Weekend Happenings

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Hi everyone!

 

I hope you all had a good weekend. We didn't do much for Memorial Day, because everyone was busy hauling cows out to pasture, but me and Henry did walk down to the cemetery and put flowers on some of his great grandparents' graves. Henry helped by carrying the old ratty looking flowers to the dumpster.

 

It was a long walk, so I also acquired him a toddler bike, so next time, something else can carry him around when he gets tired.

 

Something fun happened over the weekend also. My cat, Inej, had gone missing a few months ago. At first I thought she might have just gone wandering, like farm cats will do, but then she wasn't coming back, so I worried maybe she got hit by a car or something.

 

Well, Monday my neighbor texted me to let me know that she had Inej, and her three kittens, and was going to bring them over since they were big enough to travel. Cue the little girl excitement.

 

Henry was asleep when she dropped them off, so when he woke up I took him outside and he was so excited. He actually handles them remarkably gentle, which I was surprised. Aren't they cute?

 

 

So when my neighbor said three kittens, I instantly started picking names for them. (I have a long history of naming kittens crazy band or book names. It's a tradition.) For some reason, I just assumed boy names. Everything is a boy to me. If I don't know what an animal is, I automatically say good boy. Don't ask me why. So I had three glorious boy names picked out, only to find out they were all girls.

 

Now, I had a cat named Peter Pan as a little kid, who was very much a girl, so the thought did cross my mind to go ahead and name them boy names anyway, but I caved in and chose girl names instead.

 

This is Vittani. She's pretty shy, but adorable.

 

This one is Shasta, and seems to be Henry's favorite. She's the most friendly, laid back of the bunch.

 

This one didn't get a name for a long time. I was drawing a blank. But I eventually decided to call her Minoa.

 

Henry also got to go to the pool for the first time, with several of his cousins. I didn't take any pictures, because I was pretty busy trying to convince him he wouldn't drown. He wanted to go in, but he kept getting cold and wanting out then, so we're going to go back on a hotter day.

 

He also got a new bed. *brushes tear* They grow up so fast.

 

 

Even though yesterday wasn't technically the weekend anymore, Jarod came home early since it had been raining, and we went and drove around the lake till dark. I haven't driven around the lake in several years, so I had a blast, and it was so relaxing to just wander around with Henry snoozing in the back seat.

 

And lets not forget the sunset.

 

What did you do over the weekend? Tell me all about it!

 

I'm Going to Starve to Death

Hello everyone!

 

Today we are totally detouring away from anything book or writing related, and we're going to talk about me instead.

 

When I was around sixteen I suddenly developed eczema, after never having it before. Long story short, I went to a series of doctors who told me all kinds of things, like change my detergent, use lotion, take more vitamins, use this steroid cream for the rest of your life, and stop using soap.

 

I live on a farm. You know that right? I can't just...STOP using soap.

 

There was also that one really helpful doctor who said it will never go away and there's absolutely nothing you can do about. Thank you.

A couple months ago though, I found a doctor who thought the eczema outbreaks might be a delayed food allergy reaction, so we did blood work and a food panel and tested me for allergies to 98 common foods.

 

Sure enough, my blood work showed that I was definitely reacting to something.

 

Now, I love food. I love cooking, eating, pinning it on Pinterest, the works. So when a doctor tells me I'm allergic to something I'm eating, I went into panic mode. Which food was he going to tell me? The horror.

Turns out I'm allergic to dairy. Like, basically all of it. Except mozzarella cheese. I don't know what mozzarella did to be kicked out of the Abuse Maddie club, but he isn't in it. So out goes my morning glass of milk, cheddar bites, grilled cheese, all things wonderful.

 

I'm also allergic to every type of grain, as well as gluten. I'm not allergic to corn though, which is a relief because I live in Nebraska.

So essentially, dairy and grains are conspiring together to keep me from eating pizza.

