Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Amazing New Review of "Illuminations of the Heart"!



Read an amazing new review of Illuminations of the Heart by L.C. (Laurie) Lewis on her blog, A View From the Other Side of the Hill: Book Nook Review.


And no, I promise I didn't bribe her to write it with the interview I posted with her on Monday. :-)

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Tuesday Teaser

Tuesday Teaser is a weekly bookish meme (rhymes with “cream"), hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. (I’ve borrowed it from LDS Women’s Book Review.) Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share at least two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

I’m adapting the rules slightly: I’ll be quoting some random lines from the last page I read before I post my teaser. I'm a slow reader and this is an exceptionally long book, so I will probably share multiple teasers over the next few weeks. Here's the second one:

I shoved Blackbeard's hand off my shoulder and turned to face him. I saw Dinias staring with his mouth slack. This, I supposed, was not the meek-voiced cousin he knew. Well, the time for that was past.

The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart, p 211

If you'd like to share a Teaser from a book you're currently reading, I'd love you to do so in the comment section. And you don't even have to share it on a Tuesday! Be sure to include the title, author, and page number in case others would like to check out the book you're reading, too!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Interview and Giveaway with Historical Author, L.C. Lewis







Today I’m excited to share with you my interview with historical author, L.C. Lewis. L.C. writes about early American history and has generously offered a Winner’s Choice copy of one of the volumes in her Free Men and Dreamers series to one lucky reader of this interview! Read all the way to the end to find out how you can enter for a chance to win one of L.C.’s novels. (USA entries only, at L.C.’s request.)

JDP: Welcome, L.C. (Do you prefer to be called L.C. or Laurie for this interview?) Please tell us what got you interested in writing about the War of 1812?

Laurie: Please call me Laurie, Joyce. That initial thing gets so confusing. People hear it and think my name is "Elsie Lewis!" Publishers ask their women authors who write historical fiction  to conceal their gender by using their initials because some men have a prejudice towards female authors of history. Shocking, right?

JDP: Boy, that’d be tricky for me, since I don’t have a middle name. I’d have to make one up! How did you choose the title, Free Men and Dreamers, for your overall series?

Laurie: As I focused on the themes of the books--the struggles of this generation to remain free, and to complete the dream of their forefathers--Free Men and Dreamers developed. Instead of making it the title of book one, Covenant [Laurie’s publisher] chose a theme of light for the titles, ("Dark Sky at Dawn",  "Twilight's Last Gleaming", "Dawn's Early Light") and they used Free Men and Dreamers as the series title.

JDP: What is your overall vision for your Free Men and Dreamers series?

Laurie: The first volume I originally wrote still hasn't been published yet. I purposely set the series in 1850 to avoid the Restoration story [reference to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] and the Wars--1812 and the Civil War--but my editor suggested I tighten up the history and expand the story. At that point, and after about a year of true soul-searching I felt I had studied enough and become passionate enough about the era to back the story up and capture that pivotal first American generation--the children of the Founding Fathers--who would also become the generation that would receive the Restoration [see note above]. It's a profound generation and moment in time.

So getting back to your question, (this is how my mind works. . .  sorry. . .) I have effectively been writing the series into that first manuscript--like "Star Wars," so I've always known the big answers to what was going to happen to my characters.  I plan to have book four wind up the war and America's recovery, tying up all the characters’ complex storylines, and effectively ending Free Men and Dreamers. Then, if the readers stay with me, we'll launch a two-book companion series that will tell the story of the Pearson's children, illustrating post-War of 1812 America, including the Restoration, America's emergence on the world stage, and the westward migration, right up to the Civil War.

[For questions about “the Restoration”, visit this link.]

JDP: That sounds like an exciting challenge! Please tell us a little about your most recent addition to the series, “Dawn's Early Light”.

Laurie: Volume three, "Dawn's Early Light," plunges our characters into a moment of American history I'm embarrassed to say I knew very little about--the week the British defeated our military at Bladensburg before marching into Washington and burning the President's House (the White House), the U.S. Capitol, and much of the city. Through the Pearsons and four other families--American, British and slave--we experience the pain and passion of this tumultuous time in America.

