FREEDOM GIVEAWAY HOP

The July Wish List contest is going on hold for one week!  For the first week of July you can win an autographed copy of  If I Should Die, my latest novel, simply by commenting on this blog about America.  Thoughtful, positive comments only!  You can have a second chance to win if you are also a follower, but you must mention you are a follower in your comment. And I will be the sole judge of whether your comment is thoughtful.  The contest is open from July 1 to July 7.  Each entry will be assigned a number and one of my grandkids will draw the lucky number from my little red bucket. The prize will be shipped to anywhere in the US or Canada. Entrants will be responsible to check my blog July 8 to see who is the winner, then the winner will need to email me a mailing address.  Good luck!

After entering my contest, check out the other contests linked in this Freedom Giveaway Hop. 

 

If I Should Die by Jennie Hansen

One morning on a routine jog, Kallene’s running partner, Linda, confides that she’s filing for divorce. The next morning, she’s gone without a trace, leaving behind her frightened young daughter. Since Linda’s enraged husband refuses to notify the police, Kallene steps in to initiate a missing person search, not knowing it would soon become a murder investigation—or that she’d soon fall for the charming lead detective. With Linda’s handsome brother also on her mind, Kallene must navigate the rapids of a double romance as well as the deepening suspicion in her upscale Utah neighborhood. Intrigue turns to danger as Kallene faces the consequences of hasty judgments. And when startling new evidence casts Linda’s murder as the work of a determined killer, Kallene needs the intervention of unlikely heroes to avoid being the next victim.

http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/

HEADS UP

The current Wish List contest runs through Thursday, then beginning Friday, July 1, I'm going to do something a little different.  For the first week of July, I'm joining a linked contest.  Over two hundred blogs are offering book related prizes.  After you enter my contest, you can jump over and enter as many of the other contests as you like.  I'll post instructions Thursday evening or Friday morning.  Until then the June Wish List is still open so get those comments in.

This has been a busy weekend.  Since the weather around here has suddenly changed from snow to sun, I spent Friday and Saturday working in my gardens.  I love flowers and pretty gardens, but I also enjoy the opportunity gardening gives me to think, work out plot problems, and go over in my mind the current review I am working on.  Since this is more of a heads up than a blog, I'm attaching pictures of my garden so you can see what I've been doing.

And one more.  My zuchinni is in bloom!

PLOT KILLERS

Words! Anna Buttimore (Honeymoon Heist) has blogged lately about words she dislikes (swearing) and words that just feel good to say. Most writers I know have a bit of love/hate relationship with words and I'm no exception. One word I like to use is also one that I consider a plot killer. Try saying deus ex machina.

Deus ex machina has a literal meaning something like mechanical god. It comes from ancient Greek plays where the characters would get themselves in all kinds of trouble, then a "god" would be mechanically lowered via ropes to rescue the protagonist from the villain and/or evil.

Unfortunately this device still shows up on occasion in modern novels. When I was a member of the Romance Writers of America, I often heard this type of resolution to a romance dilemma referred to as the "man or a miracle" resolution and it poked fun at the heroine that had to be rescued from a threatening situation by the male hero or some type of miraculous intervention. In other novels we see deus ex machina occur when some insignificant character, a brand new character, a coincidence, or a heavenly manifestation provides a rescue for the protagonist. That may happen in real life, but there are a lot of things that happen in real life that don't work well in fiction.

When outside intervention or a miracle resolves the conflict, the reader is left feeling cheated. Yes, miracles occur in real life and can be used to help bring about the resolution (think prayer, inspiration, the discovery of a possible solution), but should not upstage the protagonist to the point he or she has no part in saving him or herself. That's what protagonists, heroes, and heroines are all about; growing, stretching, persisting, out smarting, exercising faith, etc. That's one of the vicarious thrills of reading, being able to identify with someone like ourselves who succeeds against tough odds.

Today's reader expects the protagonist to dig deep and find his/her own strength or solution. This strength may include faith, the will to live, determination to save someone else, intellectual prowess, or countless other forms of physical or emotional strengths. No more cavalry to the rescue. No more helpless heroines. Yes, the protagonists can receive help through insight, by aiding each other, from an outside source that is already a pertinent part of the story, through the use of a devise already introduced, but never because the author has written him/herself into a corner and can't think of anything better than a miracle to effect a rescue.

