Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Book Review: Leaning into the Curves by Nancy Anderson and Carroll Hofeling Morris

A novel about monkey wrenches and consequences, standing by your man and letting go of deep-seated fears, wielding weapons of sharp words and working things out with soft ones, renegotiations and letting in the light.

The back cover blurb says:

Molly is happy with her life the way it is, taking the classes she loves and performing with the Fiddling Finleys. But everything changes when her husband, Hank, retires. She's still trying to adjust to this new phase of her life when he brings home a Honda Gold Wing--even though he knows she hates motorcycles! Things go from bad to worse when he joins the Temple Riders Association, a "Mormon motorcycle gang" that combines road trips with temple work.

Faced with the prospect of being left behind when Hank rides with his new friends, Molly starts making some changes of her own.
~ ~ ~
Leaning into the Curves offers a delightful view of a little-known group of faithful Latter-day Saints. Full of appealing characters and unexpected turns, it gives a new twist to what life can be like after "a certain age"!

Since my experience with motorcycles can be summed up as riding on the back of an old boyfriend's cycle for about five minutes in my neighborhood and patching up a son's leg that got the hide peeled off from contact with a spinning ATV tire, it was interesting to learn more about a "gang" of Latter-day Saint riders. Although I am a woman of "a certain age," my involvement in middle-aged togetherness was with forced retirement due to, and dealing with my husband's terminal illness, so watching Molly and Hank work their way through adjusting not only to retirement, but to a new--and foreign--way of life, opened my eyes as much as it did Molly's.

The characters were crafted with deft hands, and the ups and downs of Molly's and Hank's lives were so, um, lifelike, that I thoroughly enjoyed Leaning into the Curves. I too have a Stay Out Room (although it's dubbed the Scary Room), so I was engaged from the very first page.


Nancy and Carroll are known as two-thirds of the authors of "The Company of Good Women" trilogy. This is their first duet novel. It is available at Deseret Book, both online and brick-and-mortar, and other LDS bookstores. Read Nancy and Carroll's blog, Crusty Old Broads, which they share with co-author Lael J. Littke.

I was provided with a copy of Leaning into the Curves by the publisher, Deseret Book. My opinion of the novel is entirely my own.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Character Notes: Julianna Owen

Julianna Owen is the youngest of Rod and Julia Owen's ten children (of whom seven still live). She is the second daughter, five years younger than Marie. She was introduced in The Man from Shenandoah, and will play a crucial part in the current novel. No, the novel still doesn't have a name.

I can't recall the name of this actress whose photo I used as representative of Julianna. Wasn't she on a television series? Anyone?


Here is what I wrote on Julianna's character card:

JULIANNA OWEN
Jule, as she is sometimes called, has light blond hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. She looks like a feminine Clay. At eleven, she is still a girl, but will soon be moving into young womanhood. She is a tease, with hands over eyes, pinches, giggles, and stares. She tends to be a little lazy, being the last child, but as the second girl, she has her share of work. She and Marie are not really close, since there is such a disparity in their ages. She is definitely Daddy's girl, and calls her mother and father, Mama and Papa.

It sounds like Jules could drive those around her to distraction. She is now a couple of years older than when we first met her, and probably even more self-aware than before. What will she do in the new novel that is crucial to the plot?

All Over the World!

I spent a bunch of hours Saturday night following various leads through search engines, and found that my novels, THE MAN FROM SHENANDOAH, RIDE TO RATON, and TRAIL OF STORMS, are for sale all over the English-speaking world, from India to South Africa. What a high that creates for an author!

Oh my gosh! I just checked at "Australia's leading book seller and shop," Angus & Robertson. Guess what they carry? Can I do a Happy Dance at 3:37 a.m.? Biblioz.com also lists various book sellers who ship my books (I searched on my name).

I should go to bed. I just hope I get up in time for church.

Back to Work

I have a couple of great opportunities coming up that will allow me to get back in the groove of writing about Marie Owen's adventure. This week is a special writing week sponsored by ANWA, and I'm going to take as much advantage of it as I can. Then, at the end of July, I'll be attending a Writers' Retreat, where I intend to write, write, and write some more. In fact, I plan to become even more of a hermit than I am now!

Yes, it's a New Look!

Blogger has added a lot of nifty gadgets to the whole blogging experience, and I'm excited to take part in this beauteous makeover. I've started with a new template for a new look. It wasn't until after I had already chosen this color scheme and variation on the "Simple" theme that I noticed the well-laden bookcases showing along the sides. What serendipity!

I'm looking forward to forging onward with the story of Marie Owen. One of my writing organizations is holding a "Week of Writing" or WoW this coming week, and although I haven't told the organizer yet, I intend to take part. Here's to many good words spilling forth during the days ahead.

In other creative endeavor news, a few weeks back, my church's choir sang a hymn that I arranged. What a thrill that was! I'm going to continue arranging and writing music, now that I've installed and learned a little about a great notation program I bought a while back. It's far superior to the one I had before.

Aside from my adventures in the legal system as a member of a county grand jury--that's not a bad thing, mind you--I've been pretty much a stay-at-home lately. I need all the hours I can get to do all I have on my plate. I did accomplish a task today that's been hanging fire for a while, so I'm feeling pretty good about that. I'm also looking forward to a Writer's Retreat in a couple of weeks. That will be fun, and I hope restorative, and fruitful on the word count side.

On Tuesday, I'll have another book review. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Mea Culpa and Homonyms

In a previous post over at ANWA Founder and Friends, I hooted and howled and poked fun at a hapless writer who misused a term that we used to call homonyms*, e.g.: pre-Madonna vs. prima donna. I'll admit that the situation gave me way too much delight and enjoyment at the expense of another human being, and I apologize.

* I think they've morphed into homophones now. English is confusing.

However, my fascination with the foibles of the English language and the misuses I've found thereof, leads me to continue my little adventure into exploring English. I've found an interesting website about homonyms from a man named Alan Cooper here, and his list here, and if you really want to blow your mind, an exhaustive explanation of the whole linguistic family of homonyms (he has many brothers and sisters!) here. There's even a pretty, if inexplicable, graphic.

When you access Alan's first page, be sure to keep scrolling down for new wonders, including a great poem at the end that you might recognize as something you've come across before. This one has the author's name appended.

Now I have to bring up the latest misuse I've come across: stent/stint.

According to my Webster's New World Dictionary, Fourth Edition, stent is a noun, meaning a surgical device used to hold tissue in place, as inside a blood vessel to keep the vessel open. It was named after the British dentist C.R. Stent, about whom I know nothing.

Stint
comes from the Old English word styntan, meaning to blunt. It may be used as a transitive (vt.) or intransitive (vi.) verb, or a noun. vt.:to restrict to a certain quantity, often small; vi.: to be sparing in giving or using; n.: 1. restriction, limit; 2. an assigned task or period of work.

Try not to confuse the two words. See me winking? I love you all.

To see my English series over at ANWA Founder & Friends, scroll down and click on my name in the Labels.
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