Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Quote of the Week
Not exactly my usual "Quote of the Week" but spotted this HILARIOUS cartoon on my English-major daughter's Facebook status. It's a cartoon by Jacob Andrews (writer of forlackofabettercomic.com). originally published in the August 17, 2011 Huffington Post College. LOVE IT!!
Quote of the Week
"I learned that you should feel when writing, not like Lord Byron on a mountain top, but like a child stringing beads in kindergarten - happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another."
~ Brenda Ueland ~
Image by: Clarkston SCAMP
Kreativ Blogger Award
Now you will all know the truth about how unbalanced I am. Wait, that doesn’t sound right. Awww, never mind. I guess it does.
Annnnnyway…
One of my favorite author friends, Heidi Willis, presented me with the Kreativ Blogger Award back in (cough) February. And I’m only just now getting around to officially thanking her for it and following the directions that go along with accepting it.
I’m supposed to write ten things about myself and then pass the award on to a few bloggers I enjoy. So, here goes!
Ten Random Things…
1. All my spices are alphabetized.
2. I tend to “speak” in movie quotes. A lot. (I do it often enough that my kids and hubby can usually complete the next line of dialogue when I start it. I know, that’s bad, right?)
3. I laugh really hard at my own jokes. Even if nobody else does.
4. I ALWAYS read the manual.
5. I’m a slow reader and try to make up for it by reading 2-3 books at the same time.
6. The minute I finish a book I really like, I immediately do an Internet search for every interview with the author I can find.
7. I’ve tricked my son into watching a variety of musicals as well as the first three Twilight episodes.
8. I never got to perform in a play in high school, but got the lead in the first college play I tried out for.
9. Um…I started running out of ideas here, so I just asked my daughter to give me a random fact about myself and she said, “You hold one-sided conversations with the dog.” Yeah. It’s true, I do. I say something. Then I make him say something. Then I respond. And so on. It’s sad really.
10. Okay, this last one is going to make me sound really mean, but I purposely park next to cars that are poorly parked (like on huge angles over the line and stuff.) I park right in the center of my space which typically makes it difficult for the bad parker to get back into their car. I feel like I’m performing a public service when I do this, though. I’m helping that driver become aware of the need to park more considerately in the future.
Now, let me send you on to some blogs I enjoy--beside’s Heidi's, of course!
Teresa is über talented and funny. A writer, homeschooling mom and unlike me, she grows stuff her family can actually eat!
Freelance journalist and author Kristine Meldrum Denholm shares interesting posts and encouragement for writers.
Annette Piper is a talented jewelry artist who blogs about her awesome creations and her life on a cattle farm in rural Australia.
Nancy blogs about her faith and life in the Midwest.
Ivy is a talented singer and writer. She blogs about her family, faith and living life to the fullest.
Selective Attention
I’m currently deep in research for an article I’m working on and in my research I came across this fascinating video. At least I found it fascinating! I challenge you all to give it a try--it’s super short, only a little over a minute-- then post a comment to let me know how you did!
Author Interview: Taylor Stevens
© Alyssa Skyes
Last week I posted my review of THE INNOCENT, the second novel by New York Times best selling author Taylor Stevens. And this week, as promised, here is my interview with this most intriguing author.
HB: In my first interview with you, you mentioned initially writing THE INFORMATIONIST as a way to bring the exotic worlds of Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to life for readers. What was your impetus for writing THE INNOCENT?
TS: It was pretty much the same impetus, just a different exotic world. I am so often asked if I’d be willing to talk a little about my life growing up in the Children of God, but it was such a bizarre and often-changing environment that it’s impossible to accurately summarize in even a couple of paragraphs or even one article. So basically, in THE INNOCENT, my intent was to do what I did in THE INFORMATIONIST, which was to take the readers hand and say, come let me show you a world you’ll hopefully never experience, and I will try to do it in a way that is also thrilling and entertaining.
HB: I know you were able to rely somewhat on memory and personal experience while writing THE INNOCENT. But when research is required, how do you handle it?
TS: Much of what I write involves foreign locations and although I can get a general idea of what I’m working with by utilizing the Internet, mostly what I get is anxiety while I wonder how much I’m getting wrong. My solution so far has been to visit the places in question and to interview and talk to people who are experts in subjects with which I’m unfamiliar, but considering the ideas that I have for Munroe number four, I may soon have to cross my fingers and settle for the anxiety.
HB: It’s totally awesome the way Munroe kicks butt! How do you go about crafting those page-turning action scenes? Are you trained in martial arts or fighting techniques?
