WHITE PICKET FENCES By: Susan Meissner Published by: Waterbrook ISBN#978-1-4000-7457-0 358 Pages
Back Cover: When the storybook-perfect Janvier family temporarily "adopts" their teenaged niece, Tally, they assume they'll be helping her. But when Tally befriends her cousin, Chase, she soon realizes that he badly needs encouragement, too. When the troubled teens interview two holocaust survivors for a sociology project, will they trigger the healing process that everybody needs?
MY REVIEW: White Picket Fences by Susan Meissner I received a review copy of White Picket Fences from Waterbrook/Random House. Susan is building a reputation as not only a fine storyteller, but a skillful and sensitve writer. White Picket Fences poses some interesting story questions and weaves in history as a way of deepening the characters and the story. I would have liked the story to start a little bit quicker, but I stuck with it and was pleasantly surprised at the tenderness and dignity with which she treated the characters and the Holocaust history. Heartwarming and real. If you'd like to read White Picket Fences, leave a comment and I'll announce the winner of this book.
At that Thursday Willamette Writers Eugene meeting, the speaker was a sports psychologist who was applying her techniques to writers. In theory at least, writers have more in common with elite athletes than you'd think. We worry, obsess and tense-up just like Usain Bolt probably does just before the race. Pitching to agents at a conference must rank right up there with Olympic Hammer Throw--if you screw it up, the hammer's coming down in the wrong place. I sat next to one of my favorite writing students, a person I've been dying to ask questions, like: Have you ever felt cheated by yoga or tai chi teachers who say your energy is all wrong if you don't do the moves correctly? This student has to know how I feel, because one of her limbs is inoperable or in her case, nonexistent. How the heck do you improve your chi if you aren't able to repeat the correct moves? I'd probably be a dead downward dog. So this presenter had the audience doing seated motions to boost confidence, banish worry and sweep off that aura. I kept thinking about this hysterical skit put on by some pals of mine called Live Matinee. Their Poo Chi skit is a bit irreverent but a real hoot, taking the moves of belly dancing, or just plain belly worship, to new heights. But back to the meeting. I sat there, doing my one-handed imitation of the psychologist's routine, hoping nobody noticed my chi was getting more lopsided every moment. Writing Tip For Today: The psychologist's talk reminded me not only of darling Poo Chi (be kind to your belly, love your belly) but also of the challenges each writer faces when daring to engage in this writing life. You'll get worried, be rejected, obsess over your mail. The mere sight of the agent's pitch room at a writing conference may give you palpitations or make you wet your pants. But never fear! Do a few simple breathing and chi-strengthening exercises and Usain Bolt will have nothing on you. Except that if you get mixed up with Poo Chi by accident, you'll be navel-gazing anyway and won't care. If you need a bare-belly laugh go watch Poo Chi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a2DQC-ghio
At last night's Novel Writing class' field trip to Willamette Writers monthly meeting, I approached the owner of one of the last indie bookstores in Eugene, Tsunami Books. After following the guy around while he set up the sound system for the evening's speaker, he (Scott) looked over my book. I said my spiel, and found myself emphasizing the sublety of my novel's "religious" content. I felt terrrible about that. Why is it that we who write our faith into our books so often feel like we must apologize? I know another author who, when asked, "What do you write?" by seatmates on a plane, always answers, "Inspirational books." Not Christian, but inspirational. In the very progressive town of Eugene where I live, I know of other Christians who feel attacked should they mention their faith. My intention, in speaking with the Tsunami Books owner, was to make my book sound less preachy and more user-friendly. I don't know about you, but I want my book in as many hands as possible and I don't necessarily only want to preach to the choir. Yet, a few days ago when I didn't research a website deeply enough, I trumpeted the posting of my book review everywhere I could think of before someone gently pointed out that the site features erotica and other literature that might turn-off a "faith-full" reader. This distressing conundrum puts the mettle of my faith on alert--while some say I should be blind to those "questionable" books, others think I should run as fast as I can. I'd love to hear how other authors have dealt with the identity crisis that, at some point, faces most who write for an "inspirational" market. Writing Tip for Today: If you write for a market that holds to certain tenets by definition, be careful where you advertise. This also includes falling into money scams or other types of internet schemes. One site I went to convinced me to download a program and then it proceeded to take over my desktop. One click is all it takes to become ensnared by rip-off, unfriendly or malicious sites. It's important for writers to develop their internet presence. But keep your eyes open.
Mary E. DeMuth is an expert in Pioneer Parenting. She enables Christian parents to navigate our changing culture when their families left no good faith examples to follow.
Her parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2007), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005).
Mary also inspires people to face their trials through her real-to-life novels, Watching The Tree Limbs (nominated for a Christy Award) and Wishing On Dandelions (NavPress, 2006).
Mary has spoken at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the ACFW Conference, the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, and at various churches and church planting ministries. She's also taught in Germany, Austria, Monaco, Italy, France, and the United States. Mary and her husband, Patrick, reside in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France, and planting a church.
ABOUT THE BOOK
She touched Daisy’s shoulder. So cold. So hard. So unlike Daisy.
Yet so much like herself it made Emory shudder.
Burying her grief, Emory Chance is determined to find her daughter Daisy’s murderer—a man she saw in a flicker of a vision. But when the investigation hits every dead end, her despair escalates. As questions surrounding Daisy’s death continue to mount, Emory’s safety is shattered by the pursuit of a stranger, and she can’t shake the sickening fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy’s disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for?
The second book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, this suspenseful novel is about courageous love, the burden of regret, and bonds that never break. It is about the beauty and the pain of telling the truth. Most of all, it is about the power of forgiveness and what remains when shame no longer holds us captive.
