Merry Christmas!

Sorry I've been quiet as of late...just enjoying the hustle and bustle of the pre-holiday season. I've had a wonderful year, and it's all because of YOU--my friends, family and fans--and I just want to say THANK YOU and let you to know how much I appreciate your support. Merry Christmas, or happy Whateveryoucelebrate to you and those you love. See you in 2015 with new things and exciting possibilities!

~Brenda

Gabriel's Daughters Cover Reveal!

Yes, I know it's #MilitaryMonday, and I should be talking about other things, but it's that time of year when parties and events and concerts and gatherings and general insanity picks up, so I'm a tiny bit behind on blog posts. Okay, a lot behind. The good news? I've started writing again. :)

Anyway, today, instead of Military stuff, I'm participating in my publisher-mate Janet Jensen's cover reveal for her new novel, Gabriel's Daughters! I haven't read it yet, but the blurb sounds intriguing. And  possibly controversial...

Curious? You'll have to wait a minute.

First here's more about Janet Jensen:

Janet Jensen leads a quiet life in a college town nestled in the foothills of the northern edge of the Wasatch Mountains. She and her husband Miles, an attorney, met as members of Utah State University’s Intercollegiate Debate Team and are parents of three grown sons: a soccer enthusiast/physician in Salt Lake City, Utah; an exercise physiologist/football coach/graduate student in Jyvaskyla, Finland; and a skydiver/embedded systems engineer in Berkeley, California. The Jensens have happily become grandparents of four.

Janet is co-author of a literature-based cookbook, The Book Lover’s Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Great Works of Literature and the Passages that Feature Them (Wenger & Jensen, Ballantine, 2003), and an award-winning novel, Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys (Bonneville Books, 2007), which won a gold medal for Cultural Fiction in the Readers Favorite  International Book Awards Contest.

Her work also appears in Parables for Today (Cedar Fort, 2012) and Gruff Variations (Writing for Charity, 2012). Baking Day, a personal essay, placed second in the 2011 national essay/memoir contest sponsored by The Writer Magazine and Gotham Writers Workshops.

Janet holds degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from Utah State University and Northwestern University and worked in educational settings for more than twenty years.

A retired soccer mom, Cub Scout leader and PTA president, she is a now a full-time writer and a literacy tutor who feels genuine panic when she is stranded without something to read. Janet welcomes correspondence with readers. 


Janet has quite a CV. And now more about the story...

An impressive work of literary fiction that accurately explores the struggles of being raised in a polygamous community. Jensen’s novel explores the unique strengths and weaknesses of the bonds in a polygamous family.

Gabriel's Daughters wrestles with issues of polygamy, homosexuality, and modernity through the lives of the large, loving, and polygamous Martin family. The story is told primarily through the eyes of Zina Martin, a young girl who, upon discovering she is impregnated by her "sterile" teacher—and will soon be married off to a man three times her age— escapes the enclosed polygamous town of Gabriel's Landing, Utah.

Zina then embarks on a journey full of self-discovery, yet she can never completely escape the longing she has for her family and even the controversial and outdated lifestyle she once lived. Through both tears and triumph, Jensen has crafted a moving story that not only acts as insightful social commentary but also prompts readers to reevaluate their lives.

Wow. Polygamy, escape, and self discovery. I sense a book club possibility! 

So... Are you ready to see the cover? 

Scroll down for the big reveal!

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Mysterious! Can't wait to read it.

Want to find out more about Janet Kay Jensen and her writing? 

She can be reached at: janetkayjensen@gmail.com 

and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JanetKayJensenAuthor?fref=ts. 

She maintains a website at her website at www.janetjensen.com, 

and an author page at GoodReads. She tweets as @JanetKJensen and 

blogs at www.janetkayjensen.blogspot.com.

So? What are your thoughts? Let me know below, or pop by my Facebook page and join the conversation there. 

Until next time!  