JDP: What do you find most fascinating about the War of 1812?

Laurie: These are wonderful questions, Joyce. You've really done your homework. Thanks! [Joyce blushes here.] I was most fascinated by how under-regarded this war is. Most history books consider it a draw, a waste of men and money. But as we approach its bicentennial the experts on this war have come to regard it as the moment when we became "one nation under God." Before the war, we were still more loyal to our state than to our nation, but after this war we became Americans, with a proud symbol of our unity--the Star Spangled Banner. Also, this was the first true test of the Constitution and the Presidency. Despite the destruction of the capital city, the government stood and the Constitution held.

JDP: I’m always interested in how authors research their historical novels. Could you tell us a little about how you researched the historical background for your Free Men and Dreamers series?

Laurie: Fortunately, I live in the area where much of my series occurs--Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, sites in Virginia are within driving distance, and my husband arranged for me to visit the last site in the war, Chalmette battlefield in New Orleans. So I've been able to conduct field research, talk to historians and museum docents, and traipse through the battlefields. The Park Service people have been amazingly helpful. They clued me in to online government sites where presidential journals and the original records of Congress are available to all of us. I enjoyed getting lost digging around in there. They also clued me in to three specific books that really pinpointed the locations I wanted to research. My genealogy also came in handy. As I read old wills during this era I was able to pull historic names of families and places, and I got a feel for the lifestyle and thinking of the day. I have to say that my single greatest research treasure was establishing an email correspondence with the curator of historic Philadelphia--Mr. Ed Lawler. For two years, while researching book one, "Dark Sky at Dawn," he answered innumerable questions and then proofed much of the book for me for historical accuracy. That research was invaluable during the writing of the rest of the series, so I credit him for much of the precision in my research.

JDP: That’s an awesome story! Can you share with us your top three favorite research books or other resources?

Laurie: Aside from Mr. Lawler, and the Park Service, I'd say my next favorite resource was Benson Lossing's "Pictorial Field Book to the War of 1812." Published in 1869, Mr. Lossing's field book is filled with maps and sketches of the places and principal characters during the war, including interviews and excerpts from letters, diaries, etc. It's a complete history course, and since it was written fairly close to the time of the events, it provides the least politically-modified version of the war.

JDP: Are there any historical figures from this era who particularly intrigue you?

Laurie: I now have a serious crush on George Washington. Even though Washington was dead by 1812, the groundwork and example he set continued to powerfully influence President Madison and the citizenry. Washington was an extraordinary man in every way.

JDP: I think George Washington is awesome, too! And sadly underappreciated by today’s generation. What inspired you to write “Dawn's Early Light”?

Laurie: I want to get the entire series out in time for the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the Star Spangled Banner which will commence in 2012. Aside from that, current events kept me at my computer writing. I see so many similarities between our day and this generation--complacency, a lack of gratitude, political corruption or arrogance. Seeing what happened to America in 1812 because of these attitudes, it seemed timely to remind us where we're headed.

JDP: Are you working on any new projects?

Laurie: Several years ago, I wrote a story that finally found a home. It will debut in April under the title, Awakening Avery. It's a book about a woman author named Avery Thompson whose beloved husband dies, leaving her to move from a passive role to an active one in leading her family forward. But she is so caught up in her own grief and insecurities that she can't see the suffering of others--including her own children. She needs a healing place, so a summer house swap is arranged between Avery and a widower named Gabriel, whose family has their own complicated dynamics. As Avery steps into Gabriel's world, her neat, tidy universe collides with a cast of colorful, flawed characters who help awaken her to the possibilities that life still holds for her. What I love most is that she grows from being a victim, to a survivor, to an advocate for others, and as she heals, she ends up healing many others along the way.

JDP: Sounds like an amazing book. But so does your entire Free Men and Dreamers series! Where can readers obtain copies of your books?

Laurie: All the Free Men and Dreamers books are available at Deseret Book, Seagull, DeseretBook.com, Amazon.com and wherever LDS books are sold.

