. But when it comes to seriously writing fiction and trying to get published as an author, I think I was inspired to try when I realized I had a full-length novel in my head. I wrote the story out and started trying to sell it.

You’ve lived in, and written about, so many places! If you could set a book anywhere in the USA, whether or not you’ve been there or not, where would it be, and why?

Right now, probably in Albuquerque. My father-in-law was born there, and I’d like to see it and learn more about it.

Speaking of places, how does living in my own state of Kentucky compare to other places you’ve lived?

Okay, here’s the scoop. It’s warmer, and it has more heavy rains and tornadoes, fewer blizzards and hurricanes. When it does snow, which isn’t often, nobody knows how to drive in it. Kentucky also looks different from Maine or Oregon or any of those other places. . .It’s got flat roads, for one thing. The birds look almost but not quite right. It has lizards and poisonous snakes. It has more ticks and fewer mosquitoes. It has no moose, but lots of possums. The sun never gets up as early or sets as late as it does in a Maine summer, but that’s understandable since Kentucky is a whole lot closer to the equator. At the grocery store, I can find canned okra and bourbon-flavored baked beans, but I often can’t find molasses or fresh seafood or buttercup squash. They put whipped cream on milkshakes here, which seems a bit “overkill” to me, and gravy on lots and lots of things. And I frequently have to ask someone to repeat what they said, or ask what they mean. But all in all, it’s a pretty cool place.

Hey, I recall trying to get a barbecue sandwich in Indiana – it’s not quite like we have in Western Kentucky, is it? I’m just glad to have you close by!

Now, back to writing –

What author, dead or alive, would you like to mentor you? Why?

Dick Francis. I love his mysteries, and I’d love to be as good at pulling clues together.

You have written historical, suspense, and romance. How do you approach different genres?

They all take a lot of planning and research. Historicals probably take a little more, as I have to check EVERYTHING. The 1857 book I just finished is an example. Yes, they had sleeping berths on some trains then, but Pullman cars came later. So did railroad dining cars. That put a cramp in my characters’ journey. I check words and phrases to be sure they were in use at the time. I look up types of fabrics to be sure they were available and plants to be sure they grew in that area at the time. But contemporaries take research too—the place, the occupations, the weapons—it just never ends. And I love it.

The research angle hit me when I realized I may have placed a stagecoach in an area that might have been served by a railroad! Thank goodness for Internet resources!

So, what’s next for Susan Page Davis fans?

I have four historicals coming out in 2012. The first, in March, is Almost Arizona, which will celebrate 100 years of statehood with an action-filled romance. In April and October, the second and third books of my Prairie Dreams series will release. A lot of people are waiting for Lady Anne’s Quest, to answer some questions about the Stone family and see if Lady Anne finds true love in the Wild West. In the final book, A Lady in the Making, you’ll see what happens to Uncle David, the new earl, as he heads out of Oregon and into danger. Also in April, you’ll see Cowgirl Trail, the next book in the Texas Trails series. It’s a lot of fun.

I can’t wait to see what’s next for Lady Anne – and the Texas Trails series is amazing.

What question would you like to ask our readers?

What book that you’ve read in the last year would you most like to see made into a movie?

Thanks so much for joining us, Susan, and our readers! Remember, leave a comment during our “Authorpalooza,” and you may have a shot at a pack of books, including Susan’s own The Lady’s Maid!

Back-cover of The Lady’s Maid:

An Aristocratic Brit searching for her lost uncle . . .

A German Maid determined to protect her mistress . . .

A disagreeable Scout waiting to see the ladies fail . . .

A Ruffian dogging their every step . . .

And the Prairie that challenges their very survival.

Lady Anne Stone’s uncle is the new Earl of Stoneford. The only problem is, he disappeared into America’s Wild West. With only her personal maid, Elise Finster, as determined chaperone, Anne embarks upon a quest to find David Stone. First stop, St. Louis, where the ladies discover their quarry went farther west five years ago. Resolute in their mission, Anne and Elise join a wagon train to Oregon. But will their prairie-dream adventure turn into a Wild West nightmare?

Scout Eb Bentley, initially skeptical that the women can survive the journey, soon finds himself falling for the determination, charm, and beauty of one lady in particular. Can he keep her alive long enough to win her love?

Or will the ladies succumb to the rigors, ruffians, and rustlers along the trail?

Posted on January 12, 2012 - by Regina

WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW

Write what you know.

I know. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It’s one of those pieces of advice that I heard so long ago that I don’t have a clue where it came from. Along with BICHOK (Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard), “Just keep writing,” and “You can’t fix what you haven’t written,” “Write what you know” fits right in.

