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Book Review: The Writer’s Workout by Christina Katz

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Cindy Hudson

As I’ve been creating my resolutions and goals for 2012 this week, I’ve also been reading Christina Katz’s new book for writers, The Writer’s Workout: 366 Tips, Tasks, & Techniques From Your Writing Career Coach. Over the years I’ve taken many online writing classes from Christina and read her other books for writers. Each one has boosted my writing career in just the way I needed it at the moment, and I expect it to be the same with The Writer’s Workout.

Just as the subtitle says, this book is chock full of short, easy to digest tips, suggestions and other ideas for writers at all levels, whether they are just getting started or have been writing for some time. Each page starts with an inspirational quote that sets the tone for the advice to come. For instance, tip number 166 is titled, “Consider Specializing.” It starts with a quote from Joyce Carol Oates about connecting with your true subject. Katz’s advice on what it means to specialize and how to do it follows.

The Writer’s Workout is organized into four sections according to the seasons starting with spring. In her intro, Katz says you can think of this as the seasons of the year or the seasons of your writing career. She also says it’s up to you whether you read one page a day, or “blaze through the whole book.” I’ve chosen to do both. I’ve been blazing through this week, and with the start of the new year I plan to read one new page every day. I expect I’ll skip around instead of reading one page after another. That way I can find a topic that may be especially relevant to me at the moment. But starting my writing day with a bit of inspiration and a nudge in the direction I want to go can only help me be more focused and productive at what I do.

I’ve also discovered in my “blazing through” that just because the advice comes in small bites doesn’t mean it’s something you can read quickly and move on. This is good stuff that you’ll want to mull over and think about for a while so you can determine what it means to you and your writing career at the moment.

Reading The Writer’s Workout daily is one of my new year’s resolutions. Consider making it one of yours.

Book Review: Home for the Holidays by Heather Vogel Frederick

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Cindy Hudson

Home for the Holidays is the fifth book in Heather Vogel Frederick’s beloved series, The Mother-Daughter Book Club. By now, the girls of the Concord, Massachusetts book club are almost as well known to readers as the characters in the stories they are tackling this year: all 10 titles in the Betsy-Tacy series written by Maud Hart Lovelace. Even though Lovelace’s books take place in the early 1900s, the very modern girls of the book club are surprised to find that they have a lot in common with her characters, despite the fact that the times they live in have changed so dramatically.

As Becca, Megan, Cassidy, Emma and Jess all look forward to Christmas, they each have to deal with very different issues that center around family, friends and their community. Becca’s dad lost his job, threatening to derail her brother’s entry into college and her mother finishing up her studies in landscaping. Cassidy’s family is considering relocating for her stepfather’s job. Megan is struggling with a long-distance relationship. Emma and Jess work to overcome a misunderstanding that has them questioning their longtime friendship.

Frederick weaves a lot of fun into her story as well. It’s nearing Christmas, and there are scenes where different girls enjoy shopping, ice skating, sledding, cruising the Caribbean and more. Descriptions of Thanksgiving dishes and the New Year’s feast they all share will have you cracking open a cookbook to make your own special treats. Along with quotes from the Betsy-Tacy books and facts about Maud Hart Lovelace and her real friend Tibs, there are lots of other references to situations Betsy and Tacy face that are similar to the ones the Concord girls encounter.

Frederick also has the magic touch of knowing just how to have her characters resolve their conflict. As I have read each of her books in this series, I have found myself wishing I had her pen guiding me in real-life sticky situations. Moms and daughters who have come to love the mother-daughter book club books will surely find even more to love here. I recommend it for ages nine to 14.

Meeting Planner Guide for OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy Now Available

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Cindy Hudson

OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy tells the story of Ellie, who hopes her skills at debate will help her win a scholarship to a prestigious private high school. The trouble is, she finds that her religion may count against her in the selection process. When she decides to hide who she is to increase her chances of winning the award she sets off a whole new debate among her family and friends.

