Inspiration: Freedom

     Happy Fourth of July. It's Independence Day here in the US, and we've got a busy day of picnics, parades, games, and fireworks planned. And since Independence day this year coincides with the Thursday's Children linkup, I want to take a minute to say how thankful I am for the freedom I enjoy in the good old US of A.

     Do I agree with every single decision my country has made? Nope. Would I ever want to be in charge of making these decisions myself? Not a chance.

     Lots of people today lament the direction our country appears to be heading. But do you know what? The United States is still a great place to live. We have top notch doctors who saved my son's life after his traumatic birth experience. My family and I have a roof over our head, meaningful employment, and the freedom to educate our sons at home (or at the library, museum, park, or zoo as the case may be on any particular day).

     I can go to church on Sunday, or any other day of the week, and never once has our service been interrupted by uniformed policemen or angry mobs. My kids and I can pray over our McDonald's ice cream cones and nobody's going to arrest us.

     Unfortunately, people around the globe are suffering horrendous human rights abuses. Religious freedom is thrown out the window to government-sponsored intolerance. Every day pastors and laymen and women are throw in jail just for speaking out about what they believe.

     Today, I am inspired by freedom. And I'm writing about it too. My novels are inspired by the true stories of courageous believers who risk their lives just to meet with other believers or own a Bible.

     Their stories might not get told in their respective countries. I'm going to make sure they get told in mine.

Book Love: Check out The Beloved Daughter, my debut novel highlighting religious persecution and human rights abuses in North Korea.

Blog Love: The Thursday's Children blog hop is a chance for authors to write about what inspires them. Thanks again to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez for hosting.

Random Fact: My ideal Fourth of July celebration would include a cross-country trip to Massachusetts to hear the Boston Pops concert live.

Inspiration: JuNoWriMo

Thursday's Children: The Thursday's Children blog hop is a chance for authors to write about what inspires them. Thanks again to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez for hosting.

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     I'm not much for bandwagons. That being said, I sure do jump on a lot of them.

     I never pictured myself as the type to get into WriMo-ing (writing a novel in a month with a big group of like-minded aspiring authors). I figured I'd write a novel when I felt like writing a novel, and if I wanted to start on October 13, I'd start on October 13 and not wait for November 1. I'd write until it was finished, not until I reached the end of the month or attained a certain pre-ordained word count goal.

     Well, I had already decided that I was going to start drafting my next novel in June. I didn't want it to drag on for months and months and sap time and energy away from my family. So, I had the goal to get it finished by the end of the month. About three weeks later, WIPpet and blogging friend Kate Sparkes mentioned she'd be participating in JuNoWriMo. Turns out I wasn't the only one out there in cyberland hoping to draft a novel this summer.

     Thus began my adventures with JuNoWriMo. I put (almost) all other blogging on hold and focused on my draft. I met some great cyber buddies and participated in some blood-pumping wordsprints. Participating in JuNoWriMo gave me a built in cheerleading system. When my wrists felt like they were on fire after typing five thousand words in three hours with only one break, other JuNoWriMo-ing tweeps loaned me their sympathy. When I went three days without touching my manuscript because I felt completely unable to go on, my JuNoWriMo buddies cheered me on. (One of them even offered some explicit advice on how to stimulate my muse. I still haven't told him my muse is quite masculine...)

     Well, thanks to JuNoWriMo, about an hour ago I finished my first draft. Would I have made it to this point if I had been writing completely on my own? Who knows? But running this month-long marathon with a few hundred encouraging comrades certainly made the journey more rewarding and fun!

(If you want to find out when JuNoWriMo Draft 1 becomes a real, live published book, sign up for my newsletter on the right-hand side-bar!)

Vote: The Beloved Daughter was nominated for Book of the Month at bookfun.org. Give it a click!

Random Fact: My fastest 30-minute wordsprint during JuNoWriMo got me 1,505 words.

Inspiration: Epic First Draft Fails

     I'm not supposed to be blogging on Thursdays this month. I'm supposed to be working on my JuNoWriMo project. At my current word count, I'm definitely on target to finish the manuscript by the end of June.

     But I can't.