Watch the video:
If you would like to read the first chapter of A Slow Burn, go HERE
Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0373442726
My Review: This is the second book in a series and I confess I haven't read the first, Daisy Chain. For me it didn't matter because Mary DeMuth is the real deal. She writes with skill and poignancy and her characters are alive and authentic. I was especially taken with Mary's choice of characters and her dead-on portrait of Emory, the broken mother of Daisy. The themes of forgivenes, loss and pursuit of peace ring true in every chapter. This book is a winner and I loved every bit of it. Wonderful--don't miss it.
When you are learning how to write, it's fairly common to feel twinges of jealousy toward your published friends, or even feel that becoming published is impossible. Are some authors lucky? Undoubtedly. Do others have access to inner circles we can't join? Sure. Yet behind most successful authors lie endless stacks of practice writing, writing that was rejected or writing that came close but no cigar. If you think you've been called to write, are you willing to take the time it takes to learn your craft? While we are all called to make a joyful noise, we aren't all called to perform in front of thousands. While we all have talents, hardly anyone is instantly transformed into a great writer, no matter how much potential there is. Practice the craft of writing as often as you can. Write your passion, your heart, even if there's very little money in it. Keep at it and when you have learned enough, you'll begin to see acceptances. The Impossible Dream becomes the Possible and even Probable if you are willing to stick with writing long enough. Writing Tip for Today: Meawhile, remember to keep your creating (junking it through, writing cruddy first drafts) separated from your editing (rewriting, revising). These two distinct aspects of writing often cancel each other out if done together. Make a schedule--on three writing sessions, draft new stuff. On the 4th and 5th sessions (not on the same day) go ahead and revise if you wish. Keep those words coming.
Linda Clare tells all! Not. But as we move through this most difficult recession, how many novelists feel as if they must keep their real life a secret, their food separated from their whine? That is, how many believe it our duty to keep secrets about our writer lives, lest we be seen as whiners? Even my fiction students often are reluctant to admit how much "life" gets in the way of writing. For many, writing is decidedly a supplemental income. We expect to add to the pot, not fill it. When our significant other or the main breadwinner loses a job, when grown children come home to roost (again!), when family members get sick or when you're in constant fear of being homeless, it's hard to keep a secret. My husband, bless his heart does not wish the world to know when our situation is dire. But I'm a writer. I write from my emotions and when those emotions swirl faster than a hurricane, I have a hard time keeping them out of my writing. In my opinion, if a writer completely separates life from fiction, that writer may end up severing an important nerve, depriving the prose of the emotions that make the prose work in the first place. Yet, no one wants to read a rant or a piece dripping with self-pity. The answer? Truth vs. facts. Tell the emotional truth and lie about everything else. By "lie," I mean write a fictional world that expresses your sorrow, joy, anxiety or anger. Writing Tip for Today: Put your emotions (positive and negative) to good use without putting off readers with TMI (too much info). Luckily, it's possible to weave your real problems into your writing without telling all about your private life. Got a problem aunt? Make her an uncle (with a pot belly and receding hair). If she's tall and thin, give her a short husky body type. Blondes go brunette. Give a character an annoying habit and the chances of the live person recognizing him/herself lessen. Frustrated about your living conditions? Imagine and write yourself a world where you are surrounded in weath. Some readers want to be transported away from their problems, others rely on writers to paint a realistic world. The former are perhaps easier to imagine, but even realistic fiction can be based in fact--facts the "real life" person will never recognize. Change the details, but write your heart out.
After the blog tour--a three day romp through tall mountaintops and deep valleys, I am convinced of one thing: at the end of the sometimes exhausting stuff writers must do, we write. Today I'm facing down my novel-in-progress. Every single time I jump in the pool, I get caught up in the characters and the story. Yet just before I open the work to begin, I argue with myself. Water's too cold, too warm, too chlorinated, too dirty. I stand on the edge of my own story and find ways to procrastinate. "I'll get in a toe at a time," I'll reason. "Get used to it bit by bit." Or, "If I take it slow I'll do a better job." What nonsense. Do I believe in my story? Do I care what happens to the charcters I made up? I'd better care or else no one else will. And those who write slowly may never finish. I'm shocked into the realization that I've been writing as if I had all the time in the world. I've worked on the book when I "felt like it." When I didn't feel like it, my story sat in eight feet of water, near the drain, growing algae. I hold my nose, plug my ears and jump into the deep end of the story. Writing Tip For Today: Every time you sit down to write, just jump in the pool, shoes and all. Get carried away by the waves of emotions your characters go through. Dive into the story even if it's a kind of belly flop you'll fix later. Don't allow yourself to write when you feel like it or when you are inspired or when everyone is gone and you can think. Throw a wet blanket on those lame excuses. Get at it. Write at top speed-o. Even if you are at the stage of life, like I am, where you don't buy a bathing suit unless it has a skirt. You do not have all the time in the world. Write your destiny, and write it right now. The water's fine, come on in!
A friend once asked me what my goals were as a writer. I want to connect with people, I told her. That was more than fifteen years ago and it's still true today. I write in order to build a bridge, an emotional bridge, from me to you. I began writing as a poet. My first sold poem was to the Denver Post and at age sixteen I was thrilled to get $3 for it. I took a lot of time off writing between high school and today--raised four children, including a set of twins,owned too many cats to remember and a couple of dogs, too. I'm a polio survivor, with my share of blessings and burdens along the way. Those burdens have given me a neverending source of writing material, reflected in my books. More than anything, I love to write and read about God in my life. I started out with a mean angry God, but I'm crawling toward a God whose lovingcare and comfort blows me away, time after time. For years I've been seeking God, but all along, He's been hunting me. These are the Grace Notes of my life: God singing to us, God singing through us, God singing for us.
WHITE PICKET FENCES
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