I was part of a group once where someone asked Dan Yates what he thought was the most important element in writing a novel. His answer? "Words!" I've always kind of liked that answer. Words are the bricks and mortar of a novel, but the words that define what we do with those words make the difference between whether the end result is a story or a shopping list.

One more week for this month's Wish List contest.  I'm giving away two copies of my new book If I Should Die or another LDs novel from your wish list if you already have my book.  Comment on any of this month's posts or any of my Meridian reviews. Each comment is an entry.

OUR GRAND OLD FLAG

Bust out the flags and strike up the band! It's flag day. I've always had a soft spot for the good old red, white, and blue. After pledging allegiance to that flag from first through twelfth grade, I found it disgusting when others of my generation took out their fits of rebellion in the sixties on that grand old flag. To me it has always stood for what is good about America and there is a lot that is good.


Yes, there are a lot of things wrong with our country, but that can be said about any country. It's that people thing! We have our share of rotten apples. But for this one day, I'd like to ignore all that and just concentrate on the brave and the good.

I grew up in the generation where everyone's dad was a World War II vet and many of my friends' grandfathers fought in World War I. My generation lost some of our brightest and best in Vietnam. Our children are coming home maimed in body and spirit from the Middle East wars. I'm proud of the men and women who have or who are fighting to keep democracy a viable option in the world.

Though I honor those who died for our country, today I'd like to salute those who are living for our country; those who get involved in the fight for freedom by volunteering at school, filling sandbags, making hygiene kits, standing so someone else can sit on the bus or train, who return a lost wallet or cell phone, pay their taxes, who pick up the pieces and rebuild when disaster strikes, put a quarter in the Salvation Army pot, speak up for right, cast informed votes, hug a child, serve on juries, obey the speed limit, hold open a door, and simply go about the business of supporting their families emotionally and financially. That flag stands for all of you.

We tend to think of our nation's flag in terms of military honor, but it's much more than that. That flag represents the farmer watering his grain, the baker dipping doughnuts, the clerk at the store, the teacher in our child's classroom, the legislator on the hill, the highway patrolman ticketing a speeder, the delivery man bringing a package, the engineer designing a bridge, the reporter chasing a story, the factory worker, the used car salesman, the plumber, the doctor, the waitress who brings our dinner, and all of the many other Americans who make up the fabric of this land.

That flag has meaning. It means there are millions of us who choose to be free, who want to be able to rise as far as our intelligence and hard work will take us, and who want to choose who we will follow or to be the leader. It means we can choose Who or What to worship--or to not worship. That flag stands for freedom and we need to be very careful not to trivialize it or all it stands for. Take time today to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance or if you never learned it, today would be a good time to memorize it or at least read through it.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, and with justice for all.

Accidental Kidnapping

 Here is the scary incident I mentioned in my last blog:

I never thought kidnapping could be an accident except when a parent is foolish enough to leave a child alone in a car while she or he dashes inside a house or store for just a moment--- until I got caught up in an unexpected child snatching venture. It happened ten years ago, but a recent invitation to be a guest speaker brought back the memory.

It was a different speaking experience for me. I'm often invited to speak to book clubs, at firesides, and to other book oriented groups, but Tuesday night I spoke at a Spanish Book Club. I don't speak more than a handful of Spanish words and I wasn't sure how much English the club members understood, but I accepted the invitation and there I was. The group was super friendly and their smiles made up for language gaps. And I had a lot of fun.

Why was I invited and why did I accept? The sweet lady who invited me worked with me a few years ago when I worked for the Salt Lake City Library. Occasionally we didn't understand everything the other said, but we had an almost immediate bonding between us. (Her English is much better than my Spanish.) I love that lady! No way could I tell her no. Seeing her again reminded me of an awkward, downright scary experience we shared.

I have Asthma and she has some severe allergies. One day while I was eating my lunch in the library lunchroom, she burst into the room, gasping for breath, and unable to speak other than in frantic gestures. I realized she was having a severe allergic reaction to something, so I grabbed my purse and gave her an allergy antidote I always carry. She was in serious trouble and I knew she needed medical help. I was also aware her two young children were in the library and couldn't be left unattended.

Dashing upstairs I informed the manager I was taking my assistant to an emergency room, grabbed her children and raced back downstairs where I proceeded to load all three into my car for a mad dash to a nearby Instacare. I pulled into the emergency loading and unloading area and told her daughter, Betsy, "Stay with your Mom while I park the car and tell them I'll be right in. "I'll keep Alfredo with me." She looked at me blankly for a moment, then said, "He isn't Alfredo," just before she slammed the car door and followed her mother who was being helped inside the emergency room.

