Tristi Pinkston's New Book - Hang Em High

Author Tristi Pinkston is excited to announce the release of the third novel in her Secret Sisters Mysteries series.

Titled Hang ‘em High, this novel takes place on a dude ranch in Montana. When Ida Mae’s son invites her to come for a visit, of course she brings Arlette and Tansy along with her. They are expecting to spend the week looking at horses, avoiding the cows, and making amends in Ida Mae’s relationship with her son. What they don’t expect is to be stuck on the ranch in the middle of a blizzard and to be thrust headlong into the middle of a mystery.

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Help Tristi celebrate her new novel in two ways. First, come participate in the two-week-long blog contest, where you can win a book nearly every single day! All the details are up on Tristi’s blog.

Second, come to the book launch!

You are invited to an

August Authorama!

Saturday, August 13th

Pioneer Book, 858 S. State, Orem

12 – 4 pm

Games, prizes, balloons, face painting,

and Dutch oven cobbler

prepared by world champion cook

Keith Fisher.

Authors Tristi Pinkston, J. Lloyd Morgan, Cindy Hogan,

Nichole Giles, and Heather Justesen

will all be there to sign books.

This is one book launch event

you will not want to miss!

The Tale of the Chocolate Covered Undershirt

It was Easter Sunday and I had my crew of five kids and a husband at Mom and Dad's house, with a few extended family members. We had just finished a nice Easter feast and were visiting when my youngest son, age nine, came into the dining room with his undershirt in his hands. There were chocolate smears (at least I hoped they were chocolate!) all over his undershirt. He asked Grandma if she had a rag so he could clean his shirt up.

"Ben," I said, "How did you get chocolate all over your undershirt?" His white dress shirt, which he had properly buttoned, looked fine.

"Oh," Ben said, "You know those chocolate eggs they gave us in Primary today?"--the Primary leaders had given each of the children a miniature Cadbury egg, the kind with gooey egg-like insides--at the end of Primary.

"Yes," I said.

"Well," Ben said, "I ate part of mine but I didn't want to eat it all, so I decided to put it in my pocket." He indicated the breast pocket of his white Sunday shirt. "But, I missed my pocket and accidentally put the egg down my shirt." He pantomimed sticking the egg down the neck of his shirt.

"How did you discover what you'd done?" I asked him.

"Well, I was rubbing my stomach and there was this lump there. I looked inside and there was my egg!"

And, the rest is history. When we left for home, we couldn't find the undershirt. Mom brought it to me the next day--still covered in chocolate.

Blog Award

I am pleased to announce that I've been given the "Best Books Award" by writer Dierdra Coppel. Here it is:

You can check out Dierdra's blog, A Storybook World, to see her art and books and awards.

Book Review: Depth of Deceit

Depth of Deceit 

by Betty Briggs

Back Cover Blurb: "Blonde and stunningly beautiful, fledgling attorney Stephanie Saunders vows to protect the innocent even though as indigent defense attorney her clients rarely are. Does that include Josh Durrant, who seems to be following her? Stephanie is dismayed when her peers begin calling her 'Prom Queen' like her boyfriend, Todd Saxton, often does. While desperately trying to prove her credibility in her profession, she overlooks a scheme to steal her innocence. Although she plans to forgive Todd for his ultimate betrayal, she is never given the chance. Her boss, attorney Charles Connelly, offers support, but is Stephanie's welfare, or his own, top priority? The only thing that keeps Stephanie sane in her insane world are the horses she loves but does not own. The example of the abused mare, Riskie Business, helps Stephanie make the most difficult decision of her life. Relying on wit and courage, Stephanie must save herself and another during the final showdown where she proves a loyalty and strength of which she never knew herself capable."

About the Author: A retired legal secretary of thirty-three years and lifetime horse lover, Betty notes that some of her experiences sneak into her story lines, but not without embellishments. Already the author of four young adult books, she is excited to introduce Depth of Deceit, her first mainstream novel. She is the mother of two grown children and grandmother to five. She lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband, Scott. Her three horses round out the family.

