Four weeks ago, I sat in an auditorium listening to and singing the song The Stand. The place was packed with standing room only while 125 college students graduated and their parents, families, and friends watched. My heart flowed and overflowed with gratitude that my son had the opportunity to go to that school for the year. Little did I know that my world would come crashing down on me just six hours later. I wrote about it later that weekend.

It’s Okay to Cry

Thanks to Booktrope, I was able to publish my first books.

After hearing that my future was gone, I cried. I cried my heart out. It was a loss; I grieved. A year ago, I had been handed an amazing platform and opportunity to share my stories with the world. It was something I would not have done without the encouragement and help of others. Now, that help was being taken out from underneath me. It’s a rather heady feeling to see your book on a library shelf, to know you are a published author. I also grieved the loss of opportunity. How could I continue writing and helping pre-teens and teens without a publisher? That weekend, I watched as different authors grieved in their own ways–from ranting and raving, to eating chocolate or ice cream.

We all have our own way of coping with stress and loss. My first response is crying. I believe that it will help.

Realize You’re Not Alone

One of the worse things about troubling times is that we feel all alone. Just talk to any teenager who has lost a best friend or broken up with a girlfriend or boyfriend. It is the end of the world! No one else has ever been there. As adults, though, we feel the same way. We tend to hide behind a mask walking around as if everything is okay, instead of being open and honest about how we feel. When we open up, we may find we’re not the only one in pain.

“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Everyone has a shadow they must walk through. Just last week, on top of the hectic push to get all four of my books republished and figuring out this whole business of self-publishing, my shoulder began to flare up. A year and a half ago I had my right shoulder freeze up on me. The pain was excruciating. After four months, we were able to get it diagnosed as not only frozen shoulder but also a partially torn rotator cuff. This new flare up had me scared. I was ready to be irritable and begin complaining about the low grade pain. I went to church and saw a friend. Her eyes weren’t as alive as normal. I asked what was wrong and found she was having shoulder pain. However, her issue was worse than mine. She couldn’t move her arm! I sat and nodded as I understood exactly what she was talking about. I was able to give her some helpful advice, and the rest of the week, any time I wanted to complain about my shoulder, I thought of and prayed for my friend.

Be Humble

Humble Pie isn’t as tasty as this piece looks.

That experience last week, definitely gave me a bite of humble pie. I had to realize not only was I not alone, but my issues were not as big as others. This type of humility can lead to teach-ability. When the fairy tale turns dark, it’s because there is someone who cares who wants to help you through it. In The One Who Sees Me this person is called The Existing One. In my current work in progress, an Ancient Egypt story, he is called The One Who Is. You see, I believe there is a Creator who has your best interests at heart. He’ll help us through life’s ups and downs, and wants to teach us things. When we are humble, He can teach us what we need to learn.

It isn’t always just about us though. Sometimes, God wants to teach others through us! This can be the worst feeling. We have to go through the tough time so someone else can watch and learn. That also takes humility and surrender.

Trust God

A month ago as I stood singing The Stand, tears flowed freely down my face. They were in gratitude to the One who created it all. I had a full heart of thanksgiving. Yesterday at church, we sang The Stand. As I stood this time, again tears fell from my eyes and traced their way down my cheeks. These tears were tears of trust.

I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
I’ll stand
My soul Lord to you surrendered
All I am is yours
~Joel Houston

Trust is one of those interesting things. It’s a conscious decision to let someone else take control. According to Google, it’s a “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something“. How does it work? The best I can say is to share a story of friend. He was going through a tough time. His wife had just had their fourth child, but some complications came up. She was incapable of taking care of any of their children. They moved back to the family property so his mother could help out. He didn’t have a job and wondered what was up. At the same time, he was reading one of my favorite books by Timothy Zahn, The Icarus Hunt. It’s a spaceship based who done it with many intricate plot twists. As my friend read, he often wondered what was going to happen. He was on the edge of his seat. There were times when he wondered if everything was really going to turn out okay. It was then that he paused. My friend personally knows Mr. Zahn. So, my friend said, “I know Tim would not write something that I couldn’t handle. I can trust that he’ll make everything right at the end.” That is the true definition of trust.

We, too, can trust. If we have a personal relationship with the Creator God, we can know He has our best interests at heart. He’ll write a happily ever after. It might not be in this lifetime, but it will come.

You see, our fairy tale doesn’t end here on earth. It goes on through eternity.

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What are you struggling with? If you feel comfortable sharing, I’d welcome your comments. Or, fill in the prayer request form:

As a proud mother, I watched my son. The changes in this introverted young man brought tears to my eyes. What would his future be? I didn’t know, but I knew whatever God had in store for him would be just right. The day held hope and joy.

Later, the family crowded around my parents and their friends from seminary days years ago as both sets of grandparents celebrated their grandsons’ commencement. Memories, laughter, and smiles filled our table. Over at the other table, the graduates marveled that even though they had a college diploma they had been demoted to the kids’ table. Again joy filled the day.

