They Almost Always Come Home

They Almost Always Come Home by Cynthia Ruchti.

I heard the author speak at the 2005 Nashville ACFW Conference. It wasn’t a long talk. In fact, it was brief, but I knew then that this woman was a brilliant writer. And then later she became the “Topic of the Week” person for the ACFW main loop and her posts impressed me. I couldn’t imagine having that much creativity for coming up with the unique way she presented the topics. She has a natural gift from God for using words to make beautiful stories.

Here is the intro passage to her novel:

Do dead people wear shoes? In the casket, I mean. Seems a waste. Then again, no outfit is complete without the shoes.

The author says on her website: My prayer is that you will close the last page of my novels with a satisfied sigh. It will bless me if you say, “What a great story!” It will bless me more to hear, “What a great God!”

Jane Eyre — A love story for Valentine’s Day

If I had to choose a favorite book, I would have to choose Jane Eyre. Which is odd, because there are parts of the book I don’t like.

I don’t like it when she is mistreated by her Aunt and cousins. I don’t like it when she is punished at Lowood or when her only friend dies.

Would these scenes have made it into the book if it were published today? Would it be considered back story? Because it definitely is. But it has a place in the story.

We need to know what she suffered as a child. Because it made her into the woman she became–the woman who forgives her aunt, the woman who flees when she discovers Mr. Rochester’s secret.

Others would say that running away is cowardly–not heroine material. But when you consider she is leaving the one place where she found happiness, I would say she is doing a very brave, very selfless act.

And yet, I hate it when she leaves, but I know she must. She forsakes love to do the right thing. Now that’s a strong character.

I’ll be dragging my poor husband to see this in March(with the agreement that I have to go with him to see Thor).

I’m not sure I’ll like it as much as this version:

Before the new movie comes out, I”ll be re-reading my Reader’s Digest Hardback edition (gloriously purchased at a Friends of the Library book sale for $1).

Before and After

“The frontal lobes are considered our emotional control center and home to our personality.”

In 2002, at age seven, my son’s personality took a drastic change. He had always been a very quiet, well behaved child in school. His grades were excellent.

And then . . . something happened. We didn’t know what was going on with him. The teacher started sending home notes like:

“Logan had a very rough day today. He licked everything around him. .  .  He constantly bothers the other children or tries to lick them.”

This was my son, who had NEVER gotten into trouble before at school. He was too shy.

His handwriting went from this in August 2001:

to this is April 2002:

He was diagnosed with frontal lobe seizures–possibly Supplementary Motor Epilepsy. And while his seizures were controlled through medication (Thank you, Jesus and Glaxo), he never recovered the handwriting, but his personality returned to the quiet, shy person we knew him to be(at least in public–at home he has always been a wild and crazy guy who loves to make us laugh).

Prom and Prejudice

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date.”

Thus begins the novel Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg.

This was the second contemporary Pride and Prejudice re-telling that I read this month and was by far my favorite.

I don’t usually read YA/Teen fiction, but the title was so clever I couldn’t resist. I wish I had thought of it.

The novel remained true to the original plot of P and P with modern situations and settings. What I liked most about the story was its lack of “reality show” language that is prevalent in teen shows and books. The novel was clean and I will have no problem at all letting my 10-year-old niece read it. The only kissing that occurred was on the cheek.

I can’t imagine that any teenager or pre-teen would miss the “reality”.

Taking A Vacation from Writing

 

I sent off a manuscript to a publisher at the end of January.

So, I told myself I would take a month off from novel writing and instead, catch up on my Bible reading.

As I read each morning, I kept getting ideas for my next novel.

And because I have terrible memory, I had to write them down.

This morning I wrote a few pages, and it was fun. I wish I could continue, but I have other plans.

I wrote this to say, that if you’re having trouble writing, tell yourself you’re taking a vacation from it, then get in the Word and watch what happens.