tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61054876564638901032024-02-20T22:30:32.806-08:00Cayman SummerMormon girl Leesie has life figured out--until devastated Michael lands in her high school. CAYMAN SUMMER is the third novel in Michael and Leesie's romance that began with TAKEN BY STORM. My readers rallied around me—giving me the guts to release UNBROKEN CONNECTION (Book #2) independently. I launched this blog because I wanted them with me every step as I wrote CAYMAN SUMMER. I posted the novel as I wrote each scene. Now this blog is devoted to all things Michael and Leesie.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-10466503887875760482021-06-21T13:04:00.000-07:002021-06-21T13:04:08.676-07:00Happy Birthday to My Mom<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Last week we celebrated my mother's 83rd birthday. We actually got to go into her care home and bring grandkids and birthday cake. We sang and hugged her. It was wonderful. I am excited to announce that I finished FIREBUG, a middle grade novel inspired by her childhood in Rexburg, Idaho. I am looking for a publisher to help me bring it to readers. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-IpkwhV6XoFMLzfCQfnUriAqT8ecDIX4c03Ytuq-_DlNEQ2GV_rSIPD3mI3xtjsTsmp3Sw6MUdENzayflwVF2lPYhNR1cImhZUI7e74XSb7wpwrgUvhB-MgaSZXebOQkXJtWnxQ3gdGa/s1346/BB670D7B-346E-4626-A6C8-89EBC38A7A06.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1346" data-original-width="970" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-IpkwhV6XoFMLzfCQfnUriAqT8ecDIX4c03Ytuq-_DlNEQ2GV_rSIPD3mI3xtjsTsmp3Sw6MUdENzayflwVF2lPYhNR1cImhZUI7e74XSb7wpwrgUvhB-MgaSZXebOQkXJtWnxQ3gdGa/w289-h400/BB670D7B-346E-4626-A6C8-89EBC38A7A06.jpeg" width="289" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-866723819366522982014-07-21T15:00:00.000-07:002014-07-21T15:00:03.292-07:00AN OCEAN ATWEEN US First Ever Free Kindle Promotion!<div>
This week, my brand new book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JX52CF4#" target="_blank">AN OCEAN ATWEEN US, is free on Kindle</a> for the first time ever!</div>
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I'd love to have you download, read and review it. It needs some more love on Amazon and Goodreads. </div>
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This is a first love story that tugs on your heartstrings like SING ME TO SLEEP and TAKEN BY STORM. You'll fall in love with Will Glover like you did Derek and Scott and Michael--I promise. </div>
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Plus, it's set in Scotland, so if you love Scottish guys and accents as much as I do, you'll love this book.</div>
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The promo is going well so far. It hit #1 on the free Teen and Young Adult Historical Romance ebook list. Exciting stuff! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Ro9ecHG161-u78FgqzBuBT9znTYB1QHKT9ZFhB10mfJRcwnGyFqFCqHGAbsHDwjRehfqPGDE03GWGuyBbsPITDrmG9AafBh6ATsLpEXnYrAiBK_IX-0EQOBWSjIGbtuemorC7tpJWfoW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-21+at+2.48.50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Ro9ecHG161-u78FgqzBuBT9znTYB1QHKT9ZFhB10mfJRcwnGyFqFCqHGAbsHDwjRehfqPGDE03GWGuyBbsPITDrmG9AafBh6ATsLpEXnYrAiBK_IX-0EQOBWSjIGbtuemorC7tpJWfoW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-21+at+2.48.50+PM.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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And #8 on the Scottish Historical Romance List!! Not sure if we really fit on this list. Take a look at the other titles. YIKES!! My books is Scottish, historical and romantic. But it is also a literary coming-of-age journey. </div>
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After you read it, let me know where you think it belongs.</div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-9976127550939892992014-06-02T02:18:00.000-07:002014-06-02T02:19:35.277-07:00Thank You Presents for all my Readers!Thank you all for your support of AN OCEAN ATWEEN US! You are already making a difference. I've got three presents to show you how grateful I am for your continued support..<br />
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First, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HG6YI8Q" target="_blank">SING ME TO SLEEP will be free on Kindle tomorrow</a>, Tuesday, June 3, and June 9 and 16th!<br />
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Second, <a href="http://www.wattpad.com/user/angela-morrison" target="_blank">I am posting TAKEN BY STORM in its entirety on WATTPAD.COM!</a> Enjoy and please tell your friends.<br />
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And, third, here's an excerpt from AN OCEAN ATWEEN US! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JX52CF4" target="_blank">It's still just $0.99 on Kindle. </a> Watch this blog. I'll be posting more excerpts. (Read <a href="http://www.angela-morrison.com/an-ocean-atween-us.html" target="_blank">first three chapters free at www.angela-morrison.com.</a>)<br />
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From Chapter 1, <i>Who will kiss me?</i><br />
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. . . I scan the other maids dancing in the shadows of the coal works. I’ve kent them all forever. Like Lucie, here, who I’m spinning and catching like I have so many times afore.<br />
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“Will ye be playing for us tonight?” Lucie eyes the wee pipe that hangs about my neck from a bit of yarn snitched from Mither’s workbasket.<br />
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“Aye, lassie.”<br />
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Lucie steps to the center and her feet flash as the other maids make way for her to perform the setting steps. She’s always light and fleet. Moves like a fairy. She spins and faces me again.<br />
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“William Glover, the Fourth.” She drawls out my full name with a fetching frown on her face. “It’s no proper for ye to be calling me lassie no more.”<br />
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Lucie has her thick, black hair pulled back and pinned up. I’m used to seeing it long and dirty, filled with more rats than the coal pits, flying every place at once. I do not have the heart to tell her about the swatch come loose from her pins and hanging down her back.<br />
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“Begging yer pardon, Mistress Lucie.” I squeeze the hard-worked hand she fits into mine. “Ye do look like a proper maid this evening.” There’s warmth behind my words that surprises us both. My face gets hot, and Lucie turns pink. She grows confused and misses a turn.<br />
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-9860367153410456042014-05-22T09:00:00.000-07:002014-05-22T09:00:14.501-07:00AN OCEAN ATWEEN US - Launch Celebration Sale!I'm celebrating the release of <span id="goog_1926344751"></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JX52CF4" target="_blank">AN OCEAN ATWEEN US with a $0.99 Kindle sale<span id="goog_1926344752"></span>.</a> The price will be reduced for a limited time so hurry and download it now.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I'm so excited to share this book with you--my wonderful readers. I've been working on it, one way or the other, most of my life.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Growing up, my mother told the most thrilling bedtime stories about my Scottish ancestors who emigrated in the 19th Century. As a teen, I discovered a wealth of family histories gathered by my grandmother and great grandmother. As a young mother, I began researching the Glover family, Scotland, coal mining, and every place they stopped on their journey west. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Decades of research, trips to coal mines in three countries, an MFA in Writing, four published YA novels, and a gazillion drafts later, I'm so pleased to bring you Will Glover's story, An Ocean Atween Us. I did my utmost to make it every bit as thrilling as my mother's tales, and, of course, added a big dose of romance. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">I hope my ancestors aren't looking down from heaven and shaking their heads. I have to admit, I turned my great-great-great grandmother's big brother into the hottest collier lad to ever leave Scotland and broke his heart a couple of times along the way. This is a novel--not a history book. I think the Glover family will be pleased to live again in its pages. I did my best to convey the gritty reality of 19th century coal mines, ocean voyages on tall ships, and frontier settlements. I also didn't shy away from the realties of Will's relationships as he comes of age in a new land. He's a flesh and blood, flawed character who struggles--like all of us.</span><br />
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-51694281100544541282014-04-25T07:30:00.002-07:002014-04-25T07:31:44.812-07:00AN OCEAN ATWEEN US ebook is now live on Kindle!AN OCEAN ATWEEN US is now live on Kindle. We're still tweaking the cover for the print version, but I'm so excited to share this novel with you I'm offering the ebook at a bargain "pre-release" price of $1.99.<br />
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So, if you want to be one of the first to read and review it, you can download it now. Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JX52CF4" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JX52CF4</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzceLwjuCVvWdCtvQ6qrvHxol8WFtjpOwEkc8Fgu9wUhg55jFPnUT6JJZkZ9V5ICAYVVzPiIX7Pyvj8t-VJ_Q-UgcxwmqpyilDbpNGCHV373ieKW-sBKh2xkUlWMxjDMN0asu_xiawNiab/s1600/Ocean+atween+us+COVER+BLUE+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzceLwjuCVvWdCtvQ6qrvHxol8WFtjpOwEkc8Fgu9wUhg55jFPnUT6JJZkZ9V5ICAYVVzPiIX7Pyvj8t-VJ_Q-UgcxwmqpyilDbpNGCHV373ieKW-sBKh2xkUlWMxjDMN0asu_xiawNiab/s1600/Ocean+atween+us+COVER+BLUE+2.jpg" height="400" width="258" /></a></div>
<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-5789770407644704402014-04-25T03:12:00.000-07:002014-04-25T03:12:20.399-07:00FREE KINDLE DEALS--Act fast!This weekend I'm up in Utah at the LDStormaker Conference, and I'm running Kindle deals and free promos for the participants and all of YOU!! Please, please, please share them with your friends. The promos run from today to April 26th at midnight. ACT FAST!<br />
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SING ME TO SLEEP is FREE!!! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HG6YI8Q" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HG6YI8Q</a> This is the first time ever I've been able to offer SING for free. If you love it and don't have it here's your chance!<br />
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TAKEN BY STORM is discounted to $.99. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008H5MVZW" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008H5MVZW</a><br />
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UNBROKEN CONNECTION is FREE! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Z0CUHI" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Z0CUHI</a><br />
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CAYMAN SUMMER is FREE!! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052MFSGW" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052MFSGW</a><br />
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Remember, you don't need a Kindle. You can download the Kindle app on your smart phone, tablet, or any computer.<br />
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<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-83117741185592694162014-04-23T20:08:00.000-07:002014-04-23T20:08:56.026-07:00AN OCEAN ATWEEN US Cover Update!Andy just sent me a work-in-progress draft of the cover. It's really coming together. I love the ship, but we've decided Will's face is a bit too wide and maybe he needs to be a tad more handsome. I'm loving the hair, though. He's still working on the rigging ropes, water, and sky. The more I look at it, the more I like it.<br />
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What do you think?<br />
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<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-68610584993259591662014-04-19T06:50:00.004-07:002014-04-19T06:50:56.373-07:00AN OCEAN ATWEEN USI've got some exciting news for my devoted readers who've waited and waited and waited for a new book from me. The wait is just about over!!<br />
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Last fall, after some deep soul-searching, I left my agent, and now I'm managing my work myself. I finished my revision of SLIPPED and am happy to report it is under consideration with an editor I'm dying to work with.<br />
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After even more soul-searching, I decided to indie publish my historical coming-of-age love story, AN OCEAN ATWEEN US.<br />
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It will be available, literally, any day!!! I hired my son's company, <a href="http://iqsoup.com/" target="_blank">iqSoup</a>, to design the cover, and their illustrator is working on an original painting for it right now.<br />
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Here's the rough sketch to give you an idea of what we're planning. I can't wait to see this come to life.<br />
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I've been working on the back cover text. So, imagine the painting above with a handsome brooding hero staring out at you. You pick up the book, flip it over, and read:<br />
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Will Glover, a proud Scots coal mining lad, is forced to leave Lucie, the lass he loves, behind when his father commits the family to a mining venture in the New World. Despite the ocean that will separate them, he vows to return for her. Angry with his father and broken-hearted, he resents the dangers he must face and nurtures the loneliness in his soul. One devastating letter, brings all his plans crashing to the ground. Will he spend the rest of his life cankered with bitterness or learn to forgive and love again?<br />
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SING ME TO SLEEP and TAKEN BY STORM readers will recognize the luminous, heart-wrenching, coming-of-age love story they’ve come to expect from award-winning, critically acclaimed author, Angela Morrison, set in a very different time and place. After decades of research and rewriting, Morrison brings you a story inspired by her own heritage and what she terms her “masterpiece.” <br />
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AN OCEAN ATWEEN US is the first book in Morrison’s WE, GLOVER'S series, a family saga told in intense, coming-of-age journeys, from one generation to the next.<br />
