Happy Earth Day, Hello from the Trenches - Still Celebrating the Small Things

Chrysanthemum in a pot

A nice message (below) for Earth Day from Jane Goodall! We have quail on our property. Did you know that the males and females mate for life? About 90 percent of bird species in general are monogamous. Hubby and I enjoy watching the mamas and papas, their head plumes bobbing away in rhythm as they scurry about with their tiny chicks  in tow. So-so cute. One of these days I hope to catch a photo. They move fast when they see me.

I love nature, don't you? I love watching all it has to offer, the honeybees enjoying my crab tree blooms, the robins listening for worms in the ground, the occasional crow (did you know they are as smart as a seven-year-old?), and on and on. I write a garden column for our small newspaper and found myself thinking the other day that aphids have a right to eat too. Ha-ha-ha. I know, I know, but this is how my mind works. 

So I made a batch of homemade insecticide, with Dawn soap, vegetable oil and water. It repels aphids and other insects, but I doubt if it kills them. I'll need to spray the infestation at least a couple more times. My poor snow ball bush was covered. 

But on to the real purpose of this blog....recording my writing journey. You already know about my novel The Shells of Mersing and the long, long road to publishing it. If you haven't had to chance to read, you can find it at Evernight Teen for 25% off this weekend. I urge you to take a look. I am so grateful to this publisher for taking a chance on me. There are many other books there too in different genres. Mine is an adventure mystery, a sailing journey, a sweet romance. 

Our small sailboat, Duet. Friday Harbor, WA

You've seen me in the A-Z April Challenge. I do hope that is going well for everyone. I noticed a huge number didn't participate last year. That said, I will always be grateful for this wonderful blog hop. It got me thinking about topics I had always wanted to explore. People still come to my blog to the read the A-Z posts. 

Learn something new

Dare to be yourself

I've been gardening and thinking about working on a sequel to my novel as I work. Gardening is normally great inspiration for me, as there is time to think, but my novel has been on hold since December when my mother moved into a retirement home. My focus has been on her needs, but I'm trying hard to get back to a more productive writing schedule.  

In this together

 

How has your writing journey been going? 

Let me know in your comments. 

 

http://lexacain.blogspot.com/2015/01/celebrate-small-things.html

Yep, still Celebrating!

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Update - Interview at Jennifer Macaire's Blog

Hi all. The weather is rather nice today in central Washington state. The sky is blue and the wind mercilessly calm. Boy do we ever get our share of wind here. Winter is when all attempts at bright green go dormant in the desert. One blink of neglect....the sage brush returns and Russian thistle takes over, which I've dubbed the cockroach of weeds. It's a constant battle, but I'm still smiling, especially today...
      An interview of me at Jennifer Macaire's new blog was posted this week and I hope you'll take a look. Please, if you have time, give a look. VIRTUAL HUGS to all who do! Who knows? You may learn something new about me, and Jennifer too.
       Jennifer is an awesome Evernight Teen author, and Book 1 of her new Alexander series was recently published with Accent Press/Simon and Schuster. She also has a fascinating background as a fashion model.  

"I'm still hanging in there. Are you??"

Evernight Teen's Loop Giveaway on Instagram Today: Win Prizes & Books and Meet the Authors

To all my blogger friends on Instagram: I'm excited to announce that I'm participating in a #loopgiveaway with Evernight Teen and 22 other fantastic 

#YA authors TODAY is the day Oct 23. 

Each author will have a prize to #giveaway and Evernight Teen is offering a few GRAND PRIZES, including gift certificates and prize packs. If you complete the loop, you’ll have the chance to #win at least 25 different prizes.

I’m giving away an e-book version of  THE SHELLS OF MERSING, plus a $5 Evernight Teen gift certificate!

Here are the rules for the loop giveaway:

• Follow all of the accounts in the loop.
• Comment below with a friend's name that should enter to win too (the more the merrier!).
• Tap the photo to see where to go next.
• Remember you must follow ALL Instagram accounts in order for your entry to be valid.
• Once you get back here, you’ve completed the loop!
• Winners will be announced on October 30th.

{Winners will be announced on Oct 30}

To start, Follow me @sharonmhimsl on Instagram and continue with the other authors to complete the loop.

#entertowin #instacontest #amreading #YALit #TeenBooks #TeenFiction #YoungAdult #mustread #EvernightTeen #prize #freebooks

Celebrate the Small Things: You Can Always Find Something

When life gets you down, find something to smile about. Try a happy memory that makes you reflect and gives you pause. I often head for the baked goods, perhaps not the healthiest diet-wise, but I enjoy baking cookies on a cold autumn afternoon. I did this a lot as a girl for my family, and also as a young mother. Nothing better than fresh baked molasses cookies and a cold glass of milk. Store bought just doesn't cut it!