Brenda

Military Monday: Civic duty

So this weekend heralded the municipal elections in the province of BC. In Canada, these elections fall under the jurisdiction of the province, and the rules are therefore provincially oriented. Depending on the province, cities and towns vote on a predetermined day every 2,3 or 4 years.

One of the neat things about our current post is the connection we have with the local community. The local mayors are very active in wing/base activities, and the wing supports the community in every way it can. It's a win-win situation that provides huge benefits, and the civilian mayors and councillors are often well known by the military residents.

In my case, for the first time since I left my hometown almost 30 years ago, I actually knew several of the candidates on the ballot--people I've met through different social events and gatherings. I was looking forward to voting for the simple fact that I could finally take my civic duty seriously, and vote for the candidate I truly believed deserved the position. I also have some strong opinions about the school system here, and had researched the school trustee candidates carefully.

When we arrived and registered at the polling station...I proudly marched in beside my husband, British Columbia ID in hand, explaining to my teens how important it was to vote, how it was our duty to make our mark on the local government...

And then I was turned away.

I was not allowed to vote.

Why? Because provincial rules dictate that I have to have lived in the province for 6 months to be eligible to vote here.

I won't lie, I was a bit miffed. Okay, a lot miffed. Other new residents--residents who have lived within the town boundaries for 30 days--were eligible to vote merely because they had come from somewhere else in BC. Whereas I, who actually had an opinion about the candidates and what they stood for, could not.

The nice people at the voting station double checked, just to be sure, and were very helpful, but I left without filling out a ballot, placing my "I VOTED TODAY!" sticker in the trash on the way out.

Instead of proving a point to my teens, I had to explain to them how my vote was not eligible--not allowed.

How is this right?

This rule basically disqualifies all military members and their spouses and adult children posted in or out of the province this summer. That's at least 3 families on my street. Dozens of families on the base. And the same would be true for any base, anywhere in the province. That's a lot of people prevented from carrying out their civic responsibilities, merely because they are military. A significant percentage of the local population.

And with the constant flux of postings (moving every three years), some people will never meet the provincial requirements.

Obviously this is a rule that needs some careful re-consideration if municipalities with Canadian military constituents are to have true representative governments. Military families may not be 'from here' but we are Canadians with the same rights and freedoms as our new neighbours. Although there are other ways to make our opinions heard, the ballot box is one of the best.

Hopefully next time I'll actually be able to make my mark, and will walk away with my "I VOTED" sticker proudly worn on my chest. Hopefully next time, I'll be able to show my kids how proud I am in my local community by carrying out my civic duty to vote.

Because I am proud. I love it here. I'll just have to find other ways to make my mark.


Brenda

Military Monday: Remember

Lewis Ward Love
1895-1918

This man was my great uncle.

I never knew him. Little is known about his life, and even less is known about his death. He never married and had few connections. He died on a field in France, fighting a war that was nearing it's end.

If not for this picture, a few records, a headstone, and some handed-down stories, his very existence would be forgotten. He would fade away, like the thousands and thousands of World War I soldiers who signed up and sailed away, never to be seen again.

Remembering someone you never knew isn't an easy task.

It takes work to force our brains to focus on a picture of a stranger. To imagine how they lived, how they walked, the tone of their voice, their aspirations and dreams. We can find out about them through research, we can visit their gravestones. We can study the history books and ask questions of historians, but in the end, we still know very little.

But yet, it is our duty to understand that this man, like the other nameless thousands, was more than

Near Arras, France 2008

just a pawn in someone else's war. We have to fight to bring his face to mind. To really look at him and understand that whatever small part he had to play, he was there for us.

For you. For me. For our children, and their children.

Tomorrow the Last Post will play for my uncle and others like him who died in the pursuit of peace. The piper will play his lament. The silence will be held and we will bow our heads in a moment of reflection. We will somehow, in our own ways, bring their faces to mind, hear their names called and reflect on their short lives. It's not easy, but we must do it anyway. And we must teach our children to do it as well.

George Santayana is credited with the saying: "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." It is of utmost importance that we make the effort to remember these unknown faces. Each and every one of them.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them. ~Robert Laurence Binyon

We will remember them.

