pattierwr's Xanga

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:23:39 GMT

I have debated for a long time about deleting this blog. If you want to read my musings, you can check me over at Fresh Brewed Writer.

You are Loved

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:44:21 GMT

For years, Helzberg Jewelers have given out little red buttons with white letters that say "You are Loved."

Today, I give you a little You Tube from Josh Groban. You are loved.

For my friends who need some encouragement. I love this song!

Friday Felicities

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:52:58 GMT

*good books
*French roast coffee
*toasted whole wheat bagels with cream cheese
*little star pattern on the Nutella in my brand-new jar
*laptops
*good friends
*vacation plans

and this:

Blog Tour for Deadly Exposure

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:27:24 GMT

I am thrilled to be hosting a whistle stop on the blog tour for Cara Putman's first Love Inspired Suspense novel (third novel overall). It is entitled DEADLY EXPOSURE and it is really good!!!

Before I start, let me give you the official synopsis.

How could a killer have struck in a crowded theater? That was the question plaguing TV news reporter Dani Richards. She'd been in the box next to the victim—and hadn't heard or seen a thing. Now the very man who had broken Dani's heart years ago was investigating the murder. And when her coverage of the story led the killer to stalk her, police offi cer and former flame Caleb Jamison insisted on protecting her. Dani was afraid to let Caleb close again. Yet she had no choice. The killer's sinister phone calls left no doubt that he'd come for Dani next.

OOoh.....shivers!

Cara graciously took the time out of her busy schedule to answer my interview questions, and I'm so excited. Thanks, Cara, for giving me this unique interview!

Pattie: I like the title. What made you choose Deadly Exposure instead of another title?

Cara: The working title was Double Image, but my editor asked for more titles. I brainstormed with a couple writing buds and off their ideas came up with Deadly Exposure. That better captures the idea that there's the threat of death and the exposure the heroine is in as a reporter and stalking victim. The sequel is Deadly Judgment. Once I have a general idea, it's so much easier to come up with titles.

Pattie: Why did you choose a theater for the crime scene, and why Cats for the musical?

Cara: I was looking for something different and unique to Lincoln. The Lied Center is a beautiful theater on the edge of UNL's campus, so that fit. I also wanted a setting that would have the heroine in a place she's trying to relax and escape from the pressures of her job. It should be a safe place, but isn't. I love the musical CATS -- and I don't think people find it objectionable in any way.

Pattie: This book is quite different from your first historical, Canteen Dreams. Which genre do you enjoy writing more?

Cara: I actually enjoy both -- but you're right -- they are very different. I love bringing the history of World War Two to life. But I equally love the race against the clock of suspense. I get to write both for right now and I enjoy that.

Pattie: Do you have a writing hero? Who is it?

Cara: There are so many writers I admire. I love the layers in Colleen Coble's suspense, the incredible pacing of Brandilyn Collins' books, the humor in Rachel Hauck's romances, the historical accuracy in Tricia Goyer's novels.

Pattie: Tricia Goyer is my writing hero too! You have written stories taking place in Nebraska, and you live in Indiana. Which other Midwest states have you lived in? Do you have plans to use any of them as settings in your novels?

Cara: Nebraska is my home state, so it's been fun writing books set there. Also easier to check the location details since I go home a couple times a year. Right now I'm getting ready to start writing a series set in Ohio during World War Two. I'm excited about the series, but planning a research trip, since I've never spent much time in Ohio. I also have a legal proposal I'm tweaking that is set in a fictious Indiana town.

Pattie: What is in your Mt. TBR right now? (Mt. TBR=Mount To Be Read, unread books!)

Cara: Boy! The pile never goes away. Wiser Than Serpents by Susan May Warren, The Warriors by Mark Andrew Olsen, Deanne Gist's new book, and many more. I love reading -- and the pile never shrinks. One book gets replaced with a new one.

Thanks, Cara!

___

I really liked this book. I haven't read too many LI Suspense titles yet, mainly because I've been reading other things, including some cozy mysteries. I think the LI line is a lot like some of the secular cozies I've read: there's a crime, but it's not bloody and gross. There's some romance, but not too much. There's a bad guy and clues and ultimately redemption and resolution for the main character.