My mother’s heart beamed while I watched my middle son say good-bye to his friends. A mad dash around a porch led to a giant bear hug, then both sets of parents standing and chatting. After pictures and final good-byes, we became tourists. A trip to a treasure store held many wonders. I loved seeing the jewelry made from Egyptian seals around 1500 BC. The kids looked over stone agates, while my parents loved the coins from by-gone eras.

Finally, it was time to say good-bye and head to our hotel room. The day could have ended right there and I would have been satisfied. However, it didn’t. We had another five hours left. What awaited me in my in box determined another future. It was a very unwelcome one. Opening the email from my publisher, I sat in stunned silence. No words came. As of May 31, Booktrope would no longer exist. I tried to process what all this would mean. The news slowly sunk in. If I wished to keep all four of my books on Amazon, I would have to self-publish them on June 1!

Through this news, the fact that God knew this was coming and it didn’t surprise Him, helped comfort. I saw how God had been preparing me all along. Last year this time, I was just starting out in the author business. I didn’t feel comfortable even calling myself an author. I needed every bit of guidance and help I could get from my book manager. This year, however, I have found confidence. I have joined two different groups of fantasy authors, encouraged new authors, and made a decision to stick it out and put in the hard effort necessary to make it in the writing world. So, even though the rug had been pulled out from underneath my feet, I knew what I would do. I didn’t know how, but I would figure out a way to self-publish the Dragon Courage series and The One Who Sees Me.

As I go forward, I am trusting God to guide me in this next phase of the author life just as He has done in the past year. I’m uncertain of the timetable for the rest of the Dragon Courage series, but I am confident that it will be finished. Up until yesterday, I had planned on an August release date for Dragon’s Cure. Today, I have no clue on a date. I will strive to get it done by August, but I know the editing process won’t begin until June. In the meantime, I will work on getting the ins and outs of self-publishing under my belt.

At the same time, I feel that God was preparing me for this news. Just Wednesday this week, I had several different incidents that encouraged me to keep going. First off, the local elementary school library asked for book two for a specific student. When the librarian heard there was a third book, she was excited for that child. A high school student gave me the idea for the third book in the Myrtle Beach Mythical Creatures series. I have finished the rough draft of the first book and have an idea for the second, but didn’t have anything for a third. After the lunch conversation, I had a direction for the last book of the trilogy. Later in the day, another student came in. As she was talking with me, she suggested another idea. I smiled as she related the exact idea I had already come up with for book two of the Myrtle Beach Mythical Creatures series! My excitement ran high that day, as I saw the reason for why I am writing—children ages ten to sixteen.

Even though I don’t know the logistics for this week or the next several weeks, I know who holds the plans. I will trust Him to take care of me, my books, and my family. What about you? Is there some area that you need to trust? Let me know, and I’ll be praying for you this week.

A few of the reasons why I write and how I was able to focus on something besides Booktrope’s closing this weekend. (At Fort Stevens near Astoria, Oregon)

]]> http://kandijwyatt.com/a-unique-perspective-on-juxtaposed-futures/feed/ 1 1603 http://kandijwyatt.com/6-great-reads-for-spring-break/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=6-great-reads-for-spring-break Mon, 14 Mar 2016 13:15:03 +0000 https://kandijwyatt.wordpress.com/?p=1066 This Friday starts Spring Break for my kids and for me! I can’t wait. I get to go on a writer’s retreat and then the next weekend we’re going to see Lorena McKennet in concert! In between these two events I have four days to relax. I may grab another book, I may just write. I don’t know. But if you’re wondering what to do for Spring Break and need a book to read, here’s some ideas.

Blast of the Dragon’s Fury

L. R. W. Lee wrote the Andy Smithson series. Blast of the Dragon’s Fury is the first of the series. She’s created a very intriguing story of a young boy who enters a new world through a trunk. This world is plagued by a curse that the king believes Andy can fix! Andy finds friends and goes on a quest to help lift the curse. Lee has created a wonderful world full of interesting characters, intriguing ideas, and subtle plot twists. The story is good for ten-year-olds on up. It would also make a good read aloud to a younger child.

Between Heartbeats

Between Heartbeats is a young adult story of exploration and mystery. Diana is a senior in high school when her mom drops a bombshell on her on her seventeenth birthday. Finding out that who she thought was her dad isn’t, causes Diana turmoil and winds her into the middle of a mystery. As Diana tries to find the truth about her birth father, she uncovers a tangle of events that happened seventeen years ago. Donelle Knudsen has created an intriguing story of love of all kinds, from Diana and her boyfriend, to Diana and her parents. She looks at various issues in an objective way with a mother’s heart. I would encourage teens on up to read Between Heartbeats.

