J Lloyd Morgan's Blog

To dream (sequence), perchance to sleep

2012-03-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

There was a recent discussion amongst several authors about their feelings on including dream sequences in their books. If you’ve read any of my blogs, it will be no surprise that I have an opinion on the matter.

The question started innocently enough. One author posted the question, “What are other author’s thoughts on starting books with dream sequences?” The answers were varied.

The majority felt that for one reason or another, it shouldn’t be done—and I’m with that group. Why? Well, I can only speak for myself.
First of all, I think it is very cliché to start a story with a dream sequence. I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve seen that in books, TV shows and movies.

Second, I think it’s a cheap way of grabbing the reader’s attention. Generally the dreams are outlandish and / or shocking—and then we are told, “Just kidding! It was a dream!” While the dream was meant to give us insight into the character and what they are dealing with in “real life”, I think it sets the wrong tone. It’s almost like the boy who cried wolf. When someone shocking does happen later in the book, I feel like saying, “No, no! You fooled me once already! I’m not buying it.”

Third, I think dream sequences bog down the story unless the story itself depends on dream sequences for various reasons. One of the authors mentioned that dream sequences tend to bog things down to the point where it can drag out of the book. Once again, I echo this statement. My mind tends to drift during dream sequences.

And just like most rules, there are exceptions. One of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride, has a dream sequence in it. However, it totally works with how the story is framed.

How against dream sequences am I? In The Hidden Sun there are no dream sequences. In fact, in my upcoming release, The Waxing Moon, I actually put a spin on the whole dream sequence device. What is it? You’ll have to read it to find out.

Expected to volunteer

2012-03-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

Warning! Highly opinionated blog to follow!

I spent a few years working in the banking industry. When I first started, I was impressed that we were given paid time to do volunteer work in the community. Granted, we had to volunteer for certain types of qualified activities, but still, I was happy the company would be willing to do that.

Every so often we’d get notifications of certain events the bank was sponsoring and they would ask for volunteers. Over time, the paid time allowed to do volunteer work was reduced and the bank sponsored events moved from being voluntary to an expectation—especially for salaried managers. Regardless of what volunteer activity was completed, it needed to be documented.

There was one activity that was held on a Sunday. It conflicted with my church obligations. I remember getting a call from my district manager asking me why my name wasn’t on the list of volunteers from my branch—I was the manager after all. I explained I had a previous commitment to my church. His response was “This is the biggest event we do all year! How will it look if I don’t have all my managers there?” I went on to explain I had already made a commitment to my church at that time. He responded, “It’s just this one time! Your God will understand.”

I didn’t back down and I kept my commitment to my Heavenly Father. To me, jobs come and go, but it’s the eternal things that matter the most.

It was some time later when I was studying one of the many rules and regulations we needed to follow as bankers. One of them is something called the “Community Reinvestment Act” (or CRA). The Community Reinvestment Act was passed in 1977 as a federal law designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

Banks are audited time and again to make sure they are following this act. What is one thing banks can do to make sure the will do well in these audits? Simple: have proof that the bank is doing “qualified” volunteer work.

So in the end, the bank leaders weren’t paying us to do volunteer work or holding these volunteer events out of the kindness of their hearts. It was all part of the plan to make sure they were able to pass the CRA audits.

To be fair, a lot of people in the community benefited from these volunteer activities. And I know that whenever I give service to another, I feel good inside—so I can only imagine there were many other employees that felt the same way.

But the question lingers: how sincere are the bank’s motives when they are basically forced to do something?

Book review for "A Woman’s Power" by Fay Klingler

2012-03-08T07:22:00.002-08:00

To be honest, I was a bit surprised that I was asked to review this book. I’m not a woman and I haven’t played one on TV. However, I have been married over twenty years and have four daughters (and no sons) so perhaps those are the reasons I was meant to read this book.

I was fearful that this book could be one of those that bash men and point out how women had been oppressed throughout history. Thank goodness that wasn’t the case. If I had to choose one word to describe this book, it would be “inspirational”.

From the beautiful cover to the stylish interior design, everything about this book gives off an impression of dignity. It’s a fitting compliment to the message this book offers. To borrow a quote from the blurb supplied by the publisher, “Uplifting and empowering, this book offers women everywhere a message of hope.”

The book isn’t a long read, but it is packed with information that can be read several times and the reader will get something more from it each time. In a sense, it is much like the scriptures in the regard that depending on where you are in your life or what you are going through, certain things will resonate with you at different times.

A Woman’s Power is full of stories from the author’s life, as well as other stories that help the reader relate to the topic she is covering. I find this method very effective. Just as we are told to “liken the scriptures unto ourselves”, Klingler takes this to heart by introducing a concept and then using examples to help the reader connect.

As a man, what did I take away from this book? To be honest, a great number of the subjects discussed aren’t unique to women. I was able to apply many of the concepts to my own life. But more importantly, it helped give me insight to my wife and my daughters. Men and women are different. We have different roles. Society right now is screaming out for equality—but equality doesn’t mean people are exactly the same. Try as I might, I will never be able to get pregnant. I can love and comfort my daughters, but there is something special about the bond between a mother and child that I can’t offer. And I’m all right with that.

At the very least, reading this book has helped me appreciate the women in my life and what I can do to help them reach their full potential.

So, would I recommend other men reading this book? Yes, yes I would. Not only will it help you be a better husband / father / friend, but it could save you from spending nights sleeping on the couch.

Fay Klingler

For more on the author, click here.

You can purchase this book at Deseret Book or Amazon as well as other places. (Click on the store names to be taken to the order page.)

To view the book trailer, click here.

**Disclaimer** I received an advanced copy of this book to review, but it in no way influenced my honest review.

Are some corporations a form of religion?

2012-03-02T08:26:00.002-08:00

I’ve worked with several different types of companies over the years. Some were small, some were huge. There are advantages to both.

I enjoyed working for a small company in Idaho. It had a family feel to it and I honestly felt like the management knew me and cared about what I did. The down side was that the pay was pretty low and the benefits weren’t all that great.

I went to work for bigger companies after that, mainly for the benefits. My wife and I were in that stage where we were having kids and wanted to have better benefits.

A common trait of all these larger businesses was something called “orientation”. The new hires sat in a room and learned about the history of the company, its leaders and the company goals. Over time, these also included the company’s “core values” or sometimes called “vision and values”.

While working for one company a few years back, it was taken over by even a larger company. I was a manager at the time and had to attend a two day course to learn about our new “masters”.

I remember a video being shown at the start of the first day. It was a “day in the life” of a typical manager. It started out with, “This is Bob. He’s a manager. He loves fishing, hiking, traveling, and spending time with his family.” We were shown scenes of Bob doing these activities. “Here is what Bob does in a typical day.” From there, it outlined a day that started around 7:00 am and ended after 8:00 pm. In addition, “Bob” works half days on Saturdays.

Right away, I thought, “How does Bob do any of the activities he likes when he is working so much?”

