tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85719391257657615152024-03-12T17:45:40.589-07:00Soul Stretching Outsoul stretching outKatrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.comBlogger438125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-62604458193817799072020-04-17T14:37:00.000-07:002020-04-17T14:42:51.911-07:00Dreams and the Inevitability of Change<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5couiodHXBiO4DSmZiGhCA8qf-sK-XSkvoWzn2KD4RMW_SEK0q53hz-SFMDaDzY67TuC_T3VYPauROHcMdX1VsSVfU__VjzqtBpzhHmfzTxy-I7cytmmAznEfk5vdj1DWtve2V1lm0qT/s1600/Abigail%2527s+funeral+gown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5couiodHXBiO4DSmZiGhCA8qf-sK-XSkvoWzn2KD4RMW_SEK0q53hz-SFMDaDzY67TuC_T3VYPauROHcMdX1VsSVfU__VjzqtBpzhHmfzTxy-I7cytmmAznEfk5vdj1DWtve2V1lm0qT/s320/Abigail%2527s+funeral+gown.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abigail's funeral gown, our angel, our princess</td></tr>
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I can hardly believe it's been a year since my <a href="https://katrinalantznovelist.blogspot.com/2019/05/back-in-saddle-new-releases-and.html">enthusiastic Hermione-esque post</a> about starting my Neuroscience program at BYU. So much has happened.</div>
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BOMBS AWAY! is published in paperback and as an ebook. No audiobook yet, but I hope my readers will forgive me for being slow on that front. We've had some unexpected financial reversals due to the very unexpected arrival of our daughter Abigail in the manner she chose to come to our family. </div>
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Abigail was diagnosed at around 22 weeks gestation with amniotic band syndrome and acrania/anencephaly. This is a life-limiting condition, so we knew we weren't going to get to raise her and we didn't even know if we would get to meet her while she still breathed. Some babies die before they are born, with these conditions. Thankfully, miraculously, we did get to meet her and she breathed like a champ for nearly 24 hours (it was 22.5 hours officially). Her beautiful face, though interrupted with a facial cleft around her nose and mouth, was our joy to kiss and touch and see. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2QB0q8t9DUSLf-HlMDGEg8vi2bFB38HbX8ihtJ6fBJzHyLpZlpuiuk9-x_BqALqdhoGt39EG2eYZqTLNOsZ6QUdysMHYGYFbyiSE7pci4C1fmy-MZcjb2RMjqDHY9zj5-BcHJDzZWdlw/s1600/IMG_1127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs2QB0q8t9DUSLf-HlMDGEg8vi2bFB38HbX8ihtJ6fBJzHyLpZlpuiuk9-x_BqALqdhoGt39EG2eYZqTLNOsZ6QUdysMHYGYFbyiSE7pci4C1fmy-MZcjb2RMjqDHY9zj5-BcHJDzZWdlw/s320/IMG_1127.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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She was completely unique. Her hands were each different. The left one was normal, and the right had a miniature pinky finger where it had been tied up by the amniotic bands that give the syndrome its name. Development was also hampered in her left foot, which we called her baby doll foot. It was so darling, still with five tiny toes. Her right foot was normal except for some syndactyly, a fancy word for webbing between two of the toes. My oldest brother actually has a similar effect on his right foot, same foot as Abigail's, but different toes. We have always called them "kissie toes" in our family. Abigail was born three weeks early by C-section, because her head was sewn into the placenta with the amniotic bands. Incredibly, she was a chubby, hardy baby girl, weighing 7 1/2 lbs. That's how much I weighed when I was born, too.</div>
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I am so thankful that I got to meet her, that I got to caress her sweet cheeks while singing her the <i>Angel Friends</i> lullaby my mother sang to me, and that I got to hold her hands and talk to her while she still breathed. We were able to have a beautiful funeral service for her the Saturday after her birth and passing, because coronavirus hadn't yet arrived in America in any large numbers. I am so thankful that my family were almost all able to travel from Arizona and southern Utah to help us celebrate her brief but impactful life.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsIpPDAiSSiSE28bD-cm3Sj3z2ea9YR5Ni0jlKAUHHasoCahPwg5DEmbhbjqCJOb7-LvhjEJuLbHZKh2LXzA2Wfy4ZDvA5KbBOzKQQ9AHtIVRc6yGpff9wK105UBxxGTIQ6d1UKiPDWuE/s1600/IMG_1225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsIpPDAiSSiSE28bD-cm3Sj3z2ea9YR5Ni0jlKAUHHasoCahPwg5DEmbhbjqCJOb7-LvhjEJuLbHZKh2LXzA2Wfy4ZDvA5KbBOzKQQ9AHtIVRc6yGpff9wK105UBxxGTIQ6d1UKiPDWuE/s320/IMG_1225.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Abigail Reileen is our first daughter and we will always cherish her and wish she could have stayed. Her body wasn't built for this world, but her spirit was tenacious and beautiful. She died in my arms in a way that echoed both my dreams and my nightmares. I know she is just where she was meant to be and that somehow this was her destiny. I am so grateful to be her mother forever. You can read more about my family's experiences with Abigail on our blog all about her: <a href="http://www.abigailstocking.blogspot.com/">www.abigailstocking.blogspot.com</a>.</div>
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Because we learned of Abigail's diagnosis in the middle of my first semester back on campus, I struggled a bit to stay focused on my schoolwork. I managed to get every assignment and test done, but it was far from my best work. I passed both classes, getting an A in Neurobiology and a C+ in General Chemistry 1. I deferred winter semester so we could focus on Abigail's birth and funeral. It was all planned by the time she was ready to arrive in late February 2020.</div>
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We had been home recovering from all of this for a few weeks when Covid-19, the coronavirus that halted the world, began to be a household name and suddenly closed all American schools. Because we already homeschool and my husband already works from home, our routine didn't change much at first. It felt like a moment of silence fitting for our beloved daughter.</div>
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Now, as government officials talk of gradually re-opening the economy, we see life around us starting to go on as normal (well, new normal). It's a strange feeling. We are grieving. My arms feel empty. But even we have plans for the future, plans with dates that are fast approaching.</div>
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I have a deadline to finish my work for Ensign Peak Academy, the private school where my oldest son has been completing eighth grade this year. I am starting to feel the push to hurry up and write the third installment of The Drats Universe, PREPARE TO BE REPAIRED! And my next class at BYU will go on, even though it will be taken online instead of on campus. I'll be taking the Neuroscience Advanced Writing course, reading tons of academic papers about neuroscience and writing my own. I'm looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time.</div>
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Change happens whether we are ready for it or not. It is inevitable. The most we can do is make plans and dreams and shoot for the stars. As writers, that's what we are best at. The biggest change in me since last year is that my perspective feels bigger. It's like someone lifted me up from the cracks in the mud and showed me how small my ant hill was. From my view above, I see just how big the yard is. I can't claim to see beyond the yard, but I am definitely not as worried about the ant hill as I used to be.</div>
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In my writing, this change has come through as a desire to write more than an entertaining story for middle grade readers. I still want it to be fun, but I also want it to be meaningful. I like to think that <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drats-Foiled-Again-Universe-ebook/dp/B07C2QF9C6">DRATS, FOILED AGAIN!</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R81XMZ2?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_1&storeType=ebooks">BOMBS AWAY!</a> each had a thread of deeper meaning behind the entertaining tale of two twin brothers with opposite goals and a common enemy. But I'm not as content with just a thread of meaning now. I can't say for sure how this will change the tone and breadth of the third book, PREPARE TO BE REPAIRED. I only know that it will change them.</div>
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To my younger readers, I would say, keep on dreaming. Life will throw you some curve balls, for sure. But that is the stuff literary masterpieces are made of. Les Miserables was written on the battlefield over decades of a life <i>lived</i>, not just written about. And Jane Austen's many beloved stories were born out of her own experiences navigating a woman's world in late eighteenth century England.</div>
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If you don't live, you won't write anything worth reading.</div>
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I hope you do live, and live BIG. Make dreams worth pursuing. If the world ever comes crashing down around you, don't let it stop you for more than a minute. Share what you've felt, what you've come to know in your bones through the <a href="https://abigailstocking.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-journey-to-fire-discovering.html">trial by fire</a>. It will be worth it.</div>
Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-58116279049095209202019-05-03T16:12:00.001-07:002019-05-03T16:12:11.379-07:00Back in the Saddle: New Releases and Querying Again<br />
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Phew! After two crazy back-to-back semesters of university life, I am happy to be taking the summer off from my studies. Next Fall 2019, I'll be back at BYU, diving straight into my new major, NEUROSCIENCE! To be honest, I'm feeling totally Hermione about it. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hermione we love, doing advanced magic in the girls room.<br /><br /></td></tr>
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I already bought my textbook for Neurobiology and, I kid you not, all the reviews on Amazon are raving about this textbook. Apparently, it's a real page-turner! It's called <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-Exploring-Mark-F-Bear/dp/0781778174/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1P5PONY4U8ONM&keywords=neuroscience+exploring+the+brain%2C+4th+edition&qid=1556921951&s=gateway&sprefix=neuroscience%2Caps%2C255&sr=8-1">Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain, 4th Edition</a></u>, in case you want to pick it up for a bit of light reading...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Books on my desk right now... all the light reading you could wish for</td></tr>
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I know you're dying to know what I'm up to now that school's out for the summer! Well, aside from pre-reading my Neuroscience textbook for fun, I'm writing again.<div>
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Phew again! I have missed this!</div>
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I recently published my first adult self-help/inspirational book, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44639074-the-healing-bucket?from_search=true"><u>The Healing Bucket: How to Invite the Power of Intentional Growth into Your Life this Year</u>!</a> It's available as an <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Bucket-Invite-Intentional-Growth-ebook/dp/B07PH5B82Z/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+healing+bucket&qid=1556922018&s=gateway&sr=8-1">ebook</a> wherever ebooks are sold, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Bucket-Invite-Intentional-Growth/dp/1732202826/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=the+healing+bucket&qid=1556922075&s=gateway&sr=8-2">in paperback through Amazon</a>. The audiobook will be available later this year.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh925OBx6LXG3sQwZ_DBDKno-Y50d8veN7zr1NcwrBcSai64mku5ULxJIZVBYKf8J6tnhhIH9dKoPrmfBsFV8Yzklb4L3S24mSuWfldEXEUSID58CQy24oVEwTX_nAFh39dDK-KlkHosA7C/s1600/Healing+Bucket+Sharper+Words.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1129" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh925OBx6LXG3sQwZ_DBDKno-Y50d8veN7zr1NcwrBcSai64mku5ULxJIZVBYKf8J6tnhhIH9dKoPrmfBsFV8Yzklb4L3S24mSuWfldEXEUSID58CQy24oVEwTX_nAFh39dDK-KlkHosA7C/s320/Healing+Bucket+Sharper+Words.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Christian inspirational journaling aid</td></tr>
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This past winter I hired an incredible voice actor, Jay Spaulding, to narrate <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drats-Foiled-Again-Universe-Book-dp-B07P5JNQC3/dp/B07P5JNQC3/ref=mt_audio_download?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1556922208">Drats, Foiled Again!</a></u>, my first middle grade superhero novel. He did an enviable job! Seriously, I wish I could do voices half as well as he does. We've listened to him perform my characters half a dozen times already!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drats-Foiled-Again-Universe-Book-dp-B07P5JNQC3/dp/B07P5JNQC3/ref=mt_audio_download?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1556922208">most adventurous audiobook ever</a>, fun for the whole family!</td></tr>
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My sweet little almost-seven-year-old thinks audiobooks are an automatic thing. As I've been working on finishing up <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bombs-Away-Drats-Universe-ebook/dp/B07R81XMZ2/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=bombs+away%21+k.l.+Lantz&qid=1556922323&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull">Bombs Away!</a></u>, the evil twin's version of the story, I read a little bit of Chapter 1 to my three oldest kids. The seven-year-old didn't mind my reading too much... "But," he asked, "can I listen to this book tonight on your phone?"</div>