The Seed Savers series

Yes, I all ready gave this series a high five in my post for February reads, but since then, I’ve read book three. I can’t wait to read books four and five. S. Smith has create a very realistic look at a future America where GMOs have taken control in the government, and it’s illegal to own seeds or to garden. In book 1, Treasure, we were introduced to Claire, Dante, and Lily. The three kids learn about gardening from an elderly lady from Claire’s church. When the government raids Claire and Dante’s house and imprisons their mom, they take off on a journey to find freedom. In book 2, Lily, Lily has been left in the city. She meets new friends, Rose and Arturo and learns about her family history. She’s rather surprised by what she finds. In book 3, Heirloom, Lily takes off in search of her father. Her departure is more thought through than Claire and Dante’s. She heads south on a hazardous journey meeting new people in the seed saver organization. Heirloom shows some young love budding and slowly introduces some of the history of how seeds became illegal. The story is written in such away that the reader is led on the journey with the characters. I love how S. Smith has created a believable future world and how the children interact with their world.

The Field

I first heard about The Field this past fall. Lydia Thomas, the author, was a guest author on the Facebook party for the release of The One Who Sees Me. I was intrigued with the idea of her book: Three girls who disobey the king’s edict and go into the field. Growing up, I remember reading simplified versions of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. The Field followed the same allegorical style. I finally was able to read it recently. In my family, we have a comparison on fantasy. We say that J. R. R. Tolkien was a genius with fantasy by being detailed and complex; whereas C. S. Lewis was a genius with fantasy by simplicity. After reading The Field, I would use the same comparison. John Bunyan was the detailed and complex allegorist, but Lydia Thomas is the simple allegorist. Both are geniuses in their writing styles and story lines. I love how the plot unfolded among the three women; even though it mainly focused on two–Deliah and Lily. Lydia portrays the true struggles that believers face in everyday life, from the struggle to listen to the deceiver to self-worth issues. Unfortunately, this book is no longer in circulation.

If this list isn’t enough to keep you full of books over Spring Break you can check out my list for February Reads. Let me know what you’re reading.

Anyone who has been on exchange, lived in another country, or moved from one place to another has experienced these pangs. Today, eighteen years after leaving Cuenca, Ecuador, for the last time, I felt the familiar tug on my heart. Where are those people I once knew? What are they doing today? It is amazing what can bring the memories. Little things, a look, a smell, a word, a song, all can cause the nostalgia to return. Today, a song sung in church made me remember the services in Cuenca.

To keep the feelings in check, I keep in contact with some of those friends from years gone by. Facebook is a great source for this. We can see each other’s photos, catch up on kids, and read about each other’s lives. For some of those friends, I’ll never know. I’ll not know if Señora María ever made a profit from her tourist shop on Gran Colombia. I have no way of finding out about street vendors who sold jewelry in Parque Calderon. It brings sadness to me to know I didn’t have a way to keep in contact with these people I’d visit on a regular basis for a year.

As I think through my friends, they’re spread out all over the world from Japan to Cameroon, from Peru to Brazil. Ecuador, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina, Philippines, India, and Mexico all have a little piece of my heart. I often long for everyone to come home for one big reunion. I’d love for all my friends to meet each other and share their stories. Unfortunately, half of my friends couldn’t understand the other half due to language barriers. I’d have to be the translator.

As I consider gathering everyone together, I am reminded of a passage from the Bible. John chapter fourteen and verse two is a beloved verse. There’s even an old gospel song written based on the King James Version of the Bible.

I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop, in that bright land where we’ll never grow old.

However, my pastor has explained that in essence the word mansion isn’t in the original Greek. It’s actually a word for many rooms. Now doesn’t that sound great? I’ve got many rooms over the hill top? It just doesn’t cut it. However, my pastor goes on to give this scenario. Family reunion time rolls around. Everyone’s coming in from far and wide. Where are you going to put them up? Do you have room in your house? Will someone have to get a motel? What if heaven was like a giant family reunion with room for everyone?

What if heaven was like a giant family reunion with room for everyone?

Think about it. My friends from Ecuador  would have a place to stay right alongside my friends from Japan or Washington state. No one would have to give up a room for someone else, but you could bunk together if you wanted to. Imagine the late night conversations as Kantharao from India explains his struggles in keeping the orphanage a float, and Ruth tells about her grandkids learning about Jesus. In another corner, a conversation plays out between my missionary friends in Cameroon and my friend from Michigan. No one has to say good-bye, and everyone can meet each other. While this family reunion happens, I’m then invited down the hall for someone else’s reunion. Maybe to meet Kantharao’s family and friends from around the world, or to meet my daughter’s exchange family from Finland.

As you continue to make friends, think through this idea of heaven. Are those friends going to be a part of the huge family reunion? Can you relate to my longing? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to leave a comment.

Choose a Book with Appeal

When choosing a book, consider the age of the child and the attention span. I’ve read to two-year-olds. However, I chose a book that had lots of pictures and things the child could look at. When reading to my own kids, I picked out books they either recommended to me or gave them an option of several interesting ones and then let them decide.

What will appeal? Good question. For younger children, I’d suggest picture books with vibrant colors. For very young ones, the Dr. Seuss books are great for that. Another good author is Jan Brett. Her books combine great story-lines with amazing drawings. Unique books also are good. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat is one such book. It has cut outs to create the drawings. For older kids, you’ll want good stories. Think of the ones that you enjoyed growing up. Blend some of the classics with some modern day stories. A good resource for a list of books to read at different ages is Honey for a Child’s Soul.

