"We filmed it in the old, abandoned, part of a hospital. Very creepy."

I was volunteering in the IP lounge at the conference and so was privy to some interesting conversations taking place. Aside from the expected discussions of publishing, the Willamette Writers Conference adds a unique perspective in that it also includes screenwriters. It was clear, by simply observing the two two distinct groups, that film and print are very different worlds indeed.

Visual by nature, the film agents and producers represented this in how they dressed and spoke. Networking in a way that could only come from a world of celebrity interactions.

As usual when I attend a conference, I was primarily there to study craft. But even still, it is impossible to avoid the business end of things. And this, is something that draws energy from me faster than a wormhole. And yet, the energy of the film group was extremely contagious, so that I found myself drawn to them like a baby toward an open electrical outlet.

I went to sleep dreaming about the settings of my books, about re-creating the scene in Untangling the Knot where Gabriella discovers the Statue of Mary in Pienza, Italy, or where Jessica walks along the esplanade in Boston.

Lucky for me... it s not entirely a dream. In fact, just a couple of weeks from now I will be on the East coast. I will get to visit the Patriot's stadium and visualize Ryan doing his field goal kicks there. I will get to write in the sand at the cape, just as Gabriella and Chloe did, and I will get to go back to the church where Mandy and Ryan plan to get married.

It's not quite the same as re-creating it for film, but whatever is left out my imagination will cover for me and I will appreciate the chance, for a moment, to dream of the film adaptation.

Do you have a favorite book that's been adapted for film? I'd love to hear what it is (the classic and best, being, of course Pride and Prejudice:>) Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. I always love hearing from my readers.

Cheers,
Deanne

“You can’t dye hair blonde, you bleach it.” (15 year old)

Isn’t it amazing the things you know at fifteen? Instagram – check, fad diets – check, manipulating the system – check; natural consequences – not so much.

This overhear reminded me of so many years ago when I was fifteen and still naïve about what really mattered in life. Long, blonde hair seemed incredibly important; as did (don’t laugh at the Brady Bunch context) a face without freckles. And I discovered great news; One household kitchen item could cure both apparently. Sitting in the sun with lemon juice on your face and hair was supposed to do the trick.

Ri-i-ight. Who in their right mind would ever think something like that was a good idea? Apparently me, and I ended up with a sunburnt, dried out, face and brittle, straw-like, hair.

Now I have come to love my freckles (although who knew that they would start to expand from those cute little dots they were back in high school to continent sized landmarks) and am amazed and grateful that my natural, strawberry-blonde hair hides the grey.

Still, while I have learned to accept myself in a way I never dreamed of in high-school, lately it seems like every dinner conversation at our house includes a dialogue with my husband over our need to lose some weight. And by lately here, I actually mean like for the last two years. So, we finally decided to re-visit Jenny Craig and become serious about it.

Funny, though, that the response I get most often upon telling friends that I am on the program is – “But you look fine. I don’t think you need to lose any weight.”

And, perhaps that is true… maybe I do look okay. But I’d like to pause here and re-visit some recent blog / social media posts.

1. Food has been featured in many (and if you haven’t found my Molto Mayhem blog with recipes from the novel
I am working on you may not realize this.)

2. I have been whinging a lot about the training I am doing for learning to kick a field goal (again, refer to my Field Goal blog)

3. The symptoms of menopause have been discussed in great length here over a period of time.

So, while I may not look like I need to drop some weight, the truth is, my body is telling me I do… and but
quick!

As well, though this is something else a fifteen year old might know but never say out loud, fortunately my daughter is only 9 and she had no qualms about it. She understood right away when my husband and I told her we were on a strict diet. “So then you’ll be able to wear that pink dress again?”

Yes.... it is all about fitting into my clothes comfortably and walking the hills around our house without wheezing.

She also went on to say, “Okay. So then if you and Dad are on a diet, does that mean I get to have the extra desserts every night?”

Big sigh….. “Sadly yes! Yes it does.”