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What do you think, Jay? Want to read my kids to sleep from an unpublished manuscript? You're not too busy for that, right? Right?</div>
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My kids are totally into audiobooks. The donation I received to allow me to hire Jay is definitely my biggest blessing all year. It has been surreal to hear my story retold in such a dynamic, living way. I'm grateful--through the roof grateful--for the opportunity.</div>
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<u>Bombs Away!</u> will be available digitally in June 2019, and in paperback about a month later. So long as Jay agrees to voice it, and I wouldn't have it any other way, you can expect that to happen (hopefully, fingers crossed) by the end of 2019.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bombs-Away-Drats-Universe-ebook/dp/B07R81XMZ2/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=bombs+away%21+k.l.+Lantz&qid=1556922323&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull">Pre-order here</a></td></tr>
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Since the name of this series is <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+drats+universe&ref=nb_sb_noss">The Drats Universe</a></i>, people have asked me just how many installments they can expect. Well, the truth is I'm not sure yet. I know for sure there will be at least three books because I have another plot cooking right now in the back of my brain. (It gets hot in there!) </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3ZPOERcVIdVA2jwpGFxJ3ID4tcCii0xIvR0f0TVz7EmPtepIqhk1XUYhHtB0GmqOvvaM2ncMkFgygE4wHYleLX-wZY5aJtlUCabEClZdNuGPZxL44TOzTbmjmhM_rhETzZ-4nYWAi9hh/s1600/Alive+and+Awake+-+Neuroscience+Art+Competition+Entry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1245" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3ZPOERcVIdVA2jwpGFxJ3ID4tcCii0xIvR0f0TVz7EmPtepIqhk1XUYhHtB0GmqOvvaM2ncMkFgygE4wHYleLX-wZY5aJtlUCabEClZdNuGPZxL44TOzTbmjmhM_rhETzZ-4nYWAi9hh/s320/Alive+and+Awake+-+Neuroscience+Art+Competition+Entry.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Van-Gogh-inspired rendition of the active brain: Alive and Awake</td></tr>
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The uncertainty comes about mainly because of time constraints. I'm officially a junior at my university, so there's really only a couple years left of material for me to learn before I earn my bachelor's degree. </div>
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Buuuut...</div>
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Since I am the doting mother of five children whose education and upbringing is my number one priority, I will only be able to attend classes/labs part-time. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjMWIYSZ9h2F9_Aql3IPnK48d6-2RTYfI55WS1Siq11poVbVv2qjabiuZFpYQCdX4MSa-8elnH4rIdZ_jR8FZSXQjEFnmETTgq9oXRLcaxWSruvKIO0DQthL8cA7tZsyMmaPeBUuzIrHD/s1600/ESC_Eyring_Science_Center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjMWIYSZ9h2F9_Aql3IPnK48d6-2RTYfI55WS1Siq11poVbVv2qjabiuZFpYQCdX4MSa-8elnH4rIdZ_jR8FZSXQjEFnmETTgq9oXRLcaxWSruvKIO0DQthL8cA7tZsyMmaPeBUuzIrHD/s320/ESC_Eyring_Science_Center.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BYU Eyring Science Center<br />The Neuroscience Center is on the bottom floor</td></tr>
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Therefore, what could take two years will likely take four. The good news is that my oldest will be dipping his toes into the AP testing universe, so the fact that I'm taking all these science and math courses now will enable me to be a killer (I mean, not killer because we don't kill in our family) AP tutor.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieC45aFdrhZUx-rI0fFpEjwFbNXhcHdalkyFI9eG_Bc8RkNQVEfveNNz-e2R2EVetzCfmONPDiWuD-0rRkIG_iQz86cb3fveAVLzfHTqdFhXEJPEnV-kJGxchqhPcUJ-wDkqqwROH9GDN9/s1600/No+Killing+Sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1246" data-original-width="1280" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieC45aFdrhZUx-rI0fFpEjwFbNXhcHdalkyFI9eG_Bc8RkNQVEfveNNz-e2R2EVetzCfmONPDiWuD-0rRkIG_iQz86cb3fveAVLzfHTqdFhXEJPEnV-kJGxchqhPcUJ-wDkqqwROH9GDN9/s320/No+Killing+Sign.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No killing. Srsly.</td></tr>
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Writing again for the middle grade audience is like coming back to my childhood playground and finding the swings empty and waiting. I am enjoying it immensely!</div>
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However, that part of me that is brimming with picture book ideas is still alive and well, too. So today I sent my first query letter in years! I sent it to a children's book publisher with whom I would absolutely love to work! I can't divulge too much about the picture book project, but it's about dragons and it draws on what I've been studying about neuroscience and behavior as I prepare to enter the program at the Y. All the studies that have been done on how to manipulate your own biochemistry and maintain a peaceful, productive mental and emotional state really need to be made available to children and families in ways they can understand and use. The family is where children receive their first instruction in emotion management. If parents never learned effective emotional management techniques, then the automatic dysfunctional habits they learned from their parents end up being passed along to the rising generation. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jvBaDM7s3Q37Qdjj-ie8sKLIouLctYWF4-AURH-FMjfQwdd_CY7ZN5dQDmu1CpYG1gcqd45ebG0sUZcsHy_t5yBqqprz2eAdT_Ro2MQ_Kfg-nIamLs1crWTav3Mo-tVrypfNAJ7S0aEn/s1600/Boys+at+Marathon+pick-up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="960" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jvBaDM7s3Q37Qdjj-ie8sKLIouLctYWF4-AURH-FMjfQwdd_CY7ZN5dQDmu1CpYG1gcqd45ebG0sUZcsHy_t5yBqqprz2eAdT_Ro2MQ_Kfg-nIamLs1crWTav3Mo-tVrypfNAJ7S0aEn/s320/Boys+at+Marathon+pick-up.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys helping me pick up my St. George Marathon packet - 2018</td></tr>
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As a mother, I speak from experience. Kicking my own bad habits and teaching effective emotional management is a personal mission for me in my own family. They say this generation deals with more anxiety and depression than any generation before it. There's much work to be done, and I believe we can usher in an era of optimism and health when people who care work together to raise awareness and teach mental hygiene skills.</div>
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As I continue to learn, I hope I'll have opportunities to share the useful tips and tricks of the trade with readers everywhere! That's the dream!</div>
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<b>Tell me, what are your dreams and projects this year?</b></div>
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Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-13461632215839758332019-03-09T16:55:00.001-08:002019-03-09T16:55:53.878-08:00How to Invite the Power of Intentional Growth into Your Life this Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Exciting news! I have a new book out and it's available for pre-order now!</b></div>
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<b> I'm so happy to be able to offer this to readers who are looking forward to some serious and intentional personal growth in 2019! Read the ebook with a journal or notebook handy because this book is meant to give you ideas...</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PH5B82Z/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_apa_i_Fv2GCbVP8EK68?fbclid=IwAR3XaxToMwpkSa9qS5oo0EZIfoEjnOrZhizbgmUdUBtDzyHl8BcULUM6ImU">The Healing Bucket: How to Invite the </a></h2>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PH5B82Z/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_apa_i_Fv2GCbVP8EK68?fbclid=IwAR3XaxToMwpkSa9qS5oo0EZIfoEjnOrZhizbgmUdUBtDzyHl8BcULUM6ImU">Power of Intentional Growth </a></h2>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PH5B82Z/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_apa_i_Fv2GCbVP8EK68?fbclid=IwAR3XaxToMwpkSa9qS5oo0EZIfoEjnOrZhizbgmUdUBtDzyHl8BcULUM6ImU">into Your Life this Year</a></h2>
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by K.L. Lantz</div>
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This is my first foray into the realm of nonfiction as well as into the world of Christian motivational books. <b>I personally love inspirational books of all kinds</b>, and have read excellent books by Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons (Latter-day Saints) like me, and those of no particular faith. In fact, a few of these authors are referenced in my own book because a book without references is a sad, lonely island. As such, <b>my book is rich with references to scientific studies</b>, wisdom from other books I have read, as well as personal experiences that have informed my perspectives.</div>
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I've written this book because I believe that every person's experiences qualify him or her to share unique perspectives on universal wisdom. <b>We all come at this big, blue world from different angles.</b> It's through our differences that we discover the most powerful truths about what makes us human and what that even means. <b>My faith informs every decision I make in my life</b>, so it wouldn't have felt right to write this book without it. The main reason I had to include a fair dose of God in a book about overcoming personal challenges is that all of the amazing personal achievements I had in 2018 were gifts. <b>Yes, I am the one who ran the marathon in the rain.</b> I am the one who busted my butt until twenty-five pounds fell off. I am the one who wrote and published my first middle grade novel. I am the one who, terrified though I was, squeezed myself into a leotard and took an adult ballet class every Friday at 10am. I am the one who signed up for science classes and went back to college. But you guys, <b>God is the one who gave me the breath from day to day</b> enabling me to take these frightening paths. God is the one who lined up the ducks and made it easy(er). <b>God is the one who comforted me</b> and guided me through the lowest points of my journey--and every journey has 'em. Yes, it would have been ungrateful not to include God. </div>
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I hope that those who pick up <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PH5B82Z/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_apa_i_Fv2GCbVP8EK68?fbclid=IwAR3XaxToMwpkSa9qS5oo0EZIfoEjnOrZhizbgmUdUBtDzyHl8BcULUM6ImU">The Healing Bucket</a> discover in themselves strength they never knew they had, and power to change their lives. I also hope those who journal their way through this book will acknowledge all of their angels, the mundane and the divine, who help them along the way. As I mention in Chapter 11, gratitude is the secret to lasting happiness. Oops, I'm giving it all away. Just don't forget to pick up your digital copy. At $4.69, it is a steal! Enjoy!</div>
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Here's the blurb:</div>
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<i>Prepare yourself for the future life you want to live. While there may be bucket lists full of items that sound exotic or alluring, the best goals are the most personal ones. What you want is not a bucket list, but a healing bucket. The items you add to your healing bucket will not come from a travel website or a fashion blog. They will call to you from within your heart as you use the power of prayer and this unique journaling aid to find the fulfillment you've been longing to find. This isn't just a journal and it isn't just a Christian motivational book. It's a little of both. And it's an invitation, a guide to a journey that ends with a greater sense of purpose and meaning, the kind that can only be found on a journey with Christ.</i></div>
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<i>Katrina Lantz is the author of the middle grade book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drats-Foiled-Again-Universe/dp/1732202818/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">Drats, Foiled Again!</a> She is also a wife and mother to five rowdy boys. Finding peace and a fulfilling purpose in the midst of a sometimes crowded and chaotic life has not been easy for her, but with God all things are possible. Writing as K.L. Lantz, Katrina leans on her faith as a member of <a href="https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/virtual-tour-rome-italy-temple">the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints</a> and shares her experiences after an intense year of goal-setting and miraculous fulfillment in this unique inspirational book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PH5B82Z/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_apa_i_Fv2GCbVP8EK68?fbclid=IwAR3XaxToMwpkSa9qS5oo0EZIfoEjnOrZhizbgmUdUBtDzyHl8BcULUM6ImU">The Healing Bucket</a>. Some miracles are big and some are small, but all have the same source. Lantz invites you to lean on Christ while daring to dream of a bigger and brighter life for yourself and those you love.</i></div>
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And the COVER!!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcwtSmnSX569KCew9GQCmE3B2B3M7dm_KGnSg3rYNWXwxJHyYU1zxxilM4JC0oXPAW6KLQyERLsX0G95iiWPTpvU5kqj1Vxqkpj0jOrjTZwlilLI5E8u_avOZHNT3YMpMTyTpB8kIN9Kl/s1600/The+Healing+Bucket+-+Wood+Sat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcwtSmnSX569KCew9GQCmE3B2B3M7dm_KGnSg3rYNWXwxJHyYU1zxxilM4JC0oXPAW6KLQyERLsX0G95iiWPTpvU5kqj1Vxqkpj0jOrjTZwlilLI5E8u_avOZHNT3YMpMTyTpB8kIN9Kl/s400/The+Healing+Bucket+-+Wood+Sat.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PH5B82Z/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_apa_i_Fv2GCbVP8EK68?fbclid=IwAR3XaxToMwpkSa9qS5oo0EZIfoEjnOrZhizbgmUdUBtDzyHl8BcULUM6ImU">Pre-Order Now</a></td></tr>
