Moving!

I've decided that I'm at the point in my career where I need a real website. So, you can now find me at www.ShelliProffittHowells.com.

I will continue blogging at http://shelliproffitthowells.com/amusings.

Drop by and say "hi!"

A Different Blue

Book Blurb:  Blue Echohawk doesn't know who she is.  She doesn't know her real name or when she was born.  Abandoned at two and raised by a drifter, she didn't attend school until she was ten years old.  At nineteen, when most kids her age are attending college or moving on in life, she is just a senior in high school.   With no mother, no father, no faith, and no future, Blue Echohawk is a difficult student, to say the least. Tough, hard and sexy, she is the complete opposite of the young British teacher who decides he is up for the challenge, and takes the troublemaker under his wing. 

This is the story of a nobody who becomes somebody.  It is the story of an unlikely friendship, where hope fosters healing and redemption becomes love.  But falling in love can be hard when you don't know who you are.  Falling in love with someone who knows exactly who they are and exactly why they can't love you back might be impossible.

Author Bio:   Amy Harmon knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, so she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Amy Harmon has been a motivational speaker, a grade school teacher, a junior high teacher, a home school mom, and a member of the Grammy Award winning Saints Unified Voices Choir, directed by Gladys Knight. She released a Christian Blues CD in 2007 called "What I Know" - also available on Amazon and wherever digital music is sold.  She lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband and four kids, and doesn't plan to ever move somewhere, because nowhere is sublime.  She has written Running Barefoot, and the Young Adult books Slow Dance in Purgatory and the sequel, Prom Night in Purgatory.  A Different Blue is her fourth novel.  Where to find Amy:

https://www.facebook.com/authoramyharmon

www.authoramyharmon.com

@aharmon_author

goodreads

Giveaway:

I love being creative with my chapter titles.  If you've read any of my other books, you already know that!  This book has titles that are all related to one word.  It is not obvious, at least it wasn't to me!  When you download the book, scroll through the chapter titles to figure out what each title has in common with the others.  Once you think you've got it figured out, write your answer in a message.  No one will be able to see anyone else's response.  The winner, selected by rafflecopter, will get a beautiful necklace AND charm bracelet with charms that represent different elements in the book OR a $20 Amazon gift card, whichever the winner chooses, and a runner up will get the remaining prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hemet Celebrity Look-Alikes

Life gets a whole lot more interesting when you change your perspective.

The other day, I was waiting in the car while my husband bought groceries. A man who looked surprisingly like Michael Bolton walked by.

Michael Bolton

I thought, Huh. I wonder what other celebrities might be lurking in the Hemet Sprouts parking lot?

I was soon to find out.

I saw:

Victoria Jackson

Victoria Jackson 

John Madden

John Madden

Pat from SNL

Pat from SNL

Mama Cass Elliot

Shirley Temple

or if Mama Cass and Shirley Temple had a baby























Emo Gabriel Byrne

Gabriel Byrne

Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson before Weight Watchers

UP

The old guy from UP












and finally,


Barbara Streisand's nose

I'm Published!

My first article went live! Check it out here: "Having 'The Talk': discussing finances with your spouse."

Stay tuned for more!

Exciting News!

If you build it, they will come.

If you build it, they will come.

Or rather,

If you declare it, they will come.  Opportunities, that is.

I declared 2013 "The Year of the Writer."  I set my goals, put my butt in the chair, and started to make the motto my reality.  And I have been wonderfully rewarded!

I received a notice this week that I was accepted as a freelance writer for the online site www.FamilyShare.com.   I had applied near the end of last year, but I hadn't heard anything for months.  I figured either my application had been lost or I just wasn't a good fit for their program.  Happily, I was wrong on both accounts.

I will be contributing 20 articles a month.  That's about one per day, five days a week.  I've finished and submitted my first article, and I'm now waiting for editing.  I'm almost finished with a second, and have started a third.

