The Uncut Diamonds Hype

After hearing so much about this book, I could hardly wait to go out and buy it. I know, I said I wasn't going to buy anymore books for awhile. Well, it's the weekend, so it's time right? I treated myself and bought Uncut Diamonds and 13th Reality.

The book is sitting right beside me. I'm so anxious to read it. The cover is even more vibrant and beautiful in real life than in the pictures. This book, by Karen Jones Gowen, has been called "everything you have always wanted in an LDS novel. It is Steel Magnolias with Mormon characters." I wish I knew who said that.

I expect this novel to make me laugh, pull at my heart, and tug at my emotions. For those who are not LDS, this book will provide an interesting insight into a curious and foreign culture.

As soon as I have it finished (which will probably be Monday), I'll post my thoughts. If you haven't heard about this book, now is the time to get to your local bookstore and ask about it.

Star Wars Karma

What are the chances of two individuals from totally different parts of the galaxy coming together at the right time and the right place and finding out they are twins, separated from birth?

If we had never seen Star Wars, would this sound totally hokey, or really really cool?

I remember as a child when I first made the connection that they were brother and sister. I thought it was awesome. And then Darth Vader (or Dark Vader, as I called him) is their father?? Wow. What a fascinating family.

Could this happen in real life? We buy into it in Star Wars. There's the Force, and all, and maybe that pulls family members together. What about in real life, though? Is there any 'force' that might bring biological family members into proximity, and they don't even know it? Might they feel a certain familiarity with the stranger in the sub station, or a connection with the teller at the bank?

I don't know how often this happens, if ever. But it sounds good, in theory. Siblings separated shortly after birth, not knowing about each other, encountering later in life. I love the rich element of family ties, the flavor of warmth and friendship that this theory lends to Star Wars. We've all seen it in fiction. Has anyone seen it in real life?

Well, of course I couldn't leave this alone. So I went and did some searching. Here are a couple of links I found: Twins' marriage annulled. Apparently it does happen, and worse! sometimes they get married!!! The poster said he didn't believe it could happen, but the comments are unbelievable. Someone dated his sister unknowingly and they ended up on Oprah. All kinds of stories. Here's another link to the same marriage story. Very, very bizarre.

Around North America

Thanks to the many different places we visit in my book, I feel like I'm getting to know a lot of North America. Wouldn't you know, it's really making me want to visit these places? Especially now that I'm writing scenes from the detective's POV. When it was just the girls, they didn't get to really experience things, like hotels, restaurants, sights. They were scared and running for their lives. But it's different with the detective.

We start out in Shelley, Idaho, a sleepy little town most famous for its honey. Our detective is from Idaho Falls, though originally he claimed Alabama as his hometown. The first stop is Havre, Montana, mostly used for its proximity to a highway and an entrance into Canada. We spend a lot of time in Victoriaville and Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Wow, Victoriaville sounds like a lovely place. Full of new industry and artists. We see bits of Dallas, Texas, a glimpse of Vermont and Maryland, and then we enter the Adirondack national forest in New York.

I'd heard of Adirondack before, but never realized that it's the biggest national forest in the continental US. How fascinating is that? Located in the Gore mountains, famous for their cross-country skiing and hiking, it's dotted with little townships and hamlets. The largest one, Johnsburg, has just under 3,000 people. I've watched some beautiful footage of this place.

Then we move on to Little Falls, New York. I want to stay at the Bed & Breakfast where Detective Hamilton stays. I want to eat that French/American food! The menu looks fantastic. And just around the corner is the National Historic District of the Erie Canal. Not to mention the art shows and antiques and the veritable history in this little city!

From here we visit Rome, New York, and I'm not sure yet where our Detective is going to stay, I haven't written that far. But I'm ready to put on my backpack and grab a map and explore these places!

The World Between the Pages

I used to read a lot. I mean, a lot. I was that teenager who had her nose in the book up until the moment when her mom snapped to put the book down for prayer. I was the one walking back to my college apartment, one eye on the street, the other one in the book.

When I start a book, I can't stop. Unless the book is absolutely horrible. Any other kind of book sucks me in. I might roll my eyes a bit, laugh, or even dislike it, but I can't put it down. Not until I'm done.

That explains why I don't read anymore. Or why I didn't. I got caught off my guard when I started blogging and meeting other authors. All of the sudden I'm reading book reviews, talking to authors about their books, and it starts. One snippet of a novel, and I'm crazy, wanting to read the whole thing. I can't stop.

I read a book over the weekend by Tristi Pinkston, called Nothing to Regret. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, and the religion came across a bit corny to me. But it was a fascinating read. It takes place during World War II (well, part 1 does), and is told from the POV of a Japanese-American. We all know what happened to them and their families during WWII.

I couldn't put it down. I read late into the night. I kept thinking, "Just one chapter. Just one chapter." There were many parts I disagreed with, parts I thought were slow. But Tristi managed to hook me, and I wished there were more when I finished.

I have another book of hers, Strength to Endure, sitting on my bed, tempting me, begging me.

This is not good.

And now I have a list of books I want to read. Books I'm going to buy, because if I can get it from a bookstore, I refuse to buy it from Amazon. Inconvenient, yes. But I want to support my local bookstores.