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Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-46961128699658949582018-03-29T10:04:00.000-07:002018-04-10T20:30:04.392-07:00A Different Kind of Cover Reveal: DRATS, FOILED AGAIN!<br />
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After six years of sitting on this manuscript, I've decided--with plenty of encouragement from those closest to me--to self-publish DRATS, FOILED AGAIN! and let it find its readers!!<br />
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The book and I are really excited about this.<br />
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So yesterday I sat down with some paintbrushes and a lot of yellow and green paint, and made my own cover art. Right now, I have some dear friends and family reviewing the latest revisions of the manuscript for readability and consistency. Early next month, I'm having a freelance editor copyedit it, and we have a tentative release date of April 20, 2018!! This has been a long time in coming.<br />
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Without further ado, I give you the cover art for DRATS, FOILED AGAIN!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCIBpB7eLkAd6UMA3EvSOAk7VlWvgOikoqIC1-cXqr5WGHWW8oFBf-SboHBOnp1q_YN6EM3wC5VlHenetKXMPi76dnoKCtep1aqMIAfQgCPD6dXLfzt8ADtEvoV7qt2Hzk8Pw-Eyb2zGL/s1600/Drats%252C+Foiled+Again.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="627" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCIBpB7eLkAd6UMA3EvSOAk7VlWvgOikoqIC1-cXqr5WGHWW8oFBf-SboHBOnp1q_YN6EM3wC5VlHenetKXMPi76dnoKCtep1aqMIAfQgCPD6dXLfzt8ADtEvoV7qt2Hzk8Pw-Eyb2zGL/s640/Drats%252C+Foiled+Again.jpg" width="418" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.33px;">Robert Gilbrinkle is blind in one eye, which makes dodging punches in his Anti-Hero Maneuvers class especially difficult, but his lack of depth perception is the least of his troubles. Nox Academy’s senior project deadline is fast approaching, he's failing three classes, and, naturally, his evil twin Rupert keeps trying to kill him every chance he gets. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.33px;">But the real trouble begins when Robert’s pathetic superpower--a very unwicked superwink that fixes anything broken--starts to evolve. The kids at Nox used to laugh and call him "Rob Repairman" but nobody is laughing now. His wink threatens anyone who threatens him. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.33px;">Robert has always known where he stands - on the other side of the hall from Rupert. What haunts him the most is the revelation that maybe he and Rupert aren't as different as he thought. Battling a common enemy brings them closer than either twin can handle, but the lives of their friends are at stake and the thirst for revenge is strong. Maybe even stronger than their disdain for each other.</span></span><br />
<br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.33px; orphans: 2; overflow: visible; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; width: auto; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17.33px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">With the playful cartoonish style and broad crossover appeal of Disney’s SKY HIGH, and the coming of age heroic drama of Matthew Cody’s POWERLESS, Robert’s story will resonate with kids from 8 to 14 who love to escape to that comic book world of good vs. evil and often wonder where in the midst of that universe they fit in.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></blockquote>
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What was the clincher? And why six years later? Well, here's the exciting and perilous story behind the non-publishing and eventual self-publishing of DRATS, FOILED AGAIN!<br />
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First, the reason I finally decided, the CLINCHER for my self-publishing decision, was my eight-year-old son, Layne James. Oh, he's adorable, and he loves comic books more than life itself. He is often found with a stack of white paper and a pen, drafting his own hero-vs.-villain stories. I wrote DRATS, FOILED AGAIN! when he was only two years old, and his big brother was five. I had always intended to share it with them, but they were a little young for a readaloud this thick at the time. Trust me, I tried reading WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS with Sam, the big brother, and all it did was put him to sleep (which is in itself its own kind of win!). But somehow it came up this year and I started reading it with Layne James. That fun bonding experience led me to pick up the old manuscript and finally see what it needed. The rest is history, and here's that story for those who desperately want to know:<br />
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DRATS, FOILED AGAIN! got the most attention from literary agents, out of all of my work. One agent optimistically referred me to another agent she thought might really dig it, and the feedback was flatteringly positive, except for one thing: THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE IT FIT IN THE MARKET. I was advised to rewrite the whole story to make it so the characters weren't in high school, but in some sort of junior academy for villains instead. And I did!</div>
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It was painful to go through and make the changes, and at the end, the story felt like an empty shell of its former self. I couldn't understand why changing the age made such a difference until I thought a good, long while about it. The answer was obvious, and I don't know why I didn't see it before. DRATS, FOILED AGAIN! is primarily a coming of age story. While there are great coming of age stories written with an MG-age protagonist (A WRINKLE IN TIME and THE GIVER, to name a few of my favorites), this particular coming of age story is about that scary, exciting, and confusing year between senior year of high school and the big wide world that awaits after graduation. That inner conflict of "Where will I live, and how will I make my mark on the world?" is absolutely central to Robert's struggle between good and evil (and Rupert's, in the companion novel coming soon).<br />
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Given this disconnect between my story and the traditional publishing scene, I guess the question really is, why did I wait so long to go it alone? The answer is that I have a lot of faith in the traditional publishing route. It's what I know, having worked with literary agents, authors, and editors on writing conferences and pitch contests at Operation Awesome. I have become very comfortable with my vision for my own success story, and it always involved, in my mind 1) get represented by awesome agent, 2) shop my novel to awesome editors at awesome publishing houses, 3) get picked up for a huge advance, and 4) celebrate! <br />
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My faith was strong in the traditional publishing route, and honestly, I still think it's a good idea to go that route in a lot of cases. It provides you with a team of people, some marketing resources, and often a nice little chunk of change in advance. But, and it took me a long time to accept this, DRATS, FOILED AGAIN! is just the type of story that agents and editors are hesitant to take on because of what they see as a marketing challenge. If it isn't straight-up middle grade and it isn't straight-up young adult, then what is it?<br />
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The characters are all teenagers. Some of them are middle grade age (Star and Shepherd, for instance), but the main characters are young adult age, almost adults. And unlike the very distinct differences between contemporary MG and YA, where young adults are dealing with very adult stuff and middle graders are dealing with bullying and fitting in, DRATS, FOILED AGAIN! has characters of all ages all dealing with the same big thing: the ongoing battle between good and evil. Because of its very playful MG tone and plot, and characters with a YA age, DRATS, FOILED AGAIN! actually has a broad crossover appeal. In fact, like Disney's Sky High, it could appeal to all the kids in the family as a readaloud (that's how we roll at my house), or kids 8-14 years old reading alone. When I queried it, I categorized it as middle grade, and that's still where I'd place it in the market.<br />
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BUT WHAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT with self-publishing is that you, the readers, get to decide! There isn't a big hullabaloo about which shelf to put it on, or just what type of cover art will express both the high stakes and the playful tone. And all that's left is just to read the story and, with any luck, fall deeply in love with its characters.<br />
<br />
I hope you'll enjoy the twins, Robert and Rupert, their goofy insatiable dad, Famine Mouth, the mischievous tech genius Patsy Spendlove, and the heroes on the other side of the forest: Everest, Morphea, Star, and Trueblue. I hope you'll relate, whatever your age, to Robert's struggle to find where he belongs on that spectrum between good and evil, and to choose for himself where he wants to be. <br />
<br />
<br />
RELEASE DATE: APRIL 20, 2018<br />
<br />
<br />
(It will be available on Amazon Kindle and as a paperback.)<br />
<br />
<br />
More pictures from the cover art process:</div>
<br />
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<br />Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-88110420372986522002017-10-19T05:00:00.000-07:002017-10-19T05:00:11.262-07:00How To Cyber Stalk Literary Agents<h3 style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 9.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Nobile; font-weight: normal;">Okay, don’t actually cyber
stalk anybody. That’s creepy. I mean, don’t try to find somebody’s home address
or birthday or the names of family members. Seriously, just don’t do that.</span></span></h3>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 9.0pt;">
Psh! Why am I
worried? You guys are normal. Right?</h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">
Right.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
No, this article isn’t about actual stalking, but about literary agent
research. Far less creepy and infinitely more important to your writing career.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
You’ve written the next <u>Twilight</u>. Or <u>Hunger Games</u>. Or <u>Paranormalcy</u>. Or <u>The Inquisitor's Tale</u>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
All you need is a literary agent to get those big publishers to take notice of
you. But there are hundreds of them listed on sites like<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.querytracker.net/">querytracker<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;"> </span></span></a>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://agentquery.com/">agentquery</a>!!
How the heck are you gonna find the right one for you?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Nobile; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
This is why the agent hunt is likened unto dating. Because there isn’t just one
right agent out there for you. There are lots of right ones, lots of agents who
could fall in love with your work and be effective, tireless champions for you
in the face of publishers who rarely take direct, unagented submissions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Nobile; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
Unlike dating, though, one party is at a distinct disadvantage in the agent
hunt.<br />
<br />
You. The writer.<br />
<br />
It’s not, “Hey, let’s have dinner.” It’s, “I have something here you might
like, but I know you get a thousand of these letters every week, but still,
would you please look at mine for a second?”</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
It doesn’t have to go down like that.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
Agents have said in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>interview<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;"> </span></span>after<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>interview<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;"> </span></span>that a professional query letter
personalized to them rises to the top, while Dear Agent varieties get automatic
deletes. How important is the personalization?<br />
<br />
To<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://apparentlyaprilynne.blogspot.com/2009/02/querying-jodi.html">some</a>,
it’s more important than others, but all agents agree they want to feel like
you’ve done your research and you’re not just taking a shot in the dark, hoping
something will stick.<br />
<br />
I’m not a querying professional, but I am a writer of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>professional
queries. I’ve written a lot of them. And I’ve had some positive responses,
mainly from agents who knew I’d specifically sought them out for what they
represent.<br />
<br />
One agent agreed to read my book after a query workshop on her blog. Two kind
souls on the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.querytracker.net/forum/">querytracker forum</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>invited me to query their agents
because we wrote in similar genres. Another awesome agented writer gave me a
referral to her agent after she read my pitch. Mentioning that query workshop
and those client names got my foot in a door that was sometimes barely ajar,
sometimes completely closed.<br />
<br />
But it’s not because this business is all about connections. No. It’s because
agents get slammed with queries from all sorts of writers in all different
stages of their writing careers. Some are just starting out. Maybe, like me,
you sent out one of those newbie queries to an agent who didn’t rep what you
were selling just because you liked his blog (*cough*<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://nathanbransford.com/">Nathan
Bransford</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>*cough*). Even if
you didn’t, you probably know agents get those kinds of queries all the time.
