and we're off!

wordcount widgets

No Plot, No Problem

My friend gave me Chris Baty's No Plot, No Problem for my birthday. I am excited to read it as I go through my fourth NaNoWriMo.

From the Stacks Challenge

Well, you know I can't pass up another challenge. This one is called "From the Stacks." I just don't know which TBR books that I own, that I need to put on a list! (Some of these are actually on other challenge lists, but some are not.)

RULES: 5 books, from Nov. 1st until Jan. 30.

1. No Plot, No Problem by Chris Baty.
2. Sushi for One? by Camy Tang
3. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
4. Finding Hope by Brenda Coulter
5. Going to the Chapel by Janet Tronstad

Book Blog Tour: Miralee Ferrell's The Other Daughter

Hello and welcome to my blog tour for Miralee Ferrell's debut novel The Other Daughter. I am a fellow ACFW member and volunteered to help get the word out about her new book. I haven't had the opportunity to read it yet; my copy hasn't arrived in the mail. However, when I do, I will most certainly post a review for you here.

Here’s a brief summary of the novel:

The girl standing at the door took a deep breath, pulling her suitcase a little closer to her trembling legs. "My mama's dead. He's my daddy."

Susanne Carson knew that she could trust the love of her life—her husband, David—until she discovered a strange, unkempt young girl on their doorstep, claiming to be David's daughter.

Not that their marriage had ever been perfect—David's decision to embrace the Christian faith had strained their relationship. Susanne may not have agreed with his beliefs, but at least she trusted him. Had David been hiding this not-so-little secret from his past? He wanted Susanne to believe in his God, but believing hadn't done much to keep David out of another woman's arms.

As David confronts the truth of his past, Susanne must face her own moment of truth as her marriage is taken to the breaking point and the life of one young girl is left in her hands.

And now, here’s a brief interview with the author:

You have a book about forgiveness, secrets, healing and faith. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

Great question and one has a very personal answer. I was brainstorming with a friend who suggested I use an experience from my life as the basis or theme for my first novel. I ran through several scenarios in my head, as we've had many interesting things happen in our marriage...some great, some not. This personal incident did indeed capture the essence of secrets, forgiveness and healing...not as much in my life as in our marriage and the life of an 18 yr old girl. About 17 yrs ago my husband received a letter stating a young woman believed him to be her biological father she'd never met. We agreed to meet and hear her story, and after some investigation came to believe he probably was her dad. The episode was similar to that of David in the book...a one night stand prior to his becoming a Christian, but that's where the similarity stops. He was not dating me at the time, and I had a strong relationship with the Lord and didn't have a problem accepting Trish into our lives.

Which fiction book on your shelf has been read the most often, and what keeps pulling you back to that story?

I have several authors that keep pulling me back…I discovered Gene Stratton Porter and Harold Bell Wright in high school when I first read Freckles, Girl of the Limberlost, and Shepherd of the Hills. I love anything these early twentieth century authors wrote and own first editions of several of their works. The writing in the early 1900’s had so much more depth than much of what’s being written now. The descriptions were exquisite…that’s the only way I can describe how they wrote. The stories were unusual and you knew the characters personally, and cared about them deeply. H B Wright especially had thought provoking messages woven through his fiction that would stay with a reader for days, if not weeks to come.

What else are you working on?

I’m working on Past Shadows (might also be called “Sheltered”), the sequel to The Other Daughter, and hope to have it ready to turn in to my editor in early November. I’ve also started something new for me, an 1880’s novel set in Washington state…I’m hesitating to say it’s a romance, but it looks like it might be heading that direction. I’m playing around with another idea for a stand-alone women’s contemporary with an unusual twist. I’m hoping to start it as soon as Past Shadows is finished. There could also be a #3 in this series, and if so, we’ll return to Brianna, the 13 yr old girl who arrives at the Carson’s door…at the age of 23.

Do you have any parting words of advice?

Keep your priorities in order…God first, family next, ministry and others (including your writing) third. Write for the Lord, and yourself, rather than to be published. It will cut way down on the disappointment and frustration level, and bring a deep sense of joy and accomplishment.

Author Bio:

I'm over 50, married for 35 years this July, and have two wonderful children, Marnee and Steven. I'm active at our small church, serving on staff with my ministerial license and working with women in a counseling/ministering capacity. My husband and I are looking forward to full retirement soon and taking off for a few months at a time on our 51' sailboat, where my writing will take on an entirely new creativity. We have a horse, a dog and three cats that my daughter and her husband will inherit while we're gone. Thankfully, they live on the adjoining property and are animal lovers.