Another video showed testimonials of various employees gushing about how much they love working for the company and why. Over the next two days, we learned how the new company did business. In the end, our vacation time was reduced dramatically, we lost two paid holidays, our bonus opportunities were cut in half and so on. Yet, the whole time this information was told to us, we were instructed that as managers we needed to believe in these changes so that our employees would as well.

Over the next few weeks, our regional managers were replaced with people from the new company. When these new people spoke of the company, they did so almost reverently. It was clear that this new company culture was based on doing what you were told and not to question things.

We were given a list of the company’s “vision, mission and values” that were supposed to memorize and put into practice with our employees. However, I found these vision, mission and values were wonderful in concept, but in practical everyday application, the company would often bend, twist and even break them. For example, one of the values was based on integrity. However, our leaders decided to have a blitz to see how many sales we could get in one day. Their plan? For two weeks we were supposed to sell all we could, but only on paper. We wouldn’t enter the sales into the computer until that one day. There was even a memo stating we needed to come in really early and stay late that day to enter in all the sales.

This caused me great concern. I went to my immediate supervisor to express my concern. Their answer? “This is the way things are done. Do as you’re told.” I felt badly enough about this that I reported it to the ethics line set up by the company.

In the end, the leaders got in trouble—but not nearly as much as I did. Because I’d gone to my supervisor first, as I should have, it was made known that I was probably the one that called the ethics line—even though it was supposed to be anonymous.

Here is what I learned: I applaud that large companies have defined visions and values, but not if they don’t practice what they preach. For me, religion is a very personal thing that helps guide my actions and the decisions I make. It gives me hope. It gives me a feeling of peace. It gives me a desire to be a better person. Sure, there are “rules” to follow, but I’ve found that they are designed to build me up.

As devoted as I am to my faith, I’ve met people with that same amount of devotion to the company they work for. I could write pages and pages of the differences, but there is one perfect example that sums it up.

I knew a lady who had worked for the company her whole adult life. She had worked her way up the ladder. She came to work early. She stayed late. She ate lunches at her desk. On the weekends, she would volunteer to do company sponsored events. However, when times got tough, her position was eliminated. In the end, all her hard work and devotion didn’t matter to the company. I spoke to her a few weeks after that. She had a lost look in her eyes. She said to me, “That job was everything to me. I don’t know what to believe in now.”

Spin

2012-02-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

I recently saw a headline that said, “Seinfeld actor shoots himself in the head”. Right away, that grabbed my attention. We would air re-runs of Seinfeld after our 10 o’clock news when I worked in Idaho so I’d seen all the episodes several times. Who had shot themselves? Was it Jerry? Kramer? George? As it turns out, it was an actor named Daniel von Bargen who played a character named Mr. Kruger. This is a tragic story, but it wouldn’t have gotten nearly the interest if the headline read, “Daniel von Bargen shoots himself in the head”.

Daniel von Bargen has eighty four acting credits to his name (according to IMDB.com), so why include the “Seinfeld” reference in the headline? Because it was a very popular show and I’m sure it had many people (including me) click on the link to find out which actor had done it.

This is just an example of “spin”.—meaning to take the facts and present them in a way that can bias a person’s understanding of the situation. This is very rampant in politics, but it can really be found everywhere.

I believe we all “spin” things to some degree. It could be telling your parents, “Guess what! I all A’s in my classes except one!” Granted, that “except one” was an “F”, but alas, that isn’t where we put the focus. Or how about, “I did the wash today sweetheart! I’ve even folded them and put them away!” Granted, I also washed her favorite white shirt with the colors, so now it’s pink, but heck, I did the wash!

A few months ago I entered a couple of short stories into a contest called “Parables for Today”. Several weeks ago, they announced that one of my stories made the top twenty five finalists. Just last week, they announced the top five winners. I took fourth place, given the official title of “Honorable Mention”. However, the way it was announced was I was one of the “winners”. So, naturally, I can (and do) call myself an “award winning author”. Is it spin? Maybe.

My bio also states I’m an award winning TV director. That is also true. While at BYU in a highly competitive program, I was awarded the “Silver Microphone” (the highest honor) for directing. Is it a valid award? Yes, very much so. Can people interpret “award winning TV director” as something else? I’m sure they can. It doesn’t mean my bio is untrue.

There are even programs out there for authors on how to become a “bestselling author”. What’s the spin? Simple. It’s a massive blitz to sell enough copies of your book to break the top one hundred of some list. Even if the book is there for only a week, you’re still a bestselling author.

So, is “spinning” something the same as telling a lie? I guess it comes down to one thing: intention.

Review of “Crater Lake—Battle For Wizard Island” by Steve Westover

2012-02-23T18:12:00.002-08:00

Title: Crater Lake (Battle for Wizard Island)
Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc. Publishing
Publication Date: March 2012
Paperback: 256 Pages
Genre: Teens & YA, Children’s, Literature & Fiction, Mystery

On the cover of the book, “Crater Lake—Battle For Wizard Island” it also has the words, “An ancient evil lurks in the depths.”

It sum up the book, I think the blurb on the back does a nice job. It says, “While visiting his crazy Uncle Bart at Crater Lake National Park, thirteen-year-old Ethan's world collapses when all the adults at Crater Lake disappear, including his parents. Now Ethan must rally his new friends and decipher the legends of Crater Lake to find the key to rescuing his parents from their earthen prison before he's captured too and their captivity becomes permanent.”

The book was written for younger readers, I’d say ages ten and up. The main characters in the book are in that age range, and I can imagine the readers of that same age group relating to what the characters are experiencing. How scary would it be to have your parents disappear when you’re thirteen and at an unfamiliar National Park? That, in and of itself, is a scary premise.

Included are mystical elements of smart cougars, bears, birds, bats as well as . . . ok, there are some even creepier things toward the end of the book, but I don’t want to ruin the surprises.

Reading about the author, and how he grew up in Oregon, I could tell how he used his experiences in camping and hiking to add a vivid picture of the setting. Aside from the ground eating people and the evil that is around, it sounds like a cool place to visit.

To fully appreciate this book, you need to read it from the point of view of the age group it was written for. When I was that age, the world was full of mystery, wonder and exciting possibilities. Adults may read this book and say, “Yeah, like that would ever happen.” Or “Why are the characters acting that way?” Remember: they’re kids.

Overall I enjoyed the book. It’s always a pleasure to read an imaginative, clean story. While there are some scary moments, it’s still a safe read for children.

As a fellow author, I know how difficult it is to write a book, let alone get it published. I feel my writing has improved because I was given some excellent suggestions from other writers. If I may be so bold, let me share the two things that distracted me in the book.

First, there was a lot of head hopping going on. While switching from points of view during a scene doesn’t break any federal laws, I found I would just start to connect to a character when all of a sudden I was in someone else’s head. It was a bit disconcerting.

Second, at the end of the book, the “heroes” of the book must complete their mission by a certain time, yet the sense of urgency was barely there—and not until the very last moments. At one point, with time running out, one of the characters won’t do what he’s asked to do until he’s been told what is going on. It was distracting enough that it pulled me out of the story.

Again, these are personal things I struggled with, and I don’t think they are enough to ruin the book for its targeted audience.