It’s a breath of fresh air when they get a client referral or a query from
someone they recognize as a regular blog reader/commenter (in the right genre
for what they rep).<br />
<br />
Finally! I imagine them saying, as they sip their mysterious dark-tinged
beverage. Finally, somebody who actually wants to be represented by me and not
just any old agent!<br />
See, for them it might be just as frustrating as for you. They want clients who
take writing seriously enough to care who represents them. They want clients
who want to be their clients. Makes sense, right?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
So here’s how to cyber stalk them (again, not actual stalking):</span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Look them up on your fave search engine, <a href="http://querytracker.com/">querytracker.com</a> or <a href="http://www.agentquery.com/">agentquery.com</a></span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Nobile;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read any interviews linked there. Visit their websites. Take
actual notes on your favorites. If they give submission guidelines, follow
their instructions.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="disc">
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Follow your favorites on twitter. (If you write MG or YA, you may
like to start by following<span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; font-family: Nobile; font-weight: normal;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/katrinalantznov/lists/literary-agents" style="background-color: white; font-family: Nobile; font-weight: normal;">my twitter list of literary agents</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Nobile; font-weight: normal;">)</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Nobile;"><span style="font-size: small;">Keep up on the market. Read the genre you write in. If you read an
awesome book that’s similar in tone to yours, check the acknowledgements
or “[author name] represented by” in your favorite web search engine.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Nobile;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read books represented by the agents on your list. (When I first
started my agent hunt, I thought this was going the extra mile, but it
really, really helps you to personalize a query if you can say your book
has similar elements to [published book by client name] and actually know
what you’re talking about. And besides, the reading doubles as writing
research, as well.)</span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Nobile;"><span style="font-size: small;">Search their name at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://absolutewrite.com/forums/">absolutewrite.com</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>forums and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.verlakay.com/boards/">verlakay.com</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>forums. If they’ve done a Q&A
or just been talked about by other authors, this info is priceless. </span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Nobile;"><span style="font-size: small;">Search for contests (like<span class="apple-converted-space"> <a href="https://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/p/passorpages.html">Operation Awesome's PASS or PAGES</a></span>), workshops, and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://ldstorymakersconference.com/">conferences</a>, where you can connect
and make a lasting (positive, we hope) impression.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Nobile;"><span style="font-size: small;">Top secret all-in-one-place treasure trove of agent info:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/search/label/Agent%20Spotlight">Casey
McCormick’s Agent Spotlight</a>. When I found Casey’s blog, I felt like I
was cheating. Thank you, Casey!</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: Nobile; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 18.0pt;">What about
you guys? Any cyber stalking tips for newbies?</span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 7.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #666666; font-family: Nobile; font-weight: normal;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">Originally published on <a href="https://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-cyber-stalk-literary-agents.html">Operation Awesome</a>, January 2011, links updated.</span></span></span></div>
</h3>
Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-40925089956692247592017-10-12T05:00:00.000-07:002017-10-12T05:00:07.215-07:00Pot Holes and Aha Moments in Your Writing Career<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Nobile; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
A writing career, just like any other kind, starts at the bottom and works its way to the top. It's a journey, filled with pot holes (hee hee, plot holes), and Eureka moments. </h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
My first Aha moment as a writer came after I penned my very first novel. It took me from 2003 to 2008 to finish it. Yeah. No, I wasn't working on it the whole time. I belonged to the someday-I'll-write-a-book club. My pot hole was that I didn't have any discipline. From August to October, I finally finished it.<br /><br />In 2008, my Aha moment said, Writing on a daily schedule yields faster, better results.<br /><br />Duh, right?<br /><br />When you write every single day, or close to it, your story simply has more cohesiveness, more natural flow, than it will when you put months between each chapter. Not to mention how your writing style will change over time, even if you're not writing regularly. If you want to see what it looks like when 19-year-old me writes Chapter 1 and 23-year-old me writes Chapter 27, I've got a manuscript that can demonstrate it palpably. An unpublished manuscript. A terminally unpublishable manuscript. I will never do that again.<br /><br />Another pot hole I faced as a writer was my essay training from high school, which told me to seek out the fanciest word to drive home my point. Never, ever use was or said, my teachers said. If you try to take every was and is/were/are out of a paper or manuscript, you will end up with some funky variations on sentence structure and some even funkier word combinations. Or maybe it's just me.<br /><br />(e.g. It was proven that the chicken pox are contagious. <br />becomes-- The researchers found that chicken pox bore communicable properties.)<br /><br />Stilted much? Yeah, this won't sound good in your YA novel. Thus, my next Aha moment came after my third book (we'll skip right over the sequel I wrote to the first book which had all the same problems as the first, but with a catchier ending).<br /><br />It said, Stop trying to sound smart.<br /><br />I am smart. You are, too. But we don't have to prove that to our readers by using words like ruminated where it would sound more natural for the character to say thought or pondered. Sure, if you've got a narrator or character who would use that word, like John Green's child prodigy in <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49750.An_Abundance_of_Katherines">An Abundance of Katherines</a>, then by all means, say ruminated all you like. But not because you're too good for boring words.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjgFHJa2H9vTyBT5u45KPl5NtA5asfcR_jA9jUHFVG37VT3yrB5trwNVmAlfOeCe1AnWC7G1vSMG-wnLfVtDMBtFr7NKxOvkzjUmTpIalW3qSL1Rz1UP1_NOL2TfWqp_9AIF_p1Hnw0RZpGeKeRxhooPpPqka_qHiu4Kk2MGJYFU2tXWhB5bMiIqgaJTwmVm2qS7KHVh9e_qQqhIqU1Yw1zuH7UUH0sBuUYkF4YoI7gs7VySPKzubRISWgYoTJJFdvN8cyufhy3satW=s0-d" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Pot Hole </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A meandering hell of word-vomit at the end of that book taught me this:<br /><br />A rough outline is better than no outline at all.<br /><br />Which leads me to today's Aha moment. Two books later, I am still learning the importance of story structure and planning in creating the elusive perfect novel. Meandering? Still happens to me, unfortunately. I'm finally frustrated enough to do something about it. Enter <a href="http://storyfix.com/a-mindset-shift-that-can-get-you-published">Larry Brooks of storyfix.com</a>:<br /><br />"In essence, story development separates into two sequential realms: the search for story… [followed] by the rendering of story."<br /><br />otherwise realized as...<br /><br />If it took you half the book to figure out your plot and character arcs, the reader has no hope.<br /><br />Smart guy, that Larry Brooks.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">What Aha moments have you had lately? What road blocks or pot holes have you hit? </span><br /><br />If you're about due for another epiphany, check out Larry's article: <a href="http://storyfix.com/a-mindset-shift-that-can-get-you-published">A Mindset Shift That Can Get You Published</a>, which inspired this post.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Originally published on <a href="https://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2011/01/pot-holes-and-aha-moments-in-your.html">Operation Awesome</a>, January 2011.</div>
Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-44694597458812232062017-10-05T05:00:00.000-07:002017-10-05T05:00:14.856-07:00Finding the Strength in Your Writing Weakness<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Nobile; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Are you a storyteller or a wordsmith? </span></b></h3>
<div>
<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
I've noticed lately in my reading that some people truly excel at story, like Frank Baum of <u>Wizard of Oz</u> fame, or Rick Riordan of the <u>Percy Jackson</u> series; and others weave words like master artisans in the households of kings, like Libba Bray of <u>Going Bovine</u> and <u>A Great and Terrible Beauty</u>, or Gayle Forman of <u>If I Stay</u>, or my critique partners. ;) <br /><br />Of course, it would be nice to have it all, but nobody starts out that way. That's why we call writing our craft.<br /><br />So which part of our craft is your strong suit? <b>Storytelling</b>, with its plot structure, twists, and revelations? Or <b>wordsmithing</b> (how can that not be a real word?), with its heart-piercing phraseology and dew-from-heaven gloriousness?<br /><br />It's an important question because the answer can tell you where you need to focus your practice. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Me, for instance. <i>I've got wordplay down to an art. </i>Okay not really, but I became a writer because people told me I write well, not because people said I come up with the most air-tight plots ever. So I fall in with the wordsmith lot. For me, this means my current focus has to be plot. And not just plot. Storytelling includes characterization and setting, so you can see I have my work cut out for me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFCNKkgwtxcAuz_8l9Dl0knUeulnKfnsmFX0T9Xw0sR5nqdfS7KaKmWWey_3FdOgzrxnLC3vX2k2tF9qDw9hIU3QdFJlcHxXZTRcqKHy_4JNymnXP-C9U6ZpopqYPN4oXvzR92WYO-lEg/s1600/IMAG0223.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFCNKkgwtxcAuz_8l9Dl0knUeulnKfnsmFX0T9Xw0sR5nqdfS7KaKmWWey_3FdOgzrxnLC3vX2k2tF9qDw9hIU3QdFJlcHxXZTRcqKHy_4JNymnXP-C9U6ZpopqYPN4oXvzR92WYO-lEg/s320/IMAG0223.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 3-year-old is a wordsmith already. Aw!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />Knowing where my strengths lie as a writer gives me focus, but it also reminds me to allow myself a little <i>failure </i>in my weak areas. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's okay if my first draft is filled with plot holes. For me, revision is less about crafting perfect sentences and more about re-imagining the story... over and over again, until it all fits. And, of course, since this is my cross to bear I think storytelling is much harder than spinning beautiful phrases. Which is more difficult for you?<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Now you know what to work on this weekend.</span></b><div>
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Originally published on <a href="https://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2010/12/storyteller-or-wordsmith.html">Operation Awesome</a> in December, 2010.</div>
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Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-51565604295136487592017-09-28T07:42:00.000-07:002017-09-28T07:42:10.086-07:00Finding Your Voice in the Literary Industry Cacophony<div>
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When I first started devoting serious time to becoming (my romantic notion of) a writer, my biggest worry was that I had no voice.</div>
</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">Yeah, you read that right.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">I'd read something online about </span><a href="http://hollylisle.com/index.php/Writing-Life/ten-steps-to-finding-your-writing-voice.html" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;">Finding Your Voice</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"> and I worried I needed to </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">develop </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">my voice. It's actually kind of silly if you think about it, because just about everybody is born with a voice. You don't question it or think about it. You just speak and words come out in your own unique voice. Sure, you have to coo or babble when you're a baby (not to mention all that bawling). You have to listen to your parents and siblings speak, and you mimic them to some extent. But in the end, the only way to </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">develop</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"> your voice is to practice speaking.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">Writing is the same way, but I didn't know that. I thought I needed a special guide to teach me how to be myself. This stems from a fear that's haunted me my whole life, and I'm probably not alone.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></i><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">Is being myself good enough?</i><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></i><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">It turns out that the only way NOT to have a personal writing voice is to try too hard to be like somebody else. Don't do that.</span><div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOeSeRDKjrAmqyi9KVuntkz3bQ7xclLeOugBZk9ETwkZKBzbijVRD08VnuByGxd3r5QKaJCVKlb12ID0uUTqJe0DjtGYpqoLJBN-0EQYzucMdCv_QLP_frt1u355NVs4o0Gc5KQLy3v7YS/s1600/FB_IMG_1493521270891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="960" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOeSeRDKjrAmqyi9KVuntkz3bQ7xclLeOugBZk9ETwkZKBzbijVRD08VnuByGxd3r5QKaJCVKlb12ID0uUTqJe0DjtGYpqoLJBN-0EQYzucMdCv_QLP_frt1u355NVs4o0Gc5KQLy3v7YS/s320/FB_IMG_1493521270891.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Finding my voice in an all-women's choir<br />that performed in the Salt Lake City Tabernacle!! Woot!<br /></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">While the guide I linked above has good ideas, like reading a lot of different books or practicing writing like your favorite authors, or writing to prompts--all this is effectively the baby listening to conversation before she tries to make words on her own, and then awkwardly copying words like "No" and "Don't" and "Stop that" (this might just be my babies).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">Writing in someone else's style is fine, but don't try to be Meg Cabot. Yes, she is awesome. Yes, she is witty. Be awesome and witty in your own way.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">How do I propose you do that?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">Blog.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">For writers, blogging is like a warm bubble bath. It's the fun and relaxation of writing without the cold shower of pass-or-fail judgment. Especially when you're first starting out. For a long time, I had 33 followers on my personal writing blog, and only about 8 hits a day from different viewers. Reaching more people is awesome, but starting small is good, too. I got into my own writing groove whenever I blogged, and even though I never turned my internal editor off (is that even possible??), I did allow myself some indulgences you simply can't do in printed fiction...</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">:) SQUEE!! LOL. ;) ROFL b/c That is made of awesome. OMGoodness! :p</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">...and the result in my novels has been palpable: </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">I actually have a personality.</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"> Letting my hair down on my blog has freed up that personality more than copying Shakespeare or Mark Twain ever could. Not that I SQUEE in my books (though a character might at some point). They are definitely different formats, unless you're writing one of those MG books in chat format, which I think has been done to death, people.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">The greatest key to finding your writing voice is to be yourself.</span> </span></b><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">Let that snark, incurable optimism, or witty cynicism seep into your novel. That's what people will relate to. Learn from others, try out new ways of expressing your themes and your characters. But don't bend over backward trying to achieve the oh-so-marketable and ever-elusive VOICE agents are always talking about. When they say that, they're really saying </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">THAT BOOK </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">connected with them on a personal level. Across the publishing universe, voice is as subjective as romantic chemistry. You can't fake it.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">Be yourself, let </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">your </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">voice shine through the printed page, and trust that someone, somewhere will like </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">you</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><div>
