February 2010
This Blog Has Been Downsized for Quality Assurance Purposes
31 January 2010
So, here’s the thing. I blog here 5 days a week. I blog on Go Teen Writers on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And I blog on Girls, God, and Good Life on the 13th and 28th of each month. This means seven, sometimes eight, blog posts to write every week. Last week, when I blogged so much I didn’t have a chance to work on my novel, it occurred to me that somehow I’d tipped out of balance.
The idea of blogging, or my idea of blogging anyway, was to give readers a place to connect with me outside of my books. I mean, at most I have two books releasing a year and y’all are fast readers. This blog is a place for those who want more. But I can’t have blogging dominate my work time and sustain a career as a novelist.
So, for now, I’ll now be updating this blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I enjoy blogging a lot, but I’m also a big fan of writing books and making money. Hope this makes sense to everyone.
And I hope everyone had a great weekend. See you back here on Wednesday!
Allowing Stress to Take Over
2 February 2010
Scripture memorization has always been one of those things I feel I should do, but I don’t. Kinda like exercise or daily flossing. Good things that get lost in the shuffle of daily life. (Though I do floss regularly. Not everyday, and certainly not twice a day like the sign at the dentist office said I should. Am I crazy, or has that number gone up? As a kid, I remember being told once a day.)
Back on subject.
So last night, around 11:30, I had a total emotional breakdown. Lots of crying. Some really loud nose blowing. Blubbering. I was a mix of pregnant, crazy tired, and crazy stressed about writing stuff, and that’s a bad combination. I kept saying to my poor, patient husband, “I just didn’t think it would be like this,” (I’m talking about writing stuff, and how I haven’t rocketed up the best seller lists) “I thought God would take care of this!”
Within about ten minutes, I’d released enough stressed to conk out.
Then I woke up at 4 this morning and my mind started whirling with “What if?” scenarios. So productive. So I was repeating to God pretty much everything I’d said a few hours before, when my mind was suddenly dominated by this thought: “Do not worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Which is a paraphrased version of Matthew 6:34, which says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
A couple months ago, my pastor spoke on these verses, and it really spoke to me. Any sermon on worry usually does, because it’s a real problem I have, and one I’d love to shake. And the only way to shake it is to grow in faith. Which takes time. (Grr.)
After that sermon, I dedicated myself to reading Matthew 6:25-34 every morning for a week. And apparently it stuck, because at 4am this morning when I needed those verses, there they were.
So I thought to myself, “What do I need to be doing right now?” The answer was easy—sleeping. So that’s what I did.
And while I still have a few niggling doubts about the twists and turns of my career, I have the comfort of verse 33 which says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Referring to life’s essentials of food and clothing. It’s a reminder that God knows what I need. I’m seeking Him, so He’s got it under control.
Book Friday – The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaeffer
4 February 2010
McKenna and I recently started going to story time at Barnes and Noble instead of the mall. The downside to this is that the books you find and take home aren’t free.
Two Wednesdays ago, I noticed a book in the “Young readers” section, which in the biz we refer to as Middle Grade. Ages 9-13, pretty much. (Though the back cover copy says 8-14, which seems like a pretty big gap to me, but whatever.)
I haven’t read an MG book since I gave up Babysitters Club, so I picked up The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaeffer. I’m not quite finished, but I’m close enough that I feel I can give a pretty well-formed opinion of it.
The first word that comes to mind is “cute.” Teashop Girls is about 13-year-old Annie, who’s trying to save her grandmother’s tea shop, which has been threatened by a Starbucks across the street (though “Starbucks” isn’t specified, that’s my guess). Annie is gung-ho about the project, and is frustrated when her two best friends, who used to be the “Teashop Girls” with her, are distracted by their own lives.
Annie’s a really fun narrator, and her fears about everyone growing up and growing apart really ring true. I also liked the recipes peppered throughout the novel (though I’m a 26-year-old who enjoys cooking … not sure if they’d have done anything for me as a 10-year-old). I would definitely recommend this book for a girl between 8 and 12, even though some of the “chi” and “energies of the universe” stuff is a little wacky for my taste.
Not sure what I’m reading next. Probably Julie Klassen’s latest. That’s been lingering on my shelf far too long…
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Real Cheese!!!
7 February 2010
Last night we gathered with our Bible study friends to watch the Big Game. At the grocery store, I picked up a jar of queso to bring in case people weren’t enamored with my black bean salsa. As I opened the jar, my gaze caught on the label, which declared, “Made with real cheese!!!” I have to say, I’m a little depressed to live in a time where queso being made with real cheese is a selling point.