TS: One day I’d like to learn Krav Maga (which is the closest to the way Munroe fights) but I’m still very much a scaredy-cat in real life. Many readers do comment on the vividness and intensity of the action sequences, but I think the credit is theirs, not mine. I try to avoid over-explaining every single move that each character makes, instead focusing on what they are thinking/ feeling while the action is occurring, and I believe this allows the readers’ own imagination to fill in the blanks and create the intensity and visual sharpness.
HB: How big a factor do you feel social media has played in your success?
TS: I spend a lot of time on Facebook and a little bit on Twitter, but I do it for the purpose of interacting with my readers and fans, not necessarily to promote my books. I’ve never really put a lot of effort into social media for the purpose of promotion as that feels so much like screaming into the wind. I do think that social media has played a role, but more as a byproduct of how people communicate in this day and age—one person to the next in a word-of-mouth sort of way. I’m very grateful that my readers have felt this series is worth talking about!
HB: I understand you're in the process of editing your third Vanessa Michael Munroe novel, THE DOLL. Can you give us any hints as to what it’s about?
TS: In THE DOLL, Vanessa Michael Munroe is thrust into a world of human trafficking and sexual slavery, forced to deliver a missing Hollywood starlet to a client in order to protect the ones she loves. If she succeeds, she'll guarantee the young girl's demise, and if she fails, seal the fate of others. Win or lose, Munroe will pay her dues in the only currency she values: innocent life, and so must choose who lives, who dies, or find a way to outthink and outsmart a man who holds all the cards.
HB: Is there a question which no interviewer ever asks that you wish they did?
TS: Only once have I ever been asked by an interviewer how much of what’s already in print about me is accurate. I wish people would ask that more because I have rarely read an article or interview about me or my work that is 100% factual. I have been lied to, and about, and deliberately misquoted, but most of the time the errors aren’t malicious—just mistakes and/or misunderstandings on the part of the interviewer. But the thing is, when people read stuff in print they assume that a quote is something I really said, in context, word for word. Half the time, it’s not.
Thanks so very much, Taylor! (Uh…hopefully, I didn’t get any quotes wrong, but please let me know if I did!)
Book Review: The Innocent
Author: Taylor Stevens
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Crown Publishers, 2011
Excerpt
Vanessa Munroe gasped. Curtains in the room rustled lightly. The call to prayer sounded from minarets across the city and her hand was still gripping the handle of a knife plunged into the other side of the king-size mattress.
Awareness settled, and she let go of the knife as if scalded, rolling off the bed in the same movement.
She stared.
The blade had struck twice and stood in silent witness to the increasing ferocity of the nightmares. The sheets were soaked with sweat. She glanced at her tank top and boxers. Drenched. And Noah, had he not left for work early this morning, would have been dead.
The Story
This is the second novel by New York Times bestselling author Taylor Stevens. In her first book, The Informationist, we’re introduced to Vanessa Michael Munroe. A woman with an unusual set of skills, in an unusual line of work. In The Innocent, we journey with Munroe into the secret world of a cult known as The Chosen. Several childhood survivors of the cult have banded together and hired Munroe to rescue Hannah, a child who was abducted eight years ago by the cult.
Faced with a world unlike anything she’s encountered before, Munroe must infiltrate this closed community. And struggling against her own increasingly violent nature, she must navigate her way among unpredictable cult members, their dangerous associates, and the impatient team who hired her, in her effort to save the child before the window of opportunity closes and Hannah is lost forever.
My Thoughts
I have to say, author Taylor Stevens has won me over to the thriller genre. This book rocked!
Although I read a wide variety of writing, I hadn’t read many (if any!) thrillers before reading her debut novel last year, The Informationist. In this second book featuring the intriguing and powerful Vanessa Michael Munroe, Stevens balances plenty of gripping action and suspense with in-depth glimpses of Munroe’s more vulnerable side.
We also get to witness plenty of Munroe’s skills and chameleon-like abilities as she blends into the world of the religious cult. According to Stevens, this story contains autobiographical hints drawn from her personal experiences as a child growing up within the Children of God cult. Munroe is brilliant, tough and fearless with the gratifying abilities of a real-life superhero, able to extricate herself from the most impossible and life-threatening situations. Some may say she’s over the top, but I think she’s cool! I read books for escape, and this is an escape! I found The Innocent a true “thriller” in all that the word implies.
You can purchase a copy of The Innocent here.
About the Author
Stay tuned for my interview with
author Taylor Stevens in my next post!
Author Photograph © Alyssa Skyes
Quote of the Week
"One of the greatest things about being a writer
is that I can get paid for getting
answers to my own questions!"
~ Jenna Glatzer ~
Quote of the Week
"It’s not the hours you put in your work that count, it’s the work you put in the hours."