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Originally published on <a href="https://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2010/12/finding-your-voice.html">Operation Awesome</a> in December, 2010.<br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></div>
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Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-75219961000084591402017-07-19T09:38:00.001-07:002017-07-19T09:39:37.586-07:00China's Past and Future in 2 Book Reviews<br />
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There is so much to love about this book! It's appealing to young and old alike. It was lent to me by sisters, ages 14 and 12. They were effusive in their praise. As a work of historical fiction, it gave them context for our class reading of Red Scarf Girl, which is memoir, China's own version of Diary of Anne Frank. Letters in the Jade Dragon Box is how I washed down Red Scarf Girl, which has an overall oppressive feeling because of the weight of oppression Jiang Ji-li truly felt. Reading this one next helped me to feel more hope for China. It is an LDS author who weaves a story of conversion and re-conversion throughout, using actual missionary history in Hong Kong to give it life. At first, the historical footnotes caught me off guard, but I came to appreciate the depth these post-chapter explanations provided. They make this book an excellent study tool for those interested in China's past and present, particularly from a religious freedom perspective. I feel this book gave me more of a connection to China, celebrating its beauty, art, and culture, while telling the very sad story of the 1960's Cultural Revolution which tore so many families apart. I highly recommend this to both adults and young people. Reading it in the same semester with Red Scarf Girl is even better.<br />
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I was moved to tears by Ji-li Jiang's story many times. I came away from this book feeling strongly that if everyone read it, the world would be a less oppressive, less ignorant, more sympathetic place. This book is a plea for compassion and law. In her epilogue Jiang says, "This is the most frightening lesson of the Cultural Revolution: Without a sound legal system, a small group or even a single person can take control of an entire country. This is as true now as it was then." <br />
I now have a deeper respect for the United States Constitution and the rule of law, as well as the importance of kindness and generosity in building and maintaining community life. Good books entertain you. Great books make you ask yourself questions about things that matter. The best books change you in the reading. You come out a better person. Red Scarf Girl is one of these.Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-44588665713123606502015-10-17T10:15:00.001-07:002015-10-17T10:15:23.838-07:00Operation Awesome: Editing and Polishing: Time to Add Some Ellipses!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHv2sT_Dl8WzTR87sWHGwDxYeawMOJloip33fmCR1rfqve58Or8QJnSXGrzywS5oCHRWgRxznzCFQK4IrhWIF_OrUseh74HMYGodEACFJ7N5lMte2dAeAv9zLN4ofyKT7oJS1msrLjOUXm/s1600/oliwritingtips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHv2sT_Dl8WzTR87sWHGwDxYeawMOJloip33fmCR1rfqve58Or8QJnSXGrzywS5oCHRWgRxznzCFQK4IrhWIF_OrUseh74HMYGodEACFJ7N5lMte2dAeAv9zLN4ofyKT7oJS1msrLjOUXm/s320/oliwritingtips.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Check me out at <a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2015/10/editing-and-polishing-time-to-add-some.html?spref=bl">Operation Awesome: Editing and Polishing: Time to Add Some Ellipses!</a>: EDITING and POLISHING Back in July, I tackled the topic of how I do my first revision in a brilliant and witty piece entitled Cooling P...Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-70727877778913198652015-07-07T08:26:00.001-07:002015-07-07T08:26:42.746-07:00Operation Awesome: First Revision: Cooling Periods and PaperA fairly new feature over at our collaborative blog, Operation Awesome, is the #OAwritingtips. I am enjoying this series. For July, we're covering First Revision. Come talk to me about your process and learn a little about mine. When it comes to revision, there's no such thing as too many good ideas.<br /><br />
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<a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2015/07/first-revision-cooling-periods-and-paper.html?spref=bl">Operation Awesome: First Revision: Cooling Periods and Paper</a>: First Revision For July, we're talking about the dreaded first pass of revisions on your recently completed manuscript. Revision an...Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-53169785874557997462015-06-01T15:40:00.001-07:002015-06-01T15:40:12.582-07:00Operation Awesome: Operation Awesome Reads: June's Books 2015 #amread...<a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2015/06/operation-awesome-reads-junes-books.html?spref=bl">Operation Awesome: Operation Awesome Reads: June's Books 2015 #amread...</a>: Happy June! Here's what the OA ladies are reading this month: Katrina is reading The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley, and ...<br /><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPhl4oC0_EdjWTPU8V5XT3Nm46ftACAP38MY315aKCRL0-IBcGJKA6oUjrZblaR7WRcxYz_QZ1T_kJmodyExhLa5JPCqaH1rfEnCd4zg5LBq6x7YRiNY0VFQRaaSxyMMFUwU33waW8G84/s1600/The+Great+Good+Thing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPhl4oC0_EdjWTPU8V5XT3Nm46ftACAP38MY315aKCRL0-IBcGJKA6oUjrZblaR7WRcxYz_QZ1T_kJmodyExhLa5JPCqaH1rfEnCd4zg5LBq6x7YRiNY0VFQRaaSxyMMFUwU33waW8G84/s320/The+Great+Good+Thing.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br />Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-72288768123585584802015-05-01T14:27:00.001-07:002015-05-01T14:27:07.795-07:00Operation Awesome: Operation Awesome Reads: May's Books 2015 #amreadi...<a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2015/05/operation-awesome-reads-mays-books-2015.html?spref=bl">Operation Awesome: Operation Awesome Reads: May's Books 2015 #amreadi...</a>: Happy May! Here's what the OA troops are reading this month: Katrina just finished Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner, and is read...<br /><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKU_I1QadHujSOfDd8nux3icaNxYOwwee-HSSkHq0J658yYr_hRYV-s0Ijp_bukMRISaAR6yGLQLPfm1B6ZVZ2ZlLyr5wBoGOji1FBU-BKSIBuPfjuGE0G20aJg1s542EIcIMJF4ltBSvP/s1600/Stone+Fox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKU_I1QadHujSOfDd8nux3icaNxYOwwee-HSSkHq0J658yYr_hRYV-s0Ijp_bukMRISaAR6yGLQLPfm1B6ZVZ2ZlLyr5wBoGOji1FBU-BKSIBuPfjuGE0G20aJg1s542EIcIMJF4ltBSvP/s1600/Stone+Fox.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div><br />Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-44131147085355632702015-04-10T08:53:00.001-07:002015-04-11T07:31:43.168-07:00Operation Awesome: O.U.R. Mission to Fight Child Sex Trafficking<a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2015/04/our-mission-to-fight-child-sex.html?spref=bl">Operation Awesome: O.U.R. Mission to Fight Child Sex Trafficking</a>: Join the fight to free children from sex trafficking, the worst form of slavery in our modern world!<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">I'm an abolitionist because INNOCENCE IS PRECIOUS! What's your reason?</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">WHITE SAILS</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On Human Sacrifice and Slavery (which are one and the same)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">by Katrina Lenay Lantz</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4/10/15</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">KING MINOS DEMANDS A TRIBUTE:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Girls seven; of boys, the same,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">to feed the insatiable appetite</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">of a monster of treacherous fame.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Eyes red like the fire that razes,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">horns sharp like the bull that destroys,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">it looks like a man but it isn't.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Half beast, but all brute in its ploys.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A hero discovers the horror</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">while walking his kingdom's bright shore</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and balks at the terrible whisper</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">that his father could ever ignore--</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And placidly send off our daughters,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">our sons, to their torturous demise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What falsehood could sanction this outrage?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What marvelous, gilded, proud lies?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For surely as good men do nothing</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">the evil that simmers will boil!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And no one can cool it or hinder</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">once over the cliff side it spoils--</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When villages, houses, and people</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">are swept in its current of fire,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and mankind has turned the cup over</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and earned all the wrath and the ire--</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of the TRUE KING of all HIS CREATION</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">who sits not idle but sure,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and sends out His heroes to rescue</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">each fair son and daughter so pure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">WHITE SAILS IF YOU COME BACK TRIUMPHANT!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Black sack cloth if King Minos wins</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and the brute with his hunger unending</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">has sated himself on our sins.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Will you become one of these heroes</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">who conquers the beast in his lair?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Or sanction the unholy tribute,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">condemning the slave to despair?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">WHITE SAILS IF YOU COME BACK TRIUMPHANT!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Black sack cloth if King Minos wins</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and the brute with his hunger unending</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">has sated himself on our sins.</span></div>
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Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-90503187614899074872014-07-08T22:52:00.000-07:002014-07-08T22:52:38.876-07:00What I Read When I'm Not Reading FictionIf my blog looks like a ghost town, it's because LIFE!<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3vjturH5i456jrY8fms1mufZEzpNN83Satge2_RMIgPD1rjdnrS5rowXQiXEGf58_Xpnx0MkSL9Cokifd2r-TpWb9biUH0eeGvF0qL8-bBsLBwYpuxUrddtHFVcVcnfOByjKV0fQAEQa/s1600/IMAG4665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3vjturH5i456jrY8fms1mufZEzpNN83Satge2_RMIgPD1rjdnrS5rowXQiXEGf58_Xpnx0MkSL9Cokifd2r-TpWb9biUH0eeGvF0qL8-bBsLBwYpuxUrddtHFVcVcnfOByjKV0fQAEQa/s1600/IMAG4665.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neighborhood kids singing You're a Grand Old Flag, Fourth of July 2014</td></tr>
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I'm not really making an excuse because I firmly believe my time has been well spent. As a homeschool mom who dabbles in politics and takes every spare moment to read, whether it's current events or a really tasty bit of speculative fiction, it isn't that I don't have time to blog/write/read/review/whatever. When we're honest with ourselves, we know our "I just don't have time" excuses really just mean "I'm doing other things that I deem more important." That's true even if we don't want to admit to ourselves that obsessing over our sock drawer or 'everything' drawer or that highly addictive new facebook game is a value choice of one activity over the others we also claim to value. Luckily, I haven't been tempted by a facebook game since about 2007. :)</div>
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As a recovering perfectionist, I have to be careful how I spend my time or I end up writing until 3am or "sorting papers" (read: reminiscing over high school essays) for an entire day. This natural obsessive tendency, which is very much genetic, is what allows me to crank out first drafts in pretty good time when my heart and soul is in it. It's also what leads me down other paths that are equally riveting. </div>
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So here's some insight into my Soul Stretching Out (hint: that's my blog title these days):</div>
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I read NDE's (near-death experiences) like they're going out of style. My most recent read in that category was this:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zvUyjhdtZPYeerGX1-5tAoFK_u0b-Nqd5HNjKY4TPAlfY_BArlleyXf5bVgtw321sPHpMqOOHBSrQPEngv_YnYNXFewRjPkd4BGDoMajeeqin-SIIoImXDsB7tIXNf_018UrcLtp_RYt/s1600/Visions+of+Glory.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zvUyjhdtZPYeerGX1-5tAoFK_u0b-Nqd5HNjKY4TPAlfY_BArlleyXf5bVgtw321sPHpMqOOHBSrQPEngv_YnYNXFewRjPkd4BGDoMajeeqin-SIIoImXDsB7tIXNf_018UrcLtp_RYt/s1600/Visions+of+Glory.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16134758-visions-of-glory?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></td></tr>
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These books are a great supplement to the backdrop of <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke?lang=eng">intense scripture study</a> I find myself doing, especially when it has to do with the beginning of life, the purpose of life, the end of life, and the end of days. While I don't believe everything I read from those who claim near-death experiences and visions, I do find these types of books about visions of the afterlife or future to be soul-stretching. They give me an opportunity to ponder and pray for my own answers, and those periods of quiet meditation are necessary reprieves for a mom of tiny tots. </div>
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That brings me to something else I study somewhat obsessively:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsv5lNsznck5O1vYLB2F9C0gUKMPvumTlo83lKxMktyymAV_7onsZv31uZhqMiEmX6qLUF7q6-htJWJQcToHoj-mgHQnf_hI8kfgjh0fxFvmVuKO5UQ0akC3AGJWk8ODenLd7RtDPgjf3/s1600/The+Gift+of+Giving+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsv5lNsznck5O1vYLB2F9C0gUKMPvumTlo83lKxMktyymAV_7onsZv31uZhqMiEmX6qLUF7q6-htJWJQcToHoj-mgHQnf_hI8kfgjh0fxFvmVuKO5UQ0akC3AGJWk8ODenLd7RtDPgjf3/s1600/The+Gift+of+Giving+Life.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13632584-the-gift-of-giving-life?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></td></tr>