The book ends with the possibility of another book or two to be written. In fact, I dare say there needs to be at least another book to tie up several things that were introduced toward the end.

Who would like this book? As stated above, I’d say ages ten and up, leaning toward the male side of things, though there is quite a strong female character that girls can relate to.

I wish Steve Westover a huge amount of success with this book. He’s got a wonderful imagination and a talent for setting a great scene.

For more on the author, click here.

For ordering information, click here.

For a chance to win a print version of the book, click here.

**Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book to review, but it didn't influence my review.**

Book review of “Venom” by K. C. Grant

2012-02-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

“Venom” by K. C. Grant is a different type of suspense / mystery—in a good way. I think the term “slow burn” is a good way to describe the feel of the book, but that doesn’t mean it was boring. For me, a “slow burn” takes time to build up the suspense, like a pot of boiling water. And just like said pot, once the water does get to a full boil, it is quite turbulent.

So, if it takes its time to develop, then what happens in the meantime? Grant uses this to develop her characters so when the spam hits the fan, you honestly care about what happens.

The story centers around Samantha Evans, a woman in her mid-twenties who is working at an entry level position at a big advertising firm. She seems to be going nowhere fast, until opportunity knocks. The company is sending a team to Mexico City to work on a campaign. Samantha speaks Spanish fluently thanks to an LDS mission she served to California. Because of her knowledge of the language, she gets the chance to go with the group as an assistant / translator.

Grant does a wonderful job creating the unique and definable characters that go on this trip. As a single woman, Samantha finds herself getting attention from a couple of the men on the trip—one she appreciates and one she doesn’t. But it’s not cut and dried. Just as Samantha starts to figure out these men, they do things that make her doubt their intentions.

During the two week trip, Samantha comes to realize the people aren’t who they pretend to be—each for their own reasons. She discovers she is involved in much more than an advertising campaign.

One aspect of the book I really enjoyed was the insight to Mexico and its culture. We learn it through Samantha’s eyes, so we discover things as she does. It adds a level of depth that many books lack.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes, yes I did. Very much so, in fact. It’s written very well with enough detail to be interesting, but not bogged down. I came to like, or despise, the characters over time—I made a real connection with them. For me, this is more of a character story set in a mystery / suspense setting.

Who would like this book? It’s a clean read with no bad language, sex scenes and very little violence. It’s geared more to an LDS (Mormon) audience as there are many references that non-members may not fully understand or appreciate.

For more about author K. C. Grant, click here.

To buy it on Amazon, click here.

To buy it from Deseret Book, click here.

Mixing it up with the Fuzz

2012-02-16T15:29:00.000-08:00

Have you ever spoken to someone who acts like they don’t believe anything you say? If you have, then you understand how frustrating it can be, especially when you are telling the truth. If you haven’t, where do you live? I want to live there.

Sadly, it seems like the police officers I’ve had to deal with seem to assume I’m lying. I can understand that to a point. I’m sure they get lied to a lot of the time because people don’t want to get in trouble. If that’s the majority of what they deal with, I can see how they would tend to be skeptical of what they hear.

I respect Police officers. They don’t have an easy job. I feel comforted that I can call 911 and they’ll come rushing to my aid. At the same time, I don’t appreciate being assumed guilty until I can prove my innocence.

Yesterday I was driving down a side road and came to a “check point” set up by the police. They were seeing if drivers had their licenses and that their registrations were up to date. Why they were doing it, I don’t know. It’s not like I live in a crime ridden area. My town is a great place to raise a family and is generally quiet.

When it was my turn to be “inspected” by the police, I had my driver’s license ready. I rolled down my window and handed it to the officer. He looked over the license very carefully, double checking that I looked like me. (Which, in my opinion, I do.)

He gave me back my license and said, “I need to check the tags on your license plate.” The officer walked to the back of my car, looked for a moment and then came back to my window.

“You’re plates expire today,” he said.

“No they don’t,” I said. “I put the new sticker on just a few weeks ago.”

“You’re wrong! They expire today.” he said forcefully.

I was taken aback by how insistent he was. “Officer, go take a look again. I know my tags are up to date,” I said.

“I checked already,” he said, obviously agitated.

(Okay, even I’ll admit I was a bit out of line with this next part.) “Well, go check it again and you’ll see I’m right,” I said, matching his tone.

“Show me your registration,” he said gruffly.

“Fine!” I said, exasperated. While I reached for it, I said, “I don’t understand why you just won’t go double check. It’s not like I’m going to try to run away will all these other police around.”

By this time, another police officer came over to my car.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “This officer is insisting my plates are about to expire, when I know they’re fine. He won’t go double check and is bordering on harassment.”

I handed my registration to the second officer. The first officer was about to say something, but was silenced by a look from the second officer. Reviewing my registration, the second officer saw it was indeed up to date.

“One moment,” he said.

He motioned for the first officer to follow him behind my car. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I saw the first officer point to what I assume was my license plate. He returned a moment later.

“Your tags are fine,” he said. “Have a nice day.”

Lose half your weight! (By using the Metric system)

2012-02-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

I once took a trip to Ontario, Canada for business. While there, I watched a local newscast. It was February and when the weatherman came on, he said the high was going to be -2 degrees. Yikes! However, that was using the Metric system. As an American, I’ll admit I was a bit clueless on what that meant to me. I did some digging and found out that meant it was going to be 21 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s still cold, but not -2 degrees cold.

It was also trippy to see speed limit signs that said 100 km/h. At first I thought, “Wow! These people can really go fast up here.” It turns out 100 km/h is about 62 miles per hour.

I remember in Junior High learning about the Metric system. What struck me was how logical it was. Though it was different than what I was used to, it made sense.

For giggles, ask 10 people how many feet are in a mile. I’ll bet you a nickel most will say, “I don’t have any idea.” (The answer is 5,280 feet in a mile). If you go to Canada and ask 10 people how many meters are in a kilometer, I’m sure you’re going to the right answer. Heck, they may tease you and ask you, “What’s next? Are you going to ask me how many minutes are in an hour?”

How messed up is the system we use in America compared to the Metric system? Here is a fun chart that’s been floating around:

Now, this graphic states that “the rest of the world” uses the Metric system. That’s not quite true.
Here’s map to show which parts of the world use the Metric system, and which don’t:

Aside from the USA, Burma (Myanmar) and Liberia (and according to this map, Antarctica) are using different systems other than Metric.

I could go into all of the history of why the USA hasn’t switched, but there are better, more detailed articles on the subject you can read if you really want to know.

If I were to guess why we haven’t switched, it would be a combination of a few things. First, it would cost a boatload of money to switch all the signs.

Second, we’re used to it. In general, people don’t like change—especially to things that are so common place. (My whole adult life I’ve been 6’3”. What if I had to tell people I was now 191 cm? I’d sound like a giant! On the other hand, my weight number would be cut in more than half, so that could be a good thing . . .)

Third, I believe it might be a pride thing. I’m proud to be an American. I’m not always proud of what the government does, but that’s a blog for another time. In my opinion, I can see a lot of Americans not seeing the need to change because we’re America—people should change to us.