~ Sam Ewing ~
Image by: meddygarnet
Quote of the Week
"Like stones, words are laborious and unforgiving, and the fitting of them together, like the fitting of stones, demands great patience and strength of purpose and particular skill."
~ Edmund Morrison ~
Image by: DartmoorGiant
Quote of the Week
"For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can."
~ Ernest Hemingway ~
Image by: Lloyd Arnold
The Real Way to Handle Stress
I poked at the baked chicken and broccoli on my dinner plate and sighed. “I’m not really hungry.”
“Why not?” Josh forked in another mouthful, chewing industriously.
“Uh…I think I ate too much earlier,” I mumbled.
He arched a brow. “Moooom? Were you stress eating again?”
I arched a brow right back at him and getting up from the dinner table, walked over to his homework spot to point out the towering pile of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup wrappers.
“Yeah, well…” At least he had the grace to look sheepish.
My son and I were both under a lot of pressure last week. He had high school finals to contend with, and I had a writing project with a tight deadline. Unfortunately, even after years of careful parenting, I’ve managed to pass my terrible stress-eating habit onto my boy. We both chowed down on junk food with abandon.
The thing is, I know it’s not healthy. I think every stress eater knows it’s not healthy. So why do we do it? Why does our body crave stuff that’s not good for us whenever we’re under pressure?
I “Googled” the topic and discovered one reason may be because under stress, our body produces extra cortisol, a.k.a. “the stress hormone.” And cortisol causes cravings for sweet and salty food, a.k.a. “junk food.” In the olden days, cortisol served a purpose, helping people bulk up on food to sustain them through times of scarcity. However, here in the suburban Midwest, where food is rarely scarce, we simply bulk up. Period.
Another reason we may stress eat is simply nervous energy. Some people bite their nails or grind their teeth. And some people eschew the unopened bag of baked tortilla chips and instead munch on Cheetos, or endless strands of Twizzlers, or uh…stuff like that, maybe.
Then I Googled, “healthy ways to deal with stress,” and found a bunch of common sense advice from experts. After contemplating it all, I thought, Really? And came up with my own, more practical advice (at least I think it’s more practical):
EXPERT TIP #1: EXERCISE.
My advice: FUGGEDABOUT IT.
I actually enjoy exercising, but now isn’t the time! (Okay, maybe squeeze in a few daily stretches to stay loose.)
EXPERT TIP #2: AVOID CAFFEINE AND SUGAR; EAT HEALTHY, BALANCED MEALS.
My advice: NOT. HAPPENING!
My daughter’s away at college and my boy is 17 years old. They both know a healthy diet includes fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and high-grain breads. I’ve done my job. So if I choose to eat three Snickers Bars for dinner one night, what’s the big deal? The key is, don’t force yourself to eat the healthy food on top of it. And voilá! Weight gain successfully avoided! But DO load up on vitamins! This helps counteract the effect of all the unhealthy eating. And as far as caffeine, I say drink up! This counteracts the sugar crash you’re sure to experience from ingesting all the junk food and keeps you going well into the wee hours.
EXPERT TIP #3: RELAX: GET PLENTY OF SLEEP, TAKE LONG BATHS WITH SCENTED CANDLES, GET A MASSAGE, CALL A FRIEND, OR CURL UP WITH A GOOD BOOK.
My advice: SERIOUSLY. NOT HAPPENING!
C’mon! One of the big reasons we’re stressed is because we don’t have enough time to do what needs to be done. So how are we supposed to fit in all this great stress-relieving stuff?! You can do all those things when the crisis is over. Think of them as rewards for a stressful situation well handled.
Disclaimer: I am NOT a medical expert, I’m only playing one on this blog. This advice is purely for entertainment purposes and any similarity to real advice is a bizarre coincidence.
So how do you handle stress? Any healthy tips?
Quote of the Week
"Standing at his appointed place, at the trunk of the tree, he does nothing other than gather and pass on what comes to him from the depths.
And the beauty at the crown is not his own.
He is merely a channel."
~ Paul Klee ~
Image by: Grand Canyon NPS
Quote of the Week
"Success is a finished book, a stack of pages each of which is filled with words. If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself
no less impressive than sailing
single-handed around the world."
~Tom Clancy ~
Photograph © Joshua Bowne
How I Spent My Summer: Adventures in Paris IV
If you’re feeling particularly inspired, click the links below for my previous Parisian posts:
I left off last time with our glittering view of the Eiffel Tower. A perfect ending to a beautiful day. Or so we thought…
It was around midnight, when we attempted to catch a taxi to take us home. Key word here: attempted.