I wouldn’t call myself a foodie, but I do enjoy food, and I can be kinda picky about stuff. But it’s more stuff like I prefer Jif peanut butter, Hellman’s mayonnaise (that’s Best Foods to you folks west of the Rockies), and name brand graham crackers. Labels that say weird stuff like, “Made with real cheese!!!” are a big motivator for me in cooking. I like putting all the ingredients in the pot myself. I like knowing what’s in my cookies, dressings, and stews. And if I had a good queso recipe, I might have put forth a little effort yesterday. (Most recipes I see use Velveeta, and I just have a hang up about that stuff for some reason. Though I occasionally eat Kraft mac and cheese and Cheetos, so…)
You would think with my delight in knowing where my foods come from, I’d be more of a gardener. Um, no. Like at the moment, I’m excited to start our garden. I want to do Heirloom tomatoes this year. And I’ll be enthusiastic when we’re at the nursery getting our plants, but my enthusiasm will wane throughout the summer. And in August, when the mosquitoes, spiders, and cicadas are out in full force, my interest will evaporate entirely. But I come from a long line of gardening women, so there’s always hope that this is the season where my passion will flourish.
Hope everyone had a great weekend! See you back here on Wednesday.
Sion Book Club
9 February 2010
On Monday, I had the privilege of being a guest at my former high school. Apparently, Me, Just Different was the book club selection, and they asked me to come speak.
I would really like to be an honorary book club member just so I can hang out with those girls every couple weeks. They were sweet and attentive (even during my boring ramblings that included a lot of “Um…”) and they asked really good questions. And they even let me ask them a few questions too. (I learned I should be watching Glee. And that none of us enjoyed the book Fall on Your Knees. Sorry, Oprah.)
I came home energized, which is especially impressive since I’m not only an introvert, I’m a pregnant one who didn’t get a nap that day. I also came home with a new cookbook and super cute purple scarf. Those classy Sion girls.
I’ll totally jump at the chance to go back. In the meantime, I’ll work on writing more books for them to read.
Valentine’s Day
11 February 2010
First of all, happy 1st birthday to my pal, Ellery. I cannot believe you’re a year old today. Which I will likely be saying to you every year for the rest of your life.
Secondly, this is the last post before Valentine’s Day, so it seemed an appropriate thing to talk about. Anybody game for sharing a worst/funniest/best Valentine’s Day story?
The most amusing one that comes to my mind is Ben’s and my first Valentine’s Day. We were 14 and not allowed to date by ourselves, so we went on a triple date with his parents and mine at Macaroni Grill. I think both of us were quiet all through dinner. We were still pretty uncomfortable around each other in general, and having two sets of parents at the table probably didn’t loosen us up.
I’ve always been a bit of a romantic, so Valentine’s Day has always been really fun for me. Except in middle school, when I always anticipated that this would be the year a secret admirer would reveal himself. Those years were disappointing.
From freshman year on, however, I’ve had Ben. Even the year we were broken up, he sent me flowers at school, and I have a vague memory of watching a movie at his house with him and his brother. Now, our Valentine’s Days have not always been super romantic. Like when we were doing the long distance thing. Or when McKenna was two months old and we took turns holding our fussy baby and eating our nice, cold dinner. But for 12 years now, we’ve celebrated together, and that’s pretty cool.
But I definitely remember the years of disappointing Valentine’s Days pre-Ben. This year, the big positive for anti-V-Day people is that it’s a Sunday, so you won’t have to be quite as immersed in it as you usually are on a school/work day.
Whatever your plans are this weekend, whether it’s of the ex-boyfriend bon fire variety or the more traditional candy/flowers/dinner out routine, hope you enjoy. See you back here on Monday.
Do we hate gift cards?
15 February 2010
Wow. I cannot remember the last time I posted so late in the day. When I woke up this morning, I realized it would be a struggle to get my blog posted before McKenna went down for her afternoon nap. I briefly fretted about this, then decided the world probably wouldn’t come to an end if Friday’s blog stuck around a little longer.
While it’s still appropriate to talk about Valentine’s Day, I’d like to comment that I’ve realized, now that I’m married, very few people ask me what Ben gave me. I’m assuming they’re thinking they’d rather not know. So while no one asked, I’ll brag on my guy and mention that he gave me a gift certificate to get a pedicure since before too long, painting my toenails will be kinda tricky. (I’m pregnant, for those who don’t know yet.)
Around Christmas time, I remember hearing that a crazy percentage of gift certificates are purchased by men, and that women hate them. We do? Because I didn’t know that until I was informed by whatever program I was listening too.
Seems kind of ridiculous to me to put out the statement of, “Women hate gift certificates.” I like getting them, but that’s possibly because the thought behind the gift is still evident. Like one year Ben gave me a gift card to Anthropologie because he knows how much I love that store, but that I’m reluctant to spend money there because everything’s so stinking expensive. Or my brother-in-law gave me a gift card to Half Price Bookstore two Christmases ago because the only thing I love more than shopping for books is doing it with somebody else’s money.
So am I the lone woman who enjoys gift cards?