JDP: Thanks for visiting with us today, Laurie. I loved hearing your insights into this period of American history!

Laurie: Thanks tons for the interview, Joyce. This really made me think and reflect. Great questions! And thanks to your followers for sharing this time with me!

*****

Now for the giveaway part! Remember that the prize is Winner’s Choice of any of the first three volumes (autographed) in Laurie’s Free Men and Dreamers series: Volume 1, “Dark Sky At Dawn”; Volume 2, “Twilight’s Last Gleaming”; Volume 3, “Dawn’s Early Light”. Please note which volume you would like to win in each of your entries. (Remember, USA entries only for this giveaway.)

For a chance to win, do one, two, or all three of the following. Each counts as a separate entry, so please do NOT combine entries into a single email or you’ll only be counted once!

(1) Leave a comment on this blog, then email me with YOUR  NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS to jdipastena@yahoo.com. Please type “#1: When was the War of 1812?” in the subject line.

(2) Visit Laurie’s website at http://www.laurielclewis.com/index.html. Click on her “News” tab and scroll way down the page to her list of trivia questions about the War of 1812 (“For instance, did you know that…”). In the spirit of “the more things change, the more they stay the same”, email me the 5th question on the list. Send me the question WITH YOUR NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS to jdipastena@yahoo.com. Please type “#2: When was the War of 1812?” in the subject line.

(3) Visit Laurie’s blog at http://www.laurielclewis.blogspot.com/ and tell me what Laurie considers herself challenged at. (A challenge I share with her! It’s up there in her blog title box.) Then email me the answer WITH YOUR NAME AND MAILNG ADDRESS to jdipastena@yahoo.com. Please type “#3: When was the War of 1812?” in the subject line.

And don’t forget to tell me in each entry which of her books you’d like to win!

Deadline for entries is Sunday, April 11, midnight PST. The winner will be announced on Monday, April 12.


Sunday, March 28, 2010

Summary Sunday

Some writers I know write much faster than I do. Some writers I know write slower. Some writers I know write more hours a day than I do. Some writers I know write less. One thing I've learned. I cannot successfully complete a new book if I worry about comparing myself to others, therefore...I write the number of words a day that I write. I write the number of hours a week that I write. When my efforts feel so small that I sometimes wonder if it's worth it to continue, I take this verse as my mantra:

"Out of small things proceeds that which is great." (Doctrine & Covenants 64:33)

Here is a weekly summary of my often "small" writing efforts. And just for fun, I'm throwing in one "new" sentence a day from my daily writing. These sentences may or may not make the final editing cut when all is said and done, so enjoy them while you can!

Thanks for joining me on my journey!

Monday: 811 words

Sentence: What harm could result from one sweet memory of an hour spent listening to him finish his chanson?


Tuesday: 1105 words


Sentence: Having refused the invitation for the fifth time, Acelet stuck upon the happy notion of silencing Bricot by offering him another sheet of parchment to draw upon.


Wednesday: Out of town all day


Thursday: 801 words


Sentence: Could he ever truly hope to be worthy of her himself, a bookish poet who preferred a common staff to a warrior's sword?


Friday: 974 words


Sentence: A tongue that would likely keep flapping in spite of himself even after it had been removed from his mouth.


Saturday: 1950 words


Sentence: She remembered again his drawing, with the tiny oval surrounded as though by rays of light.


If anyone would like to start a Summary Sunday on their own blog, you're welcome to share my idea. All I ask is that you link back to my original blog link.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Happy 101 Award!


Thank you, Aleksandra of Aleksandra's Corner for this lovely Happy 101 Award! To earn it, I have to list 10 things that make me happy, then pass the award on to 10 friends. Hmmm, how hard can it be to come up with 10 happy thoughts? Let's find out!

