My Poem

In the July 2010 Of Good Report newsletter (the monthly newsletter of the American Night Writers Association), Patti Hulet issued us all a writing challenge. She challenged us to write a POEM! Now, I'm about as far away from a poet as any writer can possibly get, but for some reason, I decided to sit down today and fiddle with her suggestion.

Patti challenged us to use or adapt the following form to create a poem:

A_____________

            My poem.

When ____________ you'll find ___________

           ___________

           ___________

           ___________

           ___________

That __________________ to make

           _______________.

Patti gave us an example, borrowed from Word After Word After Word, by Patricia MacLachlan (p 36):

A nut.

           My poem.

When cracked you'll find inside

           Words

           Whispers

           People

           Place

That tuck in snugly to make

           Story.

Now, leave it to me to be unable to entirely "color within the lines". Patti gave us the option to vary the format, and I jumped at the invitation. Here's the poem that I came up with, "inspired" by Patti's pattern:

A cat

             My poem.

When we share our lives you’ll find

            Mad energy

            Mystic calm

            Bedtime snuggles

            A lapful of purrs

Wrapped in a silken ball of fur.

I will entertain, love and soothe you

            On my terms.

My cat, Glinka, all worn out after a mad burst of energy

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 chapter I read before I post my teaser. I'm a slow reader, so you may get multiple teasers per book. Here's my first teaser from Friday's Child:

"She would not be so cruel!" said Hero indignantly. "Don't heed him, George!"

"If I thought it," George said, "if I believed that she was trifling with me so heartlessly, I would--I would grind the rose beneath my heel!"

"No need to make a mess on our new carpet," said Sherry. "Throw it out the window!"

From Friday's Child, by Georgette Heyer, p 142

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.

Book Review of "Chocolate Roses", by Joan Sowards

When Walnut Springs Press offered me a copy of Chocolate Roses to review for Joan Sowards' book blog tour, I jumped at the chance. After all, it had the word "chocolate" in the title!

Back cover blurb:

Janie Rose Whitaker's world revolved around her chocolate shop until Roger Wentworth and his young daughter moved into the apartment across from Janie's. Anyone would think Roger fit the mold of the "perfect" guy, but soon Janie discovers secrets that could keep them apart forever. Though she resists getting involved in Roger's complicated life, they are drawn further into a bittersweet relationship.

Chocolate Roses, by Joan Sowards, bills itself as “A Jane Eyre Parody” for LDS readers. Now, I have read Jane Eyre, and have even watched an adaptation on PBS, but both have been a very long time ago. So I’ll be honest…I had to look up a summary on Wikipedia.com to remind myself how the story went. Chocolate Roses can be enjoyed in its own right, but having at least a glancing familiarity with Jane Eyre will heighten your enjoyment even more.

The protagonist of Chocolate Roses, Janie Rose Whitaker, is a wonderfully well-rounded character, as is her best friend and roommate, Flo the Great Dane. (Yes, I’m talking dog here!) This book is full of humor, sure to tickle many a reader’s funny bone, as well as romance and yes (being true to Jane Eyre) unavoidable tragedy. All are handled with a delightfully deft hand that makes this book very hard to put down.

Chocolate Roses is clearly aimed at an LDS reading audience, being chockfull of LDS cultural and doctrinal references. But any church-going reader of any faith will likely find much to relate to here, too.

Summary: One of the best LDS novels I’ve read in a very long time!

Win either a copy of the book (2 winners) or this fabulous apron created by Joan! 

All you have to do is leave a comment (along with your email address if it isn't on your blog profile) and answer the following question. 

What's your favorite type of chocolate: white, dark, or milk?

(For the record, Joyce's favorite type is: MILK! But I already have a copy of the book, so that's neither here nor there.)

The more blogs you comment on the more entries you'll receive.
All comments must be left by midnight MST on August 8 to be eligible.

Click here to see all the dates and locations for Chocolate Roses' book blog tour.

For the FTC: Walnut Springs Press generously sent me a free copy of Chocolate Roses for review. This has in no way influenced my comments above.

Book Blog Tour for "Chocolate Roses", by Joan Sowards

Janie Rose Whitaker’s world revolved around her chocolate shop until Roger Wentworth and his young daughter moved into the apartment across from Janie’s. Anyone would think Roger fit the mold of the “perfect” guy, but soon Janie discovers secrets that could keep them apart forever. Though she resists getting involved in Roger’s complicated life, they are drawn further into a bittersweet relationship.

You will laugh, cry, and crave chocolate as you read this LDS parody of the classic novel Jane Eyre. 

We have two great prizes up for grabs! Win either a copy of the book (2 winners) or this fabulous apron created by Joan! 

All you have to do is leave a comment (along with your email address if it isn't on your blog profile) and answer the following question. 

