Hello Ozark Romance Authors Conference!

So, you scanned the QR code and ended up here.  Isn't it just like Alice through the looking glass?  You've just gotta love technology!  Now that you're here, though, you're wondering about how to win a prize today.  Here's the scoop:  I will be giving away four prizes immediately after adjournment.  You must enter by the end of the second break-out session this afternoon.  Complete directions follow.  (And, so you know, all's fair in the battle for prizes.  You used your Smart phone to get here, use it to "research" the answers if you need to.)

Have fun and good luck!

NOTE:  This contest is for conference attendees only.  Apologies to my regular blog readers.  However, if you click on the link at the top, you can enter to win a copy of Love Under a Dark Sky through my Goodreads giveaway!  See?  Nobody goes away empty-handed.

Directions

For each prize you hope to win, fill out an index card with your first and last name on one side and the answer to the appropriate trivia question on the other.  Drop your entry in the appropriate bag at Shellie’s table.  The first correct entry drawn will win the prize. 

All entries must be submitted by the end of the second Break-out Session this afternoon.

Check the table immediately after adjournment to see if you’re a winner.  Prizes not collected by 6:15 p.m. will be forfeited.

Prize 1

An autographed copy of

No Penalty for Love 

by Shellie Foltz

To win Prize 1, you must list the names and cities of five NHL franchises.

Prize 2

An ARC of Love under a Dark Sky 

by Shellie Foltz

To win Prize 2, you must write the name of the vehicle in which Dr. Who travels through time and space.

Prizes 3 and 4

Writers Bl**k Care Package

with goodies to nourish and inspire

To win Prize 3 or 4, you must give the name of the person who said:  “Anyone who says he can see through women is missing a lot.”

Wherever You Go. . . There You Are

We're on vacation.  An extended one.  The first and perhaps only really long vacation we'll take, because, well, we just don't do that.  This one was planned especially as a celebration of Bruce's retirement.  I had a lot of fun searching out houses and apartments we could rent and take Natalie along both in Minnesota and in the St. Louis area.  And, boy, did I find us a couple of dandies.  Both with views of the water - Lake Superior and the Mighty Mississippi. 

Because we're not staying in hotels, we have had all the comforts of home including full kitchens.  We've eaten out plenty of times, but there are only so many meals you can sit down to in restaurants before they start becoming, well, less-than-special.  So, we've shopped for groceries and cooked which has made mealtime in those cases seem pretty normal, except for the view. 

We've roamed quite a lot, too, exploring some little towns we'd not been to before.  In Minnesota, we experienced Lutsen, Grand Marais, White Bear Lake, and Rochester.  In Missouri, we've discovered Clarksville, Louisianna, Elsberry and Hannibal (as well as some old favorites like St. Charles and St. Louis).  We've walked rocky stretches of beach, two different breakwaters on Superior, a paved path through the north woods, a more rustic trail through another part of them, little town sidewalks and gravel alleys, grassy paths, and the river's ever-changing shoreline.  In all, very reminiscent of what we do at home.

Today, rather than roam, we read.  I finished one novel and started another.  I've had times where I just wanted to sit down and write, too. 

We laugh together about how some people would think our version of vacation is terribly boring.  We laugh at ourselves at how similar to our "real lives" our vacation seems to be.  And then we congratulate ourselves upon the reaffirmation that we are happy people who are happy in their lives together, because it seems that no matter where we go, there we are.  And, we're okay with that.

Shellie

Avalon Authors: An Interview with Shellie Foltz

Avalon Authors: An Interview with Shellie Foltz

Hi, friends! We're on vacation and the day just started off very bright with the publication of an interview Sandra Carey Cody wrote and published. Please visit the site and read the interview. While you're there, scroll back through some of the older posts and meet other Avalon authors and hear what they have to say about writing, ready, and life!

A big thank you to Sandy! I love it!

Movie Love Quotes

Movie actors are lucky. They are never at a loss for a great romantic line because they have the advantage of a team of writers. Still some of the quotes are very memorable. Two very different scenes come to my mind.
The first might be somewhat unexpected. It's from Jack Nicholson, who's rather creepy even when he's not trying to be. The movie is "As Good As It Gets." His character is trying to compliment the female lead and after fumbling around through a long story, he comes up with, "You make me want to be a better man." It's hard to imagine any lady not finding that romantic.
The other quote is a classic. Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey charms his sweetheart Mary with
" What is it you want, Mary? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey, that's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary." Of course Mary, or any loved one, says "I'll take it."
Two great lines for those of us who have trouble finding the right thing to say at the right time.

Lilacs and Lake Superior

We're packin' and laundryin' and all sorts of things in eager anticipation of our Minnesota trip.  I can't wait to smell the lilacs; see the lake whether steely gray or brilliant blue; breathe and breathe and breathe that cool and clean air.

In the meantime, my copies of Love Under a Dark Sky have arrived and fellow author and shelf-sister this cycle with Avalon, Sandra Carey Cody, has graciously published an excerpt form my novel on her website.  Appropriately, the scene takes place on the shore of Lake Superior.  It seems Minnesota is my muse.

Sandra Carey Cody is an author whose newest Avalon novel, Left at Oz, is available now.  Check out her site and while you're there, don't forget to look at the Guest Excerpt.