I realized I was posting this blog close to Valentine’s day, so to keep in that spirit, I’ll end with this:

Predetermination and inspiration

2012-02-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

I’ve been told there are two types of writers: people who create outlines for their books (known as “plotters”) and then people who write by the seat of their pants (known as “pantsers”). I’m sure there are all sorts of people in between.

For me, I had a basic idea for The Hidden Sun. However, I tend to be more of a “pantser” because as I write, ideas will come to me that I’d not thought of before, or even really considered. Looking back, those are some of my favorite things I’ve written. (Example: the first part of Chapter 10 and the Epilogue.)

I remember thinking at one point in time while writing my first book, “How in the world is this going to end?” Fortunately, I figured something out.

For the follow up, The Waxing Moon, I decided to do more of an outline. I spent a good deal of time figuring out the characters and sequence of events. I still had those moments of inspiration as I wrote, but overall, I stayed true to my outline. When I finished, I discovered something unsettling: Whereas The Hidden Sun was just shy of 100,000 words, The Waxing Moon was barely over 60,000. I didn’t want there to be such a difference, so I created a second outline to continue the story.

A possible idea of what the cover may look like.

Great idea, right?

Well, really not so much.

My beta readers picked up right away what I’d done. My good friend Randy even said, “It was like you wrote a book, then wrote another one.”

So, I went back to the drawing board—sort of.

During this time, I was getting a lot of feedback from readers about The Hidden Sun. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive. While reading through them, I got an idea for a subplot I could interweave into The Waxing Moon. In the end, I chopped off the last part I’d written and I went back and wrote the subplot. I was very pleased at the end how it added to the book.

So what about the part that I chopped off? Let’s just say I have a good head start on writing the next book in the series, The Zealous Star.

A x E = R (Huh?)

2012-02-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

The end. The bottom line. The conclusion. The outcome. The result. No matter how it is stated, when it comes to judging if something is successful, we tend to look at the result. What was the final scored of the game? How much money was made last month? What grades did you get on your report card? How much weight did you lose? Everywhere you look, people are focusing on the result.

In one of my previous jobs, we were taught the principle of “A x E = R”. At first glance, it may look like it a reference to someone who cuts down trees. What it means is “Actions (times) Effectiveness (equals) Results”—something I fully believe in.

After all, how do we get results? By doing something and doing it at some level of effectiveness. For example, let’s look at weight loss. I think if you talk to anyone who has lost a significant amount of weight, they will tell you what they did to lose it. Maybe they started exercising thirty minutes a day. Maybe they cut out all sugars from their diet. Maybe they did a combo of both. The point is they did something.

But just doing something isn’t enough. It has to be effective. I could say, “From now on, I’m going only drink water with my meals—and I expect to lose twenty five pounds in a month’s time.” Clearly I’m doing something, but I doubt it will be effective enough to get the results I want.

All of this may seem like common sense, and frankly, that’s because it is. So why do I bring it up? Because I think that too often people look at the formula backwards.

Let me demonstrate with the weight loss example. If I were to say, “I’m going to lose five pounds this week”, and then every three hours I weighed myself, I’m spending too much time on the results and not on the actions that will bring those results.

The main focus should be on the action and their effectiveness. The results should be used as a measuring guide for how you are doing with your effective actions.

I honestly believe looking at it this way is rather encouraging. Why? Because you can control your actions. You have the power to eat that extra doughnut or not. You have the power to study that extra hour for that test. You have the power to speak to every potential customer about your product.

Too often, I would get calls from by boss asking me, “What are your commitments for the day?” These “commitments” he wanted were in the form of results. Let me state this loud and clear: I do not believe you can commit to results. You can commit to actions—on things you can control.

If you do that, the results will come.

How to meet that special "someone"

2012-01-31T10:58:00.000-08:00

A common question you ask a married couple when you are getting to know them is “How did you meet?” I remember asking my grandparents that when I was younger. Their answer was “at a church dance.”

I’ve been married just over twenty years now. My wife and I met at BYU. On Monday nights, we’d have family home evening activities. However, when you are a single student, you don’t have a “family”, per se. So . . .the students are divided into groups to act as “families”. There is a male and a female chosen to be in charge of the group and planning the activities. They are affectionately called “Mom” and “Dad.”

In our case, my wife was the “Mom”. Most people then assume I was the “Dad”—but they’d be wrong. I was one of the “kids”. So, yes, I married my “Mom”. I’m sure Oedipus would have something to say about that.

With the advent of new technology, people are finding different ways to meet. A popular way is on the internet—and why not? There are numerous ways of meeting and communicating with new people that share your similar interests. I know of a woman who moved from the USA to a European country to marry a man she met while playing an online video game. I know of another couple where the man moved from Australia to the USA to marry a woman he met while playing “World of Warcraft”. And frankly, I don’t see anything wrong with that.

However, (and if you know me, there is always a “however”) there are those in the world that would use the internet to help people “get together” for the sake of making money for themselves. They are like modern day matchmakers (I can hear the tune from Fiddler on the Roof in my head right now) though at times their methods are somewhat questionable.

Here are some real ads that have popped up on various websites, from Facebook, to MSN.com, and even TVGuide.com—none of which are designed to look for a woman.

Because having to pay would make it creepy.

Nothing inspires confidence in finding that special person like a company with the word "Zoo" in the name.

It adds a lot of credibility to your website when you are endorsed by the Almighty.

Is the word "cheated" something you want associated to a dating site?

Nothing invokes pure, spiritual feelings like a woman in a cowboy hat and a low cut, tight shirt.

These women must be stocking me. On our trip to Utah last summer, this same ad said they were in Orem.

I guess some habits are hard to break.

Book review of “The Ember Gods” by Andrea Pearson

2012-01-28T10:46:00.000-08:00

The Ember Gods is the second of the Kilenya series that started with The Key of Kilenya. To see my review of that book, click here.

In the first book, we are introduced to Jacob Clark, a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy with dreams of being a star basketball player. His life takes on a whole new dimension when he becomes involved in the peoples of another world. I’d say more on how that all happens, but that would ruin the surprises and fun found in the first book.

The Ember Gods picks up where The Key of Kilenya leaves off. There are many elements of Jacob’s newly discovered powers and his true relationship with the people in the other world that are explored in the second book of the series.

While I enjoyed the first book of the series, I found the writing in the second book to be sharper and more polished. Pearson has a fantastic imagination and as she continues to write, I feel her skill with the written word has improved.

A fun addition to the second book is the role that Jacob’s older brother, Matt, plays. While Jacob continues to discover things about himself and the other world, it is Matt’s reactions and observations that helps the reader relate to the odd things that happen to them.

One of the fine lines that Pearson walks in these books is that both Jacob and Matt still are living their lives on Earth, but they have the ability to travel to the other world as needed. I found this to be an interesting dynamic. On one hand, you have Jacob who is dealing with the pressures of homework, making the basketball team, and flirty girls. It is easy to relate to these situations. While on the other world, it has a high element of fantasy to it. The people are odd. The world is strange. Magic, in one form or another, is prevalent everywhere.