What's your favorite type of chocolate: white, dark, or milk?

(For the record, Joyce's favorite type is: MILK! But I already have a copy of the book, so that's neither here nor there.)
The more blogs you comment on the more entries you'll receive.
All comments must be left by midnight MST on August 8 to be eligible.

July 26
Nichole Giles--Random-ish by Nichole
Joyce DiPastena--JDP News

July 27
Deanne Blackhurst--Annie Speaks Her Mind
Tristi Pinkston--*Tristi Pinkston

July 28
Taffy Lovell--Taffy's Candy
Alison Palmer--Tangled Words and Dreams

July 29
Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen--The Write Blocks
C.S. Bezas--For the Love of the Written Word

July 30
Sheila Stayley--Why Not? Because I Said So!
LDSWomen's Book Review

August 2
Kerry Blair--Now & Here
Marsha Ward--Writer in the Pines

August 3
Kaylee Baldwin--Kaylee Baldwin
Amy Orton--Amesbury Reads

August 4
Anna del C.--Anna del C. Dye's Blog
Laurie Lewis--A View from the Other Side

August 5
Valerie Ipson--Of Writerly Things
Anna Arnett--Insights and Ramblings from Anna Arnett

August 6
Lynn Parsons
Danyelle Ferguson--Queen of the Clan

Chocolate Roses can be purchased from Deseret Book, Amazon, and of course your local LDS bookstore.

Winners of my Miss Mae Interview Giveaway Contest!

The winners of our Miss Mae Interview Giveaway are:

Rhonda McDonnell of Arizona, who has won a 50% off coupon for an e-book copy of Miss Mae's Victorian suspense novel, See No Evil, My Pretty Lady.

Yadira Alonzo of Washington (state), who has won a 50% off Amazon gift certificate towards a print copy of the same title.

Congratulations, Rhonda and Yadira!

Thanks to all who read the interview and entered our giveaway!

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

I promised to read two "old reads" back to back to make up for the two back to back "new reads" I read in June. Henry Plantagenet, by Richard Barber, was the first of these "old reads", which I finished earlier this week. My second "old read" for my reading challenge is Friday's Child, by Georgette Heyer.

First, the poem, so you will understand why Ms. Heyer chose this title:

Monday's child is fair in face,

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go,

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for its living;

And a child that's born on Christmas Day,

Is fair and wise, and good and gay.

From Halliwell's Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales.

Here's the back cover blurb to my copy of Friday's Child:

The dashing young Lord Sheringham--known to other young bloods as Sherry--was in a towering rage. He had to marry in order to come into his fortune, and he swore to take the first woman he saw.

She chanced to be Hero Wantage, an ill-treated and neglected orphan in a neighboring household. Her tearful story reminded him of his intentions, and he bundled her off to London where Hero--soon to be nicknamed Kitten--proved to be a quick and almost too apt pupil in the strange and sophisticated ways of society.


I will share a Tuesday Teaser from Friday's Child on Tuesday.

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

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 chapter I read before I post my teaser. I'm a slow reader, so you may get multiple teasers per book.

I finished Henry Plantagenet last night, but haven't chosen a new book to read yet, so I'm going to share with you one last teaser from this book. Actually, I'm going to share two last teasers with you, because I love Henry II, and this is my blog, so I can share as many teasers as I want. ;-)

[Henry II's] private grief was deep. When William the Marshal came to him and told him the news, he had said simply: 'I trust God for his salvation'; and on being asked to pay his son's debts, he did so, commenting: 'He has cost me enough, but I wish he had lived to cost me more.' The Angevins loved and hated with equal fervour, and Henry had been as full of kindness as his son had been of hatred.

From Henry Plantagenet, by Richard Barber, p 210

Henry was a lover of power, a miser when it came to parting with a vestige of authority; and in the use of that power his greatness lies. That he chose to devote both his power and his energy to a better ordering of the affairs of his realm, rather than to frivolous wars and crusades or to exploitation and tyranny, in an age which knew no ethics of devotion to the state, and no concept of the welfare of the people, was his outstanding virtue.

From Henry Plantagenet, by Richard Barber, p 240

If you'd like to share a Teaser (or two) 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!

My Ancestry?

I'm not sure where this came from...I found it in a pile of my mother's things. I think Vera Price is some relative of my mother's (aunt? great aunt? cousin? I've got to research that!...or ask my aunt ;-) ), and I don't know how the vast majority of this could be proved. Except for #48 Charles Robert Clarkson, Jr m Ethel Breeden...they were my grandparents and I found a family pedigree chart for Charles Robert Clarkson, Jr. that traced his ancestors back through #31 John ap Adams. I found that much on FamliySearch. You can search for your ancestors there too, if you like!

