tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240394072024-03-13T21:37:27.573-05:00The Heart of WritingThis blog is dedicated to reviewing historical research books and posting factual information relevent to the 19th Century.Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-70468762143706804732011-11-04T11:10:00.000-05:002011-11-04T11:10:25.685-05:00The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Cooking, Toilet and Household Recipes, Menus, Dinner-Giving, Table Etiquette, Care of the Sick, Health Suggestions, Facts...Cyclopedia of Information for the HomeI have heard several people comment about Amazon.com having free
Kindle books for free downloads, but haven't even bothered to check it
out because (((gasp))) I don't own a Kindle or any other digital reading
device. At present, I'm one of those readers who enjoy holding the book
in my hands. However, since I write historical fiction, I'm always on
the look out for research material. My fellow blogger, Sue sent me a
link for a free Kindle download from Amazon.com for the book, <i>The
Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Cooking, Toilet and Household Recipes, Menus,
Dinner-Giving, Table Etiquette, Care for the Sick, Health Suggestion,
Facts...Cyclopedia of Information for the Home by Fanny Lemira Gillette.</i><br />
<br />
I
followed the link to find that Amazon.com has a download for people
like me who aren't ready to commit to purchasing a Kindle. It is called
Kindle for PC. Readers can use this download to install a Kindle program
on their computer and voila!!! Readers can enjoy any Kindle book on
Amazon.com.<br />
<br />
After having downloaded Kindle for PC, I
then noticed that the cookbook link my friend sent me wasn't the only
free book on Amazon.com. Most all the popular classics, such as Pride
and Prejudice, Aesop's Fables, Treasure Island, and so many more books
are free.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Whitehouse Cookbook was an
interesting read and one I can use for development of my stories and
maybe even useless information that I find amusing. Did you know since I
have downloaded this treasure trove of information that I now possess
the recipe for Squirrel Soup? Green Turtle Soup? What I'd really like to
know is what in the world are the finer parts of the turtle and where
exactly is the green fat found? There is even a recipe for Frogs Fried
and Frogs Stewed. Only the hind-legs and quarters are used.<br />
<br />
<br />
I
have even discovered a recipe that has been used my mother's family for
generations which we seemed to have shortened over the years. We have
enjoyed Salmon Croquettes (I'm supposing southern-style) and have passed
the recipe on to our children. The recipe I received from my mother was
1-canned salmon, bread crumbs, and egg. Mix together. Form patties. Fry
them in hot grease. Serve with milk gravy. However, here is the 1887
version of the same recipe but I think probably more richer with more
calories.<br />
<br />
Salmon Croquettes<br />
<br />
One pound
of cooked salmon (about one and a half pints when chopped), one cup of
cream, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one tablespoonful of flour, three
eggs, one pint of crumbs, pepper and salt; chop the salmon fine, mix the
flour and butter together, let the cream come to a boil, and stir in
the flour and butter, salmon and seasoning; boil one minute; stir in one
well-beaten egg, and remove from the fire; when cold make into
croquettes; dip in beaten egg, roll in crumbs and fry. Canned salmon can
be used.<br />
<br />
I had no idea salmon came canned in 1887. Who
knew? The same recipe is used for every meat listed in the cookbook:
salmon, lobster, crab, oysters, chicken, and beef. The beef croquettes
adds hot mashed potatoes.<br />
<br />
The book also teaches the
housewife to cook all manner of organs. Beef hearts, beef liver, boiled
beef and tongue. I'm not quite certain about all the recipes of which
meat is used to make pudding. In my mind, I'm seeing vanilla and
chocolate pudding, perhaps even fruit flavored puddings, but meat? Veal
pudding sounded almost promising with its addition of bacon, but I'm not
sure what a suet crust is or what a pudding cloth is either? Maybe I
need a dictionary to go along with my reading? But by far, the worst
pudding I read was Black Pudding. The main ingredient is coagulated
blood of a pig. Yep, those plucky pioneers didn't let anything go to
waste.<br />
<br />
Here's a recipe that will really wake up your
appetite. Calf's Head boiled. I won't give you the details of the recipe
because after that Black Pudding recipe I'm a feeling a little
nauseous. But think Calf's Head equals Spam.<br />
<br />
Ooh, did
you know that ketchup or as pioneers called it, Catsup was around back
in 1887? The recipes say that if you bottle your catsup immediately
while hot, and tightly sealed it will keep good for years. But red
catsup wasn't the only one they had. There's a recipe for green tomato
catsup too. That reminds me of the green or purple ketchup Heinz came
out with years ago. The cookbook also lists walnut catsup, oyster
catsup, mushroom catsup, and other flavors like gooseberry, cucumber,
currant, apple, celery, and spiced vinegar catsup.<br />
<br />
As
far as helpful information, the cookbook has planned menus for the
holidays and a sample menu for a White House State Dinner...think French
food. A menu for Mrs. Cleveland's wedding lunch June 4, 1888 is also
listed...again think French food or French words I cannot pronounce or
even try to spell. Etiquette for the White House is listed as well with
the disclaimer:<i> Etiquette as observed in European courts is not known at the White House.</i>
Funny? I didn't know Rednecks were around then. Information is then
listed on how to check your coat in at the cloakroom as well as where to
sit. Then the menu is given. The first course is French style (no
surprise there), second service is sweet dishes, third service includes
desserts, fruits, ice, cakes, and all principal dishes are presented to
the President before serving the guests. I was disappointed to learn
that the fancy folding of napkins in 1887 was considered out of fashion.
A plain square folded napkin with the monogram in the middle was
preferred.<br />
<br />
For treating the sick, the cookbook cautions
housewives to consider the needs of the sick first. Don't serve an
invalid milk for this may constipate the patient. As a rule, invalids
should be served their food in small, delicate pieces in dainty dishes.
Some recipes for ailments include serving an alcoholic beverage of
Blackberry Cordial to infants to relieve pain from teething and summer
diseases. Yeah, I bet they didn't feel any pain. Colds are due to men
sealing the house up tight during winter. The family can stave off
suffering from a cold if they drink a whiskey or a glass or two of beer
before supper. After a few glasses, I'm sure they didn't suffer from
anything.<br />
<br />
A toothache can be cured by saturating a
piece of gauze and lying it on the tooth. Follow that with a mixture of
Alum powder and salt. To cure an earache: puff tobacco smoke into the
sufferer's ear. For a burn, use butter and if that doesn't help add
baking soda, the yellow of an egg, and apply with a feather. Of course,
with a little flour and sugar and vanilla they could also make cookies
to keep the burn victim's mind off the pain. For a sore throat, gargle
with hot, salt water with a little alum and honey. Follow this with
bacon soaked in hot vinegar applied to the throat as hot as possible.
The sick can even gargle with equal parts of borax and alum. They can
gargle and do their laundry at the same time.<br />
<br />
One last
recipe for the sick. A cure for felons: take a common rock, heat it in
the oven, pound it fine, and mix with the spirits of turpentine. Put it
in a rag and wrap the felon. In twenty-four hours you are cured and the
felon is dead. My question is how can you convince the felon to allow
you to wrap him in turpentine? That or maybe nineteenth century folks
defined felon different than we define it.<br />
<br />
Toward the
end of the book, there are helpful laundry hints like how to wash black
lace and how to wash feathers. Who said 19th century brides were
prudish? Did you know that washing feathers required ironing too? Adding
alum to the rinse water will keep dresses uninflammable. <br />
<br />
I leave you today with a few facts worth knowing:<br />
<br />
To Prevent Oil from Becoming Rancid - Drop a few drops of ether into the bottle containing it.<br />
<br />
Slicing
Pineapples: - The knife used for peeling a pineapple should not be used
for slicing it, as the rind contains an acid that is apt to cause a
swollen mouth and sore lips. The Cubans use salt as an antidote for the
ill effects of the peel.<br />
<br />
Choking: - a piece of food
lodged in the throat may sometimes be pushed down with the finger, or
removed with a hair-pin quickly straightened and hooked at the end, or
by two or three vigorous blows on the back between the shoulders.<br />
<br />
<br />
Table
Etiquette: - Be careful to keep the mouth shut closely while
masticating the food. It is the opening of the lips which causes the
smacking which seems very disgusting.Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-19740450532686542842011-07-30T11:42:00.000-05:002011-07-30T11:42:53.071-05:00The Chuck Wagon Cook Book Recipes from the Ranch and Range for Today's Kitchen by Byron Price Publisher University of Oklahoma PressAh, Dutch ovens! A cast iron wonder and so popular on cattle trails. I own one and cook in it occassionally indoors. I have used it on a gas stove, electric stove, and in an electric oven. After reading this book, I am even more curious about cooking outdoors.<br />
<br />
The first part of this book relates history of outdoor, cattle drive cooking. I learned that Dutch ovens come in sizes 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16-inch diameters. The camp fire should be built on a large piece of tin foil to increase the heat and fight the effects of damp earth. The amount of charcoal briquets depend on the size of the Dutch oven. For example, a 14-inch Dutch oven needs 28 briquets. The charcoals need to burn until they are coated with white ash and then the coals are placed in a circle without any coals in the center. The Dutch oven is then placed over the ring of coals. Garden tools like a spade is used to place the remaining coals on the dutch oven lid.<br />
<br />
Temperatures have a formula. Medium heat is the diameter of the oven times two to equal the number of charcoal briquets to be used. High heat is the diameter of the oven times three to equal the number of charcoal briquetss needed.<br />
<br />
There are so many yummy ranch recipes in this book. Drinks, breads, appetizers, main dishes, and desserts which can all be cooked in a Dutch oven grace the pages of this book. One recipe which I enjoyed over the campfire as a child, is listed below with the name of the person who submitted the recipe to the author.<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Cowboy's Dutch Oven Delight</span></strong><br />
by Cliff Tienert of Long X Ranch, Kent, Texas<br />
<br />
Makes 1 large loaf, about 12 servings<br />
<br />
<strong>Ingredients</strong><br />
<br />
Sourdough bread (doubled) (Debra here: as a child we used a couple of cans of biscuits. Probably not as delicious as sourdough bread makings but still enjoyable. To obtain the recipe for the sourdough starter mix you will need to acquire the book.)<br />
<br />
1 cup sugar<br />
<br />
1-tablespoon of ground cinnamon<br />
<br />
3/4-cup of melted butter<br />
<br />
Make the sourdough bread dough through step 4. (Debra here: open a can of biscuits) Tear off pieces about the size of golf balls and roll them between your floured hands to form smooth balls. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Dip the balls in the melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon sugar. Place each ball in a well-buttered 14-inch Dutch oven. Drizzle any remaining butter on top, and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon/sugar. Cover the Dutch oven with the lid and let the balls rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2-1/2 hours. (Debra here: if using canned biscuits the need for rising is not needed.)<br />
<br />