As I stated in my first review, it helps to read these books through Jacob’s fourteen-year-old eyes. At that age, we aren’t as jaded and skeptical as when we are older. There is wonder to be found in the adventures Jacob encounters—don’t let your adult mind persuade you otherwise.

I’m not sure how many books Pearson has planned for the series, but she most certainly has left the door wide open for more.

The Ember Gods is a fun and exciting read that evokes wonder and awe in the teenager in all of us.

Who would enjoy this book? It’s a clean read with no bad language or sex. There is some minor violence and some scary situations, so I’d recommend middle school young adults and up.

For more information on the series, click here.

To purchase the book, click here for Smashwords. Click here for Amazon.

Author Andrea Pearson

For more on Andrea Pearson, click here.

(I've met her in "real life" and she's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.)

***Disclaimer: This review is an accurate reflection of my feelings about the book and in no way was influenced by other factors.***

My private NaNoWriMo

2012-01-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

If you aren’t sure what NaNoWriMo is, don’t fret. I hadn’t heard about it until after my first book was published. It is short for National Novel Writing Month. It “officially” takes place in November. The goal is fairly straight forward: during that month, writers write as much of a novel as they can. What’s a standard word count people are shooting for? The number I’ve heard is 50,000.

But how many pages is 50,000 words? Honestly, it depends on a lot of things: the size of the font (letter size) the size of the paper, how big the margins are and such.

For example, The Hidden Sun is just shy of 100,000 words. That equates to roughly 350 pages in a standard format.

Personally, I applaud the idea behind NaNoWriMo, if not necessarily the execution.

Let me explain.

When I talk to aspiring authors, often they ask me for advice. The best advice I was given and therefore I pass on is to write the book whole—don’t keep rewriting the first chapter—with the understanding you will be going back to fix and change things when you are done. Too many people get started, and then quit after a chapter or two because they keep tweaking what they’ve written. To this end, NaNoWriMo is a great reason for people to write the book they’ve always wanted to.

So again, that is the idea behind NaNoWriMo, at least in my opinion. However, I don’t believe people should wait for November. Yes, there are those who need a kick in the pants and the support of other writers to make the goal. For others, it’s completely different.

For me, my writing comes in spurts. At this point of my writing career, I’m usually writing one book while editing another. I know of authors who write several books at the same time. I’m not that talented. I have to give my full attention to writing one book at a time.

The Hidden Sun took me five years to write. Why? Mainly because it was my first book and I was working full time, had four little daughters and spent a lot of time donating time for my church.

While editing The Hidden Sun, I got an idea for a second book. It took me three years to write The Waxing Moon, (it ended up just a bit more that 100,000 words) but I was writing it while editing The Hidden Sun.

While editing The Waxing Moon, I started working on the third book, The Zealous Star. However, after only a few chapters, I got an idea of writing a book based on a song called The Mirror of the Soul by Chris de Burgh. Though I wanted to finish The Zealous Star, I couldn’t stop thinking about The Mirror of the Soul. So, once I got permission from Chris de Burgh and his management to write the book, I put The Zealous Star on the back burner. Nine months later, I finished the book, the whole time still editing The Waxing Moon. The Mirror of the Soul is only 60,000 words, but that’s how long it took me to tell the story.

By this time The Waxing Moon was completed and while editing The Mirror of the Soul, I went back to writing The Zealous Star. After roughly 30,000 words into the book, I got inspired to write another book—something completely different from what I’d written before. Once again, the urge to write the new book was too strong, so The Zealous Star went back on the shelf while I started writing.

In one month’s time, I’ve written over 57,000 words for this new book. I’ve pondered on why it’s come so quickly and I’ve decided on a few things.

First, because I’ve written three full books before this one. I’ve gotten better and quicker.

Second, this book is told in first person, unlike the rest of my books. The other three books I’ve written are told from different points of view with separate plots intersecting and coming together at the end. It’s a fairly complex process. Writing a book from a single point of view has helped things move right along.

Third, while this yet-to-be-titled book is a novel, it is based on events in my personal life of when I lived in Mexico and some pretty darn traumatic things happened to me. Because of that, I already know the events and characters pretty well.

How does all this relate to NaNoWriMo? Well, I write when story in me demands to be told. It doesn’t wait for November.

However, I may just have to use NaNoWriMo this year to get me to finish The Zealous Star. That poor book keeps getting set aside.

What dreams may come

2012-01-21T08:50:00.000-08:00

French dip sandwiches from Arby’s every Thursday night. It was my “thing”. When I left work on Thursdays, I would go to my church building to catch up on any clerk work. On the way, I’d stop by a local mall and eat at the food court.

Time and again, I would walk around the mall for a moment to wind down between aspects of my day. I was writing The Hidden Sun during this time, along with everything else I was responsible for. When I’d walk past the largest bookstore in the mall, I’d stop and look at all the books on display. I’d dream about having my book be published one day and seeing it available for sale.

Heck, I’d even take it a step further and imagine what people might say about it. I felt I had a good story to tell, and I hoped others would enjoy it. Yet, part of me doubted that would ever happen. After all, I’d never written a book and didn’t have a clue how I’d go about getting it published.

Fast forward to now. The Hidden Sun has been published. It’s available not only in print form, but also as an ebook. In addition, it’s been getting amazing reviews. Up until yesterday, the reviews posted on Goodreads and Amazon were people I knew, were part of the blog tours or other promotions I’d set up.

What happened yesterday? The following review was posted on Goodreads from someone I don’t know. In addition, it was posted five months after the book was released. All those are good signs.

Here is the review:

With a touch of romance, this action/adventure novel is amazing. A great book for both kids and adults. I had it read within twenty-four hours. I couldn’t put it down. And now my daughter is half-way through and loving it! The author weaves an intricate tale spanning two generations. You are cheering for the characters throughout as they battle the effects of one wicked king in their fight to restore liberty and justice to the people of Bariwon. This book visited my thoughts long after I closed the cover, and I am anxiously awaiting the sequel to this one!

If someone would have told me when I was standing in the mall, looking into the bookstore, that not only would I have a book published, but I would get reviews like that, I don’t think I would have believed them.

Was it a dream of mine that it would happen?

Yes.

Did it come to pass?

Yes.

And that is why I continue to dream.

Save us from ourselves, part 2

2012-01-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

Ah, a new year. With it comes hope for better days, peace on earth and perhaps even a little excitement—however, not too much excitement. We all know the old saying of “it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye, in which case, it’s just fun”. Granted the last part of that saying isn’t as well known. . .

Yet, there are those who believe they must do all in their power to save people from themselves. While I applaud the effort to keep people from harm’s way, sometimes things go too far. After all, do you really need to tell someone not to eat shards of glass? Aren’t some things common sense? And, I would argue, if someone is going to eat shards of glass, I doubt they would heed a warning sign.

Here is yet another list of warning signs that have missed the mark (at least in my opinion).

Not even if you are REALLY thirsty.

How come I don't see more of these signs everywhere?

What do rocks and cows have in common?