Maybe it’s cliché. Maybe it’s over-simplification of the task of writing. After all, what do I know? And if I write what I KNOW, wouldn’t that be a non-fiction treatise on how to run a library or how to make a chocolate pie? Perish the thought. I can whip out a blog post, newsletter article, or a little piece of a devotional in no time flat, but it’s fiction that I want to write. What I LONG to write.

In sifting through “what I know,” I find that I don’t use nearly all the tidbits I know in everyday life. For instance, I co-wrote a fanfiction story about under-cover FBI agents solving a jewelry heist on a cruise ship. Since neither my writing partner nor I had ever actually been FBI agents, a jewelry thief, or ever been on a cruise ship, why in the world would we want to write about that?

Simple. What I know is that I like books, TV shows, and movies about BOTH of those things. And when you like something, you research. You find out what is the FBI procedures for this, that, or the other thing. You find out where their field offices are, and where a certain building in downtown Charleston is located (yet another story, I’m afraid), and you find out the exact layout of a real cruise ship, especially the shopping areas and cabin layouts. Who knows? I may never solve a crime on a cruise ship, and I may never be “Julie McCall” from the Love Boat, but I can enjoy learning about cruises!

I daresay that those who write in the paranormal genre haven’t had first-hand experience with vampires and werewolves, but they’ve done their research, read books, watched movies. Then they write what they know, from their perspective.

You know A LOT.

Think of it this way. Remember all those bits and pieces of knowledge you find you have stored away, that only comes out when you pull out the Trivial Pursuit board? Someday, those can be classified as “stuff you know.”

And then it can turn into “stuff you can write about.”

Posted on December 29, 2011 - by Regina

CHRISTMAS LINGERS . . .

Welcome to my house! We’re the friendly-looking white bungalow on the left, if you’re coming from downtown! The icicle lights on the porch give us a nice glow, and if you slow down as you pass, you’ll see the lights of the Christmas tree and mantle through the windows! No, this picture wasn’t this Christmas – it was 2004 – but isn’t it beautiful in the snow, when we GET some!

When we bought our house nearly 10 years ago, I wasn’t sure about the gold tile on the enormous fireplace in our living room, but as we decorated around it, the generous mantle became the perfect place for my nativity scene. We received the set as a gift from my husband’s brother and sister-in-law either the first or second Christmas we were married, and I’ve treasured it ever since.

Plain cream-colored ceramic, I like to put lights and silk poinsettias around the pieces, making it sparkle. Baby Jesus has a place of honor sitting atop an olive-wood Bible brought to us by some friends who took a trip to Israel. Two small trees full of lights flank the mantle, and a large primitive angel watches over the group, making it an oasis of peace in the midst of the loving Christmas chaos!

Our tree is a beautiful conglomeration of family favorite ornaments, topped by an angel that I found at “Big Lots” a few years ago. Honestly, that eight-dollar angel is prettier than any I’ve seen anywhere! There are fancy ornaments, childhood ornaments, and then there are my favorites – a set of hand-painted ceramic ornaments that my mother and sister made for me, mailing them to us from Wyoming the first Christmas we were married. I still keep them in the box with the note that she included, telling me that the placemats that were also in the package might have a few cat hairs on them, because Freddie, our first housecat, was certain she was making a bed for her!

My snow village took a different turn this year. I have seven pieces, and have, in the past, tried to put them all together on top of Granny’s piano, or on the buffet in the dining room. This year, I decided to spread them out. I put one in the kitchen, a few in the living room, separately, and three on top of the piano with the Shaker boxes my dad made for me a few years ago. I’ve been able to enjoy them so much more this year!

The dining room is one of my favorite places to decorate. Being a 1916 Craftsman bungalow, it has a plate rail all the way around the room, which is a perfect place to put greenery and tuck in the Santas and Snowmen that didn’t have room with the main collections! I like to put garland around the light fixture in that room, also. This year, I actually had someone ask if the “Lowes Special” fixture that we installed 9 years ago, was original to the house! I think it was the greenery!

As you go through the house, you’ll see bits and pieces of Christmas here and there, from Christmas mugs collected over the years, to an ever-expanding snowman collection, to tins of candy and cookies. It will remain in place for a few days yet, and then comes the task of taking it down and storing it away until next year.

But I’m not going to think about that, now! Like literary figure Scarlet O’Hara, “I’ll think about it tomorrow!” Or, maybe, next week?

And if you slow down to peer in the windows at the lights, be sure and stop, OK? I’ve got some apple cider just BEGGING to be pulled out and heated up for company!