Horrified, I actually looked at the little boy sitting meekly in the backseat. He wasn't Alfredo! I'd grabbed a child I'd never even seen before, but who was about the same size as my friend's five-year-old son and who had been sitting at one of the tables beside her daughter, Betsy.

Unsure what to do, I took his hand and he accompanied me into the emergency room where I filled out some papers and called my friend's husband. My friend was almost unconscious by this time and things were pretty chaotic for awhile. I hoped the boy wouldn't be missed before I could get him back to the library. I'm not sure he understood anything I said to him, but he seemed to know Betsy and stayed close to her, so I concentrated on my friend until a doctor took over.

It all ended well. My friend's husband arrived. Betsy informed me that though the boy wasn't her little brother she was tending him for a neighbor, and her Dad said he would see that he got home safely. Her brother was safe at a friend's house and hadn't even been in the library that day. And yes, my friend, was okay too. I was shaking as I drove back to the library and thought it was a miracle I didn't have a heart attack! An extreme allergy attack is scary enough, but I couldn't believe I'd actually kidnapped a child!

The Spanish Book Club

Done That

Blogging just isn't working for me today. I've thought of lots of things, but none of them merit a whole blog. First I thought about character development. I know there's plenty to say about character development, but that's the problem; every blogger in the blogosphere including me, has already said it all. On that subject I'll just say I'm getting tired of weird, off the wall, loaded with hang-ups characters. I just finished reading Captive Heart by Michele Paige Holmes. I can't tell you how nice it was to meet a heroine I could actually identify with, someone I could imagine sitting down to dinner with, and actually becoming her friend and care about her problems.

I thought about background details and I have to say I'm a minimalist. If clothing, scenery, and sunsets aren't part of the story, leave them out. Of course I don't want all those characters running around sans clothes, but I really don't care about styles, flounces, and designer logos unless the book is about some facet of the fashion industry. I want just enough background and setting to give the story a realistic feel. I don't want all fourteen colors of the sunset detailed and I don't want to count every blade of grass on the prairie. Please leave something to my imagination.

All right, this next one is a pet peeve of mine, but something some readers actually like. Name dropping. I don't mean just the conversational use of famous people's names a person uses to make themselves appear more important, but the use of designer labels on clothes, cars, electronics, exclusive resorts, and foreign dishes. Some writers use them as a means of establishing certain qualities such as shallowness or snobbery in a character and in moderation they work. Overdone they say more about the author than the character.

I could always blog about the weather, but that's a little overdone too. As long as I can remember, every ten years or so, we have a sequence of weather that breaks records and makes life miserable one way or the other. This seems to be our year.

I could write about my new book, If I Should Die, but I've already done that too. Being a reviewer, I can't ask bloggers to review my books or send them free copies, but I love it when one buys my book and comments or reviews it on his/her own. Here's the first one I've run across. It's by Julie Bellon, a writer and teacher I respect a great deal. Believe it or not, even writers who have published many books are nervous and jittery about what readers will think of each new book and anxiously await comments and reviews.

Okay, my inability to concentrate on a topic may have something to do with my speaking assignment tonight. I've been asked to speak to a book club, not the usual kind of book club I often speak to. This one is Spanish and the participants speak varying amounts of English and, sadly, I only know about five words in Spanish. The dear lady who invited me and is hosting the club tonight once worked with me at the City Library. We had some great times, a few sad times, and one scary time, which come to think of it, would make a great topic for another blog.

A DIFFERENT TWIST

One contest ends and a new one begins, but the new one has a different twist. Winners usually choose from books I've reviewed, but the winner for June will receive one I've written.

The winners of the May Wish List contest have been chosen. They are Scott Gail and Ann Mooney. Congratulations! Scott Gail commented on my review of The Alias on Meridian and Ann Mooney is a follower. Each winner should send me a list of five or more LDS novels he/she would like to own and I'll choose one of them to send to each winner. Contact me at bhansen22 at msn dot com before Monday. Please include your mailing address.

Now for the new contest. First the prize. Instead of asking for a wish list this month, the winners will each receive a copy of If I Should Die, my new romantic suspense novel which should appear on bookstore shelves within the next week. It is available for e-readers beginning June 6. (If you win and want a different book that's okay, just let me know.) Same rules as before; comment on any blog, become a follower, comment on my blogs on the V-Formation, or comment on a book review I write for Meridian Magazine anytime in June.