     Not without overcoming some serious mental barriers. I'm gearing up to write a really intense, integral part of the story...kind of the pivotal moment, if you will. And I all I can think about are all the tangles still behind me in the first 40,000 words for JuNoWriMo Draft 1.

     First of all, there's the redundant redundancies that sneak their sneaky way into my manuscript. Some of my personal favorites include:

• “What are you still doing awake?” David was surprised to see his wife awake.

•  With faltering steps, she stepped in.

• Tiger didn’t have any more money to spend. He had spent it all already.

And then there's the goofy typos and misspellings, like:

•  There were dozens of girls aging in range from ten to eighteen.

• Sparrow didn’t know who the knew girl was. 

And, of course, since I'm often writing late into the night, there's those sentences that are so comically awful I started keeping track of them. I put these in my please don't ask category. For example:

• His heart hadn’t stopped beating since he entered the room.

• Tiger was subtly aware that he was panting with excitement.

• Mr. Tong rested his cup on his knee and looked out the window. (This sentence makes sense except for the fact that Mr. Tong is blind.)

• Translucent eyelids stared up at him. (Yeah, I told you not to ask.)

 

Visit bookfun.org to vote for my novel!

Believe it or not, as embarrassing as these lines would be if they showed up in my completed manuscript, I'm inspired when I read them today. Yes, my first draft is going to have mistakes. Yes, some of the things I write this month won't many any sense at all. But that's why it's a first draft. So, today I'm inspired by my own mistakes, and I hope you got a good laugh out of them as well.

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Blog Love: The Thursday's Children blog hop is a chance for authors to write about what inspires them. Thanks again to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez for hosting.

Pretty please: My novel, The Beloved Daughter, was nominated for book of the month for an online book club magazine. You can vote for The Beloved Daughter at bookfun.org. (Note: You don't have to register to vote if you're on a computer. Sometimes iphones make you register first.)

Inspiration: Big Fat Guy in the Art Gallery

     I've been depressed for a little while now. I've self-diagnosed myself with post-publishing blues. The Beloved Daughter was published in early April, and I've been on a rollercoaster ever since. First there was the horrible insecurities that no one would buy my book. Then sales picked up, so I turned my fretting over to the awful reviews I was afraid I'd get. Then, when reviews came back mostly positive, I really freaked out. What if my next book isn't as well received?

     I'm sure in six months I'll look back and laugh at all my petty anxieties. But right now I'm living through them, and it's been difficult. I want to make June a big writing blitz month, but I've changed my mind 325 times when I try to decide what I'm going to write next.

     Tonight, I knew I just needed some quiet time to reflect and pray. But my mind has been racing so fast since April that I sort of forgot how to be still. So I pulled up my favorite online art gallery and looked up some of my favorite artists. When I am trying to quiet my mind, I sometimes use paintings to help me focus. Tonight I looked at an 1866 work by Russian artist Vasily Perov, Arrival of a New Governess in a Merchant House. 

Arrival of a New Governess in a Merchant House, Vasily Perov

     It took less than a second for me to project myself into the painting. The young woman is timid, afraid, shy. Rejection is her greatest fear. The shadowy figures in the doorway on the left are the ones she's afraid are going to ruin her life with their rascally antics. The wide-eyed girl in the pink skirt is already enthralled by her, but all that trust only makes the hapless governess fear letting the child down. The father of the house stands stoic, deciding if he'll accept the new governess or not. As he looms, barring the entrance, do you think he understands how much one kind glance might mean to this woman? And what about the odd-looking young man standing by the father? Do you detect something a little sinister in his eyes? Does the hopeful girl know that if she puts herself in the position of a governess that's she's not only inviting attack and ridicule, but she's loosing some of her privacy to individuals who might prove less than savory?

     Unfortunately, Vasily Perov only gives us this single snapshot. What happens to the girl in the painting? Is she turned away? Hired on the spot? Does she integrate perfectly into the family, or does some shameful harm befall her before her stint as governess comes to an end?

     I can't tell her story. But I can tell mine. Mine is the story of a young writer terrified of rejection, afraid of critics, longing for acceptance, and wondering if the path stands open before her or not. But in spite of her fears, in spite of her post-publication blues, she prays for guidance, weighs her literary options, and decides what she's going to write next. She resolves not to let previous successes or failures in her writing career dictate her next novel, she lets the blogosphere know that she's taking the month of June off to focus on her first draft, and then she sits before a blank screen with an anticipation she hasn't known in years.

