Scout Camp

Off to camp.

I will take my two sticks and bang them together so the cougars (and bears) stay away.

See you next week.

Publishing Quandary

I haven't posted in a while. I took the family to Cody, WY, over the 4th of July and we saw grammas and grampas, and my aunt and uncle, and my sister and husband and her family. And it was great. I love my family. I am very blessed.

Did you know that quandary was spelled like that? I didn't. Had to look it up.

I found out this last week the the Ensign and New Era magazines, and the online Meridian Magazine don't take fiction. I was pretty disappointed. But I asked my buddies at Authors Incognito, and got some great suggestions. I also purchased an electronic copy of LDS Writer's Market. It is a really cool reference. But guess what? Most of the fiction contests end (submission deadline) on June 30th. So, I just missed them all.

The Writer's Market (the big boys), are running a writing contest now. I read through the rules and the timeline, and I just don't know if I want to submit there. The short story I recently wrote is quite religious. It is probably better suited for a Christian magazine. But I can't find one I would like to send it to.

The story is quite dear to my heart. So much so, that I had hoped to share it with my LDS writer friends. If it ends up in some obscure Christian magazine it will be harder to share it.

*sigh*

I am going to think it through. Sleep on it tonight. I just may end up posting it here on blogger. Then I have full control of it. I get to spread the word. I can use it to attract readers. Maybe. I'll think about it. You may just see it here tomorrow.

Words matter, I tell ya

Words matter, but a writer doesn't have total control over the reader's reaction to those words. As a reader, my interpretation comes from my own frame of reference, seen through the lens of my own collection of experiences. My experiences are different than your experiences. Some of them have been painful, some joyful, some embarrassing, some even frightening. All of them together allow me to interpret what I see, hear, and read. And those interpretations can be vastly different than yours. Sometimes I think it is a miracle we ever communicate at all.

Today while driving to a customer appointment, I passed a church marquee that read: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land."

Have you ever had one of those moments where the written word just grabs you by the ankles, turns you upside down, and then shakes everything loose? And you hang there a little dizzy, wondering what in the world you are staring at because it makes no sense?

Yep. That was my reaction to the marquee.

I thought, "Land? What land? Where is the land? How much land? Who's land?"

"Possess? Occupy, hold, control, seize or take?"

Yikes.

Now I don't want to get into a flame-fest about bible translations. And I certainly don't want to offend anybody who uses the translation which is quoted here. But I am trying to make a point. This translation doesn't do it for me. My frame of reference is different.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." That is the version I use.

Here is where my head is with this one:

Inherit: Heir. Passed down. Something given. Something received. From Father to son.

Earth: The whole thing. Not just some strip of land. A kingdom. Christ's kingdom. A place of celestial promise. I get a totally different feeling for the meaning of it with those two words changed.

Try this one for size. It is the same verse, but a different translation:

"God makes happy those who quietly trust him and do not try to get their own way. The world will belong to them." (Worldwide English Version)

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormon, as we are sometimes called. And the "world" reference there is a huge turnoff for me. I don't want the "world". My fellow Saints will understand exactly what I mean. And it is because they have a similar frame of reference.

So what do you think? Do words matter? When you write, do you choose your words very carefully?

When I am not being lazy, let me tell you: I DO. I care a great deal about the words I use. Because words matter.

*Photo courtesy of http://stephaniehaven.blogspot.com/

Hidden Blog Treasure

I have wondered for a while if anybody has actually seen a particular something on my blog. It has broken links. And the links have been broken for a long, long time. Not a single person has ever mentioned it. I suppose that means there is little interest. So, I may just leave it the way it is. But perhaps my mere mentioning it will act like an invitation to a treasure hunt . . .

If you figure out what it is, and you want to get your hands on "it", here are the rules:

Become an official blog follower. Leave a comment and ask for "it"; tell me how to get in touch with you. Then I will send you the "treasure", because obviously the links are broken. Or if you don't want to put your email info in the comment, you can send me your address: lachishatgmaildotcom. You know what to do there...

Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston

Agent in Old Lace by Tristi Pinkston

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was a good, fast read. The only thing I didn't connect with in this book was the kidnapping at the beginning. Perhaps it happened so fast that I didn't have time to feel the suspense of it build up. Or maybe I was just in a weird mood that day and a nuclear bomb wouldn't have even phased me. At any rate, my favorite part(s) involved "the agent" having to dress up as the main character's aunt, and he wasn't very good at it. Those situational difficulties provide some very funny scenes in the story. I would recommend the book to anybody who likes an fun romantic suspense novel.


View all my reviews.

Head Hoppin' Headaches

I believe I have proven to myself that there are no rules in publishing. Books are published in any ol' fashion the publisher's editor wishes to publish it. The publisher can allow the author to reuse words over and over and over and over again in a short amount of space (if you didn't see the inside joke up above, I am sorry). Can format the page in any way they want. Can be picky about the punctuation and grammar (or not). And can permit any other rule, written or unwritten, to be ignored.

I have a book on my Goodreads list that I have gotten stuck on. I am not going to name it because I am going to give it another chance when I get the time. The reason I got stuck was "head hopping". There are POV issues with it. When the reader gets sucked out of the story because the Point of View changes between characters in the same scene, and the change is not handled very cleanly (in other words, the reader has to go back and re-read a few paragraphs so they can figure out who is thinking/talking/acting), then the POV shift is a problem.

