"Make it so!"

Movies should be quotable. After all, it is not just the visuals that get the audience hooked, it is excellent writing. Excellent writing usually leads to excellent quotability. Quotability is bonding material in our household.

Our family has seen certain movies enough times that dialogue is permanently etched into our brains, ready to be accessed at an appropriate--or silly--life moment. My 22 year-old filmmaker son might disagree, but 1998’s The Parent Trap is the most quotable movie ever. I am not sure why, but that fun, improbable story contains little diamonds of dialogue that my girls and I constantly apply to life situations. It makes us laugh, and therefore, bond. A few years ago, we discovered that a family we know and love quotes that movie all the time: true kindred spirits.

We quote from the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises (Spock, James Kirk and Jean Luc Picard emitted some especially worthy quotes--who said, “Earl Grey, hot,” “You have been and always will be, my friend,” and  “Khaaaaaan!”?), the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (since our son became engaged in New Zealand this past Christmas, we have made a lot of “one ring” and “my precious” references), and of course the six-part 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice.

My sister Lois and I tend to use Pride and Prejudice lines regularly in conversation. We used to watch it during Christmas vacation together when we stayed at her home. But when Tim and I moved to seminary, we met the witty Kevin Merrit, who does a killer impression of Mr. Collins, and we discovered more nerdy friends who quote P and P like we do.

I was thinking of listing some quotes here, but out of context, the lines don’t make much sense. They are meaningful when shared with someone who knows the film and also how the line applies to life right now. A good film is powerful that way, because its impact continues long after the audience leaves the theater, or long after you turn off the Blu-ray player.

I Never Claimed to be Siskel OR Ebert by Amanda Elder Silvers

I have always been a fan of movies.  There is just something about retreating to a dark, cavernous space, sliding back in a chair which hopefully reclines a bit, and getting lost for two or more hours in whichever world your movie transports you to.  I relish every element about the experience- the smell of the popcorn, the rattle of the secret bag of M&M's I've most likely smuggled into the theater inside my gigantic purse, the coolness of the air conditioner which usually requires that I remember to bring a sweater, and the tell-tale suction of the bottom of your shoes to the inevitable stickiness of the floor.  What's not to love?

As a general rule of thumb I don't have just one genre of movie that I enjoy.  Frankly I like them all.  I love a comedy which makes me laugh until tears are rolling down my face.  I always like a good drama as well as a sappy love story.  Much to the chagrin of my mother I even enjoy some horror- SOME.  A good movie, in my opinion, will take the viewer on an emotional journey.  Which emotion isn't nearly as important to me as the simple fact that the movie will make me feel something. 

From childhood I have very fond memories of being home one summer and watching a week-long marathon of old Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies.  The dancing and the costumes were just magical to me.  I love the old black and whites and the classics like "Holiday Inn", "Meet Me in St. Louis", and "From Here to Eternity".  Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Rock Hudson, and the old Barbara Streisand and Ryan O'Neal movies made up a large part of my movie viewing from my childhood to teenage years.  Movies from those eras were fun and light and innocent.  Something you'd be hard pressed to find today.

My mother introduced me to the 1967 version of "Camelot" starring Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Harris when I was in high school.  The first time I saw it I specifically remember thinking I would most likely hyperventilate from the immense amount of crying I was doing.  This feeling was only matched by one other movie- my first viewing of James Cameron's "Titanic".  I literally sat in my theater seat a weepy, snotty, mascara-smeared mess and waited until the last person left the room before I even dared to rear my head. 

I agreed with many of the movies the other Kingdom Bloggers have mentioned this week.  I loved "The Sound of Music".  I have that soundtrack downloaded on my iPod.  No really... I do.  "Beaches", "Steel Magnolias", "Top Gun", "St. Elmo's Fire", and "The Breakfast Club" will always be classics to me from my generation.  These movies shot to popularity when I was in my teens and quotes from these movies easily squeezed their way into the daily dialogue between me and my friends: "You know I love you more than my luggage" has been uttered in my circle of friends since 1989.