Blog Love: The Thursday's Children blog hop is a chance for authors to write about what inspires them. Thanks again to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez for hosting!

Random Fact: I had a professor in college who insinuated in front of our entire class that I was clearly not a gifted writer. And this after I poured my soul into a creative writing montage about the difficulties of being an artistic mind trapped in a pre-med student's body.

Blog Notice: Since I'll be first-drafting it during June, I probably won't keep up with the Thursday's Children blog hop, but I may be posting brief updates as I delve into novel number 2. Feel free to follow my blog if you'd like to give me some support, or if you'd just like to hear about what's been going on in my drafting. And if you haven't read The Beloved Daughter yet, I'd be honored if you did!

Inspiration: The Sappiest Blog Post I Will Ever Write

The Thursday's Children blog hop is a chance for authors to write about what inspires them. Thanks again to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez for hosting, and everyone else ... consider yourselves invited to join the blog hop fun! 

     Remember that really sappy love song, I'm everything I am because you loved me? Well, if you're not into sap, I don't suggest you read any further. This is going to get pretty mushy.

     On Thursdays, I blog about the inspiration behind my writing. Today, I'm posting about a friend who hasn't just inspired my writing; she is responsible for the fact that I am published at all.

     Meet Regi.

     Yes, most of my writing pals already know Regi, author of the chocalate-enhanced WIPpet posts, creator of the Fairy Blood novel, lifetime proponent of NaNoWriMo, and friend of all tweeting authors. (See, I warned you this was going to get sappy.)

     Regi and I are both part of the same homeschool group, and we met at a park almost two years ago. I have three kids; Regi has four. For about a month of each year, our children line up in perfect chronological order.

     Regi and I became mom friends before we figured out that we were both writers. All we knew was that our kids got along great and that we were both in the market for new homeschool pals. Finally, about a month into our friendship, Regi told me the truth.

     "I do this crazy thing every November and write a full length novel."

     That's when I knew I had found a soulmate.

     When I met Regi, I had two and a half  manuscripts to my name, but I still maintained that the only "real" way to become an author was to proposition agents and publishers until someone finally took pity and picked me up. And if you didn't know it by now, Regi is one of the indie author movement's greatest proponents.

     But in order to make the big jump into the world of self-publishing, I needed more than just an indie cheerleader. I needed to get over my aversion to spending "superfluous" money.

     It would take way to long to describe all the ins and outs of how it worked, but a while back Regi was instrumental in helping me start my own home business leading homeschool clubs for kids (including Regi's). It has nothing to do with writing, but it brought in a cash flow nevertheless, a cash flow that helped me take the financial plunge into self-publishdom.

     If that weren't enough, Regi was the one who convinced me to get a twitter account, who encouraged me to start this blog (at the time I was blogging exclusively about special needs), and who introduced me to the WIPpeters and the wonderful world of online author camaraderie.

     I know Regi's not all that into sentimentality, and it's possible she's needed to gag once or twice while reading through this post. But I do hope she knows how much I value her friendship, and now I'm glad that the entire blogosphere knows it too.

Meet Regi: Check out Regi's blog or follow her on Twitter. You'll be glad you did!

Random Fact: Between my three boys and Regi's three girls, there's a decent chance Regi and I might one day share grandchildren.

Don't forget! Help support disaster relief efforts when you buy The Beloved Daughter from alanaterry.com/oklahoma (Shipping to US only. Sorry!) CLICK TO TWEET!

Inspiration: Normalization

Who's to say this guy isn't normal?

     My son Silas is five years old and is just now learning to eat. A traumatic brain injury left Silas unable to swallow anything at all until quite recently. We are now nearly to the end of our three-week trial of feeding Silas everything by mouth. This is the first time in his life that Silas has not used a tube to give him his food.

     When I told my boys about Silas' three-week trial, Nate (like the adoring big brother he is) gasped, hugged Silas, and exclaimed, "Now you'll be normal!"