Build a charcoal fire with 28-briquets and let them burn until they are coated with white ash. Using a garden spade or kitchen tongs (protect your hands with oven mitts), spread about 10 of the coals in a 14-inch circle, pushing the other coals to one side. Do not place any coals in the center of the circle.<br />
<br />
Place the Dutch oven over the ring of coals. Use the spade to place the remaining 18 coals on the lid. Cook until the bread is golden brown, about 45-minutes. Let stand 10-minutes, then remove from the Dutch oven. Serve warm, pulling off portions of the bread to eat.<br />
<br />
Yummy!<br />
<br />
Sometimes the cowboys on the trail couldn't be burdened down with heavy Dutch ovens or cast iron skillets. Instead of using these cooking instruments they would use what they could find. The recipe above was used with the bread dough wrapped around a stick with the cinnamon/sugar/butter added on. Then the stick was held near the campfire. This is how I had enjoyed the above recipe. Outdoors, eating the tasty treat off a stick. Try it sometime with your children or grandchildren.Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-86502744307721876802010-02-08T21:33:00.000-06:002010-02-08T21:33:31.913-06:00Cast Iron StovesIn the nineteenth century, women's chores were difficult. Laundry was washed near a creek or over a cast iron cauldron with a stick. Women needed strong, muscular arms to wring heavy wet clothes, carry buckets of water, and iron clothes with a hot, cast, iron.<br />
<br />
Strong arms were also needed in the kitchen. Women had to cook food, which she had to cut through thick muscles of beef and bones. An industrious women used her strong arms to bring cut wood into her kitchen and shove into her cast iron stove to cook a large meal for her husband and children. <br />
<br />
Working the stove was difficult by our standards as well. Between the firebox and the chimney, a series of manual dampers and levers controlled the air and smoke flow, the rate of burning, and consequently the cooking temperatures. The fire was lit with all dampers open, after which adjustments redirected the heat and smoke to a passageway surrounding the oven to heat it. As the ovens were without self-regulating thermostats, overheating was prevented by opening oven doors temporarily, cutting down on the fire's air flow. To maintain temperature, women checked the relatively small fire-box, testing for heat by hand, and stoked it frequently.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/S3DXBUQa3YI/AAAAAAAACLQ/qMf142mQv1c/s1600-h/1-17_windsor_wood_range.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kt="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/S3DXBUQa3YI/AAAAAAAACLQ/qMf142mQv1c/s320/1-17_windsor_wood_range.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><br />
Not only was the stove heavy, but so was the cookware. The tea kettle was extremely heavy and that was without it filled with water. Cast iron cookware, such as dutch ovens, muffin pans, and skillets were also heavy.<br />
<br />
With knowledge of women's chores and the heavy appliance and cookware, it is no wonder why potential husbands and their mothers wished for women who were strong and could handle her own in the kitchen to be good, productive wives.Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-33083918773682866282009-11-01T12:41:00.002-06:002009-11-01T12:47:07.039-06:00Love Untamed by JoAnn Chartier and Chris Enss<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/Su3Wdpo1DQI/AAAAAAAACG4/vA3rXmPG-0A/s1600-h/Love+untamed.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399207333168745730" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/Su3Wdpo1DQI/AAAAAAAACG4/vA3rXmPG-0A/s200/Love+untamed.jpg" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><br /><span style="color:#ffffcc;">I've been reading several books on what life was like in the 19th Century. I wish I could read them faster and retain everything I've read. I have so many ideas for book reviews, but just can't seem to keep up to date on my reading.<br /><br /><br />My current favorite book is,<em> Love Untamed, Romances of the Old West</em>, by JoAnn Chartier and Chris Enss.<br /><br /><br />Some of the real life love stories in this book are tragic with no happily-ever-after-ending, however there are several that end on a happy note and these stories are my favorite.<br /><br /><br />Backcover Blurb:<em><br />In these pages you'll meet a soiled dove who longed for a fairy-tale romance but instead fell for an ailing miner; a quiet schoolmarm who risked life and limb for her adventuresome husband; a spinster who refused to reveal the secrets of her heart despite a proposal from a dashing, prominent rancher; an actress who found her true love when she needed him most; and a rich couple who lost everything except their intense dedication to each other.<br /><br /><br /><br />The romances of thirteen couples are explored in this book and represent the variety of relationships and love affairs that added color, controversy, and commitment to the unmatched days of the Old West.<br /><br /><br /><br /></em>Since HEA are my favorite endings, I want to tell you about two of the romances which I adore. The first one is about a couple madly in love with one another and leave their families and friends after their wedding with all their wedding gifts and all their clothes and set off on a ship to Honeymoon on the east coast.<br /><br /><br /><br />However, as they near the southeastern coast of the U.S.A, a hurricane pops up. The storm takes their ship. Row boats are lowered into the water and women and children are the first to board. As the new wife boards another boat, she watches as the lights from the boat her husband is on sinks deep into the blackness of the ocean during the darkness of the night. Heartbroken, she sails to their destination point a new wife turned grieved wife.<br /><br /><br /><br />When her ships docks, she disembarks. News at the harbor suggests that another rescue boat boarded all the men from the sinking ship she and her husband had sailed on. Trying not to get her hopes too high, she begins looking for her husband. In the distance, she discovers her husband is looking for her. Together at last, they embrace grateful God had spared their lives. Together, they owned not a stitch of clothing nor any of their gifts had survived. But together they cherished the greatest gift of God...love. The couple went on to live their life to the fullest, which included a home of their and children they adored.<br /><br /><br /><br />My next favorite story is about teenage love. A young man took a fancy to a young woman. He escorted her to a town social. At the party, he became jealous of his best friend's attentions toward this young woman. The young men challenged each other to a pistol duel. Our young man shoots and kills his best friend. He runs away leaving the young woman heartbroken, yearning for his love.<br /><br /><br /><br />As the years pass, the young woman had many men interested in her, but refused their attentions. She determined if she couldn't have her young man than she wouldn't marry at all.<br /><br /><br /><br />The young man left the east coast and headed for the mountains in the mid-west. He learned how to survive on nature alone...becoming a sort of mountain man.<br /><br /><br /><br />The woman heard stories of a wild man whose personality resembled her one true love, but as she made inquiries she soon discovered that this man had died.<br /><br /><br /><br />Fifteen years had passed and the young woman's father loads up the family and travels west. As they near Colorado they are watched by angry Indians.<br /><br /><br /><br />Miles away the young man turned wild man hears of some travelers who are being stalked by Indians. When one of the witnesses remarks about the traveler's last name the man assumes his one true love is one of them. He and his friends rides to save the family.<br /><br /><br /><br />As they arrive, the Indians attack, killing the father. The wild man chases off the Indians and returns to the wagon. There he finds the girl of his dreams, the love of his youth, the reason he never could allow himself to marry. The woman who held his heart.<br /><br /><br /><br />Together, they took the family to their destination and then they married, living happily-ever-after.<br /><br /><br /><br />I think what really amazes me about that story is how ironic it is for a man who loses himself in the woods in middle America to pop up in the nick of time to save the woman he left behind on the east coast.<br /><br /><br /><br />Sometimes real life is better than fiction.<br /></span>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-76478590583672569142009-09-28T18:23:00.005-05:002009-09-28T19:11:16.917-05:00A Slow Burn<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/SsFHLtkomWI/AAAAAAAACGQ/SsCmr5R61s0/s1600-h/A-Slow-Burn.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386664895849208162" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/SsFHLtkomWI/AAAAAAAACGQ/SsCmr5R61s0/s200/A-Slow-Burn.jpg" /></a><br />Recently, Zondervans mailed me a copy of Mary DeMuth's latest release, <em><span style="color:#ffffff;">A Slow Burn</span></em>. This week is the book's debut and I'm participating in the book's blog tour. I'm posting an interview with Mary DeMuth. At the end of the interview, I'll add links to other sites which are also participating in the blog tour.<br /><br />I pray <em><span style="color:#ffffff;">A Slow Burn</span></em> has a successful debut week and the book's message will reach and touch the heart's of many.<br /><br />If you are interested in reading <em><span style="color:#ffffff;">A Slow Burn</span></em>, follow this link to Amazon.com to purchase your copy. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310278376" modo="false">A Slow Burn</a> on Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310278376">http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310278376</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffffff;">Backcover Blurb:</span></strong><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310278376" modo="false"><strong>A Slow Burn</strong></a><strong> by Mary DeMuth.<br /></strong><br />She touched Daisy’s shoulder.<br /><br />So cold.<br /><br />So hard.<br /><br />So unlike Daisy.<br /><br />Yet so much like herself it made Emory shudder.<br /><br />Burying her grief, Emory Chance is determined to find her daughter Daisy’s murderer-a man she saw in a flicker of a vision. But when the investigation hits every dead end, her despair escalates. As questions surrounding Daisy’s death continue to mount, Emory’s safety is shattered by the pursuit of a stranger, and she can’t shake the sickening fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy’s disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for?<br /><br />The second book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, this suspenseful novel is about courageous love, the burden of regret, and bonds that never break. It is about the beauty and the pain of telling the truth. Most of all, it is about the power of forgiveness and what remains when shame no longer holds us captive.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffffff;">Mary DeMuth's Biography:</span><br /></strong><br />Mary DeMuth is an expert in the field of Pioneer Parenting. She helps Christian parents plow fresh spiritual ground, especially those seeking to break destructive family patterns. Her message guides parents who don’t want to duplicate the home where they were raised or didn’t have positive parenting role models growing up.<br /><br />An accomplished writer, Mary’s parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture, Building the Christian Family You Never Had, and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God. Her real-to-life novels inspire people to turn trials into triumphs: Watching the Tree Limbs (2007 Christy Award finalist, ACFW Book of the Year 2nd Place) and Wishing on Dandelions (2007 Retailer’s Choice Award finalist).<br /><br />Mary is a frequent speaker at women’s retreats and parenting seminars, addressing audiences in both Europe and the United States. National media regularly seek Mary’s candid ability to connect with their listeners. Her radio appearances include FamilyLife Today, Moody Midday Connection, and U.S.A. Radio network. She also has articles published in Marriage Partnership, In Touch, and HomeLife.<br /><br />As pioneer parents, Mary and her husband Patrick live in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France where they planted a church.