As Mark Twain once said…rumours of our demise are greatly exaggerated!

Our Yahoo group may be closing but we are here to stay!

Stay tuned for new and regular blog posts…guest bloggers, excerpts and competitions!

And you can also follow us on Twitter…head on over there now!  www.twitter.com/LeagAmazWriters

And to kick off our new Twitter site, I will give away a free book from my backlist to one lucky follower on Twitter!

See you there

Maggie

www.maggienash.com

Ashlyn Chase

I promised myself I wouldn’t be that chick. You know the one…she fawns all over her favorite author like it will somehow rub off on her. Well, I tried not to, I really did, but I’m afraid I fawned.

At our recent Let Your Imagination Take Flight conference, our keynote speaker was Mary Janice Davidson. I love her—um, you know, her books! They’ve provided hours of pure, guilt-free escapism for me. I’ve followed her career for years and have read at least half of her four page backlist. Well, during her keynote speech, she talked about being a fan girl herself! (Really?) Apparently she was invited to a book signing with two of her idols and admitted to touching them ever chance she got. Oh no! It was at that moment, I realized I’d touched her arm a few times too! Gaaaa! I was a fan girl! Oh, and that’s not all…

One bonus of being on the conference committee is that you get to go out to dinner with all the VIPs the night before the conference. It’s a chance to relax and socialize in an informal atmosphere. Well, that evening I told MJ (I can call her MJ now) I had a book plate with her signature on it, but I didn’t stick it in a book. I set it on my desk for inspiration. She said in her typical MJ fashion, “Oh…that’s nice—creepy, but nice.”
Well, I may have been a little too informal. I shared a yummy appetizer with Brenda Novak, dropped half of it on my jersey…and double dipped! (Eek.) I told her the minute I realized it, and assured her I was healthy. You know what? She was fine with it and actually double dipped too. These wonderful best sellers are people! Good people!

I’m finally used to having Barbara Keiler, aka Judith Arnold, around. But who knew she could crack me up as much as MJ did! It was a very fun-filled, belly-filled night. But, because I’m lame, I had to be the first one to leave and go to bed at ten-thirty. I just wasn’t able to stay up past my bedtime. It was probably a good thing since I was running around the next day, setting up the raffle table, giving a workshop and moderating another one.

Even though I was on the conference committee this year, I was able to attend a couple of workshops. They were fantastic. I’m really proud of the line-up we had and how many positive comments we heard afterward. For those of you who missed it, don’t worry. It’s not too late. You can order the conference on CD! The individual workshops are very reasonable priced and the whole set is well worth it! Check out our website www.necrwa.org to find out how to order. Or put this into your browser: http://www.fleetwoodonsite.com/index.php

This is so typical of the creative life. The opinions on your work are subjective. Some of us have a hard time remembering these judgments aren’t personal, even if they seem like it. Thomas Wolfe said, “Every novel is an autobiography.” In a way, that’s true. I can only write from my own head, and maybe that’s why attacks on our “babies” feel like attacks on us.

Now, what if you can separate personal attacks on you from subjective opinions on your work? Is it any easier? Not if you want to please all of the people absolutely all of the time. Most of us want our work to be well received. Some artists may prefer to provoke rather than entertain, but as long as they get the reaction they’re looking for, they’re happy.

The comedy writers of the world are especially apt to be misunderstood if people don’t realize their tongues are firmly planted in their cheeks! I once wrote a silly comedy about reincarnation. In our Judeo Christian society, the idea is ripe for satire! The majority of my readership probably doesn’t believe in reincarnation as a certainty, so that wasn’t the hot button.

Unfortunately, I addressed the subject of suicide in the story. Now many people do have a strong opinion on suicide and experience with people who’ve either thought about it or attempted it. Some people really liked the story and I received some glowing reviews. Others skewered me. They reacted to me like the folks who rolled down the car window and yelled, “Whore” to Penelope. She’s not a whore and I don’t think suicide is funny.

Does that mean writers should shy away from all possible hot buttons? How can you? Are they listed somewhere? Potentially, anything could be a hot button. You could write about a car or a prom and wind up dealing with controversy. Stephen King did. But he was going for horror and it made his career. His belief? “The innocent must suffer.” 