     A lot of progress has been made in "normalizing" disabilities. We have laws in place to prevent kids from discrimination. Our city is currently building a state of the art, fully accessible playground so that even children with wheelchairs can play, climb, swing, and have a blast. We celebrate the Special Olympics, we post buttons on our blogs raising special-needs awareness, and we have weeks of the year devoted to all kinds of syndromes, disorders, and diseases. Kids with disabilities are often integrated into mainstream classrooms in school and get to interact with their able-bodied peers. I am so thankful to be raising my tube-fed son in a world that is more tolerant, more gracious, and more accepting than it was when I was a child.

     Unfortunately, kids literature seems to be on the lagging end of the progressive movement to normalize disabilities. How many books can you name about kids with autism, or cerebral palsy, or a chromosomal abnormality? If your son has a feeding tube like mine, can you just walk into Barnes and Noble and ask for a book about a tube-fed child?

     When I started writing My Solar-Powered History series, I decided (at the last minute, actually) to give one of the characters a feeding tube. It's not a major part of the plot. The fact that one of the Otis boys has special needs is not the main focus of the book. It wouldn't even count as a sub-plot, in my opinion.

meet Benson

     But that's how I see my son Silas. I see a boy who plays the piano for several hours a day, who loves to write stories, who guffaws at his own jokes and has perfect comedic timing, who loves animals to a fault, and who happens to have a feeding tube. The character Benson in My Solar-Powered History series also enjoys music, also loves animals, and also happens to eat differently than most people.

     I see great promise for children these days who grow up with disabilities. And I hope that in some small way, my series about a boy who just happens to get his nourishment in a different way than us "normal" folks will help pave the way for further normalization of kids with disabilities in children's literature, and maybe make one or two other tube-fed kids like Silas very, very happy.

Random Fact #23: I spent about two weeks homeless after I graduated college and didn't know what to do once I was "all growed up."

Check It Out: What, No Sushi? (the first book in My Solar-Powered History series) is on sale now!

Blog Love: The Thursday's Children blog hop is a chance for authors to write about what inspires them. Thanks again to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez for hosting, and everyone else ... consider yourselves invited to join the blog hop fun!
    

Literary Things: Seven Books That Changed My Life

What's up with this photo?

     One of my WIPpet buddies, Emily, nominated several of us WIPpeters for the versatile blog award. I get to tell you seven things about myself. And do you know what? Since all of us WIPpeters are literary types, I'm going to tell you about the seven books that have most changed my life. And guess what else? This just makes the perfect post to include in Thursday's Children link up, where authors talk about what inspires them!

Classics

1. Crime and Punishment. If Dostoevsky had never written his masterpiece, I would have never met my husband. A love affair with Russian literature led to a short trip to Russia. Said trip to Russia led me to my husband-to-be (who is quite American, by the way, but who has been to Russia twice).

2. Anna Karenina. This was an obvious next-step for me after reading Crime and Punishment. Dostoevsky opened the door to Russian lit. Tolstoy created a breathtaking mansion and invited me to stay forever.

3. Les Miserables. No other work makes me prouder to be part of the human race, inspires me to be a more loving person, or inflicts me with such pity for those who suffer unjustly.

Christian Lit

4. Safely Home. This novel by Randy Alcorn holds the distinction of being the first book that ever made me cry.

5. The Zion Chronicles. This was the first historical fiction series I ever read. The author did an amazing job weaving a dozen or so plots and subplots together. I realized that if a person could pay such great attention to the details in her character's lives, then God must be infinitely more in control of my own life. A profound and important lesson for me to learn as a teen.


Kids Lit

6. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. This remains one of my favorite adventure stories. If you haven't read it, think Treasure Island with a little more grit and with a girl protagonist instead of Jim Hawkins. This novel by Avi was the first book I read that had swearing in it. At first I felt guilty in that dangerous, this-is-kind-of-exciting kind of way. It was the first time a book ever made me feel rebellious.

7. Percy Jackson. Since I grew up in a conservative home where fantasy reading was not encouraged or even allowed, it was a huge stretch for me to let my son pick up the Percy Jackson series. I read each book as well so we could discuss the story, and I'm happy to say that Rick Riordan successfully shattered my preconceived notions about the acceptability of fantasy literature in a Christian home.