<br /><br />Learn more about Mary at <a href="http://marydemuth.com/">http://marydemuth.com/</a>.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>Now for the interview:</strong><br /><br /><strong>How did you get involved in writing?</strong></span><br /><br />I’ve been writing since college when the bug hit me. I wrote my first short story about a missionary going to Russia (when it was firmly encased behind the iron curtain) and having to do all these clandestine things to share the gospel. I’m embarrassed to write this, but the piece started with these four words: Thump, thump, thump, thump (representing the protagonist’s heartbeat, of course).<br /><br />I’ve been actively writing since 1992 when my daughter Sophie was born. I created a newsletter that helped moms manage their homes. I bought my first computer from the proceeds. I also designed and edited church newsletters, wrote homeschooling curriculum, and even wrote a script for an ultrasound training video. Soon after, short stories started flying out of me. When we moved from East Texas to Dallas for my husband to go to Dallas Seminary, I decided to get serious. I met my friend Sandra Glahn then, a professor at the seminary and a published writer. She shepherded me through the query-letter-writing process and has been an incredible cheerleader.<br /><br />In 2002, I wrote my first novel. In 2003, I signed with an agent, then signed two nonfiction books. Since then, I’ve had five books published (those included), Daisy Chain being my sixth book. The first novel I wrote is yet to be published.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>How do you find time to write?</strong><br /></span><br />I make time to write. I give myself word count goals every day. While my children are at school, I work full time. Lately I’ve been writing and promoting like a crazy woman, pulling 10-12 hour shifts. Even so, it’s a priority for me to have a sit-down dinner with my family every night. It helps that I love to cook.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>What do you enjoy most about the writing process?</strong><br /></span><br />I love the initial flurry of words on the page where I’m uninhibited. I love fleshing out a story as it comes to me. I see my novels on the movie screen of my mind, which may account for the visual nature of my narratives.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffffff;">What was the most difficult aspect of the writing process?</span></strong><br /><br />I am not in love with rejection.<br />I also don’t cherish rewriting. But it’s a necessary and important evil.<br />What would you say to someone who wants to become a published author?Here’s the analogy you need to memorize and internalize: Beginning the publishing journey is like wearing a sweatshirt and toting a sack lunch at the base of Mount Everest, thinking, Hmm, this should be a breeze!<br /><br />In addition: know you are called. Know you have talent. Know you’re full of tenacity. All three things will help you succeed along the journey.<br /><br />Another idea is hang out at The Writing Spa and its corresponding blog WannabePublished. I tackle nearly every question a new writer would have. I offer weekly free critiques and I have guest authors cameo there. I evaluate the saleabilty of a book idea. Hop on by at <a href="http://www.thewritingspa.com/">http://www.thewritingspa.com/</a>.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffffff;">Links of blogs participating in the blog tour:</span><br /></strong><br /><a href="http://heartscape.wordpress.com/">Admissions of a Suburban Philosopher</a><br /><a href="http://marydreisbach.blogspot.com/">All are welcome here</a><br /><a href="http://amusingmomspeaks.blogspot.com/">A Musing Mom Speaks</a><br /><a href="http://asandypathbookreviews.blogspot.com/">A Sandy Path Book Reviews</a><br /><a href="http://www.joanswritingjourney.blogspot.com/">A Writer’s Journey</a><br /><a href="http://duncansix.blogspot.com/">Adventures of the Duncan Six</a><br /><a href="http://apfreewriting101.blogspot.com/">AP Free Writing 101</a><br /><a href="http://fightingredbugs.blogspot.com/">Arkansas Dreams</a><br /><a href="http://www.aspire2.blogspot.com/">Aspire2 Blog</a><br /><a href="http://www.awesomegodordinarygirl.blogspot.com/">Awesome God…Ordinary Girl</a><br /><a href="http://beyourbestmom.blogspot.com/">Be Your Best Mom</a><br /><a href="http://www.beamsoflightministries.org/">Beams of Light Ministries</a><br /><a href="http://bellwhistlemoon.blogspot.com/">Bell Whistle Moon</a><br /><a href="http://blogtourspot.com/">Blog Tour Spot</a><br /><a href="http://bluebonnetinthesnow.blogspot.com/">Bluebonnet in the Snow</a><br /><a href="http://booknookclub.blogspot.com/">Book Nook Club</a><br /><a href="http://caregivingandbeyond.blogspot.com/">Caregiving and Beyond</a><br /><a href="http://www.carlastewart.blogspot.com/">Carla’s Writing Cafe</a><br /><a href="http://www.carlybirdshome.blogspot.com/">Carly Bird’s Home</a><br /><a href="http://carmaswindow.blogspot.com/">Carma’s Window</a><br /><a href="http://www.marybethwhalen.com/">Cheaper by the Half Dozen</a><br /><a href="http://cindystamps.blogspot.com/">Cindy’s Stamping and Reviews</a><br /><a href="http://kathieasywritermacias.blogspot.com/">CommuniKate</a><br /><a href="http://crittyjoy.wordpress.com/">Critty Joy</a><br /><a href="http://www.hismarvelouswork.blogspot.com/">Declaring His Marvelous Work</a><br /><a href="http://drivehome.wordpress.com/">Drive Home Productions</a><br /><a href="http://susanmeissner.blogspot.com/">Edgewise</a><br /><a href="http://ebussey.blogspot.com/">Elizabeth Bussey</a><br /><a href="http://faithcreativitylife.blogspot.com/">Faith…Creativity…Life</a><br /><a href="http://susanmeissner.blogspot.com/">Fiction for the Restless Reader</a><br /><a href="http://cballan.wordpress.com/">Fictionary</a><br /><a href="http://www.firstimpressionswriting.com/">Five Bazillion and One</a><br /><a href="http://freshbrewedwriter.blogspot.com/">Fresh Brewed Writer</a><br /><a href="http://gatorskunkzandmudcats.blogspot.com/">Gatorskunz and Mudcats</a><br /><a href="http://lynnmosher.blogspot.com/">Heading Home</a><br /><a href="http://hisreadinglist.blogspot.com/">His Reading List</a><br /><a href="http://idontbelieveingrammar.blogspot.com/">i don’t believe in grammar</a><br /><a href="http://jjjjspot.blogspot.com/">J’s Spot</a><br /><a href="http://wendyblackwell.blogspot.com/">Joy in the Journey</a><br /><a href="http://karenevans.blogspot.com/">Karen R. Evans</a><br /><a href="http://kristinearly.blogspot.com/">Kristin Early</a><br /><a href="http://heatheragoodman.com/">L’Chaim</a><br /><a href="http://lattejust4me.blogspot.com/">Latte with Me</a><br /><a href="http://www.litfusegroup.com/">Literary Fangirl Book Reviews</a><br /><a href="http://www.luxuryreading.com/">Merrie Destefano</a><br /><a href="http://mochawithlinda.blogspot.com/">Mocha with Linda</a><br /><a href="http://minuteswithmarlo.blogspot.com/">Moments with MarLo</a><br /><a href="http://musingsbylynn.blogspot.com/">Musings by Lynn</a><br /><a href="http://musingsofedwina.blogspot.com/">Musings of Edwina</a><br /><a href="http://sharronsalabasterbox.blogspot.com/">My Alabaster Box</a><br /><a href="http://www.journey2f.blogspot.com/">My Life Message</a><br /><a href="http://annetteirbyreviews.blogspot.com/">Net’s Book Notes</a><br /><a href="http://www.nikinowell.com/">Niki Nowell</a><br /><a href="http://onedesertrose.wordpress.com/">One Desert Rose</a><br /><a href="http://monicabrand.net/">Paper Bridges</a><br /><a href="http://passionateforthegloryofgod.blogspot.com/">Passionate for the Glory of God</a><br /><a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/">Pollywog Creek</a><br /><a href="http://ranunculusturtle.blogspot.com/">Ranunculus Turtle</a><br /><a href="http://lucyannmoll.com/realhurtsrealhope/">Real Hurts, Real Hope</a><br /><a href="http://www.rebeccabarlowjordan.com/">Refresh My Soul</a><br /><a href="http://elainaavalos.blogspot.com/">Restore</a><br /><a href="http://jenbh.blogspot.com/">Scraps and Snippets</a><br /><a href="http://sheiladeeth.blogspot.com/">Sheila Deeth</a><br /><a href="http://sherriwoodbridge.com/">Sherri Woodbridge</a><br /><a href="http://sky-highview.blogspot.com/">Snapshot’s Photoblog</a><br /><a href="http://www.survivingthechaos.blogspot.com/">Surviving the Chaos</a><br /><a href="http://the160acrewoods.com/">The 160-acre Woods</a><br /><a href="http://thegospelwriter.blogspot.com/">The Gospel Writer</a><br /><a href="http://www.theharrisonkaleidoscope.blogspot.com/">The Harrison Kaleidoscope</a><br /><a href="http://www.debracalloway.blogspot.com/">The Heart of Writing</a><br /><a href="http://www.thestubbornservant.blogspot.com/">The Stubborn Servant</a><br /><a href="http://ellezymn.livejournal.com/">The View from Here</a><br /><a href="http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com/">This That and The Other</a><br /><a href="http://tobebeautiful.wordpress.com/">To Be Beautiful</a><br /><a href="http://unreasonablegrace.blogspot.com/">Unreasonable Grace</a><br /><a href="http://walkingdailybykarlacarlson.blogspot.com/">Walking Daily</a><br /><a href="http://whadusay2.blogspot.com/">WhadUsay</a><br /><a href="http://mindhealingfiction.blogspot.com/">Where Romance Meets Therapy</a><br /><a href="http://wordvessel.blogspot.com/">Word Vessel</a><br /><a href="http://write2ignite.wordpress.com/">Write 2 Ignite</a><br /><a href="http://www.writeontheknows.blogspot.com/">Write on the Knows</a><br /><a href="http://karenrobbins.blogspot.com/">Writer’s Wanderings</a><br /><a href="http://terri-forehand.blogspot.com/">Writing to the heart of the matter</a>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-3215145373218530002009-09-19T12:48:00.002-05:002009-09-19T13:33:05.351-05:00Remember Me~Excerpt from the Tucson Daily News, <em>Arizona</em>, 1892 (<em>How the West Was Worn</em> by Chris <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Enss</span>)<br /><br />This wasn't the first time Maggie <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Kremer</span> had turned her face away when Ransom <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Diggs</span> bent to kiss her, but she caught the pained look on his face as he planted a light caress on her smooth cheek. All the other times she had withheld her lips for the same reason -- jealousy. Not of another woman, but of his job. Ransom <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Diggs</span> was Sheriff of Cold Springs, a silver mining town in Southern Arizona. His work often times took precedence over his relationship. Keeping the territory safe from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">desperadoes</span> required round-the-clock dedication. It was for this reason, coupled with the fact that he might be gunned down in the line of duty, that kept Maggie, the town's school teacher, from accepting his proposal of marriage.<br /><br />She tucked away a stray tendril of dark brown hair, and blinked away a tear. Ransom saddled his bronco. Neither of them said a word for a long while, then Maggie broke the silence.<br /><br />"I don't see why you don't just let Charles Storms and his gang ride on to the next country," she said. "They'd be out of your jurisdiction then and you could stay with me."<br /><br />"I can't do that," he told her as he cinched up the leather straps under his ride.<br /><br />Maggie knew that was what he'd say and she loved him for it as much as she despised the notion of him riding off again.<br /><br />"Will you be here when I get back?" he asked hopefully.<br /><br />Maggie forced a smile. "Aren't I always?" she replied.<br /><br />Ransom smiled back at her and mounted his horse. Maggie always <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">thrilled</span> a little when she watched him on a horse. He might be a bit awkward on the ground at times, but mounted, he was the handsomest man she knew. He was tall, with broad shoulders and had the narrow hips of a cowman. Looking down at his betrothed he <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">adjusted</span> the black hat on his head. She could see the little <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">ducktail</span> of straw-colored hair at the back of his neck. She wondered how much longer it would grow before she next saw him.