Brenda

Blog Tour: The Fall of Our Secrets

Today I'd like to welcome Tracy Gardner Beno to the blog! Tracy has just released her novel The Fall of our Secrets, an adult mystery with romance, relationships and some serious emotion. The book follows childhood friends as they are reunited and rekindle their friendship as adults, eventually unravelling secrets and dealing with what is revealed.

Tracy agreed to a quick interview, so here goes:

Hi Tracy, thanks for visiting the blog! So, I'm curious...What caused you to first discover you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I started with song lyrics to short tunes I’d come up with on my guitar or piano. Sometime around the age of 13, I began writing short stories and poems. I loved English class throughout school, always felt like the weird kid because I’d get excited about book reports and creative writing assignments. In spite of that, I never entertained the idea of being a writer. My parents were both teachers, and my mom is a practical woman. She loves to write and has such an engaging voice, but she raised her two daughters to seek career paths that would allow us to easily support ourselves. After working for years as a Registered Nurse, and having my second child, I sat down at the computer one day and just started typing. The words poured out of me. I had an idea for a story about two friends, and I found once I had the first few paragraphs down, I couldn’t stop thinking about the characters. I’ve since completed two more novels. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to nurture my love of words, my addiction to writing. I know I will be writing long into my life, it’s something I just can’t resist.

I know that feeling....Could you name at least one person who is or was influential in the writing of THE FALL OF OUR SECRETS and in what way?

This is a tough question, but I like it! There were a few influential people. When I was little, I had a childhood friend who moved away, and in an age before texting, facetime, snapchat, etc, we lost touch. I loved her and her family, and I always missed her and wondered what her life was like. I should point out here that in spite of my leanings toward mystery romance novels, my literary roots are deeply grounded in the darker side of fiction; I grew up on Stephen King. When I began writing again as an adult, I took a sweet childhood long-lost friend idea and twisted it into something dark, departing quickly from any resemblance to my real childhood friend.

One other person gets credit for me actually finishing The Fall of Our Secrets. Friend Rocsana invited me to join her book club a few years ago. I’ve never joined a club in my life. Not quite sure what made me say yes, but we began talking books, and when she asked to read the story I’d written, I was ashamed to admit I’d written all but the last few chapters. She is the reason I finished the story, at least when I did. Who knows how long I might have taken, procrastinator that I am!

Nothing like a good friend to help you along! What is coming up next for you in your writing career?

I have two stories in progress. One is a follow up to the coming of age novel I recently finished. The coming of age story explores nineteen year old Danni’s struggles after losing her twin, falling in love with the wrong man and finally finding the right one. The sequel is exciting for me, as I became so attached to Danni and her BFF Tommie and can’t wait to accompany them for “what happens next.”

The other book is a contemporary women’s fiction about a mother and her teenage daughter who are forced to start new lives in the stark beauty of Alaska, each discovering lost pieces of themselves they hadn’t realized were missing.

Thank you so much, Tracy for visiting. And good luck with your book!

Intrigued? You can buy Tracy's book here! And here's a little more about Tracy...

Tracy Gardner Beno is a Metro Detroit native who has lived in and around small, rural communities like those described in The Fall of Our Secrets. Her stories draw readers in with recognizable characters and real emotion, seasoned with intrigue and a dash of humor. She loves spending time with her husband and two children, reading, writing, and catching her favorite bands in concert as often as possible. She works as a Registered Nurse in her day job and when she's not writing novels she contributes short stories and articles to Verite Magazine where she's a staff writer.

You can find out even more about Tracy on her website: http://www.tracygardnerbeno.com.

Or on Facebook or Twitter!

Brenda.

Military Monday: From Here

Those of you who follow my Facebook posts will have seen the small issue I had with a comment made on my blog last week. (You can find it HERE--scroll to the bottom and click on comments). The comment itself seems harmless enough, and perhaps the commenter, whoever he/she is, didn't fully read my blog post before stating his or her own opinion.