What About You? Add your most influential books in the comment section!

Random Fact #25: My first fight with Phillip was about Crime and Punishment. We were arguing about whether Dostoevsky intended the reader to sympathize with Raskolnikov or not. I was right. My husband was wrong.

Blog Hop Love: The Thursday's Children blog hop is for authors to write about what inspires them. Thanks again to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Pere for hosting, and everyone else ... consider yourselves invited to join the blog hop fun!

Versatile Blogger Award: The rules for the Versatile Blogger award are as follows:

1. Thank and link to the person who gave you the award.
2. Tell seven facts about yourself.
3. Pass it on to seven other bloggers.
4. Link to specific posts on their blogs so they’ll be notified by pingback

Nominees: 

• Elaine
• Christabelle
• Rachel
• Joy
• Kristi
• Kate
• Rhiann

Inspiration: "Real" School

     We are wrapping up our second year as official homeschoolers. Although I've been teaching my kids since the day they were born (aren't we all?), by state records Nate has been homeschooled since he was five.

     Nate loves it now, but he didn't always want to be homeschooled. The biggest reason was that he read at a very early age, and the vast majority of books he checked out from the library boasted about the glories and splendor of elementary school.

     I'm not into bashing the public school system. I'm not saying that every family should homeschool. But it was frustrating for me when Nate wanted to go to school just because all the books he read talked about the big yellow bus like it was a one-way ticket to little-kid heaven.

     I mean, where were all the chapter books about homeschooling?

     I searched for them. I really did. And eventually -- after hours of unsuccessful internet browsing -- I discovered Do Life Right, a company that publishes books about contemporary, every-day homeschoolers. Fast-forward about two years, and guess what? I'm now a Do Life Right author!

     I was inspired by Do Life Right's passion to normalize homeschooling, which is why I sent them my first manuscript about a week after I first found them online. My boys love reading about  homeschooling families and the adventures they have. And I love that my boys are learning that homeschool is real school.

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Special Offer: What, No Sushi? is now available in discount bundles for families and teachers who want to order multiple copies for a book club. The book includes book club discussion questions, and the website has other ideas for hands-on learning.

Random Fact #12: It took 23 months from the time I wrote What, No Sushi? until it was published.

Thursday's Child Blog Hop: Share what inspires you as a writer! Link up at Rhiann Wynn-Nolet's blog.

    

Inspiration: The Biggest Heroes

     The Thursday's Children blog hop, hosted by Rhiann Wynn-Nolet gives authors a chance to talk about what inspires them. Since my first kids' book, What, No Sushi? was published this week, I'd like to tell you about the inspiration behind it.

     I was in fourth grade or so when I first heard about the Japanese-American internment camps. After Pearl Harbor was bombed in WWII, Americans of Japanese ancestry were forced by government mandate to leave their homes and settle in relocation centers where their activity could be monitored.

     My grandma was a beautiful girl when the internment began. My grandpa was a handsome young man and was eventually drafted into the 442nd, the Japanese-American unit that just happens to be THE most decorated of all American units coming out of World War Two.

     My grandma and grandpa are heroes. But do you know what makes them heroes? It's not the fact that they were poor victims of an unfair law that forced them to leave their homes against their will. It's not the fact that my grandpa was wounded in the war and to this day still receives recognition from the US government for his acts of bravery in combat.

    My grandma and grandpa are heroes because they chose to forgive. "It's just what happens during war." They are not bitter. They are not victims.

     They are victorious.

     I am so proud of my legacy, and there's no way I'm leaving this earth without telling my own kids my grandparents' courageous story. And so I wrote in, in fictionalized form, in What, No Sushi? This isn't a book about my grandma and grandpa. It's a book about an entire generation of Japanese-American heroes that we should all stand up and applaud.

     I can only hope that my legacy shows even a fraction of the bravery, courage, and forgiveness that my grandparents -- and their entire generation -- exemplify, and I hope that others are encouraged by their fictionalized story as recounted in What, No Sushi?

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Interested in What, No Sushi? Buy your own copy today! (Use this form for US orders. International readers can purchase a copy here.)

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Random Fact #8: Three years ago, I had a bout of laryngitis that lasted for six weeks - an experience I hope I never have to relive.