2012 — What a Year…AND What a Book Trailer!
Last year, on December 31, we used an Applebee’s gift card to buy some appetizers. We watched the Sydney fireworks. We ring in the New Year with the Australians for the benefit of our kids.
Last year, on December 31, we had no idea what the new year would bring.
A month of Jeff traveling to work at Auto-Shows.
A new job for Jeff (and a new schedule for our family).
Book contract for me with WhiteFire Publishing for “Paint Chips”.
Homeschooling all three kids. One for Kindergarten. The other two for pre-school.
Megan Sayer came to visit from Australia.
Great times with family this year. And friends. Life in 2012 was crazy. But so, so good.
And, now, I end the year with sharing this. Think of it as my year end BASH!
Kris Bargen and Jesse Low made this beautiful book trailer for me. The lovely Melissa Anshutz and Quincy Lonier brought Cora and Dot Schmidt to life.
Please enjoy this trailer. And, by all means, post, repost, blog it, tell your friends all about it.
Thank you. And Happy New Year! I count each and every one of you as a blessing! I sure hope you are blessed in 2013!
Come, Emmanuel
Congratulations to Adrienne Holmes! You won a copy of my silly play! Inbox me your address, pretty please!
We’re all still here. We aren’t all necessarily “fine”, though.
Last week we were given reason to mourn. Now, in our grief, we prove that we’re very adept at arguing over ideology.
This week, an alarming number of schools across my state were closed. People made threats. Very scary and specific threats. Someone I love very much was on a “list”. I just can’t make sense of it. Not at all.
Fear and grief are thick, wide, round. They compound one another.
And next week is Christmas.
I’ve never really understood the song “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” quite so much as I do this year.
"O come, o Come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, oh Israel. O come, Thou Day-spring come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here. Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadow put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, oh Israel.
Merry Christmas. And rejoice because Emmanuel will come to set all things right.
Controversy
Congratulations to Joy Muldoon! She is the winner of the C.S. Lewis on Love book! Merry Christmas!
Seven years ago, I wrote a play and submitted it to publisher. My rejection letter said that it was “too controversial”.
Best rejection letter ever.
But, really, the controversy was that my characters blended Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations.
My writing colleague, Brandon Clements, wears that title. And he earned it. Big time.
Brandon wrote a novel called Every Bush Is Burning. Here’s the blurb about it…
“A gritty, emotionally gripping story about forgiveness, family, and the sometimes tragically painful sins of the church.
Jack Bennett has a wife, two kids, the perfect job–and the perfect affair. When he is caught and it all comes crashing down, Jack is left with no one to turn to. No friends. No family, except his recovering drug addict of a sister.
On a Sunday morning drive, he sees a homeless man locked out of a church service, banging on the door. He stops and offers the guy a cup of coffee. He asks the man his name, and the guy says Yeshua. As in, Jesus.
Jack’s not stupid. This isn’t the real Jesus. But with nowhere else to turn, Jack forms an unlikely friendship with this eccentric homeless man–one that will test his idea of truth, faith, love, and forgiveness.”
Now, Brandon’s book is not CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) friendly. It contains language that couldn’t share a shelf with an Amish love story. The idea of Yeshua reacting violently to a Westboro-like character, although awesome, might make some readers cringe a little. Adultery, drug use, alcohol drinking, etc.
But none of it is glorified. Instead, what is glorified, is the truth throughout. Truth about God’s care for us. His presence in our despair and loneliness. His redemption. And, quite honestly, God shines in this book as a beautiful contrast to the dingier aspects. And, I’d bet $10 that it was at least a little bit of Brandon’s plan.
This book isn’t for people who are offended easily. But it is for people who want to see a little bit about how the world sees Christianity, Jesus, suffering. Brandon did a great job.
Brandon wrote in a conversational, journal entry style that I rather enjoyed. At one point, I put the book down and clapped my hands before I continued to read. Yes. Jeff looked at me like I was a crazy person. But it was worth it! I laughed several times. Cried a little. Stayed up way too late reading. And, really, I was edified by this book.
If you’re interested in reading it, you can get it as a paperback or digital download. Check out Amazon (it’s a .99 download for the Kindle).