I've already found a pattern for writing that seems to work well for me.  I start the article in the afternoon.  Then, I go to bed, thinking about problems with it or changes I want to make.  I wake up and finish the article.  Then, I'm ready to start the next one in the afternoon.

I believe this will help advance my writing.  It will give me the opportunity to write a lot.  Practice makes perfect!  I'm sure to see an improvement in my writing that will spill over into my fiction.  It gets my name out there and builds my resume.  Being a paid writer is a little more prestigious than being one of so many aspiring writers.

I'm excited for this new stage in my writing journey!

What good news have you received lately?

25 Words

25 Words

2013: The Year of the Writer has officially hit its first bump in the road.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't let writer's block get the best of me.  I put my butt in the chair and added to my story every day.  But some days, it sure felt like work.

Then, I heard about this great technique that I think will help me be more successful.  Perhaps, ahem, 1000 words a day was a bit, shall we say, ambitious.  Some parts of my story just aren't ready for 1000 words.  Sometimes I need to take a step back and get a little more research done before I can make a scene work.

Like yesterday, for example.  I needed to craft a knife fight.  But, you see, I've never been in a knife fight.  The closest I've been is watching my sons whittle with their pocket knives, or chiffonading spinach for an omelette with my chef's knife.  I needed to learn a thing or two if I wanted to make it authentic.

Needless to say, it took me awhile to eke out my 500-word scene.

I decided I needed a more manageable goal. And a friend of mine came up with the perfect solution:

25 words.

Now there's a daily goal I can manage!

It makes perfect sense.  Twenty-five words is just enough to get your creative juices flowing.  It's like a piece of chocolate or Lay's potato chips: you can't eat just one, you can't stop there, you have to keep going.  And if not?  Well, it's still an accomplishment.

So what tricks do you use to jump-start your muse?

Good Things, Good Times

Ladies and Gentlemen, drum roll please........

I have made it eleven days into the New Year with my resolutions intact!

(pause for vociferous applause)

Why thank you, thank you very much. *bows*

It has been an exceptionally good week for me.  I have been putting my "butt in the chair," and it is paying off.  I have made some great progress on my current project, my second short story in the Freeborn series. 

You know, I was having some trouble with it at the beginning of the week, and I couldn't figure out what was wrong.  Then, I was reading a book on editing, and the topic was point of view.  It suddenly dawned on me that the fast pace of this story required a first person present point of view.  I need Nick to tell me his story as it's happening.  Once I stepped out of the way and gave him free rein, Nick completely took over.  I found his voice, and my story is so much more interesting and entertaining.  That Nick is pretty funny.

My second victory came from my new online writing group.  We met this week to choose a name.  I groaned inside; I'm terrible at this sort of thing!  I sat back and let the others brainstorm a few ideas, thinking that they were so much more clever than I.  Then, someone mentioned the name Cyber Scrawlers, which I really liked.  My brain took a walk, playing with the word "scrawl," and I thought "Scrawl Space."  I typed it in, nervously, I have to admit.  Well, they loved it!  We voted unanimously to adopt "Scrawl Space" as the name for our group.

Dang, I felt so proud of myself!  And I really do believe The Universe was reinforcing my determination to make 2013 The Year of the Writer.  I needed that small validation.  I am a writer, and I am creative.  The Universe said so.

I've noticed that I have a tendency to do other writing exercises when I'm feeling blocked on my projects.  So, I guess it's a good thing that I didn't really have time to do much blogging and exercises this week.  I'll still dabble from time to time, just to keep me on my toes. 

So, how are you doing with your New Year's resolutions? 

Chocolate

Mmm, Chocolate

I open the top of a brand new box of See's. Good quality chocolate even smells different -- richer, deeper, not so cloyingly sweet.

I scan the varieties, looking for my favorites. I choose a round dark chocolate with swirls on top: a pineapple truffle. I take a small bite and let the sweetness melt in my mouth. I taste a slight kick of sour mellowed by creaminess. I hold it for a moment on my tongue, then let it slide slowly down my throat

I take a second bite through the crunchy dark chocolate shell; more eager now, I allow myself to chew. Only for a second, because it melts away blissfully.