How about warm socks on a cold Autumn morning? I'm thinking of those cozy Norwegian slippers I sometimes got for Christmas under the tree as a girl, but I like the stripe ones on the left too. Boy, do they ever warm the toes.

 

Maybe it's a taste of homemade jam that the neighbor brought over or you made yourself. I was given a box of plums and made plum jam. 

It could be a funny line from a favorite movie.

I still quote lines from Bill Murray's 'Groundhog Day'.  Oh, no, did I do that same thing again? Will I ever learn? "It's Groundhog Day!"

 

Could it be a good book you gave yourself permission to read? When you really should be doing something else? I say, go for it! I like the orange tabby purring at this young boy's side. Animals have a special gift. They know how to make us slow down in life. Best blood pressure medicine of all! 

 How about one of #Evernight Teen's awesome books? If you read one, be sure to give a review. It's the kindest support you can give an author.

I'm reading Kate Larkindale's book, An Unstill Life by Evernight Teen. What are you reading?

And don't forget to vote for C. Lee Mckenzie's book, Double Negative, up for the Reader's Choice award for Young Adult. You can vote here: 🙂  https://www.tckpublishing.com/readers-choice-voting

There is is always something to celebrate, so if you haven't found the time this week, make time now. I guarantee you'll feel a whole lot better. "You can never have too much happy."

 

 

Author of THE SHELLS OF MERSING - Evernight Teen

"Come celebrate with us" 

To join "Celebrate the Small Things, visit Lexa Cain's blog

Co-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge 
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate the Small Things: Setting Goals and Getting Ready for Fall

I don't know about you, but there is something about the onset of Fall that gets my creative juices going. I saw this challenge on Facebook at my publisher's author site and decided this was for me. 

You basically devote 100 days of activity to an artistic/creative endeavor between now and December 31, 2017. Mine is to finish outlining my new novel and actually begin writing chapters. You set the challenge, and ideally plan each day in advance. I plan to commit at least 25 minutes a day (by timer if necessary). I know the time will be longer if I can just put my butt in the chair, but it's how my mind works (I have to trick it into compliance). Of course, everyone does what works best for them. #SHOWUP100

Today was DAY 1. I worked on the synopsis and back stories, and boy did it ever feel good. As this is a sequel, I loved pulling in characters from the first book, deciding who would no longer play a role. It wasn't easy. I wanted to give them all top billing on the novel stage, but alas, some actors no longer fit. Anyway, wish me luck! Have any of you tried this method?

The challenge is necessary. My husband and I just spent the last two weeks painting our home. I haven't been writing at all. We managed to put on one coat, but it was good paint and should get us by till next spring, when we'll apply a second coat. Frankly, it's been too darn hot to accomplish much more, and it's smokier than ever here. VERY tired of the smoke! 

Nonetheless, the signs of Fall are already here. The leaves of our new service berry tree are already beginning to turn. The mums are starting to blossom. We have Fall planting to do as well, but not nearly as much as last year. 

I hope you are doing fine. I've been offline far too long, but had so much stuff to do this summer. I have book reviews piling up that I need to do as well. Eventually, eventually. It all comes together somehow, doesn't it?

Take care everyone. Remember to smile and take deep breaths. I look at the world and have days when all I can do is shake my head in the negative, but we saw some beautiful coming together by all in Houston. Made me proud. Still tough for those folks, but help keeps coming in. I try to remember, it could always be worse, and that celebrating the small things in life is what matters most. 

ALSO Celebrating my novel and reviews. Check it out: 
The Shells of Mersing 

"Come celebrate with us" 

To join "Celebrate the Small Things, visit Lexa Cain's blog

Co-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge 
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Celebrate the Small Things: Summer, Book, and YA News

Hi, I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer! Smoke from the Northwest and Canadian fires has finally cleared and the temperature has dropped to the mid-eighties. ~Breathing a huge sigh of relief~

'SHELLS' Watch. Another week and I haven't written my novel's sequel yet. Ha-ha-ha. I'm still trying to figure out how to promote the first one. Thankfully, sales are up for  The Shells of Mersing. Received my first box of printed copies in the mail and fell in love all over again. Here's another teaser, page 137:


CALLIE MEETS SAM:

"Samuel gives Lucas a high-five and starts to do the same with me, but hesitates. He smiles, a cute half grin, and shakes my hand. My hand melts into his, and his touch is as warm and velvety as any first kiss could ever be. For a moment the room blurs around us.

Irene clears her throat. “Samuel’s homeschooling with us for the summer, while his parents work on assignment in Indonesia.”  

I’m too speechless to say anything relevant in reply. I’d stammer and make a fool of myself if I tried.

Samuel pours himself a lemonade. “So what’s up? Why’s everyone in such a daze?” 