And now for today’s give-away. I was thinking about giving away my paperback copy of this novel…but I want to read it again. Instead, I’d like to give away a copy of my play “Merry Chrismukkah” (the controversial play that was published in 2007). It’s full of Christmas sillies. To enter, please leave a comment answering the following question (because I’m curious)…
What do you think about controversial literature? Can it make a point? What if it isn’t gratuitous (like Brandon’s book)?
I’ll announce the winner on Friday!
Perspective
Congratulations to Hope Ford! She won the copy of “Inciting Incidents”! Hope, inbox me your address, please, and I’ll get that book in the mail to you!
My mom was my art teacher from Kindergarten up through 8th grade. This was good and bad. You see, the art room is the coolest room in all the school to hang out in. And I got to hang out there all the time. But, when your mom is the art teacher, she doesn’t really let you get away with scribbling. Even if you tell her that you are developing a new mode of art.
My mom is too smart for that kind of nonsense.
Well, I remember my mom teaching about perspective. Now, this is one difficult concept to implement. One reason is that it takes a patient eye to really take in the depth of object and its surroundings. Another reason, is because perspective is subjective. Think Picasso. He was a master painter. But his perspective was…ahem…unique. Wouldn’t you say?
(I know I just sounded like I knew what I was talking about…don’t be fooled…I’m kind of making this up as I go along)
Here’s my point. I see things differently than you do. You see things differently than your Uncle Buddy (if you have an Uncle Buddy, then that would be so funny to me…I don’t know why). We all have a different perspective on the things around us. Including different ways of reasoning and emoting.
I think that’s why people are so fascinating. Why I love watching them (in an non-stalkerish way). Why I love writing about them. I’m not a writer of pretty flowers and mountain ranges. I write of people. In their brilliance and squalor. Their pain and healing. Because, in my perspective, they are beautiful in at least one way.
And I really want to dig in and find that beauty. That hope. And point to my readers and say, “Hey! Look! Right THERE! Do you see that? Isn’t it wonderful?”
Some days it is difficult to find that beauty and hope. We sometimes find it important to lament …like we need to over the events of last Friday. But in these difficult, painful, horrific times, we can see the beauty and hope in humanity. From the teachers who shielded the children to those who spend time praying for the families. The officers who guided the children out of the building, telling them to close their eyes, to the mental health worker who gives his life to help prevent these tragedies.
We need to pull the broken down rubble up to see the hope. Dig down past the hate and darkness to see that, yes, right there and there and there is hope. Beauty.
It’s all about perspective.
Today, I’m giving away a copy of “C.S. Lewis On Love”, a collection of quotes from the wise author about love. I think this is so appropriate as now, our focus should be on how to love each other truly and deeply. All you have to do to enter the drawing is to comment below. Thank you!
Lament
Some days I think being a mom is difficult. The laundry piles up. My printer paper is used to make pictures and snowflakes and airplanes. Emotions boil up over a lost shoe or milk spilled. Patience. Mercy. Gentleness. Peace. I pray for them daily. Some days they come. Other days I have to work for them.
Then, today happens.
Gunshots in a kindergarten classroom. Tiny children murdered. Families grieving. Broken. Marred. Mutilated.
And today I realize how my problems aren’t problems. They are part of life.
Because my children are okay. Giggling as they play a game together in the living room. Looking forward to family movie night. Our Christmas plans. A new year together.
And my guts wrench for the parents of those innocents. Those beautiful, precious children.
I keep grabbing hold of my children today. Hugging them so tight. Begging God to keep that tragedy from my home.
Knowing that mothers and fathers will have an emptiness in their arms today. Tomorrow. For the rest of their lives. And knowing that an easy answer doesn’t exist.
And knowing that today, for one mother, is a different day of sorrow. That mother who, I hope, loved her baby. Her baby that, today, is now labeled a monster. Her son who, today, the world wants to see burn in hell.
He was once a beautiful, precious child. And something went wrong.
And I want to hold my children all that much tighter. Because I don’t know how that kind of tragedy comes into a family. How that level of darkness can take over. But I pray that God will not allow that in my home.
I ask God why. And that’s okay. I ask Him why this happens. And I know that the answer is deep and wide and dense. And that the answer isn’t just because evil is in the world. Because that answer is too easy. And easy answers don’t belong with this difficult of a loss.