At the risk of sounding like an old fogie I will close with this opinion.  I firmly believe the movies of today lack much of what was found in the movies of my youth.  I agree that the advances in computer technology have made movies much more visually stimulating, but I think sometimes the storyline comes in second place to the special effects.  Perhaps as a female I just have a different perspective on that.  Sometimes they do get the mixture right, though.  As much as I don't like to admit this outloud I actually liked "Avatar".  I like for my movies to have heart and a message.  That message doesn't always have to be sweet and flowery.  I just have to feel something, to learn something.  I see so much of "the world" in today's movies.  The number of movies I can't take my children to see FAR outweighs those which I can.  I'd like to see a large dose of morality put back into our movies and for my children not to grow up in a world which just assumes that premarital sex, cursing, and partying are the norm.  Okay, I'll now remove myself from my soapbox which is most likely permanently stuck onto this coke-encrusted theater floor. Would you mind to please reach into my massive purse and hand me my M&M's?  ;)

Have a wonderful weekend, friends. 

How About 4 Granny?

By Linda Maynard

I think our assignment this week is to talk about our favorite movie.
I thought, " Wow, only 1?"

It made me think of my grandson Jonah. I decided to give him and his sister, Ivy 2 marshmallows each. I then see him counting on his fingers, tongue sticking out, and he says,” Granny, how about 4?”

The next day I offered him 5 and he said “How about 7?”

Beginning this blog, I ask you “How about 6 or perhaps 7 movies?” “Also, one of them involves 2 sequels, so shouldn’t that count for only one?

OK…OK…I am trying to negotiate like Jonah, by being sweet and coy.

I will tell you…well maybe I should ask you “How about 4?”


Schindler’s List  is right up there for me. It is hard movie to watch and is accompanied by haunting violin music. It is based on a true story of a wealthy German businessman, who through his effort, to employ Jewish workers in his factory, saved their lives from extermination.

He was a hero and yet he was not a saint, by any means.

At the end of the movie, he is leaving the country, and is met by the group of Jews that he saved. They present him with a ring that has an inscription on it. It is hard for him to accept their thanks. Schindler comes clean with his admittance of his flawed humanity. He sobs, as he looks at his expensive car and his gold jewelry and says…I could have saved more!
Itzhak Stern, a leader of the group, tells Schindler that the inscription on the ring is Hebrew and from the Talmud and it says. “ Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire"

Steel Magnolias and Beaches

 I liked that each of these movies, were about friendships of women.
In Steel Magnolias…Sally Field plays the mother of the bride. Julia Roberts is the bride, who is a serious diabetic. Dolly Parton is a beauty shop owner, who is friendly and wants to make everyone happy. Olympia Dukakis plays an older and polished member of the community. Shirley Maclaine plays an ornery and cantankerous member of the town. The cast is rounded out with Daryl Hannah, who comes to town as a lost and insecure young woman. She is embraced to join this circle of friends.

They were all so different and yet their relationships worked.Spolier alert… In the end, sadly, Julia Robert’s character dies. What transpires then is how they banded together to support  the one who needed it. In the end, they were able to rejoice with another woman in the group. It is interesting that this movie earned only 29%  thumbs up from the critics and 85% approval from movie goers.

Beaches is another movie about the friendship of 2 females. Bette Middler, as CC Bloom and Barbara Hershey as Hillary. Early in the movie, these young girls meet at the beach. Right away, you can see the disparity of these two and how they are cut from a different cloth, in the personality and social status.

Their lives reunite after years of absence. They begin a relationship that involves them living together. Again, in an even more evident manner, you observe these two very different women interacting with life and trying to navigate with those differences

As flamboyant as CC Bloom ( Bette Midler’s character) is, Barbara Hershey’s as ( Hillary), presents her as sophisticated and more “put together” As the movie weaves in and out of their lives, we are presented with 2 women, strong in their own way, trying to maintain that uniqueness. In some ways, Hillary seems stronger, yet I look at CC Bloom and I feel, she has strength, but is just so quirky that it eludes others of that fact.
Eventually, they part with wounded hearts. Then Hillary gets cancer and sends for her friend CC. CC gets over the hurt and is there 110% for her friend.