I read a first chapter last night from the book Offworld, and now I'm desperate for the book. Gotta have it. I've also developed quite an interest in the book Liar. I'm going to have to limit my book reading to the weekend. Because I will seriously get nothing else done.

Business Cards Arrived!

No--not for my book. That would be a bit of jumping the gun, even for me.

For what, then, you might ask? Well, it's kind of a funny story. See, when DH joined the army, I realized I needed some spending money. So I decided to start a business. Teaching English online. I've done it before for another company, and it was loads of fun. I decided to do it for me. I submitted my manuscripts, thinking it would be at least three months before I heard anything back, and another year before anything appeared on the shelf, and then another six months before I made so much as a dime.

Plenty of time to get a business going.

So my business cards arrived today. Funny thing is, I don't really have time to do this business right now! But I've got everything I need. website (English4tomorrow.org), programs, cards, books...and one student. Plunging onward! I'll be the author/English teacher!

Flats and Screws

I keep saying I'm only going to blog about writing, but then weird and crazy things happen in my life and I have to share. This one involved my car. Yes, now you can probably correctly interpret the title.

Yesterday when driving home we went over a bump. I noticed it. When we got home, my tire seemed a bit low. I figured it was no big deal. I'd fill it up with air in the morning and be on my way.

I put the boys to bed and climbed into bed and this thought popped into my head: That tire is going to leak air all night. You won't be able to go anywhere tomorrow.

Well, thanks for the notice, kind of too late. But I fell asleep with that thought in my mind. As soon as I woke up this morning, I ran outside. Sure enough, my rim was practically kissing the ground. I opened up the back of my car thinking, "I've changed a tire before...once...I can try this." I pulled open the compartment for holding the jack. Wouldn't you know, the jack wasn't there??? Neither were the little wrenchs that go with the jack. Now, it's been over a year since I bought this car, but I'm 90% sure I checked for the jack. Granted, only 90% sure, but that's pretty sure. No idea where it is now.

So I started calling people from church. All the men were at work or on vacation. The Relief Society President told me she'd call around and get back to me. Time starts ticking. I get impatient. Finally I wander over to my neighbor's house. This dear man who hardly speaks any English very graciously accepted my invitation to change my tire.

I drive a Honda Pilot. It's like a mini-SUV. The spare is under the car. We flipped through my manual trying to figure out who to get that spare out, and finally found a little compartment with a rod poking out. If you have the right wrench (the one that comes with the car), you wind that rod and the tire drops down. I, unfortunately, didn't have the right wrench. My neighbor hunted around in his tools and found something that would work.

As soon as the tire comes off, we find the culprit. A giant screw, nut and bolt included. Firmly embedded in my tire. He suggested a little shop where I could get it fixed. I was hesitant but desperate, so with my spare attached, we wandered off.

They spoke enough English to communicate with me and were very nice. They put a nice plug in that tire and it works great. The mechanic had some issues getting the tire back under my car. He just stared at me when I, like an idiot, explained that I didn't have the tools. Yeah. Gonna have to buy some. And then I went to pay. They don't take check. They don't take visa. They only take cash.

Oops.

As I pulled out of the shop to go to the bank and get cash, I wonder if they wondered if they'd ever see me again.

That was money that I didn't plan on spending. But, since I had the cash now, I took the boys out to Mexican food for lunch.

Viva Mexico!

Police station, anyone?

Wow. Last night got super busy for me. I was writing my last new detective scene for the night and needed to know which PDQ (neighborhood police station) would be the one to serve Victoriaville, Quebec, which is where part of my story takes place. My detective was currently in Montreal and needed to make a quick trip to Victoriaville to try and find some missing characters. I was just going to get this tiny piece of information and then finish the scene and go to bed.

I opened a can of worms! First thing I discovered is that Victoriaville is two hours outside of Montreal, and therefore not serviced by the PDQ. Huh. That meant I had to go back and change several scene locations and references to the PDQ. It also meant this wasn't going to be a quick trip, but rather an overnight stay in Victoriaville. I actually got really nervous and started thinking, "Maybe none of this story takes place in Montreal at all!" But then I checked my area codes and calmed down. Yes, Montreal was the right city for my detective to examine first. (Funny how these stories write themselves sometimes.)

Next thing I discovered, as I'm pouring over the Victoriaville city website and exercising the gift of tongues (I don't speak any French), is that Victoriaville is actually so small, it has no police station! Well. So where do the citizens go? A few more google searches showed me all police type thingies in the area. I picked the closest one--nope, that one's emergencies only, not arrests and detentions. Okay, next. Nope, that one's the RCMP--Canadian equivalent to the FBI. See, in this book, the RCMP are the good guys and the police are the bad guys. So we couldn't have it be the RCMP. Next one, and I thought this one would be it. A police station in Drummondville. I thought. It was hard to tell because again the website was entirely in French.

I placed my scene in Drummondville and continued to write when my mind suddenly put the word "Ecole" together with what I'd seen on the website and I realized, "This isn't a police station. It's a police academy." Doh! How embarrasing that would've been! So, next one out. A real police station, I believe. Whew! I got my scene placed in a city, and I got the distances from one city to the next, thanks to google maps.

And it was an hour past when I thought I'd finish for the night.

Anyone want to come with me on a research tour of Victoriaville, Canada?