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I read about pregnancy and childbirth. You'd think after four pregnancies and births I'd give up my study, but I ALWAYS, always, always find new bits I didn't know before, or am touched by reading somebody else's completely different birth story, or find healing in a birth story a lot like one of mine. Every pregnancy, birth, baby, and child is different. I can't imagine abandoning my study or thinking that I've finally learned it all. </div>
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Of course, since I do homeschool, another topic I obsessively study is education. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwr_DzBeJHD4mQl3E7PapQtVfaHNQ2HK6q_0ZZrNcCwTUC0v4tU07hujAWIISTlECNRwZLVaxikSQGyyVZ0mik5yX0VdrhJ27elYeDSTIG-hm1l-o9RA87HUoreSx3V7ZO5BPEzdSUXkhi/s1600/Teach+the+Children.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwr_DzBeJHD4mQl3E7PapQtVfaHNQ2HK6q_0ZZrNcCwTUC0v4tU07hujAWIISTlECNRwZLVaxikSQGyyVZ0mik5yX0VdrhJ27elYeDSTIG-hm1l-o9RA87HUoreSx3V7ZO5BPEzdSUXkhi/s1600/Teach+the+Children.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2632978-teach-the-children?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></td></tr>
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This book, between twenty and thirty years old, has some of the greatest insights on education I've read yet. It's a bit of a thick read and heavy on the technical language in parts, but it also includes scriptural and apostolic guidance about the way human beings learn. Since I believe learning never stops until you die, I also like to read a bit of history and classic literature.</div>
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Right now I'm reading this:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGg2LsIPGnjy2J3y_ybagw1xbwIG7natGf_i6dlJmJbWuW4PKR3z2SkR-jtaaFJuDfhjsx81A8325qzs_ocuvVyUJLvXNUcTu9CsAMUyjREDYraWe1PyH9FIPh8yV5US8pcT4fdyLY8hpA/s1600/The+Lincoln+Hypothesis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGg2LsIPGnjy2J3y_ybagw1xbwIG7natGf_i6dlJmJbWuW4PKR3z2SkR-jtaaFJuDfhjsx81A8325qzs_ocuvVyUJLvXNUcTu9CsAMUyjREDYraWe1PyH9FIPh8yV5US8pcT4fdyLY8hpA/s1600/The+Lincoln+Hypothesis.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22032316-the-lincoln-hypothesis?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></td></tr>
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So now you know what I read when I'm not reading fiction. For an example of the awesomeness I read when I'm craving fiction, check out the moving book carousel in the right sidebar. I'm lucky enough to know those authors, and every one of their books is an adventure.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What do you read when you're not reading fiction? </span></div>
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Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-8406220615222586592014-03-07T07:39:00.002-08:002014-03-07T07:39:48.756-08:00BLOG TOUR: CURED by Bethany Wiggins!<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday on Operation Awesome, <a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2014/03/cured-by-bethany-wiggins-and-giveaway.html">Michelle featured and interviewed Bethany Wiggins</a>, author of the new and exciting STUNG companion, CURED! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NzfZ2WAtaCb5NW6Kzt-6un8Utor99prZsVuxwaqHG4mZA8dT-ERj_v5GL5vOZNOPqwL1YYrUfwCI2VZFJOmlaZ4WeHbCMqx7gs-ySVBt19E72CsvfVquhOljmfS5rj99PTHk01Bv8TtL/s1600/Cured.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4NzfZ2WAtaCb5NW6Kzt-6un8Utor99prZsVuxwaqHG4mZA8dT-ERj_v5GL5vOZNOPqwL1YYrUfwCI2VZFJOmlaZ4WeHbCMqx7gs-ySVBt19E72CsvfVquhOljmfS5rj99PTHk01Bv8TtL/s1600/Cured.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.31999969482422px; text-align: left;"><i><b>Blurb: </b>Now that Fiona Tarsis and her twin brother, Jonah, are no longer beasts, they set out to find their mother, with the help of Bowen and a former neighbor, Jacqui. Heading for a safe settlement rumored to be in Wyoming, they plan to spread the cure along the way--until they are attacked by raiders. Luckily, they find a new ally in Kevin, who saves them and leads them to safety in his underground shelter. But the more they get to know Kevin, the more they suspect he has ties to the raiders. He also seems to know too many details about Jacqui and her family—details that could endanger them all. For the raiders will do anything they can to destroy the cure that would bring an end to their way of life. Bethany Wiggins’s reimagining of our world after an environmental catastrophe won’t fail to stun readers. -from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17874904-cured?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></i></span></blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bethanywiggins.com/">Bethany Wiggins's website</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today Bethany is here at my little blog to answer a few questions. But first I just want to say a few words about the world of STUNG which Bethany has created. When I read STUNG, I was <a href="http://afterglowbookreviews.blogspot.com/2013/03/stung-by-bethany-wiggins.html">floored by the fast pace and the intense conflict</a>. Lots of that conflict surrounds a sweet boy Fiona has known from childhood who suddenly treats her like she might go zombie apocalypse on him at any moment and she doesn't quite understand why. There's a gritty, raw quality to the dystopia Bethany's created, and it continues in CURED. Fans of THE MAZE RUNNER will find tons to love in STUNG and CURED. I'm very excited to have Bethany with me today. Here's that interview:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Katrina: </b>I always have to ask, will there be a <a href="http://afterglowbookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/09/shifting-by-bethany-wiggins-swoonworthy.html">SHIFTING</a> sequel?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bethany: </b>I won't say no, because there is always the possibility that I will write a SHIFTING 2, but not any time in the near future. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K: </b>Your books always have unpredictable twists. Are these all plotted out in advance or do you sometimes surprise yourself?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bethany: </b>Some of them are thought out in advance (but not really plotted) and others surprise me just as much as they surprise the reader. I'll be sitting down, writing a scene, when something totally surprising hits me and I write it down. It's like the story takes on a life of its own. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K: </b>The truly terrifying thing about these books is the reality in which they are based, the idea that they could really happen. What do you think is the most realistic or true-to-life aspect of STUNG and CURED?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bethany: </b>I think the most true to life aspect of STUNG and CURED is the possibility of a natural disaster (earthquake, flood, extinction of bees etc.) drastically changing the way we live, and us having to all of a sudden start living our lives in a totally primitive way. Where would we get food and water? How would we stay warm? Who would we trust? We see this all the time around the world. Hopefully it will never happen, but you never know.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K: </b>What's next for you? Any exciting new projects you can tell us about?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bethany: </b>I am taking a short break from writing because I just had my fifth baby, but there are a few story ideas brewing in my head right now. It is only a matter of time before I start writing one. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K: </b>Congratulations on the new baby! </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What's one thing you must have with you when you write? A certain snack, music, or a mascot?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bethany: </b>Music! Music is my most important inspiration.</span></blockquote>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">K: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Thank you for answering my questions and for writing books I love to read!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">If you all haven't gotten your mitts on either of these books yet, I highly recommend you hightail it to your nearest bookstore or e-reader and get started. Trust me, you won't be able to put it down.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964809@N02/8465906560/" title="Katrina's blog pic by byuangel14, on Flickr"><img alt="Katrina's blog pic" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8465906560_b1b67c7b7a.jpg" height="500" width="458" /></a>Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-5517439011571187152013-11-09T06:31:00.002-08:002013-11-09T06:31:47.554-08:00News and New Books!!My first post on Operation Awesome in months went up yesterday and you can find out what I've been up to <a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2013/11/id-rather-be-writing.html">here</a>.<br />
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It involves this ...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isn't she beautiful?</td></tr>
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Between paperwork and meetings for our <a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2013/11/id-rather-be-writing.html">buying/building project</a> and baking a bun in the oven, I vacillate daily between Cloud 9 and Garbage Pail 5. It's a roller coaster-y time. But I find that to be true generally when my life is filled with blessings.<br />
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With every blessing comes a lot of work to make it worth it. New babies? Poopy diapers! New house? Unexpected expenses! New job? Awkward adjustment period!<br />
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While I've been hopping between clouds and garbage pails, so to speak, my blog partners have been very busy pumping out novels. Check them out:<br />
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Over the summer, <b>Michelle McLean</b> released ...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb07ixndCnnEd26qIrQ1FK-vAbOc2Dl0sC45Id-2og02rCVlKi28AGY3nkI80Y16NhsA5XdkehhilZF8MJvpBuac9a65LTcdQpCrKV0LnK9u2bi5k-wLVgErV6upS5-ASmZRquVmatCVNN/s1600/A+Bandit's+Broken+Heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb07ixndCnnEd26qIrQ1FK-vAbOc2Dl0sC45Id-2og02rCVlKi28AGY3nkI80Y16NhsA5XdkehhilZF8MJvpBuac9a65LTcdQpCrKV0LnK9u2bi5k-wLVgErV6upS5-ASmZRquVmatCVNN/s320/A+Bandit's+Broken+Heart.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bandits-Broken-Sisters-Entangled-Scandalous-ebook/dp/B00DFFGNI0/ref=tf_ssw?&linkCode=wss&tag=katllan-20">Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18077065-a-bandit-s-broken-heart?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></td></tr>
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<i><span style="color: #274e13;"><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">A woman with a past…</strong><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Widowed mother, Brynne Richardson, gave up her bandit activities when she left California to make a fresh start with her young daughter in Boston. Working for a handsome doctor fulfills her need to be useful and independent, but he creates another yearning she can’t deny. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">A man with a purpose…</strong><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Dr. Richard Oliver assumes Brynne is just another debutante hunting for a rich husband, until she intrigues him with her steady hand for stitches…and guns. He can’t put her out of his mind, but the young widow has mysteries he’s determined to unravel. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">A love in danger…</strong><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">When smugglers raid the much-needed supplies from the clinic, Brynne must resurrect her bandit persona for the good of the sick and the poor. Her secret life threatens to destroy everything she’s worked so hard to protect…her life, her family…and her heart.</span></span></i><br />
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and more recently ...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaq-XJaerpt4R-1RVGbYQ8qlPqJmGhavo2fGFufn_6IZGb8sDWRWfvX6cS-xRou6McY_bFsZTbltG_3jzR-g_6vBHgobq-BVAh-7Un7vKAAzxw0OnEo8penw30ky9GFRiXRHyQQIK43RHS/s1600/Wish+Upon+a+Star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaq-XJaerpt4R-1RVGbYQ8qlPqJmGhavo2fGFufn_6IZGb8sDWRWfvX6cS-xRou6McY_bFsZTbltG_3jzR-g_6vBHgobq-BVAh-7Un7vKAAzxw0OnEo8penw30ky9GFRiXRHyQQIK43RHS/s320/Wish+Upon+a+Star.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wish-Upon-Star-Entangled-After-ebook/dp/B00F1REB5M/ref=la_B0041OFZSS_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384006196&sr=1-5">Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18464828-wish-upon-a-star?from_search=true">Goodreads</a><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<i><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Ceri McKinley never stopped wishing that her ex-fiancé Jason Crickett would come back into her life. But when he finally does, he comes with a request that puts them both—and all of humanity—into jeopardy.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Jason only wants two things: to bury his brother properly and to convince Ceri to trust him again after he jilted her. But when Ceri agrees to help him get his brother back, they end up fighting for their lives as the second zombie uprising threatens them all.</span></span></i><br />
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And <b>Angela J. Townsend</b>, through Clean Teen publishing, released ...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj37fI-ul-yFy0s5-di5KhPhmIVgyAvkeOWomN9EWB3w6O58x0OusFhaT0cd6ePQMN3l2QQF0z2poh62x4fsEaMZ7OI1H7QoKwtAmDGddw7VeO2kGidzYQGGlkaVE0aCXYV3n3EbpW4fv8M/s1600/Angus+MacBain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj37fI-ul-yFy0s5-di5KhPhmIVgyAvkeOWomN9EWB3w6O58x0OusFhaT0cd6ePQMN3l2QQF0z2poh62x4fsEaMZ7OI1H7QoKwtAmDGddw7VeO2kGidzYQGGlkaVE0aCXYV3n3EbpW4fv8M/s320/Angus+MacBain.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Angus-MacBain-Island-Sleeping-Kings/dp/1940534100/ref=tf_ssw?&linkCode=wss&tag=katllan-20">Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18588931-angus-macbain-and-the-island-of-sleeping-kings?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></td></tr>
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<i><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Angus MacBain is unaware that his ancestral roots hail from an ancient sect of Scottish kings. When his dying grandfather gives him a dragon pendant, thirteen-year-old Angus learns of a legacy that will take him across an ocean to the island of Iona and thrust him into a heritage he did not know he had. </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">He soon discovers that his mother, whom he had believed dead, is really a seal fairy, in hiding from a dangerous enemy. To save her, Angus must undergo a perilous journey of destiny and power to battle an evil Dacian knight and those who serve him. With only his family shield and the advice of a wizened vampire hunter to protect him, Angus must navigate dangerous terrain and dark enemies, in a land where the past and the present mingle, and sleeping kings wake.</span></span></i><br />
and the day before Halloween ...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/River-Bones-Angela-J-Townsend-ebook/dp/B00GA29VH0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384006508&sr=1-1">Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18720868-river-of-bones?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">When 17-year-old Dharma Moore moves to Bayou country so her scam artist mother can work as a Paranormal Investigator, she discovers more than ghosts haunt the abandoned plantation they now call home. Centuries ago, a voodoo curse was placed on the swamp waters surrounding the old plantation by a murdered slave. A terrible curse that snares Dharma. To save herself, she must face the terror of the haunted waters, find the dead woman's skull and convince the slave's soul to release her from its torments. However, there is more to this curse for Dharma personally than anyone else knows as she discovers an ancient secret that links herself to the property—a secret kept from her by her own family. To survive, she must accept the help of locals and to learn to embrace the truth—that magic is not only real, but that it can be very, very deadly!</span></i></span><div>