Cara weaves the spiritual element of her novel into the story seamlessly. Not all authors can do that.

I enjoyed it, and I truly liked Dani, the main character. She is human and quite likeable.

But don't just take my word for it: Deadly Exposure received four stars from Romantic Times!

**GIVEAWAY** I will be giving away a copy of this novel (read once, in excellent condition!). Just leave me a comment and a way to get in touch with you (either blog or email addy with spaces to throw off the web spam trolls). I will draw the winner next Tuesday June 17.

I will never forget

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMT

I will never forget you, Nattie Pie.

(this is a very dark purple, and I even put a color adjustor on top!)

Here I am, in my Jeep, on my way to Starbucks! (this is the longest my hair has been, and it's curled so you can't
even see how long it really is!) I am wearing my Indiana Relay for Life t-shirt.

Wearing my "'do rag" (teal and paisley, I have had it for a long time).

So, I hit Starbucks. Who knew they didn't have free internet? I didn't. Ah well, live and learn. I transferred pics from camera to computer, and ate.

and journaled a bit, and got my book ready to give away.

Pattie is happy with her coffee!!!

So I left the 'bucks and drove a bit. I pulled into the library parking lot to piggyback their wifi, and found this lovely little bench area, where I am now sitting. This is also where I am leaving a copy of Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik (who was born here in Grand Forks, although Minnesota claims her as its own). I am smelling the beautiful lilacs (which are appropriately purple) and enjoying the lovely day. In spite of my smiles above for the pictures (I am sort of a ham, after all), I am feeling quite sad today.

Then when I pulled a tissue from my purse to dab my eyes, I had to laugh because not only is it the last tissue in my purse, it has an old piece of gum in it! Somehow that seems like something Nattie would appreciate.

I sit here wanting to figure out how to best remember my friend. The one I could always count on to cheer me up. The one I took great delight in encouraging. (The one who wouldn’t mail my journal exchange journal back to me!)

I am drinking coffee and remembering. Remembering how much I loved her. How much I have missed her. How many times I feel like crying but don’t, and how just mentioning her this morning to her husband made me start crying automatically.

Dear Lord, please let her know how much we miss her today. How we think of her, her family, her children. We wish them every rich blessing You can bestow.

So I sit and remember. I will always remember.

Thursday Thirteen

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:10:26 GMT

(I've done Thursday Thirteen before, but never linked to the website. So, welcome new readers!)

I was reading a comment by my friend Leann, who said she needed to read more fiction. I laughed and said I need to read more nonfiction.

Upon further reflection, however, I believe I have ADD when it comes to nonfiction. I get a nonfiction book, begin it with all good intentions, then . . . "ooooh, something shiny!" a new fiction book comes into view, and I abandon the perfectly wonderful nonfiction book in favor of fiction. Leaving this perfectly wonderful nonfiction book with a bookmark and dust from sitting too long.

What makes this so strange is that when I sit down to write, I write nonfiction.

Urgh.

So, without further ado, I present my THURSDAY THIRTEEN:|

Thirteen unfinished nonfiction books in my Mt. TBR (no links because I'm too lazy!):

1. Knit Together by Debbie Macomber

2. You Matter More than You Think by Dr. Leslie Parrott

3. Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott

4. Floor Sample by Julia Cameron

5. Mosaic by Amy Grant

6. Burnt Toast by Teri Hatcher

7. Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas

8. Writing for the Soul by Jerry B. Jenkins

9. Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby

10. Getting Into Character by Brandilyn Collins

11. Write Away by Elizabeth George

12. French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano

13. Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore (I've been halfway through this book more than once! JUST FINISH IT, Pattie!!!) (Does that mean I'm in a pit of unfinished nonfiction? LOL)

If You Came to My House

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:03:10 GMT

Linky love from Stephanie...

If you came to my house...

You would see:

Lots and lots of mess! LOL I have one overstuffed bookshelf and books. And a craft table piled with books and papers. The office portion of the livingroom is a mess, but the rest of the downstairs isn't too bad.

We’d probably feed you:

Pizza we ordered from Happy Joe's. And a salad. And brownies for dessert!

