Top Ten Tuesday

/ kellyfbarr / 4 Comments

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday’s theme is “Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven’t Talked About Enough/in a While” as suggested by The Broke and the Bookish.

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I love the entire Chronicles of Narnia series, but The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is my absolute favorite.  This story is a wonderful story of faith, loyalty, love, sacrifice and redemption.  I love Lucy, Mr. Tumnus, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, and Aslan.  I love to share this series with my children.  It is a story that left a strong impact upon me.

2.  

This incredible story is filled with French history, sometimes more than you desire as it distracts you from the actual story line at times when reading the unabridged version.  The story is filled with characters that invoke strong emotions, both positive and negative, as you read the story.  This, too, is a wonderful story of redemption, and, though I love the British soundtrack, I prefer the move drama adaptation starring Liam Neeson.

3. 

This story has such a strong message, more than one actually.  The characters are wonderfully written and they capture your heart.  There are wonderful lessons to be learned throughout this story as Atticus defends a black man in the old, deep south and as he must deal with the anger and dislike aimed at him and his family because of it.  Atticus also teaches his children some valuable lessons throughout the story, both through his words and his actions.

4.  

This is a true story about what happened to one family during the holocaust.  The story shows God’s protection of this family even in the concentration camps in unexpected ways.  It is an amazing story of faith, even in severe adversity.

5.  9781938314148: Fire & Water: A Suspense-filled Story of Art, Love, Passion, and Madness

This book has amazing characters who grab your heart and don’t let go.  The story can be quite intense at times, but you never stop cheering for Jake Bloom and Kate.  You long for Jake to find peace, and when the story ends, you will forever be changed by Jake’s story.

6.  

This is one of my favorite romance stories of all time.  It includes a medieval knight who accidentally ends up in 20th century United States just when Dougless Montgomery needs rescuing.  What happens from that moment on will keep you turning pages until the very end.

7.  

This is my favorite book that includes a dog as a main character.  After reading this book, I wanted a dog just like Einstein.

8.  

The Negotiator is the first book in the O’Malley series by Dee Henderson.  Dee creates wonderful characters in this series; characters you grow to know and love so much that when you reach the series end, you want more.  You don’t want to leave these characters,  you want the story of the rest of their lives (at least I did).

9.  

If you have never read this original story of Bambi, and the only Bambi you are familiar with is the Disney Bambi, you don’t know what you are missing.  I found this book in one of my elementary classrooms where the teacher had us choose a book from the shelf, read it and do a project of some kind on it.  After reading this book, Bambi took on much more meaning to me.  I am a huge animal lover.  I grew up watching and loving t.v. shows like “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” and “The Adventures of Grizzly Adams”.

10.  LOVE UNEXPECTED Read Online Free Book by Jody Hedlund at ReadAnyBook.

I love historical romance novels (that’s why I am writing them).  Anyway, I read the prequel to Love Unexpected and then couldn’t wait to get my hands on Love Unexpected.  They have made me a big fan of Jody Hedlund and I cannot wait to read the rest of Jody’s historical novels.

All of the stories on this list have made a big impact upon me.  If I can remember a story’s basic plot line and its characters for many years, that means it has made a big impact upon me, and the stories on this list will live on in my memory.  Their characters are like good friends.

A Taste of Fame or a Future Fan

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I  had a very interesting, kind of exciting and embarrassing experience last Tuesday night.   Blue Moon Thinker and I went to a library to see what the writers’ group that meets there is like.  It was a good sized group and is well run.  They focus on critiquing each other’s works, so basically, they’re a critique group.  They do a good job of critiquing without making anyone feel like they’re being beaten or really put down.  They are very matter of fact.

Anyway, after that, we went to Barnes and Noble, where I purchased one of the books on my Spring TBR list, Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.  Then we went to Ollie’s, where you can always find good books at good prices.  (Of course, Ollie’s sells lots of other things reasonably priced as well, but I rarely get past their bookshelves.)  In the book area, I located the Short Story and Novel Writer’s Market Guide (2014) and the (2013) Writer’s Market Guide and decided to purchase them.

Here’s what happened at the checkout:

I laid the books on the counter and pulled out my wallet to find my Ollie’s discount card, when suddenly the checkout girl exclaims quite loudly, “Are you a writer?  Are you published?  What do you write?”  I answered her questions and then she proceeded to tell us how she had written a story when she was in high school but never did anything with it.  She said a friend told her she should do something with it, but she said that she would just keep it in it’s little box in her room forever.  I told her she should let another writer read it and give her feedback.  She then gave me my receipt and said, “You ladies have a blessed evening.”

Being an introvert, like most writers, I was greatly taken aback and embarrassed at the unwanted attention of all of the other people in the front checkout area staring at me when she made her exclamations, but after we left the store, it also kind of made me feel good that someone would get so excited over simply learning that I am a writer, without even having read anything I’ve written.