So, the doctor's plan is for me to completely go cold turkey off all those foods for two months, and see if that clears up my skin at all.

It. Has. Been. Torture.

I thought at first it might not be too hard. Stop drinking milk, skip the bread on hamburgers. But no, it's in everything. Meatloaf has bread, milk, and cheese in it, and it tastes like garbage without it.

Tacos without cheese or sour cream, on nasty corn tortillas are miserable things. What is the actual point of chili if you can't eat it with cheese, crackers, and cornbread? The answer: There is no point.

Basically, I'm going to shrivel up to nothing and starve to death, because I don't know what to cook. Gluten free recipes still use dairy. Dairy free recipes use wheat. Grain free recipes are full of sugar, which I'm not supposed to have either.

I need Paleo, Vegan, Keto, sugar free recipes, all rolled up into one, essentially. Here's the deal. You can't take the sugar, dairy, grains, and gluten out of a recipe and have anything left.

Which leaves plain meats, fruits, and vegetables.

 

But get this, I'm allergic to more.

Honey, and cinnamon. Eggplant. Green beans. (Why? That's literally the only vegetable Jarod will even eat, and I'm allergic to it.) Also, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, and pineapple.

I love pineapple. Why must I be allergic to it?

 

So, in short, it's been a very depressing week. My body hates me, and I'm starving.
Every time I think I get an idea for a meal to make, there's my allergies, laughing at me.

Jerks.



All Images From Google

Tales of Editing

Google

Hello everyone!

Today we're going to delve into what my editing process has looked like with Red as Blood.

 

I received the line edits and revision requests at the end of April, and have been trying to work on them a little each day.

 

The team at Rooglewood Press sent me seven big things that they wanted worked on in the story, along with leaving notes and comments in the document regarding specific lines and scenes.

I'll say, its been really exciting getting to work with real editors, and have that input, but also pretty terrifying.

 

I actually cried after I read through the notes and revisions the first time. Not because I didn't like any of their requests, or that they were harsh, because they were very helpful and encouraging. But it just seemed so overwhelming. There were comments everywhere. So many things I needed to fix and smooth out and plot better.

 

Google

One of the main things that popped up repeatedly was the lack of emotion involved in my main character, Zaig. He's the only point of view character for the story, and I'm afraid I didn't let the reader into his head, at all. Mysterious guys are great and all, but not when they're the only character and you never get to find out about them. So I have to fix that.

 

That realization was really depressing. I shouldn't have been surprised. That has been the consistent problem with all of my stories since I started writing years ago.

Google

 

I believe I was actually told that I blocked everyone out on my own emotions as a teenager, so apparently its a pattern.

Google

 

You would think I would have figured out how to fix a problem that I've had for at least ten years, but no. It's still very much a problem, and one of the main things I'm struggling to incorporate into the story.

 

Another big issue, that also kind of ties into the emotion problem, is that the editors apparently picked up on a romance in the story that I didn't purposely write, and are now wanting more development on it. Now, I am thrilled that they ship my characters together. But I am totally floundering at trying to deepen a relationship that I didn't know existed. I'm trying.

Google

 

So, how does one go about editing a story exactly?

 

Well, the first week I didn't have my computer so I dashed over to my parents' house and opened and saved all the files so that I could print them off. Once I had the story printed I went through with a blue pen and added in notes on all the comments the editors left. Then with a red pen I went through and wrote down my reactions and thoughts on how to fix those problems.

Yes, that is Ernie

 

My computer is back now, thank goodness, so that has made things much easier, and I've been able to go through the document on the computer and add in those things I wrote on paper. Some of it has been simple, easy fixes, just adding a line or two. Other times I've had to add whole scenes, and cut out others.

 

One of the changes requested was to change the story world/time setting. I'll give you a guess at what period its going to be set in now.

It's all for the best though. When I'm not banging my head against the computer I'm really enjoying where this story is heading, and liking the characters even more than I originally did.

