Thursday, July 29, 2010
The power juicer on my countertop scares me. It's like brand new but I've only used it one or two times. It once held a prominent place in my kitchen, but now it's lurking in a remote corner by the toaster. I shoved it there.
There are times I'm convinced it's inched out in the night, calling all chocolate from the shelves, drawers and hidden crevices to give account. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I've seen The Nutcracker Suite one too many times.
I have a love/hate relationship with this mechanical beast. I know if I would let it work its magic, it could stir up for me some very healthy drinks. We all know I could use "healthy" in my diet.
But I have this thing about turning orange.
So there it is. My fear. Of turning orange. I've seen it happen to healthy people. They walk around looking like faded carrots.
Still, there's that health thing . . . .
Here's where you come in. Maybe you've tried the juicing thing and you know there are some tasty recipes out there that won't turn people orange. FYI, I'm sorry to say I'm not one of those who can drink raw eggs in some kind of nasty mix just because it's good for me. Taste is big in my book.
So please tell me how to make some yummy veggie drinks in this mixer--without changing my skin color. :-)
Labels: health, juicer, vegetable drinks
Diann Hunt
posted at
7:52 AM
Comments (10)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
I wrote for fourteen years before my first novel was published, and I'm so glad I had that waiting period. I know it's a cliche to say that good things come to those who wait, but it's true. It wasn't until I was married to Mel and learned what a real live hero was like that I found the missing ingredient in my novels--tenderness with strength and a certain, optimistic focus. That was when I went back through all the manuscripts I'd completed--thirteen--and based the male leads, all of them, on Mel. And that was when the publishers took notice.
Now, of course, that could be due to the new subject matter of the books we worked on together--emergency medicine, which was all the rage at the time--but I still believe that the change of characters made all the difference.
Here's what I mean--see the picture above? (I hope I got it in the right place this time). What do you see? Mel was the photographer. He didn't see the dead trees. He saw the beauty of the flowers, the brilliant green of the living plants, and his beloved wife near the trail. So when I created a new hero for a series all those years ago, I created a widower who was still in love with his dead wife, and though his wife had been overweight, all other women were judged against his wife's beauty and found wanting. Until, of course, the heroine of the novel came along.
Mel doesn't see my gray hair--even when I let it grow out too much. He doesn't see the lines and wrinkles of a maturing body. He sees in me the woman he first fell in love with--the woman who was so embarrassed by her skinny legs and cellulite that he didn't get a glimpse of them until nine months after we started dating. He uses me as a pattern by which to judge the beauty of other women. What woman would not love a hero like that? Esepcially the older she gets.
So you see those dead, brown trees in the picture? Mel takes a lot of pictures like that. He pulls out the beauty and doesn't even see the scars or ugliness. Who could lose with a hero who focuses on the inner beauty of the woman he loves, and not on the fading outer shell?
Labels: a better hero, character, writing
Hannah Alexander
posted at
12:04 AM
Comments (11)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
I'm a people person. Love to be around people and love even more to watch them. Love interacting and yes, I can be rather opinionated. LOL I'm really active on the HCG forum and one thing I see so clearly anymore is how different we all are.
I'm a relentless optimist. I say relentless because it can be really annoying and I know it. I'm always going to see the bright side. Nothing gets me down for long. Then there are the depressives who only see shadows. These folks drive us optimists crazy and I suspect we do the same to them. These people call themselves realists but they don't see how they aren't realists at all but are full of negativity. Sometimes I just want to shake them and say, "Buck up! You can do this. Things aren't as black as you think." But I sweetly just try to encourage and try to hide the whip behind my back! :-)
While working on my edits this week, I realized my personality makes its way into my work. My heroines are always strong, can-do women. They may not always realize it but they rise to the occasion. And I'm probably always going to write women like that because I like them. I want to be them.
How about you? What's your personal challenge? Do you need encouragement today that you can rise to a challenge?
Labels: optimists, personality
Colleen Coble
posted at
11:25 AM
Comments (12)
Monday, July 26, 2010
This is from Denise, not Colleen. She is on a ship and can't get blogger to open.
We were at Busch Gardens when it started. Just a drop or two at first, and then, before we knew it, buckets of rain, pouring down on our heads.
Just up ahead, three photo booths sat back to back, their black curtains waving their arms in the wind . . .Over here, over here! As one, we made a dash to the booths and ducked in, two by two by one, and drew the curtains.
Kevin and I heard the boys from our dry, comfy spot, laughing at our peculiar landing spot. But hey, were we dry or what?
The storm lasted several minutes. Long enough for Justin, our oldest, to figure out that if he pushed a button several times it would eventually talk back . . . “Quit poking me!” Sending more waves of laughter across our booth train.
But the structures kept us warm and safe and dry in our time of need. It got me to thinking. Where do I go when the storms of life hit, hard and sudden? There are so many options people take. We Christians know we should turn to God. Is there a warmer, safer spot? A spot that’s more secure and unmoving and perfect?
Still there are others, some good, some not. We vent to friends, find comfort in the arms of our family. We journal the feelings too scary and hurt-soaked to share with another living soul. we drown our misery in alcohol or drugs or whatever addiction gives us comfort—chocolate!
Still we know. We know only One holds the key to our future. To our comfort. Only one can save us from the storm. The others merely offer comfort or distraction.
What’s your port in the storm?
Denise
Colleen Coble
posted at
9:47 AM
Comments (4)
Friday, July 23, 2010
Have any of you seen the new reality show, "Boston Med"? It's a reality show that takes place in real hospital ERs and it reminds me of how fragile life on this planet is -- how caught up we can get in the minutia of life and miss the whole point.