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You want to read more, right?Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-23876724190834883142013-12-23T06:44:00.000-08:002013-12-23T06:44:41.308-08:00I'm Back!I've been off-line so I could concentrate on writing new books for you to enjoy, but I've returned to bring you back an old favorite, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HG6YI8Q" target="_blank">SING ME TO SLEEP's new Kindle version</a> is now live in Kindle bookstores around the world! Merry Christmas!!<br />
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So where've I been? Well, last Christmas--just a few days after my last post--instead of relaxing and enjoying our grandkids who'd flown in from the East coast, our daughter who'd just got engaged, and our son and his wife who'd just moved close to us, we bought a new house and sold our old one. It all happened in a matter of days. I'm still trying to catch up.<br />
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Then, as planned, after our daughter's wedding and our youngest graduated (as the salutatorian for his high school, yes I'm a proud mamma), we packed our bags for Switzerland. For the past six months, we've been traveling back and forth between Arizona and Switzerland.<br />
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Moving is not good for writing--even worse for blogging. I did manage to get back to revising my time-travel post-nuclear winter rogue assassin meets Jane Austen heroine in medieval Europe novel, SLIPPED. With the help of my critique bud who swapped manuscripts with me all fall, I got a full draft completed. I'm at the polishing stage. I'll give you a taste of it soon. I promise. I think you'll love it.<br />
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I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! What have you all been up to? I'm dying to catch up.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-88915861243456449172012-12-24T10:48:00.002-08:002012-12-24T10:49:13.700-08:00Christmas Giveaway!This Christmas I'm hosting a giveaway where everyone wins! I'm offering all three ebooks in the TAKEN BY STORM saga FREE!!<br />
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If you haven't read all three books yet or know friends who would enjoy Michael and Leesie's love story, here's your chance to get or share them free.<br />
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This is the first free promotion I've run for TAKEN BY STORM's new ebook. To get your free copy, go to <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/172025" target="_blank">Storm on Smashwords</a>, click buy, and enter coupon code<b> BC82K</b> at checkout to download a free copy. The code is good until June 30, 2013. Feel free to share it with friends and followers. Smashwords has a gifting option that makes it easy to give. You can give as many ebooks to friends as you'd like.<br />
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UNBROKEN CONNECTION and CAYMAN SUMMER ebooks are only available via Kindle. Amazon has free Kindle apps and software for any device you own, so you don't have to own a Kindle to get them.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-Connection-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B003Z0CUHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341360254&sr=1-1&keywords=unbroken+connection" target="_blank">UNBROKEN CONNECTION is on free promotion starting midnight tonight through December 27th at midnight.</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/CAYMAN-SUMMER-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B0052MFSGW/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2" target="_blank">CAYMAN SUMMER is also free tonight at midnight but only through December 26th at midnight. It will be free again starting December 27th at midnight through December 29th at midnight.</a><br />
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Got that? Okay, enjoy!<br />
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I hope to have news of a new book for you soon.<br />
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Merry Christmas!<br />
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AngelaAngelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-35408244221673244942012-12-18T12:21:00.000-08:002012-12-18T12:21:33.983-08:00Prayers for the SeasonOn December 6th, Bill O'Reilly reported that a six-year-old girl in North Carolina wrote a poem for Veteran's Day about her grandfathers who both served in Vietnam. In the poem, she wrote, "They prayed to God for peace. They prayed to God for strength." Someone complained, and the Superintendent of McDowell County Schools decided this child couldn't write about her grandfathers turning to God in times of trouble--at least not at school.<br />
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I prepared to write a post about all the books I love--from Katherine Paterson's <i>Bridge to Terebithia </i>and Kate Dicamillo's <i>Because of Winn Dixie </i>and my Arizona author friend Amy Dominy's debut novel, <i>OyMG</i>--that all have characters who pray. Maybe someday I will write that post and share quotes from those prayers, and my worries that we are replacing spirituality with magic, but not today.<br />
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The testimony of twenty first graders in Newtown, CT, speaks far louder that I ever could. As the entire nation, "prayed to God for strength" and "prayed to God for peace," we learned what the young girl in North Carolina learned from her grandfathers. God is there. He is real. He hears and answers prayers. And sends strength, peace, love and comfort. He soothes broken hearts and teaches us how to bind each others wounds.<br />
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I've felt His power in times of loss in my own life. In Leesie's words, "Happiness . . . filled me up. Tangible--like you could pour it from a pitcher." Like Leesie, I was "overcome" with the power of God's love. Prayer unlocks it. All you need to do is ask.<br />
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I don't know why a troubled young man shot those beautiful children in a sleepy Connecticut town, but I do know that now they are wrapped in God's loving arms--and he won't let them go until their parents are ready to join them forever.<br />
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All my love and prayers for you, my wonderful friends and readers, this season of celebration and goodwill,<br />
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AngelaAngelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-43578578996824718132012-11-15T10:32:00.002-08:002012-11-15T10:32:56.052-08:00Free Ebooks and English TeachersStarting at midnight tonight, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-Connection-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B003Z0CUHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341360254&sr=1-1&keywords=unbroken+connection" target="_blank">Unbroken Connection</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/CAYMAN-SUMMER-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B0052MFSGW/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2" target="_blank">Cayman Summer </a> </i>on Kindle!! I'm flying up to Las Vegas for the National Council of English Teachers (NCTE) annual conference. I'm excited to spend three days sharing with and learning from the nation's English teachers.<br />
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I'm presenting "An Author's Toolkit: Techniques from the Pros," with two friends from Vermont College. I'm so excited to see them again. I'm also part of a roundtable discussion on digital storytelling, "Getting Digi With it," where I'll be telling them all about my amazing readers and what we did here together with <i>Cayman Summer. </i><br />
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I'm running the free promotion for the English teachers, who are my heroes past and present, and for you, too! Thank you again and again for all your love, patience, and support.<br />
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<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-77537526561765253442012-10-15T12:49:00.000-07:002012-10-15T12:49:14.683-07:00Free "Plot Challenged" Webinar<br />
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My free 2-hour webinar, "Plot Challenged," is Wednesday, October 17th, 7 PM EST. Follow this link to register <a href="http://www.writingforchildrenlive.com/Angela_Morrison.html">http://www.writingforchildrenlive.com/Angela_Morrison.html </a><br />
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If you have a hard drive full of great ideas and a few opening chapters, this webinar is for you. I'll go over four plotting strategies that I use and editors expect.<br />
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The webinar is available online, so writers can join us from anywhere in the world. If you can't make the live broadcast, no worries. Registrants have free access to the call for 24 hours following it.<br />
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If you missed my first teleconference, "Get them Talking: From Dialogue to Scene," you can download it for a small fee at <a href="http://www.writingforchildrenlive.com/Angela_Morrison.html">http://www.writingforchildrenlive.com/Angela_Morrison.html </a><br />
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After this webinar, I shall get back to posting about Michael and Leesie . . . I promise!<br />
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-53152789971935251182012-10-02T08:02:00.000-07:002012-10-02T08:02:21.138-07:00FREE Teleconference Tomorrow!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><br />
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My free teleconference for writers, "Get them Talking: From Dialogue to Scene," broadcasts October 3rd--tomorrow! Kim at <a href="http://www.writingforchildrenlive.com/Angela_Morrison.html" target="_blank">Writing for Children Live</a> tells me that if you phone in or tune in online for the <i>live </i>broadcast, you'll get to ask questions. </div>
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If you've ever had an agent tell you to "show not tell," you need this teleconference.</div>
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I teach an easy-to-understand, no pressure technique that will help you craft dynamic scenes that will create a movie in your readers' heads. </div>
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This teleconference includes a detailed handout you can download plus my guide to punctuating dialogue as a bonus.</div>
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We're offering a follow-up, free 2-hour webinar, "Plot Challenged," on October 17th.<br /></div>
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The broadcasts are available via telephone and online, so writers can join us from anywhere in the world. If you can't make the live broadcast, no worries. Registrants have free access to the call for 24 hours following it. Following that you can purchase the teleconference for a small fee.<br /><br />Follow this link to register <a href="http://www.writingforchildrenlive.com/Angela_Morrison.html">http://www.writingforchildrenlive.com/Angela_Morrison.html </a> Please join us!</div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-31198117143698305972012-09-25T13:50:00.001-07:002012-09-25T13:50:52.852-07:00Reading at Changing HandsI and several other Phoenix area authors will be reading and signing books at Changing Hands, Thursday, Sept. 27, 6:30-8:30 at Writers Unite to Fight Cancer's awards ceremony for their first writing contest. I was honored to judge. You are all invited! Its so much more fun to have friendly faces in the audience. See you there.<br />
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<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-69001113450157734582012-09-10T16:53:00.005-07:002012-09-10T16:53:58.647-07:00Free Teleconference and Webinar starring ME!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Helvetica;"></span><br />
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I'm excited to announce I'm presenting my workshop, "Get them Talking: From Dialogue to Scene," on a free teleconference call, Oct. 3rd, 7 PM EST sponsored by Writing for Children Live. Registrants have free access to the call for 24 hours following it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm doing a follow-up free webinar, "Plot Challenged," on October 17th. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I love this concept. As an author, I get to share my expertise with fellow writers without leaving my cozy office. And writers get a lecture from the comfort of their own homes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Follow this link to register <a href="http://www.writingforchildrenlive.com/Angela_Morrison.html" style="color: blue;">http://www.writingforchildrenlive.com/Angela_Morrison.html</a> </div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-12214724725546071662012-08-27T14:07:00.001-07:002012-08-27T14:07:31.899-07:00Back at the Blog with new Cayman Pictures!Hello, hello, I'm back at the blog! I didn't mean to take such a long break after the big celebration and contest in July. I spent a few long days packaging up books and swag and then gave in to summer time! But I have a treat for you that I hope will make up for it.<br />
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While my hubby and I were in the Cayman Islands, I took lots of pictures to share with you. I hope you CAYMAN SUMMER fans can imagine Michael and Leesie wandering down the dock, looking out the window, lying on the beach, or hopping on the dive boat.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is me with our dive master. She was great! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My feet on the dock!</td></tr>
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<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-88748816381437307222012-08-02T14:32:00.000-07:002012-08-02T14:32:36.217-07:00Prizes! Prizes! Everywhere Prizes!!I just drew all the prize winners for our big Tenth Anniversary Giveaway. I had so many prizes in this contest that everybody won! YAY!!! I love that. Check out the list to see what you got. I should be emailing you for your address tomorrow.<br />
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I awarded one prize per person, and then put everyone's entries back in the draw for the totebag. I didn't give anyone the key chains because they turned out bleck.<br />
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I'll send bookmarks with the swag prizes. If you won a book, I'll mail you bookmarks in a separate envelope.<br />
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Okay, drum roll . . . . . the winners are:<br />