I believe all military spouses are entitled to their opinion and as such, this commenter is entitled to her (or his) own thoughts. I do thank her because she has spurred some lively discussion (and a huge outpouring of support...thank you everyone!) and has caused me to ask some interesting introspective questions.

"...if you aren't from the area (you aren't)...you probably shouldn't be making comments like this if you want to make friends"--Anonymous

Wow.

Just, wow.

Here's the deal. I grew up in small town New Brunswick. Graduated from high school at 16, and haven't lived in my home town since. Not counting inter-city moves on the same posting, I have lived in 16 different places in three different countries since that time. The longest I have lived in one home is three years.

So where am I from?

If I were to move back to my home town (where, incidentally, I still own property), would I feel at home? Would people there say I was from there? Or would they look at me and say I was a foreigner? The truth of the matter is, other than friends I've kept in touch with throughout the years, there are many who wouldn't recognize me. And the town, though the same in some ways, is different in others. I'm sure the wonderful people there still consider me a native, but is that what I think of as home?

Home is a fleeting thought for most military spouses.

It's even worse for military kids. My kids have been with us on all of those moves, so where do they say they are from? One of my children actually thinks of home as 'Grammie and Grampie's place'...where she has never lived.

In reality, we, as military spouses, have willingly given up our roots for the service of our country by choosing to follow our service members wherever they go. Very few military families end up living in their home towns. They live where they are sent, for short periods of time, and then they pack up and move again. As such we are 'from' where we live.

I'll repeat that.

I am from HERE.

I live here. I pay taxes here. My family is here. My furniture, my kids' schools, my job, my grocery store, my pharmacy, my dog, my cat...are all here. In an election, I would vote here.

My home is here.

So I am entitled to an opinion about here. As is every military spouse that lives in this town.

We are here because our spouses have chosen to wear a uniform and stand up for the beliefs that this country, this province and this town hold dear. In a crisis, our spouses would be the first to stand up for here. They would put their lives on the line for every last one of the residents of this place, regardless of where they were born. As would I. It is our civic responsibility--especially as parents--to take part in local educational debates. Our taxes support these schools and we have a right to be involved in their administration.

I even have friends here. Genuine people. Some of whom grew up right here. Do they agree with every one of my thoughts? I don't know. Probably not. But they are my friends because they like me because of who I am, not because they agree or disagree with my opinions. As far as I know, the best way to have a friend is to be one, and those who know me will be aware of my loyalty to my friends. If I were from somewhere else, why would it matter? True friendship has no borders.

Where am I from? Here. And I'm proud to say it.


Brenda

SPLINTERS Blog Tour and Giveaway

Please welcome Fiona and Matt, as they celebrate the new release of their co-written YA horror novel: Splinters! We've seen Fiona here before as she released Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know Of) earlier this year, and both Matt and Fiona are agent and publisher mates of mine.

As Fiona hosted me for my Dependent blog tour, asking me about my fears...I thought turnaround was fair play and stuck her with the following questions:

What frightens each of you and why? And where do you feel safe?

Here's Fiona's response:

The flashiest and most obvious answer to what frightens me is G-force. I have severe barophobia, the fear of changes in gravity. I have issues with things like amusement park rides, elevators, airplanes, anything that makes it feel like gravity isn’t working the way it should.

Why? Am I afraid of death or injury by falling? Am I afraid of being literally crushed to death by gravity? No, nothing so pseudo-rational. I’m afraid of the fall, not the landing.

F.J.R. Titchenell

So… what? So I have an irrational phobia that’s a pain when I go to Disneyland. I got a pretty cool horror short story out of it once, if I do say so myself, but that’s about all the material a fear of gravity has to offer, a short story. On its own it doesn’t seem all that meaningful.

It wasn’t until my early twenties that I started to figure out that, hand in hand with my less dramatic fears of failure, wasted time, anesthesia, riptides, and excess calories, my barophobia was a symptom of my fundamental fear of losing control.