For the next hour, we tried everything we could think of—waving wildly, dancing, showing some leg, standing at high traffic street corners, low traffic street corners—all to no avail. Every taxi we spotted whizzed past, ignoring us completely!
Except one. Somewhere around 12:45 a.m., a taxi pulled up alongside just to let us know that he would not accept our fare.
“Mais pour quooooiiiiii?!” I whined through his open window.
He indicated a young couple across the street from us who had only just stepped up to the curb.
“Because,” he explained in halting English. “Zey standing under ze sign.” He indicated a miniscule “Taxi” sign above them which we had failed to notice. And with that, he raced off with the beautiful people, leaving us breathing in his exhaust.
Image by: Dave Newman
A short while later we admitted defeat. We were freezing, our feet ached like crazy, but we started walking the endless miles back to our apartment. We distracted ourselves by singing loudly (& badly) as we trudged along and by watching Joshua try cool Parkour moves on the nearly empty sidewalks.
At one point we cut through the Jardin des Tuileries park. It was so dark we could barely see the dirt path, but I smelled an unmistakable aroma.
“Watch where you step!” I warned. “We don’t need horse poop on our shoes!”
Becoming grumpy and slap happy in turns, we laughed hysterically after encountering a young couple on the darkened path, walking in the opposite direction. They were each towing a huge suitcase through the dirt and horse poop. We didn’t need a translator to understand what the woman was saying in an unending French diatribe.
“See kids,” I giggled. “Things could always be worse!”
Famous last words.
Now, there are positives to staying in an old Parisian apartment building, and there are negatives.
Positive: You get to experience life as a true Parisian. You get to open screenless windows each morning and experience the delightful fragrance of fresh baked goods while observing the pigeons roosting on your neighbor’s rooftop. (I wonder if they ever fly in through one of those open windows?)
Negative: You get to experience life as a true Parisian. Arriving back at our apartment around 2:30 a.m., we discovered that while we’d been gone some pipes had burst. The apartment above us had leaked toilet water all over our kitchen counter, soaking everything on it including our food and my camera battery charger complete with back-up battery.
Awesome.
But we were just too tired to care.
In the morning we called maintenance, then closed the door on the mess inside in favor of enjoying a L’Open Bus tour.
It was lovely riding around, listening to French music and learning about the city via the multilingual headsets. At Ashleigh’s insistence, we got off the bus to explore notorious Moulin Rouge.
I knew the area had a “naughty” reputation, but I had no idea how naughty. At one point a woman approached Chris saying something I couldn’t quite catch, while he just looked surprised. Suddenly, she glanced behind him to see me, Ashleigh and Joshua hot on his heels.
“Oh, you’re with them,” she said in English, and moved away.
“What did she want?” I asked curiously.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “But I think she was a female pimp.”
Interesting. Are you paying attention to all this culture, kids?
We caught the next bus for Montmartre to see the famous Sacre Coeur Basilica, constructed with donations from people who thought the French Revolution and Paris Commune uprising of 1871 were punishment from God for their lack of faith.
“Hey guys,” I said, as the bus glided to a halt. “Did you know that every time it rains, the basilica’s white dome gets even whiter because of the type of stone they used?”
“Mmmm…” Ashleigh and Joshua murmured, quickly exiting the bus.
Hmph! Well, I was excited I was finally going to see this famous building. So you can imagine my disappointment when we reached the top of the hill and saw this:
Nice historic building, eh?
I guess one man’s historic beauty is another man’s regular ol’ church picnic complete with inflatable slide.
After our day of bus touring, we celebrated Joshua’s 17th birthday at the lovely Chez Clemént on the Champs D’Elysées.
“Well, Josh,” I said with a smile, once we were seated. “How many kids can say they celebrated their 17th birthday in Paris?!”
“Uh…everybody who lives here when they turn 17?” replied my smart-aleck boy.
Jusqu'à la prochaine fois, mes amies!
(Until next time, my friends!)
All photographs © Holly & Chris Bowne unless otherwise noted.
Quote of the Week
"Know how to live within yourself: there is in your soul a whole world of mysterious and enchanted thoughts; they will be drowned by the noise without; daylight will drive them away: listen to their singing and be silent."
~ Fyodor Tyutchev ~
Image by: Yosh3000
How I Spent My Summer: Adventures in Paris
One benefit of my husband Chris’s job has been Frequent Flyer Miles. Over the years he’s done quite a bit of travelling for work and as a result, our family has been blessed with several very nice vacations, including Hawaii, Mexico, Rome, and this past summer, Paris! I thought I’d share some trip highlights and photographs with you over my next few blog posts.