And offer you this to drink:

Coke, water, iced tea, flavored mineral water.

We’d undoubtedly ask if you’d read:

Sisterchicks, or Jodi Picoult, or anything! My question isn't usually "Have you read this" but "What are you reading?"

We’d want to play this music for you:

Probably nothing; DH isn't a music person, and now that I work around music constantly playing, we usually don't play music downstairs.

We’d want to tell you the latest about:

The girls! And our families. And DH would talk politics. I would want to know about YOU.

We’d probably suggest a game of:

Wii bowling or cow racing. Maybe Mexican train dominoes, because that is fun!

We might show off:

Nothing. Nothing to show off around here!

We might get on the computer and show you:

pictures and video of the girls' dance recital.

If it was a long enough visit, we might watch:

THE PRINCESS BRIDE!!!!!!!!

What would a visit to your house be like?

Consider yourself tagged if you haven't done this meme already!

7 Things

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:53:11 GMT

Zoe got me. I did this with 8 things once . . . but this is 7, and since my favorite number is 7, here we go! I will try hard not to repeat myself.

1.) Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2.) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3.) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4.) Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I'm a proud dance mom. I love watching my girls dance! They make me laugh, they make me cry, they are so talented and I know it is a gift from the Lord above, because they sure didn't get it from ME!

2. I love to read and can't imagine NOT reading. If I don't read every day, I feel at loose ends and out of sorts, to borrow some outdated expressions!

3. I love my WaH women; it's my home on the Internet.

4. I have truly enjoyed my laptop. It's the first good purchase we have ever made at Best Buy.

5. I never in a million billion years ever thought I'd be working as a fitness trainer. Yet I am a Curves circuit coach. Go figure. The Lord truly works in mysterious ways!

6. Twitter...mini-blogging. It's fun. Try it.

7. Someday I want to go to England. It's the only "foreign" country I want to visit.

Tagging: anyone who wants to play! I'm too lazy to link specific people.

Bloggy Book Giveaway

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:48:02 GMT

EDITED:

WE HAVE A WINNER! RHONDA, COME ON DOWN! Congratulations!

Hey there blog readers! I'm giving away books this week!

Yes, that's right, I'm giving away books.

I know that's something virtually unheard of from me, especially since I'm more of a hoarder of the printed page. But in the interest of space (or lack thereof) and the desire to share this excellent trilogy with someone in its entirety, I am giving it away.

I have finally finished Tricia Goyer's excellent "Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War" trilogy. It's a fabulous trilogy about a little-studied piece of our world's history, the war between the Great War and World War Two. The war where there isn't a good guy in a white hat who triumphs over a bad guy in a black hat. I truly enjoyed this series.

Before reading the first book, A Valley of Betrayal, the only other Spanish Civil War book I'd read isn't even considered such; it's considered Jewish lit (Davita's Harp by Chaim Potok; in it, Ilana's parents are Communist and her journalist father dies during the bombing of Guernica).

To enter, please leave a comment on this entry with a working email address (I'm sure you know to leave spaces or how to otherwise disguise your email address from the evil spam trolls!) or a current blog address if you're not comfortable leaving it in public (or if you are a Xanga-ite you can just message me!) and tell me why you're interested in reading these books.

I'll choose the winner on Monday, June 2 and mail them once I have the winner's snail mail address.

It's Vacation Bible School week for us, so don't worry if you don't see any other entries for a while. I'm fine...just singing and dancing myself exhausted!

EDITED TO ADD: I can only afford to mail these within the continental US, so my apologies to my international readers, especially my Canadian friends. International postage is a booger!

Blue Heart Blessed

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:21:48 GMT

Blue Heart Blessed is Susan Meissner's latest novel. It is a lovely, sweet, delightful book. The story is told to us through Daisy, a young woman who owns a shop called Something Blue, in which she sells secondhand wedding gowns that have a small blue satin heart sewn into their backs.

To say any more would give away the story.

If you enjoy Christian fiction, you'll enjoy this. It isn't really a romance, nor is it exactly chick lit. But it's good. And in true Susan Meissner fashion, it's not your typical novel.

This book is a part of the Spring Reading Thing Challenge.