I have one bite left, so I pop the last morsel into my mouth, knowing I need to savor this one. Chocolate melds with lemon in perfect harmony, and the flavor lingers even after I have swallowed. I run my tongue over my teeth, across the roof of my mouth, teasing away every last hint of chocolate.

I put the lid back on the box and slide it under my bed. I think tomorrow I'll choose a butter cream.

31 Simple Pleasures

Writing exercise:

Write down 31 simple pleasures.  Each day, write about one pleasure for 5 minutes.

1. chocolate
2. bird watching
3. sunshine on my face
4. swimming
5. foot rub
6. massage
7. sex
8. smelling flowers
9. bath
10. baking cookies
11. listening to the kids laugh
12. playing a video game
13. finger painting
14. listening to good music
15. yoga
16. meditating
17. watching a movie
18. reading a book
19. dancing in the rain
20. comedy club
21. taking a nap
22. dancing
23. doing a puzzle
24. cold water on a hot day
25. a long shower
26. hiking
27. watching stars
28. walking on the beach
29. finding seashells
30. opening presents
31. holding a baby

I really enjoyed making the list, because it reminded me of the simple pleasures in life.  It was a little hard to come up with 31 of them.

Fess Up Friday

Ah, it's always nice when you have nothing but good to confess, doesn't it?

The Year of the Writer has started off with a bang.  I've done my morning pages each morning, and I've certainly kept my butt in the chair.  I've written at least 1,000 words a day, and the creative juices are flowing.  I've gotten invaluable research done on my current project, and I'm ready to bust out the next few scenes.

I'm happy.
I'm excited.
I'm a writer!

The Year of the Writer

2013: The Year of the Writer

Happy New Year all, and welcome 2013!

I have decided that this will be The Year of the Writer.

I will put my butt in the chair.

I will work on projects old and new.

I will write 1,000 words a day.

And I'll invite you all along for the ride!

The Blue Forest

It was autumn in the blue forest.  The trees stood nearly bare, limbs outstretched like spindly arms trying to touch the sky.  Crimson leaves carpeted the floor, a breeze occasionally lifting one to dance around the cobalt trunk of its most recent home.  Quieter now, the chatter of summer long gone as squirrels found burrows and sparrows migrated south for warmer weather.  Hungry wolves slunk silently through the shadows, looking for one last meal before laying down in the warmth of their den.  Soon, skies would turn gray and snow would fall, smothering the colors in a blanket of white, and the blue forest would wait, on ice, until the spring thaw.

*****

I found this picture today on Pinterest (I don't want to post it on here for copyright reasons).  It stuck with me, and I thought I just had to write about it.

Freebie Alert!!! Mythology

I'm a reader.

I was the kid who holed up in her room reading all day.  The one who stayed up until three in the morning to finish a book, even though I had a big test that day.  And I'm the one who was so engrossed in a book in the library that the librarian had to literally walk to my table and put her hand on my shoulder to get my attention (the library was closing and she was trying to get out of there).

But now I'm a writer, too.

And that changes things somewhat.  No longer can I just get lost in a good story.  There are so many booby traps to pull me out of it now.  Shouldn't there be an inciting incident here?  Hey, that's a blatant deus machina!  Can you please stop jumping in and out of all those characters' heads?

Mythology by Helen Boswell

Recently I read a book that appealed to both the reader and the writer in me.

Mythology by Helen Boswell is a YA novel that, like Twilight, will appeal to audiences of all ages.  Here is the description of it from Amazon:

Hope Gentry doesn’t believe in Fate. Born with an unusual power to see the dark memories of those around her, Hope just wants to be a normal teenager. But on the first day of her senior year of high school, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to a transfer student named Micah Condie. At first glance, Micah seems like a boy that most girls would dream about. But when Hope's powers allow her to discover Micah's darkest secret, she quickly becomes entangled in the lives of mythical entities she never dreamed existed

What I loved about Mythology is that it has wonderful, engaging characters.  Hope is a powerful female main character who makes a wonderful heroine.  I love how Helen is able to show Hope's powers in a very visceral way.  Hope is the one who pushes the action, making her own choices and  moving the story forward.