Author website: www.miraleeferrell.com

Author’s blog: http://www.miraleesdesk.blogspot.com/

Thanks for hosting me on your blog. It's been such fun chatting with you and I do hope your readers will take a minute to pop over to my web site and read the opening scene of The Other Daughter, then consider purchasing a copy and passing the word to their friends!

Blessings,

Miralee Ferrell

Thanks, Miralee!

Be sure to leave a comment on my blog and you'll be entered for Miralee's drawing for a free book! She'll be drawing from all comments on all stops on her blog tour. (And just as an aside, you never know if you'll win, so take a chance and enter by leaving me a comment! Thanks!)

Other book blog tour stops:

24th Cecelia Dowdy---New Christian Fiction Reviews
www.ceceliadowdy.blogspot.com

Tiffany Amber Stockton--A Fiction-Filled Life
www.ambermiller.com

25th Bonnie Way---The Koala Bear Writer
http://thekoalabearwriter.blogspot.com

Stormi Johnson---Write Thoughts
http://writesthoughts.blogspot.com

26th Robin Grant---Queen Of Perseverance
http://queenofperseverance.blogspot.com

27th Delia Latham---The Melody Within
http://themelodywithin.blogspot.com

My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
(This was actually my backup book, but this way if I don't get the other two in my stack read, if I read at least one more, I'll be good to finish this challenge!)

This was a reread for me, and even though I knew the outcome and dreaded it, it was a good exercise in looking for foreshadowing and clues and hints this time around. I chose to reread it because it is an OSC Book Club read for tomorrow night. (This is my first in-real-life book club and I can't wait to go!)

I highly recommend this novel. It has a lot to say about family, about sisters, and about genetics and modern medicine.

Synopsis from the author's website:

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never questioned… until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable… a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life… even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less?

OHHHHH and a movie is going to be made of this novel!!!!!!

Cameron Diaz courts a 'Keeper' role:Actress to star in Cassavetes-directed drama

By MICHAEL FLEMING

Cameron Diaz will star in "My Sister's Keeper," a Nick Cassavetes-directed adaptation of the Jodi Picoult novel for New Line Cinema. Shooting will begin early next year.

The drama was scripted by Jeremy Leven and will be produced by Mark Johnson, both of whom made "The Notebook" with Cassavetes for New Line.

Diaz had been circling the film for weeks, but negotiations have heated up and a deal should be completed shortly.

Thesp will play a former defense attorney who returns to the courtroom to defend herself and her husband when they are sued by their 13-year-old daughter for emancipation. The girl was conceived as a genetic match with the hope she could prolong her cancer-ridden sister's life.

Johnson most recently produced "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," and he is prepping the Michael Apted-directed "Chronicles of Narnia" sequel "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

food for thought

on Tricia Goyer's Writing Mentor blog today:


And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.

~~Sylvia Plath

(PS: This means I'm my own worst enemy!)

Picture Perfect

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

Synopsis from her website:

As Picture Perfect begins, it is daybreak in downtown L.A. A woman suffering from amnesia is taken in by an officer new to the L.A. police force, after he finds her wandering aimlessly near a graveyard. Days later, when her husband comes to claim her at the police station, no one is more stunned than Cassie Barrett to learn that not only is she a renowned anthropologist, but she is married to Hollywood's leading man, Alex Rivers.

As Alex helps Cassie become reaccustomed to her fairy-tale existence, fragments of memory return: the whirlwind romance on location in Africa, her major anthropological discovery, the trajectory of Alex's career. Yet as Cassie settles into her glamour-filled life, uneasiness nags at her. She senses there is something troubling and wild that would alter the picture of her perfect marriage.

Pattie's comments:

This is my third Picoult read, and it will not be the last. This book kept me up till this morning at 1:00, so I could finish it. It is very, very good. It is not what I expected it to be, exactly. I mean, I suspected things were not all as they seemed, but the way the story unfolded, I had sympathy for each character, and each is flawed. Even the worst villain in the story garners more than a bit of my sympathy, in spite of his evil actions.

I don't know how Jodi Picoult does it, but she has a way of making sure each of her characters is good AND bad, very real, and sympathetic.