 

The past several days I was horrifically stuck and complaining about my lack of inspiration, and Jarod said: "Why don't you pray about it before you start every day?"

 

That was a breakthrough moment, and I have no idea why I didn't think of that. He's such a great hubby. I don't know what I'd do without him. (Certainly wouldn't get this story edited, that's for sure.)

 

Yesterday was a great day, and I was able to knock out a huge chunk while Henry was taking a nap. I'm now halfway through chapter six, out of eight total. They're not perfect yet. I've mainly been going through and fixing the big things that I'm confident in, and as the characters and world are developing more I'm jotting down notes of little things that come to me later, and I'll go back afterward and fill those in.

Google

So despite the craziness, it's actually going pretty well, and I'm super glad I get the opportunity to work with editors and deadlines, and all this "real" writer stuff.

 

Camp NaNo 2018

 

Hello everyone!

 

This past April I participated in Camp NaNo. It's an offshoot of NaNoWriMo (National writing month) where instead of trying to write a fifty thousand word novel in the month, you can choose whatever word count goal you want, and try to reach it in the month of April.

 

This year I decided to work on my Bad Boy story, since it was only a couple thousand words long to begin with, and my goal was fifty thousand.

 

Honestly, I just set that number because that's the usual word count for a novel, but I had no intentions of actually reaching it. Camp NaNo was just something to occupy my time until I got the edits from Rooglewood Press, on my Red as Blood story (more about those in a different post).

 

Does anyone else have the problem where if you're told you can't do something, you want to do it that much more?

It can't just be me.

 

Everything went wrong that month. We had a freak blizzard blow up, and were without electricity for four days, so I was writing everything by hand.

Then the RAM in my laptop quit, and it was being repaired for nine days, so I did all of my writing using Notes on my phone.

 

All month long I was just a little bit behind my target word goal, and the idea of the month ending and missing my goal by a couple thousand bugged me to no end, so I kept on.

 

And, as evidenced by the lovely button up there, I won! I made it to 50K, with a little bit extra!

 

Bad Boy, is nowhere near finished though. I'd say it's only at about the halfway point. But that's ok! It's a great start, and I've got it on pause for right now to work on Red as Blood edits, but the first draft should definitely be completed this year.

 

Most of the new stuff I wrote is still on paper or in my phone, so I'm not going to post any snippets just yet. But soon!

 

Now, I'm off to either wash dishes, or do some more editing. I'll decide which one on the way.

 

What about you? Did you do anything fun in April? Did anything go horribly wrong? Did your stubbornness kick in and spur you to action? Do tell. I'd love to hear from you.

 

 

Book Review: A Stray Drop of Blood

From Google

Hello everyone! 

Today I’m going to be reviewing A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna M. White.

My computer’s RAM quit, so I’m currently without a laptop and doing this all on my phone, so I apologize in advance for any formatting errors, and the lack of pictures. 

Alright. Moving on. 

My rating is 4 out of 5. 

About the Book:

Beautiful is a dangerous thing to be when one is unprotected. For seven years, Abigail has been a slave in the Visibullis house. With a Hebrew mistress and a Roman master, she has always been more family than servant . . . until their son returns to Jerusalem after his years in Rome. Within a few months Jason has taken her to his bed and turned her world upsidedown. Maybe, given time, she can come to love him as he says he loves her. But how does she open her heart to the man who ruined her? Israel's unrest finds a home in her bosom, but their rebellion tears apart her world. Death descends with Barabbas's sword, and Abigail is determined to be there when the criminal is punished. But when she ventures to the trial, Barabbas is not the one the crowd calls to crucify. Instead, it is the teacher her master and Jason had begun to follow, the man from Nazareth that some call the Son of God . . . Born free, made a slave, married out of her bonds, Abigail never knows freedom until she feels the fire of a stray drop of blood from a Jewish carpenter. Disowned by Israel, despised by Rome, desired by all, she never knows love until she receives the smile of a stoic Roman noble. 