<br />
US GIVEAWAY<br />
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signed 3-book <i>Taken by Storm </i>set - PENNY<br />
signed <i>Taken by Storm </i>first edition hardcover - SUSAN<br />
signed <i>Taken by Storm </i>new paperback edition - MARGARET, RACHELLE, DIANE, COURTNEY, MARIA, AUTUMN, JENNIFER, TRISHA, MARLA, TRICHIE<br />
signed <i>Unbroken Connection - </i>JOLI, TRESSA<br />
signed <i>Cayman Summer - </i>MIRANDA, BRITNEY<br />
<i>Taken by Storm </i>T-shirt - MARSHA, JIMPAT, HEIDI, TORE, CHALEESE, GALE, LAURIE, ELLIE<br />
<i>Taken by Storm </i>Poster - MICHELLE, RUTH, KATIE, VIVEN, TUROBTERP<br />
<i>Taken by Storm </i>Notebook - SARAH, DEB, JESSICA ROSE, ATREAU<br />
<i>Taken by Storm </i>Totebag - MICHELLE<br />
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INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY<br />
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<i>Taken by Storm </i>paperback - BRUNA, JESSICA ASATO<br />
<i>Taken by Storm </i>ebook coupon - ROWYBIB, MARISKA, LARISSA, ANA MARIA, LENA, WOMBATZ, DISINCENTIVE<br />
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Congratulations everyone! Thanks for coming to my party. It's been wonderful to meet new friends and greet old ones. Love and hugs to you all.<br />
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Again, I will email you for your address tomorrow. If you didn't leave your email with your entry, please email your address to me at angelamorrison [at] mac [dot] com so I can give your your prize.<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-45133530272587253552012-07-20T00:14:00.001-07:002012-07-20T00:14:53.723-07:0010 Years from Today Michael Swam out of my BrainDay 5!!! Exactly 10 years from this date Michael escaped the churning confusing that is my brain and found a voice on my page during the first free write I ever wrote. Read the whole story<a href="http://caymansummer.blogspot.com/2012/06/michaels-first-words.html" target="_blank"> here</a>. If you don't know the story of how he got trapped swimming in my subconscious, you can read that <a href="http://caymansummer.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-michael-came-to-inhabit-my-brain.html" target="_blank">here.</a> So hooray!! Dance and sing, "Happy Birthday to Michael!"<br />
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You have until August 31st to <a href="http://caymansummer.blogspot.com/2012/07/10th-anniversary-contest.html" target="_blank"> enter the big giveaway</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taken-by-Storm-ebook/dp/B008H5MVZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1342477411&sr=1-1&keywords=taken+by+storm+by+angela+morrison" target="_blank">download the new Kindle <i>Taken by Storm </i>ebook for only $0.99.</a> Until midnight tonight get <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-Connection-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B003Z0CUHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341360254&sr=1-1&keywords=unbroken+connection" target="_blank">Unbroken Connection</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/CAYMAN-SUMMER-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B0052MFSGW/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2" target="_blank">Cayman Summer</a> </i>free on Kindle. They will be on sale for $0.99 through August 31st.<br />
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This week well over 3,000 readers have downloaded <i>Unbroken Connection </i>and 2,000 downloaded <i>Cayman Summer. Unbroken Connection </i>broke into the top 100 free on Amazon and stayed at #1 on Kindle's Bestsellers in Children's Social Issues list. <i>Taken by Storm </i>made it onto the coveted Bestselling Books for Teens on Love and Romance list--and hit #12 at one point. Now that's something to celebrate. Lots of new readers to welcome to our family.<br />
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It's been so much fun to reminisce with old friends and meet new ones. Thanks to all of you who helped make this week happen. Today, <a href="http://imaginaryreads.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">I reveal why I love to write break-your-heart-coming-of-age teen romances at Imaginary Reads. </a>Thanks, Kris for hosting me.<br />
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Plus, my favorite protege (I like to call her that because she is so brilliant), Jennifer Shaw Wolf, is hosting me on her blog. <a href="http://www.wolftalez.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Stop by and read the interview</a> and check out her fantastic debut release that everyone is talking about, <i>Breaking Beautiful. </i>I am so proud of her. She is a fantastic writer. Jen reaches out and nurtures everyone in her path. She is made of kindness. That comes through in her writing and makes you love her characters with unusual intensity. I am thrilled for her.<br />
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Leading up to this week of celebrating, I've republished "Storm's Story" that I wrote to chronicle <i>Taken by Storm's </i>journey on my original website. I saved this post to share with you today. I wrote it from Singapore.<br />
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Happy Birthday, Michael and Leesie. And thank you all for keeping them in your hearts. Sharing their story with you continues to be an amazing journey. Each new person who reads <i>Taken by Storm </i>feels like a sister. I treasure each one of you.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My husband took this picture of TAKEN BY STORM at the Times Square Barnes and Noble in NYC!</td></tr>
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"<i>Taken by Storm </i>on Sale this Week"<br />
<i>from "Storm's Story," March 9, 2009</i><br />
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I thought this week would never arrive and all of the sudden it’s here. Lexa sent me this launch day present--the preliminary cover for my next Razorbill novel, SING ME TO SLEEP. What do you think? I’m loving it. Best present ever.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actually, that's not what it looked like--but that's another story!</td></tr>
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They are considering changing the cover for TAKEN BY STORM’s paperback to be consistent with this more understated tone. That could be good, too.<br />
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I celebrated this week putting together the final details for my launch tour. No time to party--yet!<br />
The real celebrating starts in a couple of weeks when I hop on a plane and come flying home. The tour has been a ton of work to put together, but it will be a blast. I’m speaking at 31 schools across five states--Washington, Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Arizona--and doing five bookstore events. I’ll be blogging about the tour on ChatSpot.<br />
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I’m in SINGAPORE, so I haven’t got to see TAKEN BY STORM actually on a bookstore shelf yet, but I heard from one of my dearest writer babe buds who moonlights at an upstate NY Barnes and Noble. She says they got FIVE copies in. That’s a lot for a debut author. YIPPEE!!!<br />
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And there is an e-version available. Amazon is hawking it for their new Kindle.<br />
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I have to confess to a naughty secret . . . I’ve become totally addicted to tracking my Amazon sales rank numbers. The realities of expat author-dom. The first time I looked at it back in February it was 1,070,448. The lower the number the better you book is selling--so over a million isn’t too hot. But then it jumped to 190K the very next day! After that it crept up slowly to 600K. Launch day, March 5, it was down to 140K. Yesterday it zoomed back up to 300K, but TODAY it’s 45,309 for all books and #47 for children’s fiction on death and dying--kind of a gloomy list, but I’ll take it. And, drum roll, this is big . . . #91 on teen fiction that deals with dating and intimacy. I have no idea what all this means in terms of sales, but--as addictions go--it’s relatively harmless.<br />
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Who knew I could be this crass and commercial about my art? Writing is a business, too, though. If I want my art to continue--especially Michael and Leesie’s story--TAKEN BY STORM must sell well. In the realities of today’s market, AMAZON can make or break that. I kind of have to pay attention.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Michael and Leesie bulletin board. It's pieces are now in BYU's Special Manuscript Collection. I tore that magazine cover off a Scottsdale tourist magazine. Doesn't that couple look like Michael and Leesie grown up?</td></tr>
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<br />
Oh, how young and naive I was as an author. What I didn't know then was how much I'd have to overcome to continue Michael and Leesie's story and how many amazing readers and bloggers would be there to help me do it.<br />
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<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-57967106610201681072012-07-19T08:55:00.000-07:002012-07-19T08:55:43.673-07:00Leesie Q&A LIVEDay 4 in our celebration! We welcome Leesie for questions. Don't forget <a href="http://caymansummer.blogspot.com/2012/07/10th-anniversary-contest.html" target="_blank">to enter the big giveaway!</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taken-by-Storm-ebook/dp/B008H5MVZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1342477411&sr=1-1&keywords=taken+by+storm+by+angela+morrison" target="_blank">Download the new Kindle <i>Taken by Storm </i>ebook for only $0.99.</a> And through Friday, July 20th at midnight get <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-Connection-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B003Z0CUHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341360254&sr=1-1&keywords=unbroken+connection" target="_blank">Unbroken Connection</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/CAYMAN-SUMMER-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B0052MFSGW/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2" target="_blank">Cayman Summer</a> </i>free. They will be on sale for $0.99 after the promo.<br />
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Today I'm featured on Rachellewrite's as her Thursday Thought guest blogger. Thanks, Rachelle for hosting me! Stop by and read my thought, <a href="http://rachellewrites.blogspot.com/2012/07/take-joy-in-miracle-of-creation.html" target="_blank">"Take Joy in the Miracle of Creation."</a><br />
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Margaret, the founder of Writer's Unite to Fight Cancer also helped publicize this week's party <a href="http://margaretlarsen.com/2012/07/ten-year-anniversary-of-taken-by-storm/" target="_blank">on her blog. </a>WUFC is sponsoring a writing contest this summer. I'm judging the YA entries along with some other fantastic authors. This is your chance to receive critiques from professional authors and win some recognition, too. <a href="http://writersunitetofightcancer.com/events/wufc-1st-annual-writing-contest" target="_blank">If you write, please enter.</a> Deadline is August 15th.<br />
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Now, here's. Leesie. Welcome!<br />
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<b>Leesie: </b>Thanks, its good to be here. Sorry Michael was so grumpy. He's so into privacy these days.<br />
<b>Angela: </b>What did you think that first day when you walked into physics and there he was sitting in the back row? Were you attracted to him? Love at first sight?<br />
<b>Leesie: </b>Every girl within a fifty-mile radius was attracted to him. Physics wasn't the first time I saw him. Tekoa High School has less than a hundred students. He was in all my classes. So beautiful. So wounded. You know that Kelly Clarkson song, "Beautiful Disaster?" That was Michael. I tried not to stare, but my eyes betrayed me. They searched for him and stuck every time they found him. DeeDee was the first person to talk to him. Poor guy. When he told her to, "get the hell away" from him and caught me staring again, my face flushed hot. At least I had my big, fat physics book to hide behind. My heart raced. I could barely breathe. Yes, I was attracted to him. And when I had to put my book down when class started, <i>he</i> was staring at <i>me.</i><br />
<b>Angela: </b>A reader wants to know what you favorite line in <i>Taken by Storm </i>is.<br />
<b>Leesie: </b>"I'm much better online than in person." It's so true!<br />
<b>Angela: </b>Michael says you like the new cover.<br />
<b>Leesie: </b>Yeah, it's great. I can imagine myself more in that picture. No faces. Michael complains about the pink sky, but I love it. Have you told them about the posters? They look great.<br />
<b>Angela: </b>Are you writing any new poetry?<br />
<b>Leesie: </b>I wrote a ton on my mission. We had an hour every day to journal, so I wrote every day. I've been too busy lately. I'm taking creative writing, though. That will force me to write.<br />
<b>Angela: </b>Another reader asked how your faith has been tested over the years. Has you faith made things easier or more difficult?<br />
<b>Leesie: </b>Good question. My faith is an integral part of who I am. It caused problems between Michael and me at first, but it made me the girl he fell in love with. If I hadn't been shaped all my life by going to church, praying, and listening for the answers, would I have had anything to offer him in his darkest days just after the hurricane? He didn't know it, but it was my faith that offered him the peace he felt when he was with me. I had the hardest challenges when I felt I was no longer worthy of my faith. When I felt I wasn't good enough to pray anymore. To evil to be forgiven. That was a lie. Michael, who didn't believe, saw that before I did. No matter what happens you can always turn to the Father of us all. His love is constant.<br />
<b>Angela: </b>Okay, this one is a SPOILER ALERT. Readers, if you haven't read all three books, skip this question and ask your own in the comments. Ready, Leesie? Michael filled us in on your immediate future plans. A reader asked how many kids you guys want to have. Michael said you want 20! True?<br />
<b>Leesie</b>: If they all look like Michael, I'd have twenty kids in a heartbeat. My Mom had a hard time getting pregnant after me and Phil. I don't know if I'll have the same problem later. So far--that hasn't been an issue for us.<br />
<b>Angela: </b>Are you making an announcement?<br />
<b>Leesie: </b>No. It's too soon to go public--but feel free to read between the lines. I'll just say I recently dropped my 8:00 a.m. class. Mornings are yucky.<br />