Ten Things That Make Me Happy

1. Spending time with my sister
2. My cats
3. Music (especially Tchaikovsky and music from my childhood)
4. Reading
5. I suppose I should put "Writing" in here somewhere. Let's say it makes me happy when it "works". :-)
6. (Hmm, this is tougher than it looks!) Playing the piano
7. When people are nice
8. Blue, sunny skies
9. Reading about Henry II
10. Knowing something I did made someone else happy

Okay, now ten wonderful bloggers I'm passing this onto:

1. Suzanne Barker at Up To Speed
2. Catherine Galloway at My Own Opinion
3. Nichole Giles at Random-ish by Nichole
4. Miss Mae at Pure Southern Genteel
5. Connie Hall at C. LaRene Hall
6. Joan Sowards at Haunts Haven
7. Anna Jones Buttimore at Buttimore's Books
8. Larry Hammersley at Larry Hammersley
9. E.A. West at The West Corner
10. Cheri Schmidt at Cheri Schmidt

I'm looking forward to learning what makes each of them happy!

Guest Blogging at Day Dreamer



I've posted a guest blog on 
on Christine Bryant's Day Dreamer blog. 
I'd love you to stop by and check it out!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Tuesday Teaser

Tuesday Teaser is a weekly bookish meme (rhymes with “cream"), hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. (I’ve borrowed it from LDS Women’s Book Review.) Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share at least two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

I’m adapting the rules slightly: I’ll be quoting some random lines from the last page I read before I post my teaser. I'm a slow reader and this is an exceptionally long book, so I will probably share multiple teasers over the next few weeks. Here's the first one:

The knife withdrew from my flesh. Across me Marric said: "Well, so far so good. The brat did us a good turn with his fire. No one was watching the river to see a boat slip under the bridge. Now, boy, let's hear what you have to tell us. What's your name?"

"Myrddin Emrys."

"And you say you were--hey, wait a minute! Did you say Myrddin? Not the bastard?"

"Yes."

The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart, p 92

If you'd like to share a Teaser from a book you're currently reading, I'd love you to do so in the comment section. And you don't even have to share it on a Tuesday! Be sure to include the title, author, and page number in case others would like to check out the book you're reading, too!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Summary Sunday

Some writers I know write much faster than I do. Some writers I know write slower. Some writers I know write more hours a day than I do. Some writers I know write less. One thing I've learned. I cannot successfully complete a new book if I worry about comparing myself to others, therefore...I write the number of words a day that I write. I write the number of hours a week that I write. When my efforts feel so small that I sometimes wonder if it's worth it to continue, I take this verse as my mantra:

"Out of small things proceeds that which is great." (Doctrine & Covenants 64:33)

Here is a weekly summary of my often "small" writing efforts. And just for fun, I'm throwing in one "new" sentence a day from my daily writing. These sentences may or may not make the final editing cut when all is said and done, so enjoy them while you can!

Thanks for joining me on my journey!

Monday: retooling old chapter

New sentence: By the time Dowsabel squiggled away from the curve of her arm and leaned eagerly forward again, Joslin realized she had missed a critical part of Acelet's song, for Raoulin had departed King Arthur's court and was engaged in a mighty battle with a giant who had been harassing the king's fair lands.


Tuesday: retooling old chapter


New sentence: Acelet looked painfully wrenched out of his dream.


Wednesday: still retooling


New sentence: That she had been seduced by the tale for even an instant galled her, and she showed now her disdain of it with a toss of her head, though he could not have known her gesture's cause.


Thursday: 1069 words


SentenceAcelet stared, torn between incredulity—for he'd seen the proud way she'd recoiled from touching the low-born jongleur—and anger that someone, anyone else had been threading his fingers through her fascinating tangles.


Friday: 1023 words


Sentence: "Is he so desperate to prevent me marrying his daughter that he sends you to drive me into a trap?"


Saturday: Gone all day. Book signing at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. :-)


If anyone would like to start a Summary Sunday on their own blog, you're welcome to share my idea. All I ask is that you link back to my original blog link. Maybe we can start a new meme (rhymes with "cream") for working writers!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

AZ Renaissance Festival Book Signing 2010

Yes, I know, I've already shared pictures from this year's Arizona Renaissance Festival with you. But that was play. This was work! Well, okay, it was fun work, getting to meet so many nice people, and well, sell a few books while I was at it. Here are a few pics from my 2010 book signing at Lady Ann Chamberlin's Bookshop. (Thanks for inviting me, Ann!)