Have you been on a diet you liked (or hated), or had a dress you really wanted to wear again from years earlier? I'd love to hear how you handled it and what people said if you told them. (I'd also love to know what crazy stuff you did at 15 if that is easier to talk about:>) Leave me a comment and share the journey.

Cheers,
Deanne

“I’m thinking orchid purple, not violet.”

It’s funny how easily snippets of conversation are overheard when it relates to something important to me. With my daughter in summer camp for the week my entire focus has been on my writing. Everywhere I go I hear Italian songs (my current project, Molto Mayhem), discussions of football or weddings (UNTANGLING THE KNOT), or Boston news (UNTANGLING THE KNOT and BETTING JESSICA).

I had been distracted for a while by the conversation which prompted the overhear. A woman was meeting with a wedding vendor (florist I guessed) discussing her wedding plans. She was a bit older, but no less excited about her plans than a 20 something year old would have been.

I loved writing about a wedding when I worked on UNTANGLING THE KNOT. As stressful as the planning can be, I still remember it as having been a wonderful experience planning my own wedding so many years ago. The chance to revisit all the details…. The ceremony itself with the readings, décor, priest, dress, flowers and then the reception with the venue, food, music… made it such fun to write the story of Mandy, Ryan and Gabriella.

One reason I love weddings, I think, is that it is such a perfect opportunity for a woman to express their personality and style. Writing about it, then, gives an author a chance to really show, rather than tell, more about their characters.

And so, the overhear quote cracked me up. Because in one scene of my book Gabriella, the church wedding planner, talks with the groom’s kids, Chloe and Peter, about the color the bride-to-be has chosen.

“Of course,” Gabriella went on, “if you had come on time, I wouldn’t have had the chance to steal Chloe’s great clothing designs for another bride I’m helping.”

He watched her grin at Chloe and saw Chloe glance away, embarrassed.

“Really?” Ryan asked. “I thought you all were supposed to be working on my wedding.” He gave them a mock glare but Gabriella just laughed.

“Oh, somehow I don’t think this design would have been quite, ah, purple enough for Mandy.”

Shocked, Ryan saw Chloe actually smile at this. Peter snorted and then concentrated on the slice of pizza he was
inhaling.

“And, what’s wrong with purple?” Ryan teased. “I specifically asked Mandy to come up with some purple ideas. After all, purple signifies royalty.”

Gabriella and Chloe both stared at him, horror-struck.

“You two could be twins right now,” Ryan said, laughing at their identical expressions. “Don’t worry. I was just teasing. There won’t be any purple at my wedding if I can help it.”

“Hey, that’s what Gabriella said, Dad,” Peter mumbled around a huge bite of pizza.

Ryan watched Gabriella blush. He had no idea embarrassment could make someone so attractive.

“Not your wedding,” she clarified. “I meant, you know, for my own wedding.”

Ryan couldn’t figure out why he suddenly felt a little disconcerted.

“Oh,” he said. “I didn’t know you were also engaged.”

Peter stopped chewing and peered at Gabriella with a frown.

“No, no. I’m not,” she clarified. “I just meant, you know, someday when I get married.” She trailed off, streaks of red darting up her cheeks. Ryan felt his body relax.

What color did I have at my wedding, you ask? I chose a pale yellow with fall colored flowers. And of course it was perfect. But that’s the thing; even purple can be the perfect color if that is the color the bride loves.

What color would you, or did you, have at your own wedding? Does it mean anything important to you? I’d love to hear, so leave a comment with your thoughts or even tweet pictures. Here’s to the empowerment of planning our
weddings.

“Move the bucket out of the sun or you’ll cook them.”

Huh! Good advice. My daughter and I were clambering across the rocks at the beach in Tahoe testing our skills at catching crawfish. It is an annual tradition, dating back to when I was a kid scurrying across these very same rocks. We were not alone… a dad and his two kids (the overhear was directed at them) were doing their best with nets and lunchmeat. It was time to take some drastic measures. Crawfish are far too clever for that method so I offered them the string and hot dogs we were using.