<br /><br />"I'll be home as quick as I can," he promised. The two stared a moment at each other. Maggie's eyes were pleading, but he wouldn't waver from his duty. She produced a dainty, lace handkerchief from her drawstring bag and stemmed the flood of tears breaking free. Ransom's face was filled with compassion. She walked over to him and laid her head on his leg and he stroked her long curls. Just before he announced that it was "time to ride" Maggie handed him her handkerchief.<br /><br />"Don't forget me," she said jokingly. He raised the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">hanky</span> to his nose, breathed in her scent, and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">fingered</span> the fancy stitching around the him. "Never happen,' he assured her as he rode away.<br /><br />The outlaw Charles <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Storms</span> and his gang ambushed Sheriff <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Diggs</span> and his posse in the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">mountains</span> around Cochise Stronghold. Amount the personal effects returned to Ransom's intended nearly three mounts after he had left Cold Springs was Maggie's handkerchief. The men who found him claimed the delicate, blood-stained fabric was clutched in his hand.<br /><br /><br /><br />If you would like to purchase one of Chris Enss books here's a link: <a href="http://www.chrisenss.com/">http://www.chrisenss.com/</a>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-61092071835150534512009-08-20T11:47:00.007-05:002009-08-21T14:18:32.743-05:0019th Century Fashion Research book: How the West Was Worn by Chris Enss<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/So7er1QQTPI/AAAAAAAABpo/vNjjhvapvN4/s1600-h/how+the+west+was+worn.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372476250110577906" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/So7er1QQTPI/AAAAAAAABpo/vNjjhvapvN4/s200/how+the+west+was+worn.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#ff9900;">Bustles and Buckskins on the Wild Frontier: Fashion that Shaped the Old West</span></em><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Back cover blurb</span>:</strong> Did you know that pioneer women sewed lead in their hems to keep their dresses from billowing on the trail? Or that hatless men had to wear bonnets to protect their eyes from the scorching sun?<br /><br />From old familiar Levi's to the short-lived "instant dress elevator," <strong><em><span style="color:#ff9900;">HOW THE WEST WAS WORN</span></em></strong> examines the sometimes bizarre, often beautiful, and highly inventive clothing of the Old West. You'll learn how a cowboy's home state determined the way he wore his pants and hat, as well as how to distinguish one Indian tribe from another by their moccasins. Meet John B. Stetson, leading maker of cowboy hats; Adah Menken whose flesh-colored nylon costume left an audience gaping at her underwear; and Amelia Jenks Bloomer, the promoter of - you guessed it - the bloomer.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About the author:</span></strong> Chris Enss is an award - winning screenwriter who has written for television, short subject films, live performances, and for the movies, and is the co-author (with JoAnn Chartier) of <em>Loved Untamed: True Romances Stories of the Old West, Gilded Girls: Women Entertainers of the Old West</em>, and <em>She Wore A Yellow Ribbon: Women Patriots and Soldiers of the Old West</em> and <em>The Cowboy and the Senorita</em> and <em>Happy Trails</em> (with Howard Kazanjian). Her research and writing and reveals the funny, touching, exciting, and tragic stories of historical and contemporary times.<br /><br />Enss has done everything from stand-up comedy to working as a stunt person at the Old Tucson Movie Studio. She learned the basics of writing for film and television at the University of Arizona, and she is currently working with <em>Return of the Jedi</em> producer Howard Kazanjian on the movie version of <em>The Cowboy and the Senorita</em>, their biography of western stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.<br /><p>The chapter headings are:</p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">DRESSING FOR A GOLD RUSH</span></strong> </p><p>In this chapter, we learn about a San Francisco dry goods dealer named, Levi Strauss who developed a brand new material, called denim which he believed was superior to any other on the market.</p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">CIVILIZED STYLE IN THE WILD</span></strong></p><p>I found this chapter most interesting. We meet Amelia Bloomer who female underwear was named after. While she did not design the female, "bloomers" <em>she did wear daring outfits which were a short dress that reached below the knees with a Turkish-style trousers gathered in ruffles at the ankles. Bloomers became a symbol of the fledgling women's movement</em>.</p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">DRESSING FOR ROUNDUP</span></strong></p><p>What I found so fascinating about this chapter was that the cowboys at a certain ranch resented their employers for enforcing them to wear uniforms. <em>Sporting bib pull-over shirts of the same color does not sit well with the hires, even if it is marked with the (name) Ranch.</em></p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE TRAIL</span></strong></p><p>This chapter dealt with what children wore during the 19th Century. To my surprise, I discovered that daughters didn't wear ankle length dresses. Their hems came to below their knees. Girls longed to be grown up enough to let their hems down and their hair up.</p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">PRAIRIE STYLES</span></strong></p><p>In this chapter, an excerpt from The National Wagon Road Guide, 1858 gave a listing of what men should pack for their trek across the country on the wagon train.</p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">A LASTING EFFECT</span></strong></p><p>Accessories made the woman. It could change her mundane, everyday, dress to a nice social, evening dress.</p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">ALL DRESSED UP</span></strong></p><p>Evening wear accessories, such as jewelry and popular hairstyles and hair accessories that were popular in the day.</p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">UNDER THE CLOTHES</span></strong></p><p>This was a fascinating chapter on male and female "unmentionables". I didn't know that the average person felt that underwear was such a taboo subject that they wouldn't even make their own, but preferred to order them through a catalog.</p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">STYLE IN THE RANKS</span></strong></p><p>Military wardrobe</p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">BORROWED FROM THE LAND</span></strong></p><p>Indian clothing styles</p><p>I think what I loved most about this book are several things:</p><p>1. The author uses many pictures to show exactly what she is saying. (Photographs, catalog images, and patterns)</p><p>2. Lots of white space, the readability of each chapter is easy.</p><p>3. I loved the clothing biographies of many famous people, including pictures.</p><p><strong><em><span style="color:#ff9900;">HOW THE WEST WAS WORN</span></em></strong> is a definite asset to any historian or historical writer. </p>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-36522105615638288212009-08-16T10:24:00.006-05:002009-08-17T08:35:40.245-05:00Texas Rangers<div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/Sogztjqe4xI/AAAAAAAABpg/k3HbKuFXY20/s1600-h/Frontier+Battalion+Co.+B+1880.jpg"><span style="color:#999999;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 149px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370599413399872274" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/Sogztjqe4xI/AAAAAAAABpg/k3HbKuFXY20/s200/Frontier+Battalion+Co.+B+1880.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color:#999999;"> Frontier Battalion Co. "B" about 1880, ©2009, TRHFM</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#999999;">From The Official Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Musuem Website</span></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#999999;"><br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#999999;">My current manuscript has a Texas Ranger for a hero. I needed to know enlistment requirements, pay, companies, and rank. I also needed to know a little more about their behaviors and thought processes during the 19th Century.</span></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#999999;"><br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#999999;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#999999;"><br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#999999;">Here's a list of interesting facts, which I found at this amazing website: </span><a href="http://www.texasranger.org/history/FrtBattGenOrd.htm"><span style="color:#999999;">http://www.texasranger.org/history/FrtBattGenOrd.htm</span></a></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#999999;"><br /></span></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#999999;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#999999;"><br /></span></div><div align="left"><ul><br /><li><span style="color:#999999;">Pay during the end of the 19th Century: $35 a month. They were paid at the end of their 12 month enlistment or earlier for a discharge. When they received their pay, they were given a receipt, showing their name, date they enlisted, date of discharge, pay for their months of service minus the amount for a state issued rifle, a Winchester Carbine worth $30. (This information came from uploaded, scanned, original documents on the website listed above.)</span></li><br /><li><span style="color:#999999;">During the 19th Century, Texas Rangers were called, Frontier Forces or Frontier Battalion. These peace officers referred to themselves as, "State Officers". (Information found in an e-book, uploaded on the website listed above.)</span></li><br /><li><span style="color:#999999;">Companies were organized to protect different areas of the state of Texas. The companies were Company A, Company B, Company C, Company D, Company E, and Company F.</span></li><br /><li><span style="color:#999999;">The rank of each company were: Captain, 1st Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant.</span></li><br /><li><span style="color:#999999;">Enlistment requirements: "As it is expected that this force will be kept actively employed during their term of service only sound young men without families and with good horses will be received.<br />Persons under indictment or of known bad character or habitual drunkards will be rejected.<br />Captains will make temporary arrangements to supply as economically as possible for furnishing the men with bread, beef, coffee, and sugar & salt: the receipts for which will be taken up by the battalion Quarter Master." </span></li><br /><li><span style="color:#999999;">On a side note, I did discover that during the end of the 19th Century, the Texas Rangers did muster married men for service. Married men enlisted for the War between the states. As in the account of Miles Biggs, Terry's Texas Rangers, </span><a href="http://www.terrystexasrangers.org/biographical_notes/b/biggs_mm.html"><span style="color:#999999;">http://www.terrystexasrangers.org/biographical_notes/b/biggs_mm.html</span></a><span style="color:#999999;"> who "According to family history, a different version of his enlistment states that during a trip to Shreveport, LA, to buy a load of lumber to be used as flooring for his home, Miles met and joined up with the Terry's Texas Rangers. He put his wagon into storage and sent his oxen back home with the message "I'll see you when the war's over." Miles was married in 1848 and enlisted in the Texas Rangers in 1862.</span></li><br /><li><span style="color:#999999;">Badges weren't worn by all Texas Rangers. Each enlisted man was given descriptive papers to identify the peace officer and to show by the power of the state of Texas he had authority to make arrests.</span></li><br /><li><span style="color:#999999;">For behaviors of the lawmen, I consulted the book, <em>Lawmen of the Old West: The Good Guys </em>by Del Cain.</span></li></ul></div>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-80766978973945696422009-08-14T12:55:00.005-05:002009-08-15T10:49:06.152-05:00Historical Research Book: The Women by Time-Life Books<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/SoWnAnDF8cI/AAAAAAAABpI/sfzSfEporyc/s1600-h/old+west+the+women+time+life.