Diet Sickness

FREE LIMITED TIME OFFER! ACT NOW!

For a limited time, you can visit my house and contract your very own diet sickness. Do you need to lose weight? Having problems getting over that diet hurdle?

WE HAVE THE ANSWER!

Using our patented Triple Strike Technology you too can be on your way to being pasty and too-thin.

Strike One: With our diet sickness you will lose all desire to eat anything. No more wanting that mid-morning snack or your bedtime ice cream. In fact, you won't want to eat anything. And if you do succumb to your habits or common sense and try to eat anything it will be regurgitated a few hours later. This greatly reduces your caloric intake.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

Strike Two: Take advantage of a weight loss secret from the ancients. We've found record of this long-kept secret as far back as Egypt, Greece, and the Mayans. What is it? Fever. You'd be surprised to learn how much energy it takes to raise your core body temperature by 3-4 degrees. Burn calories while you sleep. Burn calories while you watch TV. It's a dieter's dream.

WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

Strike Three: Once your fever breaks you will perspire away pounds of unwanted water weight. This is better than a wrap treatment at a high-end spa.

ALL THIS CAN BE YOURS TODAY!

Bonus: Just by visiting my home and hanging out for a few hours you too can catch the diet sickness. And for the first 100 people who take advantage of this opportunity, we will throw in an extra-special gift. While you wait for inoculation, you can keep yourself busy by doing laundry, dishes, vacuuming, or mowing the lawn.

WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR?

This is a limited-time offer. Once this sickness passes through my family you will have missed out on this rare opportunity.

ACT NOW!

Void where prohibited. Not valid in all states. All weight loss results are speculative and not verified by the FDA, FFA, BSA, NASA, or any other acronym or initialism. Sickness not actually patented. This opportunity is not rare. Side effects may include headache, body aches, slowed thoughts, lethargy, grumpiness, exhaustion, and an unhealthy increase in sarcasm.

I'm done. I'm done. I'm done! Hooray?

I accomplished a big goal. I worked many hours over many weeks, and now I'm done.

I should be happy, right?

Instead, I feel like I should still be working toward my goal. I'm a bit lost, and unsure what to do with my time.

Strange?

I don't think so. My guess is that I've spent so much time, consistently, over the last two months that I've built a habit, so my brain and body still want to perform the habit. The thing is, I'm done. Finished. The end. No more.

I read all 35 Whitney Award finalists and cast my votes!

Now what?

I'll keep reading books. I've got a couple manuscripts that need work. I'm woefully behind on my blog posts. And I need to write some more in my journal.

But I think I'm going to just relax for a while, until my accomplishment feels like an accomplishment.

And maybe celebrate with some ice cream. Now, that sounds exciting!

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

* Whoa! Greg Foster snapped this picture while out hiking. I'm glad he did, and I'm glad he shared it on Flickr. He has lots of other great images, too. I almost used this one instead.

Whitney Finalist: Daughter of Helaman by Misty Moncur

Today's spotlight is Daughter of Helaman by Misty Moncur.

It's the story of a teenage girl, Keturah, who wants to join Helaman's 2000 Stripling Warriors.

Although she does encounter gender-based obstacles to her dream, most of them are of her own making. That's what makes this story so unique, it's not as much about a girl overcoming a restrictive society as it is a girl overcoming her own view of society.

There are many memorable characters and scenes, but it was Keturah's dedication and spirit that pulled me through the story. She stands at the crossroads of youth and adulthood where there are so many possibilities ahead. These possibilities are both thrilling and overwhelming. Her choices strengthen some paths and close off others. It is an exciting time of life.

The story also explores the multifaceted relationships between the characters. Sometimes Mother is a mother, other times a friend, other times a healer. Keturah's childhood friend, and fellow soldier, might become her betrothed. While her captain, and trainer, might just steal her heart. She doesn't have long to find her way before the Sons (and Daughter) of Helaman have to march against the Lamanites.

I asked Misty how writing this story was special to her.

The thing that makes my first novel special to me is the knowledge and faith I gained while writing it. The Lord blessed me . . . and opened my mind to details in the scriptures I had never noticed before. As I wrote Daughter of Helaman and continued on to the next books in the series, I learned to write by the promptings of the Spirit more than by the promptings of my outline. I learned so many things about myself during this process and my testimony increased so much that even if no one else ever gets much from it, I know it was totally worth writing.

She also shared some great advice for all writers.

As a writer, you . . . become attached to your writing. You put so much of yourself into it, and not just your thoughts and ideas. Completing a novel takes a lot of your time. It steals your sleep. It takes an emotional commitment--you have to basically develop a one-sided relationship with your characters (sometimes at the expense of your real relationships with real people!) And the whole time you're wondering if your voice is even worth being heard.

