Happy Easter

I tried to find a picture to cap off this holiday post, but after paging through photo after photo of chocolate eggs, fuzzy chicks, even fuzzier bunnies, and bright spring flowers, I gave up. Now, I like chocolate as much as the next girl (especially in gooey-centered egg form), and I have a soft spot for all things furry, but has everybody bought into this myth? That Easter is about eggs and baby animals, and foil-wrapped candies? Sigh.

In today's day and age, it's hard not to sound sanctimonious when discussing religion. It's certainly not vogue to call yourself a Christian or to say something as bold as, "I am a follower of Jesus Christ." But I am. And I love the Lord. No, I really love him. Like crazy, head-over-heels, take-my-breath-away in love. I'm not going to push that on you or rub your face in it or expect you to feel the same way I do. But I gotta tell you--it's awesome. It's freedom and hope and love and life. It's everything.

Anyway, I'm not a preacher--that's my husband's job. But it is Easter and I live a life of second chances. A life from death. Oh, I love how that sounds. So, happy Easter. And I'm not talking bunnies, chocolates, flowers or eggs. I'm talking resurrection.

Happy Resurrection.

The Moment Between Trailer

Thought you'd like to see the trailer for The Moment Between!

Book Questions

I'm working on an interview right now for a Reading Group website and some of the questions they asked were really interesting... I'll share my answers with you, but I'd love to know how you would answer these questions! Leave a comment. :)

1. What are you reading right now? Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas.


2. Have you ever read anything you're too embarassed to admit? A series of smutty sci-fi/fantasy books. Totally not my style, but my friend gave me the first one and it was as addictive as crack. I blush admitting it...


3. What was your favorite book when you were a child? The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.


4. What book has changed your life? Why? Peace Like a River by Leif Enger because it taught me that redemptive fiction doesn't have to be pat or easy. And, best of all, hope-filled fiction can be literary.

TMB Review & Giveaway

One of the cool (and sometimes scary) things about writing a book is that your audience has the potential to reach far and wide. Shortly after my first book was published, someone at Tyndale recommended that I set up a Google-Alert for my books. I'm still amazed at where After the Leaves Fall and Summer Snow turn up! And now my in-box is starting to pick up rumblings about The Moment Between. Exciting, and just a little frightening.

Anyway, Google-Alert just told me that Jenners at Find Your Next Book Here posted a review of TMB. I believe this is the first "non-professional" (i.e. non-Pub-Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, etc.) review. I enjoyed reading her take on it and poking around her site. (I intrinsically love any woman who calls herself "Mom-extraordinaire and negligent housekeeper." Oh, how I can relate.) Check it out! She's giving away her copy of the Advanced Reader Copy, and all you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment. Buena suerte!

Welcome to my NEW blog!

Okay, so it's not all that new. It's just redesigned. All the same, I'm pretty excited about it. Please take some time to poke around and let me know what you think! Also, I'm in the middle of labeling all my old posts. It's a long process (Apparently I have over 200 posts!), but when it's all said and done you'll be able to read blog entries with similar topics or areas of interest. Like reading reviews? Click on the label. Want something with a bit more depth? Try essays. I'm not always the most organized person, but there's something about cataloging my blog that appeals to me. Yes, I am a nerd. And happily so, thank you.

Anyway, have fun exploring! Keep your eyes open for a fun surprise, too. I'll keep adding more little extras as the weeks go by. ;)

Identity

I’m a Newsweek girl. Have been since… oh, I don’t know. Forever, I guess. I remember being really young and paging through the glossy magazine in search of photographs that would elicit a chill--either from the sheer beauty and truth they encapsulated or from the juxtaposition of the unexpected, like a child’s body floating facedown in a calm pool, white shift fanned out in a soft cloud. Can’t say I like those images, but they do have the power to show me the depth of my naiveté. It’s ponderous, I think.

Yesterday my mail bundle contained a fresh copy of Newsweek, and I (procrastinator that I am) promptly sat down and devoured it cover to cover. Back cover to front cover, of course. It’s the only way to read Newsweek--all the light, artsy articles are in the back, with the political and international hard-hitting sob stories near the front (I like to ease my way in). One of the final (first for me) articles was called “Generation Diva: How our obsession with beauty is changing our kids.” I was hooked after the first paragraph:

There's a scene in "Toddlers & Tiaras," the TLC reality series, where 2-year-old Marleigh is perched in front of a mirror, smothering her face with blush and lipstick. She giggles as her mother attempts to hold the squealing toddler still, lathering her legs with self-tanner. "Marleigh loves to get tan," her mom says, as the girl presses her face against the mirror.

Are you kidding me? I don’t have a daughter, but come on, that’s just not right. Jessica Bennett, the author of “Generation Diva”, goes on to catalog spa days for five-year-olds, laser hair removal instead of shaving, and Botox for girls barely out of training bras. In one staggering statistic she claims that by the time your ten-year-old daughter is fifty, she’ll have spent “nearly $300,000 on just her hair and face.” That’s no typo, there are five zeros in that staggering figure.

I’ll admit I was hyperventilating a bit at this point in the article, though what Jessica revealed next came as no big surprise: we’re priming our girls to be perpetually dissatisfied with themselves. More so, we're creating an entire generation whose identity is tied up in what they look like. I am nothing more than the sum of my clear skin, pouty lips, slender hips… Sigh.

Oh, it breaks my heart for a million different reasons. And yet, this morning I hopped on my computer, checked both of my email accounts, my blogger profile, and my Facebook pages (both personal and public), and felt a little stab of discontent when nothing interesting was going on. No emails from fans, agent, or publisher. Nothing new and noteworthy. Sigh. And all at once it struck me that right now my identity, my entire identity, is hopelessly wrapped up in my writing career. Part of this is because I have a book releasing in a couple weeks (things always get a little crazy around a book release), but I don't like the feeling all the same. I don't like believing that the worth of my existence is tied to my success (or lack thereof) as a writer. How is that any different from some poor tween believing that her beauty lies in the shade of her highlighted hair?

Yuck. The things we do to ourselves.

Anyway, I have a question for you today. What do you base your identity on? Where do you find your affirmation? I realize that this answer can change from day to day, but take a moment to ponder where you're at right now. And then remind yourself: I am so much more than this. I am not what I look like. I am not an extension of my job. I am not simply a wife/mother/daughter/sister or husband/father/son/brother. I am not just a friend of so-and-so. I am not what I do. I am not what I don't do. I am not always who you think I am...

But I am created for a purpose. I am significant. And I am beloved of God.

Have an awesome weekend, Beloved.

New Website

My friends at Maverick Media are in the process of redesigning my website. They have been my website gurus since the beginning, and I've loved everything they've done. It's a bit of a work-in-progress at this stage, but all the elements are more or less there. Take a peek and let me know what you think! Any ideas, suggestions, comments? Click on the links to the right to check out the homepage and other tabs.

What do you think? Does the new site capture the essence of my tiny corner of the world wide web?