OyMG brings up great issues to discuss in mother-daughter book clubs, and my new meeting planner guide for this book helps you plan what to do, what to talk about, and what to cook when you schedule your book club meeting to discuss it.

As with all the meeting planner guides offered at Mother Daughter Book Club. com, the OyMG guide contains a book review, an interview with the author, a list of discussion questions, suggested activities and book-related recipes you can cook for your crowd.

To see the whole list of ten titles and learn more about my ebook offering six guides at a discount, visit the Meeting Planner Guides page at Mother Daughter Book Club. com.

Also, watch for more information about these two new guides that will be available in late December:

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

If you’d like to suggest a title for me to add, just send me an email at [email protected].

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Author Mary Corbett Talks About the Challenges of Being a National Guard Wife

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Cindy Hudson

Mary Corbett wrote National Guard 101: A Handbook for Spouses to help others navigate the ins and outs of being married to someone in the National Guard. Corbett says she was inspired to write the book after her own experiences left her feeling confused about what her husband was doing and what her role was.Part of the book description says National Guard 101 “covers a broad range of topics, from practical knowledge about the history of the National Guard and understanding rank to softer subjects like social life in the Guard and family programs. Corbett also details the benefits and assistance resources available to Guard families and guides readers through the process of setting up a Personal Assistance League (PAL) to provide support during deployment.”

The release of Corbett’s book is especially appropriate, as this week marked the 37tth anniversary of the founding of the National Guard. Here’s an interview where Corbett talks about the Guard and her book.

Mary Corbett

Most people are familiar with the four branches of the United States Armed Services: Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force. Can you explain to our readers how the National Guard fits into our military?

MC: Across all branches, military members belong either to the active component or the reserve component. The United States National Guard (USNG) and the United States Army Reserve (USAR) are reserve components of the U.S. Army. The National Guard serves a dual mission: providing each state with trained and equipped units to protect life and property, and providing the nation with units that are ready to defend the United States at home and abroad. Each state has its own National Guard, under the control of the Governor (although the President of the United States can request the services of the Guard). Members of the Guard typically serve part-time, except when they are activated to full-time duty. The National Guard is the oldest component of the United States Armed Forces and will celebrate its 375th birthday on December 13, 2011.

What prompted you to write National Guard 101: A Handbook for Spouses?

MC: I married my husband — a long time member of the Minnesota National Guard — in 2000. Although I had family members who had served in the military, I had zero experience with military protocol or culture. The only thing I knew about the National Guard, at that time, was “one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer.” After moving to Georgia in 2001, followed by my husband’s deployment to Guantanamo in 2002, I realized that although I had never considered myself one, I was, indeed, a military wife. I spent a lot of time searching the internet looking for information to help me understand my role as a Guard spouse. I found that much of the information available was targeted toward active-duty spouses who lived on military bases with a completely different lifestyle. I felt there was definitely a need for a book for National Guard spouses. So I wrote it. National Guard 101 is the only book written specifically for the 162,000 Guard spouses.

Can you explain the differences between being a guardsman and being enlisted in one of the four active military branches?

MC: Guardsmen typically serve the military on a part-time basis and maintain civilian employment. Members of the active component typically serve full-time, military careers. When a Guardsman is activated, they become full-time military personnel and are indistinguishable from their active duty counterparts. They receive the same pay and benefits as active duty soldiers. When they are deactivated, they return to part-time service. It’s also worth nothing that, on average, members of the National Guard are older than their active component counterparts.

How is being a guard spouse different from being an active component spouse?

MC: From a family perspective, the lifestyle difference is night and day. National Guard members and their families live in civilian communities and may live far away from the armory where the soldier trains as well as military installations that provide services to active families. In other words, we don’t live on post. We don’t shop at the Post Exchange regularly. We don‘t have the built-in support structure of other military families close at hand. Often, we can be the only military family in our community. Our soldiers have full-time civilian careers that they must manage. It is challenging in a best-case scenario, but when our soldiers are deployed, our lives are affected in a way that is distinct to the citizen-soldier.

How common is deployment for National Guardsman?