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 140px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 140px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369881759632978370" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/SoWnAnDF8cI/AAAAAAAABpI/sfzSfEporyc/s200/old+west+the+women+time+life.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>The Women: The Old West Series, by Time Life Books is an invaluable book to own when researching women's lives of the 19th Century. </div><br /><div><br />I first found this book at the library among the entire collection, The Old West Series, which included The Gambler, The Trailblazer, The Railroad Men, The Lawmen, The Gunslinger, and many others. I had read about half of The Women when I knew I must own this book. </div><br /><div><br />The first five pages of the book are black and white photos of women performing their daily tasks. These are not the only images. Throughout the book there are other photos which are in full color. There are pictures of women riding, cooking, teaching, farming, and best of all my favorite...items from the past. Such as a box mill, china, quilts, a fluting iron which pressed pleats into cotton fabric, a "choke" used to catch mice and snakes, a candle mold, and a butter mold with a pretty picture. </div><br /><div><br />There are pictures of dresses plains women wore. One dress, the owner boasted she had wore all the way to Oregon without repair. This woman was so creative. When she fashioned the dress, she took her pattern pieces and sewed the cotton fabric to canvas material (the material used for tents and wagon covers). Then she pieced the dress together to sew. No wonder it made it across the country without repair! The woman knew practicality and fortitude would be needed for the journey. Another picture was of a slat bonnet. Ever heard of it? Me, neither. Apparently, for a long, arduous journey west, plain bonnets didn't protect the eastern women's faces well enough. So, the clever seamstress would sew little wooden slats into her bonnet to strengthen the bonnet against wind. Other pictures include furniture (even ones from brothels), dishes, cookingware, and documents. </div><br /><div><br />The second thing I love about this book, is the multitude of journal entries. I read of a wagon train heading west. Three women, all newly weds, wrote about their journey. Each woman had a different prospective of the same trip. I felt so sorry for this one woman. All she wanted to do was please her husband. If she tried to carry on a conversation with him, he would say she talked too much. If she tried to limit her conversation with him, he would say she had ill spirits. If she tried to talk in a group setting, he would reprimand her in front of everyone. In her journal, she believed the trouble with her marriage was all her fault, well mostly her fault, one couldn't discount her husband's roaming eye. She was convinced her husband was more pleased with their neighbor's wife. </div><br /><div><br />The third thing I love about this book, is its many topics. We begin the book reading of the wagon trains heading west. Then we read about the hardships of life and the reality of marriage of convenience. What I really love is how the book reveals occupations of women during the 19th century, which all seem to end in prostitution. If the woman was a laundress, she made extra money on the side. If the woman was a cook, she supplemented her income. (I can just hear the local, upright women saying, "She doesn't have no man. You know she just said she's a laundress. Why there's no telling what she does a night!") And even if the woman willingly became a prostitute, there was still money to be made by becoming an owner-operator. Madam's would make an agreement with seamstress' to allow her girls to charge to her account. Then the madam would hold the debt over the girls head, so they couldn't leave.</div><br /><div><br />Whether a prostitute, an adventuress, or a woman with a cause, this book seems to to have it all. This book opened up the old west for me in ways other books could not. The only drawback to owning this book is that with it written in 1974 it is out of print. I bought it at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/">http://www.amazon.com/</a> from a used book seller for $2. The shipping and handling cost more than the book.</div>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-44400610911669062812009-08-14T09:47:00.002-05:002009-08-14T11:31:14.080-05:0019th Century RecipesToday, I'm posting recipes often used in Texas during the nineteenth century. The amazing thing about Texas is that it had six flags flying overhead at one time or another. That means Texas cuisine has a plethora of flavors, which still has relevance today. Of course, dominating countries weren't the only ones who left their mark on Texas. Immigrants also influenced cooking, such as the Germans.<br /><br />I'm quoting from the out-of-print book entitled, <strong><em>The Saga of Texas Cookery by Sarah Morgan</em></strong>. (I have found this book on Amazon.com. Amazon doesn't carry the book, but there are several people selling used editions of this book) Each chapter, showcases the prevailing <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">ethnicity</span> of the states flavors. I'm posting one recipe from each chapter, a recipe which was used during the late 19<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> century.<br /><br /><strong>The French in Texas</strong><br /><br /><strong>Golden Cream - 1887 Style</strong><br /><br /><strong>Custards</strong>, which have always been an important part of the French cuisine, took many forms in the early days of our history, The following recipe found in an early edition of <em>The White House Cookbook</em> (first published in 1887), is a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">good</span> example of how simple ingredients were turned into an elegant dessert.<br /><br />A quote from <em>The White House Cookbook</em>:<br /><br />Boil a quart of milk; when boiling stir into it the well beaten yolks of six eggs; add six tablespoons sugar and one tablespoonful of sifted flour, which has been well beaten together; when boiled turn it into a dish and pour over it the whites beaten to a stiff froth, mixing with them six <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">tablespoonful</span> of powdered sugar. Set all in the oven and brown slightly. Flavor the top with vanilla and the bottom with lemon. Serve cold.<br /><br /><strong>The Spaniards in Texas</strong><br /><br /><strong>Rice Breakfast Cakes</strong><br /><br />This unusual mixture of yeast and rice is seldom found anymore except in homes where the influence of the forefathers is still felt and cherished. In the early days of our history the maids in the homes would make these, deep-fry them, and then take them out on the street, while they were still very hot, and sell them!<br /><br />To make 6-8 servings: The night before these cakes are to be served, dissolve 1 package yeast in 1/2 cup warm water, Mash well 3 cups of cooked, moist rice, add the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar. Cover this mixture and let rise over-night. In the morning, beat 3 eggs until light, add 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, or a little more, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and mix well. Set aside again to rise for about 20 minutes. Butter a hot griddle and drop by tablespoons, cooking as you would any griddle cake. Drain (on paper towels) and serve with bacon, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">ham</span>, or syrup.<br /><br /><strong>The Mexicans in Texas</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>The Story of Chili Sauce:</strong><br /><br />There was a time when the Mexicans, the Indians, and the early Texas settlers gave chili sauce a great deal of credit for a large number of important influences on the human race. Some of them believed that the sauce, providing it was quite hot and strong, would protect one against colds, malaria, aid digestion, and clarify the blood. There were other people who believed that it acted as a stimulant to the romantically inclined and helped to develop robustness and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">resistance</span> to nature's adverse elements. Be that as it may, a basic chili sauce such as the following can serve many and varied purposes when cooking Mexican foods.<br /><br /><strong>Chili Sauce</strong><br /><br />To make approximately 2-1/2 cups: Fry 4 tablespoons finely chopped onion and 1 chopped garlic clove in 3 tablespoons lard or bacon fat until tender. Blend 6 tablespoons of chili powder with 2 tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder. Add this to the onion mixture. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Gradually add 1-1/2 cups of hot water, stirring constantly. When the mixture is well blended and smooth remove from the heat. If a thinner sauce is desired add a little more water. Serve this sauce hot over meats, tortillas, tomatoes, noodles, rice or over other Mexican dishes.<br /><br /><strong>The New Republic</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Ash Cake, Hoe Cake, Corn Dodger</strong><br /><br />Life would have been intolerable many times for the early settlers had it not been for a basic food product, the corn. The pioneer cooks used this vegetable in countless ways and cooked it by many different methods, but one of the most satisfying and most often used ways was the bread, especially the simple and easy breads such as the Ash Cake, the Hoe Cake, and the Corn Dodger.<br /><br />These three cakes are a great deal alike in that they are made of a corn meal batter, which is salted and made wet with cold or hot water.<br /><br /><strong>The Ash Cake</strong> batter is cooked on either the hot hearth with hot ashes spread over the top, or out in the open spread between hot ashes. When the cake is brown the ashes are brushed off. Some of the ashes will penetrate the batter, but this only serves to enhance the flavor- or so the early settlers thought.<br /><br /><strong>The Hoe Cake</strong> is the same batter cooked on a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">helveless</span> (handle-less) hoe. The batter is spread on the inside of the hoe and then propped up against the open blaze or placed directly in the hot ashes until brown.<br /><br /><strong>Corn Dodger</strong> is the same batter made into small or large cakes, patted into rounds or oblongs with the hands and baked inside an oven on flat tins of some type. As the settlers were able to get a variety of food supplies they added bacon fat and eggs to the Corn Dodger. And finally they added soda or baking powder or both, making a light and tasty bread.<br /><br /><strong>German Noodles</strong><br /><br />The pioneer women taught their daughters to make these noodles as soon as they were old enough, or tall enough, to reach a work table. It was not hard work to them but great fun.<br /><br />To make 6 to 8 servings: Sift 2 cups flour onto a pastry board and make a well in the center of the flour. Break one egg into the well, add 2 tablespoons warm water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. With the fingers work the mixture together, gradually adding about 1/2 cup warm water or just enough to make a very stiff dough, but very smooth. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll out as thin as possible. Cut into ribbons or strips and let it rest for 30 minutes. In a deep kettle have a generous amount of salty water boiling, or you may wish to use meat stock instead of the water. Drop the noodles into the liquid, a few at a time, and boil just until tender. Drain them, toss with melted butter, and bread crumbs and serve hot.<br /><br />To make green noodles, add 1/2 cup spinach puree to the first mixture and as much additional flour as is necessary to make a stiff dough.<br /><br /><strong>Texas Under the Confederacy</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Slapjacks</span> - 1883</strong><br /><br />The <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">slapjack</span> was evidently one of the many forerunners of the modern-day pancake; however, this recipe which follows could be said to be the forerunner of just about anything. I found it in <em>The Old Confederacy Receipt Book, 1863</em>:<br /><br />Take flour, little sugar, and water, mix with or without a little yeast, the latter better if at hand, mix into paste and fry the same as fritters in clean fat.