I'm thinking that Ms. Boswell must have read Save the Cat, because her story structure flows flawlessly.  Inciting incident?  Check.  Increasing tension leading to an action-packed climax?  Check.  False victory?  Oooh, good one, yes check!  Deeply satisfying ending?  Yep, check that off, too.

Add to that a wonderful, distinctive voice and a masterful treatment of theme, and Mythology turns out to be an engaging page-turner of a novel.

And here's the best part:  Mythology is free!  You can purchase the Kindle version of Mythology for free today (Monday, October 1, 2012) through Wednesday (October 3, 2012).

I hope you enjoy Mythology as much as I did, and when you're done, please take time to leave a nice review on Amazon.

Malpractice

The orderly pushes me down the hall on the gurney, jogging as fast as protocol will allow.  Twin doors swing open ahead of us like the gates of heaven to let us pass unhindered.  He swerves to miss a nurse that absentmindedly crosses his path.

"Move."

She presses up against the wall as we brush past her.

The orderly stops in front of a door where another nurse, this one dressed in surgical gear, is waiting.  She takes over and wheels me into the room.

I don't remember much about the accident, but judging from the amount of blood covering me, it must have been bad.  A dull ache in my arm hints that it is probably broken.  I can't move, so I think that I might have broken my neck or back or both as well.

A masked surgeon waits at the head of the stainless steel table, scalpel in hand, and I look up into his eyes when I am transferred onto the slab.  He looks like he knows what he's doing.  I think I'm in good hands.

A nurse pulls away what's left of my blouse, leaving my stomach and chest exposed.  She swabs away the blood with wet cotton, and I catch the acrid smell of alcohol.  I wait for the anesthesiologist to put the mask over my mouth and nose, anxious that the unendurable pain might finally end.

The surgeon reaches forward and his scalpel pierces my skin as he deftly draws a line from the top of my sternum to my pelvis.  I try to scream, but my mouth remains closed, immovable, and the only echo is inside my head.  Tears seep out of my eyes.  Can't he see the tears in my eyes?

He's digging through my organs, pulling up my kidneys and they look so small in his hands.  He lays one aside and with a snip severs the other.  He turns to an orderly standing next to him, and I now see that the orderly is holding a cooler.  The surgeon gently places my kidney in the corner, then returns to the forgotten one.  A quick, burning snip and it, too, joins its partner.

The orderly races off as the doctor returns his attention to me.  One by one, he harvests my liver, my lungs, and something I don't even recognize.  Now he's wielding a saw, cutting through my sternum, bone dust wafting in the air.  He slowly spreads the two halves and secures them with a retractor.  I feel like I am being torn apart.

"Lara.  Come with me."

I don't know how, because my neck won't move, but I look over my shoulder to see Papa there.  I remember him giving me piggy back rides and sneaking me soda pop before dinner.  But that was a long, long time ago.

"But I'm not dead yet." I look back to the surgeon who now has my beating heart in his hands.

"I know," he says.  "But you will be."

***

Today's prompt: Write about your greatest fear.

As Yellow As...

A pirate's parrot?  A Yankee traitor?  A blazing sun?

Today's exercise takes the last lesson on similes and metaphors a little further.  In poetry, as in all effective writing, you want to use descriptions that utilize all the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.  It creates more interest, and it gives you more tools in your arsenal.  It makes your writing richer and more expressive.

So, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to take your favorite food and describe it using each of the five senses and using similes and metaphors.

Example:

Orange like a...

An orange is...
Orange like a fiery sun
Bumpy like a toad
Hissing like a deflating balloon
Sour like an old maid
Fruity like a bottle of old wine.