But beyond John ap Adams, I can't vouch for the rest of this post. Except that, if true, it would explain my overwhelming urge to celebrate Norman Conquest Day every year! (Click on Norman Conquest Day under "labels" for more information.) I offer this purely for fun. After all, who wouldn't want to be descended from Charlemagne, Charles Martel (the Hammer), or even Pepin the Short!

OUR ANCESTRY (BY VERA PRICE)

1. Pepin of Landon, born before 600 AD; he had

2. Grimoald, he had

3. Pepin of Heristal, he had

4. Charles Martel, King of France, born AD 690, died 22 October 741. He had

5. Pepin the Short [WHICH, IF TRUE, EXPLAINS A LOT ABOUT THE HEIGHT ISSUES IN MY FAMILY!], died AD 768, he had

(Charlemagne, by Albrecht Dürer)

6. CHARLEMAGNE, Emperor of the West, born 2 April 742 at Aix-le-Chapelle. He was king of the French AD 768-814, Emperor of Rome 800-814, when he died. His son was

7. Louis I the Pious, King of France 778-840. His son by Judith of Bavaria,

8. Charles II the Bald, King of France, his daughter

9. Judith, married Count Baldwin I (of the iron arm), son:

10: Baldwin II Count of Flanders, son

11. Arnolph the Great, Count of Flanders, son

12. Baldwin III Count of Flanders, son

13. Arnolph II Fifth Count of Flanders, son

14. Baldwin IV Sixth Count of Flanders, son

15. Baldwin V Seventh Count of Flanders, married Princess Adela, daughter of King Robert the Pious, son of Hugh Capet, King of France, he had

(William the Conqueror, unknown artist)

16. Matilda, who married WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, King of England and Seventh Duke of Normandy in AD 1053. Queen Matilda was also descended from Alfred the Great and the father of William was cousin of Edward the Confessor. Their daughter,

17. Princess Gundred, married William de Warren who was created Earl of Surrey. They had

18. Edith de Warren, married Gerard, Baron de Gourni, their son

19. Hugh Baron de Gourni, who married Millicent de Marie, daughter of Thmas, Lord Covery, their son

20. Hugh de Gourni, Baron, married Lady Julia Dunhartan, sister of Reginald, Count de Boulogne, was Lord of Beverton, their son

21. Anselm de Gourni, Lord of Beverton, his son

22. Robert de Gourni, Lord of Beverton, son

23. Anselm de Gourni, Lord of Beverton, son

24. John de Gourni, Lord of Beverton, married Lady Olivia, daughter of Henry Lovel, Baron of Castle Cary, they had

25. Elizabeth de Gourni, who married Sir John Ap Adam (son of Adam) of Buerton and Tidenham, Lord of Ap Adam by wait who was called to Parliament by Edward I as “Baron of the Realm” from 1206 AD to 1307 AD. He came out of the marches or borders of Wales, son

26. Sir John Ap Adam, son

27. William Ap Adam, son

28. Sir John Ap Adam, son

29. Thomas Ap Adam, married Lady Jane Inge, daughter of Sir John Inge, Knight, son

30. Sir John Ap Adam, Kinght, married Lady Millicent, daughter of Sir Matthew Bessyllys, Knight

31. Sir John Ap Adam, name changed to Adams. He married Clara, daughter of Roger Powell,

32. Roger Adams, who married Jane, daugher of Mr. Ellyott, son, [THIS APPEARS TO BE WHERE WE BEGIN OUR DOWNWARD SLIDE TOWARDS THE COMMON FOLK...NO MORE KNIGHTS!]

33. Thomas Adams, who married Marie Upton, son

34. John Adams, who married Jane Rennelegh, son

35. John Adams, who married Catherine Stegging, son

36. John Adams, who married Marjerie Sluire (Squier?), son

37. Richard Adams, who married Margaret Armager, son

38. Robert Adams, who married Elizabeth Sharlow, son

39. Robert Adams, of Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1640, who married Elenor Wilmot, their daughter

40. Elizabeth Adams, married Edward Phelps, son

41. Edward Phelps, married Ruth Andrews, daughter

42. Rebecca Phelps, married Joseph Wilson, son

43. Deliverance Wilson, Sr., married Sarah Smith, son

44. Bradley Wilson, married Mary (Polly) Gill, son

45. Lewis Dunbar Wilson [IF YOU'RE LDS, CHECK OUT D&C 124:132], married Nancy Ann Waggoner, daughter,

46. Alvira Wilson, married Hosea [PRONOUNCED "HOSEE"...DON'T ASK ME WHY!] Stout, daughter,

47. Alvira Stout, married Charles Robert Clarkson, son

48. Charles Robert Clarkson, Jr., married Ethel Breeden, daughter,

49. Clarice Josephine Clarkson, married Louis DiPastena, daughter

50. JOYCE DiPASTENA!!! (That’s me!)