I have no answers.
I can only lament.
Of Monsters and Paint Chips
Congratulations to Rachel Tear and Michelle Alvarez! You both win a download of Bonnie’s wonderful novel! Please contact me ASAP with your information…and if you’d like to give it away as a gift, that’s cool, too! Tis the season!
Also, yesterday I posted an idea for giving Paint Chips as a download for Christmas. Click here to see what I mean.
Self Doubt, my friends, is a monster. A monster who enters, uninvited, and knocks everything off the shelves and smashes the breakables and eats all your chocolate. Even if you deny its existence, turn your face so that you can’t see it, shove cotton in your ears to drown out its noise.
Self Doubt is a big jerk.
And, let me tell you, that monster has tormented me my whole life.
What’s that? You, too?
You don’t say. Well, I’ll be honest, I feel a little better now.
I mean, as well as I can feel with my house ransacked by some jerk monster.
Seriously, I was planning on writing this pity party blog about how insecure I feel about “Paint Chips” releasing. How scared I am about the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. About how vulnerable I feel knowing that strangers are going to read a novel that is so deeply me. About how terrified I am that people I KNOW are going to read the deeply me novel. About how self promotion is just not my bag, baby. That I’ll alienate everyone I love because of the postings about the novel release…that is, except my hubby…he doesn’t have Facebook.
Nervous that someone will read the book and think, “This is not good”.
And then they will write about how not good it is. And that I will see it. That the monster will clothes line me on its way to smashing my coffee maker (I seriously would be sad about that).
But here’s the thing that I realized while I was sitting here, totally avoiding this blog post; the jerk monster isn’t as powerful as all that. Not really. The only way that the Self Doubt Beasts gains entry is because I let him in.
So what if I get a few bad reviews. I’m sure I’ll get some good reviews, too. And maybe a few middle of the road ones, as well. The review that counts is when, at the end of my days on earth, the Father says, “Well done”. That’s the review I really need to go for.
And, really, as vulnerable as it all feels, my readers won’t recognize the parts that make me feel exposed. It’s fiction. All’s well.
The self-promotion thing? That’s part of the gig. And, I suppose, if anyone becomes weary of it, they can hide me from their news feed. Just, please, don’t tell me. It might make me sad.
And if someone thinks and writes and says that my novel isn’t good, well, it might hurt. But I’ll be okay in the long run. Every time someone has told me that I wasn’t good enough or smart enough, it spurred me on. Made me work harder. Let me tell you, I’ve had to work really hard for all this. And I plan to work doubly hard on the second novel.
Let’s do something together, shall we? Let’s lock the jerk Self Doubt Monster out. He may not come in. We’ll help one another pick up the mess he’s made (I’m sure some of these monsters are she’s, too). And let’s just hold steady, not answering his knocking until he’s given up.
I think that, if we do this together, we’ll be safe.
Remember, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are precious, loved, and dear. Don’t think otherwise.
Leave the monster outside.
Who is ready for a give-away? I sure am! Today, I’m giving away a copy of “Inciting Incidents: 6 Stories of Fighting Disappointment in a Flawed World”
Just leave a comment below to enter the contest. I’ll announce the winner on Monday morning!
Happy Weekend!
“Paint Chips” for Christmas?
Christmas is coming. Aren’t you excited?
I know I am!
Did you know that “Paint Chips” releases 21 days after Christmas?
Yes sir/ma’am, it does.
Are you lamenting the fact that you can’t give it as a Christmas present this year?
Sigh no more, friends! I have an idea!
Introducing the “Paint Chips-Stretching-Out-Christmas-Giving” plan.
Here’s the idea;
1. You contact me by email (email me at susiefink[at]gmail[dot]com)
2. Tell me for whom you are planning to buy the digital copy of “Paint Chips”
3. Provide their snail mail address
4. I will send them a Christmas card letting them know that they will receive their download on January 15…I’ll even send them a postcard with a synopsis of the novel
5. On January 15, you will receive an email reminder to purchase the book for your loved one, include instructions of how to do it (it’s very simple, you just need to know the type of device they use and their email address).
6. One Christmas present is marked off your “to buy” list
Sound good?
