I’ve never been in a ticker tape parade, have you? Seems like a lot of litter, but it sure looks cool. Around here, we’ve had reason for ticker tape-less celebration! I’m offering a sneak peek at the second Fifties Chix book, Keeping Secrets! Lots more good stuff to come with the official launch including all kinds of giveaways, interviews, videos and more. To read the first three chapters of KS, just become a Fifties Chix fan club member for free and log in your super secret passcode to get reading (you’ll also be able to access lots of other swell stuff for fan club members only like book marks, book plates, Valentine’s cards to print out and oodles of other goodies).

Let me know what you think of book 2 so far. Happy reading!

Friends forever,

“Hello? Yes, I have a large tree that’s not going to make it through the winter…”

“How much do you charge for tree removal?”

“Do you care for lawns as well?”

These are a samplings of some of the phone calls we’ve gotten over the years because my husband’s and my business is called “Three Trees, Inc.” No, we are not a yard service. When we incorporated in 2003 to work on this really neat idea we had called “Periwinkle” (who has since found her real name, Petalwink), we wanted to call our business something that reflected who we are as a team and Whit came up with “Three Trees.” Here’s some background on why it’s the perfect name for our non-landscaping business….

We got engaged on February 9 while walking his dog, Barkley. We sat down on a bench near a playground and started commenting on how the old, tall trees around us grew; how they didn’t lean on each other for support or to be able to grow, but their branches mingled happily. We noticed we were right in the middle of a triangle of trees, which we thought was cool because a friend had explained to Whit that the only way for Whit and I to grow close was through our growing closer to God. Imagine a triangle, with me at one corner and Whit at the other; the top point is God. As we each get closer to God, we get closer to each other. Clever, right? And so true. As we continued to revel in these ideas, moonlight filtering through the evergreens on that unseasonably balmy night, Whit reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him. I agreed and the rest, they say, is history.

Here’s what I wrote to Whit for our wedding six months later and shared at the rehearsal dinner:

“I love you. Love is a word that links I and you–it is the most powerful and there is. This little word signifies the divine spectrum of all goodness. It is an unchanging but infinite power. It stands for all time and touches all men. I love is the ultimate of I AM for it is identity and action as one. I love you bears witness to man, I and you; and acknowledges God as the only Mind, the only true unity, Love. I love you is the power of witnessing, understanding and demonstrating. I love you is fearlessness. It has no room for doubt or personal failure. I love you has no need even of forgiveness, for it is in itself a preclusion to seeing sin in I or you. I love you is stillness and action, it is intimate yet for all to see. I love you is God’s command, God’s gift and God’s glory. I love you is acknowledging God’s presence here and now and His grace in our hearts. I love you is the true wedding vow, renewed and strengthened with each utterance. I love you is the triangle in the trees where I forever hold you in my heart. I love you.”

So, as I do at this time of year, every year, I say to Whit: “Thanks for asking. I love you.”

You might think it’s weird that that would be music to my ears when a writing student or one of my clients says this to me. You might think that I should make the writing and getting published process “easy” for them. Well, you’d be wrong. You know that whole helping a butterfly out the crysallis state would actually weaken and damage the butterfly analogy? Yeah. That.

So when a client recently said “Wow, writing a [children's] book isn’t easy,” my heart skipped a beat and I caught my breath, I was so happy. A breakthrough! Few things that one might undertake just because they are “easy” are NOT certain to succeed (where succeeding means obtaining excellence). Of course, there is a difference between “easy” and “simple.” We’re all striving to simplify, and in fact, that’s one of the objects of the creative process…I never set out as an author or artist to complicate something, but to find the clearest (or you could say, “simplest”) way to express my message/communicate a solution to an unanswered question. Soooooooo, when there’s an acknowledgment that this process isn’t “easy” I think we are just getting on the right track.