Stretch Your Child

A pet peeve of mine is when people talk down to kids. When they do this, it’s as if they’re saying the child is not of importance. I say, believe in your child. Stretch your child’s imagination, vocabulary, and attention span. Test different styles of books to read to your child. Just because it’s not in his or her age range, may not mean it isn’t perfect for the two of you to sit down and read. Often people think that children can’t understand large vocabulary. I disagree. Lemony Snicket used big words in his A Series of Unfortunate Events. Each book centered around one word that sometimes I didn’t even know what it meant. He would explain it at the beginning and then move on and continue to use it throughout the book. When I wrote the Dragon Courage series, I read it to my children who were eight, eleven and twelve at the time. The nine-year-old sat through all of them eating them up and asking for more. The other two came and went, but still have favorite characters from the stories. The series is rated at middle grade, but I didn’t talk down to them. Even when my editor pointed out words, I thought through them and often decided to keep them and let kids look them up or ask an adult what it means.

Be Active

One of my now twenty-two=year-old’s favorite bed-time stories when he was about two was the Berenstein Bears In the Dark. It wasn’t because of the story itself but because how we read it to him. We moved him around with the bears, and at the end when sister bear bends over the edge of the bunk bed and yells “boo” to brother bear, we’d reenact it every time.

With little ones, I’ve watched my mom point out the items in the pictures. She’ll ask, “Where’s the bird? Do you see the bird?” then wait until the child points with her. I’ve also used my finger to point to the words. Soon, the little ones are using their finger to follow along as well. This is not only keeping them involved, but it helps them with reading readiness which their kindergarten teacher will thank you for.

Be Creative

Change your voice around as you read. Be the different characters. Have fun with it. Kids love it when you have fun with them.

Audio books can be great at this. If you sit down and listen to an audio book with your child, you can have memories of a book read aloud that you both experienced together as hearers. From 2012-14, I had a fifty minute commute to work. I took my middle son along as he attended school where I taught. We’d use that fifty minutes one way to listen to audio books. We traveled through the worlds of Peter Pan and the Starcatchers, The Beyonders, and many more. We participated together in the unwinding of the plot and character development. We’d discuss what we thought would happen, how we’d have written it if we were the authors, and sometimes even real life values based on what we were hearing.

An alternative to a professional audio book is a self-made one. When my family moved to Ecuador for eleven months, we took the three-month-old granddaughter, and two-and-a-half-year-old grandson from my parents. They made the best of it by recording tapes of grandma reading to the grandkids. Later, when we returned, a friend we met in Ecuador sent a tape to our son of her reading his favorite books. She added a fun twist. She got books she knew he had and could follow along with. So, as she read and would get to the bottom of the page, she’d say “ding, ding, turn the page”. After that, no matter who read to him, we had to use, “ding, ding, turn the page”.  In today’s technology of recorders, it would be even easier to do this.

This all sounds nice and easy. It is. The hardest part is getting up and going to your local library and picking out a book. You can do it. Maybe try one of these already mentioned, or pick up one of your favorites from growing up. Here’s a list of my favorite books you can choose from. So, go out there and start reading to your child.

“Well, another train, another station, again. Liz, when will we ever stop traveling?” Wy asked around the satchel he held in his mouth.

“Go ahead and set it down,” the slender girl said with a sigh, motioning to the satchel. “It was your fault, again.”

Her dark eyes glared at him. For the thousandth time he wondered what exactly she saw. Placing the satchel down, he leaned back against the metal post of the station wall and examined himself. He wasn’t bad looking for a wyvrn. Sure, he was a bit small, but his rusty orange color compensated for that fact. Being small also made him fast and agile in flight. That had gotten them into trouble before, too.

“Wipe the frown off your snout, Wy,” Liz said, setting her own satchel beside his little one and adjusting her small top hat. “You’re much more adorable without it.”

“You think I’m adorable?” Wy inquired with a grin. “That may make up for blaming me for being here.”

“Well, it was your fault,” she replied, her face twisting with a grimace.

Wy didn’t reply. He didn’t want to think of last night and the reason they were standing in another train station.

“Where would you be without me?” he said, trying to appeal to her better side.

“I’d be back on Caladyn peacefully running my linguistics consultation business.” She shot back, too quickly for Wy’s tastes.

“You’d be bored, though. Admit it,” he said. “Without my help you wouldn’t have the ambassadors, politicians, and high-end clientele.”

“Right, but without them and without you, I’d not be here right now,” she repeated.

Wy frowned. “It was an accident.”

“I know.” Liz placed a hand on Wy’s head and began rubbing it. “Don’t mind me. I’m always in a bad mood when we have to move. Besides, I didn’t care for their stuffy attitudes. They needed some livening up.”

Wy grinned, showing his teeth. “That they did.”

The two fell into a companionable silence, as they waited for the next train. The sounds of steam emitting from the engines as they idled filled the area. Condensation covered the glass walls and ceiling, giving the building a feeling of a greenhouse more than a train station. Wy closed his eyes and soaked in the heat.