In order to make sure that the Christmas card arrives to your friend in time for Christmas, please contact me no later than December 20. If you live outside the continental United States, we’ll figure out something. 🙂
You may, of course, have it sent later…especially if you like to give gifts late. I like getting Christmas presents late. 🙂
Thanks!
Meet Bonnie Grove…Enter For a Give-Away!
Today I welcome my friend and mentor, Bonnie Grove to the blog. She is the author of several books, including Talking to the Dead which is available for digital readers for $2.99 (a few cents less on Kindle). She agreed to an interview. I think you’ll think she’s pretty amazing.
And check out the super cool give-away at the end of this post (don’t skip the interview, though).
Susie Finkbeiner (SF):
Hi, there, Bonnie! Thanks for this interview. How about we start with a little bit about Talking to the Dead?
Bonnie Grove (BG):
Twenty-something Kate Davis can’t seem to get this grieving widow thing right. She’s supposed to put on a brave face and get on with her life, right? Instead she’s camped out on her living room floor, unwashed, unkempt, and unable to sleep—because her husband Kevin keeps talking to her.
Is she losing her mind?
Kate’s attempts to find the source of the voice she hears are both humorous and humiliating, as she turns first to an “eclectically spiritual” counselor, then a shrink with a bad toupee, an exorcist, and finally group therapy. There she meets Jack, the warmhearted, unconventional pastor of a ramshackle church, and at last the voice subsides. But when she stumbles upon a secret Kevin was keeping, Kate’s fragile hold on the present threatens to implode under the weight of the past…and Kevin begins to shout.
Will the voice ever stop? Kate must confront her grief to find the grace to go on, in this tender, quirky novel about embracing life.
SF:
Your main character, Kate Davis, is well crafted. She’s so true. Can you please tell us a little more about her?
BG:
Kate Davis is having the ultimate bad day, and is living out some intensely strange circumstances. My goal was to create a character that reflects real women – messing up, but stronger than she knows. Kate is a fighter deep down in her soul—she just doesn’t know it yet.
She has her own, unique way of navigating through the world. It isn’t an easy way—but it is her way and she owns it. To me, that’s heroic. To bear tremendous loss and heartache, yet remain true to herself to the end.
SF:
Thank you, Bonnie. Do you mind giving us a little insight into who you are? I promise, this relates to your book. 🙂
BG:
I’m a happy Canadian. I’m married to a guy I love, and we have two children who are so well behaved I have to ask for I.D. when they come home from school each day. I just can’t believe they are mine. Our house is usually a mess, and one summer we lost our dog (Poppy the Pomeranian) twice in one day. We found her both times, she’s fine and forgave us.
I think in stories, and have a hard time understanding the world without them. I have recently rediscovered how much I love poetry and am thumbing my nose at all those English teachers who told me I didn’t really understand what the poem meant.
I’ve often thought about getting out of the publishing gig and just going to work for Taco Bell, but I’m too far gone, so write I must.
SF:
Thank you. The reason I ask is, I am curious to know if you put yourself into the characters that you write.
BG:
Wow, I’d love to say no. That I just make it all up based on something I saw on the bus one day.
But.
I recently wrote a list of images and ideas that reoccur in each of my novels. It was a long list that included things like forests, narrow paths, isolation, and mental illness. Cheerful, eh?
At this point, I can’t pretend I’m not working out my issues via story. The plot in Talking to the Dead is fiction, and I’m not Kate Davis, but if there is such a thing as an emotional biography, I think that is what I write.
The other item found in each of my novels? Humour. The day we can’t have a laugh in the middle of it all is the day we’ve just given up.
SF:
Talking to the Dead has a unique premise and it is very well written. I’d love to know how you came up with the idea for this story.
BG:
I’d love to say I was so savvy I plotted and wrote the novel in a few weeks—like those genius writers I hear so much about—but the truth is, I had a question nagging me, and I started writing out that question in story form.
I used to work with at risk families (families that experience a host of social and economic disadvantages) and it dawned on me that I couldn’t judge what a person was trying to accomplish simply by watching their behavior. That, often, what I thought they were doing and what it was they were actually trying to do were very different things. In other words, that behavior doesn’t always match up with intention. So the question was, if behavior isn’t an indication of intention, then what is the best way to truly understand a person?
Did I answer the question? Probably not, but this story is an attempt to explore that question. I’d love to hear from readers and have them tell me if I hit on any sort of answer.