And also that the pool is filled with water, not lemonade.

From the makers of the gingerbread house in "Hansel and Gretel".

For those who like to live life on the edge.

I'm bettin' he had it comin'.

It's the red, underlined word "NO" that shows they really mean it.

I don't see anything wrong with this sign. Then again, I'm dyslexic.

Always nice to have options.

Reason #4,629 why I don't drink.

This needs to be part of every "Birds and the Bees" talk.

He was warned.

Book review of "Time Gangsters" by Berin L. Stephens

2012-01-14T08:37:00.000-08:00

It’s been a while since I had this much fun reading a book. Really—it’s true! Time Gangsters by Berin L. Stephens was one of those books that I made time to read. While there is a lot of action and suspense in the book, it’s still fun and I found myself grinning each time I read.

What makes the book so fun to read? For me, it was the characters. I honestly believe that if you don’t care about the characters, you won’t care what happens to them. Stephens fills this book with unique and believable characters. I loved how the story was told from alternating points of view—one per chapter—from the main characters. It let me connect with each of them and gave me a broader view. Include the fact that the two main characters are different genders, and cousins to boot, and you have an interesting dynamic to the storytelling.

The overall concept of Time Gangsters is original in a world where authors are writing variations of the same story. Yes, it uses familiar elements, but in a way that was wholly ingenious. Do you have to suspend your disbelief to be entertained at times? Yes. However, Stephens sets up the parameters of what can happen in the story and sticks with it. While new things were discovered along the way, I never felt like they came out of left field—they fit in with the story.

Am I being vague on the specifics? Yes, yes I am. That’s because I want you to discover and enjoy this book as I did—letting it unfold before you.

The book is a clean read and I’d recommend it for anyone 12 or older, boy or girl, man or woman.

I’m off now to find the blueprints of my house. Maybe I’ll find a stash of golden coins hidden in one of the walls. . .

Do you want to read what others have to say about the book? Click here for a calendar.

For more information about the author, click here.

For more information about the book, click here.

Let’s kill all the lawyers?

2012-01-07T08:38:00.000-08:00

All it takes is to watch one advertisement during daytime TV from some sleazy law firm to make you question ever seeking out a lawyer. At least that’s how I feel. In Shakespeare’s Henry VI, part 2 there is a line, meant to be part of comedic relief, where one of the characters states, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

I’ve heard people banter this line around when they are complaining about the legal system and such. Thankfully, my experience with lawyers has been small; I’ve used one to prepare a will and for when we have purchased our homes over the years.

I was once called to jury duty where one guy was accused of punching another guy as they were leaving a completely different court case. Lucky me, I was chosen to be the foreman for the case. The lawyer representing the person that was hit had several witnesses that testified that the punch most certainly happened. The defense lawyer would then drill the witnesses about the smallest details. “What time of day was it?” “What was the weather like?” “What exactly did the two people say to each other?” “Which part of the face was he allegedly hit?” and so on. I couldn’t understand why she was digging so deep until the end.

Apparently there is the concept of “reasonable doubt”—meaning if we, as the jury, weren’t convinced about the validity of the claim, we had to find in favor of the defendant. And while the witness’ stories varied a little bit, we, as the jury, chalked that up to human nature—people remember things a bit differently. The one constant was that the guy got hit. After we presented our decision, we were allowed to leave—which I did as fast as I could. I felt like I needed to take a shower after the event.

And then there is now. Without going into too many details, I’ve been treated for a medical condition for the last several months. All was going along well until my claim got denied by the insurance company a month and a half ago. They stated they needed more information from the doctor. So, in working with the doctor, we reached out to the insurance agency to find out what they needed. I kept hitting dead end after dead end. “You need to talk to so and so.” “My department doesn’t handle that.” “I’ll leave a note for the case worker to call you.” (Which wouldn’t happen) and so on.

I appealed the denial and have spent many hours on the phone trying to get people to help. It became obvious that the insurance agency was being difficult—and why not? I’m sure they didn’t want to pay.

After discussing my situation with various colleagues, government agencies and close friends, I kept getting the same advice: get a lawyer.

So, I did some research and contacted a reputable lawyer. Within a few moments after speaking with him, I experienced something I hadn’t during this entire nightmare: someone who actually listened to me and expressed an interest in helping. Yes, I’m sure it is because he will make money off of taking my case, but I’ve dealt with enough people in my life to tell when someone is being sincere or not—and everything my experience was telling me was he honestly wanted to help.

While I step into this cautiously, I’ll have to say it feels good to have someone on my side.

Most popular posts of 2011

2011-12-31T08:19:00.000-08:00

Ah, New Year’s Eve. That time when I look back at the previous year and think, “What the heck? How did it go by so quickly?”

It’s also time for me to review the most popular blogs of the year—based on the number of times people accessed that blog from anywhere in the world. (This Blogger program has some nifty tools that show me stats.)

Here are the top five, with my personal favorites listed at the end.

Number 5: Updates and announcements

This blog was posted on May 7th and was basically "here is where I stand on various writing projects". It was the first time I posted a preview of my second book, The Waxing Moon, as well as previewing The Mirror of the Soul. I still have high hopes that these books will see the light of day in 2012.

Number 4: When Billboard Go Wrong

This June 12th blog is one of my humourous posts that provided some odd billboard choices.

Number 3: Questions

This post was added on July 20th. It lists a bunch of questions like, ""When I erase a word with a pencil, where does it go?"

Number 2: Angry Birds

On May 22nd, I posted this true story of a real life Angry Bird.

Number 1: Pet Peeves

This September 28th blog took off for what ever reason. It had over 1,000 more hits than the second most popular blog--even with it coming so late in the year. I guess people can really relate to the ones I posted.

My personal favorites that didn't make the list:

Double your money back

Serving suggestions

(Almost) famous quotes

Why did I like the last three so much? Read them and find out for yourself!

Happy Tobacco Days!

2011-12-26T09:27:00.000-08:00

I recently had to get my car safety inspected. To do so, I went to a local shop that looks to have been around forever. Though there were only a few cars in the parking lot, the lobby was fairly full. I was greeted warmly and gave my keys and registration to the man at the desk.

“It won’t be long—don’t you worry none, most these folks are just here to shoot the bull.”

“Yup,” another man said. He was old and had very few teeth in his mouth. “When you git to be our age, not much else to do but sit around and talk.”

I smiled at them and took a seat.

“So, as I was telling you, Tommy,” the nearly toothless man said, “Billy Bob was getting’ tired of that woodpecker waking him up in the morning. So, one day he got fed up and took his shotgun to the bird. He unloaded but didn’t hit a feather. His old lady came screamin’ out of the house. ‘Billy Bob! What in tarnation are you doin’? You can’t shoot a gun in town!’ She then saw all the holes in the house caused by the buckshot. Billy Bob knew he was in trouble, so ‘fore she could say anything, he said, ‘I had to do somethin’! Look at all the holes the woodpecker has made in the house!’”

I couldn’t help myself, I started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Tommy, the man behind the counter asked.

