The Interrupted Life and Fulfilling a Dream

by Mary Ann on February 20, 2015

 Another winner!!

 

unnamed (1)Well the house did not burn down!!! But the grandkids did visit and the dishes were piled up. So I am posting  Friday morning, not Thursday. Remember, I warned you in advance. : )

I also decided to draw for this weeks winner today because I am going to be spending the weekend with more grandkids and I want to PLAY!

The winner of this weeks book give away is Carolyn! Congratulations! Your autographed copy will be in the mail next week. Enjoy!

Today we begin the last book give away and you can be part of it.

Just leave a comment below about who in your life has inspired you to hold fast to a dream and then share on Twitter or Facebook.

 How to be true to your season and still fulfill your dream?

As I mentor parents one theme seems to run through for everyone. How can I raise my family and still fill my mission or get my own education or fulfill my dream? I asked the same question when I was raising my family. Sometimes it seemed that I couldn’t take care of one season of my life without giving up something precious to me – my dream. In my case it was to be a speaker and teacher. For Norma Jean it was writing.

It is interesting that many of the most celebrated people have come face to face with the same questions. And the answer is always the same. If we are true to our season in life and hold on to our dreams then we can do all that we need to and ought to do in this life. Norma Jean raised a family and is now a writer. I raised my family and now I am a speaker/teacher. Today’s post is about another parent, one you will instantly recognize, who raised a family and still fulfilled his dream. If Nathaniel Hawthorne could do it, if Norma Jean could do it, if I did it, then so can you!

Here is part III of the posts by Norma Jean Lutz and the first day of our third book give away.

My Fiction Quill Lay Unused

hawthorneAt one time in my career, I was commissioned by Chelsea House Publishing to write a series of what they referred to as bio-critiques. I wrote the bio for a number of noted novelists, and someone else wrote the critique section of the book.

One of the authors I was privileged to write about was Nathaniel Hawthorne. Studying and researching about his life brought me to a deep appreciation of this man.

He was addicted to writing novels in a day and age when novels weren’t that acceptable nor popular. All he ever wanted to do was spend time writing his novels.

I so related to his heart’s cry.

However, just like for all of us, life interrupted. Hawthorne had to make a living for his family. He worked at the Salem Custom-House – a job he despised. During this time, he wrote in a letter to a friend,

“My fiction quill lay unused.”

Those words were so poignant and heart-wrenching to me, I scribbled them on a little post-it note and stuck it on my computer monitor. Later, the sticky wore off so I taped it. There it remained for many years. Because, like Hawthorne, my fiction quill lay unused. And it broke my heart.

Through the years, (as a single, self-supporting female) I tried a number of ways to earn a living without having to give up my entire being – so I could continue to write.

One such instance was selling insurance. I thought perhaps I could earn a living and still have time and energy to write. (Not.)  I studied all the material, took the test, passed the test, joined a small agency near where I lived and embarked on a rather lucrative adventure.

This particular type of sales involved travel. We came to the office on Friday for a sales meeting and to receive our “leads” and to learn our “sales area” for the following week. I left town early Tuesday morning. I followed up on appointments Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, returning home on Thursday night.

Ironically, I was good at selling insurance; I was earning a good income; yet I was miserable. I quickly learned that this lifestyle left me totally void of time or energy to create fiction.

Like Hawthorne, My fiction quill lay unused.

So I began saving my money. I had an amount in my mind that I would need to carry me over to complete a certain novel. When that amount was in my savings, I quit and picked up my fiction quill and finished my novel. Oh the joy…!

As for Hawthorne, he was laid off. That’s right, he lost his job. What did he do? Finished his novel! Just like any dedicated novelist would do.

Nathaniel Hawthorne and I are many hundreds of years apart, cultures apart, and circumstances as different as night and day – and yet our hearts are so similar.

So where is your fiction quill? Are you miserable because it’s been abandoned? What can you do to allow you to pick it up again and put an end to your misery?

If Hawthorne did it; if I did it – so can you!