It really had been his fault this time, but he was right in saying that Liz wouldn’t be where she was today as a linguistics consultant without him either. His innate ability with languages had come in handy on more than one occasion, and Liz had been able to advertise linguistic help in any language on the planet. When he had first found her ten years ago, she was barely making ends meet. Now, she could afford the nice gray suits that she loved and as many top hats as she wanted. Of course, the constant moving, limited what she could carry, but she had the means to purchase new ones at the next stop.

They had entertained ambassadors, lowly relatives, judges, plaintiffs, and lawyers since Wy had joined up with Liz. Many were simple cases of translating legal briefs; a few were more intricate than that. Once Liz negotiated the peace treaty between two warring gangs in the city of Caladyn. Wy paused in his thoughts, picking up a stray scent. His nose wiggled. Finally, he placed it—an old sandwich dropped by an inattentive traveler. His mind traveled back to Caladyn. It was a nice place to be, but when he had disregarded the cultural norms of the Black Hawks—. He let the thought hang in mid-air. He didn’t want to remember. That was the first train station they had seen. They couldn’t find it fast enough to suit the mayor of Caladyn or the warring gangs either. The gangs found unity in kicking Liz and Wy out of town and then wrecking havoc on the mayor’s house as well.

That had been the first of many slip ups Wy had instigated. Each one leading to another train and another station. This latest fiasco had occurred just the night before. Liz had decided to welcome her clients, Ambassadors Beryl and Clark, to her home for a meal. The two ambassadors had hired Liz to help them translate some laws into the language of their constituents. The evening was going to be a straight forward work session. It would have been straight forward if it hadn’t been for Wy.

Wy sighed as he remembered.

“Quit fuming.” Liz’s voice broke into his revere. “Do you want to start a fire here, as well?”

“I can’t.” Wy snorted, purposefully blowing out smoke from his nostrils.

At Liz’s questioning glance, Wy tapped his foot against the post behind him. A metallic ringing filled the air as his claw scraped the pole. A spark dropped down onto the paving stones and fizzled out as if to prove his point.

Wy’s face lit up. “Now there’s an idea! Make our next home like this.”

“A train station?” Liz’s voice held no enthusiasm.

“No, out of metal!”

Liz snorted, a very unladylike sound, and the two fell back into their own thoughts.

“It wasn’t a bad idea,” Wy thought sourly.

The idea had merit. If their home had been made out of metal, they would still be sitting there with the ambassadors. As it was, the house had been made out of wood, and they were standing in the station.

The evening had started out alright. Liz and Wy sat down with the ambassadors to work. The two men seemed a little nervous to have a wyvrn standing at their knees, but adjusted somewhat as the evening wore on. Things didn’t go south until hunger settled over the group. Liz had planned a barbecue, but hadn’t checked her fuel supply. Red juices still poured from the meat when the fuel ran out. The gas lamps had been on for about a half hour by then. Wy knew that had been the main fault, the gas lines to the house, not him. Seeing Liz’s predicament of a half cooked meal, Wy decided to help by roasting the meat for them. How was he to know that the gas lamp for the porch had let off enough gas to cause a problem. His flame met with the extra gas and created an explosive evening. The ambassadors left in a huff with singed robes. Shortly after they left, the telephone rang and the operator put the mayor on the phone saying they needed to catch the next train out of town.

A squeal of metal and a hiss of steam, brought Wy out of his revere. Liz reached down and picked up her satchel with a shrug and a smile, as if to say all was forgiven. Wy grinned back and picked up his satchel in his mouth. With a final adjustment of her top hat, Liz headed off toward the train. Wy followed, wondering if there was yet another train and another station in their future. For now, he was content to stay with Liz as long as she would have him.

As the three men left the inn, they were stopped by the mistress. “Kind sir, I want to thank you for the tea last night. Where did you come by such delicious leaves?”

Kyn bowed to her. “You are most welcome, honored lady. The leaves are handpicked by a woman who is like a mother to me. She has yet to share the origin of her blend. I have tried different blends of my own, but there is none quite like hers.”    

Blurb:

In search of his place in the world, Kyn visits his new friend, Ben’hyamene. Together, they meet an ailing dragon rider from the marshes of a land called the Carr. The rider recounts a people beset by anger, depression, and despair. After befriending and healing the rider, the group travels to the rider’s home. There they discover a breed of wild dragons, called drakes, which have been at war with humans for four hundred years.

One sleepless night, Ben’hyamene uses his new abilities to communicate with the lead drake. This sets Kyn and Ben’hyamene on a path that could bring peace to a conflict that’s nearly destroyed a whole people. Can revenge be set aside and enemies be called friends?

Find out in the exciting third book of the Dragon Courage series, Dragon’s Revenge by Kandi J Wyatt.