My Review: I thought that the premise of the story was good. I enjoyed the larger mystery of what was going on in the plot. I was also interested in reading a story about a woman attorney because I've never read a book about one before. I appreciated that Briggs kept the book tastefully clean, with no swearing or sex scenes, though she could easily have done both if she were that kind of writer.

Now, I have to express my disappointment on a couple of things. The first is personal and is a bit of a plot spoiler, so skip this paragraph if you don't want to know. The single young protagonist, Stephanie, becomes pregnant without her consent and makes the decision to give the baby up for adoption to a two-parent family. She believes that would be best for the baby and she can get on with her life and career. I was quietly cheering her on in this decision because I feel it's the most unselfish thing an unwed mother can do for her child, and the child's best hope for a healthy future. Later on in the book, because of the example of a horse, she changes her mind and decides to keep the baby, even though she is more alone in the world than ever. Of course, I found that disappointing, but what really annoyed me was when her friend referred to her as a "colossal idiot" for deciding to give the baby up for adoption in the first place, Stephanie agrees with her. That did not sit well with me. Young women who give their babies up for adoption are not colossal idiots.

Other things that I found hard to swallow were: much forced-sounding dialog; the fact that except in the very beginning, throughout the whole book Stephanie didn't really seem to do any lawyering, but seemed more like an office stick figure; a boss that was way too paternal to the point of being liable for a harassment suit; and the fact that after the climax of the story the author felt obligated to tie up every single possible little loose end (some that we didn't even know were loose) so that the reader would know for sure that Stephanie really did live happily ever after. It was just too much. We didn't need all that and it kind of made my eyes glaze over.

I'd recommend this book for people who like clean novels with action and a romantic element. It is a great read for those who are not sensitive about adoption issues and who love horses.

You can purchase Depth of Deceit here.
Visit Betty Brigg's website to learn more about her and her books.

On Reviewing Books

I do a lot of book reviews on my blog and you will never see an objective review from me. I am a person with feelings which are subjective, not objective. I try to be fair, and I will always say what I like about the books I read, but if there is something I don't like, I will mention that as well. I don't do this to be mean. I believe the only way to improve is to get feedback. One difficult aspect of being a writer is hearing feedback from others, especially if it's negative feedback. But, that's how we get better, right?

I give the kind of reviews I would want to get for my own work. I would want to know what bothers people about what I wrote and what they liked. I know among some groups of authors there's the feeling of "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine." The reviewer will then err on the side of kind generosity and say only those things that are positive about the book. Kind of like Thumper's mother's mantra: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." That's all well and good, but it leaves the reader of the review with a distorted view of the book, and when I read a review I really want to know what I'm getting into when I crack the cover; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

So, I apologize to the authors of books I have reviewed and those I will review if I offend you. My intent is not to offend but to give an honest report of my opinion about your work. Please remember I am only one person and everyone who reads your book will have a different opinion. That's why honest reviews are not objective.

Book Review: The Crazy Daze of Motherhood by Jane Isfeld Still

Book Description:
A mother's day is filled with all kinds of emergencies, from bumps and bruises to hospital stays. Find the perfect way to recover from your own family's little emergencies with Jane Isfeld Still's latest book on the hilarious daily challenges of a mother in the fray. You're sure to laugh and cry as you celebrate the joys of motherhood.

About the Author:
Jane is married to Rick Still, who she believes has the distinction of being the only man in history brave enough to give her earwax candles for her birthday. They had six children in eight years, and while her children were growing up, she discovered she had a great sense of humor. At least that was her take. Rick once said to her, "Honey, you know all those real corny things you say all the time? Who ever thought you could make money at it?" Her son Adam once told her, "Mom could you please stop telling jokes to my friends? It's really embarrassing." One of Jane's philosophies is, "You're not doing your job unless your children are worried about being seen in public with you."