Toy Story 1 and 2 and 3. If you have not seen these three movies, you must GO.

Even though it is animated, it is a story of relationships of a young boy with his Toys and the Toys with one another. The animation is so well and cleverly done.

It’s all about this boy named Andy, that has a group of Toys that come to life and about the adventures they go through. It is a feel good movie that is appropriate for children ( not too many of those these days). It is a movie that will make you laugh and make you cry.

Toy Story 3, although it got less positive reviews than the first two, I can’t see how much better this series could have ended. For that one, you need Kleenex.

Oh I know that I did 4 movies (or 6 if you are being a stickler) but I have a question…

” Can I review 10 movies?”

I Have Decided It's A Wonderful Life by Jenna Vick Silliman

An attitude of gratitude colors how you see your life and how you feel about it. It has been said that a majority of our emotions are determined by how we interpret events to ourselves. As the famous Proverb says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (See Proverbs 23:7.)

            My favorite movie is “It’s a Wonderful Life.” This movie changed my life. I learned right along with George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) how much I have to be grateful for. Sometimes we have to go through hard times or experience deprivation to realize how good we’ve got it. I think we all need an angel like Clarence assigned to us for a while, for however long it takes, to be trained to look at our lives differently. Some of us would really make our angel work hard to earn those wings.

            Many of us have that “IF ONLY” hanging over our heads. If only I had more income. If only I had a spouse. If only I had a better place to live. If only I didn’t have this problem. If only I had a better job, or better clothes, or better health, or a better car. The “American Dream” is more like the “American Epidemic”. We always want something better or something more!

            My son, Joshua, had a short mission trip to the Dominican Republic a couple of years ago. What my son observed was a life lesson well worth the price of the trip. He told me they have next to nothing—no nice clothes, no decent houses, no cars, no shoes. They have dirt floors and barely any food and the kids run around half naked and filthy, but they are happy! They smile and they sing and they dance. For church on Sunday they danced for hours and Joshua said they danced with them and all had so much fun. Here we have so much and we all want more and we are not grateful for what we have. Wow, I’m getting convicted all over again.

            “Rejoice always…in everything give thanks.” Isn’t this what we are supposed to be doing? “Do all things without complaining… [whining, griping etc.].” Isn’t this what we are not supposed to be doing? Yet, I must admit I dream about going to Hawaii some day. I am also dreaming about a royal blue Honda Odyssey Van right now. I can’t help it! I want, or no, actually I NEED a better vehicle. My old ’88 Chevy, a little blue wagon, is a great little car that has served me well. However, I need to visit my elderly father in Northern California (who has been fighting cancer and had a stroke) and my car just doesn’t have enough power to drive down Highway 5 over Grants Pass at 75 miles an hour. Also, I drive six or seven teenagers to go Folk Dancing in Port Angeles (a half hour away) on Sunday nights. I only have five seatbelts, so several kids cram in the far back. I need a bigger car! So I’m praying about this and thinking about how to earn some extra money to earn my dream van. I’m still grateful for my little Chevy wagon though—me and my teenager friends probably couldn’t go to Folk Dance without it!

            I heard a great quote yesterday by Kris Vallotton, one of the Pastors at Bethel Church in Redding, California. He said something about how those who are positive thinkers try to focus on the half full part of the proverbial glass. However, when we know Jesus we have hope of the eternal filling of our cup. Is your cup being filled, or being emptied? When we know who we are in Christ and have our trust in Him, we will not only have a positive outlook on life we will have supernatural vision and a peace that surpasses understanding and bright hopes for tomorrow!

There is nothing wrong with dreaming and working towards things and praying and waiting on God for better things in our lives. However, let’s be grateful and appreciative and enjoy what we do have already. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE!

Movie Guilt

Movies and I have an interesting history.  Every time I go to a movie I have this odd sense of guilty that washes over me for a second or two.  I grew up in a rather strict Pentecostal home.  My parents weren’t strict about everything, but when it came to the evils of the movies, playing cards, make-up, and dancing, they were strict.  All these thing were strictly forbidden.