Shrugging my shoulders, I responded, “It was a funny story.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Tommy then looked me over. “You’re not from around here, are ya?”

“I’ve lived all over the country. I moved here about 4 years ago.”

The nearly toothless man mumbled something under his breath about how all these Yankees were ruining things.

“Now, now there Smoky,” Tommy said to the older man. “This fella ain’t done nothin’ wrong.”

Smoky folded his arms and grunted.

“Don’tcha mind him none,” Tommy said. “Ol’ Smoky is holdin’ a grudge over Tobacco Days.”

“Tobacco Days?” I asked.

“See!” Smoky said, flailing his arms in disgust. “He’s not even heard about ‘em!”

Tommy nodded. “Well, why don’t you fill him in?”

I waited a moment while Smoky seemed to size me up. He then said, “Ever since my Grandpappy was knee high to a tree frog, the town celebrated Tobacco Days. We’d hold in the middle of July. Folks from all over would come to town. All the events were down there at the Masonic Temple Racetrack Park. There’d be a rummage sale, a car show, tobacco plant judgin’, and at night, we’d have live music! It was the biggest event of the year. Ya couldn’t go nowhere without someone smiling and wishing you a ‘Happy Tobacco Days!’"

Smoky started into a fit of coughs before he continued. “It was a wonder to see. There was banners hangin’ from every story front. People would decorate their houses. You couldn’t go nowhere without seeing something about Tobacco Days.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“What happened?” Smoky repeated. “Well, whatcha think happened? We started having all sorts of people move in from up north who looked down their noses at us. Lots of them were shop owners and refused to put up signs for Tobacco Days. Over time, people from different counties would stop comin’ because they didn’t feel welcomed no more. It got so bad, if you wished anyone a ‘Happy Tobacco Days!’ they’d give you the stink eye.”

“So, about what, a dozen or so years ago, we stopped having Tobacco Days.” Tommy said.

“And it’s a terrible shame, too!” Smoky said. “Just because some people don’t want to celebrate it, why did they have to ruin it for the rest of us?”

“Mr. Morgan, your car’s done,” said a man wearing a work shirt that was covered in oil and grease. “It passed.”

I paid Tommy for the inspection and went to leave. For the first time, I noticed a small Christmas tree in the corner of the waiting room. After opening the door, I turned back around.
“Merry Christmas everyone!” I said.

Everyone wished me a Merry Christmas in return, including Smoky.

I caught the eye of the nearly toothless man. I said to him, “And in case I don’t see you in July. Happy Tobacco Days!”

Trouble At The Inn

2011-12-21T17:32:00.000-08:00

Every night in December, my family sings a Christmas song, shares a Christmas scripture and reads a Christmas themed story. Bless my wife’s heart, she can’t make it through most of them without crying.
Last night, we read one of my favorites. For the holidays, I’d like to share it with you.

Trouble At The Inn
By Dina Donahue

For many years now, whenever Christmas pageants are talked about in a certain little town in the Midwest, someone is sure to mention the name of Wallace Purling. Wally's performance in one annual production of the nativity play has slipped onto the realm of legend. But the old-timers who were in the audience that night never tire of recalling exactly what happened.

Wally was nine that year and in the second grade, though he should have been in the fourth. Most people in town knew that he had difficulty in keeping up. He was big and clumsy, slow in movement and mind. Still, his class, all of whom were smaller than he, had trouble hiding their irritation when Wally would ask to play ball with them or any game, for that matter, in which winning was important.

Most often they'd find a way to keep him out but Wally would hang around anyway not sulking, just hoping. He was always a helpful boy, a willing and smiling one, and the natural protector of the underdog. Sometimes if the older boys chased the younger ones away, it would always be Wally who'd say, "can' they stay? They're no bother"

Wally fancied the ideal of being a shepherd with a flute in the Christmas pageant that year, but the play's director, Miss Lumbar, assigned him to a more important role. After all, she reasoned, the Innkeeper did not have too many lines and Wally's size would make his refusal of lodging to Joseph more forceful.

And so it happened that the usual large, partisan audience gathered for the town's yearly extravaganza of beard, crown, halos and a whole stage full of squeaky voices. No one on stage or off was more caught up on the m*gic of the night than Wallace Purling. They said later that he stood in the wings and watched the performance with such fascination that from time to time Miss Lumbar had to make sure he didn't' wander on stage before his cue.

Then the time came when Joseph appeared, slowly, tenderly guiding Mary to the door of the Inn. Joseph knocked hard on the wooden door sat into the painted backdrop. Wally the innkeeper was there, waiting.

"What do you want?" Wally said, swinging the door open with a brusque gesture.

"We seek lodging."

"Seek it elsewhere," Wally looked straight ahead but spoke vigorously. "The Inn is filled."

"Sir, we have asked everywhere in vain. We have traveled far and are very weary."

"There is no room in this Inn for you." Wally looked properly stern.

"Please, good Innkeeper, this is my wife, Mary. She is heavy with child and needs a place to rest. Surely you must have some small corner for her. She is so tired."

Now, for the first time, the Innkeeper relaxed his still stance and looked down at Mary. With that, there was a long pause, long enough to make the audience a bit tense with embarrassment. "No! Be gone!" the prompter whispered from the wings.

"No!" Wally repeated automatically, "Be gone!"

Joseph sadly placed his arm around Mary and Mary laid her head upon her husband's shoulder and the two of them started to move away. The Innkeeper did not return inside his Inn, however. Wally stood there in the doorway, watching the forlorn couple. His mouth was open, his brow creased with concern, his eyes filling unmistakable with tears.

And suddenly the Christmas pageant became different from all the others.

"Don't go, Joseph," Wally called out. "Bring Mary back." And Wallace Purling's face grew into a bright smile. "You can have my room!"

Some people in town thought that the pageant had been ruined. Yet there were others.... many, many others... who considered it the most Christmassy of all Christmas pageants they had ever seen.

Rewriting Shakespeare

2011-12-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

There is this event held in November called NaNoWriMo where writers set out to put down 50,000 words to paper, so to speak. I gave it some thought, but decided that isn’t really how I write. My books tend to be written in spurts—when the creativity is flowing. In sports, they have a phrase called “being in the zone”. It means excelling beyond your normal performance. For me, I tend to write when I’m “in the zone”.

A fellow author of mine noted that if November was national writing month, December should be national editing month. In both The Hidden Sun and The Waxing Moon, the final product is quite a bit different from the original draft. That’s one of the wonderful things about being an author—you get to go back and change things.

As an example, a change was made between the first and second editions of The Hidden Sun where a couple of the district names were altered slightly to be easier to pronounce. This was based on reader feedback. Unlike some of the changes that George Lucas did to the original Star Wars (“Greedo shot first!”) any alterations I made didn’t change any plot points.

There are times, however, when a change needs to be made based on the available resources. While studying at BYU to become a TV director, I had a class where I needed to direct several different types of events. I don’t recall all that I needed to do, but I do remember there was an interview, a musical number and dramatic scene. In each case, I tried to do something a bit more elaborate than the basics.

