A Triumph of Hope

On Sunday, Ron and I traveled to Tulsa to see The Singing Revolution. It is a superb documentary film about Estonia. (yes, in case you were wondering, Rabakukk is Estonian) For those of you who don't know, Estonia is a Baltic nation that was brutally taken over by the Soviet Union in 1940. Then the Germans invaded, only to be pushed back again by the Soviets. This tiny country has been a pawn in the world game of chess for centuries. Throughout the last half of the 20th century, Estonia nearly vanished as the Soviets attempted to assimilate them into the collective of Socialism.
But Estonia would not have it. Against astounding odds, the Estonians maintained their identity and their national heritage. And when the time was right (late 1980s - Mikhail Gorbachev) they took a stand and raised their voices for the cause of freedom. Imagine 200,000 people in traditional Baltic dress spontaneously singing the banned national anthem. What's a media-conscious world leader to do?
Most Americans have no idea how truly blessed we are to have such enormous freedoms.
I am currently working on a piece about Estonian Independence for a children's magazine. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about it.

Writing News

I met my self-imposed deadline and put my manuscript in the mail to Emily Mitchell at Charlesbridge Publishing today. Now the waiting begins.
A critical part of this deadline I'd devised for myself involved the post office and their rate increase that goes into effect on Monday. Over the past week, as I was double checking on spelling, page breaks and other pesky revisions, I realized that I'd probably only be saving 10 or 15 cents. In retrospect, I'm grateful I was able to beat the increase - even at today's prices it cost me $7 to mail my manuscript - and it's only 150 pages. That's lunch! Woe to the aspiring fantasy and historical fiction writers toiling away on 600 page works - you have my deepest sympathies.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I have two articles in MetroFamily this month. The other one is my monthly character column. This month's trait is wisdom. And yes, I think I've learned how to strategically place the hyperlinks within the post. I feel accomplished. One of the best parts of writing the character columns is that I get to interview young people who are "doing the right thing." These are the Character Spotlight winners One of this month's winners is raising money for the American Lung Association and has held several Kool-Aid sales in the parking lot of his church. Currently he is about half-way to his goal of $500. You can read more about Christopher or donate online (thus missing the strange taste of Kool-Aid and its permanently staining dye.)

May Articles

I am extremely priviledged to have two pieces in MetroFamily Magazine this month.

I'm proud of both of them, but writing one of them really touched my heart: Mothers Don't Always Start at the Maternity Ward can be read here http://www.metrofamilymagazine.com/mothers-dont-always-start-at-the-maternity-ward It's the story of Rose Harper, a truly amazing person. She and her late husband were foster parents for two dozen children over the years. That's a picture of Rose on the left.

The Harpers also started Citizens Caring for Children, a nonprofit organization that provides support for children in foster care. For more information about what they do, check out their website http://www.citizenscaringforchildren.org/ They are the real deal and worthy of your support.

I'm optimistic about writing about Rose and CCC again for other magazines - maybe national magazines. I love the opportunity to write stories that make a difference and this one definitely falls into that category. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

So Many Books, So Little Time

I've had a whirlwind time since my last post - both literally and figuratively.
Namely, this is spring in Oklahoma. It seems like every time I turn around the tornado sirens are going off. One of the local television stations even dubbed this "Tornado Week." It started out as a marketing plan, but I wondered if they felt any misgivings about it since there actually were tornadoes last night...

But the weather is not the most exciting news I have. Last weekend, I attended the Oklahoma Writers Federation Conference http://www.owfi.org/ We had a fantastic line-up of speakers with J.A. Jance giving the keynote. She was witty and inspiring.

Also on the lineup was Emily Mitchell, senior editor from Charlesbridge Publishing http://www.charlesbridge.com/ . She gave great tips on developing your voice as a writer. I also had a 10 minute appointment with Emily. I wasn't my most articulate, but she graciously encouraged me to send her my manuscript. Since then I've been frantically reviewing and revising. I've set a deadline for myself to get it in the mail on Saturday and I'm going to make it happen.

The highlight for me (okay, pun intended) was the speaker I was assigned to shepherd - Judy Burke from Highlights magazine http://www.highlights.com/ Judy is very upbeat and energetic and we got along fabulously. What's more, her sessions were outstanding. One was an idea workshop where she had us make several lists and then explained how the things we wrote down could be used to develop articles. Needless to say, I'm now working on several queries for Highlights.

Welcome

I'm taking the plunge and joining the world of blogging. Blog isn't a very pretty word, but I suppose I don't know that I have much to say, but I have been looking for a way to share my reading and writing with the world.

I'm currently reading the most amazing book: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Check out the author's website here: http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/index.htm



Actually, I'm listening to the book. Audiobooks allow me to absorb twice as many books as I would otherwise. This one is particularly good because it is read by the author, so it has the added layer of the inflection and emphasis she intended.