Writers' Conferences: 

• Rivers of Ink 2017 Conference - Kennewick, WA  Aug 18-20 (Sunday is free - Story Structure 1&2)
• Inland Northwest SCBWI Conference - Spokane, WA Sept 16

YOUNG ADULT NEWS: 
Interesting news in the Young Adult genre with the recent publishing of The Black Witch by Laurie Forest. Apparently, this new author is being skewered for being racist. Her stated attempt was to portray a character's transformation after growing up in a close knit prejudiced culture, and apparently she sees the light as an adult. Unfortunately, a critic ranted on Twitter about the racism and what she claims is the book's final effect. The book is 600 pages long, but readers are rejecting the book based on some 500 tweets! 

Here's an example of a quote in the review from pg. 163 in the book: "The Kelts are not a pure race like us. They’re more accepting of intermarriage, and because of this, they’re hopelessly mixed.” Seriously?? This was considered inappropriate? I thought this was fiction. I do not normally read fantasy, but I might make an exception. Perhaps the most compelling point is that the main character's transformation doesn't really begin until halfway through the book. That's a lot of reading with potentially repugnant material. It's possible the author went too far, but still.....

The article states that the tweeted review was  "— a clarion call for YA Twitter, which regularly identifies and denounces books for being problematic (an all-purpose umbrella term for describing texts that engage improperly with race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and other marginalizations). Led by a group of influential authors who pull no punches when it comes to calling out their colleagues’ work, and amplified by tens of thousands of teen and young-adult followers for whom online activism is second nature, the campaigns to keep offensive books off shelves are a regular feature in a community that’s as passionate about social justice as it is about reading."

This is not about one bad review. It stirred up a hornet's nest for the publisher as you can imagine. My guess is the brew-ha-ha increased sales, but I'm bothered by the censorship, because the goal was to remove her book from readers and shelves. My question to any author or publisher is: do we really have the right? Parents do this all the time and that's their duty and prerogative. I did this with books (and media) too with my children and would do so again based on age appropriateness, but blackballing an author's hard-earned work riles me up. I may not like everything I read and have the right to express those views, but to embark on a censorship campaign feels just plain wrong. 

What do you think?

Click here for the full articles:  "The Toxic Drama on YA Twitter by Kat Rosenfield and "On Disagreement" by Vicky Smith

Last but not least, it's time to think about Painting the house and Fall Gardening. 

We tend to take on bigger than life projects!!!

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

"Come celebrate with us" 

To join "Celebrate the Small Things, visit Lexa Cain's blog

Co-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge 

Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate the Small Things: Just Another Good Day

Well, what do you say when life is zipping along and you are having a good day? I guess you could say you feel blessed

AND I DO! 

• Workmen are outside our door as I type, building our new pergola. Shade, oh blessed shade, Oh how I have missed you. We desperately need you in the desert sun. 
• Tomorrow my daughter arrives with two of our grandchildren to stay the week. We'll spend time at the lake trying to stay cool and probably play a board game or two.
• A blog tour for me at Laurisa White Reyes' blog 

 

"Come celebrate with us" 
To join "Celebrate the Small Things, visit Lexa Cain's blog
Co-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge 
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate the Small Things: A Fun and Safe 4th of July

I want to wish everyone a fun and safe 4th of July. I expect a lot of you will take today off, and Monday and Tuesday too. That makes for a nice five-day holiday. I remember those times. Working hard five days a week, with never enough vacation time. But when the calendar fell just right, we'd take a trip and go camping somewhere. Or barbecue at home, buy 'illegal' fireworks at the reservation, and have some old-fashioned fun.

Not sure what hubby and I will be doing. Company is coming, so I suppose that means hamburgers and fireworks at the park. We may participate in the annual golf cart parade. We live in a semi-retirement community, so there are a lot of golf carts!

Meanwhile.....I'm still promoting my new book, The Shells of Mersing, and could use some serious readers and Amazon Reviews. A FREE eBOOK COPY to anyone interested!

Did you know the story starts in Seattle in 1995? Email and the internet were brand new then, and cells phones were practically non-existent in the U.S. However, in Malaysia, where half the novel is set, cell phones were definitely in use and becoming rather popular. 

It was fun introducing my main character to Email and Cell phones for the first time, having lived in Malaysia myself in 1995. I remember my writer friends in the states were nervous about sending their manuscripts half way around the world over the internet for critiques (as was I). Our worries ranged from worrying about losing our work entirely to getting an enormous internet bill!! Boy, have things changed.

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

RELEASE DAY!! GOAL! THE SHELLS OF MERSING is HERE!

 Finish line. Made the Goal. Here at last. The Tortoise won the Race. The Big Tuh-duh!!   

SERIOUSLY, this is a big deal. My FIRST work of fiction published. HOLY MOLY!!