We, the father and I, watched them fish waiting for sure success. But, while they caught a bunch of little minnows, the crawfish eluded them. I was prepared to be disappointed for them until I looked into their smiling faces
and was reminded that it is not the destination, but the journey, that matters.

Journeys Inspired by Love – I have lived with this tagline for so long now that I sometimes forget why I picked it. Goals and dreams are important. They inspire and motivate. But too often in my own past I have become so caught up in pursuing them that I have forgotten to enjoy the journey getting there. 

One of my favorite bloggers, Chris Guillebeau, wrote a great post today on deciding if what you are doing is Worth it All. Part of making the decision requires visualizing your future self after having completed the goal. It sounds easy but in fact I think this is more difficult than we might imagine. If I have framed my goal of being published purely in terms of the recognition or money I might receive I am sure to feel ready to give up along the way. However, I look at what I have written…. Jessica’s journey to renew her passion for life, Gabriella’s journey to live the faith she espouses, Ryan’s journey to really, truly find love again, and I know that my goal is about much, much more than the rewards at some distant date. It is about sharing their story with my readers; real people who may be facing similar journeys and looking for their own inspiration along the way.

This is why comments and reviews are so critical to writers. They remind us that what we do matters. Thanks for being part of my journey. I promise to not forget about you and cook you along the way.

Deanne

"We're getting married this summer."

I don't know why, but this overhear reminded me of two of the victims in the Boston Marathon Bombing. I suppose it is because I have been doing a lot of research for my fundraiser to support the Boston One Fund. Through it I have learned of Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky, newleyweds in Boston who both lost a limb in the bombing.


(Picture courtesy of www.giveforward.com) Finding out about them touched me for two reasons, one, because Jessica is the name of my main character in BETTING JESSICA and two, because my entire second story, UNTANGLING THE KNOT, is about a wedding. Both of these books were set in Boston, so this couple feels very connected to my writing.

As many of you know already, I decided to donate all of my profits from the sale of both books to the Boston One Fund during this first week of May. My birthday is May 15th, so the best present my friends and fans could give me would be the chance to support victims such as Patrick and Jess in their long road to recovery. At amazon you can give either book as a gift to a friend (or for yourself if you haven't yet read them). Here's a brief blurb about each story along with purchase links. You can also link here for a sneak peak at Untangling the Knot. The fundraiser is active now.

Thanks so much for your support.,
Deanne

BETTING JESSICA - http://amzn.com/B005YF05CO
(NOTE: This is an updated version, revised and re-released  November 11, 2012)
Hung over and tired, twenty-four year old Jessica  finds she has made a crazy bet to get a date with her favorite
celebrity, Ian  Drake. Of course the bet would be unthinkable except for the  small problem that  she made it with her enemy, Erik. She decides to use the bet  as a way to prove  to herself and others that when she sets her mind to
something she can truly  accomplish it. And, although things don't go exactly as planned, Jessica learns alot about motivation, determintation, and love... not to mention making bets.

UNTANGLING THE KNOT - http://amzn.com/B00BFMJX5K
“I did what?”

Twenty-eight-year-old Gabriella Bessu is St. Therese’s meticulous wedding ceremony coordinator. So the fact that she has mistakenly registered her newest couple for an annulment, rather than a wedding, sends her  Catholic guilt into overdrive.

But who can blame her? The groom is  gorgeous and his two kids tug at Gabriella’s heart in a way that overcomes all her best intentions. Before long, she’s in over her head, fixing her mixed-up plans and helping the children and dad come to terms with their haunting grief for the mother and wife they lost years earlier.

Can Gabriella untangle her own fears and accept the messy life that God has handed them?

“Mommy, my tummy hurts.” 

Last night I dreamt I our house was flooded with chocolate. I couldn’t get away from it and the piles of dark sticky stuff kept growing. I woke up to find it was basically true. One entire counter in our kitchen is covered in the stuff. It calls to me, demanding to be eaten. And while I might glare at it with malice, it smiles back as if to say, “I know you still love me.”