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<b>Max Gladstone</b> and <b>Wes Chu</b> both came out with sequels to their big hits, THREE PARTS DEAD and THE LIVES OF TAO:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwL4bQQW4qEqw_Gp_86AzxVm-C-GhnAjYU-xLXHjHYW31Qnku4X_HNJ3SxGZhAEeT0g7M-Ctl6SIMcTScT18roNRNJPvmkjP_c3wsNWLJfglNKj0IJ-2f0v4wWgpFKgMOHFZRTTs6ugnT/s1600/Two+Serpents+Rise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwL4bQQW4qEqw_Gp_86AzxVm-C-GhnAjYU-xLXHjHYW31Qnku4X_HNJ3SxGZhAEeT0g7M-Ctl6SIMcTScT18roNRNJPvmkjP_c3wsNWLJfglNKj0IJ-2f0v4wWgpFKgMOHFZRTTs6ugnT/s320/Two+Serpents+Rise.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Two-Serpents-Rise-Craft-Sequence-ebook/dp/B00CQY7VMS/ref=tf_ssw?&linkCode=wss&tag=katllan-20">Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16059411-two-serpents-rise?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></td></tr>
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<i><span style="color: #7f6000;"><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">The new novel set in the addictive and compelling fantasy world of Three Parts Dead</strong><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Shadow demons plague the city reservoir, and Red King Consolidated has sent in Caleb Altemoc — casual gambler and professional risk manager — to cleanse the water for the sixteen million people of Dresediel Lex. At the scene of the crime, Caleb finds an alluring and clever cliff runner, crazy Mal, who easily outpaces him.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">But Caleb has more than the demon infestation, Mal, or job security to worry about when he discovers that his father — the last priest of the old gods and leader of the True Quechal terrorists — has broken into his home and is wanted in connection to the attacks on the water supply.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">From the beginning, Caleb and Mal are bound by lust, Craft, and chance, as both play a dangerous game where gods and people are pawns. They sleep on water, they dance in fire... and all the while the Twin Serpents slumbering beneath the earth are stirring, and they are hungry.</span></span></i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Deaths-Tao-Wesley-Chu/dp/0857663321/ref=tf_ssw?&linkCode=wss&tag=katllan-20">Amazon</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17726421-the-deaths-of-tao?from_search=true">Goodreads</a></td></tr>
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<i><span style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">The sequel to The Lives of Tao.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">The Prophus and the Genjix are at war. For centuries they have sought a way off-planet, guiding humanity’s social and technological development to the stage where space travel is possible. The end is now in sight, and both factions have plans to leave the Earth, but the Genjix method will mean the destruction of the human race.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">That’s a price they’re willing to pay.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">It’s up to Roen and Tao to save the world. Oh, dear…</span></span></i><br /><div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">So as you can see, my peeps have been busy bringing the AWESOME to the world of fiction. I'm so proud of them! If you get the chance, any one of these reads will transport you to another world with characters to love/hate and compelling endings. Happy reading!!</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964809@N02/8465906560/" title="Katrina's blog pic by byuangel14, on Flickr"><img alt="Katrina's blog pic" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8465906560_b1b67c7b7a.jpg" width="458" /></a></div>
Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-90909346877572375612013-09-11T09:25:00.000-07:002013-09-11T09:25:03.712-07:00Where I Was and How I Found Peace<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Never Forget 9/11</td></tr>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was my first month away at college, Brigham Young University. The Deseret Towers dorm common area had a big screen TV playing the news when I first heard classes would likely be canceled for the day. I watched the replaying footage of the second plane striking over and over again while reporters cried on air. As a Communications student, I would see the same footage played over the coming weeks as we discussed the way this event had rocked and changed the industry. My RA was a mess, worried about her family in New York. Nobody could get through on the phones. I didn't think I knew anybody immediately affected by the attacks, but I was still in shock. How could this happen here? <br /><br />On days like this one, war seems inevitable. There's a general sense of doom and unease. So I, along with tens of thousands of BYU students, filed into the Marriott Center for a prayer service--in place of the usual Tuesday devotional--searching for peace to quell the feeling of doom.</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">President Bateman said, "This morning, as most of you know, one of the greatest tragedies that has occurred on the mainland of the United States took place. Thousands of lives have been lost, and thousands have been injured." He appealed to us not to rush to judgment, not to be afraid, and to remember the good news of the gospel. Then he quoted Jesus: </span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Let me turn to the words of the Savior. At the Last Supper, after finishing the meal, the Savior and his disciples sang the Hallel. The words of the Hallel are from Psalms 113 to 118. Chapters 113 through 116 are sung before the meal, in which thanks are given to God for the deliverance from Egypt; chapters 117 and 118 are sung after the Passover meal. I invite you today to read those chapters in Psalms.</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Those chapters talk about being saved from death. They are talking about the Atonement. So, at the Last Supper with His eleven disciples—Judas having left and Jesus knowing where he was going—Jesus is then singing about His own death.</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In that setting He went on to talk to His disciples about the most precious gift He had to give them. That gift was the gift of the Holy Ghost. These are His words: <b>“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”</b> (John 14:26).</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then He said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27).</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He knows where He is going, and there is peace in His heart. He knows He is going to the garden, and He is going to the cross. He is telling them He is leaving them His peace.</span></span></blockquote>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).</span><br /><br /><a href="http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=249" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">FULL SPEECH</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;">, quoted above</span><br /><br /><a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/10/the-times-in-which-we-live?lang=zho&clang=eng" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">VIDEO: THE TIMES IN WHICH WE LIVE</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18px;">, October 2001 by President and Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley</span><br /><br /><a class="_58cn" data-pub="{"type":"hashtag","id":613429005350340,"source":null}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/remember" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">#remember</a></span><br />
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Jessica Brooks remembers over at Operation Awesome:<br />
<b><a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2013/09/using-your-words-remembering-september.html">Using Your Words -- Remembering September 11th</a></b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964809@N02/8465906560/" title="Katrina's blog pic by byuangel14, on Flickr"><img alt="Katrina's blog pic" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8465906560_b1b67c7b7a.jpg" width="458" /></a>Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-59333819178397518302013-08-27T15:22:00.002-07:002013-08-27T15:22:34.171-07:00THE DEATHS OF TAO Cover Love!<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Deaths-Tao-Wesley-Chu/dp/0857663321/ref=tf_ssw?&linkCode=wss&tag=katllan-20">The Deaths of Tao</a>, sequel to The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu, has a COVER and it's just as awesome as <a href="http://katrinalantznovelist.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-lives-of-tao-by-wesley-chu-cover.html">the first</a>:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17726421-the-deaths-of-tao">Add on goodreads</a></td></tr>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">The sequel to The Lives of Tao.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">The Prophus and the Genjix are at war. For centuries they have sought a way off-planet, guiding humanity’s social and technological development to the stage where space travel is possible. The end is now in sight, and both factions have plans to leave the Earth, but the Genjix method will mean the destruction of the human race.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">That’s a price they’re willing to pay.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">It’s up to Roen and Tao to save the world. Oh, dear…</span></i></div>
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It's out from Angry Robot Books <b>October 29th 2013</b>.<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Looking forward to reading this with the hubz! </div>
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If you missed it, check out <a href="http://afterglowbookreviews.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-sea-of-tranquility-by-katja-millay.html">Jessica Brooks's Afterglow Review of <i>The Sea of Tranquility</i> by Katja Millay</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964809@N02/8465906560/" title="Katrina's blog pic by byuangel14, on Flickr"><img alt="Katrina's blog pic" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8465906560_b1b67c7b7a.jpg" width="458" /></a>Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-44193151307926411502013-08-08T11:48:00.001-07:002013-08-08T11:48:32.906-07:00Blog Chain: This I Believe<b><a href="http://katekaryusquinn.blogspot.com/2013/08/this-i-believe.html">Kate</a> gave us today's topic: </b><span style="color: #660000;">This I believe. Do you find yourself repeating certain themes in your writing? Can readers glean what you believe in or some of your life philosophies from reading your work?</span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Beauty of Innocence</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Could readers glean what I believe from reading my work? Absolutely. I think it would be hard NOT to put that into my writing. Probably the most common themes people will find in my books are...</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">the elusiveness of reality </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">the importance of forgiveness and love </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">transcendence</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">innocence</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">human weakness</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">the need we all have for rescue</span></li>
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I'm still figuring out how I want to express these in my writing, genre-wise and topic-wise. But if you read my early drafts of diverse genres, you'll see similar themes emerging. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans, sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">How about you? What themes crop out of your life philosophies?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 25px;">Make sure to check out the other links on the Blog Chain! Catch up with </span><a href="http://christinefonseca.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #77a8d1; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 25px; text-decoration: none;">Christine Fonseca</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 25px;"> to see yesterday's blog chain post,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 25px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 25px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 25px;">and check out </span><a href="http://demitrialunetta.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #77a8d1; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 25px; text-decoration: none;">Demitria Lunetta</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 25px;">'s tomorrow.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964809@N02/8465906560/" title="Katrina's blog pic by byuangel14, on Flickr"><img alt="Katrina's blog pic" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8465906560_b1b67c7b7a.jpg" width="458" /></a>Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-36491875839445138802013-07-05T11:01:00.002-07:002013-07-05T11:02:04.496-07:00Daughter of Chaos Cover LoveHave you seen the new cover for DAUGHTER OF CHAOS by Jen McConnel?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm gushing over it at <a href="http://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2013/07/cover-love-daughter-of-chaos-by-jen.html">Operation Awesome today</a>. This is the first book I read for Month9Books which is getting published, due out March 2014. Be excited. Be very excited.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964809@N02/8465906560/" title="Katrina's blog pic by byuangel14, on Flickr"><img alt="Katrina's blog pic" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8465906560_b1b67c7b7a.jpg" width="458" /></a>Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-22191174974449685142013-06-20T11:41:00.000-07:002013-06-20T11:42:22.301-07:00Blog Chain: The Three Little Pigs<b>Amparo's says: </b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Confession: I can't draw to save my life. *sigh* If you had some seriously epic drawing skills (or if you already have them) which published book would you have loved to illustrate? Why does that book--and its characters/premise--strike you as something you'd love to work on as an artist?</span><br />
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Funny you should ask! I do occasionally write children's books, in the hope my mom will someday illustrate them for posterity, but yesterday I was thinking of a retelling of The Three Little Pigs. I have three little boys and they are currently obsessed with it. They get under the stairs and pretend the wolf is on top of the stairs trying to get in through the chimney. Adorable! Anyway, the other day I came up with a slightly adapted version for my three-year-old, and he loved it so much I thought I'd write it down and turn it into a custom picture book. I haven't done it yet, but it wouldn't be that hard. </div>
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What WOULD be hard, of course, is the illustration. I am not a talented artist and haven't ever really put in the time to become one. Still, I might illustrate this book (pigs aren't so hard, especially if you draw them wearing overalls). </div>
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What I love about the story is <b>the lesson of building on a sure foundation</b> so you can't be blown away with the wind. It goes nicely with my boys' favorite bedtime song:</div>
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The wise man built his house upon a rock.</div>
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The wise man built his house upon a rock.</div>
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The wise man built his house upon a rock,</div>
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And the rains came tumbling down.</div>
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The rains came down and the floods came up.</div>
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The rains came down and the floods came up.</div>
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The rains came down and the floods came up,</div>
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And the house on the rock stood firm!</div>
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The foolish man built his house upon the sand.</div>
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The foolish man built his house upon the sand.</div>
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The foolish man built his house upon the sand,</div>
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And the rains came tumbling down.</div>
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The rains came down and the floods came up.</div>
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The rains came down and the floods came up.</div>
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The rains came down and the floods came up,</div>
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And the house on the sand washed away! </div>