For the musical number, I was able to direct a music video of the BYU Symphony they used to promote their upcoming world tour. I had exactly one hour to shoot all the different parts of the song using four cameras getting different shots each time the song was played. The amount of prep work that went into that was mind-blowing, but in the end, it turned out very nicely.

And then there was the dramatic scene. Again, to be different, I wanted to shoot a scene out of a Shakespeare play. I picked the scene from Henry IV where the king puts on a disguise and walks among his men the night before a big battle. I had it all planned out in my head: the wardrobe, the set pieces, how to make it look like they were sitting around a fire at night—everything.

There was only one problem. We partnered with the Theatre Department to get actors to play in our scenes. On the night of my shoot, only women signed up—when the script called for three men. What to do, what to do?

That’s when I rewrote Shakespeare . I went through the script and changed things so it was a Queen walking amongst women before the battle. Was it a bit presumptuous on my end? Perhaps. Then again, didn’t they have men play women’s parts in the original Shakespeare plays?

Timely Graduation

2011-12-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

When I attended BYU, there was a great concern over something called “timely graduation”. What does that mean? Well, that it was taking too long for students to graduate. The school had a way of identifying students who were taking too long and inviting them to come to one-on-one meetings with an advisor to review what could be done. (In other words, “inspiring” them to hurry up)

I dare say a good number of people change their majors at least once while they are in college, hence the reason it took longer. My wife switched. Several of my friends and family member switched. I switched as well.

I won a scholarship for my work in electronics while I was in High School. I took a year of classes at a 2 year college in electrical engineering. What did I discover? I didn’t enjoy it.
I went on my LDS mission and when I came back, I decided to finish my Associates Degree and then transfer to BYU.

When I started attending BYU, I chose the Communications—Broadcasting with an emphasis on Production. Why? When I was in High School, I used my electronics knowledge to become one of the engineers at our radio station, KOHS. While doing that, I got to learn how to edit music, promos and the like—and I thought it was fun.

However, to get into the program at BYU, I was required to take a number of pre-requisites before I could even start to take the classes I wanted to take. By this point in time, considering the credits I had earned at the other school, I was a Junior before I was even in the program.

In addition, we were required to take a 0 credit class 4 times while in school. It was a 1 hour a week lecture where we got graded for showing up. It was only offered during the fall and winter, so that was a minimum of 2 years right there you would have to attend the school.

After I got accepted into the program, we, as students, were told that the number of credits required for us to graduate with our degree was too high and couldn’t realistically be done in 4 years. Aside from all the communications classes, we were also required to take a boat load of English classes. I had to take so many, in fact, that I realized I only needed to take an additional 2 English classes to get my minor—which I did.
How did the school resolve the issue of too many credit hours being required? Simple. They took all of the communication classes and reduced the number of credit hours they were worth by 1. In other words, the number of classes didn’t change—just how many credits they were worth.

And the biggest irony of all? The one class I spent the most time and effort on was one of my required directing classes. I had to direct several programs, including an interview, a dramatic scene, a musical number and a few others. In fact, I spent more time on that one class than all of my other classes combined for that semester. Guess how many credits it was worth? That’s right: 1.

Questionable Christmas Lyrics

2011-12-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas time. When I was young, it was such a magical experience. Watching the holiday specials like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the animated version) always sparked my imagination. Our house was always so decorated so nicely. My mother had some really neat decorations. There were the blow up reindeers.

She also would hang this mistletoe. Unlike the picture below, ours had a little elf on it. In fact to this day, when I see mistletoe anywhere, I look for a little elf hanging out on top of it.

For many years we had a real Christmas tree which was decorated with blinking multi-colored lights. These were especially cool because my brothers and I would make spaceships out of Legos and fly them around the tree, pretending the lights were lasers shooting at us.

In addition to all of this, it seemed that we always had Christmas music playing. To this day, during the holidays, I listen to Christmas music all the time. As I’ve gotten older, and become more familiar with songs, I’ve raised my eyebrows at a few of the lyrics included in many of the popular songs. Granted, over time, meanings of certain words change, or things that were once considered acceptable, are no longer so. Right away, I’ll give a pass to the word “gay” which is present in several songs. Yes, before it meant “happy”—now, it has taken on a different meaning in the mainstream.

Some of these are humorous, some are serious.

"I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus"
If I saw my wife kissing another man, I wouldn’t find it very funny.

"Little drummer boy"

My big brother is an awesome drummer—so I’m familiar with how loud they can be. As a father who has raised 4 kids, I can’t imagine a situation where someone playing the drums would make a baby happy.

"Winter wonderland"

What kind of neighborhood do you live in where children will knock down your snowman?

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"

Do we really want to give loaded guns to some boys named Barney and Ben?

"There's no place like home for the holidays"

Some people have a different sense of what’s terrific than I do.

"Feed the world"

Ah, nothing shows the Christmas spirit like being thankful we’re not someone else.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year"

Scary ghost stories? During Christmas? Isn’t that what Halloween is for?

"Baby it's cold outside"

This song is disturbing on several levels. I was debating over this line or “Think of my life long sorrow if you got pneumonia and died.” In other words, he’s telling her don’t leave not out of concern for her, but because of how it would impact him.

"Santa Claus is coming to town"

I don’t like the idea of having people watch me sleep. It’s creepy.

Book review of “The Alias” by Mandi Tucker Slack

2011-12-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

How do I introduce The Alias? Honestly, I believe the description on the back of the book does a wonderful job.

“Jacey Grayson is an average, young, divorced mother struggling to build a new life for her son, Blaze. But when the FBI discloses some disturbing information about her ex-husband, Jacey's life becomes anything but average. At the risk of losing her identity, her future, and her heart, Jacey and Blaze flee to Utah, hoping to hide and start over once again. But no matter how far she runs or who she pretends to be, her past is always lurking nearby, bringing old fears with it. Thrilling action and a suspenseful plot make this novel an edge-of-your-seat-read.”

I found the premise of the book to be an interesting twist to what some might claim is a commonly used plot. You know, about the abusive husband with a dark secret, the wife who wants to leave it all behind to raise her son in peace, and the conflict that ensues because of the circumstances.

While I didn’t find the premise all that original, I did find the way it was presented to be quite a refreshing change.

Slack has a wonderful talent for developing characters. The lead, Jacey Grayson, is engaging. I found myself honestly caring for what happened to her. In addition, her relationship with her son, Blaze, was spot on. As a father, I could relate to her feelings and actions when it came to the well-being of her child.

While I was interested in the story and was curious what would happen next, I found it was the people in the book that kept me reading. Jacey must deal not only with protecting her and Blaze, but also with the moral conflict of taking on an alias and therefore lying to people—wonderful people she comes to care about.

I’ve lived in both bigger cities and also in small towns, and so I could relate when Slack would compare a life to which Jacey was accustomed to that of a small Utah town. It’s another example of the details that added to the quality of The Alias.

I found the end of the book to be different than what I expected, but in a good way. Actually, I believe that was the key for my overall enjoyment of the book: while the plot moved in the general direction I expected, it was written so well that I hung on and enjoyed the ride.