MC: Most National Guard families have experience with long-term, overseas deployments. In 2011, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, Jr. stated that “Every Guard brigade has deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and over 300,000 Guardsmen have deployed in this war.” Since 9/11, virtually every unit of the National Guard — a force the size of the entire active Army — has served on active duty for one or more of the deployments at home or abroad. The last time that the entire National Guard had been mobilized was for World War II.

Do National Guard families face special challenges during deployments?

MC: Because we don’t live on post, it’s likely that our local communities lack familiarity with military experiences, which makes it hard when our soldiers are deployed for long periods of time. While the military provides consistent resources to connect families to military resources during deployments — Family Readiness Groups and Family Assistance Centers — it’s really up to us to figure out how to get the support we need to cover down while our soldier is gone. Fortunately, friends, neighbors, and community members are ready and willing to help Guard families.

What is the biggest obstacle a Guard spouse faces during deployment?

MC: Sometimes, WE are our own biggest obstacle. A lot of Guard spouses aren’t used to asking for help and don’t like to do it. My book tells the reader how to find the right person to “do the asking” for them. The end goal is a Personal Assistance League (PAL) made up of friends, family, and community members who are ready, willing, and eager to help throughout the duration of a deployment. A PAL is a robust and official support system with members who are doing small things occasionally. All of this piecemeal assistance adds up to consistent, steadfast assistance.

What is your favorite part about being a National Guard spouse?

MC: I like that I can live in a regular civilian community but also be a part of our great military. I also love attending social events such as annual holiday parties, family day events, and formal banquets and dining outs.

Mary Corbett is a professional writer and National Guard wife. She has appeared on The Today Show, Fox News Channel, local television affiliates, and nationally syndicated radio. Her first book, The List: 7 Ways to Tell if He’s Going to Marry You in 30 Days or Less was published in 2005. Corbett lives in Alpharetta, Georgia, with her husband Major Jon Roscoe, ARNG, and their children Holly and William. Visit her website www.marycorbett.com.

Interview: Sherry Shahan, Author of Purple Daze

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Cindy Hudson

Sherry Shahan is the author of many works of both fiction and nonfiction, including Purple Daze, a young adult book that looks at the Vietnam War and other events of the ’60s through verse, letters, journal entries and news stories (see my review).

Recently, I was able to ask Shahan a few questions about her writing life and Purple Daze. Here’s what she had to say.

How did you get started as a writer?

SS: It began more as a hobby than anything. Something I could do at home with my two young daughters so my brain wouldn’t turn into strained carrots. My name first appeared on the “Letters to the Editor” page of the L.A. Times. I was hooked! From there I wrote short articles for local newspapers. I never thought I’d write a novel. Novels are long!

You’ve written both fiction and nonfiction, do you have a preference for writing one or the other?

SS: Fiction, nonfiction, picture book or novel—I approach each project on its own ground. My adventure novel Death Mountain was inspired by a personal experience. While attempting to hike up Mt. Whitney my backpacking party got caught in a deadly electrical storm. The pack mule and horse were struck by lightning and killed. When I decided to turn the experience into a novel, I studied the geological history of the area, plus the animal and plant life.

What matters most is that I have a passion for the topic, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. Most books take years to write. You have to be totally in love with the topic to invest that kind of time.

What did you know about the war in Vietnam before you wrote Purple Daze?

SS: I’d read lots of books about the war before I thought about writing Purple Daze. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien stands out. Plus I had an ongoing correspondence with my friend Bill, who was in Vietnam during the sixties. He was brutally honest about what was happening there. That was quite an education.

Did you gain a new perspective on it after you researched it and talked to some vets?

SS: From the many vets I interviewed I gleaned intimate details not found in secondary sources. One guy told me he put a condom over the muzzle of his rifle to help keep out steel-rusting moisture. Yet he could shoot through it. Another guy told me it was common to remove tobacco from packs of cigarettes and replace it with marijuana. I knew those details would go in the book.