When I shared this story with another friend last Friday night, she said, “You better get used to it.  You never know how many people will ready your books when they become available.”

How about you?  Have you had any fan-type incidents in your life yet?

 

Flash Fiction Friday: Beloved Haven

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She ran; her feelings battered and bruised.  Tired of the name calling, taunting and mocking.

Up the stairs, into her room she went.  She closed the door.  She leaned against it.  Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath.  Relief washed over her.

This was her sanctuary.  She walked to her bookshelves covering two of the four walls.  She ran her hand tenderly, lovingly over the spines.  These were her friends.  They welcomed her.  They nourished her soul.  These friends took her on adventures to far off places.

She could open any one of these and find love, understanding and friendship.  Here was her refuge, her home.  Her only wish: to remain here forever; to never have to face the cruelty outside this door, outside these pages again.

Reply Like No One’s Watching (Writing Tag)

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This is so exciting!  My very first writer’s Q & A, thanks to my friend Eve Messenger.  Eve has some great stuff about writing and reading that she shares on her blog, so take some time to visit her if you can.

Eve’s Questions

  1.  What are three things you do really well as a writer?  I will say, based on something an editor friend told me, I am good at spelling, grammar and beats.
  2. When you daydream about “making it” as a writer, what do you visualize?  This is easy.  I visualize helping provide toward the household income to a place where we can keep our bills paid and also be able to take a vacation every year.  I also visualize having a loyal group of readers and enjoying successful Book signings.
  3. Do you have a regular writing routine?  If so, when?  This is still a struggle for me, but I am finding more time to sit down and write on weeknights, sometimes even Saturday and Sunday, but nothing is yet an actual routine.  After the end of the current school year, I will only have one child left that i will be homeschooling, having graduated the other two, and I hope to be able to create a regular writing routine then.
  4. Dogs or cats?  Definitely dogs!  I love animals, but dogs are definitely my pet of choice.  They are loving, loyal and obedient.  We had to say goodbye to our first black Labrador Retriever last summer, but we currently have another one that I love.
  5. What’s directly to the left of where you are sitting right now?  My kitchen.  I do most of my writing at the dining room table.
  6. When do most of your plot ideas come to you?  In bed, on walks, in the shower, while driving, while reading other books?  In bed.  Most of my writing ideas, whether plot, characters, or anything else come to me when I am in bed.  I keep a notebook and pen beside my bed so that I can write them down, otherwise they don’t let me sleep.
  7. What’s your most recent writing breakthrough?  Realizing that not every story conflict has to be really big.  A story has to have lots of conflict to keep the story moving and the readers reading and I always thought conflicts had to be big, but at a recent writers’ retreat I shared that I was struggling with putting enough conflicts into my story.  One of the ladies made a suggestion for a very simple conflict and that’s when I realized not every story conflict has to be really big.  It has helped me get back to my writing and to be able to write enough conflicts to keep the story interesting.
  8. Are you able to write in noisy environments?  My answer to this question is both yes and no.  Yes, I can write in a noisy cafe or mall food court because I know none of the noise there has to do with me.  No, I can’t write in my own home if it’s noisy because I usually have to be involved in the noise in some capacity.  The home noise directly affects me; cafe and mall food court noise does not directly affect me making it easy for me to tune it out.
  9. Have you ever attended a book signing event for an author you admire?  If so, what was it like?  This is an interesting question.  The only book signing I ever went to on purpose for the book signing was because the author had been one of my favorite teen t.v. stars who had written his first book.  The line was quite long and they actually ran out of books and he signed book plates to hand out that you could paste into your book when it arrived.  I received a book plate and also was able to get my photo taken with the author.  I would say his book signing was a huge success, but I believe a lot of that success was due to his previous television fame.
  10. Are you better at coming up with titles or elevator pitches?  I struggle with both of these, but I would have to say I’m better at coming up with elevator pitches.  I find it a bit easier to summarize and pitch my writing than to come up with a really good, catchy title for something I’ve written.

Tag, You’re It:

Laura L. Zimmerman

Sue

Blue Moon Thinker

Donna L. H. Smith

The Rules:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog and Twitter in your post.
2. Answer the questions that the blogger who nominated you has provided.
3. Nominate up to 10 other bloggers or Twitter followers
4. Create ten questions for your nominees and notify them of their nomination.

Kelly Barr’s Questions:

  1.  Who are your top three favorite authors?
  2.   Are you a plotter, pantser or something in between?
  3.   Where do you do most of your writing?  At a cafe, a room in your house, etc.?
  4.   What’s the biggest writing challenge you are currently facing?
  5.   Do you listen to music while you write?  If so, what kind?
  6.   Coffee, tea or hot chocolate?
  7.   If you could ask any writer, past or present, one question, who would the writer be and what would you ask?
  8.   How do you get past being stuck in your writing?
  9.   What do you do to relax?
  10.   What is your favorite movie that’s based on a book?