<b>Angela: </b>So this is way to early for you. We'll leave it at that then. Go back to bed and get some rest. Eat soda crackers.<br />
<b>Leesie: </b>Okay, thanks. I'll stop by later if anyone has more questions.<br />
<b>Angela: </b>Thanks so much for being here, Leesie. Everyone here loves you and wants to wish you and Michael a long and happy forever together.<br />
<b>Leesie: </b>Now you're going to make me cry. I'm so emotional these days. Bye!Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-66828424913644213582012-07-18T00:24:00.002-07:002012-07-18T00:24:44.655-07:00Cut Scenes from TAKEN BY STORM!Welcome to day three of the Tenth Anniversary Celebration! Today is the epic 50 Blogs in a Day Promo Blast sponsored by Reading Addiction Blog Tours. I'm incredibly excited. A big, warm, howdy, to any new friends who've found our party today. Don't be shy. Make yourself at home. <a href="http://caymansummer.blogspot.com/2012/07/10th-anniversary-contest.html" target="_blank">Be sure to enter the big giveaway!</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taken-by-Storm-ebook/dp/B008H5MVZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1342477411&sr=1-1&keywords=taken+by+storm+by+angela+morrison" target="_blank">Download the new Kindle <i>Taken by Storm </i>ebook for only $0.99.</a> And through Friday, July 20th at midnight get <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-Connection-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B003Z0CUHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341360254&sr=1-1&keywords=unbroken+connection" target="_blank">Unbroken Connection</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/CAYMAN-SUMMER-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B0052MFSGW/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2" target="_blank">Cayman Summer</a> </i>free. They will be on sale for $0.99 after the promo.<br />
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I'd like to thank all the bloggers who've celebrated with me this week on their blogs and helped promote the contest and Kindle deals. You are marvelous. Today I want to send you to Blkosiner's Book Blog! Brandi has been such an incredible support. She's promo'd the celebration and <a href="http://blkosiner.blogspot.com/2012/07/dear-teenage-self-guest-post-by-angela.html" target="_blank">posted a letter I wrote to my teen self.</a> You must, must, must go find out how that letter connects with <i>Taken by Storm. </i>(And get a peak at what I'll be working on this fall.)<br />
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Thanks to those of you who stopped by and chatted with Michael yesterday. He's a guy, so he said he hated it, but I think he's lying. <a href="http://caymansummer.blogspot.com/2012/07/q-with-michael-live.html" target="_blank">He promised to answer questions all week so keep them coming.</a> Leesie will be here tomorrow. Today, I'm posting my favorite cut scenes from <i>Taken by Storm.</i><br />
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When I sold <i>Taken by Storm </i>to Penguin, it was 87,000 words. They wanted 60,000. My editor's letter was a roadmap of cuts. Some of the scenes found a new life in <i>Unbroken Connection. </i>But some ended up shelved on my hard drive. Here are a few of my favorites.<br />
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<b>Cut Scene #1: "The Porch Swing"</b><br />
At my grandmother’s house in Tekoa (that I loaned to Michael’s gram for the duration of the Michael/Leesie saga), there was an old porch swing on the breezeway between the back door and the garage. My sister and her boyfriend were always hanging out on it. I loved to sit there, too. The soft sway and cushy seats brought immediate peace and comfort. After creating such a nightmare for Michael, I was desperate to comfort him. He needed to grieve, so I let him in the following scene. I love this scene, but it had to go because it came way too early in the novel. Those tears had to wait. His inability to shed them added to the tension in his relationship with Leesie and within himself. When he finally does sob in Leesie’s arms, it has way more power.<br />
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This scene took place the day after Michael goes free diving in the town’s swimming pool, and Leesie gets soaked saving him. It would fit in between Chapter 13 and 14.<br />
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Michael’s Dive Log – Volume #8<br />
Dive Buddy: Leesie<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Date: 10/7<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dive #: 4 with her <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
Location: Teacup<br />
Dive Site: Gram’s porch swing<br />
Weather Condition:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>sunny<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Water Condition: heavy<br />
Depth: drowning<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Visibility: too clear<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Water Temp.: cold<br />
Bottom Time: 41 minutes<br />
Comments:<br />
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By morning, i can’t keep my eyes open. i stumble to Dad’s old room, fall into his bed, wrap in the pants quilt. i sleep with sunlight warm on my eyelids and dream Mom and Dad diving Bloody Bay wall.<br />
They fin along the wall with sun beaming down in shafts through a hundred feet of clear water. They find a crevice in the coral and swim through a shady tunnel pierced with Caribbean sunshine that filters down from the top of the reef. Dad has his yellow dive light out, flashing it in all the dark corners. He finds a crab and a sleepy eel. They break through onto the top of the wall, in about thirty feet of water, where the reef, red, orange, yellow, green, flapping and wavering, shimmers vivid. Bright. Nothing masked in deep water bluing. Angels and parrots. Tiny blue chromis. Mom’s favorites. A massive lobster, brilliant orange and red, camouflaged in the lush coral garden. Remembered joy of being there with them trickles into my bruised soul. i wake up, my face wet. <br />
i’m not there. <br />
In the dream. <br />
i’m not with them anymore.<br />
Late afternoon, the doorbell rings. i hear it from my room. <br />
“Why, Leesie, it’s lovely to see you again.”<br />
She’s standing right outside the door. i roll out of bed, dizzy, slide pants on, grab my fleece, stumble into the kitchen. <br />
“I made this for you. And, Michael.” She pushes something at Gram. Leaving. No—<br />
“Leesie?” i step around Gram. <br />
“Hey.” Her eyes take in my greasy, matted hair, the stubble on my cheeks. i probably have dried spit on my chin.<br />
“I brought you an apple pie.” She gives me her grin that makes her gorgeous. “Made it myself.” Her eyes look watery.<br />
“You make pies?” Her hand holding the edge of the pie plate wears four scabs that fit my fingernails.<br />
“My church is like homemaker boot camp.” The smile fades.<br />
i swallow the thickness that starts in my throat. “Can you stay?”<br />
“Gee, I’m supposed to—”<br />
“Never mind.” i don’t blame her. i’m psycho—reek like an entire locker room of guys.<br />
“Just let me make a call.”<br />
i stand there dull-witted, waiting for her to pull a cell out of her backpack, takes me a minute to realize she doesn’t have one. i open the door wider, point to the phone on the table in the living room. She dials, cradles the phone between her head and shoulder, picks up the photo of me and my parents. “Can you have Phil pick me up on the way? I’m at Mrs. Walden’s. Thanks. Bye.” She puts the picture down.<br />
Gram pounces. “What can I get you, dear?”<br />
“I’m fine, thank you.” Her eyes dart from me to Gram, back to me. “It’s sunny out. Want to sit on the porch?”<br />
More thawing? i hold the door open, catch a whiff of Leesie’s leather jacket and tropical fruit scented hair as she drifts by me and perches on Gram’s porch swing. i ease down beside her like a broken old man. Leesie doesn’t say anything, just takes my hand, holds it in both of hers again. Her short fingers, pale and chapped, contrast with my long, tan ones.<br />
i touch the thin scabs on the back of her right hand. “Does it hurt?”<br />
“Kind of sore.”<br />
“Might leave scars.”<br />
“I don’t mind.”<br />
“Hands are like that.” i show her the scar on my thumb. “i broke a glass and cut myself when i was four. Really deep. Needed stitches. i kept sucking on it. Got all infected. i remember my mom soaking it in salt water. Ancient Mayan remedy.”<br />
“Maybe I should try that.”<br />
“Might help.” Makes me sad to think my brand won’t last. That she’ll get over it. Heal. i wish i could soak in salt water. Maybe i could dump a box in Gram’s pink bathtub, get the taste of salt on my skin again.<br />
i put my head back on the swing’s seventies green floral cushions and close my eyes. “Did you ever see your grandmother again?”<br />
“Just that once. It was enough.”<br />
“Could you make her come back?”<br />
“No.” Leesie shakes her head. “Stuff like that—the Lord sends it when you need it and then you have to remember.”<br />
i keep the swing going, pushing off with my feet every once in awhile. The scent of her cradles me. i open my eyes, look down at her. “Did you do some voodoo on me?”<br />
“No. Just plain old, every day prayers.”<br />
Did i want her praying at me? Did she make me dream my parents like that?<br />
“Have you seen a doctor?”<br />
“Gram tried to arrange something.” i put my foot down, stop the swing. “They gave me drugs in Belize. Wish i had more.”<br />
“Drugs?” Leesie sits up straighter. “Maybe you could just try getting out of bed each morning, going to school.” <br />
“What’s the point? Will going to school bring them back? i need the water, need to go under again.”<br />
“The pool’s covered now.” <br />
“Let’s go back to your lake. i’ll bring the seven mil.”<br />
“The storm washed out the road.” <br />
“Do you think there’s a scuba shop in Spokane? They’ll know about indoor pools. Deep ones.”<br />
“Stop it.” Leesie gives my hand a shake. “You’re scaring me.” <br />
“i should be dead. Everybody else is.”<br />
“Don’t.” She rests her head on my shoulder.<br />
“i’m trained to go without breathing so i survived. My body was used to it. My mom drowned. My dad didn’t have a chance, but my mom—” My voice cracks.<br />
Leesie squeezes my hand, and i put my arms around her, hold her tight like she’s a living, breathing mangrove buddy.<br />
“Why didn’t i go to Mom? Grab her? Bring her with me.”<br />
Leesie’s thin body presses against mine. Is that her heart? Can’t be me. i don’t think i have one left.<br />
“Hey, hey. Hush.” Her voice is soft, kind of mewing. “No one blames you. It was a hurricane. She knows you didn’t mean it.” <br />
Knows? Right. Maybe she knew. Maybe when she was fighting for her life in the water Mom thought of me, knew i loved her, even though i’m an ungrateful idiot who saved himself while she drowned. What did she think when she couldn’t get free? When the oxygen ran out and her lungs filled with salt water? She would have blacked out before that. i did when i was ten—she saved me. It wasn’t even scary. Not for me. Still, all i can see is Mom terrified, under the water, breathing it in, sinking, dying.<br />
Leesie’s wrong. Mom doesn’t know anything anymore.<br />
i can’t stop the erratic shudders that capture my breathing, the salty drops that seep from my eyes. i fight for control. i don’t want to dissolve into the crazed, tortured sobs that poured out of me when i woke up in the hurricane shelter with Isadore howling again outside. i take a long breath. “i begged them to search the swamp for her.”<br />
“Hush, now, hush.” Leesie mews into my neck. “It’s not your fault.”<br />
“It took three days for the helicopter to spot her pink sundress.” Inhale Leesie’s hair, exhale her leather jacket, hold her tighter. <br />
“Just let it go.” Leesie arms tighten around me and her hands smooth over my back.<br />
i surrender my cheek on her head and cry.<br />
She stops with the “shushing,” holds me, and rocks the swing.<br />
i finally let go of her, move away. i wipe my face with my hands. Hot snot and tears all over me. Pretty gross. “Sorry for that.”<br />
“It’s okay.” She seems relieved to back off, doesn’t take my hand again. <br />
We rock apart, silent, except for the creak of the porch swing. We both jump when the horn honks. <br />
“Shoot. I gotta go.” <br />
Not yet. “Online later?” i beg her like a puppy after a bone.<br />
“Sure.” Her jerk brother honks again, and she runs to the car.<br />
<br />
Do you think i can get Leesie to move in with me and Gram? She can sleep on the couch or i’ll give her my room. Then i could sit by her all the time and feel her arm pressed against mine, her leg touching mine, her hands holding mine. i could wrap her up in a ball against my chest like a borrowed heart. Inhale her all the time. If Isadore tries to take me, Leesie can bring me back. <br />
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<b>Cut Scene #2 - Light of Day</b><br />
My editor at Razorbill, loved the impossible romance between Michael and Leesie, but she wasn’t all that into scuba diving, so I had to cut a lot of those scenes. You can push back to a certain extent and fight for what you think is important. I revised and saved a few crucial ones.<br />
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There are a few things, though, that almost every editor or agent out there dislike.<br />
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<b>Moralizing</b>. <a href="http://angelamorrison.blogspot.com/2012/07/from-faith-to-fiction-or-write-from.html" target="_blank">You can't tidy up all the loose ends and pin a didactic lesson onto your story</a>. The major ends must be knotted. Don’t confuse the reader. But leave how the character grew or what the character learned to your reader to decide. Devise scenes that test your character and shows how they’ve changed. Readers--and editors--love that.<br />
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<b>Prologues. </b>This is kind of a myth. Kind of a truth. Some editors loathe prologues. Some love them. I don’t write prologues. But take a look at both of my novels first chapters. What do you see? They both start with a prologue. My editor likes prologues. The truth is, sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t. I think it’s best to leave them out and start in media res with a first chapter scene that gets things moving with a bang. That’s just my preference. Not right or wrong.<br />
