Book Trailer

I am so excited to announce the book trailer for my children's picture book, Bedtime Kisses, has been completed. 

You can see the wonderful illustrations by Ginger Nielson and view it here:

http://youtu.be/3Ga5i-L9MKA

Feel free to share your thoughts.  Thanks, in advance, for your time.

Voice

Cecil Murphey continues to speak to me in UNLEASH THE WRITER WITHIN.  The chapters I read today were discussing honoring one's voice and staying true to it. 

Murphey suggests, "each of us has a distinct tone and manner of speaking or writing."  He talks of an experiment he did with readers at a conference whereby he had attendees read paragraphs aloud and try to determine which he wrote.  All guessed correctly which affirmed the importance that, "your voice is your voice."  I found this an interesting experiment.  Do you think others would be able to find consistency in your writing when read aloud? To hear your voice in all of your work?  I'm not sure I am truly honoring my "voice" that consistently yet.

Murphey further suggests too many writers feel they need to imitate others rather than honoring their own voice.  I found myself thinking of this...as writers, we want to touch others, to speak to their hearts, make them want to keep reading our work and know our voice.  How does one do this? According to Murphey, it is by, "writing with your true voice...write with honesty, vulnerability, and with risk."  This can't be taught, he goes on to say.  We, as writers, must listen and work to hear our inner voice and then use it in our writing.  For, "the true voice is the heart of good writing.  It's more than techniques or the ability to write in more than one genre.  It's the ability to accept your voice as valuable and to use it." 

I believe finding one's voice as valuable is crucial to this equation.  It is in finding value and taking the risk to share that value with others that allows us to celebrate our voice and let it speak to other's in our writing.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas on honoring one's voice if you are inclined to share!

Happy Easter

I will return after the long holiday weekend with new posts.  But, in the meantime, may you all have a blessed and happy Easter!

Cover Release

I am beyond excited to announce my first picture book, Bedtime Kisses, will be released soon by 4RV Publishing.  Thank you to all at 4RV and the very talented Ginger Nielson for bringing my story to life.

April 2014 Guardian Angel Kids eZine

http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com/apr014.htm

Special Features

 

Flowers of the World

Reported by GAK, our very own Angel Gecko

                                                                     

Features

 

POEM

Predatory Petals by A.J. Huffman

Shades of Exaltation by A.J. Huffman

 

FICTION SHORT STORIES

A Flower Expedition by Joyce Wold

Coming Up Roses by Felicity Nisbet

 

NON-FICTION ARTICLE

Flowers that Grow on Volcanoes by Sherry Alexander

The Legend of the “Cry in Your Sleep” Flower-A Retelling of the Legend of Tagimoucia, Fiji’s National Flower by Sherri Alexandaer

 

ACTIVITY

Flower Girls Word Puzzle

 

 

 

New Releases from Guardian Angel Publishing

Guardian Angel Publishing

March 2014 Releases

 

ANCIENT SYMBOLS, ARTWORK, CARVINGS AND ALPHABETS Bk 2 

Academic Wings Author & Illustrator Eugene Ruble

http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/symbology2.htm

Book Two—Join Professor Hoot as he explores more ancient arts and artifacts. The art, tools, and text represent various cultures and development from ancient eras, including fossils, too.

 

Lana Tries Yoga  

Health & Hygiene Author & Illustrator Roey Ebert Hardcover Softcover 

http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/lana-yoga.htm

Follow Lana as she tries to capture the sunlight when it journeys to the 4 corners of the earth. The story centered yoga routine is simple for children to remember and fun for children to reenact. 

 

Lily and the Return to Htrae

Wings of Faith Author Lindsay Bonilla; Illustrator Alexander Morris

http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/return-to-htrae.htm

Lily returns to the darkness of Htrae to take the King’s message from the City of Light. Even though she doesn’t think she can fulfill this mission, with the help of Ruah she embarks on the difficult task of inviting others to the great forgotten city.

 

Real Mysterious Easter Eggs

Academic Wings

Author: Patricia Karwatowicz, Illustrator: Kathleen Bullock

http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/mysterious-eggs.htm

Noah and Isabela take a journey in Great Grandmother’s kitchen to discover the Easter story by coloring eggs Grandmother’s “old-timey-way.” Color meanings help them learn more about who Jesus is and who they are.

 

Rip the night engine: The Rolling Along Train Series Book 1

Littlest Angels Author Melanie Lutes, Illustrator Eugene Ruble

http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/rip.htm

Rip, the night engine, constantly worries about his passenger’s comfort on overnight train rides. He knows bench seating is not comfortable for sleeping. His cars are redesigned as Pullman Palace cars equipped with sleeping compartments. He finally lives up to his name that means Rest In Pillows.

 

There's a Lion in the House

Animals & Pets Author Mary Esparza-Vela, Illustrator Jack Foster

http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/lion-house.htm

A young rabbit loves to tease his older brothers. He goes off into the woods by himself and boasts that he’s not afraid of anything. One night, he hears a lion roar in the house.  He tells his brothers, but they ignore him

 

Quotes

I was looking through my writing calendar (A Writer's Year:  Managing Your Time in 2014) to see what I have and have not accomplished in the past few weeks and started reading some of the quotes (yes, again procrastinating a bit but, what the heck, the quotes are there to read, right?!!). 

The first I noticed speaks to my post last week about writing without waiting for a muse or bolt of inspiration.  William Faulkner says, "Get it down.  Take chances.  It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good."

Well, that just seems to be the epitome of a "duh" moment, does it not?  There are often so many fears which prevent us from writing, but, if we don't, we can't get better, won't have anything to submit and, therefore, will not have any chance of publication.  So write, take the risk...perseverance pays!

The other quote that spoke to me this morning is along a similar line.  EL Doctorow says...

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night.  You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

I love this comparison.   It's like that old saying...put one foot in front of the other.  One just needs to keep moving forward one line at a time, paragraph by paragraph and soon...viola...a book is born (or story or article for that matter).  Focus on the here and now (what is within your headlight zone), and it will lead to the final destination whatever that may be. 

I would love to hear about the process of your writing journey if you feel inclined to share.