My belief? Humor can be found in just about anything…even rejection. And that is a tough lesson to learn. That thick skin people mention is painful to grow. Your skin has to be attacked a few times before calluses form. Attacked too much and a person becomes callus and bitter. There’s a reason callus has two meanings. One’s a very appropriate metaphor…and kind of funny if you think about it.

I’m thrilled to say I was able to write my usual 1,000 words this a.m. Something was missing when I couldn’t do that!

I had an interview that just came out on my friend’s yahoo loop. awakeningdesires@yahoogroups.com
Check it out for more up to date career news. If you want the personal details on my surgery, I put those on my personal blog. http://www.ashlynchase.com

Yet, 3 times now I’ve had reviews critical of me because of the brevity of these Quickies. *Sigh.

Do reviewers realize sometimes we’re given a word count and not allowed to go over it?

That’s the case with my latest Quickie, the fundraiser! 11 of us contributed to it, and since they were talking about making two print anthologies out of them, we were cut off at 15K. Mine was about 14.5K.

After the year with no royalties, I think I’ll rewrite and expand this book and put it in my own anthology.

Meanwhile, if reviewers don’t like short stories, please pass on them in favor of longer ones.

Her life was far too short, the loss to her family too sad to imagine. But what we hope for Lara Punches is that there is a special place in heaven where animals and the people who love them go, and that she’s making new friends there and finding old friends as well.

Many of our readers and friends know Lara’s mother, Martha Punches, as that wonderful, upbeat, helpful soul in charge of Ellora’s Cave/Cerridwen Press customer service. Several of our authors were so moved by the heartbreaking story of Lara’s death, they decided to honor her memory by donating to her family a portion of the proceeds from books dedicated to Lara. Those books begin releasing this month.

Everyone who knows Martha loves her. And everyone who knows Martha knows that Lara was the apple of her eye. She was crazy about that girl. Never pretended her daughter was perfect, just enjoyed her company immensely and delighted in watching the wonder that was Lara unfold.

When Lara went off to Fort Wayne to study to become a veterinary technician, Martha was excited for her. Lara loved animals and was pursuing her passion, doing what she had wanted to do since she was in eighth grade. The school was an hour’s drive from home, far enough so she could be independent but close enough that Martha and Lara’s dad, Paul, could still see her often.

Lara was close to her parents and kept in touch by text, email and phone frequently while she was away. “Sometimes it would just be a one-word text, ‘hi’,” Martha said in a recent WANE TV interview. Lara and Martha had been emailing back and forth on the evening of January 22 while Lara studied for a test and Martha worked. Around 10:30 Lara called to say goodnight before going to bed.

A few hours later, around 5 a.m., Lara called again. Her apartment complex was on fire and she and her two roommates were trapped in their second-floor bathroom. All Martha and Paul could do was try to help her calm down and pray rescue workers would get through to them in time. They were on the phone with her until she lost consciousness from smoke inhalation.

When the firefighters arrived, they launched a heroic rescue effort. By the time they reached the second floor, the blaze was so advanced that the floor was already beginning to fall in and the ceiling was engulfed in flames. Lara and her roommates were taken immediately to the hospital.

Jennifer Spurgeon, 19, died the next day. Renee Patton, 18, died two days after that. There was hope for several agonizing days that Lara might pull through. Many, many people prayed for her, from devout Christians to those who were a little rusty in the talking-to-God department. But the damage to her brain was too severe. She died on February 12. She was 19 years old.

The tragedy of Lara’s death might have destroyed a lesser woman, but Martha’s strength, courage and faith through the ordeal have inspired the people who know her, even as we ache for her. She finds some comfort in the fact that Lara chose to be an organ-and-tissue donor and that parts of her will live on and might help up to 100 people. And Martha hopes that people who hear Lara’s story will understand the dangers of smoke inhalation and be moved to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

She also tries to focus on the good stuff in Lara’s life. “She had a lot of dreams,” said Martha. “She also had a good life and good friends who loved her.” Shortly after Lara’s death, a friend of hers visited Martha and Paul and they found a text message in the inbox on Lara’s old cell phone. As the friend read it out loud, Martha felt as if Lara was speaking directly to them all. Part of the message said, “What would you do if your best friend died tomorrow and you never got to tell them how you felt? So, I just wanted to say, even if I never talk to you again in my life, you are special to me and you have made a difference in my life. I look up to you and respect you and truly cherish you…” Martha said in a message to her colleagues, “I don’t know who sent that to her but in my heart of hearts, I can almost believe she sent it to us.”