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<b>Pancakes Scenes.</b> Almost every writer sticks a scene where the characters eat pancakes into his/her novel. It’s kind of a universal reflex--like the campfire scene in Western movies. They are so ubiquitous that they’ve become an industry shibboleth. Books with pancake scenes will not be invited to the party. So, beware, if writers have a cozy breakfast scene where the characters delve deeply into life and love and the meaning of the universe over pancakes, waffles, French toast, or even eggs and bacon, they need to cut it quickly. Even if they love it to death. Save the meat of the scene and put that heart and poignant dialogue into a different time and setting. (Like a campfire! They are still fine.)<br />
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I knew this. But still. My scene wasn’t actually a breakfast scene. It was lunch. And they ate Gram’s signature French Toast. (Let me know if you want the recipe!) And it was so achingly tender. My editor’s reaction, “Cut the pancakes with grandma.” Ah, my poor beautiful scene. I hated to see it go.<br />
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So here it is, in all it’s glory. It would have gone somewhere around Chapter 17--first time they see each other after their first kiss turned into a first make-out. The dialogue in this scene became a chat. I like it so much better with French Toast!<br />
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Michael’s Dive Log – Volume #8<br />
Dive Buddy: Leesie<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Date: 10/8<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dive #: six with her<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
Location: Teacup<br />
Dive Site: Gram’s<br />
Weather Condition: partly cloudy<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Water Condition: dry<br />
Depth: shifting<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Visibility: murky<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Water Temp.: warm <br />
Bottom Time: didn’t look at my watch<br />
Comments:<br />
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i felt so strong with Leesie trembling in my arms. Stan would be proud. At school she comes off as ultra-confident Miss Perfect, the Ice Queen. She’s anything but. i told her i’d look out for her. From now on, no guy will touch her. i promised. She’s got all that screwy religious crap to deal with. i don’t even care. i can hardly believe i made out with her. A few days ago, i couldn’t even take her hand.<br />
When i got home last night, i slept forever. Sleeping Beauty in reverse. My mind filled with empty water. No rays flying by, no morays snapping slow motion. Not even a grunt or two darting through coral ledges. Just deep, blue water.<br />
Bodies floated up from the abyss—my dad bloated and strange, my mom wrapped in her sundress shroud, Dive Dog and the other club guys, even the waitress. i was in there on scuba, took a drag on the reg. No air. i searched for a buddy, and Leesie swam towards me wearing her funky leather jacket and faded jeans, holding out her hand. i reached for her and woke up.<br />
Almost lunch time. Too late for school. i try to go back to sleep, find where Leesie and i go in that dream. No chance. i lay in bed thinking about her. It felt so good to make out with her, hold her, care about something, someone, but maybe it’s weird to be doing that. Where does losing yourself with a girl come in the grief cycle? It’s a hell of a lot better than Mr. Frozen, but still. Maybe she’s right. <br />
Friends.<br />
She could shave her head and gain twenty pounds. Then that might work. i ache for her, physical. Normal. Is that fair? Should i be allowed the soothing, safe feeling i get with her? The—what’s her word for it—frustration. Why do i get to be safe, turned on, maybe even happy? My parents are dead.<br />
i finally give it up, get out of bed, stand in the shower, get dressed. Gram is at it again with the French toast. <br />
i wander into the kitchen. It smells great. Maybe i’ll try a slice. Leesie’s pie sits on the counter. Her fingers created all those perfect pinch marks around the edge. Her hands sprinkled sugar on the top. Maybe she breathed magic Leesie dust on it. <br />
The telephone rings. <br />
Let it be her. <br />
Gram picks it up. “He won’t be in class again today. That’s right.”<br />
School secretary.<br />
“I don’t care what you think. He’s grieving, young lady.”<br />
She hangs up, but the principal calls right back. Gram goes into the other room, talks for a few minutes, and then comes back to the kitchen, throws a piece of bread into the egg mixture. “He says you should try to go on with your normal life.”<br />
i let out a snort. <br />
“They’re getting a counselor to come down from Spokane to talk to you.”<br />
Great. Some pushy, prying loser i’ll have to spill my guts to. <br />
A soft knock comes from the kitchen door. i beat Gram to it. “Hey, it’s the Leesie fairy.” i’m actually smiling. Should i be smiling?<br />
Leesie freezes, blushes, drops her eyes. “I brought your homework.”<br />
Gram’s silver head peaks around my shoulder. “Come in, dear. We’re having breakfast for lunch. French toast. Or maybe you’d like a nice tuna sandwich.”<br />
Leesie smiles at the tuna, agrees to join me for French toast. We sit at Gram’s tiny melamine table for two. i stare at Leesie’s dolphin necklace.<br />
Gram bustles around the kitchen with her apron on. She comes to the table and sets a plate of toast in front of each of us. <br />
i douse my plate with maple syrup.<br />
“Tea for you, dear?” Gram asks Leesie.<br />
“No thank you. I can’t drink tea.” i can tell Leesie feels bad checking Gram’s bustle. Leesie smiles politely. “Would you have any mint for an infusion?” <br />
“Mint tea?” The bustle’s back. “I’ve got cubes down in the freezer. I’ll just be a minute.” Gram bustles right out of the room.<br />
“What are you two talking about?” i put a forkful of French toast in my mouth.<br />
“Best way to save fresh mint.” She stares at her plate. Deep flush. “Thought maybe you’d be at school this morning.”<br />
i swallow and cut another piece.<br />
“i got to go this afternoon. Come with?”<br />
“Maybe next week.” i tell her about the snotty secretary and the principal with his counselor. “Guess i should be dressed in black or something. ‘Get on with my normal life.’ That’s rich.”<br />
“He’s not the brightest principal on the block. i know that counselor. She visits the small schools around here. She gives the IQ tests, too.”<br />
A drop of buttery syrup oozes down my chin. Leesie reaches across the tiny table, wipes it off with her napkin. i catch her hand. <br />
She laces her fingers through mine.<br />
i lean across the table and kiss her. She tries to kiss me back, but i dodge it. “And you’re supposed to be the prissy one.” i untangle my hand from hers and tip back in the chair, balancing on two legs, fold my arms across my chest. <br />
“What’d I do now? Is my breath gross?” <br />
“i’ve been thinking about last night.”<br />
“Me, too.” She sighs. “I can’t stop thinking about last night.”<br />
i let my chair drop back onto four legs and lean my elbows on the table. “Do you think it’s sick that my parents are dead, i can’t eat, i’m so wasted that i lie in bed staring at a crack in the wall too tired to sleep, too tired to get up, and all i want to do is make out with you?”<br />
The smile fades from Leesie’s face. “You make it sound nasty.” <br />
My face drops into my hands. i look back up at her. “You are the only thing i’ve really wanted since Isadore. Is there something wrong with that? Do you think it’s”--i search for the right word-- “disrespectful?”<br />
She pushes away her plate. “I get the hint. Light of day. Second thoughts. You pressed me, you know.” <br />
“That’s not—” <br />
Gram walks in holding up a bag of green ice cubes. “They were clear at the bottom, but I found them.”<br />
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Walden.” Leesie stands up. “I have to go.”<br />
<br />
<b>Cut Scene #3 - "Replacement Gear"</b><br />
When I was at VCFA getting my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults and Tim Wynne-Jones used to tell another writer in workshop, “What we have here is an embarrassment of riches,” I was always so jealous. Doesn’t that sound like a wonderful problem to suffer from? I thought Tim meant this piece is so wonderful the rest of you should be embarrassed because you have no riches whatsoever, but Tim was trying to teach us an important lesson.<br />
<br />
When I was cutting <i>Taken by Storm</i> with Lexa, his point finally hit home. You CAN have too much of a good thing. These are the hardest "darlings" to kill.<br />
<br />
I gave Michael two invested objects to remind him of his mother--the gardenia perfume that those of you who have read <i>Taken by Storm</i> will remember from the ending and a lone white sandal with gold seashell charms sewn across the toe. Michael’s mother can only find one when they are in Belize. Michael found the other when he returned to their FL Keys condo with Leesie. Both were great details. But one could do the job. Having two objects made them both less powerful. I had to choose. I loved the sandals--especially when Michael carried around the one he found all day and slept with it on his nightstand, but scents were so integral to Michael’s feelings for Leesie, that I chose the perfume.<br />
<br />
I also had Michael receive two separate mysterious shipments after his parents were killed. A shipment of replacement scuba gear from his parents dive insurance policy and the two white boxes that Michael finds in Gram’s basement that bring him and Leesie back together. Those mysterious white boxes had to stay, so this scene that shows Michael grieving got axed. (Yikes, I also have a second shower scene--this poor scene had competition coming and going.) When one of my reviewers wrote that Michael’s mourning wasn’t authentic, I <i>mourned</i> for this scene! “Replacement Gear” fits in after Chapter 23. For the Razorbill revision, I rewrote 24 and 25 pretty much from the ground up. This was part of the old chapters.<br />
<br />
Michael’s Dive Log – Volume #8<br />
Dive Buddy: Gram and Leesie<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Date: 11/11<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dive #: 1 in the shower<br />
Location: Teacup<br />
Dive Site: Gram’s<br />
Weather Condition:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Snowing<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Water Condition: showers<br />
Depth: 1”<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Visibility: inward<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Water Temp.: started out hot<br />
Bottom Time: all evening<br />
Comments:<br />
<br />
Leesie has church again. She asks me if i want to go. Again. “We’re working at the food bank tonight.”<br />
“Good for you, babe.”<br />
“Well, it is. And a nice service project would be good for you, too.”<br />
“Project?”<br />
“We try to do service projects like this regularly. Wouldn’t you like to come help us next time we mow an old lady’s lawn?”<br />
“i’ve got my own old lady to look out for.”<br />
“Good idea. Let’s clean up her garden in the spring. Shoot, we could get started Saturday if the snow doesn’t stick. You want me to bring reinforcements?”<br />
“No.” i don’t want her churchy friends crawling all over the place, giving me dirty looks. “i’m not a gardener.” A great Mexican family used to keep our Phoenix desertscape yard trimmed and tidy. i wonder if they still do. They were like part of the family. At Christmas they always brought us great food. i’d like to see them again.<br />
“i’m good with pools,” i call after Leesie as she heads out the door. “Next time you have a pool cleaning project count me in.”<br />
Not long after she takes off to find Phil, Gram’s front door bell rings. No one ever uses that entrance. Gram opens it to a delivery guy dipped in brown. She directs him to bring his dolly loaded with boxes to the kitchen door. Gram signs. i ferry them into the living room, notice the return address is Stan.<br />
Gram counts them up. “Seven. What do you suppose it is?” She goes into the kitchen to get something to cut through the packing tape. <br />
i don’t want to open anything. Maybe Stan had our cleaning girl pack up my room. i picture her emptying my closet, bookcases, trying to sort through the garbage under the bed. My desk. i don’t want anybody in there. Even worse, it could be Mom and Dad’s stuff. Dad’s sweat-stained baseball caps. Mom’s clothes with her gardenia perfume still on them. i’d need more than my stupid itinerant counselor for that. Please pass a big bottle of tiny blue pills. <br />
It could be CDs and books. Family pictures. Mom’s dive log. Her logs are more like scrapbooks. She wrote up every detail about each dive, listed the coral formations, fish species. She made Dad print photos for her and taped them to the page—worked on the thing for hours. i tried to get her to go completely digital with it, but she liked writing it out by hand. Seeing her handwriting again, touching the letters—that would be cool. i really want her dive logs to be in those boxes.<br />
i wander around the room trying to figure it out. Sit on the couch. Stare. When i go into the kitchen to get a knife, Gram is on the phone. <br />
“Don’t use that.” She takes a big butcher’s knife away from me, rummages through her junk drawer, hands me a box cutter. She hangs up the phone. “Why don’t you wait. Leesie’s on the way.”<br />
So she can watch me dissolve into a sniveling wimp when i can’t handle what’s in the boxes? “Thanks.”<br />
i choose the biggest one first, slit the tape, pry open the flaps. Packing peanuts spill all over Gram’s rug when I lift out a huge Mylar vest with Velcro straps, hoses, and belts hanging off it. It’s exactly like my dad’s B.C. XXL. Weight-integrated. Black. All it needs is the jumble of clips and gadgets Dad collected so he could rig his gear just so. The next one is Mom’s. Pink pockets. Shaped for a woman. Tiny. Easy to pack. The last B.C. is a new version of the basic vest i dive with. Nothing fancy. i barely use a B.C. when i dive. Lean body. Breath control. Keep the thing simple. Like my weight belt.<br />
i open the remaining boxes one after the other. More and more gear. Giant Sporasub free dive fins for me. Dad’s heavy split fins. His prescription mask. Mom’s pink gloves. Her wet suit with the hot pink V down the front. Booties. Dive computers. An ocean of white packing foam.<br />
“What’s all this?” Leesie stands in the doorway from the kitchen, surveying my mess.<br />
“Thought you had church.”<br />
“I’m skipping. My mom’s ticked.” She walks into the middle of the room “What’s happening?”<br />
“i’m not sure. i need to call Stan.”<br />
“You bought new scuba stuff?” <br />
“No. Why would i do that here?”<br />
Gram comes in from the kitchen. “Stan’s working on all the insurance claims.” <br />
So she did talk to him behind my back. If Leesie weren’t there, i would have had it out with Gram. What else does she know? What else is Stan doing? Is the news about Dad gruesome? Stupid Stan. If he thinks it’s too gruesome for me, it’s way too gruesome for Gram. No wonder she still breaks down a dozen times a day.<br />