I’m still horrified at how our vets were treated when they came home. Too many mentioned being spit on and called ‘baby killer.’ One guy said it was 30 years before anyone thanked him for serving in Vietnam. That’s so sad.

The end of high school usually brings a change in life for most people. Do you think that change was intensified in the 1960s?

SS: Everything was intensified in the 1960s. Our cars were big and loud. Our transistor radios were loud. (No earbuds.) It was a time of great experimentation. People of all ages were investigating non-traditional lifestyles—living out of the back of a VW bus or sharing space in a commune.

Music was a powerful reflection of our shift in attitudes. The Times They Are-a Changing (Dylan, 1964) comes to mind, and People Got to be Free (Rascals, 1968).

Is there anything else you’d like to say to readers at Mother Daughter Book Club. com?

SS: People often ask me if the character Cheryl is really me in disguise. My parents still live in the same house I grew up in. There are small holes outside my bedroom door from a hook-and-eye. That was my mom’s attempt to keep me from sneaking out at night. Like the character Cheryl, I simply crawled out the window.

In one scene in the book, Cheryl and Ziggy are piercing each other’s ears. They’re using frozen potatoes to numb them, sort of like an earlobe sandwich. The Animals are wailing, “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.”

And just like Cheryl, I really did shave between my eyebrows. I wasn’t allowed to pluck!

I look forward to answering any questions your book club members may have. Email: [email protected]

Here are a few photos Shahan has shared that are relevent to Purple Daze.

Sherry Shahan’s yearbook photo

Letter from Sherry’s friend in Vietnam to her

Purple Dave photo of Sherry's friend Bill

Sherry’s friend Bill (on left) in Vietnam

Book Review: Winter Town by Stephen Emond

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Cindy Hudson

Evan and Lucy have been best friends ever since they can remember. They used to spend hours playing together and creating stories and drawings for an imaginary place they call Aelysthia. That was before Lucy’s parents split up and she moved with her mother from New England to Georgia. Now she comes back once a year to visit her dad at Christmas and New Year’s.

Evan hasn’t heard from Lucy in months when she lets him know she’s at her dad’s home again. And she’s changed. Her hair is chopped short and dyed black. She’s got an earring in her nose, and she’s wearing heavy makeup. She doesn’t say much. It’s clear to Evan that something has changed dramatically for her, but she won’t talk about it.

As the two spend time together, they struggle to reconnect and find the person they remember behind the façade they each show to the world. Evan conforms to his dad’s expectations of achieving an Ivy-league education at the expense of his love of art, and Lucy hides the heartbreak of her home life that is at the center of her rebellion.

WinterTown, with story and art by Stephen Emond, takes readers on a journey of self-discovery for both characters. Emond’s illustrations of the wintry world Lucy and Evan navigate, both in reality and in Aelysthia, create a feeling of coldness that applies to the outside as well as inside world of both Evan and Lucy.

Evan’s perspective comes first, followed by Lucy’s story and point of view. Woven between chapters is the graphic art Evan creates of Aelysthia, What emerges is a story of teens struggling to be who they are for themselves, regardless of who their parents expect them to be. Evan’s father wants to control too much of his life, while both of Lucy’s parents are too wrapped up in their own lives to pay much attention to hers. Evan and Lucy are important to each other, yet neither can save the other from the challenges they face.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review.

Book Review: Dark Chocolate and the Journaler’s Soul: 17 Personal Journaling Stories for Healing and Growth by Mari McCarthy

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Cindy Hudson

Mari McCarthy, who has written many journaling books, including Who Are You? How to Use Journaling to Know and Grow Your Life, and Help for the Holidays: 7 Days of Journaling Ho! Ho! Ho! has a new book out that chronicles the stories others have to offer about their journaling experiences. Called Dark Chocolate and the Journaler’s Soul: 17 Personal Journaling Stories for Healing and Growth, this collection touches on struggles and successes, and how journalers exlpore many issues in their lives by writing down what they want to say. Each personal story is followed up with a question and answer format about frequency of journaling, inspiring quotes, tricks for overcoming writer’s block and how journaling has positively affected their lives.