So, having figured out the root of the problem, I’m all better now? Um… no. I can’t switch off being a control freak any more than I could stop loving books. It’s who and what I am, and I accept the problems with the advantages (hey, I do have killer willpower). I’ve been able to work on some things, learned to stress a bit less, and I’d dare say I’ve kicked my tendencies toward disordered eating, but the barophobia remains, too irrationally ingrained to be removed by rational thought.

What awareness of my issues does allow me to do (other than share them honestly with blog readers), is understand a large part of what frightens people. There are many more people with fears like mine, if to different degrees and with different manifestations. As a horror author, I’ve found that a large part of frightening people is figuring out exactly how much of the illusion of control to give them (or their surrogate main characters), and when to take it away.

Like giving the rebel teens of Prospero homemade flamethrowers and Tasers to fend off the superpowered monsters who run their town.

Where do I feel safe? Other than with my amazingly patient, compassionate and understanding husband at my side, my coziest safezone is with my fingers on the keyboard. As well as making me a better horror writer, my fears are part of what make me a writer in the first place. As every control freak hates to hear, the one thing we can hope to control is ourselves, our own thoughts and reactions to the world. What better way to stave off the fear of powerlessness than by getting to purge, organize, analyze and understand my own thoughts, and then reshape and use them to make something positive and new, into the best story I can tell?

Thanks Fiona! And here's what Matt had to say about his fears:

I could go into a full list of rational, adult fears and why each of them gets to me (failure, loss of a loved one, etc.), but we all know that’s not what you want to hear. We all have those rational fears, and they’re not much more fun to read about than they are to actually have. No, if you’re reading this,

Matt Carter

you want to hear about our crazy, irrational fears that make us seem more like little kids than responsible adult authors.

So, let’s bring the crazy.

The biggest one for me has always been Chucky. Yeah, the killer doll. The fictional one (though truth be told I don’t know of any real killer dolls, which is probably a really good thing). When I was three I caught a good chunk of the original Child’s Play on TV, and, well, in my impressionable young mind that was afraid of pretty much everything, I got a little warped. Flash forward two decades, me in my mid-20’s, a huge fan of horror and all things creepy, and still Chucky gave me the willies. I could stand the most hardcore horror, and the briefest image of him still gave me the sweats and a faster heartbeat.

I’m better now. One day I made myself sit down and watch the movie and now it’s one of my favorites, but damn if I still don’t get that kneejerk reaction sometimes when I see him.

You see, I’ve always had an active imagination that’s always gone past the realm of rational, understanding thought. Even when I know something is fake, that it’s all just smoke and mirrors, I have a hard time not letting it get to me if it just manages to tickle my scary bone. Perfect example? The first time I saw Cabin Fever, I didn’t drink tap water for three days. I knew it was safe, that it wasn’t infected with some strain of flesh eating bacteria that would rot my flesh off the bones, but damn it if it didn’t make me pause anyway.

I was 18 at the time, for what it’s worth.

I’m a lot better, and a lot more cynical right now, so these sorts of things haven’t been an issue for a while, but I gotta say, sometimes it feels good to let these irrational fears in, since they do have their own way of helping the rational fears feel just a little bit smaller.

Thanks Fiona and Matt! Matt, I'm glad you got over the tap water thing...not easy surviving without, well...water. It's rather essential. Hope to have you back again!

You can find more about this quirky pair on their respective websites...

You can find F.J.R. Titchenell online here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FjrTitchenell
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FJR_Titchenell
Website: http://fjrtitchenell.weebly.com/

You can find Matt Carter online here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattcarterauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MCarterAuthor
Website: http://mattcarterauthor.weebly.com/

And more about Splinters here: 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Splinters-Prospero-Chronicles-Matt-Carter/dp/1939967392

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/splinters-matt-carter/1118877645?ean=9781939967398

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20860637-splinters

And now, if you'd like to win a copy of Splinters, click on the giveaway below. Good luck!

Brenda

a Rafflecopter giveaway