Here is the back liner blurb:

IF I SHOULD DIE
One morning on a routine jog, Kallene’s running partner, Linda, confides that she’s filing for divorce. The next morning, she’s gone without a trace, leaving behind her frightened young daughter. Since Linda’s enraged husband refuses to notify the police, Kallene steps in to initiate a missing person search, not knowing it would soon become a murder investigation—or that she’d soon fall for the charming lead detective. With Linda’s handsome brother also on her mind, Kallene must navigate the rapids of a double romance as well as the deepening suspicion in her upscale Utah neighborhood. Intrigue turns to danger as Kallene faces the consequences of hasty judgments. And when startling new evidence casts Linda’s murder as the work of a determined killer, Kallene needs the intervention of unlikely heroes to avoid being the next victim.

A DAY TO REMEMBER

Memorial Day was once a day to remember those who lost their lives for our country. It actually began as a day when black families commemorated black soldiers who lost their lives during the Civil War. After World War I it was expanded to honor all those who lost their lives in U.S. military actions and became a federal holiday. In time it became a day to honor all those loved ones who have died. Even the name of the day has changed through the years. Originally it was Decoration Day, some of us knew it as Flag Day, and now it is Memorial Day.

As a child I thought the day was called Flag day because we put irises on family graves and my mother called irises flags. Once my mother took me to a "flag show" and I was surprised there were no grave markers, only rows and rows of irises of every color and size imaginable.

When it comes right down to it, Memorial Day is no longer a day, but a weekend. We took flowers to two cemeteries Saturday because we wanted to beat the rain that was forecast for Sunday and Monday. Both cemeteries were brilliant with floral displays and at one a program complete with bagpipes was in progress. Last night my husband and I watched a tribute to fallen soldiers on TV. It was excellent and it impressed me because no politicians used it to further their agendas.

With each passing year I have more graves to visit. This year is particularly touching as the first Memorial Day since my sister's passing with such a short interval since my father and brother went to the other side. Each year my father words become more poignant, "I know more people at the cemetery than at church." He only lacked four months of reaching his centennial birthday when he was called home. I'm an adult with grown children and eleven grandchildren, but I never stop missing my parents and wishing Daddy and I could take one more fishing trip or that Mama and I could go for another walk and have a long talk.

Memorial Day has become a three day weekend, a time for summer cookouts (except this year-it's hard to grill in the rain), a chance to get away for a few days, even to shop sales and that's okay, but along with enjoying time with our living family members, it is good to remember those who have gone ahead. I believe individuals and families, communities and countries, are stronger when they pause to remember loved ones no longer with us. We owe soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom, parents and ancestors who made our lives possible, and the memories shared with those who are gone continue to enrich our lives. Let us not be among those who fail to remember.

This is the last day of the May Wish List Contest!  A new contest will begin tomorrow. 

Thinking about blogging

I've been playing around a little bit with the design of this blog and the V-formation blog; nothing drastic, but a slight change of color and style.  Lately I've been thinking about blogs and blogging and decided to share a few thoughts with you.

Blogs seem to come and go. Most begin as a means of interacting with a specific group such as family, followers, those who share a particular interest, or as a means of promoting sales or a certain ideology. Some have taken the place of telephone calls, some are an outlet for frustrated writers, and some merely form a linking bond to keep a specific group together and informed. Some are a means of sharing information with those who are just learning a specific field. There are two types of blogs; those open only to a small closed group and some which are open to anyone who wants to read them.


Many writers have latched onto the blog concept to stay in touch with their fans, to network with other writers, and as a means to share ideas and concepts with like-minded readers. Some blogs are owned and written by a single individual, some belong to a small group and each blogs when the mood strikes or they have something to share, and others are shared by a group with a set calendar for when each member should blog. Blogs reduce the time spent answering individual letters, provide a means of announcing new releases and other industry news simultaneously to many people. A blog also provides a means of getting feedback on ideas and viewpoints in a more personal way than through the larger social networks such as Facebook. Writers also use blogs to maintain their presence before their readers between releases. And not to be overlooked, there are blogs which are written simply to entertain and in some cases the writer actually makes money from the ads attached to the blog.

Most bloggers worry about increasing their readership unless their blog is a closed/by invitation only blog as many family blogs are. A favorite means of increasing readership and encouraging comments is to sponsor a contest. Some bloggers work out a complicated formula for blog contests and others simply have a drawing. Prizes for most writing blogs are books, but some give away gift cards or some item related to the blog. Others use their blogs and build their readership by reviewing what others write, by imparting news, or providing a service to their readers.