Last night, there were two stories so raw, I had trouble watching them without my kids here safely. One, was a six year old girl, with no prior history -- having a heart attack and collapsing at school. The other was a man awaiting a heart transplant, who ultimately dies because his insurance wouldn't cover his trip when necessary. His family by his side, thanking him for his meaning in their life...the little girl coming through, but being fit with a defibrillator in case it happened again...
I ask you, what else matters when it's your loved one?
Life is not fair. You know how kids always want everything to be fair? "He got more than me!" I realized watching that show, we all want life to be fair, but ultimately, it isn't. The poor, the sick, they will always be with us. Growing up, my life was not fair. I had to grow up quickly having a sick brother. But it was a lot fairer than some, and ultimately, it made me a better person. A more independent person.
But if I wrote my story, I would be much better off. They're would be much less conflict and "plot points" to teach me valuable lessons. The truth of our lives and our mistakes create a richer human experience. I think God is onto something here. He writes the story of our lives like deep fiction -- whereas we'd create a fairy tale and end up without a character arc, don't you think? What do you marvel at over the human experience? What makes yours better?
The pic is my husband trying to make life fair for my "city" boys and show them the good life. Don't they look thrilled? LOL
Labels: fairness, human experience
Kristin
posted at
1:55 PM
Comments (6)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
I met a creative soul this week. Her name is Stella. She works at the D’Vine Yarn Shop in Shipshewana. Stella has been knitting for three years and just recently started reading patterns. Before she started with patterns, she followed her creative side in the knitting process. She showed me beautiful scarves made with different textures of yarn, different colors, different patterns—all in the same scarf!! She even embroidered pictures on them—all without a pattern! WOW!
Stella has given my creative side a major boost. She told me she thinks outside the box. There is no denying that! It’s obvious in all she makes. So beautiful!
She’s given me the freedom to try some things of my own. It may not turn out as beautiful as her creations, but it will be fun trying!
I want to do the same thing with my writing. “Think outside the box.” I don’t know what that means for me right now, but I’ll get there.
How about you? Are you working on something and you’ve hit a rough or boring patch, not sure where to go from here? A craft project? A family concern? How to handle your teenager? Think outside the box. God gave us our creativity. I have no doubt there’s so much more we can do with it!
If you need help maybe our collective brains can come up with something creative to help you out. J
In the meantime, I’m working on a shawl made with Mohair yarn. The yarn is so tiny and my fingers are, well, not. But it will be worth the struggle when I’m finished. Sooooo delicate!
What are you working on?
Labels: creativity, freedom, knitting, outside the box
Diann Hunt
posted at
9:02 AM
Comments (13)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
I know it's not wise to say "never," because once you say you'll never do something, that's exactly what you'll end up doing. So when I say I'll probably never get stuck in a rut in my life, that's surely going to happen. That said, however, it won't be easy for the rut. I get bored easily. I don't like to stay in one place, or look one particular way, for very long at a time.
Take my hair in the picture to the left, for instance. That isn't my natural color, in case you don't know. I'm not a redhead. I may be pretty gray by now, but that's another rut I don't want to get stuck in. From my earliest teens, I have colored my hair, changed the style, worn weird makeup and clothing. I've gone to class with green hair, gray hair, orange hair (not intentionally, just experimenting.) You may not be able to see it, but the glasses I'm wearing have red rims, complements of nail polish. I didn't like the color of the frames, so I changed the color. But I didn't get it straight, and so some of the polish reached the lenses, and it looks like a bad makeup job.
So, because of my need for change, I still have the dilemma I had a few blogs back. I have four proposals languishing in my laptop. Since I don't have a contract for any of them at this point, I'm trying to decide which one to work on. One of them is just right for a Hannah Alexander genre. It's a medical romantic suspense, familiar and easy to sell. I hope. But I've put a lot of work on that historical, marriage-of-convenience, as well. And then there's the proposal I sent out not too long ago for a straight romance with very little medical. That's new for me. And then, finally, the one that I doubt will ever sell is the medical women's fiction, purely about relationships.
How about you? Have you ever changed genres, either in what you write or in what you read, or career or hobbies? I don't think I'll do what Colleen's doing. I'll snorkel, but I probably won't go scuba diving.
What major changes have you made in your life? Clothing style? Vacation destination? Have you changed homes or tastes in men? What have you changed about yourself in your life?
How has that worked for you?
Labels: change, getting out of ruts, new genres
Hannah Alexander
posted at
11:22 AM
Comments (11)
I wrote for fourteen years before my first novel was published, and I'm so glad I had that waiting period. I know it's a cliche to say that good things come to those who wait, but it's true. It wasn't until I was married to Mel and learned what a real live hero was like that I found the missing ingredient in my novels--tenderness with strength and a certain, optimistic focus. That was when I went back through all the manuscripts I'd completed--thirteen--and based the male leads, all of them, on Mel. And that was when the publishers took notice.
I'm a people person. Love to be around people and love even more to watch them. Love interacting and yes, I can be rather opinionated. LOL I'm really active on the HCG forum and one thing I see so clearly anymore is how different we all are. 
This is from Denise, not Colleen. She is on a ship and can't get blogger to open.
I know it's not wise to say "never," because once you say you'll never do something, that's exactly what you'll end up doing. So when I say I'll probably never get stuck in a rut in my life, that's surely going to happen. That said, however, it won't be easy for the rut. I get bored easily. I don't like to stay in one place, or look one particular way, for very long at a time.