When  I was seven, Disney’s Sleeping Beauty came out.  Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE of my friends (except the church ones) were going to see it!  My BFF was Catholic so movies were never an issue for her.  Her Aunt was taking her to see Sleeping Beauty and I was invited to attend.  I can remember laying in my bed with my ears perked up.  My parents were deciding whether I could go or not.

I prayed.  I prayed hard.  The logic that we had a television in our house and that I watched endless hours of movies from the 30’s and 40’s was lost on me.  I probably would have used that argument if I were older than 7.  Then I heard it.  There may be nothing wrong with the movie but they didn’t want me to think that going to the evil movie theater was right.  You can read more about my Sleeping Beauty story here.

By the time the Sound of Music came out, my father had pronounced that movies were okay.  All was fine until we moved to Missouri where the question was asked – when Jesus returns (or the “rapture happens) do you want to be found in a movie theater.  Of course not!

These experiences and more leave me with a twinge of guilt that I usually laugh off internally so I can sit back and enjoy the show.  I have a varied taste in movies, and like songs, it is always hard for me to say – this is the one – or even two – favorite.  I like so many!

But let me narrow it down to two – both oldies – both some of the first movies I was every allowed to see.  The first one is the very first movie I actually saw on the “silver screen”  The Sound of Music.  I still remember the thrill of the big screen and Maria singing The Hills Are Alive…  I was in awe and mesmerized. 

The other movie is Fiddler on the Roof.  Oh how  I love Tevye.  He is probably one of my all-time favorite characters in a movie!

In the last decade, my favorite movie(s) was the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  The most recent movie I’ve seen is The Best Marigold Hotel for the Aged and Beautiful – the language and some of the themes might not be your taste but I loved the movie!  What was the first movie you saw?

Next time you curl up with popcorn and a drink in a theater as the lights go dark think about me.  That’s the time my guilt pops up.  Then do what I do, laugh inside, and enjoy the show.  

A Night at the Movies

A few months ago, Kingdom Bloggers wrote about finding God in the movies. At that time, I wrote with a Christian perspective in view of what Hollywood is creating and although I cannot separate myself from a Christian worldview, this morning I’m writing from a perspective of pleasure – my favourite movies.

I love to laugh and it’s a no-brainer comedies are my favourite movie genre. I enjoy many movies for different reasons but my go-to movies – ones I’d watch again and again are comedies – mockumentaries, to be specific.

Best In Show – It was directed in 2000 by Christopher Guest and has a slew of comedic actors. It is said of Christopher Guest’s movies there is no script (only a plot line) and the actors have a creative license to ad-lib and fill in the story as the movie continues. The effect is absolutely hilarious.

The movie chronicles 5 dog owners and show handlers from their homes to the Mayflower Dog show. Each character is developed, from the owners to the dog show judges and to the earnest hotelier where the guests and their owners stay for the duration of the show.

I also like the fact it was filmed in Vancouver and when Meg & Hamilton Swan tell the story of how they met –in a Starbucks but not actually the same Starbucks made me laugh so hard I was near tears. They were referring to 2 Starbucks stores that were kitty corner to each other on Vancouver’s busiest and most famous shopping street – Robson Street.

Drop Dead Gorgeous – This movie came out in 1999 and although I am a huge fan, the majority of people have never heard, not seen this gem of a comedy. The cast is a list of many of Hollywood’s leading ladies, from Ellen Barkin, Allison Janney, Denise Richards, Kirsty Alley, Kirsten Dunst, Brittany Murphy and [then unknown] Amy Adams.

Similar to Best In Show, the movie chronicles the contestants in a small town beauty pageant. There is an element of Toddlers & Tiaras before that show was a brainchild of TLC, especially played so well by Kirsty Alley – a mother reliving her beauty pageant dreams through her daughter, Denise Richards.

I’ve seen each of these movies more than dozen times, perhaps more. If you haven’t seen them, do yourself a favour and find a copy, grab some popcorn and get ready for an ab workout.