 Follow Norma Jean’s blog for many more tips and techniques about the writing life.

In case you missed Part I or Part II. : )

 

NormaJean Lutz

NormaJean Lutz

Oklahoma author, Norma Jean Lutz, is author of over 50 published books, plus hundreds of articles and short stories. As a popular workshop speaker and writing instructor, her expertise in novel writing is stellar. Not only does she enjoy writing, she also enjoys extending a helping hand to up-and-coming novelists.

First Title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection Flower in the Hills

 Flower in the Hills    Available on Amazon Kindle or Paperback Edition

 Second Title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection

Tiger Beetle at Kendallwood   Available on Amazon Kindle or Paperback Edition         Tiger Beetle at Kendallwood

Rockin into RomanceThird Title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection

Rockin’ into Romance   Available on Amazon Kindle or Paperback Edition

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PART II If I Don’t Write Them Who Will- One Writer’s Journey

by Mary Ann on February 14, 2015

AND THE WINNER IS……drum roll please!!

Master of ceremonies, Benny!

Master of ceremonies, Benny!

The winner of last weeks contest, a book by Norma Jean Lutz, is MELISSA DRAPER!!!

Congratulations Melissa. We will be looking for a short book review. : )

We have two more books to give away in Norma Jean Lutz’s CLASSIC COLLECTION for youth. Today begins a new contest. Enter by making a comment below and letting us know what you do to find moments to read. Then share using the social media buttons. That’s all there is to it and you could win a signed copy of one of Norma Jean’s books.

If you missed PART ONE of this three part series on fulfilling your mission, doing things in the correct season and never giving up a dream, you can read it here.

One Writer’s Journey

Now the years became a blur as all hope of ever writing moved to the back burner. Married and a mother of two, I Tiger Beetle at Kendallwoodfound myself living on an acreage in a rural area of Oklahoma doing everything but writing.
Not wanting my children to suffer my childhood fate, I introduced them to books before they could talk. I read aloud to them incessantly and as a result I had two avid readers on my hands. Trips to the library meant we arrived home with armloads of books. As I shared in reading their books with them, the old desire-to-write flame began to rekindle.

At last, I took a plunge and enrolled in a correspondence writing course. The course taught me something I’d never known – how to sell my work. I was published before I ever finished the course. (A copy of my very first check is framed and hangs on my office wall. The fact that the check was dated on my birthday made it even more special! In my mind it was God’s birthday gift to me – and a confirmation.) At last I was functioning in my calling. Soon I was selling dozens of articles and short stories.

As I moved into writing and publishing, I simultaneously moved into teaching. I discovered I loved to teach writing almost as much as I loved to write. Through the years I developed a novel-writing critique service, and also taught at writer’s workshops and writer’s conferences. Through the years I presented at more than twenty conferences all across the country.

Through the cooperation of the Continuing Education Dept. of Oral Roberts University, I was able to launch a writer’s conference which we called the Professionalism in Writing School. I served as coordinator for the annual conference for fourteen years. Many writers – some now nationally known – got their start at our school.

Midway into my career I graduated from short pieces to published novels – and not without many many disappointments and discouragements along the way. But I had a saying: I didn’t get in to get out; I got in to stay! To quit, to give up, was never an option for me. Not even when a devastating divorce set me on the road to becoming self supporting. It may have slowed me down for a few years, but it never deterred me from the path I was determined to travel. Eventually my published works would number more than fifty titles – the larger percentage of which are for teen and pre-teen readers.

At the present time in my career, due to the incredible opportunities offered by the Internet and digital books, I am re-releasing many of my past teen novels. (Now available for e-readers and in paperback.)
As I look back over the years, I see God’s fingerprints throughout each and every mile of the way. I’m so grateful for all the blessings that He has lavished on me.

My journey as an author is nowhere near over. At times, I feel I’ve only just begun. My heart is still filled to overflowing with stories that are yet to be written. These are the stories that have been entrusted to me; if I don’t write them, who will?