Never Lose the Wonder!

Today Bruce and I took a trip to Eureka Springs just to try out a restaurant a colleague had recommended because it had a nice-sized vegetarian menu.  Local Flavor.  Talk about yum!  We got a little later start on our drive down than we usually do and arrived pretty hungry, so we made Local Flavor our first stop.  With a meal like that, we were set up for a wonderful day.

In case you hadn't noticed by reading this blog, I really love spending time with Bruce.  And, we really enjoy walking together.  Eureka Springs is the perfect place for this.  It's also the perfect place to remind us that our individual tendencies (his to look down as he walks and mine to look up) make us a great match and provide a sometimes necessary safety measure.  If you've been to Eureka Springs, you know the sidewalks are a bit. . . uneven.  I was spared a few tumbles by Bruce's watchful eye.  He got to see a single red berry on an evergreen shrub, a pair of sparrows, and a coal black flying bug of some sort (I still need to look him up online) that was absolutely gorgeous (all black and shaped like a dragonfly only thinner) thanks to me.  We didn't buy a thing except lunch, but had a marvelous day wandering around.

We didn't have dessert, but I did get a sweet surprise when we got home - I discovered the review of my new novel, Love Under a Dark Sky, had been published on Romance Reviews Today.  I've placed the link above for your convenience.

Summer's here and the livin' is easy.  Sweet days; slow, meandering ways; eat and be merry; and read books!  Oh, and never lose the wonder!

Gold Stars and Gold Crowns

I just received word that Romance Reviews Today will be publishing a review of Love Under a Dark Sky in early June.  I am so excited!  I feel like someone gave me a gold star!  I will provide the link for everyone when it's actually available to read; in the meantime, I am dreaming wildly.

I'll tell you a secret.  It has been my wildest, craziest, "in your dreams" sort of dream that Hallmark would discover my sweet little romances and see how perfect they are for their Hall of Fame movies!  Maybe I'll just wish upon that gold star now.

Shellie

Her.meneutics: Confessions of a Breadwinner Wife

Her.meneutics: Confessions of a Breadwinner Wife

Dream a Little Dream

It's so important to dream dreams together.  When Bruce and I were first married, we had some trouble visioning together (as I'm sure is true with any newly married couple).  I, being the proactive type, tried to force it.  I'd get pencil and paper and suggest we make lists together.  Lists such as:  the top five places in the world you want to see, the top ten places in the United States you'd like to go, states you've already been in, states you've never been in, an event you would like to catch someday.

As I was newly employed as a teacher and fairly buried in student loan debt and as Bruce and Luke had been a single-income family for years, we had very little money to play around with.  Still, my philosophy is that if you don't plan now then you shouldn't expect to accomplish something later on.  Even if it's ten dollars a month stuck away in the sock drawer in an envelope labeled "Paris", it's something toward that dream and you're ten dollars closer every month to seeing it realized.

In our case, "Paris" was Minnesota.  It was do-able.  If we saved back so much each month, we could actually realize a summer vacation the next year.   It was a sacrifice (and still is sometimes even though student loans are all paid off), but putting money back from every paycheck keeps it always in front of us (as do the photos on the screen savers).  We talk about Minnesota all year long.  It's inspiring.  We wonder what Lake Superior looks like in the dead of winter.  We keep our eyes on the webcams in Duluth.  We talk about how good a peanut butter sandwich tastes when eaten at a rest stop in Iowa on the way toward the Minnesota state line or on the way back home.  We mentally stroll the streets, visit the sights, relive and renew the dream together.  The word Minnesota has not only become a common term in our house, it has become a family member.  It's our good friend, our counselor, our financial consultant.  We weigh our desire to take that trip together against any other opportunities that come up and, so far, Minnesota always wins.

If we had taken the same money we've invested in these trips the last five years, we probably would have been able to schedule one dandy tour of Europe by now.  But, I wouldn't trade June in Minnesota  for that.  There are too many memories, too many plans, too many pleasures, and too many dreams still to be dreamed together there.

What are you dreaming up with the one you love?

Welcome to Joe's - Again!

God sure likes to pull a cherry out of the bag now and then!  Talk about your unexpected delights!  I had word today that Stained Glass Theatre wants to open their 2011-2012 theatre season with a reprise of my first play, Welcome to Joe's. 

It's been something like seven years since it was first produced and I can still feel the thrill of it.  I was so humbled by all the wonderful words people had to say about it and for years after I would hear things randomly from strangers at the next table in a restaurant or through someone who knew someone or from someone who had been loaned a copy of the dvd afterward.  I was awestruck then that God could do such a thing and humbled that he'd chosen to allow me to be a part of it.  Again, I have to say I'm completely humbled at the opportunity to do it again!

Just when you think something's over or you're worried that you'll never taste what you deem success again, God steps in and says, "Hey, chin up!  I'm not finished with you yet." 

For those of you who did not see Joe's in its first run, it's a romance (of course) with an evangelical message.  The original cast was phenomenal and all of the direction and staging were stellar.  I'm sure that the director this time, Tom Young who directed my second play, Related Spaces, a few years ago, will be terrific. 

Thanks, SGT, for giving me this great pleasure again!  I'm quite happy!