It was at the moment when he couldn’t force himself to continue that he smelled Meredyth’s tea. The smell took him away from the little log cabin and placed him into a familiar abode in Three Spans Canyon. Ruskya, Carryl, Meredyth, and Ruskya’s great-uncle Glendyn all sat around Glendyn’s stove. Kyn could see them clearly. They had sat that way many times, the five of them talking over a mug of Meredyth’s tea. The emotional drain lifted, and Kyn could think clearly. He was brought back to the little log cabin by Ben’hyamene’s voice.

Trailer:

Available Tuesday, April 5, 2016.

Cover:

It’s amazing how things work out. I had started one book in December and figured I would finish it in January. Little did I expect to have not only finished that one, but two more and started on two others in January alone! What caught my attention and why are they good for you? Glad you asked.

Tumbleweed by Heather Huffman

This is a great clean romance based around horses. Ever since I was a child and read Misty of Chintoteague I have loved horse stories. This one was about a single mom who is trying to find herself. She and her son drive down to the Ozarks where she was raised and get a job on a horse ranch. I loved the way the story flowed, but even more so the point of view of the character and her insecurities blended with humor. How many of us have had an interview not go the way we planned it? I had one where my cell phone rang not once, but twice! The main character, Hailey, begins and ends the book with interviews that don’t go the way she wants them to.

Arena by Sally Hull, narrated by Esther Hardcastle

Early in January, we returned my 18-year-old son to college, a twelve hour round trip up the Oregon Coast. The night before, I delivered a copy of Dragon’s Heir to a former student and neighbor. She held the honor of having the dedication. After giving her the book, her parents sat and chatted with me. Her mom has contracted with ACX to do audio books. So, we talked about the books she had done. By the time the evening was over, I had selected our reading for the trip the next day. Arena caught my attention because as my former neighbor put it, it was like C. S. Lewis’ science fiction series. However, once we got into the story it turned out to be a very well thought out intriguing read. It takes place in a dystopia world where people are divided into three races–priest, thinker, and fighter. All races strive to live in the top cubicle. They move up by fighting in the arena. It is a true survival of the fittest. However, when a dying priests gives instructions of where to find an ancient book to a young idealistic priest life changes for the young priest, his study mate, and two thinkers and two fighters. The journey leaves the reader wondering about what life would be like if evolutionary science was taken to the extremes. Since I started this one with the family, we haven’t finished it yet. I still want to know what happens to Stormer and the others.

Doc Adams–Jungle Dentist by Don Adams and Donna Adams Fedukowski

This book has not yet reached Amazon. It will, but I was given a proofreading job by my friend, Donna. This book has all the classic signatures of a missionary story in the jungle. Donna’s dad, Don Adams, took his family to the jungles of Peru for ten years in the 60’s and 70’s. He was a dentist who pulled teeth, performed surgeries, provided braces, neutered pets, and a number of other doctor type things because of his medical background. The story begins in the United States with a brief introduction to Don and his family life. Then a chapter written by his wife introduces her to the readers. Quickly, the reader is in the Amazon jungle laughing at antics and enjoying the life of the jungle dentist. As I read, I realized this is a must have for any church library or anyone who loves missionary stories. (It is now available on amazon.)

The Seed Savers series by S. Smith

January held a photographers’ seminar in Portland, Oregon. My husband took the week to attend and learn and grow as a photographer. On the way home, he stopped to pick up a set of furniture for his new home studio. As he and the owner packed the furniture into the back of the pickup, they began to talk shop. The owner was a photographer. The other helper with the loading was an author. She wrote middle grade/young adult books. Her series consisted of five books. She also had been a teacher. The connection was made and before my husband left, he held a small book, Treasure, in his hands. He brought it home for me. Since, Dragon’s Revenge is in proofreading, I had time to read. I picked it up and was pulled into a futuristic world of twelve- and thirteen-year-olds Claire and Lily. They live in a world where gardening and collecting seeds and eating real food is prohibited and illegal. They discover what it is like to plant their first tomato. Claire and Dante then take off on an adventure to find the Garden State. Before I knew it, I had devoured the book and was left stating, “I need to read book two!” This week, I received email notification of a blog post by S Smith. Book two, Lily, was on sale for $.99 as an eBook. I quickly grabbed it and began reading as well. Last night, at 9:00 I had to put it aside to go to bed, but I really wanted to stay up and finish it. Book two follows, Lily, the best friend of Claire. She was left behind when Claire and Dante headed on their adventure. Lily remains in the city still learning about gardening and food preparation. New characters are introduced, and Lily learns some startling things about her family and the history of the Seed Saver network. I know as soon as I finish Lily, I will want to move on to book three. I can’t wait to find out if the kids will be able to bring back gardening to the world or will GRIM, the government agency that keeps food under tabs prevail?

Okay, let’s back up six years ago. I was in the process of writing what would become the Dragon Courage series. My husband asked the question, “What would happen if a dragon rider didn’t want to become a rider?” As I mulled over the question, a story formed. As the plot line moved along, a group of people came into it seemingly of their own accord. Slave traders. At the time, I hadn’t heard a thing about modern day slavery. It didn’t seem to even be an issue. However, my heart said it was a story worth pursuing.