Acceptance, says Martha, has been the hardest part. “I keep thinking she’s going to walk through the door.” Again it is her faith that gets her through. “She knew she was a child of God and that she would go to be with him when she died. It just happened so much sooner than we ever thought it would. Someday I’ll see her again. … I’ll cherish that day when it comes.”

A portion of royalties from the following books will be donated to the Punches family in Lara’s honor:
Best Friends Forever by Kate Douglas (released June 17)
Honey by Ari Thatcher (released June 19)
Sweet Buns by Marilu Mann (releases June 26)
Phantom Affair by Katherine Kingston (releases July 3)
Stray Lovers by Dalton Diaz (releases July 31)
Marry Me, Marietta by Cindy Spencer Pape (releases September
These books do not yet have release dates scheduled:
A Little White Lie by Mackenzie McKade
Nightwalker’s Pet by Cricket Starr
Giggles by Gabby by Ashlyn Chase *release date 9/15/09
Just Being Neighborly by Kaenar Langford
No Regrets by Joanna Wylde
Tuesday Afternoons by Brynn Paulin

This dedication will accompany each book:
This story is lovingly dedicated to the memory of a lovely young lady.
Lara Anne Punches
10/4/1989 to 2/12/2009
You touched the hearts of more people in your short 19 years on earth than you could have ever imagined possible.

For those wishing to make a donation in Lara’s memory, the family has suggested the Defiance County Humane Society or First Presbyterian Church in Paulding, Ohio. You can sign the guest book and leave memories at www.defiancefuneralhome.com.

To see Martha’s full television interview, visit WANE.com.

Here is a little information on how that phrase came to be:

In George Washington’s days, there were no cameras.  One’s image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George   Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his  back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by   painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by  how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are ‘limbs’,   therefore painting them would cost the buyer more..

Hence the  expression, ‘Okay, but it’ll cost you an arm and a leg.’

(Artists know  hands and arms are more difficult to paint)

Now aren’t you glad our wonderful, sexy stories don’t cost an arm and a leg?

Anything that suggests 10 steps is worth taking a look at; it means it shouldn’t be too complicated

Lucynda

From time to time I will share some of the recipes I’ve discovered through Diabetic Gormet and other recipe sites.

Lucynda

www.LucyndaStorey.com/blog

TABBOULEH FRUIT SALAD

Yield: 6 servings
Source: “The Complete Diabetes Prevention Plan”
Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/60.shtml

INGREDIENTS

-  2-1/2 cups prepared bulgur wheat
-  3/4 cup seedless red grapes
-  1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
-  1/2 cup sliced scallions
-  1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sliced almonds or pine nuts
-  1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
-  2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

Dressing Ingredients:

-  2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-  2 tablespoons lemon juice
-  1/2 teaspoon salt
-  1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Combine the bulgur wheat, grapes, apricots, scallions, almonds or pine nuts, parsley, and mint and toss to mix well. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix well. Add the dressing to the salad and toss to mix well. Cover the salad and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (per 3/4 cup serving):
Calories: 186, Carbohydrate: 27 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg,
Fat: 8.2 g, Saturated Fat: 0.9 g, Fiber: 5.7 g,
Protein: 4.6 g, Sodium: 204 mg, Calcium: 42 mg
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Starch, 1 Fruit, 1 Fat

Find great SIDE DISH recipes at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/Side_Dishes

RECIPE FROM THE ARCHIVE:
Herbed Polenta http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/271.shtml

Please stop by my blog and put in your two cents regarding Characterization, Michael Jackson, or some of the other posts I have hanging out there.

Lucynda

Step into a world of smokin’ hot adventure.

www.LucyndaStorey.com