When something’s not easy, we are not lazy. When something’s not easy, we are not on auto-pilot. When something’s not easy, we are ready to question, challenge and think through our discomfort. There just isn’t an “easy” way through the creative process or the writing process or the publishing process. There are effective ways, productive ways, simple ways. But it’s kinda like math in that certain truths can’t be invented or avoided in the creative process. It’s vital to trust the process, which means letting go of your preconceived ideas; if you’re willing to do that, then I have a secret for you–it actually is easy.

I was so happy to read Veronica Roth’s (author of the great YA dystopian read, Divergent) blog post “A peek behind the publishing curtain.” A very helpful look at the process behind traditionally published books (in short: it don’t happen overnight, yo!). While my process isn’t nearly as long with my Fifties Chix publisher (they’re not printing books overseas, for one example), I think it’s still a great outline for readers and aspiring writers to see, especially steps 1-12 that Veronica lists; and especially if they are dead set on getting published the old-fashioned way without checking out cool new ways like this. I love it when people ask when the next Fifties Chix book is coming out (Keeping Secrets…and the answer is within a few months), but it is so much more involved than just writing it–which can be a challenging process in itself.

I’m working on making some classes available on the Interwebs for those of you interested in writing and publishing. I hope I can help more people discover the process so they can be liberated from an obsession with easy and can move on to mastering the process (which can actually be simple). Be sure to be in touch if you’re interested in those classes or in consultation. You, too, can be a strong butterfly soaring to publication*

*Sorry for that terrible mixed metaphor.

Generally, authors write what they want to read. At least, I do. And today I found I wrote something that I need. I think generally I’m a pretty forgiving person…it might not always be instantaneous, but I work through it and work it out. But this morning, I was torqued. I wanted to make a special trip to see someone who I felt was being intentionally jerky and share some well-chosen biting words at a high volume. It was hard to calm down (Don’t worry, I didn’t break or damage anything, just felt like it).

I did make an effort to calm myself, though, as I sat in my studio huffing and puffing. Everywhere I look, I see my buddy Petalwink in here and she happened to catch my eye from a framed picture near my desk. I think she was actually winking, which is weird, I know, but true. We had this little conversation:

ME: “Have you ever dealt with someone like this?”
PWINK: “Duh. You wrote the book.”
ME: “Oh, right; book 7. Belfry. He was pretty nasty.”
THE WINKSTER: “Yeah, and on purpose, too.”
ME: “You didn’t handle it well at first, as I recall.”
PETALDUB: *giggles*
ME: “I remember that you did what I’d really like to do right now which is take it into my own hands. But that wasn’t the answer.”
PW: *sighs knowingly*

At which point, I decided to pull up said story, Petalwink Makes Peace, in iBooks, and give it another read. I was awash in not only good memories of writing and illustrating the book, but remembering that what I write, I usually have to live (a “walk the talk” kind of thing). I loved being reminded that returning jerkiness for jerkiness is never the answer and that furthermore, the Golden Rule is always applicable.

I felt calmer after reading Petalwink’s story so when I came across this Bible verse, I managed to not totally rebel against it: “Who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” (Gal. 5:7). It reminded me of the phrase my husband so often voices, “Be a thermostat, not a thermometer!” Which basically means that it doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing (how badly they might be behaving, for example), I can set the tone and do better if I know better instead of just registering the tone or atmosphere (temperature) and just going along with it.

So I’m grateful for that 7th Petalwink book which turned out to be a love letter to myself. The result is I haven’t done or said anything I’ll regret to this person who obviously needs a little more tender care than usual. I hope you are able to conquer the Belfrys in your life, too; and if you need a little help, feel free to have a chat with Petalwink. Sometimes it helps.

Belfry & Petalwink from "Petalwink Makes Peace" by me.

Wander on over to Blkosiner’s Book Blog to see my latest interview…and enter to win a copy of Fifties Chix: Travel to Tomorrow (you’ll want to have read it because the second book in the Fifties Chix series, Keeping Secrets is coming out SOON!).

Brandi says about Travel to Tomorrow, “The book has a bit of everything: humor, happiness, sadness, and a little romance. The book is probably for middle schoolers. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone.”