Though I am completely emotionally involved with my characters and the scriptural events I write about, I really tried not become too attached to the actual writing in Daughter of Helaman. Knowing I was going to have to share it with others by publishing it, I didn't want to get possessive of it, to think of it as only mine, or become too attached to something an editor might want to change. Still, I love it because it is mine and there is a piece of me on every page and in every character.

I agree. While writing a novel isn't the hardest job in the world, it's not easy at all. Then it takes courage to share your creation with the world.

So, let's jump right into the very beginning of the story. It starts with danger.

I crouched, still as stone, behind the broad leaves of an evergreen tree, watching the men below me. Usually when I came to the high cliff above the falls, I watched the stream meander through the valley down below or daydreamed while I gazed at the large temples in the distance.

Today I watched for my brother. Micah had left a month ago to recruit boys for the Ammonite army, and he was supposed to return to the village today. But though I watched for him all morning, I hadn’t seen him yet. Instead, I saw the small group of men traveling north toward Ammonihah. They stayed near the West Road but skulked in the cover of the trees.

Lamanite spies.

If you liked that you can read the first few pages, and then get your own copy.

Quick Update: The Third 'R'

So, I done me some 'rithmatic and I've got me a lot of reading to do.

My goal is to read all the Whitney finalists by April 23rd, and the goal is in sight. I have 13 books left which calculates to reading 1 book every 2 days. *whew*

I'm going to keep posting spotlights. I have 3 that are close to being done, and several more in the works. I hope to get all 35 books spotlighted before the gala. If not, I'll post a few after the gala.

My biggest hurdle, other than time, is that there are still two books I haven't been able to get my hands on.

Wish me luck.

Whitney Finalist: With a Name Like Love by Tess Hilmo

Today I'm going to spotlight With a Name Like Love by Tess Hilmo.

When I read the title, I immediately thought, "Romance," but I ended up being surprised. This is a story about growing up, wrapped in a murder mystery, wrapped in a historical. So, why the title?

First, this book is all about love and it's many faces. It's about love in a family, in a community, between friends, and yes there's a bit of innocent crush going on, too. This isn't an in-your-face type of theme. In fact, I didn't really catch on to it until I'd finished the entire book. It was cleverly woven into the events of the story.

Second, the main character's last name is Love.

This is a character-driven story, but Tess also worked in the time period so well it felt natural. I guess that would be my main point in this spotlight, the story just felt natural.

I would introduce the characters and setting, but Tess does it so well in the first few paragraphs:

It was the eighth of July, 1957, when Ollie's daddy slowed their rusted-out Chevy pickup near the junction of Highway 29 and Carter Road. They had come to set up for a three-day revival. Ollie sat in the truck bed with her sisters. She was thirteen and the oldest of Reverend Love's five daughters, followed by Martha, Gwen, Camille, and Ellen. Ellen was at Ollie's side, clutching Baby Doll Sue and singing "Mama's Little Baby." Ollie noticed her sister was getting the words twisted up and wrong--again.

It may have been only nine o'clock in the morning, but the summer sun was already high in the sky and sweating up the land. Fields of soft green barley laid themselves out across the earth in perfect rows--as if God had reached down and combed them just so. Ollie noticed a carved-up plank of wood that someone long ago had shoved into the dark Southern soil. It read: Binder, Arkansas.

Want to read some more? Go ahead, I'll wait.

Tess was so kind to tell me some of her personal feelings about the story.

I wanted to tell the story of characters who were in a broken situation, but who didn't consider themselves broken people. I love Jimmy and how, even though he has been terribly mistreated, he still has a deep river of conviction about who he is and what he can someday become. I love Ollie because she sees a boy who needs a friend and lets nothing stop her from being that person.

I grew up in a somewhat tough situation. It wasn't as bad as Jimmy's, but it was really difficult at times and, in spite of the chaos that surrounded me, I believed in myself. That was what got me through. So, when I started writing, I wanted to share that part of my personal experience on some level and I guess With a Name Like Love is that story. It celebrates family. It celebrates friendship. It shows us that we can overcome trials. It is really a piece of my heart.

I enjoyed this story, and couldn't believe this was a debut novel. There were so many layers to it, and it was put together well and felt natural. I suggest you get your own copy and see for yourself.

Whitney Finalist: Pride & Popularity by Jenni James

Our next spotlight is a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, with many of the major characters replaced by high school students.