Happy Monday everyone. Hope your week has started off well!
A post about my nails
16 February 2010
Apparently I’m done with having nice nails.
When McKenna came along, jewelry was the first thing to go. Followed shortly by doing my hair every day. The nails hung on for a while, but it appears I’ve given up on them too.
I’ve never been a manicure girl (I’d rather spend the money on a new book) but since about 8th grade on, I’ve always been good about keeping my nails looking nice. Actually, in 8th grade, I went through a phase where I changed my nail color every night.
And now, for the last week or so, I’ve had every intention of doing my nails, and I haven’t. Not for Valentine’s Day. Not for my speaking event last week. I’m totally failing in the nail department.
In some ways this bothers me. I didn’t realize it did until a little mini-meltdown I had over the weekend when my untouched nails somehow got listed as one of my problems. (Though, to my credit, I think they were listed last. Or they at least came after the house being a mess, and how I hadn’t touched any of my Bible study stuff this last week.)
Isn’t it funny how sometimes the tiniest things almost turn into symbols for how we’re doing? I think my nails bother me so much because for the last 13 years, I’ve taken care of them, and now they’re falling by the wayside as my priorities shift. Like when McKenna was two weeks old and I realized I’d forgotten to put on deodorant that day. (That habit has not stuck, by the way. I wear deodorant.)
I’m sure they’ll get painted in the next couple days, but for now I’m kinda liking the reminder that life has gone on just fine without polish. And if I’d painted them a week ago like I intended, they’d now be in need of repair anyway.
There you have it. 300 words on the state of my nails. I’ll try to have something a little more substantial on Friday.
Book Friday – The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen
18 February 2010
“For years, I could not recall the day without a smoldering coal of remorse burning within me.”
I fell in love with Julie Klassen’s writing last spring when I read The Apothecary’s Daughter, so I simply had to have The Silent Governess.
From the back cover, because I’m suffering from the remnants of a cold and feel too tired to summarize this thing on my own. I’ll leave it to the paid professionals at Bethany House:
Olivia Keene is fleeing her own secret. She never intended to overhear his.
But now that she has, what is Lord Bradley to do with her? He cannot let her go, for were the truth to get out, he would lose everything—his reputation, his inheritance, his very home.
He gives Miss Keene little choice but to accept a post at Brightwell Court, where he can make certain she does not spread what she heard. Keeping an eye on the young woman as she cares for the children, he finds himself drawn to her, even as he struggle against the growing attraction. The clever Miss Keene is definitely hiding something.
Moving, mysterious, and romantic, The Silent Governess takes readers inside the intriguing life of a nineteenth-century governess in an English manor house where all is not as it appears.
That last line really summarizes my review of the book. There are so many twists in this book that for about the last quarter of it, I kept saying to my husband, “Wait, don’t talk to me right now. I’m at the climax.” That’s a good book.
One of the things I love most about Julie Klassen’s books is how easily woven in the spiritual stuff is. I noticed this in The Apothecary’s Daughter as well, since I don’t think God was mentioned for about the first half. I’m a big fan of this, but I know that’s not everybody’s cup of tea.
One last thing and then I’ll shut up and let everyone get on with their Friday—I received such an education about governesses in this book. Having read a lot of the Bronte sisters in high school, and being a big Jane Austen fan now, I always thought myself very familiar with governesses and the role they played in regency England (is that the right descriptor for saying what I’m trying to say?) but The Silent Governess gave me a whole different understanding and appreciation for those who wound up as governesses.
An excellent read, but of course that’s no surprise with Julie Klassen’s name on the cover.
Oh ... that's how we do that?
21 February 2010
Have you ever had that thing where you have an accessory or article of clothing that you just flat-out don’t know how to wear? I think we all have those friends who are much more fashion conscious than we are, who we keep an eye on to see what they’re wearing. But a lot of times (for me anyway), I watch those people, but then when I try out the styles myself … it just doesn’t work.
I’ve adopted a rule that if I have to ask myself or others, “Can I pull off this look?” then the answer is no, I probably can’t. Because regardless of how I actually look, I’ll feel weird and uncomfortable and no fashion statement is worth that.
I’ve avoided scarves a lot of my life because they’re one of those accessories that I can’t seem to get right. Well, last week I had lunch with my friend, Kelli. When I arrived, she was still wearing her scarf, and I thought to myself, “Now how is it that Kelli can wear her scarf and look adorable, but I just look weird?”
She took it off sometime during lunch, and then as we were leaving, I spotted the answer. Kelli folded her scarf in half, put it around her neck, and then pulled the ends through the loop. (And had no idea that she’d be showing up on my blog for something so simple.) I had that total “Aha!” moment as I watched her.