My thoughts: 

This book destroyed me. I haven’t touched a book since. It was literally the most love/hate relationship I’ve ever had with a book. It made me feel every single emotion there is. Happiness, love, anger, hatred, utter confusion. I questioned my morals at times. 

I love books that can do that to me. 

To give a little bit more detail than that, I really loved how White made the biblical story world so realistic. I’ve never studied ancient Israel or Rome, but she wove in so many details that I felt like a master of it by the time I was finished. 

I also loved how she stayed completely true to the biblical account of the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion, but created such an amazing story for these new characters. 

This book combines all the things I always wish christian fiction had more of. The characters were so flawed and imperfect and human. The salvation that many of them experience feels real and genuine, and I love how that saving faith doesn’t just make them all suddenly sinless. They still struggle afterward. Big time. I also like the fact that their personalities stayed the same after being saved. I wasn’t left reeling thinking who is this character all the sudden. 

I love how even though Jesus was literally walking the earth during the time of this story, Roseanna doesn’t take liberties with miracles. She uses them, and they are talked about, but she doesn’t build up a huge problem only to have a miracle step up and save the day. 

And oh my goodness the characters. Amazing.

Abigail is the main character and she’s everything a female role should be. She’s strong, and witty, and fun. But also feminine, and vulnerable. 

Jason was the character I wanted desperately to hate but absolutely couldn’t. He was the one who had me questioning my morals. I feel like I should have hated him, at least at the beginning, but I didn’t. 

Titus is another character that gave me fits. He starts out as an angry jerk, and I loved him. Through the middle of his character arc I could not stand him, and I threatened to stop reading the book because he made me so mad. And then towards the end I once again started to like the guy. 

Menelaus was a side character who didn’t get a lot of page time, but I loved him anyway. 

Content:

This is definitely not a book for younger readers. It deals a lot with topics like sex and rape. 

Now, the author handles it fantastically, and doesn’t get graphic, and she’s very good at portraying the pagan lifestyle of Rome during that time, but some people still might be uncomfortable with it. For the most part I had no trouble with it, but there were a couple characters that made me uncomfortable, so that’s why I gave it four stars. 

Overall, it was a thrilling roller coaster of a ride, and once I’m able to pick up a book again, it will probably be the sequel. 

Beautiful People- The Favorites

Hello guys! If you've been around the blog for any length of time, you know that I love taking part in the Beautiful People linkups every month.

Well, some sad news, this is going to be the last linkup for a while.

Some fun news, is the topic for this month is my favorite things in regards to writing. So, here we go.

Favorite genre to write in?

Oh boy. That's so hard. I'm gonna say Fantasy, because it seems like most of my stories end up being something along those lines, but I love so many others.

What book (a real actual published book!) do you think your character would benefit from reading?

Well, the current character I'm writing is Brass Talan from the bad boy story, and he could most certainly benefit from a Bible. If you were to ask him what book would benefit him though, he'd say anything that had to do with making money, breaking out of prison, etc.

Favorite piece of dialogue you’ve written?

Do you know how much dialogue I've written? My stories tend to be very dialogue driven.

I guess I'll go with this chunk. I wouldn't say its for sure my favorite, but I do like it, and it was easy to find because I just wrote it. Brass and Tamille are fun arguments to write.

“That’s the first reasonable thing you’ve said since I’ve met you.” She tugged her arm free and let it swing at her side.

“Everything I say is reasonable, depending on how you look at it.”

“Only to you.”

“Well, I’m the only one that matters, so I won’t argue your point.”

“And so humble.” She huffed.

“Not at all.”

What did your character want to be when they grew up, and what did they actually become?

Awww, Brass as a little guy. So sweet. When he was young he wanted to be a blacksmith like is dad. He thought it was so cool when the metal would turn cherry red in the fire.

Instead, he grew up to be Khassan's most notorious criminal.