<br /><br />Fortunately, for today's cooks that method went out of style years ago. For a newer version I like the following recipe for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Slapjacks</span>:<br /><br />Sift 2 cups flour with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon sugar. Scald 1 cup milk and cool. Soften 1 yeast cake, or package, in 1/4 cup warm water. Combine the mixtures. Beat in 2 eggs and let rise for 20 minutes. Stir down, add 3 tablespoons melted butter and drop 1 tablespoon at a time on a hot griddle to fry as pancakes.<br /><br />How many will this recipe serve? Who knows? Try it and see - that was the manner of cookery in the days of the Confederacy.<br /><br /><strong>Grandma's Pound Cake</strong><br /><br />Only Grandma or Grandma's Grandma could follow this recipe without some misgivings. However, some of the romantic sounding measurements used during this period of Texas history were really quite practical and certainly familiar to the housewife of that day. It is given here as it is said to have come down from a very old "receipt":<br /><br />First, stoke the fire and lay in some wood. You'll need a moderate oven. Take 1-1/2 teacups butter, 2 blue cups sugar, 5 eggs, dropped in one at a time, and 5 handfuls flour. The cake will be fine and close with not a suspicion of any toughness or heaviness, not porous like a cake made light with gas from soda and cream of tartar.<br /><br />Now, for those not brave enough to follow the old "receipt" above, here is a modern version (and I can assure you it is excellent). Beat 1 cup sweet cream butter with 1-2/3 cups sugar until smooth. Add 5 eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Next stir in 2 cups flour to which 1/2 teaspoon of mace, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar has been added. Stir in the grated rind of 1 lemon and blend well. Bake at 350 degrees in a well greased and floured tube pan for about one hour or until the cake tests done.<br /><br /><strong>The Union Forever</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Ranch-Style Beef Hash</strong><br /><br />To make 4 to 6 servings: Into 4 cups beef stock add 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/4 cup chopped green pepper, 1 minced garlic clove, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh red pepper, and 2 small potatoes, peeled and cubed. Cook this mixture until the onion and potatoes are almost tender. Drop in 2 cups cooked roast beef (or stewed beef) cut and complete the cooking, about 10 minutes. Crackling cornbread goes well with this hash.<br /><br /><strong>Fried Okra</strong><br /><br />Although okra is not native to Texas, it is one of the most popular of the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">vegetables</span> found in our diet. It is also well known that people who like it claim to "love it" and those who dislike it say they "hate it".<br /><br />To make 2 to 4 servings: Wash 1 pound of fresh okra thoroughly, by taking the pods in the hands and making sure they tiny, sticky, leaves are removed. Slice each pod into 1/3 inch rounds, snipping away the ends. Dip the pieces in a mixture of cornmeal, salt, and black pepper. Drop the slices into a frying pan of shallow hot bacon fat. Fry over medium heat, turning to prevent sticking until the pods are tender and slightly brown, about 15 minutes. Prick with a fork to test tenderness. A tablespoon of grated onion is often added to the cornmeal mixture to enhance the flavor.Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-30084540336402768232009-04-06T11:54:00.003-05:002009-04-06T11:58:23.290-05:00Empowering Characters' EmotionsEMPOWERING CHARACTERS' EMOTIONS<br /><br />Presented by Margie Lawson<br /><br />We over at Books To Write By (<a href="http://www.bookstowriteby.blogspot.com/">http://www.bookstowriteby.blogspot.com/</a>) are avid fans of Margie Lawson's courses. Most of us has enrolled in more than one of her courses. The month of March was no different than when three of us joined the online course, Empowering Characters' Emotions.This class is a benefit to all writers who want to advance their writing skills. Ms. Lawson explores empowering emotions through her EDITS system. This system color codes your manuscript so you can actually see if your writing is layered with the essential keys to a great read.<br /><br /><ul><li>Look forward to learning:</li><li>The EDITS System </li><li>Basic, complex, empowered, and super empowered passages </li><li>Backstory management </li><li>Kinesics, Haptics, Proxemics, Facial expressions, Paralanguage </li><li>Proprioceptive stimuli, Involuntary physical responses </li><li>Ideomotoric shifts </li><li>Mirroring, Communication Accommodation </li><li>Levels of intimacy, Love signals </li><li>Nonverbal gender differences </li><li>Emotional authenticity </li><li>Backloading </li><li>In-trancing the Reader </li><li>Writing fresh . . . </li><li>Projecting Emotion for a Non-POV character </li><li>Carrying a Nonverbal Image Forward </li><li>Objective Constructs </li><li>Empowering Characters’ Emotions Checklist </li></ul><p>At first, I became overwhelmed with the course and I think many people did, too. However, once I grabbed my highlighters and applied the EDITS system to my own writing...I got what I paid for. I discovered that I write no dialogue cues and that I hardly ever write setting information. There are also some minor things I noticed, which needs to changed. But now I know how to correct it.</p><p><br />I highly recommend any of Ms. Lawson's courses. In fact, another online class is coming up in May. </p><p><br />Here is the information:<br />MAY 1 -- 30 Deep Editing: The EDITS System, Rhetorical Devices, and More Offered by Writer University: <a href="http://www.writeruniv.com/" target="_blank">http://www.writeruniv.com/</a><br /></p><p>You want regret enrolling!</p><p><br />I'll see you in class. </p>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-10472552659444012862009-03-03T10:28:00.003-06:002009-03-03T10:47:25.890-06:00Hard to BelieveIt is so hard to believe that it has been three months since my last post. I feel almost guilty. :O)<br /><br />The last three months I have been plodding slowly through my current novel. I say slowly because I'm having such a hard time. I've created some really great characters and I love them! However, my plot has sagged seriously. So, after hearing a recommendation on my ACFW loop, I visited Marcher Lord Press and bought a couple of e-books by Jeff Gerke.<br /><br />(http://marcherlordpress.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=9&products_id=18)<br /><br />The one I'm reading at this moment is <em>How to Find Your Story</em>. I'm halfway through his system for creating adventurous plots and am feeling some better about my novel. But not completely better, because I've come to a halt in the process with trying to discover an emotional knot for my character. And then if I add the obvious one, then I'll have to begin my story all over from the very beginning and I'm not wanting to do that since I'm halfway through the story. I'd like to find another knot, but finding one isn't that easy.<br /><br />I have critique coming up next week and need to really buckle down and decide on something so I can present an offering at the table of critiquers. Not that I'm trying to rush it, but I am tired of this rut I'm in. I haven't written anything in this novel for weeks.<br /><br />On to good news, since my last post I am now employed. Sorta. I'm writing reviews of websites for a webdesigner. You know what that means. Yes!!! I'm actually getting paid to write!!!! Whoo-Hoo!!!<br /><br />Also, I'm still loving my Christian Writer's Guild class. I'm in the second year of my Apprentice Level Course. This month we are beginning to outline an non-fiction book. I've been leary of beginning this quest because my one true passion is fiction. However, after some brainstorming I think I know what I want to do. I've always wanted to write a Bible Study, but never though I had it in me. Well, I'm going to do it! Prayerfully it will turn out well.<br /><br />Since my last post, I've also reunited with my very first critique partners, Pamela and Kay. Kay Swanson is a published author who has written Contemporary Romance and Japanese Historicals with a romantic element. We have been meeting monthly for lunch. It has truly been a blessing for me to have them back in my life. I've also created a yahoogroup so we can critique online. All three of us need gentle pushing to get the creative juices flowing, so hopefully this will help.<br /><br />Well, until next month...may peace and blessings flow throughout your home.Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-15461656614359847622008-12-08T09:45:00.002-06:002008-12-08T10:05:06.526-06:00CWG, Shoutlife, and other notionsI really can't say enough good things about the Christian Writers Guild Apprentice Level Course. I enrolled this year and am on Lesson 19. Since I began this course, I had Lesson 7 printed in our local newspaper, I have had an extremely nice rejection letter from a major magazine who requested that I submit to them again. And now Today's Christian Woman has requested my Lesson 8. So, far all my lessons have pertained to non-fiction, however my fiction has benefited greatly from what I've learned. I guess you can say this is my humble plug for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">CWG</span>. If you have wondered about joining, stop wondering and just do it. I think the absolute best thing about this course is the mentor-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">mentee</span> relationship. I adore my mentor, Judy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Bodmer</span>.<br /><br />On to other thoughts, I recently joined <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Shoutlife</span>. this is a great community. I felt really welcomed upon joining. However, the only thing I didn't like about it is being inundated with requests from people I don't know who are in the entertainment business requesting to be my friend. I felt like I was being spammed. On the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">flipside</span>, I like having access to all the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ACFW'ers</span> and requesting their friendship, with the added bonus of people who are regular people who like to read wanting to be my friend. I like having something in common with people.<br /><br />I'm on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">facebook</span>.com also. I don't like it as well as I do <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Shoutlife</span>. It's so plain. I can't seem to figure out how to dress it up. I also don't like that you can't search for people with common interests. It's only work, community, or school. What's the deal with that?<br /><br />Here is a truthful fact about querying: December is the lowest month for queries. Do yourself a favor and send out some queries this month. (Information provided from: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">CWG</span>)Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-26210235998788476842008-09-08T21:40:00.002-05:002008-09-08T21:48:07.446-05:00Critique Group IdeaMy critique discussed and decided to jump-start our sluggish writing juices.<br /><br />For the month of October, we are meeting once a week, instead of our usual once a month to critique each others work. We each are expected to bring one chapter of fiction, and or a non-fiction piece.<br /><br />We are doing this on a temporarily. I am hoping I will be able to get back into the practice of writing on a daily basis.<br /><br />Wish me luck!Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-11300432140117694182008-08-26T10:17:00.003-05:002008-08-26T10:32:14.833-05:00I'm Too Old for Homework!Yesterday was the first day of school.<br /><br />I sent my children off with mixed emotions. On one hand, I am anxious to get back to my writing, excited to get back to my exercising, and thrilled to re-unite with my writing friends. On the other hand, I'm feel lonely at home and miss my kids.<br /><br />As the school bell rang, Bethany eagerly met her dad and walked to the car. She had a cat-ate-the-canary smile on her face. She entered the car and proudly announced, "Guess what, Mom? You've got homework and I don't."