“What does gear have to do with insurance? i’m still calling him.” i search my wallet for Stan’s card. Leesie brings me the phone, holds my hand when i finished dialing.<br />
i rub my thumb across the four scars on the back of Leesie’s hand, fit my fingernails into them. The phone rings three times and then goes to voice mail. i hang up. What was i thinking? It’s too late for the office on the East coast. i toss Stan’s card on the coffee table.<br />
Leesie squeezes my hand. Gram slips back into the kitchen.<br />
i press my face into Leesie’s hair, pack her tropical fruit spiked essence into my gut and chest, throat and head. i let go of her, move away, pick up Dad’s giant scuba vest, and cradle it in my arms. “This was my dad’s B.C.” i swallow hard, fight to keep my voice steady. “That was my mom’s.” i point. “It’s not really their gear, but it’s all the exact same stuff.” <br />
i stare at the expensive mountain that overwhelms Gram’s small living room. “Brand new force fins.” i put down Dad’s B.C and pick them up. “Yellow. Only thing my mom had that wasn’t pink. She loved those.” i sniff, swipe at my nose with the back of my hand, meet Leesie’s puzzled eyes. “What am i going to do with three sets of scuba gear in a wheat field?”<br />
“Let’s just pack it back up.” She picks up Mom’s B.C. and drops it in a box. “Gram probably has room in the basement.”<br />
“No. Don’t touch it.” <br />
Leesie steps back.<br />
i take Mom’s B.C. out of the box, place the vest gently on a chair, stroke the pockets. “i want to see it for awhile.” i kneel on the floor in front of it and arrange the hoses.<br />
Leesie sits on the couch and watches me for a few minutes. She squats down beside me, kisses my cheek and leaves.<br />
i hear quiet murmurs in the kitchen, the pickup starting up, and the sound of its motor disappearing in the night. i notice Stan’s card lying face down on the coffee table. He wrote his home and cell numbers on the back. i dial the home number first. No answer. Try the cell. It rings five times before i hear Stan’s familiar Brooklyn-ite turned Floridian accent. “Hello. You found me.”<br />
“Hey, Stan. It’s Michael.” i sink down into the chair by the phone table.<br />
“Michael?”<br />
“Walden.” Great. This guy’s managing my life.<br />
“Oh, Mikey. i’m sorry. It’s late this side of the country.”<br />
Good cover, Stan. i clear my throat. “We got the boxes. What’s going on?”<br />
“Your parents?”<br />
“And my gear, too.” i stare out at the equipment strewn around the room. “What gives?”<br />
“Remember last year when the airline lost your dad’s gear bag?”<br />
“The trip to St. Lucia?” Dad was furious. He had to rent gear. The only XXL B.C. the resort owned hissed air. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
“Exactly. Apparently, Mike added automatic gear replacement to your dive insurance policies. Probably doubled his payments. When i put in a claim for repatriation expenses—”<br />
Repatriation? i wish Stan would just say what he meant. “You mean transporting their bodies?”<br />
“Right. You’re a smart boy, Mikey. i found out about the replacement clause and claimed that, too. A cash settlement would have been better. Perhaps you can sell some of it. You need new gear, so i shipped it all. Take what you want and the rest—”<br />
“i live in a wheat field, Stan.”<br />
“Aren’t you close to Vancouver? Great wreck diving up there. Dry suit stuff. You should get in to that. Take a friend. You’re not strapped for cash, buddy.”<br />
Leesie? Could she do it? Dive? Would she?<br />
Stan didn’t stop talking, “And you’ll be back to the condo.”<br />
“Don’t sell it.” If Stan sells the condo, i’ll kill him.<br />
“The condo? We’re not selling anything until the will’s been probated. That’ll take at least a year—nine months if we’re lucky.”<br />
So the house in Phoenix will just sit there? i stand up, drift to the center of the room. i put a hand on Dad’s B.C, pick up Mom’s yellow flipper.<br />
“Mikey, are you still there?”<br />
i close my eyes. “Stan, what about my parents?”<br />
“Did that shipment get there?”<br />
Stan doesn’t get it. “There were seven boxes. Their gear came, too. i told you that.” But where are my parents?<br />
Stan interrupts before i can nerve myself to ask again. “I need to talk to your grandmother.”<br />
i walk into the kitchen and give Gram the phone. “Yes.” Her lips begin to tremble. “That shipment arrived.” Her face slides out of her control. Why would dive gear tear her up like that? It’s just a mound of strange equipment to her. Why is Stan doing this?<br />
i take the phone. “It’s all here, okay.” And hang up.<br />
Gram disappears into her room to cry. i’m alone with all that gear and still have no clue about what Stan did with my parents. At least he “repatriated” Dad. No more fish food. So, now, where are they?<br />
i start sifting through the boxes, searching. i attach Mom’s snorkel to the mask, hook her regs to the B.C. i blow gently into the inflator hose, fill the vest so it stands by itself. i assemble all her gear—the wet suit, gloves, booties, goofy yellow duck fins. Is Leesie’s poem right in front of me? She comes to me? i activate Mom’s dive computer thinking all our dives from Belize will be in the electronic log. But it’s brand spanking new empty. <br />
i organize Dad’s gear, too. His big blue and black wetsuit, long split fins. The B.C. and his mask. I put his B.C. on and stare at myself in the bathroom mirror. XXL. Way big. <br />
i put on my replacement wetsuit, gloves, booties, B.C., mask and snorkel and stand in the shower. Soak it good. My dive computer’s a state-of-the-art air-integrated model, water activated. So i take it into the shower, too. Let the water run over me while i scroll through the empty logbook. <br />
Standing wet in that shower dressed out in scuba gear, i want my mom to come to me. i want my dad to pick us up in a tangle and toss us on the bed. i want six-year-old me to laugh. “Again. Again.” <br />
i want our life.<br />
Back. <br />
i stand there, waiting.<br />
Until the water runs cold.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-37840848366040699412012-07-17T06:01:00.002-07:002012-07-17T06:01:26.418-07:00Q & A with Michael LIVE!!!Day Two of our Anniversary Party! The response so far has been phenomenal. It's fantastic to hear again from so many of you.<a href="http://caymansummer.blogspot.com/2012/07/10th-anniversary-contest.html" target="_blank"> If you haven't entered the giveaway yet, get on it! </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Remember, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taken-by-Storm-ebook/dp/B008H5MVZW/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1342464420&sr=1-5&keywords=taken+by+storm" target="_blank"><i>Taken by Storm's </i>Kindle ebook is only $ .99</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">! </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Also this week only, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Z0CUHI"><i>Unbroken Connection </i>(Book 2)</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052MFSGW"><i>Cayman Summer </i>(Book 3)</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> are free on Kindle! Hurry. The free promotion ends Friday, July 20th. Don't own a Kindle? </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=dig_arl_box?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771">Download free Kindle apps for your laptop, tablet, iTouch, or phone</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tomorrow is the whirlwind 50 blog promo blast. But today, brace yourselves, Michael is here to answer questions. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela:</b> Welcome to the blog, Michael. Thanks for dropping by.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael:</b> Least I can do. You're throwing this party for us. Guess I should show up.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela:</b> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">The first question we have from a reader is, "Are you still as cute as ever?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael:</b> Uhhh . . . freak, what am I supposed to say to that?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela:</b> He's blushing, girls. And it's very cute. Okay, next question. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><i>Taken by Storm </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">has had three different covers. Which one is your favorite?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrY9BHliXjChK6vKz90tVqxN1uZdZikgxUiYdaVtissAhUoJxMCNyB-sJgxngJi04yOk9DwQP5H6s6S5BAGYGXFFZno0gWX68YgemzXUbDCXB2gBV0yWj2BmbL7KBuxJgEjeOkOjlF22Ev/s1600/Takenbystorm_Cover_front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrY9BHliXjChK6vKz90tVqxN1uZdZikgxUiYdaVtissAhUoJxMCNyB-sJgxngJi04yOk9DwQP5H6s6S5BAGYGXFFZno0gWX68YgemzXUbDCXB2gBV0yWj2BmbL7KBuxJgEjeOkOjlF22Ev/s200/Takenbystorm_Cover_front.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDJdgbK1XInt4Z3zSVrhWdEStBF23amC5B_oGokwQTkSe7mDtBHmvIMpqjOTxboZCc-pQqezjd6pz26McNos6103IkYftxy6GXh4mjXegQ80-aIiCRFxGHG_1Vojc8VXWQ2MInDCq9Gqi/s1600/TakenByStorm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDJdgbK1XInt4Z3zSVrhWdEStBF23amC5B_oGokwQTkSe7mDtBHmvIMpqjOTxboZCc-pQqezjd6pz26McNos6103IkYftxy6GXh4mjXegQ80-aIiCRFxGHG_1Vojc8VXWQ2MInDCq9Gqi/s200/TakenByStorm.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaiR2dQiURUOlfn30HQaVKSglvFYeM6Oi4sZUnYuP1dETgbqdVH3Cz-5S44ql7fgCF9U3J9-IpnBUBWjEK_lhSOqW4nQZBHRLe3BrDVy_Di78IU0TE-ANHA6W5am10ae7FvSk0wTYHnJ5/s1600/TakenByStorm-New.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaiR2dQiURUOlfn30HQaVKSglvFYeM6Oi4sZUnYuP1dETgbqdVH3Cz-5S44ql7fgCF9U3J9-IpnBUBWjEK_lhSOqW4nQZBHRLe3BrDVy_Di78IU0TE-ANHA6W5am10ae7FvSk0wTYHnJ5/s200/TakenByStorm-New.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael:</b> Leesie loves the new one. I don't know. The pink sky isn't really me. Have you guys ever seen the first cover design from Razorbill? No? Here. Take a look. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaaNq7nQm6zw600RM9_J08sxGvY4b81mJSHN-LWWk46eO_tLE26xWz4r1NsMI-GLK657Hw4HlBdtxkgrhOn7tFNsa4UKVx1Xx91ra_gkiWp0HUkP-xWyldbd2s91aHoL-6pLu9NSUNxeqT/s1600/TakenByStorm-Launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaaNq7nQm6zw600RM9_J08sxGvY4b81mJSHN-LWWk46eO_tLE26xWz4r1NsMI-GLK657Hw4HlBdtxkgrhOn7tFNsa4UKVx1Xx91ra_gkiWp0HUkP-xWyldbd2s91aHoL-6pLu9NSUNxeqT/s320/TakenByStorm-Launch.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Leesie really hated this one. We both liked the water-stained chapbook idea, but she threw a fit because the girl is wearing a sleeveless top. The wimpy guy looks like he starred in a 70s sit-com. And we both thought the scrapbook elements were way too cartoon for our story. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Angela fought for changes. She thought the picture on the final hardcover jacket was so much better than the first one that she shut up when they sent that one. I don't know. I just have way better hair than that guy. And the chick has bleached blonde hair and a receding hairline. Seriously. Leesie is way prettier than that. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2Wq_5NX0LMWQtQFld6nqWu89VwM-2gL6JNaSp9SSDMALQ4No5w1YbwKMIbbUXGYzPMMK0xO8gejMSPtnwflPdLNVgCh8mWqQvFx9M4YtwoofPy7wrUzyYk0QYnPYAPJyyR34wfKJtbNw/s1600/TakenByStorm030909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2Wq_5NX0LMWQtQFld6nqWu89VwM-2gL6JNaSp9SSDMALQ4No5w1YbwKMIbbUXGYzPMMK0xO8gejMSPtnwflPdLNVgCh8mWqQvFx9M4YtwoofPy7wrUzyYk0QYnPYAPJyyR34wfKJtbNw/s400/TakenByStorm030909.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">I liked the blue one with storm clouds best. You've never seen it? Take a look. It still has that freaky couple and you can see that the girl's shirt is nothing that Leesie would ever wear, but I love the dark clouds and the smoky gray blue of it. We thought this was going on the paperback. Big surprise when that purple thing showed up. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela: </b>Remember the picture I wanted for the paperback cover?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael:</b> Yeah. That was sweet. Do you have it?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela:</b> Of course. This is the first time I've ever showed it on the blog. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael: </b>Cool. Drum roll . . . </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael:</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> Add the clouds from the blue one and that would have been perfect. Why didn't you use it for the new cover?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela:</b> I tried. I emailed the photographer, and he never wrote back. Then I found the new picture and liked it even better. It reminded me of you and Leesie at the lake on your first date. Ready for another question?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael:</b> Shoot.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela: </b>Readers keep asking me to write another book about you and Leesie. Would you like that?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael: </b>No way. People, this woman is maniacal. Did you see what she did to us in the other books? We've had enough drama, thank you. Leave us alone!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela:</b> Okay, this next question is from a reader who just finished <i>Unbroken Connection. </i>She's kind of mad at you. Here it is in her words. (Minor spoiler alert!) She says, "I would like to ask Michael...WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU???!!!" </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael:</b> Nice.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela:</b> Shhh. She's just getting started. "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">From what I read in Unbroken Connection Leesie is trying to have you converted so that you guys may get married in the temple but nooo . . . URG!! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Would you do it over again? If you love her so then why don't you at least try to read up on her religion not just go listen to the missionaries because she asked but for yourself??" </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael: </b>Freak, she totally nailed me. I admit it. I was a huge jerk. Give me a chance to make up for it. Read <i>Cayman Summer</i>. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela</b>: Readers, this next question is a major spoiler alert! Don't read it unless you've finished reading <i>Cayman Summer </i>and are dying to hear about Michael and Leesie's plans for the future. This reader wants to know how many kids you have and where you are living.