Enjoy! Best wishes for a win everybody…And, thanks, Brandi!

True Colors by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don’t have sisters (at least by blood), but reading about the Grey sisters (in a charming and appealing Pacific Northwest, small-town setting) in this novel made me feel like I did. I’ll admit that I was skeptical going in to read this book, so maybe my low expectations did the trick (that and I had just finished reading a book that left a bad taste in my mouth), but this was a thoroughly satisfying read. (To clarify, I think I’d have enjoyed it no matter what book I’d read immediately before).



Kristin Hannah knows how to set a scene and create rich, multi-dimensional characters; both things I require for a good read. I want to be convinced I live in their world, after all, and I was convinced. Repeated themes, symbolic details, likable characters, and a full, nicely-paced plot made for a rich reader experience. Well-written. I highly recommend!



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Love this pic! from: http://bookhaven.stanford.edu/2011/02/bad-book-reviews-great-sales/

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A BAD REVIEW.

Ha!

I was just trying it on for size, you know, like “there’s no such thing as bad press” [articles about the children's author who got kicked off a Southwest flight for swearing comes blazing to mind]. I thought Tina Fey’s chapter in her book Bossypants on the abuse she’s taken on the Interwebs was soooo funny…because in this house, we continue to be astounded at *how mean* people can be on comment threads (where they can remain somewhat anonymous). Then there are customer service debacles that get published that can be pretty entertaining. BUT you forget (sometimes) that as a writer, you are writing words for the world to read and judge…….and review. On purpose. That’s just crazy.

So, while a staggering high percentage of reviews for my books are pretty stellar, it’s the “bad review” (oh, did you notice there was no link to it? yeah.) that I fuss over. And the timing’s not terrific when I have a whole writing day planned. Talk about a creative block. I must write, write, write first and edit later (and doubt never). And by writing, I don‘t mean having a *3 hour internal debate* with said reviewer/s, justifying, explaining and rebutting [after all, isn't the book supposed to have done that?]. Or a *4 hour shame fest* mentally rewriting everything I’ve ever written because I’m obviously a complete and utter failure. But…you know what timing is terrific? When 2 blog posts about receiving bad reviews flit across my screen in a 24 hour period! (1: “Best Piece of Advice for Bad Reviews” 2. “Did that Bad Review Come with Ulterior Motives?”) Awesome! I’m not alone! I’m in good company! [oh, yeah, then I'm reminded that I already knew that 'cause of the Beatitudes and stuff when Jesus said that I'm blessed when I'm "persecuted" and in good company with a lot of other high quality people--ie, prophets--who were also persecuted way worse than me for stuff way more important].

So thank you, thank you, thank you to all you writers out there for hanging in there; all you reviewers (good and bad) who take the time and care to share your thoughts…and, not to go all Tim Tebow on y’all, but thank you, Jesus, most of all for the reminder that there really is no such thing as a bad review, just blessing.

Now…to get back to writing the next amazing book so you can review it, too!

Congratulations, Olivia and a big THANK YOU to everyone who participated!

Stay tuned for a sneak peek at Fifties Chix book 2, Keeping Secrets.

Happy holidays, happy reading…and much love!

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the course of one measly summer, Frankie goes from invisible to…well, noticeable. She gets to figure out what she thinks of herself and how to navigate what others thinks of her at her [snooty] private school.

I was impressed with the premise of the book: school pranks + the social order + gender equality + growing up. I loved the style E. Lockhart uses, embracing the reader in the confidential tone she uses, revealing secrets that she trusts us with. The first few pages, I was curious how Lockhart was going to pull this thing off, but then we were off and running and I couldn’t put the book down. It was clever, bright, funny, endearing and super smart, just like Frankie. I was impressed that Lockhart could portray Frankie as a strong character while also pointing out Frankie’s need to be a part of a “club” as not a weakness or pitiful neediness.

Just a great book for escape, but you’ll also feel smarter for having read it. Highly recommend.

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