What am I to do? If it were cheap and plasticky chocolate, like from the drugstore or dollar store, I could ignore it or through it away…I am sure of it. But it is lovely, rich, nostalgic candy from Sees and Godiva and Lindt. Help! I am drowning in chocolate.

I suppose I could give in to its siren song; gorge, make myself sick and then not really want anymore. There is just one problem… tomorrow I have my first training session with Alex Molden and I am already feeling out of shape and bloated. I doubt that gorging on chocolate will make me feel any better about my body or energy.

I want to throw it away. However aside from the quality of the chocolate as mentioned above, my daughter has counted out every piece. She is an auditor in the making, accounting for each piece as if it is gold.

Is there anyone to whom I can give it? Anyone who, by bad luck or some strange circumstance doesn’t feel overwhelmed by their own stash of Easter candy? At least this way I wouldn’t feel bad about getting rid of it (though I will still have to deal with my daughters’ wrath). I know… as a thank you for helping me, maybe I will bring it to Alex. It will be the gift that keeps giving as he will surely be too distracted by the luscious Bordeaux Egg from Sees to comment on my inability to touch my toes over my protruding, and somewhat aching, stomach.

“We sat in bed and laughed at your videos last night.”

Why does this not surprise me? I have been acclimating myself to the idea that this is my year of humility. Fitting, I think, since my book releases are making me a more public figure. My daughter likes to think I am famous… but aren’t we all within our own circles?

With publicity, though, comes attention. To be honest, I am not really big on attention. I like not having to wear make-up or worry about how I am being perceived. I am happy to have my characters take center stage. As a reader, though, I like to get to know the author of the books I enjoy. I always read the bio and sometimes even follow them on Twitter (btw – if you want to find me there, go to @dwilsted… or if you want to see one of my character’s tweets go to @jessatbettingj)

So, it may be that readers of BETTING JESSICA or UNTANGLING THE KNOT are also curious about me. Obviously my bio is published (link here). But now, with my goal of learning how to kick a field goal, my personal achievements
will be balanced by my personal failures…. And in a comic way.

By now you have probably seen my video blog about this journey. While I have jumped into this with both feet, part of me knew that the water was shallow enough I could wade out if I wanted. Not so anymore. I think I just threw myself into the deep end by inviting the help of a professional athletic trainer, Alex Molden. He has agreed to begin working with me to build the strength and mobility I will need to actually accomplish my goal (without hurting myself in the process).

There is nothing like including someone else in a project to ensure commitment. In this case I am fortunate to be working with one of the best. Perhaps Alex will also be able to help me understand how to handle public attention, since he himself has had lots of it over his lifetime (first playing football for the University of Oregon and then later in the NFL). He even has his own Wikipedia page. 

So, check in over at my Untangling the Knot Vlog page in a few weeks to catch my first training session with him… it may be that my humility will reach an all new high.

“It’s like giving birth only people aren’t as nice about it.”

I’ve made the comparison before between giving birth and writing a book, (most recently in my guest blog post for Susan Heim), but this was a new take on it. And, I could relate, because, while UNTANGLING THE KNOT has so far
been getting awesome reviews, I am sure that at some point someone won’t like it. 

With BETTING JESSICA, my first book, this was incredibly hard to hear, particularly as I was responsible for the entire project. Even given that it was my first book, I was disappointed when people found errors or found part of it lacking. Now, with my second book, I am more prepared. I know that not everyone will get my style of writing or my philosophies. They may want a book with more heat… or one with more poetic language. Hopefully they will be kind
with their feedback (not everyone is… I was shocked by one of the reviews BETTING JESSICA received). But I also hope they will be honest.

This, though, is not true of babies. No one ever says:

 “Wow, I really wanted to like this baby, but I found myself distracted by his big nose.” Or
 “This baby has a lot of problems and should have been worked on more before being put out.”