 

Top Ten Tuesday

/ kellyfbarr / 3 Comments

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday’s theme as determined by the Broke and the Bookish is Ten Books on my To Be Read List.  This is probably the easiest list I’ve done so far.

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Movie Madness Monday

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No, this will not be a regular weekly post, and, no, it will most likely not be what you expect.

I just wanted to take some time to express my frustration with the movie industry.  You see I still have a child under the teen years at home, not to mention that I think the teen years need to be carefully guided because they are so important and teens are so impressionable.

Anyway, I am disgusted with the fact that the movie industry seems to think that it is important for animated movies to “appeal” to adults as well as children in today’s society.  I just have to ask, did the old animated movies not “appeal” to the adults who took their children to seem them, or even the old Disney movies that weren’t animated?

I remember my parents taking my sister and I to see animated movies like the Peanuts and Winnie-the-Pooh when I was a kid and they seemed to enjoy them.  I never heard them complain about them.

But, suddenly if an animated film doesn’t include innuendo, potty humor or swearing (or something close to it) or something scary, the film isn’t adult friendly.  Seriously, do all adults feel this way?  I can answer that with a resounding “no”.

I, and many of my friends, want “family friendly” films by which I mean films that are appropriate for children; films that parents can take their children to without worrying that their children will be exposed to something they don’t want their children exposed to at a young age, or that their children might ask about that they don’t want to explain to their children at a young age.

It’s downright aggravating to have such limited, almost nonexistent, films that I find appropriate for our youngest son to see.  Therefore, we purchase and watch DVDs at home of things we find appropriate; things like The Peanuts, Winnie-the-Pooh, old family friendly t.v. shows like The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie.

The last really family friendly movies we have seen were the Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University movies and Inside Out.  I am thankful that Pixar still does a fairly good job of making family friendly films.

How about you?  Do you think today’s new adult friendly animated movies are fit for children of all ages?

Flash Fiction Friday: For the Love of a Viking

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“What kinds of things do you dream about, Samara?”

“I don’t dream.  Dreams are a waste of time for people like us.”

“I dream.  I dream of a man falling in love with me and taking me away from this place some day.  A man in whose arms I will feel safe.  A man whose kisses will send electrical currents pulsing through me.”

“You are crazy.  The only men that would ever love you or me wouldn’t have the ability to take us from this place.  They would be of this place too.  No one from outside notices the likes of us, Maisy, and the sooner you accept that the better off you’ll be.”

“But what of Gunnar?  I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Samara.  I think he would like to take you away from here.”

“Gunnar is a Viking.  The only thing he wants with me is to take me to his bed.  Vikings use women like us.  They do not love women like us.”

Maisy hung her head and grew quiet.

Samara looked at Maisy.  When Maisy raised her head again, Samara could see tears glistening in her eyes.

“What is it, Maisy?  Has something happened?”

“I have been in Eskil’s bed.  He told me he loves me.  I am with child.  Do you really think Eskil will leave me behind when his ship sails again?”

“Oh Maisy, I’m so sorry.  Forget about my pessimistic rantings.  I am a bitter woman, but you, you are like a soft flower.  I’m sure that if Eskil said he loves you,  tis true.  Surely he will not leave you when he knows you carry his child.”

Samara hoped she was right as she saw relief wash over Maisy’s face, but Samara didn’t trust any man, least of all a Viking.

My New Favorite Local Place

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A friend of mine told me about a great cafe in our county.  It’s about a half hour drive from where I live, but it is so worth the drive.  If you are a bookish person or a writer or both, like me, you would love it too.

It’s called The Rabbit and the Dragonfly.  It is a coffee shop and bookstore and its decor speaks of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and the Inklings.  The food is quite tasty.  I love how many of the menu items are named after characters in The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings.

The staff was quite welcoming and friendly to my son and I when we visited Tuesday a week ago.  We even got a tour of the entire place without requesting one.  I asked permission to take photos because I fell in love with the decor and certain things really caught my eye.

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The above photo is a corner in the cafe set up to look just like the area where C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and the rest of the Inklings would meet in a pub in England.

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If you are familiar with The Chronicles of Narnia, the above photo needs no explanation.

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A Narnian shield (above)

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A map of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  (above)

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They have been open one year!  They hung a banner to celebrate.  (above)

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Totally love this display of an old typewriter spewing the first twenty-two pages of (I believe Dave told us) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

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Love this unique bookshelf that holds works by the Inklings.

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As you enter and exit, you can see Mr. and Mrs. Beaver!

I cannot wait to go back to The Rabbit and the Dragonfly again, and again, and again, and again, and . . .

I want to sit there and write.

They also have cool special events.  Click the blue highlighted tag of The Rabbit and the Dragonfly in the upper part of this post to visit their website and see all that they offer, and if you’re a Bookish person, a writer or both and are ever in Lancaster county, you won’t want to miss a trip to The Rabbit and the Dragonfly!