Cover Reveal: From Julia's Kitchen: Owen Family Cookery

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard
 
Early next month I’ll publish an exciting new project: From Julia’s Kitchen: Owen Family Cookery. This ebook contains Julia Owen’s prized recipes, plus a note on each recipe telling about it.

Of course the idea that a fictional character has collected recipes, or “receipts,” as they were sometimes known in those days, is pure fiction, but the recipes are real. Sign up for my Readers mailing list below to get the first notice of the release of From Julia’s Kitchen, right in your inbox.
   

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To Cuss, or Not To Cuss, That is the Question

Recently, I sent one of my stories to a beta reader.

She pointed out that my character cussed at the beginning of the story, and then just...stopped.  No event precipitated this action. No one complained or corrected her in the story. The character just stopped.

This one comment caused me to pause.  I'm pretty sure my character cussed only three times in the entire book. All biblical - i.e. words you can find in the Bible. However, because I am LDS, and my beta reader was LDS, this was something she was acutely sensitive to.

Then I got to wondering about what kind of message I want to convey to my readers. I know swearing probably won't even register on most readers' radars. And that's fine.  But as a writer, I fully expect that my status in the LDS church will be known. 

And if I want to be published, I also expect to be telling everyone and their dog that I've written something worth reading.  Am I okay with letting my kids read my book, knowing there's swearing in it? How about my Relief Society President, or my Bishop? My niece? Other impressionable teens? Am I okay with letting my protagonist's language be an example to her readers, or am I choosing to model current language standards?

My answer may not be the same as yours.  And that's okay.  No two books should ever be alike. I guess because I am LDS, and because language and morality is integral to my belief system, this particular subject, struck a chord with me. It was a reminder to be aware of who I am and what I want to stand for. Because people will be watching, and hopefully one day reading, what I have to say.

Time Capsule Birthday Gift

by Terri Wagner

My Hollywood attractive nephew's first child, a boy, had his first birthday last Saturday. Since they live quite a ways away we had to skip the actual birthday party. But the parents wanted a very unique and fun birthday gift idea...a time capsule. We all write a letter to him to be opened on his 18th birthday. My parents loved the idea since by the time he's 18, they will be watching from the other side...so they say. Probably true. It started a firestorm of ideas. And we each have come up with our own perspectives.

My dad dusted off a ring he received from Lockheed Aircraft for 2,000 hours of combat duty in Vietnam. He had it polished, and engraved. On one side he listed his squadron numbers and on the other the dates he was in Vietnam. On the inside of the ring he inscribed "pro liberatiat partra" or Latin for "my country's freedom." I'm not sure how an 18 year old young fella will appreciate the ring at 18, but he will surely like the rolled up 100-dollar bill. Later, I'm sure he will cherish the ring.

In dad's letter, he followed my lead and wrote of his 18th birthday. He was in the Air Force stationed at Goose Bay Labrador in Canada. It was 20 below. He was part of the aircraft crash group as top nozzle guy so not only was it cold and dark, he was on top of the fire truck where it was windy. The crew was waiting on a plane that reported an engine fire. Dad said the aurora borealis was particularly bright that night, and he was awed at God's handiwork. Several jumping-jacks later the plane appeared, engine fire out. So the long cold wait was for nothing, which in this case was a good thing. No cake, no ice cream, no presents, no acknowledgement.

My mother is going to write about my stepfather, since this child is named after my dad and stepdad. My sister has written a rather long letter about the Plan of Salvation and her testimony of the gospel. This particular part of our family is not LDS. I would love to be a fly on the wall when an 18 year old reads that. Me, I came up with the idea of writing about your 18 birthday. I was a freshman at Alabama, living in a dorm room, celebrating with friends. I think my dad's story beats all of ours. Would love to know what my stepdad was doing at 18. Wonderful gift idea. Hope I'm around to watch him open the time capsule.

BTW this is the RCAF Goose Bay Labrador Northern Lights

Okay, I admit it.

I’m afraid of the dark. There, I admitted it. I know it’s silly to be on edge half the time; I know I’m Too Old to be afraid of the dark, but here we are. I don’t like dark; it makes me feel panicky. I sleep with the hall light on, and always leave a light on when we travel. I tell husband it’s so we don’t bark a toe if we get up in the night, but it’s really because I crave light.

 Have you ever been in  a really dark place? A moonless night, a power outage, the back of a closet? Can you think how it made you feel?

The darkest place I’ve even been was a cave in Kentucky, when the guide suddenly turned off the lanterns. I was fine, clutching my light source. I didn’t know he had a remote switch. The darkness was tangible, pressing all around me, so thick I could feel it, and my instinct was to RUN. Had my legs not been paralyzed by fear, I would have been out of there so fast-!

In Hawaii, we got up at 3am to drive  90 minutes to the highest mountain top just to watch the sun rise. We met a few dozen other crazies at ten thousand feet, all huddled in the cold to watch the day begin. In that place, there’s only a sunrise once out of nine days; the rest of the time the day just gradually brightens. The day we were there, the sunrise was glorious, as if God invented new colors just for the occasion. As the first threads of light flamed the horizon, the group applauded.

I’ve never driven anywhere to see darkness, and I certainly never applaud it.

 I love light.  I crave the stuff, like other people crave water when they’re thirsty.  What is light? It's the absence of darkness, but it’s so much more.  When we’re in the light, we can see farther, and possibilities open before us. In light, our spirits rise, we physically and emotionally feel better.  We say, “come see these pretty colors,” and “look what I found.” That’s harder in the dark.

We’re  busy. We’re all busy. We can’t do it all, but we  can do a little bit to push back the darkness.

We have the power to change things; why not change them for the better? Instead of causing discord, cause harmony. Even quick smile can warm a soul, and spread light, and encourage others to draw closer to the light of Christ on their own.

 President Gordon B Hinckley said, “Try a little harder to be a little better.”  I’m not much for New Year’s Resolutions, but hey, I can do that.