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael:</b> I refer all baby questions to Leesie. Who knew she was so obsessed with them?Every time she sees one she goes nuts. She wants like twenty. I like kids, but 20? When I was in Brazil on my mission, I taught the music to kids at church. Yeah, I was a disaster, but the kids were fun. Leesie and I are still at school in Provo. Leesie will graduate from BYU in April. Then I'm going to transfer to a school in Florida so I can do marine biology. We'll be close enough to the condo to zip down to the Keys weekends and dive. I'm going nuts landlocked. On my mission, I couldn't even swim. At Christmas, I'm taking Leesie back to the Caymans so we can see Aunty Jazz, all our friends at the branch, and dive our brains out with the guys at East End. Three years later and they are all still working there. Freak. So much has happened to Leesie and me since then.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela: </b>Okay, enough questions for now. We'll give you a break. Readers, if you have questions for Michael, ask them in the comments, and he'll drop by all this week and answer them.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael: </b>All this week? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Angela: </b>Right. It's the least you can do, remember?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Michael: </b>Sure. Okay, later then.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-60466777390235008352012-07-16T07:57:00.002-07:002012-07-16T11:50:53.249-07:0010th Anniversary CONTEST!!!<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Welcome, welcome to my 10th Anniversary Celebration. It's going to be a blast! </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Ten years ago this week,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><i>Taken by Storm's </i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">scuba-diving hero, Michael, swam out of my brain and onto my page. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">I'm kicking off the party today with a big contest for US Readers and a separate contest for my international readers. (See details below. This one is huge!!)</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Plus, this week you can s</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">nag </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taken-by-Storm-ebook/dp/B008H5MVZW/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1342464420&sr=1-5&keywords=taken+by+storm" target="_blank"><i>Taken by Storm's </i>Kindle ebook for only $ .99</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">! </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Also this week only, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Z0CUHI"><i>Unbroken Connection </i>(Book 2)</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052MFSGW"><i>Cayman Summer </i>(Book 3)</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> are free on Kindle! Hurry. The free promotion ends Friday, July 20th. Don't own a Kindle? </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=dig_arl_box?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771">Download free Kindle apps for your laptop, tablet, iTouch, or phone</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;">Free bookmarks for all!! I just ordered updated bookmarks. Everyone who enters the contests will receive some to share with blog followers and friends.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In <i>Taken by Storm, </i>Mormon girl Leesie has life figured out until devastated Michael lands in her small town high school. He needs her like no one has before. A rare journey into a faithful LDS teen’s intimate struggle. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">from <i>Taken by Storm . . . </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">his slender fingertips, his long wavy hair,<br />his mouth sucking my bottom lip—<br />The world spins, the stars shift,<br />and I can’t see anything except his smoky<br />gray eyes gazing into mine.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You scare me, whispers<br />from my mouth across his.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good, he breathes into me.<br />I need you to save me.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"[Morrison] handles the topics of religion and premarital sex gracefully without passing judgment. The message has less to do with religion than learning to respect and cherish others while staying true to one’s own beliefs.” – Publisher’s Weekly, starred review</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brand new paperback and reformatted ebook with fully scalable fonts. Includes bonus, never-before-published scene,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Airport Good-bye!" </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>US CONTEST!!</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">To walk away with super swag or a book of your own, all you have to do is post about the contest or celebration or my books on FaceBook, Twitter, GoodReads, your blog, Pinterest or wherever you hang out online. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">If you don't hang out online anywhere, text, email or phone your friends. Or even talk to them, face to face. Word of mouth still works! </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">You'll receive one entry for every different place you post.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Then using the comment section below, enter your email address and tell me where you posted, paste links if you can. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyone who posts a review on the Kindle Store page of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taken-by-Storm-ebook/dp/B008H5MVZW/ref=sr_1_9?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341358135&sr=1-9&keywords=taken+by+storm" target="_blank">TAKEN BY STORM</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-Connection-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B003Z0CUHI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341360254&sr=1-1&keywords=unbroken+connection" target="_blank">UNBROKEN CONNECTION</a>, or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/CAYMAN-SUMMER-Taken-Storm-ebook/dp/B0052MFSGW/ref=pd_sim_kstore_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2" target="_blank">CAYMAN SUMMER</a> gets a huge hug, thank you, and an extra entry for each review.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm having a live Q&A with Michael on Tuesday and Leesie on Thursday. Everyone who asks a question in the comments below or shows up and asks a question sometime this week (before July 20) gets an extra entry. (They promised to stop back in and answer new questions throughout the week.)</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">You can also score an extra entry if you <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angela-Morrison/217571908269726" target="_blank">like my FaceBook page!</a> Or, for those of you who are already loyal fans, like a post. Be sure to tell me about it in the comments. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I know many of you have all the books already, so for this contest I got lots of great swag. I hope everyone wins something. The books do make great gifts and blog prizes. One prize per person. I'll draw the book prizes first. Let me know if you want all your entries to go for swag prizes. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>BOOKMARKS</b></span> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Everyone who enters will get bookmarks. I'll email you for your address.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">8 will win TAKEN BY STORM T-Shirts</span></span></div>
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8 will win TAKEN BY STORM Keychains<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 will win TAKEN BY STORM notebooks</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXTRzRybTOdf6cf-ye6iKIrTLoIS9JQ9XfXEJ69hd1hon59i2EYi6O_e7ueT4zcwvWEezURoPqJn-i70xI4SdeFMndvYIRtFCeqkDQ7d43K1h_XLQVwKAFlAheN5VHHzdHWYcUIqv8Ys3/s1600/stormnotebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXTRzRybTOdf6cf-ye6iKIrTLoIS9JQ9XfXEJ69hd1hon59i2EYi6O_e7ueT4zcwvWEezURoPqJn-i70xI4SdeFMndvYIRtFCeqkDQ7d43K1h_XLQVwKAFlAheN5VHHzdHWYcUIqv8Ys3/s320/stormnotebook.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 will win TAKEN BY STORM Posters</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 will win TAKEN BY STORM Tote bag</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPM_x1rxoT3Ni8klCXmV4moELKxwCJiaiwNn6XrznjpTU3sqwtS26jemI2ZM4O76vsdAQYBivSxC3sYkuUvO2HqqVjW7U1SMx0DrypV0TLeK0a6gUyZe_gJNHwVOhnxbzB3cmKLNvohrQt/s1600/stormtotebag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPM_x1rxoT3Ni8klCXmV4moELKxwCJiaiwNn6XrznjpTU3sqwtS26jemI2ZM4O76vsdAQYBivSxC3sYkuUvO2HqqVjW7U1SMx0DrypV0TLeK0a6gUyZe_gJNHwVOhnxbzB3cmKLNvohrQt/s320/stormtotebag.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPM_x1rxoT3Ni8klCXmV4moELKxwCJiaiwNn6XrznjpTU3sqwtS26jemI2ZM4O76vsdAQYBivSxC3sYkuUvO2HqqVjW7U1SMx0DrypV0TLeK0a6gUyZe_gJNHwVOhnxbzB3cmKLNvohrQt/s1600/stormtotebag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>BOOK PRIZES</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrY9BHliXjChK6vKz90tVqxN1uZdZikgxUiYdaVtissAhUoJxMCNyB-sJgxngJi04yOk9DwQP5H6s6S5BAGYGXFFZno0gWX68YgemzXUbDCXB2gBV0yWj2BmbL7KBuxJgEjeOkOjlF22Ev/s1600/Takenbystorm_Cover_front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrY9BHliXjChK6vKz90tVqxN1uZdZikgxUiYdaVtissAhUoJxMCNyB-sJgxngJi04yOk9DwQP5H6s6S5BAGYGXFFZno0gWX68YgemzXUbDCXB2gBV0yWj2BmbL7KBuxJgEjeOkOjlF22Ev/s320/Takenbystorm_Cover_front.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">10 will win signed new TAKEN BY STORM paperback </span></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 will win signed UNBROKEN CONNECTION paperback</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 will win signed CAYMAN SUMMER paperback </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 will win signed THREE BOOK STORM SET</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">(with new paperback)</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 will win signed First Edition hardcover TAKEN BY STORM</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>International Contest</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I love all my international readers and have always included you in all my contests, but the postage to send prizes around the world has become too expensive, so I'm holding a separate contest for you. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The rules to enter and get extra entries are the same as the US Contest. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">BOOKMARKS - I'm happy to mail everyone who enters bookmarks to share!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">10 winners will receive coupon for a FREE TAKEN BY STORM ebook.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">2 winners will receive TAKEN BY STORM paperback shipped from Book Depository. (<a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/help/topic/HelpId/27/Countries-we-ship-to#helpContent" target="_blank">Please check the list of countries they ship, too</a>. This prize is only available to readers in those countries.) </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Please tell me that you are an international reader in the comments below. If you have an international address and don't tell me, you will be disqualified from both contests. If you have an US address I can ship to, you can enter the US contest. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Deadline</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">To give lots of time for your friends and followers to enter, the contest will run through July 31st, midnight AZ time. Winners will be announced August 2.</span></span></div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-59597678448963346242012-07-15T00:30:00.000-07:002012-07-15T06:32:51.111-07:00Memories of LDS Temples Under AttackIn less than twenty-four hours, we kick off the Tenth Anniversary Celebration for Michael and Leesie! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008H5MVZW" target="_blank"><i>Taken by Storm </i>goes on sale for $0.99</a> and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Z0CUHI" target="_blank">Unbroken Connection</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052MFSGW" target="_blank">Cayman Summer</a> </i>will be free.<br />
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It's surreal how the issue I wrote about in the following post is in the news again. With President Obama's recent evolution on his position, this post that I wrote in November of 2008 from Singapore speaks to issues that are part of the political debate again. Four years ago, even from across the Pacific Ocean, the whole thing was pretty scary. It feels different this time. I live in Arizona now--truly still the wild, wild West. Cactus. Rattlesnakes. Sheriff Joe. A governor who eats scorpions for breakfast. No angry crowds. So many families still unemployed across the country. A Mormon heading the Republican ticket. Yup, surreal.<br />
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LDS Temples Under Attack<br />
<i>from "Storm's Story," November 11, 2008, from my original website.</i><br />
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I just read an article in Meridian, an LDS online magazine, written by a Mormon LAPD officer who witnessed the illegal demonstrations at the Los Angeles temple firsthand. His account and pictures are chilling. (Sadly, the link is expired.)<br />
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My daughter has a roommate in California who said the situation became so dangerous outside the LA Temple that it had to be closed. Twenty-five hundred protestors showed up outside the Salt Lake temple over the weekend.<br />
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It is surreal to sit here safe in Singapore and scan through photos of angry crowds with hate written on their signs and faces converging on our sacred temples. We just returned from a trip up to Hong Kong where we went to the temple. I find it ironic that in a city nominally controlled by communist China, I could practice my religion freely without harm or threats, but my brothers and sisters in California could not.<br />
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Our son, Andrew, served a mission in San Jose, California. He just returned home in August. He learned Vietnamese and served among the Viet population in San Jose. He taught English and Citizenship classes, helped keep a Vietnamese speaking branch running, and taught the gospel to interested Vietnamese speaking residents. I am thankful that he isn’t in California today. I’m worried about the missionaries who are still there--not to mention the millions of members who reside in California.<br />