<br /><br />Now I'm thinking, yeah she's probably talking about that mountain load of paperwork I have to fill out every year.<br /><br />Oh, no. She flicked out of her binder a paper, "Look Mom, you have to write an essay!"<br /><br />Thank goodness, it's not math!<br /><br />Writing I think I can handle.<br /><br />So, I wrote a six-paragraph article on who my daughter is in my eyes. On my family blog, I will display it.<br /><br />As most of you know, I still have homework. I'm enrolled in the Christian Writer's Guild Course, so I have bi-monthly homework.<br /><br />However, who knew at this age I'd end up with Junior High Homework?Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-87687069080701285482008-07-22T09:30:00.004-05:002008-07-22T09:59:02.037-05:00Query Letters and Helpful Resources<span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;">One of my critique partners and I are hard at work this week, writing the dreaded query letter.<br /><br />Even though my strengths are in synopsis and taglines, I'm still learning the ropes with the query. You'd think since it is so low in word countage that it'd be easy to write. Wrong! The query letter needs to hook the person reading it right off from the get-go.<br /><br />Now, I've bought books on the best selling queries and such, however I'm a streamline girl. If I can find an article on how to write a great query and not have to read a 300 page non-fiction book...I'll do it in a heartbeat. I'm just being honest.<br /><br />I've found an outstanding article on the Internet about the craft of writing a query. This author's ability to write a query letter has garnered the praises of leading people in the industry.<br /><br />So, here is Mary Demuth's blog address where you can find her pdf nine-page article on writing a best selling query letter: http://wannabepublished.blogspot.com/.<br /><br />Another great small book on the subject is Agent Noah Lukeman's short on query letters. You can go to Amazon.com and download a free book. Here is Mr. Lukeman's website, which can direct you to the downloadable link: http://www.lukeman.com/greatquery/index.htm.<br /><br /></span>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-45514742695038438192008-07-07T21:03:00.002-05:002008-07-07T23:02:20.933-05:00New BeginningsAh, there is nothing quite as exciting as beginning a new novel.<br /><br />I am in love with my hero and heroine. I love the setting and the historical research.<br /><br />There's one hitch, though.<br /><br />I have no clue what is to become of the plot.<br /><br />I have tried so many different plot devices, exercises, the snowflake, and outlining. Nothing. Nada. Zip.<br /><br />This time I thought to myself, "Girl, you just gotta write." So, I put away all my plot helps and worked on my goal, motivation, and conflicts of my characters. I get my heroine in trouble (drawing her away from her goal) and then I get her outa trouble (drawing her closer to her goal).<br /><br />Whether wrong or right I have no clue. But I'm enjoying reading what happens next.Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-12974645226401331572008-06-30T13:07:00.001-05:002008-06-30T13:07:40.301-05:00Check out my Slide Show!<div><embed src="http://widget-71.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=2882303761519187569&site=widget-71.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=2882303761519187569&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-71.slide.com/p1/2882303761519187569/bb_t001_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=2882303761519187569&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-71.slide.com/p2/2882303761519187569/bb_t001_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=2882303761519187569&map=F" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-71.slide.com/p4/2882303761519187569/bb_t001_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide42.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-7944756176047833392008-06-30T12:46:00.001-05:002008-06-30T12:46:19.077-05:00Check out my Slide Show!<div><embed src="http://widget-71.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=2882303761519187569&site=widget-71.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=2882303761519187569&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-71.slide.com/p1/2882303761519187569/bb_t001_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=2882303761519187569&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-71.slide.com/p2/2882303761519187569/bb_t001_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=2882303761519187569&map=F" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-71.slide.com/p4/2882303761519187569/bb_t001_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide42.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-48527113896065384932008-06-30T11:44:00.003-05:002008-06-30T12:04:57.917-05:00The Life of a Writer<span style="color:#ffffff;">Writing is hard work.</span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">Period.</span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">So, when it is already hard why do we put ourselves through even more hardship by listening to harsh criticism, frustrating ourselves by learning all the <em>rules</em>, or convincing ourselves that we are not good enough to write?</span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">In one of the High School Musical songs, <em>Breaking Free</em>, the lyrics say, "We’re soarin’, flyin’, there’s not a star in heaven that we can’t reach. If we’re trying, we’re breaking free. Oh runnin’. Climbin’. To get to that place. To be all that we can be. Now’s the time. So we’re breaking free."</span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">I have been reading, Dwight Swain's <em>Techniques of the Selling Writer</em>. Truely, it is changing my way of thinking, concerning writing. Before reading this book, I was a proponent of writing exercises to get those juices flowing, but now I'm seeing that a discipline regiment of writing everday provides the same boost of juices. I wished I had read this book years ago. But then maybe I wasn't ready for it yet.</span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">I'm ready to break free and write with all liberty.</span>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-68892527650368943012008-06-02T12:49:00.003-05:002008-12-11T21:23:56.149-06:00Romantic Comedy<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/SEQ-c6_tksI/AAAAAAAAAFs/9AOuNHzjJic/s1600-h/j0399914.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207355735740879554" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/SEQ-c6_tksI/AAAAAAAAAFs/9AOuNHzjJic/s320/j0399914.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">For awhile now, I've been studying the art of comedy. I've read how-to books, articles, and studied movies to figure out the whole "formula" of the romantic comedy.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">Today, I'm pooling all my resources together to post what I've learned. Granted, some people are tired of formulaic plots, but if you look at all the successful romantic comedy movies you can't help but think that it works.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">Often I've asked how can I make my manuscript funny? Embarrass the characters? Twist the plot with irony? Give the character a sarcastic voice?</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">Finally, what I've have noticed from my search is a truth when this statement is compared to all successful comedies.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">True comedy is the result of the character "over-reacting" to a normal situation. They devise fantastic plots and schemes to achieve their goals.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">The hero and heroine never laugh at their situation. Their plight is real and their emotions of loss and pain are great. Romantic comedies help their protagonists "cowboy-up" to face their emotions and expose them to the world. Romantic comedies are about courageous people.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">There is so much to learn about the characters in these comedies. The writer will need to focus more on an internal plot, engrossing their characters in spectacular emotions. However, today I want to focus mainly on the structure of the comedy.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">1. Let the audience see the introduction of the hero and heroine.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">2. Allow the reader to see the protagonist's goal and conflict before the end of Act II. Slowly feed the reader the protagonist's motivation little by little.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">3. Introduce the rival character after you have allowed the reader to examine the hero's personality.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">4. In the middle of the book, the main character must commit to a relationship with the protagonist. This moment will be a no-turning-back moment for our hero. His/her emotions will never be the same again.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">5. Always allow the reader to have superior knowledge. The reader needs to know what the character doesn't. Do not surprise your reader. Allowing the reader to know more, creates tension for the reader.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">6. The wonderful romance between protagonists must end by the 75% mark of the novel. Usually, some secret or some type of deceit is uncovered. Then the trust is broken and the relationship is dissolved.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">7. Characters then have the last fourth of the novel to figure out that their life is meaningless without their romantic counterpart and will go to unknown ends to find their way back into love. Most importantly, the romantic comedy always has a happily-ever-after.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ccffff;">Just because your romantic comedy portrays love in a light-hearted manner with outrageous, over-reacting characters, it doesn't mean that you can't layer-in suspense, history, murder, science-fiction, and any other elements that will make your novel truly unique and yours.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div></div>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-8053509686062054622008-05-25T23:35:00.003-05:002008-05-26T00:06:28.613-05:00Brands and TaglinesI attended a local writing group meeting this last week. I so enjoy getting together with like-minded writers. I especially love my critique partners. Somedays, I wished we met more often.<br /><br />This last meeting, we discussed the importance of brands. For instance, when you think about Stephen King...what genre or brand do you think of...thrillers? We become more marketable when we zero in on one particular genre to write.<br /><br />For many years, I detested the thought of singling out one genre. I felt that it would stifle my creativity. I wanted to try out all the genres and see which one fit me best. However, I have since realized that approach is a waste of time. (Truly, I never thought I'd say that!)<br /><br />I must tell you since I know my brand now, I am much happier. Perhaps you are like me and don't know where to start, trying to figure out what you write? Well, I can certainly steer you in the right direction today. This little exercise is what I used to help me figure out what type of writer I am. Are you ready? Let me give you what I wrote. (If you use this example, please link it back to my blog or use my name)<br /><br /><strong>First, list your top five favorite books and genre:</strong><br /><br />1. <em>Men of the Saddle</em> Series by Lori Copeland Historical Romantic Comedy<br />2. <em>Yellow Rose Trilogy</em> by Lori Wick Historical Romance<br />3. <em>Yellow Rose Bride</em> by Lori Copeland Historical Romantic Comedy<br />4. <em>Bride Most Begrudging</em> by Deanne Gist Historical Romantic Comedy<br />5.<em> Courting Trouble </em>by Deanne Gist Historical Romantic Comedy<br /><br />(Some of these books may not be listed as comedy, but they made me laugh out loud.)