Favorite character name(s)?

Some of my favorites I've come up with are:

Darren Fairbanks

Brass Talan

Cannon Reese

Reeve Cullough

Zaig

Taren



What makes your character feel loved, and who was the last person to make them feel that way?

....Brass doesn't feel loved. He doesn't let anyone close enough to try and make him feel loved. But, the last person who made him feel loved was probably his mom, the last day he saw her.

Favorite character you’ve ever written?

Darren Fairbanks. He's from a story I wrote when I was like, thirteen. It's the longest story I've ever written, and arguably the worst. I dared to crack it open a few months ago and it was all I could do not to literally burn it. If he wasn't in that story, I totally would have.

He's a messenger/secret service type guy for the king, brave, suave, charming, reckless, handsome. Everything a good hero is supposed to be.

I can't guarantee he was actually a well written character, based on the unfortunate story he is stuck in, but we'll ignore that for now.

Someday I'm going to rescue him and give him his own, worthy story.

If your character were permanently leaving town, what would they easily throw out? What would they refuse to part with? (Why?)

Brass would up and leave pretty much everything. He doesn't make sentimental ties to much. He would refuse to part with his money though, and also his ring.

It's come to be a recognized symbol of his, and gets cooperation much more quickly and efficiently than beating people up. Also, he stole it from a very wealthy, prominent man, and it makes him chuckle every time he thinks about it.

Favorite tropes to write!

I know its cliché and overdone, but I love bad boy tropes. Bad boy who is actually good, bad boy falls for nice girl, bad boy anything basically. I'm a sucker for them.

Which story has your heart and won't let go?

The King Rider story that Darren is from. As much as I hate it, I still love it. It was my first novel, really.

Also, Out of Darkness. I'm still quite in love with Cannon and everything that happens to him, even though I'm sure if I read it again he would need a lot of work too.

Jake's story is also always in the back of my mind. I will write it someday. Someday.

Favorite relationship between characters you’ve written?

I love Cole and Calgary's relationship in The Guns story. It's sassy, its tender, strong, vulnerable.

Toni Morrison once said, “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” What are the books that you want to see more of, and what “holes” do you think need filling in the literary world?

Clean young adult books. So many of them are so jam packed with sex, glorified substance abuse, and language, and it just gets old. Also, Christian fiction that captures reality- that people aren't perfect, Christian's aren't perfect, not all sermons hit you in the teeth every time you step foot in church, and miracles are not an acceptable solution to the main problem of the book.



Favorite pinterest board / aesthetic for a book?

I love so many Pinterest boards! But, I do really love this one for my story Running Crazy

Running Crazy Pinterest

Favorite time periods & settings to work with?

I love medieval, and mid 1800's America. They are so much fun. I love old west, pioneer type settings, and you cannot go wrong with a castle, or fantastic magical land.

When people are done reading your book, what feeling do you want them to come away with?

A Year in the Rearview

 

So I'm a little late posting this, but last week, Thursday the 12th, after 30+ hours of labor, Henry came into our world.

And what a year it has been!

He's now 20.4lbs, and 29.5 inches long.

 

I've learned a lot of things this year. So many things I would do differently. So many things I would do the same.

I thought I'd share them with you today, along with a boatload of adorable baby pictures.

If you don't have kids, or they don't interest you, then I'd suggest some other post. (Maybe this one.)