While I don't consider myself an Austen fan, I do enjoy her writing. I've read Pride & Prejudice and liked it. Surprisingly, I liked it more than my wife did, who is a true romance fan. (I'm not sure what that says about me, but, thankfully, this spotlight isn't about me.)

When I heard that Pride & Popularity by Jenni James was a faithful retelling, I had two reactions: "Hmmm, sounds interesting," and "Sigh, another one?"

This book was light and enjoyable. The scenes were snappy. The characters and situations were interesting. And Jenni manages to stay true to the original story line. Which, I think, makes the writing that much more impressive.

Since I'm familiar with the original, once I figured out which characters were Elizabeth, Darcy, Jane, Bingley, Lydia, Wickham, Charlotte, and Collins then I knew how things were going to turn out. The story doesn't try to keep these roles a secret. In fact, several of the characters are named after their archetype. The real fun was in seeing how they were going to fill their roles. Jenni did a good job of making enough changes to keep things modern and interesting.

I asked Jenni what made this story special to her.

Pride & Popularity is special to me, because not only did it begin my fascinating craving for the writing world (Teaching me that writing a book was WAY more fun than reading one!), it also launched a career I never knew I would have four years ago. It has changed my life in more ways than one, and allowed me to contribute to the world. I've written several books (10) since beginning this one, and all are slotted for publication through different publishers over the next couple of years. I hope every single one gives a happy voice and cheerful hope to those teens who are struggling to find their way right now, or the ones who'd like to break from the norm and read something light and fun for a change.

And here's a bit of the story to get you hooked.

"Chloe!" 

As I spun around in the crowded hallway by my locker, Madison caught me up in a bear hug. She had gone to stay with her cousins in Florida for two months of summer break, and she had come back tan and beautiful. I laughed as I removed a piece of her streaked blond hair that was caught on my backpack. 

"Wow! Maddi, you look gorgeous. You obviously had a great time in Florida." 

Madison sighed. "It was wonderful!" 

"So, tell me, did you find some amazingly hot lifeguard to sweep you off your feet?" 

She rolled her eyes. "I wish." then she glanced at me suspiciously. "So how about you? Did you find anyone this summer?" 

I laughed. "Yeah, right. I just hung out and did my theater gig. Besides, every guy I'm remotely interested in ends up too self-centered and a total jerk anyway, so--" 

"You know, Chloe, one of these days some guys is going to prove you wrong. And when he does you're going to fall for him hard. Personally, I can't wait."

If you're looking for a light, clean, teen romance, you should get your own copy.

Whitney Finalist: Smokescreen by Traci Hunter Abramson

Action, drama, conspiracy, friendship, danger, Navy SEALS, art, love, and bullets--but not in that order. There you have it: Smokescreen by Traci Hunter Abramson.

Okay, okay. There's a lot more to it than that, but I don't know what else to say. The story held me from beginning to end. I didn't even have time to try to figure out the mystery because I was so worried about what was going to happen next.

The cool thing is that, this book wasn't all about action. The characters also develop solid and deep relationships while crazy men are on the loose hunting them.

Both sides of the story worked together to pull me along and raise the tension.

I asked Traci what she felt made this book special to her, and you can get a feel for how she can juggle the human-side of the story with the all-out action:

Smoke Screen gave me the opportunity to go back and develop characters I had grown very attached to in Lockdown. Quinn Lambert had become very three dimensional to me, and I discovered things about him in this book that I hadn't considered previously. I also had a great time getting to know Taylor and seeing their relationship develop.

For the suspense side of things, I enjoyed using some of my CIA background in the development of the story. Writing about CIA headquarters and some of the work I was able to do while I was employed there always feels like an opportunity to go back and visit a time in my life that I very much enjoyed. And of course, I loved seeing how the rest of my Saint Squad was doing since their last book.

This is the fifth book in the Saint Squad series, but if you haven't read any of the others that's fine too. This book stands on its own.

Here's a few paragraphs to pique your interest:

Five men. Five targets.

Quinn Lambert visualized the mission once more in his mind, a mission the whole world was watching on the evening news. Once again pirates had commandeered a vessel in the Indian Ocean, only this time the two Americans on board weren’t just a couple of innocent bystanders who happened to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. No, these two hostages had been specifically chosen because of the ransom they could command.

Hotel tycoon Monte Eastman and his wife, Georgia, had boarded a friend’s yacht in Sri Lanka for an extended vacation. Four days into their voyage, pirates had intercepted them and had taken control of the vessel. The ransom demands began within hours. If all went as planned, another hour would be all that was needed to end those demands permanently.

If you liked this, you should pick up your own copy.