Party anyone? NOT. I'm a writer. I hole up in my office and play with words. That's what writers do. I never did learn how to party.

Butfor being here to Celebrate with me.

Okay, enough chatter. This is THE SHELLS OF MERSING'S big day. Callie is dying to tell her story and I'm going to let her take it from here ....

"I have a gun frozen in my hand, and a scream welling up inside. No one would believe me in a million years if I told the truth..."

25% off for two weeks starting today at Evernight Teen. Also available on Amazon. Print copies available in August. Pop on over and take a look and give me a CHEER. I'm over the moon, doing cartwheels, releasing balloons, filled to the max excited!!

Blurb:

When notorious Uncle Azman disobeys his boss’s orders, and sends Callie and Lucas to meet their mother's long lost family in Malaysia, fourteen-year-old Callie Davis believes their troubles are over. After all they've endured, what more could go wrong? Their American dad is dead, Mom is missing, and their foster dad in Seattle was murdered, with Callie falsely accused. If that wasn't enough, Callie stowed aboard a sailboat with her eight-year-old brother to escape, only to be targeted by their uncle’s boss in Hawaii upon arrival for immediate sale in Thailand’s human trafficking market. Disguised in Muslim dress, in case Azman’s boss sends someone after them, Callie believes it’s simply a matter of time. They need to find safety with family in Mersing and begin the search for Mom, but a shell box, a ruby, and a boy from Chicago named Sam are about to change everything.  

More Fun Facts at Author Page  

 

Poof! A Book is Born: Teaser Excerpt and Update

Happy to announce my novel The Shells of Mersing is ready for release June 23. Uhh.....that's next F-R-I-D-A-Y! It's really going to happen! I dreamed a story and POOF....a book is born.

The Shells of Mersing will be featured at 25% off on the landing page of Evernight Teen's website for one week upon release, but I'll remind everyone again when it happens. I made the below image and thought it might work in a book trailer  but I'm still working on the details. 

A teaser excerpt - The Shells of Mersing:


Groaning, his eyes flicker open. “What happened?”

“Don’t move, Mr. Pirone. I’ll get Judith.”

He grabs my wrist. “You’ll do no such thing. Help me up.” His face softens. “Please, I hurt my back.” I pull him to his feet.

He staggers to the door and stops mid step at the threshold, hanging there for the longest time. “What are you doing here?” he finally says.

“Benjamin, my old friend,” a male voice replies.

Benny inches backward. Glancing back at me, he speaks in a low deliberate voice, “Run, Callie.” He mumbles something else, but all I really hear are his first words. Run, Callie.

A muffled pop pierces the air. Benny falls to his knees and collapses face down. I cover my mouth, stifling a scream, afraid to move as blood gushes from a bullet hole in Benny’s temple. A crimson pool forms on the floor.

A flashlight beam travels over his face and the wound. I gasp, recalling the glowing moon eyes in my dream. The beam of light shines on my face next and goes out, blinding me at first.

“Who’s there? Please. Who are you?”

A cold, unmistakable chill travels down my spine, and then I see him, a man clad in black. He steps over Benny’s body, entering the room. A gun hangs loose at his side in his black gloved hand. I step backward. He flicks his black hair away from his face and moves closer. Two sunken cheeks dominate his long face. A red scar zigzags across his nose. He’s young, in his twenties, maybe thirties. He eyes Benny’s body, snickering to himself.

A toilet flushes upstairs. Please let it be Judith. I step to the side, eyeing the door and the stairs behind him. I can run for it. I can do this.

He snatches my hand. “Not so fast.” His steely eyes are those of a cobra’s. I can almost hear the hiss when his bony fingers clamp down, pinching me. He forces my palm over the gun handle, curving my index finger around the trigger. “You tell anyone about me, and I’ll kill you. Your mama too.”

My mouth goes dry. “My mother?”

He smiles, a cruel deliberate sneer. “That’s right, your mama in Thailand.”

My heart rips apart, a scream building inside. This horrid man knows my mother. He knows her!

His cobra eyes gloat. “Yeah, that’s right. I think you understand. Now don’t forget.”

I struggle to move the gun wedged in my hand. No, I’ll never forget your warning and cruel voice, or your snakelike stare and jagged scar.

He snorts. “Tell them it was self-defense.” He kicks Benny’s body as he leaves.

My knees shake as I watch him disappear. The soles of my feet are molded to the floor. I have a gun frozen in my hand, and a scream welling up inside. No one would believe me in a million years if I told the truth, because the only truth I could fabricate is an outright lie. Tell them it was self-defense, he said. But I can’t lie, nor can I live with the deadly consequences of the truth.

Judith rushes into the room. I have no idea when. Seconds, minutes, hours could have passed. I’m standing where the stranger left me.

******