SimplyLife

"But, Mom the puppies are really cute. I'll take care of it. Honest. We need a dog. I'll walk him and feed him. Pleeeeeese, can't we get a puppy?" The age old parent-child exchange about getting a puppy. The big decision to bring a baby canine into your family. How the passionate promises of feeding, walking, and cleaning up after the puppy pour so easily from your child's lips. You know, however, you'll be the one doing all of the above and more.  Of course, puppies are adorable, soft, cuddly, entertaining, annoying, labor intensive, and sleep disrupting. But, most likely you'll cave and get one anyway. Companion dogs are members of the family, and the puppy you add to the mix needs to be a good fit. Emotions run high over that furry, roly-poly critter whose antics can melt the heart of the stone. Take a deep breath and do your homework before making the commitment. Don't get a puppy at Christmastime. The excitement of the holiday will make it...

So, you want to get your novel published.  Ten years ago, it was a daunting process.  You needed an agent, and a publisher willing to take a chance on a new author.  Both were hard to find. Today, with the rise of Create Space, Lulu, and Lightning Source et al, you can get your book in the hands of readers at the click of your mouse. The indie writer does it all—writer, publisher, and marketing pro.  POD has forever changed the publishing model.  While traditional publishers are struggling to make a profit, indie writers are on the move, and getting noticed.   I went indie a little over a year ago.  The journey started about four years earlier when I finished my first mystery novel.  My very first query letter to a publisher was accepted.  Excited, I emailed the manuscript and sat back to wait.  I was given regular progress reports by the acquisitions editor, and was on pins and needles when Family Matters made the third and final r...

If joy is a fruit of the Spirit, why are Christians looking so sour? Have you looked around church lately during a worship service? How many of them look joyful?  How many look tired, bored, or maybe irritated?  How about you?  A guest speaker came to our church in Castile, NY many years ago. He made a statement I'll never forget.  He said, "Even if I hadn't met your pastor, I'd know who he is. He's the one with the glory face."   He was right. Our pastor was a joyful man of God whose face reflected that fruit of the Spirit. No, he wasn't giddy or a laugh a minute. His joy was the real deal kind. It's more than happiness. It's more than a smile. It's all rather illusive and hard to define sometimes. Emotions can be tricky business, and we sometimes tend to discount them. True joy is much more than emotion, but emotion is part of it. There's nothing wrong with joy actually showing up on your face, in your step, or your actions. The ...

When the thermometer rises in July and August, the Dog Days are here. Ever wonder why the string of hot, humid days belongs to the dogs? It comes straight from ancient Rome. The Romans believed that the sultry days of summer were caused by Sirius--no, not your satellite radio, but the star in the sky. It was all connected with the dog star, Sirius rising at about the same time as the sun. These days ran from July 24-August 24. They actually sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of time period to appease Sirius, which did absolutely no good, of course. While the simultaneous rising of the sun and Sirius is no longer true--it has to do with the equinoxes and other science stuff, the Dog Days have come down through the centuries, recognized by the Church and secular society alike. Dog Days were identified as evil days when "the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid; causing to man, among other diseases, burning fevers, hysterics...

It used to be a ten-pound dictionary and a thesaurus by your side when you put pen to paper. The Encyclopedia Britannica was also necessary for research. Probably a trip to the library was on the list too. You'd need more reference materials of some sort.  How times have changed! I can do it all from my laptop as I type this blog. However, there are some books you should have in your personal library to help hone your writing skills. You may want them on your Kindle or other device, but when it comes to some reference materials, personally I like to have real live books to look at, mark up, and spread out over the table. 1. Dictionary - you still need one, but www.dictionary.com is easy to use. 2. Thesaurus - the one at www.dictionary.com lives side-by-side with the dictionary. Very convenient. 3. The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. So MUCH in such a little book.  E.B. White is the co-author of this classic on grammar, composition, and writin...

Excerpt from Gardens of the Heart - available at Amazon. I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense. I saw that it was overgrown with nettles. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson:  A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber. Proverbs 24:30-34 NLT The lawns of the old Georgian-style house swept down to a fieldstone wall by a quiet country road.  Brilliant pink rhododendrons banked the foundation of the house. A formal English garden with an elaborate bird bath graced one side of the lawn. Sounds beautiful, right? It was, at one time. The gardens were sadly overgrown with weeds, the once lovely brick paths almost erased by encroaching grasses. The rhododendrons were lanky and unhealthy from neglect. The stone wa...