This last Saturday, I began preparing for a Facebook party for the release of a book through Gravity Imprint of Booktrope called The Sad Girl. It deals with human trafficking. As I created my resources, I began to mull over the consequences of human trafficking and the reality of it. Sunday rolled around, and I went to church. While there, the song Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) was sung as special music. As the haunting words of the old hymn took on new words from the artists, I began to think of the original writer. He was a human trafficker. His life was drastically changed when he came to know Jesus Christ. After returning to London, he wrote the lyrics to the song, Amazing Grace. As I heard the new rendition, I wondered what a song would sound like from a modern day human trafficker who had been saved by grace.

My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace

Monday came and I participated in the Facebook event. It was a fundraiser for Operation Underground Railroad. As I waited for my turn to present information, I was staggered by the following graphic.

It struck me to the core. I believe people have been created in the image of God. They have intrinsic value because of that. Therefore, to use something created to be loved is just wrong. I sat staring at the computer screen with tears in my eyes.

I continued on my way, feeling the issue, but not knowing what to do about it. Then I saw that Bob Mueller was donating a part of the proceeds of his new book sales to Operation Underground Railroad. I decided I could do that as well. I figured one day would work. I was wrong.

I continued to work my way through the event. I shared how the different characters in book four respond to the human trafficking. Duskya and Kyn become angry. When they witness a slave auction, Duskya’s righteous indignation gets the better of her.

“I’d like to take down the whole system!. Wing, tail, and horns. From the sellers to the traders to the buyers.”

The riders took action. But what could I do? Not much. Another graphic caught my attention.

Did I care enough to do something? I considered it as Monday turned into Tuesday. I was asked if I would keep donating part of the proceeds of The One Who Sees Me to the fundraiser. By then, my heart was softened enough to do something. I said yes.

That evening, I received another punch to my gut. I participated in a Twitter chat with authors Jenna Zark and Joe Yeager. Joe wrote a book Digital Parenting and warns parents of the online dangers to children. The connection came knowing that 76% of transactions for sex with underage girls is conducted over the internet! It made me sick to think about it. I learned that even I should be more careful about my internet friends and what all I share. I came away from the event slightly nervous.

Yesterday as I surfed Facebook, I came upon another graphic. This one with a statistic that turned my stomach and made me angry enough to say something. “The average age of a human trafficking victim is 12 years old.” Pictures flashed through my mind of my students. Precious twelve-year-olds! Then it dawned on me this is the average! That means there are children younger yet! This has to stop! But I felt like the characters in Dragon’s Cure. What could I do?

“No, we have never seen anything like it,” Kyn agreed. “It is awful, but there is nothing we can do. We do not have enough money to buy her, and then what about the next one? What would you do then?”

I decided, I could use my small voice to shout like one of my dragon rider characters, “I won’t have humans treated like this on my watch.” I could give to organizations that help trafficked people, and to those who help keep kids off the streets so they aren’t trafficked. I could also let others know what is going on. You see, if we sit back and don’t say anything, then the world goes on blindly unaware, or ignoring what is happening. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” I choose to not be silent. What about you? 

Share how you will speak up in the comments.

First off you will need your photo for your background. You can use your own or one from a free source such as unsplash or pixaby. Deviantart also has good free stock, but make sure you check each artist’s guidelines for using their work. (Some are free no matter what, while others want you to credit them or only use on Deviantart.) What kind of photo do you need? Actually, any with texture. I am using one that has barnacles, sand, rocks, and even a chiton. What would create texture? Grass, small leaves, pebbles, concrete, shingles, wood. Really, anything with lines in it. It won’t be the main picture so you’ll be okay with just about anything.

Step 1: Set up your canvas

We want to open up a new image in Photoshop. Go to File>New.

It will open up a dialog box.

Now is when you can choose the layout of your final image. If I was going to do a flyer for an event, I would switch the pixels to inches and use an 8X10 format. Be careful where you put your numbers. Width comes first, so this formatting would be a landscape layout. For a Twitter image, I keep it at pixels and use 880×440. Your resolution will be important as well. How large are you wanting your image to be printed? If it is just a Twitter graphic, 200 pixels/inch is fine. If it is going to be an 8×10 flyer, you may want to bump that to 300-600 pixels/inch. I’m going to use a Twitter graphic as an example. Once you have all the boxes how you want them, click okay.

Step 2: Opening a new image and pasting it as a layer

You now have a white background the size you had indicated. We’re now going to work with layers. A layer is almost like a separate piece of paper on top of your background. The paper itself is clear, but whatever you put on it, will cover up the layer, or paper, underneath. So, all that white that is showing right now, is going to disappear when we bring in your photo. To bring in your background photo, we are going to open it in another tab. Go to File>Open.

You’ll need to find where you stored your photo. Usually, that’s in pictures. Once you have your photo open, you’ll use the select tool. It is located on the side tool bar and is the second tool down.