I suppose it is because one project (writing) seems to be under the full control of the author while the other, a baby, does not. This, though, is not entirely fair or true. For one thing, just like a baby, writing is the result of the author’s own, personal characteristics. My books are not overly sexy because that is simply not me. They contain a deeper
message because that is me. And, like a baby, writing is the coming together of many influences, not the least of
which includes inspiration from a higher power.

Creation, in any form, is a miracle as far as I am concerned. So, while I may not love every book I pick up and read (or write), it is always worth looking closely to see the unique beauty within.

“Have you been getting my text messages? I haven’t heard back from you.”

ME: "Hello Muse… are you there? Why haven’t you called me back? I’ve been texting you, but you never reply. It’s so good to finally hear from you. I wondered if maybe you were mad at me or my characters."

What to do when your best friend as a writer disappears? In the best of times my muse gives me lovely gifts, like the scene in Untangling the Knot where Gabriella explains death using a crouton (you’ll just have to read it to understand). But sometimes, no matter how hard I try, the ideas are sluggish, like a kid after too much candy.

When I get stuck like that there are a few things I try. If I’ve been writing for at least an hour I will give myself a short break, to get more coffee for example. If not, I will sometimes close my eyes, listen to my music and see if any ideas come from the sounds or lyrics.

But often, when I am really stuck, I will pray. I know not everyone would feel comfortable with this, but this is an integral part of my writing. I have frequently heard someone refer to a talent as a gift. But it is only in the context of my writing that I finally understood what this meant.

At those moments, when I am trying to find just the right way to show my story, my prayers seem to bring the perfect idea from nowhere and hand it to me with beautiful wrapping and ribbons, so that even now, when I re-read
those sections, I find myself surprised and grateful.

The key to this process is to trust; to have faith so to speak, that my muse or God or whatever we call it, is directing me toward something that will eventually make sense. And if I am scattered, stressed, or thinking about the end result rather than the gift of writing, it is impossible to hear the answer.

I listened to the speaker of the overhear as he talked and talked and talked to the person on the other end of the line. Rarely did he ask a question or sit still and listen. Maybe, like my muse, his missing texts had simply gotten lost in the noise of his whirling brain.

“Time for our daily stretch.”

My favorite thing to do on Valentine’s Day? Hang out at New Seasons Grocery store. You will have seen previous posts from overhears there, but this one shows why I love hanging out there so much. The loudspeaker went on to invite all customers to put down their baskets and reach, reach, reach up over their head. “The store that cares for your health,” they say at the end and I believe it.

There is a level of customer service that comes from a perspective of care rather than profit or sales. This is something that can’t be faked. It is sort of like Santa in A Miracle on 34th Street, when he sent customer to a
competitors store for missing items. Ask about a product at New Seasons and they will offer you a taste or test. I never feel like this is only a ploy. When I walk away I am convinced they want me to get the best product I can.

As an author I can understand this. With my new novel being released my entire marketing plan is based around finding the readers I think will really, truly enjoy it. This is not always as easy as it might seem. Readers are told by reviewers and authors and booksellers that every book is the best one. The good news is that I am sure all of these sources believe it; for the most part I don’t think they are trying to trick anyone. 
 
But, the fact is, not all readers will like every book. Some books aren’t written in the right style (just ask my husband about first person, present tense). Other books are about topics or in genres that simply aren’t interesting to the reader.

So, how do I find the readers who really will like my book? I think it is all about authenticity. If I am honest about my reviews, good and bad, if I am really present in the Facebook and Twitter friends I feeds I follow, if I care about the topics in my book and allow others to see my concern, I think my readers will understand that what I write comes from my heart and hopefully is my own Valentine to them.

Enjoy!
UNTANGLING THE KNOT - now available:
Kindle Format - Amazon
Other formats (including Nook and Kobo)- Soulmatepublishing

Also read, An Unlikely Valentine - A free short story based on Untangling the Knot, available Feb. 15th 2013 from
FREE READS from the GENRE-ISTAS