Stay tuned for Part III, the story of an author that really changed my life.

NormaJean Lutz

NormaJean Lutz

Oklahoma author, Norma Jean Lutz, is author of over 50 published books, plus hundreds of articles and short stories. As a popular workshop speaker and writing instructor, her expertise in novel writing is stellar. Not only does she enjoy writing, she also enjoys extending a helping hand to up-and-coming novelists. Learn more at her sites:www.NormaJeanLutz.com and www.BeANovelist.com andhttps://www.facebook.com/BeANovelist

First Title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection Flower in the Hills

 Flower in the Hills    Available on Amazon Kindle or Paperback Edition

 Second Title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection

Tiger Beetle at Kendallwood   Available on Amazon Kindle or Paperback Edition         Tiger Beetle at Kendallwood

Rockin into RomanceThird Title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection

Rockin’ into Romance   Available on Amazon Kindle or Paperback Edition

Part III posts this Thursday (unless the grandkids visit, the dishes are piled up or the house burns down). Come back and enter again!

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Missions, Writing and Clean Reads for Teens – Win a Book Too!

by Mary Ann on February 9, 2015

Life is so wonderfully serendipitous. We have experiences and meet people that can hugely affect the direction of our lives. We just never know when it is going to happen. Life is also built on our own personal missions. It has been my experience that we can, and most likely do, have more than one. Remember, to everything there is a season.

Recently, I met Norma Jean Lutz, a children’s writer. She has written over fifty books and is re-releasing some of her best known titles for teens. These are clean reads and parents and homeschoolers love them. I want to introduce you to NormaJean and her books. I also want to introduce you to her philosophy on life and one of her missions:

  • I believe God creates each one of us with certain gifts and talents that lie resident within us. It is up to us to learn what those talents are and use them to the best of our abilities.
  • Succinctly expressed desires, which are held close, come to pass.
  • To everything there is a season and if we respect each season we will accomplish all we are here to do.
  • I didn’t get in to get out; I got in to stay! To quit and give up is not an option.
  • God’s fingerprints are in each and every mile of our lives.
  • If I don’t write them, who will.

Win One of NormaJean’s Books

I think you will enjoy getting to know  NormaJean and her books. : ) I also think you will enjoy the opportunity to win an autographed copy one of her books. We will be having a drawing for each of the three books shown below, one each week, beginning today. Just make a comment below, tell us your favorite book and then share on Facebook or Twitter.

One Writer’s Journey – Part I

I’m a firm believer that God doesn’t make mistakes when He creates us. I believe God creates each one of us with certain gifts and talents that lie resident within us. It is up to us to learn what those talents are and use them to the best of our abilities.

My journey as a writer can be summed up by saying that I’m walking out my destiny in obedience to the One who gave me the gift in the first place. That said I’d like to share the color, the tone, the shadings of both dark days and bright days of this journey God had led me on, and continues to lead me on day by day.

I’m the second in a family of four. My older sister, Carolyn, and I are two years apart, other two much younger. I grew up in a small rural Kansas town surrounded by farms and farmers. I’m Midwestern to the core.

Carolyn still remembers how – when we were still very young – she would ask me to tell her stories before we went to sleep at night. Even though she was the elder, I was the designated storyteller.

Sadly, ours was a home of few books. My parents were not readers, other than the newspaper and various magazines. But I loved books. So God saw to it that all of my first six teachers in elementary school read to us children every morning before our class work began. This was a marvelous adventure for me.

I was introduced to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series, The Secret Garden, Betsy-Tacy, Uncle Wiggly, Mary Poppins, and the list goes on. The Secret Garden was especially moving to me. The idea that words on paper could transport me to a mysterious walled garden in England and allow me to see it in my mind’s eye forever affected me.

My first published work appeared in the spring of my 7th grade year. I submitted a short story to the children’s page of the local newspaper and it was published in the Easter Sunday edition. I was now smitten!