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I realize it's not really the spirit of the question, which would be what I'd like to work on visually! After watching the movie Thor, I think I'd like best to work on something from another planet because the majestic scope of the cinematography in that movie was just breathtaking. So maybe Thor or Superman or certain scenes from The Lord of the Rings. But for practical purposes, the thing I'd most like to be able to draw right now is The Three Little Pigs. :)<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />Make sure to check out the other links on the Blog Chain! Catch up with <a href="http://christinefonseca.blogspot.com/">Christine Fonseca</a> to see yesterday's blog chain post,<br /><br />and check out <a href="http://demitrialunetta.blogspot.com/">Demitria Lunetta</a>'s tomorrow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964809@N02/8465906560/" title="Katrina's blog pic by byuangel14, on Flickr"><img alt="Katrina's blog pic" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8465906560_b1b67c7b7a.jpg" width="458" /></a></div>
Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-41733797731708968622013-06-06T19:43:00.000-07:002013-06-06T22:45:03.659-07:00Blog Chain: Summer Flings: Do they really exist?I chose the topic for Blog Chain this time around:<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Have you ever written a summer fling? Or are all your fictional relationships the deep, forever kind? If you did write one, how would it begin (the meet cute)? Where would it be set? Give us a few paragraphs sample. </span><br />
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Surprisingly, though I wrote this prompt, I haven't really written a summer fling. I'll have to think of a new one for the assignment. </div>
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<b>Synopsis:</b> Jaron, a philosophy student visiting hick cousins in Ohio, falls off a hay wagon and lands on a stranger's farm in the middle of nowhere. After blacking out, he comes to with the barrel of Agnes' rifle at his nose. An endlessly practical but lovely corn farmer, she's in the middle of a feud with the mega-farm ten miles upwind, who claims she's growing their patented seeds. The last thing she needs at her door is one of their spies. While Mr. Philosophy waxes poetic about her corn-silken mane and muses over the possibility that reality is completely subjective, Agnes tries to get in touch with his cousins so he can do what men do best and leave. Jaron doesn't remember their phone number, he lost his phone in the fall, and can only tell her their names and horribly mispronounce the town where they live. </div>
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<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Sample:</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">"Coshocktown? You mean Coshocton?" Agnes rubbed her forehead with her whole palm. "You're in Plainfield. That's at least ten miles and it ain't flat."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">"Well, could I trouble you for a ride?" Ten miles didn't seem that far. Maybe he could take a hike in the morning, after the rain stopped.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Her hand fell to her side and she stared. "Our truck mysteriously stopped working two days back. About the same time another young gentleman came poking around the farm. Another spy!"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Back to the conspiracy theories again. Her patience for his theories on existentialism wasn't likely to improve, either. He'd have to try another tactic. "Our? Is there a <i>Mister </i>Cornsilk?"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Her eyes went from narrowed to slit-thin. "No. And there never will be. If it weren't for this stupid rain and the flash flood warning I'd send you on your way on foot." </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">She spun around and tossed a folded quilt. He caught it with his stomach.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">"This must be the Midwestern hospitality I've heard so much about," Jaron mused.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">"Don't get too used to it."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">A little boy with brown hair like a sheepdog and brand new Levi denim walked into the room with a math book. "Explain it again, Aggie? I can't figure out these stupid fractions! Who's that?"</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">With a deep sigh, Agnes took the boy under her wing and gestured toward Jaron. "This is what a city boy looks like. Take a good look at those skinny limbs and baby-soft hands. It's what happens to a person who forgets how to work." She gave the boy a swat on the bum and told him she'd be in to tuck him in soon. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Jaron's made-for-children grin collapsed. "Nice. Really nice. You know, you're shaping his reality, too."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Agnes groaned. "Good night!" </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Before he could even think of a response, Jaron found himself alone in a dark, wood-paneled room on a tattered sofa, with only a mutt for company. </span><br />
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Make sure to check out the other links on the Blog Chain! <b style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Catch up with <a href="http://christinefonseca.blogspot.com/" style="color: #77a8d1; text-decoration: none;">Christine Fonseca</a> to see yesterday's blog chain post,<br /><br />and check out <a href="http://demitrialunetta.blogspot.com/" style="color: #77a8d1; text-decoration: none;">Demitria Lunetta</a>'s tomorrow.</b></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b><br /></b></span></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964809@N02/8465906560/" title="Katrina's blog pic by byuangel14, on Flickr"><img alt="Katrina's blog pic" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8465906560_b1b67c7b7a.jpg" width="458" /></a></div>
Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-12074519900305841602013-06-04T08:53:00.001-07:002013-06-04T08:53:11.101-07:00A Sensitive Little Girl, a Long-suffering Woman, and a Miracle ManWhat's been on my reading pile lately?<br />
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Well, I'm glad you asked! I've been dying to share:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><i><img alt="Understood Betsy" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1245261923l/347151.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></i></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/347151.Understood_Betsy"><i>Goodreads</i></a></td></tr>
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<i><br />A warm and charming portrayal of life in the early 1900s. Sheltered 9 year old Elizabeth Ann has always heard her Aunt Frances talk about "those horrid Vermont cousins." Now she is terrified. Aunt Frances can no longer take care of her, and she has been sent to stay with her New England relatives. "Betsy" gradually comes to enjoy the challenge of living with her country cousins, and she has a difficult choice to make. A delightful book.</i></blockquote>
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<b>My thoughts:</b> I haven't had so much fun since Anne of Green Gables. Highly recommended to women with daughters, or just women who remember being little girls. <br />
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I actually read this with my oldest son, who is six years old, and he had trouble sitting through read-aloud time with it. I believe this says more about little boys in general than it does about this charming book. I would read it again, and I'm sure I will with my other two boys. The shift in perspective it offers to a new time, a new place, and universal human experience is of great worth.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><i><img alt="Persuasion" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298411870l/2156.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></i></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2156.Persuasion"><i>Goodreads</i></a></td></tr>
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<i>Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne's family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate. All the tension of the novel revolves around one question: Will Anne and Wentworth be reunited in their love?<br />Jane Austen once compared her writing to painting on a little bit of ivory, 2 inches square. Readers of Persuasion will discover that neither her skill for delicate, ironic observations on social custom, love, and marriage nor her ability to apply a sharp focus lens to English manners and morals has deserted her in her final finished work.</i></blockquote>
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<b>My thoughts:</b> I particularly loved the conversation between Anne and Harville near the end about who loves strongest and longest between men and women. The warmth of the conversation made what could have been an obnoxious debate into something healing for everyone who heard it. It's likely the part which will stand singularly in my memory when this title is mentioned in the future.<br />
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I read this for book club and some of the insights gained there helped me to appreciate it even more. Not only was this Jane Austen's last finished work, but she was apparently very eager to finish it before she died. This explains its short length and the less polished parts of the book. But it also makes the symmetry and depth of character all the more amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed Persuasion and would read it again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><i><img alt="Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369086055l/15851746.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></i></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15851746-proof-of-heaven">Goodreads</a><br /><br /></i></td></tr>
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<i>A SCIENTIST’S CASE FOR THE AFTERLIFE Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress.<br />Then, Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion—and in essence makes us human—shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander’s eyes popped open. He had come back.<br />Alexander’s recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself.<br />Alexander’s story is not a fantasy. Before he underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. Today Alexander is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition.<br />This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary. No scientist or person of faith will be able to ignore it. Reading it will change your life.</i></blockquote>
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<b>My thoughts: </b><br /><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">"But while I was in coma my brain hadn't been working improperly. <i>It hadn't been working at all.</i> The part of my brain that years of medical school had taught me was responsible for creating the world I lived and moved in and for taking the raw data that came in through my senses and fashioning it into a meaningful universe: that part of my brain was down, and out. And yet despite all of this, I had been alive, and aware, truly aware, in a universe characterized above all by love, consciousness, and reality.... There was, for me, simply no arguing this fact. I knew it so completely that I ached. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />What I'd experienced was more real than the house I sat in, more real than the logs burning in the fireplace. Yet there was no room for that reality in the medically trained scientific worldview that I'd spent years acquiring.<br /><br />How was I going to create room for both of these realities to coexist?"</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">-Eben Alexander, M.D. from Proof of Heaven, a Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife</span><br /><br />Review:<br /><br />Absolutely phenomenal NDE narrative. Near-death experiences are a fascination of mine and I've read many, all interesting and edifying in some way, all similar as Dr. Eben Alexander discusses. But this one is unique in two major ways:<br /><br />1) The status of Dr. Eben Alexander as a known and acclaimed neurosurgeon, a confessed skeptic of extended consciousness phenomenon and religion, and a bacterial meningitis patient who was comatose 6 full days, miraculously making a full recovery beginning on the seventh. <br /><br />2) The writing. Dr. Alexander's wife, Holley, apparently has a higher degree in fine arts and I'm going to guess she's a writer. While I don't want to take anything from the work of the good doctor, I am going to assume that much of the emotional beauty and literary finery in this record is due to her influence. In the acknowledgments he does thank her along with a few others for editing. Most NDE stories, while still fascinating and wonderful, are written rather poorly. There are emotional moments here and there and a great deal of thought-provoking imagery as people try to explain exactly what happened and what they saw in a place too good for words. But I never opened up one of these books expecting to be transported so completely as I was in Proof of Heaven. <br /><br />The marriage of these two special situations makes Proof of Heaven my new favorite NDE account, surpassing <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/824844.Return_from_Tomorrow">Return From Tomorrow</a> by George C. Ritchie, which got me interested in these stories in the first place. <br /><br /><b>To sum up: </b>read it. It is soul-lifting for the believer and mind-opening for the true skeptic.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Your turn to share! What have you been reading?</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964809@N02/8465906560/" title="Katrina's blog pic by byuangel14, on Flickr"><i><img alt="Katrina's blog pic" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8465906560_b1b67c7b7a.jpg" width="458" /></i></a>Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571939125765761515.post-57601332758497346492013-05-09T10:52:00.000-07:002013-05-09T10:52:02.710-07:00Blog Chain: His eyes narrowed... again. (Overusing words/scenes)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Sy2euTLpYy0wbU4uPaLZc58oS7detF_Trk-8M97ZautipEVsgOSAg3edMTb-Fad2EcJVIqBSIa0YYD2TvAhrXSJN2Qul7oU-p9Xc8o-9hTAvUUzKnrWX8fp7s9V5cHCJcmV2n7nrjb49/s1600/narrowed+eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Sy2euTLpYy0wbU4uPaLZc58oS7detF_Trk-8M97ZautipEVsgOSAg3edMTb-Fad2EcJVIqBSIa0YYD2TvAhrXSJN2Qul7oU-p9Xc8o-9hTAvUUzKnrWX8fp7s9V5cHCJcmV2n7nrjb49/s320/narrowed+eyes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://mayu.com.au/2011/10/07/narrowed-eyes-on-a-duplicate-world/">Source</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://christinefonseca.blogspot.com/">Christine</a> asks: <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">What are your "go-to" scenes or phrases? You know, the ones you have to remind yourself NOT to use too frequently? What do you do to keep yourself from being overly reliant on them?</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></b>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I have any go-to scenes, they're probably revolving around relationships. I feel like I'm always writing a falling out or a making up. This means there are a lot of repetitions I have to watch out for in my writing, like <i>fuming</i> and <i>eyes narrowed</i>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">I find the synonym project by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi to be the most useful tool in revisions for getting rid of these little glitches. They have a book out called the <a href="http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/2008/01/introducing-thesaurus-thursdays.html">Emotions Thesaurus</a> that is an essential reference tool. In the sidebar at that link, you'll also see character traits, physical traits, setting, and symbols. They've got unique ways to say pretty much everything! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">What scenes or phrases do you over-use?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Catch up with <a href="http://christinefonseca.blogspot.com/" style="color: #77a8d1; text-decoration: none;">Christine Fonseca</a> to see yesterday's blog chain post,<br /><br />and check out <a href="http://demitrialunetta.blogspot.com/" style="color: #77a8d1; text-decoration: none;">Demitria Lunetta</a>'s tomorrow.</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/37964809@N02/8465906560/" title="Katrina's blog pic by byuangel14, on Flickr"><img alt="Katrina's blog pic" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8465906560_b1b67c7b7a.jpg" width="458" /></a>Katrina L. Lantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06871272394922775923noreply@blogger.com1