Fathers get a bad rap in TV sitcoms. They're usually just another child underfoot in the house and Mom has to take care of the kids and manipulate her husband into quasi-adult behavior. Study after study shows that dads are a big deal in the home. Daughters learn their value from the male perspective with a man who protects and loves her sacrificially. Sons learn how a real man behaves in this confusing world. Real dads aren't wimps. They're men who aren't perfect and make plenty of mistakes, but they don't run out on their families. Ask any social worker and you'll find out that many of the problems with teens and younger children are because there is no father in the home. "A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society."  --  Billy Graham , Christian Evangelist   "The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."     -- Theodor...

Has this happened to you? You’re reading a mass market paperback or a best seller on your e-reader, and you stumble over a typo.  How did that experience make you feel?  Me too.  As a writer, you want to transport your readers to another world, not yank them from it feeling irritated that no one cared enough to make this right.  Rose Ciccarelli Caring about your readers may be the single best reason to use an editor, but there are others as well. Cold readers are crucial to honing your work, and an editor is the ultimate cold reader , who not only possesses a set of keen eyes but also LOVES to read, and has probably read a lot. An editor sees what you don’t, the missing words, misspellings, and errors in punctuation and grammar. We all miss our own mistakes because our brains fill in the blanks. We see what we think we wrote, not what is actually on the page. At the most basic level, an editor is a proofreader, taking care of all the nuts and bo...

After living in the desert for a decade, I've learned a true appreciation for rain and water in general. We haven't had rain since February and it's bone dry. Until the monsoon rains start, hopefully in a couple of weeks, hot and dry weather will reign. The flowers are stressed; they wilt easily and leaves dry around the edges. There just isn't enough humidity to help. The drip system is now running every day. Real rain is the only answer. Once that soaks into the ground, plants will grow furiously and the roses will look great again. Ramsey Canyon King David knew the value of water and he knew the desperate thirst of being in the desert without enough water. He'd been a fugitive, hiding in caves and living off the land. But his thirst for God trumped the physical needs for water. In Psalm 63, he cries out for his spiritual thirst to be quenched.  O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this ...

It's officially here according to the thermometer at Casa Wallace. Summer is blazing a trail through the desert right now. June is the hottest time of the year, which entices the monsoon season to finally show up. With summer comes barbecue time.  Steaks, burgers, chicken, you name it, we'll grill it to keep the heat of the house. Veggies are great too. The smell is my favorite summer air freshener. Every region has its own particular flavor for barbecue. Arizona is famous for that mesquite flavor. I haven't discovered THE Arizona barbecue recipe since we're greatly influenced by Texas. Smoked, slow cooked with a tomato based sauce, and fallin' off the bone, the ribs are finger lickin' good. We're lovers of Memphis barbecue, especially Corky's which is famous for its dry and wet seasoning. The dry rub is wonderful with a little kick to it. It's good on any meat, just rub it in, let it sit a spell and grill. Memphis elevates barbecue to divine hei...

This week I'm introducing a monthly summer column that will be written by Rose Ciccarelli of Rosebud Communications. When I finally decided I needed a professional editor for my books, a good friend (thanks Connie) introduced me to Rose. It's scary to hand over your baby a/k/a book to a stranger and give them permission to whack away at it. There's also a sense of relief that someone who doesn't love you (your adoring fans - family  and friends), will give you an honest evaluation. Rose will be addressing topics on why you need an editor, dialogue, and character development in June, July, and August. I have to say that working with an editor has made me a better writer. She's pointed out my bad habits (still working on them), patiently points out cliches, repetitive language, and other writing pitfalls. Rose also tells me when a chapter needs to disappear or a character needs more development or somehow the character's name changed. Yikes! As an indie author...

Recently a motor vehicle accident happened right in front of me. While sitting in the right hand turn lane, the car ahead of me pulled out and hit a vehicle that was going through the intersection. The SUV driver and passenger who were not doing a thing wrong, were broadsided. Fortunately, the driver was able to keep some control. The SUV bounced, tilted, and amazingly stayed upright. The driver found her way to an area off the shoulder out of oncoming traffic. The other driver, who caused the whole thing managed to land her vehicle about 30 feet from the other. A law enforcement officer was right behind me in line, so he responded immediately to the scene. Photobucket Have you ever witnessed an accident? It really does unfold in slow motion. You know the outcome is going to be bad and there's not one thing you can do about it. Then it's suddenly over and now the consequences have to be dealt with, not only by those directly involved, but many others. How quickly we mak...