My high school English teacher commented that he felt I had writing talent and suggested that he could help me get published. However, he never mentioned it again and I was too shy and doubt-filled to pursue the matter. I did write, however, by keeping journals. I still have in my possession journals from my junior and senior years of high school. (And to this day, I still keep journals.)

In a composition course in college, I wrote a piece that sounded like a gut-wrenching cry entitled, “I Want to Write.” That paper remained buried until many years later – after I had been published many times – and when I re-discovered it, I marveled at how succinctly I expressed that desire, that deep longing of the soul.

*~*~*~*~

Stay tuned for Part II of my story to learn how God blessed my writing career beyond my wildest dreams.

NormaJean Lutz

NormaJean Lutz

Oklahoma author, Norma Jean Lutz, is author of over 50 published books, plus hundreds of articles and short stories. As a popular workshop speaker and writing instructor, her expertise in novel writing is stellar. Not only does she enjoy writing, she also enjoys extending a helping hand to up-and-coming novelists. Learn more at her sites: www.NormaJeanLutz.com and www.BeANovelist.com and https://www.facebook.com/BeANovelist

First Title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection Flower in the Hills

 Flower in the Hills    Available on Amazon Kindle or Paperback Edition

 Second Title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection

Tiger Beetle at Kendallwood   Available on Amazon Kindle or Paperback Edition         Tiger Beetle at Kendallwood

Rockin into RomanceThird Title in the Norma Jean Lutz Classic Collection

Rockin’ into Romance   Available on Amazon Kindle or Paperback Edition

Part II posts this Thursday. Come back and enter again!

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Continuing Education for Busy Mom’s and Dad’s

by Mary Ann on January 29, 2015

InsectsAlthough my kids are all grown I can assure you that I am a busy mom! I am also a busy grandma. It isn’t easy keeping up with all that is happening with seven children and a dozen grandchildren. Add to that mix a regular day time job, private mentoring and speaking and being a wife and homemaker. I am busy!!

Recently I had a mom call me in tears. She just couldn’t figure out how to continue her own education and still wear all the other hats that she has to wear. She wanted some advice.

I shared with her the number one best way to keep on learning despite the challenges – read excellent books! You know her response right, “I never have time to read!”

Here are some tips that I use to get my reading in:

  • I always have a book in the bathroom. Every time I go in there, and that is at least twice a day : ), I read a few paragraphs. I know it sounds lame but I actually get quite a few books a year read this way.
  • I always have a book in my car. I read in doctor’s offices, while waiting for a child to come out of where ever I am picking them up from, in traffic jams….truth be told sometimes when I am driving home from work I just pull over and sit and read for twenty minutes. It’s quiet and no one is asking for anything. : ) Whenever I get stuck anywhere all I have to do is go out to my car and grab my book. (If you are purse carrying woman that works too.) There are also the electronic book devices which make reading anywhere a breeze. I am sure that resonates more with you young mothers.
  • I have a book on my night stand. It doesn’t happen often but sometimes I can sit in bed for a few minutes before lights out. I love reading like that.
  • Read to your kids. Some of my favorite books and those that I have learned the most from were classics for children and youth. Learn together. By the way if dad reads to the family it is really powerful.
  • Read short things that won’t take much time–short stories, letters, speeches, fairy tales, etc. This will also increase interest because you will be reading lots of different types of things and it will give you a sense of accomplishment as you actually finish many more readings.
  • You can listen while you work- folding laundry, making dinner, nursing the baby, etc. Just have something going. It also doesn’t have to be a book, it can be anything educational and there are tons of educational videos online.

Want some ways to make what you read more effective:

RindlisbacherI love the Rindlisbachers and the Ten Boom Institute. They have some really great videos that will help you read what you do read more effectively. They are short, to the point, and worth your time. Check them out.

Here’s to your own continuing education you busy mom and dad! Enjoy and grow!!

PS By the way, Audrey and Blaine are moving all their great book discussions, reading videos and book reviews to a new home. Visit them here.  The page name “Books You’ll Love” speaks more clearly to what they are all about, books you really will love!!

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