My Review:
The first thing I liked about this book was the size. It is only 87 pages long, so it's very un-intimidating to read. It's also pink and about 6 inches square. You could probably trace around it to cut out papers for origami. I also appreciated that the chapters are pretty short, so if I only had a few minutes to read I could still finish a chapter.

When I read the title of this book, I thought it would be about humorous mothering experiences. So, I was confused when the first couple of stories were about being single and dealing with roommates. From there, I began to wonder if it was all going to be bathroom humor and I started to get nervous. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded. Not only did I find humorous mothering experiences, but many of them had nothing to do with bathrooms. The earlier stories were kind of a set-up for the mothering stories.

When I read a book that is supposed to be funny, I get defensive. I cross my arms and dare that book to make me laugh. We'll just see if you're funny, I think. I'm happy to report that this book made me laugh against my will. Some of it was genuinely funny. I wasn't rolling on the floor uncontrollably laughing, but the occasional chuckle did escape my lips. Yes, it did.

So, yes. I liked this book. I think it would make a good Mother's Day gift because, 1. It's small and affordable ($8.99 retail. you can purchase it at this link: http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Daze-Motherhood-Jane-Still/dp/159955495X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301328592&sr=1-1), 2. It's about imperfect mothering, which I find refreshing on Mother's Day, and 3. Everyone needs to laugh once in awhile--even against her will. Oh, and 4. How often can you buy a book that you can also use as an origami paper pattern?

You can win a fun prize from Jane to help celebrate the release of her book. Just go to her blog at http://www.janeisfeldstill.blogspot.com and become a follower, and then leave her a comment and tell her that you're a new follower. You could win:

1. Mother's Daze basket, soap, chocolate, lotion, decorative candles, and recipe cards

2. Box of blank cards with a smattering of Canadian chocolate

3. Chocolate

Notes from Conrad Storad's Workshop at ANWA Conference Feb 25-26

Notes from ANWA Conference, February 25-26, 2011

Notes from Conrad Storad’s Friday morning presentation: “Sonoran Desert Tales,” Making Non-Fiction Fun for Young Readers.

Conrad Storad spent 25 years editing ASU’s Research Magazine. Since retiring from that position he has spent his time writing science and nature books for children. He has published 38 children’s books. He calls his books fun non-fiction, though his editors call some of them informative fiction.

Storad first talked about where to go to get information to write about when writing non-fiction for kids. He said that it isn’t necessary to go to the places you want to write about. There are many resources available, such as libraries and the Internet.  He also recommended talking to experts; scientist, engineers, doctors, and professors. He said these experts don’t talk like normal people. He sees himself as an interpreter for his young audience.  Storad said, “I use words and sentences that are easy to understand so that kids can understand the science.”

In this writing environment, every word, every sentence becomes very important. He said, “Try to explain day and night in 85 words so that a kid can understand it.” It is not easy writing. Kids have very short attention spans and are very visual. Storad shared his opinion that the Internet is turning us all into ADHD sufferers because of all the different information that is instantly available “just a click away.”

Storad had class members do a writing exercise. He emphasized that our number one tool is the brain. Other tools include paper, pen, word processor, a computer. The materials we use in writing are words, sentences, etc. He said if we learn something in story form we are much more likely to remember it. For the exercise, class members were assigned the task of writing for 15 minutes, describing a rainbow to someone who has never seen one—an extraterrestrial alien. Class members shared their work.

The second writing exercise Storad gave the class was to choose to write about one of several different animals and make it exciting for a child audience. Class members were given a sheet containing a small amount of information about each animal. They were told to write to the title: “All About Eating.” 30 minutes were given for writing, after which the class members shared their work with one another.

To conclude his class, Storad read one of his stories to the class, the way he does when presenting to a group of children. He used slides of the pictures in his books and puppets to keep the attention of his audience. Autographed books were raffled for door prizes