I read a limited number of blogs. Some are blogs of a family nature or of close friends. Others keep me informed of the changes and direction of the publishing industry. Many help me stay abreast of the careers of other writers. Perhaps the most helpful aspect of the blogs I follow is the helpful information I glean concerning writing and publishing. On my own blog I love the opportunity to feel like I have a real relationship with the people who read my books. I love hearing what others think and the ideas they share not only about my books, but about life in general.

Almost every blogger I know reaches a plateau where it's hard to think of something original to blog about. This burn out spells the doom of many blogs. Personal circumstances change and committing one's self to a regular blogging schedule often becomes unworkable. The instant interaction of social networks lures both bloggers and readers away as well. Some bloggers take on different interests and are no longer a good fit on shared blogs. Many blogs taper off, then just quietly disappear.

One of the most read and loved group blogs bid their followers farewell last week. Six LDS Writers and a Frog appealed to many people, especially writers because of the diverse group of individuals who blogged about various aspects of writing and personal happenings as they related to their writing and because the members of this group are particularly gifted writers. This group will be missed, but most of the writers have started personal blogs (most of their personal blogs can be accessed from the sidebar of this blog if you missed their farewells where they posted their blog adresses).

A few years ago I had no idea what a blog was. I guest blogged for Kerry Blair on the frog blog a few times, then started my own blog. Shortly after, I joined with a group of friends to form the V-formation. I've discovered that sometimes blogging is a chore, sometimes it's a great way to express a viewpoint in a shorter format than a book or magazine article, and it's a great way to stay in touch with the many great friends I've made and continue to meet through my writing. It's also provides a great opportunity to learn more about other writers, other view points, and sometimes to be delighted by another person's clever words, to encourage someone who is at the beginning of his/her writing career---and reading blogs is a marvelous way to put off doing something I really should be doing like working on my WIP.

One more week to enter to win a Wish List book.

MIXED BAG

Some days when I sit down to write the words seem to flow and something exciting happens.  Other days there's one distraction after another; I do more deleting than writing, and I'm not happy with anything I've done.  Most days there's a mixture of great progress and dismal disappointments.  That's how life works, so why should creating a life for fictional characters be any different?

Take today for example.  I started off the day by not being able to complete my exercise routine because my knee hurt too much, but fortunately I already had an appointment set up with my doctor.  X-rays showed the damage to my knee has progressed so far, the usual shots aren't going to work any more, but my insurance company approved an injection of goop between the bare bones to provide a temporary cushion and hopefully encourage my knee to regrow it's own spongy layer.  Now instead of hurting, my leg is numb, which doesn't improve my gracefulness any.  But my husband made yummy strawberry-rhubarb crumble for dinner and I discovered my new book If I Shoud Die is number eight on Deseret Book's Mystery/Suspense Bestseller list and it won't even be released for another couple of weeks.  I love those advance sales they offer.  Oh, and the Jazz drew number three for the NBA Draft next month!

A couple of years ago I wrote an epic historical with too many characters, a too complicated plot, and a few other problems.  My publisher's editorial board said to divide it into two books, eliminate some things, and strengthen others.  I recently completed one of  those two books and had it accepted, so now I'm hard at work on the second book.  A major rewrite/revision is another one of those mixed bag deals.  Yesterday I progressed almost thirty pages, today two and a half. In many ways writing a new book from scratch is easier because with a rewrite I have to decide which scenes I want to keep, rearrange them to fit the new story, cut out those elements used in the other book, keep the time frame compatible with the first book, sometimes assign whole scenes to a different character because the scene is necessary, but the original character is no longer available, pull it all together with new text, and the list goes on. Going back to revisit characters I was so deeply involved with a few years ago is both fun and gives me the odd sense that I've jumped into a time machine and I'm creating havoc by changing history.

Just one more observation on a mixed bag kind of day.  My fingernails are driving me crazy.  Every once in awhile they get so long I hit the key above the one I want when I type and I end up writing some weird words and waste a lot of time fixing errors.  For the most part I love my nails long and they are no problem except when typing.  And an additional plus, the longer they are, the more people notice and compliment me, and who doesn't enjoy a compliment now and then!  But the time has come.  They've got to go, so instead of writing tonight, I'll be chopping and filing.