Did everybody but me already know that this is the chic way to wear your scarf? Because then at a baby shower on Saturday, I spotted at least two other women wearing their scarves this way. Here I’ve been bumbling with my scarf my entire life, aware that mine never looked as good as other womens’, but totally unsure about how to solve this problem. Good thing Kelli invited me to lunch so I can stop looking all bumpy and stupid.
Today I have a doctor’s appointment that will (hopefully) result in us knowing the sex of Baby Morrill #2. I’m excited both to find out, and to try out my new scarf techniques.
See you all back here on Wednesday!
Christians and teen pregnancy
23 February 2010
One of the reasons I have no desire whatsoever to be a more serious book reviewer is Google Alerts. For those unaware, as I was until 8 or so months ago, you can set up a thing on Google where you give it a phrase (in my case it’s Stephanie Morrill and Skylar Hoyt) and it sends you an e-mail whenever that phrase pops up on the internet. Sometimes it does weird stuff (like I often receive notifications about my own tweets. Thanks, Google). But especially now when reviewers are getting around to reading Out with the In Crowd I get a lot of legitimate hits.
For those who might be unaware of how this all works, bloggers can sign up with various publishing houses to do reviews for them. In exchange for a free copy of a book, the blogger writes a review to post on their blog, and they often post on bookseller sites like Amazon or Barnes and Noble as well. There’s a bit of skepticism as to how unbiased these reviewers can be since they’re receiving a free book, but I think for the most part, the reviewers are pretty honest.
I’ve read reviews that sting. It’s part of the business, albeit a sucky one. I cry, talk to my husband and writing friends, try to figure out if the complaint is legitimate, and then I move on with my regularly scheduled life.
But for the first time I’ve received a review that’s flat-out ridiculous. The reviewer totally hated my book, that much was clear, but I can honestly say it didn’t bother me one bit. And that’s because this was one of the first things this reviewer said: “Years ago it would be incredibly shameful to show your face in public with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy; today it is the norm. But I question that it should be for Christians. I don’t think it should be, regardless of what the world around us is doing.”
At first this made me laugh out loud. I just sat there and reread it over and over, shocked. I mean, seriously? SERIOUSLY???
And then as it sunk it, it occurred to me how incredibly sad this statement is. How can you read the gospels and believe this? After learning how Jesus chose Matthew, a tax collector, to be a disciple. How He dined with Zacchaeus. How He stood at the well with the Samaritan woman who’d had five husbands and now lived with another man, yet made her feel accepted and loved. How He allowed a woman who the Bible simply says had lived a “sinful life” to wash and perfume his feet.
A book of mine is never, ever going to make this reviewer happy. Abbie, the pregnant, unmarried teen she spoke of, is my second favorite part of The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series. (My first favorite is Skylar’s reinvention, as you might assume.) What I love about Abbie’s story is that she shows how sinful decisions carry consequences, like having a baby at 15, but God’s grace is bigger. He loves me—a girl who waited until she was married to have sex—as much as he loves the Abbies of the world. He loves McKenna and the little boy I’m carrying right now—conceived in holy wedlock—as much as he loves the children of girls like Abbie.
And I’m grateful for this. Because while that hasn’t been an area in my life where I’ve struggled, I’ve still used an abundance of God’s grace. We all have. And I have every intention of continuing to write stories that explore that.
Have a great day, everyone!
Book Friday – Double Trouble by Susan May Warren
25 February 2010
“PJ Sugar had been born to sneak up on people.“
I love reading books by authors I’ve read and love. There’s something so comforting about returning to the way they weave a story, develop a character, make you laugh or cry. And when it’s the sequel to a book I love, it’s doubly sweet.
Double Trouble by Susan May Warren is the second book in the PJ Sugar series. I blogged about Nothing but Trouble a couple weeks ago, and many of the things I said about it are true of the second book as well.
I still love PJ Sugar. I’m still not sure who I think she should end up with (though I’m leaning more and more toward Jeremy), and the combination of mystery, humor, and heart is flat-out addicting.
In Double Trouble, PJ’s become a PI assistant for Jeremy. (And yes, there’s a stakeout scene.) She has her first official case—ten days of house-sitting for a witness in protective custody. Though she’s disappointed when Jeremy assures her there won’t be any danger, she’s grateful to have some time away to think about Boone’s (her old high school flame) marriage proposal.
But it turns out house-sitting isn’t quite as danger free as Jeremy predicted…
It’s seriously fabulous stuff. PJ’s the type of girl I want to go grab coffee with, because she’s just plain fun. Her personality practically leaps off the page.
The only thing I found slightly odd about this book is that her best friend from high school wasn’t mentioned at all, even though they reconnected in the first book. That seemed a little strange to me, and I’m hoping we see some more of Trudi in Licensed for Trouble which comes out in August. Woo-woo! Hoping I can maybe get my hands on an advanced copy since I’ll have my hands full with a newborn come August…
Have a great weekend everyone!