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The LDS church joined a broad coalition of groups and churches to work to pass constitutional amendments in three states, California, Arizona, and Florida that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The passage of Prop. 8 wasn’t just the will of the Mormons--it was the will of an “historic alliance of people from every faith and ethnicity,” according to the head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento. But only our sacred buildings are being targeted. Our members homes and property have been vandalized. Our Christian faith and adherence to its commandments is branded hate. (<a href="http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/church-responds-to-same-sex-marriage-votes" target="_blank">See Official LDS church response.</a>)<br />
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What impact will all this have on one unknown Mormon writer and her simple novel about love and healing, faith and despair? I have no idea. Today it doesn’t seem all that important. Deseret News is reporting calls for boycotting Utah Ski resorts and the Sundance film festival. Perhaps my book’s very insignificance will save it from being attacked. Perhaps not. This isn’t something I ever imagined as being part of the story behind my story.<br />
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Contrary to the slogans written on the signs waving in front of the LA temple, Mormons don’t hate the gay community. Most Mormons, like me, have gay friends who we care deeply about. The recent political campaigns were painful for us. I want to see basic rights, similar to those granted in Vermont’s civil union statute, extended to committed gay couples, but I must defend marriage and what I believe it is. Not all Mormons feel the same way about the issue. The church’s official position is fairly close to my own and the position President-elect Obama stated during one of his debates with John McCain. (<a href="http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage" target="_blank">See “The Divine Institution of Marriage.”</a>)<br />
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I believe most Mormons understand the deep-rooted desire committed gay couples have to marry. We are sad to see the pain that the defense of the sanctity of traditional marriage and family causes them. We do not condemn--we ache for them.<br />
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The LDS church’s position on homosexuality is often misunderstood. One of the reasons I wrote <i>Taken by Storm</i> was to present a faithful, empathetic Mormon teen, accurately portray the rules (really commandments) she lives by, and show how hard it is.<br />
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We believe in complete chastity--gay or straight--outside of marriage. ANY sexual indulgence, from masturbation to intercourse, violates strict commandments God has set to protect the divine procreative partnership He has established with His children here on earth. That divine partnership is essential to God’s plan for His children and must be protected. This is a vital component of our faith. We don’t ask our opponents to believe it or live it, but, in America, we do ask for and expect religious freedom and tolerance. We do not condemn those among us who break these commandments. We believe in repentance and forgiveness and renewal.<br />
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As a teen, I would have loved to have a novel like <i>Storm</i> to give to my friends. Intimate, sacred issues are personal and difficult to express. I hope the thousands of Leesie’s out there find <i>Taken by Storm</i> and share themselves through it with their friends who don’t understand them.<br />
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Understanding. I guess that’s all we really want. And if <i>Taken by Storm</i>, can play a small role in soothing the hate on the faces of those people shaking the temple gates, provide a drop of understanding in the sea of gross misrepresentation, this journey will have been well worth it.<br />
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<i><br /></i>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6105487656463890103.post-3699395071621421302012-07-14T00:30:00.000-07:002012-07-14T07:07:25.005-07:00HyperventilationTwo more days left until the celebration starts. Starting Monday <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008H5MVZW" target="_blank"><i>Taken by Storm </i>goes on sale for $0.99</a> and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Z0CUHI" target="_blank">Unbroken Connection</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052MFSGW" target="_blank">Cayman Summer</a> </i>will be free. The contest prizes I ordered have been shipped. You can enter starting Monday. Ask Leesie or Michael a question for their Q&As Tuesday and Thursday and score an extra entry.<br />
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Now, on with "Storm's Story!"<br />
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The next exciting news I got from Lexa was a jpg of the final hardcover jacket.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrFngZmaCyoRo1PQ4ov_Fp7ZushinqxpBAeNtZDkx_on-Aa0zB8baBQhIUP6ahOqyOI0AAk4gtoh__3hiSWwoRlBCXVgH5dKxdIRmCunAl0oYd2o7O4UQDaSa0A0mQkluEWBofZYXSMdN/s1600/TBS_Jacket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrFngZmaCyoRo1PQ4ov_Fp7ZushinqxpBAeNtZDkx_on-Aa0zB8baBQhIUP6ahOqyOI0AAk4gtoh__3hiSWwoRlBCXVgH5dKxdIRmCunAl0oYd2o7O4UQDaSa0A0mQkluEWBofZYXSMdN/s640/TBS_Jacket.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is how they print it --in one long sheet. I loved the inside flap blurb. And the storm cloud raining on Razorbill's Penguin on the back flap. </td></tr>
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Just before Christmas, Lexa forwarded me a wonderful review from the kind and gracious, Uma Krishnaswami. She writes the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD). I was so thankful to Uma for reading <i>Taken by Storm</i>, liking it and caring about it enough to give it that kind of exposure. Susan, from Bloggin' About Books, posted <a href="http://www.blogginboutbooks.com/2008/12/taken-by-storm-not-your-mothers-lds.html" target="_blank">my first ever blog review</a>.<br />
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About a month before <i>Storm </i>launched, I wrote this post. My first encounter with the Dark Side, otherwise known as Kirkus.<br />
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Hyperventilation<br />
<i>From "Storm's Story," Feb. 12, 2009, from my original website</i><br />
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I heard from my editor that <i>Kirkus Reviews</i> just sent Penguin their review of <i>Taken by Storm</i>, and it’s not good news.<br />
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I’m not too surprised. A few weeks back, while I was killing myself to get <i>Sing Me to Sleep</i> revised, I got an email from their children’s editor forwarded to me expressing great concern over the free diving passages and Michael’s other use of free dive breathing techniques in the book.<br />
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I portray Michael going through yoga-like, deep breathing sequences before he dives and later as an intuitive defense mechanism when he gets freaked by flashbacks.<br />
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Their reviewer, a former nurse, referred to this as “hyperventilating,” and the email cited links to Wikipedia articles proving how dangerous this practice is. They felt teens wouldn’t have a context to understand the risks.<br />
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I had the opportunity to write back and explain that I certainly agreed that hyperventilation, rapid breathing that fails to clear the lungs of carbon dioxide, is dangerous in any context. But that isn’t what Michael does.<br />
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There is a lot of misinformation out there about free, apnea, or breathhold diving. It is actually a fairly safe sport that tens of thousands across the world participate in, but it is something you need training to do, and like scuba or anything to do with water, can be dangerous if people try to do it without the proper training. So READER BEWARE! Don’t read my book and drown, okay?<br />
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I am fascinated by free divers. They are amazing athletes, but it is kind of crazy. I'd read about free diving before I wrote <i>Taken by Storm</i>, but never done it--give me that friendly tank of nitrox on my back, thank you. When I decided Michael would survive the accident because of his breathholding ability, I realized I needed to find out more about free diving. I talked my husband into taking a certification course in Grand Cayman at DiveTech--where they have huge freediving competitions and people break world records and crazy stuff like that. <br />
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That poor instructor. I was awful--the giant fins were just too big for me to kick up over my head, and I get nervous if I have to hold my breath. My husband, who didn't want to take the course in the first place, was great.<br />
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We did all our training and then we swam out to the reef. Our instructor dove first--effortless, a dancer in the water, he elegantly fell to the bottom, hung out a few moments, and then rejoined us on the surface. I made it down 25 feet so I passed the course. My husband, not to be outdone by the young fit instructor with impossibly long, dark eyelashes, dove all the way to the bottom, too. Fifty-five feet deep on his first real free dive. His lips were purple by the time he made it back to the surface! Ah, the things we do for love.<br />
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We spent hours in the classroom and on the water practicing the slow, deep breathing techniques. They pack your blood, brain, lungs and every available air passage with oxygen. A proper breathedown takes ten minutes and is incredibly relaxing.<br />
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If you think free diving sounds cool and want to try it--not just snorkeling, but strap weights to your waist and giant Sporasub fins to your feet and fall fifty feet through the water holding your breath diving--you need to get certified.<br />
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The certifying body is the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers. Check out IANTD's site: http://www.iantd.com/FreeDiving/index.html for a dive shop near you that offers the course based on the innovative training I got in Grand Cayman at Dive Tech. You’ll learn and practice proper spotting, shallow water black out rescues, and all the skills critical to participating safely in this hot, new sport.<br />
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The one thing I really liked about free diving was the deep breathing techniques. I started using them a lot. I get nasty migraines and have to fight down the panic and rapid breathing at the onset of an aura. I know tons about hyperventilation! Free dive breathe down techniques help me stay calm and in control--even alleviate some of the pain.<br />
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Wonder if it will work on nasty reviews?<br />
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My editor doesn’t think I should read it. Instead, she sent me this beautiful list of all the great things writers, bloggers, teens, and reviewers have said about TBS.<br />
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“Passion, pace, pizzazz and a perfect finish—What more can you ask for?”—Tim Wynne-Joes (Rex Zero)<br />
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“A debut novel that is satisfying on every level.”—Ron Koertge (Stoner & Spaz)<br />
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“As compelling and romantic as Twilight.”—Cathy Berner, (YA Specialist, Blue Willow Bookshop)<br />
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“There are moments of yearning and transcendence that took my breath away.”—Susan Fletcher (Alphabet of Dreams)<br />
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“An amazing story written with a clear, refreshing and creative voice.”—Jack Weyland (Charly)<br />
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“Fans of Meyer's TWILIGHT will enjoy this non-vampiric tale with similar romantic chords.”—Amber Gibson (TeensReadToo)<br />
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“RUN to the stores and get this book it is probably one of the most breathtaking and romantic-to-the-point-you-cry books I've ever read.”—The Reader<br />
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“Unflinching, honest, and sometimes sorrowful, Taken by Storm is a novel that is not only romantic and entertaining, but thoughtful and moving. Morrison is a bold and talented author to watch.”—The Compulsive Reader<br />
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“Angela's writing is stunning.”—Kathi Baron (Shattered—Westside Books, Fall ‘09)<br />
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“A beautiful, heartwrenching, romantic story. It made me laugh and cry. I couldn’t put it down!”—Chan (Always Something to Read)<br />
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“Engrossing, honest and edgy.”—Susan (Bloggin ‘Bout Books)<br />
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“Taken By Storm reads easily and showcases characters both realistic and larger than life, their fervent hopes and desperate needs heading for inevitable collision in its pages.”—Uma Krishnaswami (Writing with a Broken Tusk)<br />
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“I started reading, and I simply could not stop. A moving and poetic novel, Taken by Storm is a must read for any teenager entering the dating world—Mormon and non-Mormon alike.” –Abby (North Thurston High School, Olympia, WA)<br />
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“I would read this book and discuss it with my daughters. . . . I was blown away.”—Rachelle Lynch (Lausanne, Switzerland)<br />
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With this wealth of praise to insulate me, I guess I need to take a series of long deep breaths, and ask Lexa to send that review. At least, I can blog about my sorrows here!<br />
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I’m getting Sing me to Sleep ready to go to the copy editor and finalizing my launch tour plans, so I need all my creative energy for that, but I will update you on the Kirkus saga soon.<br />
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<br /></div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767644921005073798noreply@blogger.com0