I'm back! ... at least for a short time

It has been too long since I have posted on this blog. Since the last post I have gone through two incredibly-packed years of Bible college and have two more to go, unless I add on a fifth year. And this summer my dad became the pastor of a church in Montana, so we made the big move at the end of June and have been loving it here so far.

My story is still in the making; ideas continue to flow, but very little has made it onto paper. For my short story in the college creative writing class, I used the first book plan in my series but had to majorly condense it and ended up changing some things in order to make it "end." I hope to work on that first book (with the initial plot line) as much in the next couple weeks as possible, before school starts again.

I will also try to update you all in the web-world as much as possible. This blog may be imported to Weebly (still thinking about it...), but I will give you a heads-up here before I do so. Stay in touch so you don't miss it!

Going GREEN!

First of all, you should know that this has absolutely nothing to do with the economy.

Second, if you thought my blog was about the ecosystem, you will have to look elsewhere.

This is just my rant about Ted Dekker's upcoming novel Green, Book Zero in Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy (Black, Red and White--all rated five stars on my list). This series is like nothing I have ever read before, with allegory similar to C. S. Lewis's Narnian world, and yet taking the story of death and life, love and sacrifice, to a higher level. Find out more at the official website, which contains information on this book and the others in the trilogy, as well as sample chapters and a commentary from the NY Times best-selling author himself.


If you would like to receive exclusive offers on Green and Dekker's other books, go to http://teddekker.com/readgreen. Just fill out the form completely and enter my Forest Guard number as 4487.

Mold, wall texturing, audiobooks and Christian films

OK, back after a while, but I've been CRAZILY busy. My dad bought a house along with another guy to fix up and resell. We had to scrub mold off the walls from water damage, a man in my church helped us plaster and texture the walls, and now tomorrow I'll be doing lots of painting . . . and listening to audiobooks (either Tuck by Stephen Lawhead, which I started a while back but got sidetracked on other books, or Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz).

On a side note, here are three of my newest movie favorites:

• Fireproof

• Come What May

• Pendragon: Sword of His Father (A newer trailer is now on the website, but it doesn't have an embedding code.)
  
  
  

"Fireproof" was amazing and I loved it, except for some of the music that doesn't meet my personal standards. "Come What May" and "Pendragon" were both made by homeschooling families! "Pendragon" is probably my favorite one because of all the action, though some parents may want to preview it before showing it to very young children; the battle scenes are intense, but not bloody. Here's something interesting I learned today: the beautiful score was composed by the talented actors and brother-sister duo, Aaron Burns (Artos) and Marilyn Burns (Wenneveria). Another good Christian film I have not yet seen is "The Widow's Might."

Three Christian spec titles to be released tomorrow

Only hours remain until the second round of spec fic from Marcher Lord Press. I discovered MLP about a year ago while browsing through Christian writing group sites and have been amazed at the rapid spread it has made. Although I have to save money for college and can't buy each book right away, I have determined to make sure my public library gets all of them; and then one day, when I am an "incredibly-wealthy best-selling author" (yeah, right . . . lol), every book ever published by MLP may grace my personal library shelves.

The only bad thing about reading new books through the library is that the staff spends an awfully long time recording the book's information in the computer, attaching the stickers, etc., etc. -- the book's status is listed as "On Order" and "Newly Acquired," each of which take forever, and then it finally gets placed on the hold shelf. For example, I asked for the audiobook of Tuck by Stephen Lawhead (if you haven't noticed yet, I thrive on audiobooks) a few weeks before it came out at the beginning of February. The library ordered it, but today it is still "Newly Acquired." Yeah, pretty bad.

Anyway, back to Marcher Lord Press. The three books will be hitting the public tomorrow, April 1st -- Starfire by Stuart Vaughn Stockton (see the banner on the left), By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson, and The Dark Man by Marc Schooley. Though I have usually preferred fantasy over science fiction, Starfire especially has sucked me in. I don't know why . . . there is just something strangely appealing in a non-human world in which there is still one true God. (And Rathe is such a cool name for a dinosaur!) If you haven't already entered Stuart Stockton's contest, be sure to take advantage of it before midnight. This book is going to be AWESOME!

Volunteering

Yesterday I attended an all-day volunteer training program at the Praying Hands Ranch with a couple from my church. It was an absolutely amazing experience! I've been horse-crazy all my life (encouraged especially by my dad, who grew up on a Wisconsin animal park populated with 40 horses and all different kinds of North American animals), so the fact that horses were involved was definitely a big plus for me. The PHR staff and volunteers work alongside people with special needs to strengthen their physical and/or mental health using horses, small animals, and horticulture. They are beginning a program for youth at risk and also plan to help disabled veterans in the near future.

The DVD testimonials of parents whose children were aided was a real blessing. Many lives are being changed through this ministry. PHR is a Christian organization -- a Ten Commandments plaque hangs on the wall near the front door, and the friendly atmosphere and spirit of the place radiates true genuineness. I know that I will enjoy working with the horses, but the real purpose of Praying Hands Ranch is to be a mark in the community that can transform the seemingly hopeless futures of many.

My resolutionary post of the New Year ... and an introduction to an incredible writer

To start off, I might as well wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the other things that go along with it . . . like resolutions which you know will never work, but for some reason you still make them. For example, you may wish to exercise faithfully (the typical resolution, one which I really need), or you may wish to become a couch tomato and spend more time watching TV, eating chips and drinking soda. Anyway . . . I haven't created an extensive list of unattemptable resolutions, just kind of basic things I should be getting done, such as having my quiet time with God every day and getting my college application sent in and finishing a decent portion of my novel.

Now I want to introduce a writer whom I discovered in the now-vanished year of 2008. Jeff Gerke is the creator of WhereTheMapEnds.com and Marcher Lord Press, both of which are devoted to the rise of Christian speculative fiction. MLP launched on October 1, 2008, with three fantastic books and will be releasing three more in the near future--I totally can't wait. Jeff is also a book doctor, and, on a totally unrelevant note of interest, his family is planning to adopt a baby girl from China (follow the journey here as they "bring Sophie home").

Unfortunate events

No, these events didn't happened to me, but to the Baudelaire orphans in the Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events." I finally finished the thirteenth and last book in the series. It's been a hazardous journey which I thoroughly enjoyed down the last sentence, and I've told my younger brother (who is almost finished with the series) that my kids will know about these books and have the chance to read them before they turn 18. Besides the harrowing adventures which seem to sprout up one after another, Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler) scatters vocabulary definitions and just-plain-interesting trivia throughout the story, furthering the educational advancement of his readers.