It's Like Cleaning out the Fridge

I am not a good procrastinator.  Getting things done on time is important to me, sometimes to a fault (like “demonstrating exasperation” when we are running late to church). As I mentioned on a recent blog post about being a disciplined person (not perfectly, of course), in grad school I would start my projects and papers far ahead of the deadline, because I despised the anxiety and stress--and the less effective prose--when under the gun, so to speak.

There are things I do procrastinate over: cleaning the fridge (don’t look--just reach in and grab something), vacuuming stairs (my friend Anne recently sprained her ankle falling down the stairs while vacuuming--I told her that means we are to never vacuum stairs, obviously), weeding (we should not mess with God’s creation) and...finishing the several books I have started writing.

My sister Ann used to bug me about getting my books written. She hasn’t mentioned my doing that in a while, so she apparently now knows that bugging a writer to write, much like spewing exasperation at certain people who make you late for church, is not effective.

What may be more effective is my noticing the clock ticking towards my next birthday: 49. While 49 is just about half the age of my friend Ward (he just turned 90) and that makes me feel like the new 30, I recently realized that I have been planning on writing a book for more than 25 years,  and I felt old and unaccomplished.

I have three books in my head right now: one that I have been musing over for four years is “Austenesque,” but it is somewhat dark in nature; another is non-fiction about my favorite artist from the 1890's who became a Christian--I have been researching it off and on, but really need to go to France and England (anyone want to be my patron?); and the third is actually not just in my head, but on paper in the form of several chapters. I recently developed the content further and spoke at a one-day retreat on its topic: how God’s love transforms.

This last one is the first one I will publish--makes sense, since it is the only one I have substantially worked on--once I actually stop procrastinating and finish it and find a publisher.

In the meantime, I really should clean out my fridge.

Truth is Stranger Than Fiction by Amanda Elder Silvers

One of my lifelong goals has always been that I would one day be a published author.  It's a goal (need, desire) that burns deep inside me and gnaws away quietly at my soul.  It has since I was a child.  I've given much thought to what type of book or books I would like to put out there for the general public, but I'm fairly sure it would be a biographical account of my life.  I could do a devotional book or a fictionalized account of people I know or places I've been or dreams I've had, but the truth is my everyday life has provided me with enough material to fill a multitude of books.  I'm sure you've heard the saying, "Truth is stranger than fiction."  Well, in my case it certainly is.

In 42 years on this planet I've developed the ability to find humor in even the most horrific of situations.  I believe this little coping mechanism has helped to keep me sane for the majority of my life.  When my father died last year I was going through the most unimaginable grief with my family that any of us had ever experienced.  For most of the time we all felt as though we were having an out-of-body experience.  Your loved one dies and then you are forced to go into overdrive planning, organizing, and scheduling the funeral arrangements.  How ironic it seemed to me that during a time you are literally in zombie mode you are being required to make huge, important decisions.  I would recommend having death/burial arrangements written out well beforehand so you won't feel you are floundering quite as much as I did.  Anyway, I digress... The day after his death my mother, sister, and I go meet with the funeral director's assistant about arrangements.  This KID, and I mean KID, is doing the best he can, but we've been told we are his first family, his "test" family.  Great.  We are in the middle of overwhelming grief and we're going to get to be guinea pigs.  Fabulous.  As he explains the details of what we can expect, expenses, and the cremation process we all sit somberly with our heads down soaking it all in.  That is until I hear the oddest word I'd ever heard fall off his lips.  He is explaining to us that our father's "cremains" can be picked up at such-and-such time.  My head tilts to the right a bit as I look up, eyebrows furrowed.  "Cremains"?  Is that even a word?  I shoot a slick side glance over to my sister who meets my gaze and instantly knows what I'm thinking.  We both attempt to suppress our delight in this much needed moment of comic relief and in unison see our mother attempting to telepathically calm us down, but we know she gets it too.  I think I even quietly pulled out my phone to Google the word.  Yep.  Sure enough.  It's a real word.  After we finished with the toddler in charge of funerals and all the paperwork was signed we walked outside and my sis and I giggled.  I said, "Cremains?!  You know the first thing I thought of when I heard that word? CRAISINS!"  We all three just fell out laughing and for the rest of the week "craisins" became our private password whenever we needed to inject moments of silliness.  I even sent pics to them from my camera phone each time I'd be in the grocery store and pass a bag of Craisins.  Odd?  Yes.  Funny and necessary?  Yes.