This is rich stuff, just like you’d expect a tasty bite of dark chocolate to be. You can find lots more ideas about journaling, sign up for a newsletter with tips, and learn more about McCarthy’s eBooks at her website, Create Write Now. If you’d like to win a copy of Dark Chocolate and the Journaler’s Soul, just leave a comment on McCarthy’s post about the shared journal.

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Journaling: Purely Personal Or For Sharing? Plus a Giveaway by Mari McCarthy

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Cindy Hudson

When Mari McCarthy was last featured on Mother Daughter Book Club.com, it was to talk about mother-daughter journaling and her book, Who Are You? How to Use Journaling to Know and Grow Your Life.

As part of her new Wow! (Women on Writing) tour, she’s back with another intriguing guest post about things you should consider before you decide to partner on writing a journal with someone, and some thoughts about who may want to pair up to keep a journal.

McCarthy also has a new eBook just out called Dark Chocolate and the Journaler’s Soul: 17 Personal Journaling Stories for Healing and Growth, in which some of Mari’s friends and associates share their own stories about keeping a journal. You can win a copy of Dark Chocolate by leaving a comment here before midnight (PST) on Friday, December 23.

Mari McCarthy

Journaling: Purely Personal, or for Sharing?

There are many different attitudes towards the question of privacy when it comes to journaling.

Do you journal strictly for yourself, and fiercely defend the privacy of your notebooks?
Do you journal privately but hope that your survivors will read your words after you’re gone?
Do you use your journal as a place to give your writing a workout, later using bits in a book or other publication?
Do you journal dispassionately, with no real concern for who may or may not read it?
Do you journal as a way to communicate with a partner, friend, or successor?

Though we think of a journal as a personal tool, we need not think of it as exclusively private. But before embracing the joy of journaling out of the closet, let’s take a moment to remember that private journaling remains of utmost importance. The aspect of journaling that is expression without censure or repercussions or exposure on any level must forever be respected. A journal may become semi- or fully-public only if its author freely allows it.

That being said, many a journal may be created in the spirit of sharing. In this case, it will written by

an individual who expressly intends it to be read by others, or
two or more individuals, each contributing entries to one notebook.

In the latter case, the journal is the result of a compact between two or more parties for fun or profit or both.

It has to be a compact, a contract, a shared promise between people who have confidence in one another. Shared journaling isn’t for superficial situations. Intensity, commitment, persistence are all crucial. Trust is paramount.

As noted in my earlier post here, mothers and daughters can make dynamic journaling partners. Others who may put shared journaling to mutual benefit might be:

Emergency team members
Travel tour groups
Recovery groups
Mentor relationships
Journaling as a classroom or project requirement
New parents, sharing a journal for the first year of their child’s life
Caretakers of any kind

And, of course, untold more possible groupings. If the compact is backed by sufficient trust, shared journals can be transformative. Our personal stories harbor enormous potential for teaching and learning, while providing welcome comfort in their humble familiarity.

The shared journal is shorthand for exploration and learning.

Again, don’t expect that the process of building a shared journal will be without challenges. Sustained effort will be required, despite setbacks. Commit to your partner(s) but even more, commit to yourself that you’ll complete the agreed-upon course. It’s by staying the course that you can accurately judge its effects.

Which leads me to my last tip: make the course relatively brief, to begin with. Agree to share the journal for a short time. When the time’s up, you can continue, increase, decrease, quit, whatever. Let the harmony build naturally. Enlarge your challenges in small bites, and let it all be a pleasure.

What are some relationships or involvements you suggest as having good potential for shared journaling? Please comment!

Mari L. McCarthy, journaling therapy specialist and author, owns Create Write Now, a website dedicated to all things journaling. The site includes hundreds of journaling prompts, personal journaling stories, interviews, a blog, and many other resources. Mari has published nine books to date; her most recent ebook is Help for the Holidays: 7 Days of Journaling to Ho! Ho! Ho!

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