OK, now it's your turn.  Take a peek in your fridge if you need inspiration.  Share your efforts in the comments.

An Unexpected Storm

Lena had always loved the rain. Showers at any time were an invitation to kick off her shoes, run outside, and dance.

So she didn't try to escape the sudden, torrential downpour, though lightning lit the black sky and thunder shook her bones. She stood perfectly still until her t-shirt was drenched and her shivering could have been from the cold.

The rain washed the blood from her legs, washed his stink from her skin, and when she opened her mouth to catch a few drops on her tongue, it washed away his taste.

She wished it would rain forever.

Similes and Metaphors

Hello!... (hello)... (hello)...

*crickets*

My apologies for neglecting my poor blog for so long.  Health and other issues had me rather sidetracked for awhile.  The writer in me has NOT been happy.  I've decided I must give my writing a lot more attention.

Yesterday I wrote a poem.  For the first time in over a decade.  It wasn't great, but it wasn't that bad, either.  I had a friend ask to read it, and he was very complimentary.  He then asked if I would help him learn to write poetry.  My first thought was, whoa, you don't learn how to write poetry -- you just do it!  But then I realized there are some tips and exercises that could be helpful in awakening your inner poet.

So, I agreed to help him out, and I thought this would be a great place for me to do it.  If you'd like to join in the creative writing fun, please feel free to jump in!  Any comments and suggestions are of course welcome.

When searching the internet for ideas on how to proceed, I found a lot of information on structure, meter, rhyme schemes, and the different types of poems.  It sounded good, if you were looking for nuts and bolts information.  But to me, poetry is about finding the exact right voice to put your emotions into words.  Before you start to look at mechanics, I think you need to learn the language of poetry.

Poetry uses a lot of symbolism and imagery.  You say one thing when you really mean another.  The easiest way to do that is to use similes and metaphors.

Both similes and metaphors are used to compare two like things.  A simile uses the words "like" and "as" to make the comparison.  A metaphor makes the comparison by stating something "is" the other thing.

The trick to effective creative writing is choosing a simile or metaphor that is not cliche -- not overused or obvious.  When trying to find the right comparison, the first thing that pops into your head is not likely to be the best or most expressive.  Dig deeper, brain storm a little bit, write down everything that comes into your mind.  Your best simile or metaphor is probably going to be your third, fourth, or even fifth choice.

For example, when I say, "It was as dark as..."

What do you automatically think of?  I bet you thought "night," didn't you?  I did.  However, in one creative writing class, a young girl came up with "dark as a secret."  Oooh, how good is that?  I love the feeling it elicits.  There is nothing darker than my secrets.

So, here's a little practice for you.  I'm going to write a series of adjectives, and I'd like you to come up with your best similes and metaphors.  Leave them in the comments section.  And if I don't get very many participants, then it's my own dang fault for neglecting my blog for so long.

Red

Round

Flat

Light

Funny

Bumpy

Smooth

Blue

Cleave Trailer (The Swan)

Angela Felsted entrances me with her incredible poetry on her blog, My Poetry and Prose Place.  Now, she is getting ready to launch her poetry chapter book called "Cleave."  Here is the trailer for her book.

A link to pre-order "Cleave" is on her blog.

Winning!

Woot, woot!  Well, I can never say I never win anything anymore.  Remember that blog contest on Wednesday?  Yep, I won a Kindle Touch from the fabulous K.M. Weiland!  I'm so excited!

And I've been reading her book, Outlining Your Novel, and it is fantastic.  Exactly what I needed to get me past the hump I hit while working on my WIP.  That's easily worth as much as the prize!

Blog Contest!!!

The fabulous K.M. Weiland has just released her latest book, Outlining Your Novel.  As an avid fan of Ms. Weiland, I'm excited that she's willing to share the secrets of her success with us.  I can't wait to jump in and read this book.  To celebrate, she is holding an amazing contest with fabulous prizes.  Visit her blog, Wordplay, here to find out more.