SF:
You did answer my question. Thank you. Now, if you don’t mind, could you please tell me a little about what you’re working on now?
BG:
I’ve recently completed a novel entitled The Season In Between that is now in my agent’s hands. It’s the story of an East Coast island, a dying fishing community that is confronted with the lies of their past.
I’ve started work on another novel, the working title is Trillium, about a woman who stumbles upon a magical town, and must fight to save it.
SF:
That sounds fantastic. I can’t wait to read it.
Now, I know a lot of my friends are wondering where they can get Talking to the Dead.
BG:
Until December 17th, you can download the e-book version of Talking to the Dead for only $2.99!
If you’re a fan, like I am, of books made out of paper, you can always order the paperback of Talking to the Dead at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com , or your favorite brick and mortar bookshop.
SF:
Fantastic. Hey, Bonnie, thank you for sharing with us.
BG:
Thank you so much for letting me hang out with you today!
And now, for the give-away! Leave a comment below to enter for a chance to get a download from yours truly on your digital reader. 2 lucky readers will be announced on Friday. At that point, I need the winners to contact me ASAP for further direction.
Lights. Cameras. Action!
Congratulations to Anne Ferris for winning the “What’s Your Story” necklace!
Friday morning, I woke up far earlier than usual. I’m NOT a morning person. I do NOT function well until 3/4 way through my first cup of coffee. And, on Friday morning, I left the house with only 1/2 a cup.
I picked up some doughnuts (or donuts…which is correct???) and a mocha from Tim Horton’s (oh, Canada, thank you for sharing) and headed to the home of Andy and Anne Ferris. They have an older house that they opened up for us to use for filming.
My kids call it the “Raggedy House”. You know. Raggedy Anne and Andy…
Anyway. We got to the house. Ate donuts/doughnuts (seriously, my spell check is fine with both spellings). Drank coffee. Watched the film crew set up.
After figuring out where to place the lights,how to adjust the kitchen curtains, where to put the door, camera angles, and about a kazillion other details that I had NO IDEA were so important (big props to people who know how to do all this kind of work), we were ready for the camera to start filming.
The director (Jesse Low) actually hollered, “Quiet On The Set”.
Several takes later, the film crew moved next door to film in the basement of Andy and Anne’s neighbor. They used another neighbor’s porch. The park down the street. A street down town.
I know these guys worked hard and long on Friday to film for my book trailer.
It is work that requires patience. Knowledge. Equipment. Talent.
I’m so excited to view the trailer. But, really, I’m most excited to be able to share it with all of you.
So, today we’re celebrating with a give-away. Because it’s December and we can do that!
To enter the drawing, leave a comment below.
Have a great day!
Butterflies and More Butterflies…And a Give-Away!
Hello! As much as I hate housekeeping, I need to do a tiny bit. Hope you don’t mind. I’ll make it quick.
1. Congratulations to Elizabeth from Texas Schmexas. She won the journal! (by the way, you should check out Elizabeth’s blog…it’s all about community).
2. I just set up “Paint Chips” on Goodreads. If you would, could you please, please put it on your “to read” list? You can click HERE or click on the link over there on the right of your screen.
Today, I’m nervous. My tummy feels full of overly caffeinated butterflies. It’s not pretty.
Today, my book trailer is being filmed. Today, I meet two professional actresses. They are playing the parts of my 2 main characters in “Paint Chips”. These actresses will move within characters who lived inside me for so long. Characters who I’ve lived with for years.
That is a crazy idea.
My imagination coming to life.
This whole novel business has gone so much farther than I ever hoped or dreamed.
Thank you all for being with me through this. Writing doesn’t have to be a lonely occupation. I am so glad that I don’t have to be alone. I have been deeply moved by your support.
You make the butterflies calm down a bit.
Bless you.
Today I’m giving away a “What’s Your Story” necklace.
To enter, just leave a comment below. Tell me your very favorite color! That way, if you win, I can make sure you get a great color for your necklace. I’ll draw a winner Sunday night and announce on Monday.
(to see more jewelry, check out my Etsy shop…this month 50% goes to a missionary who serves in the Dominican Republic and Haiti…plug, plug)
susiefinkbeiner.com 