Now, you may think that I know what I am talking about here. Perhaps I do, just a little bit. I started reading this un-named book right about the time that I finished an UGLY edit on my own manuscript. I had been fixing POV problems. Danyelle Ferguson, Tristi Pinkston, and Matthew Buckley, each of whom had read either all or some of my story, were the ones who pointed out the specific examples to me. I thank them for their help!

Anyway, they pointed the problems out, and I read a lot about POV Shifts, and I practiced, and I listened to their suggestions, and then all of a sudden the light went off. Rather on. The lightbulb over my head is usually off, and when it goes on, it really gets my attention. I digress . . .

*sigh*

Yep. I had a pretty good idea as to what a POV Shift was. And this un-named book had one. And then another. And then possibly another. I WAS STUCK. I couldn't finish the book. I started to think, "Hey, this isn't fair. This book has POV issues. And yet it is published. WHY did I just spend about 80 hours fixing all of the issues in my book? Some of my chapters required an entire re-write because of them."

Yep. That is what I thought. So I put the un-named book down.

On Monday I finished a well known book, a New York Times Bestseller. "The Alchemyst - The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel" by Michael Scott. Guess what: It has POV shifts, mid-scene, MANY times. It freaked me out. Last week I had started another book, "One Last Chance" by Jerry Borrowman, and found IT has POV shifts. There is a courtroom scene near the beginning of the story where we go back and forth between several characters participating. It is almost dizzying. To the authors' credits, in both books the POV changes are done in such a way that there is no mistake as to which character is in charge at that moment. I am not done with "One Last Chance", but I presume the writing will continue to keep me on track.

So what is the deal? I thought POV shifts were a no-no. I did read that epic fantasy used to do it all the time. But then I read that editors wanted writers to get away from doing it. There are a couple of places I remember reading about the LDS publishing market and how POV shifts are particularly annoying to these editors. Doing so can get your manuscript rejected.

These were the reasons, in addition to the recommendations of three authors I respect a great deal, that I went to all the trouble to fix those shifts in my own work. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I did. It made the book much stronger. In fact, I hope I didn't miss any.

Maybe I just don't understand the rules?

Let me know what you think.

A side note: The picture for this post was done by a very good friend of the family (one of my adopted daughters), Stephanie Haven. Check out her blog if you get a chance: http://stephaniehaven.blogspot.com/
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In Memory of D-Day

Two interesting things happened today.

Number one: I was reminded that the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the day when the Allies stormed the beaches at Normandy, France, is just around the corner. June 6th, 1944. The process of Freedom and Liberation from Nazi Germany began in Europe that day.

Number two: I listened to Sean Hannity describe events surrounding Mr. Obama's visit(s) to the Middle East, and it made me very angry.

I served a mission for my church from March 1986- February 1988 in the Geneva, Switzerland Mission. My entire mission was spent in France. Early in my mission I happened to be at the Mission Training Center in Provo, Utah on April 14th, 1986. I heard about France (and other countries) not letting the US planes fly over their countries on their mission to send an anti-terrorism message to Libya. Our planes had to fly around the Strait of Gibraltar. Our country was not happy about that.

As I left the MTC, I wondered: What do these French people really think of us? Do they hate us? Why did they not let us fly over? I thought we were allies?

When I got there, I learned that the French Government was Socialist. And not as friendly as they used to be. I suppose I was a little naive. Probably didn't pay enough attention in my High School Government class.

But I also learned that not all of the citizens had forgotten what happened in World War II.

I believe this occurred early in my mission, not long after I arrived in Chambery. Memory of the Libya incident was still very fresh in the minds of the people. I was walking down sidewalk with my missionary companion, traveling alongside a busy street. On the other side of the street, and walking in the opposite direction, an older gentleman (at the time probably about 60-some years old) seemed to notice us. I watched as he stopped, checked for traffic, and jaywalked across the middle of the street.

He shook my hand, and spoke in fairly good English.

"I am very sorry for my government not letting your planes fly over to go to Libya. Please do not think that all French people are against America. I want to thank you. You two boys are too young to remember this, but I remember it. If it were not for the Allies, our country would still be in the hands of the Germans. I am sorry! I love America!"

The words here are not exact, nor are they complete, but the sentiments and the message is right on target to the best of my ability to recall parts of that conversation. His handshake . . . his thanking me . . . his apology for his government . . . the fact that he went out of his way to cross the street to apologize . . . all of this touched me deeply. I have thought about it many times over the years which have passed since that day.

That is what America is. America the brave. America the liberator. America the servant of all. Did we have to go into France? No. We could have left them to the Germans. But we did not. America did the right thing. Millions of lives were blessed because of the sacrifices made by my Grandfather's generation. The Greatest Generation, as they have been called. Those brave men and women who participated in the 1940s were angels of mercy to the entire world.

What does this have to do with what I heard today on the radio? It reminds me of a few things:

A picture I saw with Mr. Obama bowing before the Saudi King, and then all of his recent statements and speeches before kings and presidents and rulers of other countries, where he constantly apologizes for America.

I believe this old French gentleman, if he is still alive, is offended. He hasn't forgotten. He told us to not forget. He thanked me. And thinking about what my Grandfather's generation did for this man, his family, and his fellow countrymen STILL tugs at my heart and threatens a tear in my eye as I reflect on it.

I want to thank that old Frenchman. He did me a great patriotic service by taking the time to show his gratitude.

I know the United States of America is not perfect. We as a people have A LOT to improve on. Many things to repent of. A great need to earn our place again in the world as a servant and protector of liberty. But America is still a great nation. And because of my feelings for this Nation, I have just one message for the man who calls himself President of the United States today:

Mr. Barack Hussein Obama: You disgust me.