Lady Ann Chamberlin's Book Shop




Lady Ann Chamberlin




My table outside of Lady Ann's Bookshop




That looks like me! 
(No, not the woman on the book cover. Don't I wish!)




Me, my book, and my snood

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Hi, all you animal lovers!



This is pretty  simple. The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting  enough people to click on it daily so they can meet their quota of  getting FREE FOOD donated every day to abused and neglected animals.  It takes less than a minute (about 15 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals for free'. This  doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate  sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food  to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. 

Here's the web site! Please pass it along to people you know. 


Clio, Glinka (“rescue cats” of my own) and I all thank you!



What Am I Reading for My 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge?

I regret to say that I was disappointed with Mary Stewart's The Prince and the Pilgrim. Her mix of legend and history just didn't mesh well for me, among other things that just didn't "click" for me personally. (Although it did stir up my interest in learning more about the Merovingian kings of the Franks.) All of which surprised me, because I remembered how much I had loved her Merlin Trilogy, especially The Crystal Cave. I loved the Crystal Cave so much that I read it at least twice between Junior High and High School, and again while I was in college. But after reading The Prince and the Pilgrim, I began to doubt my memories. Had the Crystal Cave really been written in a similar style to The Prince and the Pilgrim, and if so, had I simply been too young at the time to find it similarly lacking? There was, of course, only one way to find out. After a lapse of over 20 years, it was time to pull out The Crystal Cave and read it again!

And so, I have begun my fourth reading of The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart, for my 2010 New/Old reading challenge. (The above is the cover on my ancient edition. It's not the same cover you'll find on the book today.) I am only 48 pages in (although the print is very small for my now aging eyes), but already my confidence in my former opinion has been reassured. Perhaps because I read this book at such a young age, the protagonist became, and has remained for all these years, the "definitive" Merlin of Arthurian legend to me. As I sink into prose and memory, I am once again with an old friend. To my mind and heart, The Crystal Cave will always remain a true classic.

Note: One reader on Goodreads said she'd heard (or read?) that The Prince and the Pilgrim was written by Mary Stewart before she became a published author. If that is the case, it might go a long way towards explaining the amateurish feel of the book for me. Heaven help me if anyone ever decides to pull out any of my "early novels" and publish them!

Back cover blurb:

Who was Merlin?


Was the famed magician of Camelot and King Arthur's court really a sinister, all-powerful being from another wold? Was he truly a Prince of Darkness?


Or was he a man with the loves and passions of other mortals? A man with unique intelligence and unusual gifts?


Why was he so feared? How did he come by his occult powers? Why was the crystal cave so important to him?


Mary Stewart's novel brings to vibrant life one of the world's greatest legends and sheds a fascinating new light on the turbulence and mystery of 5th-century Britain.

With its length and small print, this is likely to be a multiple Tuesday Teaser read for me. Stop by next Tuesday to get your first peek!

If you'd like to join my 2010 New/Old Reading Challenge, its not too late! Click here and here for more information. And remember, there are prizes involved if you join us! :-) 


Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Tuesday Teaser

Tuesday Teaser is a weekly bookish meme (rhymes with “cream"), hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. (I’ve borrowed it from LDS Women’s Book Review.) Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share at least two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

I’m adapting the rules slightly: I’ll be quoting some random lines from the last page I read before I post my teaser. As I warned you, I'm a slow reader, so sometimes I'll be sharing teasers from the same book over multiple Tuesdays. This is one of those weeks. So here's a second excerpt from The Prince and the Pilgrim, by Mary Stewart:

This time it was she who put out a hand. "No. Please stay. Why don't you tell me about it, this quest of yours that troubles you so much."

From The Prince and the Pilgrim, by Mary Stewart, p 254

If you'd like to share a Teaser from a book you're currently reading, I'd love you to do so in the comment section. And you don't even have to share it on a Tuesday! Be sure to include the title, author, and page number in case others would like to check out the book you're reading, too!