I could go on for days with such stories.  I've previously wanted to blog the above story, but decided I needed to get enough time between the actual event and the story so it wouldn't seem callous.  The beauty of it is my dad knew and loved me.  He would have been cracking up right there in that room with us.  That's how my family has always been.  I wouldn't change a thing about that. 

Over the years I've accumulated numerous blogs and stories about my family, friends, college years, childhood, and life.  I've got stories about a first date I went on which involved picking up a dead body from a funeral home in Atlanta (all of my stories are not funeral based, I promise).  I have stories about medical experiences which were hysterical and I've written much about the people I love. 

I've often envied authors like Stephenie Meyer who can pen all-consuming stories of vampires and werewolves.  I've not been successful at fiction.  I'm very much an in-the-present person and my writing style reflects that.  I hope to one day write a book which the world will get to read.  My hope is that it would bring a moment of laughter to someone who may be having a bad day or perhaps one of my shared experiences will resonate with someone going through something similar.  I pray that God allows me this wonderful accomplishment.  I know if it is in His plan He will show me the way there.  To any of you readers who like to write, I encourage you to continue.  I've found no better way to cleanse my inner self of stress and sorrow than putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard.  Writing truly is a gift in that it gives something back to each of us.

LISTEN, FOR I HAVE WORTHY THINGS TO SAY

My title is taken from Proverbs 8:6a. This would have to be the intention of anyone who writes. The reader reserves the right to disagree but putting wings on words is the thrill of writing.

When I was about 10 years old, I wrote my first book. Oh, I should be more honest and say, when I started to write my first book.

It was a mystery, probably an idea that was spurred on by the popular Nancy Drew Series. What I distinctly remember was the passion of crafting scenarios that would bring me into made up places. The characters reverberated with memorable roles. I was the main character who was definitely a heroine. She was wise beyond her years and an accomplished sleuth. And she was clever and likable.

From as long as I can remember, I loved writing as much as I loved reading. That fact remains today.

The three times that I attended Writer’s Conferences, along with a Writing Course, were times that I learned invaluable information about writing.

I remember walking into the Writing Class late. The Teacher had already asked the students a question. He wanted me to answer it as well. While walking to my seat, he asked “What was the last thing that you read?” I swear I was not trying to be funny, but I just took the question literally and said “A yogurt container”

I mean, I had just started Weight Watchers and you can understand how food takes the forefront when you start a diet. Nevertheless , the teacher and the class found it pretty funny.

I also remember from the class, the teacher holding up a freezer baggie, filled with a pile of papers. He explained that they were rejection slips that he had received over the years. He had sent a good amount of book proposals to publishers before his books were accepted. He did it so that we would realize that it is a real part of the book proposal process.

I heard that same information at the Writer’s Conferences as well. I have even read that the book The Help, that was on the New York Time’s Best Seller list for many weeks, was rejected a fair amount of times, before being accepted.

I have written and had published some magazine articles. It was kind of thrilling to see my name in print and to have “what I had to say” of value to the people who made the decision to print them.

I  now have 2 books in the works.

One is a Children’s Book about a little girl Walrus named Cindi and her friends. It is not a Christian Book per se, but one that portrays good morals.

The idea for the book came to me when I was reflecting on a group people that the Lord had put in my life, when I was in a dark and depressing period. Some of these people, who supported me , were professionals and others were friends. As a tribute to each of them, I have used either their name or a portion of their name for my characters.

Whether my book is accepted by a Publisher or not, I have purposed that I am going to, at the very least, have some printed and distribute them to these special people.  I would think it would be a blessing for them to see that I accomplished some things that I dreamed of.