Things I will do again:

1. Try to deliver naturally. It didn't work with Henry, but I loved the freedom I had during labor, and I'll definitely try for it again.
2. Stay at home. I love being active in every part of my baby's life. I know he's safe ad well taken care of.
3. Breastfeed. I know its not for everyone, but its definitely for me.
4. Potty train. I started Henry at seven weeks and its been great. We saved a lot of diapers, and there is no fear of the toilet like some kids have. We've also never had to fight diaper rash. At this point he wakes up with a dry diaper, goes on the toilet whenever he wakes up, and several times throughout the day, as I try to take him every hour or so, as well as takes himself to the bathroom when he needs to go (though sometimes he's a little late).
5. Co-sleep. I love my co-sleeper, so the baby is essentially with us, but in his own safe place.
6. Pick up a crying baby. If my baby is crying, I assume there is a reason for it, and I need to figure it out. I love that Henry comes to me when there's a problem, and that's a behavior I want to encourage his entire life.
7. Let them fall. Long before Henry could sit I was helping him "stand" and walking him around on my feet. When he started sitting, standing, and walking on his own I didn't make a big deal about him falling (as long as I could tell he wasn't actually hurt). Now he doesn't either. He gets back up and keeps going.
8. Say no. We started saying no almost immediately, and started enforcing it more seriously at four months. It saves a lot of baby proofing, and they're already trained to obey by the time they can start talking. We also said words like "come here", "sit down", and "owie".
9. Essential oils and natural remedies. I used a lot on Henry when he was too young for real medicine, and even one he was old enough, and it worked wonderful.
10. Wait to start on solids. I waited until he was 5 1/2 months old to start baby food, and I really liked I. He kept a steady, healthy growth rate and has developed no food allergies or other side effects from stating too early. He also had better control of his mouth, and could chew and swallow better, so choked less by the time I started him.
11. Make my own baby food. I had a ton of fun with this and it made me feel better knowing exactly what I was giving my child.

Things I would do differently:

1. Cry it out. A lot of people told me I needed to let Henry cry more, but I disagree. Obviously now that he's older he has tantrums, and I don't reward these. But an infant can't talk. Crying is his only way to communicate, so if he's trying I want to find out why, not leave him to solve it himself.
2. Try and please everyone. Everyone has opinions on babies. If they sleep with you or not, when to start feeding, to cry or not. And they mean well, but you can't please everyone, so I don't want to try next time.
3. Second guess myself. In the hospital I knew Henry was constipated, and the nurses told me that wasn't possible. I listened and it was two days of misery for all of us before he finally had a dirty diaper. I'll follow my gut next time.
4. Compare him to others. Babies are all different people. They grow and act different. And that's ok.
5. Well baby checks. I would do less of these next time. Most of his checks involved his height and weight, and nothing else but a huge bill. I started tracking his growth at home and only taking him in every few months, or when he was sick, and it worked much better. My doctor told me this was perfectly fine to do, so I think we'll stick with it.
6. Worry less about tummy time. They told us at the hospital to start tummy time right away, and Henry hated it. I worried about it a lot, and finally gave up. At two months he started rolling over and did tummy time for himself. I won't worry next time if my two day old hates tummy time. 
7. Don't put so much pressure on milestones. All babies learn different. Sometimes Henry learned early, and some things he learned late, but both ways are ok.
8. Don't worry about 'learning toys'. I tried so hard to get Henry to play with blocks, talking educational toys, and specific baby containers. In the end I ended up talking to him constantly, playing my music, dancing, and reading my books to him. He learned to stack cans of vegetables and put things in and out of my water glass, and never did care about the toys much.
9. Let them sleep how they want. So what if a baby wants to sleep with you? I don't like being alone either. Henry couldn't sleep flat for two months, and then he started sleeping on his stomach. None of it has hurt him, and he sleeps just fine on his own now.
10. Let them be different. At first, I worried because he didn't like pacifiers, or any certain toy. I let people try and make him take a paci, and I won't do that next time. If a baby can get along without something most kids want, that's alright.
11. They wont break. For several months I felt like a prisoner in my own house because I didn't know what the baby could do, so we didn't do anything. Obviously there is some common sense involved, but babies can adapt. I'll go outside and do things and live life more next time.



So there you go. That's what I've come away with this yea. I know there is lots more to learn, and I'm sure we will keep learning it, trial and error. One thing is for sure, we love our little Henry, and wouldn't trade him for the world.