Sarah's Words of Wit(sdom)

"The image you left was very strong." Hands pressed to her back, she paced in short quick steps. "If what I capture is emotionally static, it fades. If not, it leaves an indelible imprint – until I transfer it to the clay." Natalie has a gift; or is it a curse? Her eidetic memory allows her to capture emotion into her sculptures like no one else. But when Trevor McDaniel, a search and rescue volunteer, recovers her nephew, Cody, from the jaws of a mountain lion and the toddler is left in the care of Natalie, and she wonders, with this “gift”, if she’s fit to take care of Cody by herself. Trevor’s strong protector quality drives him to take Cody under his wing and meanwhile, a budding romance forms between him and Natalie. Trevor struggles with breaking free from his own past, and tries to compensate by helping Cody face his fears. A psychotic stalker is somewhere in their midst, deep in the shadows. First blackmailing Trevor, then threatenin...

"You are an adult now, Krista. You can fight off your own predators. But the biggest one you face is inside you. You know that, don't you?" Krista Mueller returns to her home in New Mexico around Christmastime to visit her dying mother who was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s twelve years ago, which was the last time she saw her mother when she admitted her to Cimarron Care Center. She carries around the ghosts of what her mother used to be, all the bad memories and blocks out the good. She’s afraid to love and forgive. While there, she re-meets her high school sweetheart, Dane McConnell, a doctor there, who reminds her of what it means to love with mercy and grace. The first thing I noticed is that Mercy Come Morning has incredibly long chapters. Of 222 pages, it only has 15 chapters. I found myself often stopping in the middle of scenes due to lack of time to read instead of being able to find a good stopping point within the next few pages. ...

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo . I found this on a great blog  http://encouragingwordsforwriters.blogspot.com/ , which is also a great encouragement for writers. Hope you have a great day full of little things that encourage you!

Luke 10:38-42 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.   Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Thanksgiving can be a stressful time, getting food and homes ready for gatherings, but don't forget to make time for God and for family. For a holiday that is made for rest and giving thanks, we tend to forget what it's all about. It's easy to get "distracted by all the preparations", like Martha, and forget about the important ...

Have you ever experienced something so tragic, you couldn't forget? Where every sight, sound, or smell reminded you of a time you'd rather forget? Claudia has. 10 years ago, her teacher, friend, and confidant was murdered right before her eyes and the killer was never found. The Crossing was a great read, full of emotional ups and downs with Claudia, her husband Victor as he re-opens the case, and their struggle to get past the pain and learn to love each other all over again. I do have to say the first couple of chapters were a bit slow for me. After about seven chapters, the pace does start to pick up with the mystery that evidence not found during the original investigation is discovered. Many of the twists and turns in the plot surprised me, and I read a lot of suspense novels! Serita Jakes creates a story of love, forgiveness, and putting the past behind. She certainly kept me guessing until the end who the killer was. I got close, but I never exactly hit the ...

Back in August, I did my first bridal hair and makeup! I recently received pictures from the wedding. Here are some of my favorites. The bride made her own dress! How cool is that?! What a talented lady! You can see more pictures from her wedding by clicking here  http://noviadistinctivephotography.com/blog/?p=1417

I recently ordered the book Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success by K.M Weiland. I can't wait for it to get here! Outlining my novel is something I have trouble with. I just want to write, and sometimes that's a good thing, but mostly, it's a bad thing because I don't know where I'm going next with the story line. I'm excited to learn how to "map my way to success"! Plus, if you order it from now until Friday on Amazon.com, you can win a ton of great prizes from the author, K.M Weiland, including a Kindle! Click on this link to learn more:  http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/2010/09/win-kindle-and-over-100-in-writing.html . Help boost this author in Amazon's ratings! Taken from Amazon.com: Product Description Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s arsenal. Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Wa...