<br /><br /><strong>Second, list your top five favorite movies and genre:</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />1. <em>Pride and Prejudice</em> Historical Romance<br />2. <em>Emma</em> Historical Romance<br />3. <em>Support Your Local Sheriff</em> Historical Romantic Comedy<br />4. <em>Bringing Up Baby</em> Historical Romantic Comedy<br />5. <em>Counterfeit Countessa</em> Romantic Comedy<br /><br /><strong>Third, list the genre most commonly found on your list.</strong><br /><br />Historical Romantic Comedy<br /><br /><strong>Fourth, list favorite words that describe this genre:</strong><br /><br />Historical: antique lace, treasure, days of old, dusty, ancient<br />Romantic: love, interest, fondness,<br />Comedy: giggles, laughter, grins,<br /><br /><strong>Last, take these favorite words and dream up a tagline.</strong> Here is mine. I've chosen to use words from historical and comedy adding in a word to describe my Christian market.<br /><br />Grins, Grace, and Antique Lace<br /><br />Now it's your turn!<br /><br />If you get stuck and need help...post a comment with your email addy and I'll contact you.<br /><br />So, go find your brand!Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-44967219434841188422008-04-28T16:37:00.002-05:002008-04-28T16:46:21.509-05:00In BetweenAh, man...I don't know what to write.<br /><br />I'm like in between a rock and a hard place. I've started rewriting two older manuscripts of mine, but now I've lost my desire to continue.<br /><br />I'm thinking I need to let go of them and continue moving forward. What do you think?<br /><br />I keep mulling over possible plots and themes, but none of them excite me. Is it just me or have you gone through this too?<br /><br />I love historicals, but am in no mood to research one. So, that leaves contemporary. I want to create some characters, throw in some conflict, and sit back and watch them react.<br /><br />I've done the normal beginning stuff...looking through newspapers, reading magazines, watching sensationalized TV, and journaling ideas. Still nothing.<br /><br />I'd be more than happy to entertain your thoughts. Post me some ideas or email them to me whichever. (((shrug)))<br /><br />Perhaps next week, I can post I have a start of something?Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-47610895852350511062008-04-07T10:01:00.004-05:002008-12-11T21:23:56.318-06:00Plots<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/R_o5SGdJaEI/AAAAAAAAAEM/fq-OGl1iNgg/s1600-h/20+master+plots.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186520904003840066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1rL3I_E3HTw/R_o5SGdJaEI/AAAAAAAAAEM/fq-OGl1iNgg/s320/20+master+plots.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9781582972398"></a><br /><br /><div><span style="color:#ffffff;">This week, I've posted a review of <em>Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell </em>over at a blog I share with my critique partners, </span><a href="http://www.bookstowriteby.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#ffffff;">http://www.bookstowriteby.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="color:#ffffff;"> . Go over and check it out.</span></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#ffffff;">In keeping with this theme, I decided to write down 20 of the most common plot patterns for fiction. If you'd like to read along, I'm taking my information directly from the book, <em>20 Master Plots (and How to Build Them) by Ronald B. Tobias</em>. </span></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #1- The Quest</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">A quest plot should be about a search for a person, place, or thing; develop a close parallel between your protagonist's intent and motivation and the object he's trying to find.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #2- The Adventure</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">The focus of your story should be on the journey more than on the person making the journey.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #3- The Pursuit</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">In the pursuit plot, the chase is more important than the people who take part in it.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #4- The Rescue</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">The rescue plot relies more on action than on the development of characterization.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot<br /><br />Pattern #5- The Escape</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Escape is always literal. Your hero should be confined against his will (often unjustly) and wants to escape.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #6- Revenge</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Your protagonist seeks retaliation against the antagonist for a real or imagined injury.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #7- The Riddle</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">The core of your riddle should be cleverness; hiding that which is in plain sight.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot<br /><br />Pattern #8- Rivalry</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">The source of your conflict should come as a result of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #9- The Underdog</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">The underdog plot is similar to the rivalry plot except that the protagonist is not matched equally against the antagonist. The antagonist, which may be a person, place or thing, clearly has much greater power than the protagonist.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #10- Temptation</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">The temptation plot is a character plot. It examines the motives, needs, and impulses of human character.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #11- Metamorphosis</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">The metamorphosis is usually the result of a curse.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #12- Transformation</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">The plot of transformation should deal with the process of change as the protagonist journeys through one of the many stages of life.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #13- Maturation</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Create a protagonist who is on the cusp of adulthood, whose goals are either confused or not yet clarified.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #14- Love</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">The prospect of love should always be met with a major obstacle. Your characters may want it, but they can't have it for any variety of reasons. At least not right away.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot<br /><br />Pattern #15- Forbidden Love</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Forbidden love is any love that goes against the conventions of society, so there is usually either an explicit or implicit force exerted against the lovers.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #16- Sacrifice</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">The sacrifice should come at a great personal cost; your protagonist is playing for high stakes, either physical or mental.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #17- Discovery</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Remember that the discovery plot is more about the character making the discovery than the discovery itself. Focus your story on the character, not on what the character does.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot Pattern #18- Wretched Excess</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Wretched excess is generally about the psychological decline of a character.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">Plot<br /><br />Pattern #19- #20- Ascension & Descension</span></strong></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;">At the heart of your story should be a moral dilemma. This dilemma tests the character of your protagonist/antagonist, and it is the foundation for the catalyst of change in her character. Character and events are closely related to each other. Show your character progressing through successive changes as a result of events. If your story is about the fall of a character, make certain the reasons for her fall are a result of character and not gratuitous circumstances. Always focus on your main character. Relate all events and characters to your main character. Show us the character before, during, and after the change.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#c0c0c0;"></span></div><div><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">The author expounds on each one of these plot patterns and helps the burgeoning author relate each variation to their work in progress. At the end of each chapter, he list a checklist for the writer to know if he is on track with that particular plot pattern.</span></div><div><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span></div><div><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">Also, know that you can combine each plot pattern to make it uniquely your own.</span></div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24039407.post-57603057397877198812008-04-04T09:47:00.002-05:002008-04-04T09:53:37.462-05:00What Concerns You?<span style="color:#ffffff;">I've had the opportunity to write an essay on what concerns me globally and then I had to write a piece on my local concerns.</span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">Sometimes, I find this hard because I seldom read the paper and only watch the news to get the weather. However, when you look through news article, magazines ariticles, and internet news you will find certain subjects will leap out to you.</span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">Write what concerns you and then you can submit these pieces to the op/ed of your local newspaper or donate them to a magazine. In this way, you can earn by-lines for yourself and thicken your portfolio.</span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">Here is my latest offering:</span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#c0c0c0;">The article entitled, First Catholic Church Opens in Qatar, Sparking Fear of Backlash Against Christians, By Sonia Verma</span></em>, <span style="color:#cccccc;">concerns me. I wonder what will happen as Americans continue to cover the Arabian nations with our missionary efforts. Will this provoke an already much touted tolerance message here at home? Will we be force-fed Muslim doctrine on our televisions, newspapers, and schools? </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">Reciprocity is the word used to describe this new movement. Among Muslim leaders, the idea of mosques accepted in the west should encourage their governments to accept Christian churches in the east. If this movement happened in any other country, and involved any other religion, I would applaud this great missionary success. However, I wonder will Americans be pulled into a religious war not unlike the wars of the past? Will Muslim militants seize Christian church buildings, murder priests, pastors, or teachers, igniting rage in the west?</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">During the crusades, English men of great courage fought the Muslim armies to regain control of Jerusalem. Twelve crusades and thousands of deaths later, the English retreated. How did this cause benefit them? It didn’t. Women lost not only their fathers and providers, but also 15,000 children died while they marched to Jerusalem. The fighters who returned infested their country with non-Christian beliefs much to the dismay of the papacy.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">I understand that missions work must persist if we are to see our Lord’s glorious appearing, my caution is to be wary of the tolerance message. Our missionary efforts will be tainted in whole if we do not protect our gospel message at home. Great steps toward above ground churches are taken daily in such places as the Arabian nations and China. We need to not allow these advances to soften our domestic missions by allowing other religions to persuade us to accept their beliefs as truths. For we know the truth lies in knowing the <span style="color:#ffffff;">one God</span>, the <span style="color:#ffffff;">one cross</span>, and the </span><span style="color:#ffffff;">one peace giver.</span>Debrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13035500319440232310noreply@blogger.com0