There are two ways to select your photo. You can either click and drag the crosshairs tool that you now have until it covers all the picture. Or use Ctrl (or Command on a Mac) A. It will select everything. You will now have a white dashed line around your image. Use Ctrl C to copy it. Click on your tab with your white background that is your drawing page.

Use Ctrl V to paste the image into your workspace. Now, if your image is like mine, I suddenly only have a small part of my image available to view.

Step 3: Scaling an image

I have several options. I can leave it like it is, or I can scale my photo or move it around. To scale the photo, go to Edit>Transform>Scale. You now have little squares at the edges of your photo. You can click and drag them to size your image and you can click in the center of your image and move it around. Adjust your image to the size you want it and then click the check mark at the top of the screen.

Now, you have just your normal photo sitting in your image at a size you want to display or print. It isn’t ready yet, but we now have an interesting background, but it isn’t ready to have any print added to it, because you wouldn’t be able to read it. So, we are ready to change that. Now, you’ll need to know what you want to do with your image. Do you have another photo that you want to use to display with your words? For example, I wanted to do a quote from author Niki Krauss for a Twitter chat. I used her book cover as the base color for my photo and the color of her text as the color of my text.

Step 4: Working with colors

How did I get the color? We’re going to use another tool, the color picker. It is the sixth tool down on the sidebar.

You will need to open up your image that you are using as a sample color. Just follow the steps for opening an image up above. Once you have it open, position your mouse over the color you want and click.

Now you will want to go to the third tool up from the bottom on the sidebar. You will see two colors in little squares with an arrow at the side. You will notice the first square should be the color you chose from your image. You will need a second color for your text. So, click on the arrow and the colors will switch spots.

Now you can click on another area of color in your main photo to choose a text color. I chose a color from the path in my cover. You should see that the square box with color is the color that you picked. If the top square is not the color you want your background to be, click on the arrows to make it come to the front. I notice that we now have three tabs open. You will need to go back over to the tab with your image on it. It should be the first tab.

Step 5: Brushes

Next we are going to use the brush tool. It is two below the eyedropper or the eighth from the top on the sidebar. Once you click on it, you will see that the top toolbar now has several different things on it. We want to make our brush big. So, at the second tool, when you click on it you will have the availability to adjust the size of your brush.

Slide the little arrow over to the right. As you slide, you will see that the numbers get larger or smaller. You want a brush size of at least 116 px.

Step 6: Layers

Now, we need to create a new layer. The easiest way to do this is to use the keyboard. Press Ctrl (Command on Mac), Shift, and the letter N all at once. Or you can go to Layer>New>Layer. Now you have a dialog box open. You can put a name in the box like background color and click okay.

Nothing seems to have changed. We’re about to change that. Use your mouse and click on the image. Hold the click and move the mouse around to completely cover your image in your chosen color. My color looks very similar to our original, but you’ll notice on the far right side on the bottom it shows my layers. I have three.

Step 7: Layer Opacity

We’re now going to change the opacity of our background color layer. It will enable us to see what is underneath it and still give us some color as well. To do this, go to the bottom right corner. You will see the layer’s menu. At the top of the layers menu, is a section called opacity. When you click on it you receive a slider bar. We are going to slide it to the left now. If you slide it all the way to the left, you won’t see your color at all. Experiment with what works for you.

For my photo, I think 83% opacity is about right. However, I’m not liking the chiton right there in the middle. I think I am going to go back and adjust the scale.

If you want to do the same, you will need to click on the layer in the layer menu marked layer 1. Then go back through the steps to adjust the scale.

Step 8: Text tool

Now that I have it the way I want it, I am ready to start typing in my text. You will want the tool that has a T on it. It’s eight up from the bottom.

You will need to now change the little square color boxes at the bottom of the side toolbar to the color you want for your text. Click on the arrow to switch them around. Once you have clicked on the text tool, the top toolbar changes. You will notice a color box at the top. It’s third over from the left.

Click on it and a dialog box opens up. Move your mouse around and you will see it is now the eyedropper tool. Go to the square at the bottom of the side toolbar and click on the color you want for your text. Then click okay in the dialog box.

Now you are ready to move the cursor down to your image and click where you want to insert your text. You can adjust your text to be left, right, or center aligned by the tool buttons beside your text color. Play around with it. You may also need to adjust the font size. You can highlight the whole text by using Ctrl and A or by selecting it with the mouse. Then you can adjust the font size just as you would in a document. As you can see, I need to make mine larger.

Now, that I’ve adjusted my text, I found that it was very light. My problem was in the order of the layers. Since I had gone back to fix the background image, when I clicked text, it put it under my background color. So, I simply clicked on my text layer, and drug it up in the order on the layers menu.

Now, I’m ready to add one more image and call it good. I will add some text to give my website and be done. I will use the same steps as above to copy my image, paste it into the new graphic and then size it. I will use the text steps to add my webpage to the bottom. My final step will be to save my project. File>Save saves it as a Photoshop file. I’ll do that so I can open it up and adjust it later if I want to change the quote or something like that. Then I will use File>Save As and choose jpg out of the dialog box. That way I can share it online.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’ll try to walk you through your issues.