One thing I learned about children’s books is that if the author doesn’t do the art…the publisher will likely pick the illustrator.. I think that could be a little tricky, as I surmise that the author might feel somewhat guarded about their story. I have often wondered how the author would feel if they truly disliked the art.

The second book, I would say is in the category of Inspirational Christian Women’s Issues.

The title would be “You Can Know a Lot about a Woman by What She Carries in Her Purse”.

The idea first came to me, as a line in the eulogy, that I wrote for my mom. My mom always carried a large purse. I talked about the contents of her purse as a way to tell her story and to let others know more about her.

In addition, I recently did a display for our local library. It had various purses ,along with the contents visible and spilling over near each purse.

There are 4 Christian Women Book Authors that I follow on the Internet, on their Websites. It has helped me to see that they are real, down to earth people and I have gleaned encouragement and ideas from them.

They are Karen Kingsbury, Angela Hunt, Ann Tatlock and Mary Demuth. I have contacted them personally with comments and or questions and all have responded. I realized that authors do like to hear feedback and I found them willing to help.

 Mary Demuth is very generous in offering her expertise and encouragement for writers. She is an Author, Speaker and Book Mentor.

With mentioning these authors, I would encourage anyone to contact their favorite authors. When you think of it yourself, wouldn’t it feel great to get positive feedback or questions about your writing?

At the very least, you would know that there is someone:”out there” reading what you wrote.

So my friends,

Happy Writing!

Don’t lose heart if you are rejected a few times.

Keep persevering!

Linda Maynard

My Book by Jenna Vick Silliman

If I were to write a book, what would be the genre? I choose Health and Beauty Aids. Hahaha! Sounds like a department at the Drug Store! Seriously, that’s my area of interest. I’m a teacher type, so I write instructional or informational manuals. Wow, that sounds really boring, but I can’t help it—that’s what I write.

I have to add, however, the word “another” to the first sentence. If I were to write ANOTHER book? I’ve already written and self-published and sold several different books—or booklets. I have to laugh again—hahaha! My daughter’s voice (she just graduated with her Masters from Chicago University so I really should listen) just reminded me that the accurate description is a chap book and NOT a booklet. I guess that is what they call them now.)

My first one is called “SOAP Handbook” and I wrote it about 15 years ago. It is the history, chemistry and old time craft of soapmaking. It includes my own recipe for making homemade soap in your blender. (No, not the Vita-mix—you need to use some cheap blender from a yard sale!) I used to speak and do soapmaking workshops and I sold my soap through mail order and at the street fairs. I still have the big wooden soap molds, but they serve to decorate the walls of my laundry room. I haven’t made soap in many years. My boys hated the fragrances of the essential oil that clung to everything in the house when I made soap. Even your sandwich would smell like lavender oil. Hahaha! Not too appetizing, eh?

I wrote a little book called “Home Remedies” and another one with a collection of poems and stories called Mama’s Story Book. I wrote one with Twenty Lists (everyone likes my lists) and one called “Say Yes to  Life” which is a long poem about welcoming the children God might want to add to your family. I also wrote one that was more substantial than a booklet called “Breastfeeding and Fertility” for new mothers that might be interested in that topic. It was published with a spiral binding by my friend, Nancy Campbell, editor of a mother’s magazine called “Above Rubies.” It is for sale in the back of the magazine, available by mail order and over the website www.aboverubies.org and also at the Above Rubies retreats. I’ve written several articles for the magazine to encourage mothers. One of my booklets started out as an article for “Above Rubies Magazine” and also was published in “Vibrant Health” and later grew to 40 pages. It is called “Raw Victory” and it is the story of how I lost 75 pounds eating raw vegetarian. It is also a “How To” or instructional type of book.

Next I want to re-write, update, re-title, and add to “Raw Victory.” Again, I will self-publish and distribute it on my own. My dream, however, is to be published and have a book with a spine, sold at bookstores everywhere. Maybe, just maybe, I will graduate from “booklet” to “book”. Now is the time to get to work and go for it and see my dream become a reality. So, to answer the question, my BOOK is about healthy living. Thanks for asking!