We left for our adventure on June 26th, flying overnight to arrive in Paris around 8:00 a.m. the following morning. We grabbed a taxi and got to experience Parisian rush hour traffic firsthand.
Since we’re a family of four, it was cheaper to rent an apartment as opposed to staying in a hotel. Chris found a cute, little place right around the corner from the Louvre. It was also conveniently located next door to a detective agency--just in case we uncovered a mystery while we were there.
Photograph © Ashleigh Bowne
The apartment building elevator so tiny, it seemed designed to barely fit two regular-to-petite-size people. In fact, we couldn’t even fit all of our luggage with one person. On a challenge, the kids and I managed to cram the three of ourselves inside!
Photograph © Ashleigh Bowne
Now for those of you who’ve travelled vicariously with me before through my blog, you’ll recall that I love to make certain my kids fully appreciate what they’re looking at on these family trips. So as usual, I put together a “little” packet of interesting facts concerning everything we were planning to see in Paris.
“Hey guys,” I whispered. “Did you read my notes about Notre Dame yet?”
“No,” they whispered back.
“No problem,” I said, whipping the extra study packet I was carrying from my purse. “Did you know that Napoleon was so geeked to become emperor, that he seized the crown right out of the pope’s hands and placed it on his own head in December 1804, right here at this very cathedral?”
“No,” they said.
“And did you know that Notre Dame is constructed in the high Gothic style? Renaissance artists gave Gothic architecture its name, basing it on the word “Goth” which implied the style was barbaric compared to the clean, noble lines of Roman architecture.”
I looked up. Somehow the kids had sidled away and were nowhere to be seen. Hmmm? No worries. I’d find them again. From Notre Dame we headed to the modern art museum, Centre Georges Pompidou.
Photograph © Chris Bowne
Along the streets we observed several homeless people, as well as people entertaining passersby by playing music for money:
I saw a guy wearing an audio headphone standing in front of one work of art for five minutes solid. After he left I walked over to it. It was a white canvas with a series of evenly spaced pencil lines drawn onto it--essentially looking like of a piece of notebook paper. And the title? “Untitled.”
C’mon, really? What could he possibly have heard about this piece that would have lasted five whole minutes?!
We saw stuff like this…
And this…
(I know, dude. I don’t get it either.)
(My entire family agrees this must have been the inspiration for Darth Vader’s headwear.)
We had dinner at a lovely sidewalk café. Dining Parisian style, we faced the sidewalk and street to blatantly people watch. I love it!
Image by: Marie de Bueil
We grabbed a taxi and arrived back at the apartment, hot, sticky, exhausted, and wishing our 4th-floor apartment had air conditioning. But other than that, happy! And exhausted.
Tune in next week for more of our Adventures in Paris!
All photographs © Holly Bowne unless otherwise noted.
I’m baaaaccck!
I apologize for falling off the face of the Blogosphere! I was so busy preparing for our family adventure in France, then playing “catch up” once we returned. And then…well, the sunshine beckoned. The pile of books I’ve been wanting to read beckoned. The limited time I had with my college girl at home beckoned. The yard work and neglected-from-the-school-year housework beckoned. And before I knew it, the end of August had arrived!
We took our girl back up to college a little over a week ago. Her new apartment is adorable and I know she’ll have such a fun time during her sophomore year. It was still tough leaving her, but not nearly as difficult as it was last year. Hopefully, I won’t start breaking down while listening to love songs on the radio like I did last August. (Boy, was I a mess!)
I love the break from our routine that summer brings. But now I’m dusting off my computer keyboard, fixing up my neglected website (www.hollybowne.com), and slowly working myself back into my regular writing schedule.
I would love to know how my website’s links--to writing samples I’ve personally uploaded--get all convoluted and messed up when absolutely nothing’s been changed on my end! Fortunately, my biggest fan (Hi Mom! *wave*) noticed things were amiss and let me know. Hopefully everything is linking smoothly now. I feel about operating my website the same way I feel about driving a car. It’s necessary and I have a basic idea of how it all works, but when something goes wrong, I really don’t have the first clue on how to fix it!
I hope everyone is having a lovely summer! (And yes, it’s still officially summer until September 23rd!)
Quote of the Week
"The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense."
~ Tom Clancy ~
Image by: bravo!
Quote of the Week
"You are a writer. You just need to keep writing. Don't let the Writing Fairy tell you that you aren't. That you need something more, that you're pretending to be something you're not. Hemingway wasn't Hemingway when he started. He was just a guy named Ernest who sat down at his typewriter."
~ Joseph Devon ~
Image by: Juliana Coutinho
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