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Winter 2006 "Because a memory a day keeps the blues far away." News Bulletin - Breaking NewsMidnight Ink just offered me a three-book contract for my mystery novels starring Kiki Lowenstein, a woman who's only been good at two things: scrapbooking and getting pregnant! Yahoo! You'll be reading all about Kiki, her best friend Mert, and the store where she works, Time in a Bottle, sometime soon! So stay tuned, friends. I hope to get permission to give you advance snippets of the books. Table of Contents
Apologies and a Personal NoteOkay, I planned to get an ezine out before Halloween. Then my deadline moved to before Thanksgiving, and now, oh gosh, did I feel embarrassed when I realized haven't written all of you since the SUMMER. My excuse? Life got in my way. I now have a literary agent, and we're working on getting my mysteries sold. I love writing mysteries, and my agent loves selling my work, so I've been working hard to provide her with everything she needs. How do you get an agent? If you are writing fiction, first you need to write your book. It's tempting to say, "I'm working on blah-blah-blah," but take it from me, the act of getting 75,000 words on paper and creating a story that makes sense is a REAL challenge. Once you finish your book, you can send query letters to literary agencies and hope someone "bites." Or you can go to a writers' conference and pitch your work in person. I did both. My agent Liz Trupin-Pulli knows her stuff. Hearing her speak on panels convinced me I'd be lucky if she took me on. I think she liked me because I made her laugh! What happens after you "get" an agent? You send her fifty pages of your manuscript. If she likes that, she'll ask to see the whole thing. If she likes that, she'll probably still have a few changes and corrections to make. You do as she asks and send her as many copies of the manuscript as she wants. She adds her materials and sends the book to publishing houses. And then you wait. And wait. And wait. And keep working. And do a little happy dance at your desk when your agent calls with a three-book contract. I've written Book #1 (currently titled Over Exposed) and Book #2 (currently titled Scraplifted) in the Kiki Lowenstein series. I'm working on two other books as well. I did take time in September to visit my mother in Stuart, Florida, and help her with her trips to chemo and radiation. She asked me to tell all of you, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You've all been very kind, and your emails mean so much to me. I've put them in a special file that I open when I need encouragement." We were told Mom was "cured." Last night I found out they've found the cancer is still there. Mom's lost a lot of weight and feels quite frail. I'm going back to Florida in the next few days to try to help out. So keep on praying for her, please? We're not out of the woods yet. Have a wonderful, safe, healthy, and happy holiday season- Joanna Join Me for Writers Online Workshops! And we're giving away ONE class to one lucky reader - Free!Get one-on-one personal attention and feedback on your journaling. Join me in my Writers Online Workshop class. Dates for Getting Started (Quickly) in Journaling are: January 25, 2007 through February 21 Our HOLIDAY gift to you - Writers Online Workshops is giving away a space in one of my classes to ONE of YOU! Here's how to enter to win FREE tuition to my class-
Here's what one of my students had to say about my class- Hi Joanna, I want to personally thank you for all I have learned in this workshop. The instruction, tips and support information you provided have certainly helped me to put a new focus into my daily journal and travel writing journal. Thank you very much. Happy scrapbooking! B. Don't want to take a chance on not winning? You can sign up for classes with me. Go to www.writersonlineworkshops.com This Month's Journaling Technique-Add the emotionOccasionally, I read pieces where the scrapbooker did a wonderful job of telling us the "who, what, when, where, why, and how," but left out what he or she was feeling. Did the moment make you: proud, eager, giddy, happy, delighted, sad, mournful, upset, angry, overjoyed, elated, miserable, stunned, frightened, worried, shocked, embarrassed, thoughtful, awed, energized, thankful, appreciative, disappointed, uncomfortable, regretful, tired, fulfilled, encouraged, anxious, perturbed, irritated, hurt, confused, silly, serene, weepy, grossed out, surprised, devastated, triumphant, prayerful, contemplative, pleased, disgusted, hopping mad, curious, calm, or simply underwhelmed? Be honest with your readers. If this was not your finest hour, why not assure future generations that you weren't perfect? If this was a "never-to-be-forgotten" moment, why not underscore the importance of this time? Don't depend on viewers knowing what you felt by looking at the photos. Two people can see the same image and come to two very different conclusions. When you do add emotion, go beyond the ordinary. "I was very happy to see them," is so overused, it's nearly meaningless. Tell me, "I was worried I'd never get the chance to see my sister again before she left for Europe." That explains why her visit was important to you. For more great ideas on journaling, see one of my books. They are available through www.my-memories.net or www.scrapbook.com You can also purchase my books and any supplies you need from my friends at Memories Unlimited, www.stlouisscrapbooks.com Page Ideas-This year I plan to simplify and organizeI used to tell people not to worry about being behind on their scrapbooking. After all, photos in boxes are inventory, right? That way you always have a reason to sit down and scrap. But now I'm feeling really unorganized. The year we spent in England totally took my system of filing photos and tossed it out the proverbial window. I simply must get caught up. And I remembered something a friend, Liz Curtis Higgs, now a prolific author of Christian romance novels did. Each year she chose ONE word and put it on an index card. That word was her THEME for the year. I'm starting a little early by using two words: Simplify and Organize Okay, now you know I can't count! (It's really 3 words. Duh!) And thinking about those three words, I realized. I can't get there if I only scrap ONE photo per page. Or if I start from scratch with my layouts each page.
Here are my variations:
More Multiple Photo Pages
Another way to make progress on your photo backlog-facing pages. Let the left or right page be "fancy" and go simple on the facing page. Not every page needs to be a masterpiece. Things I'm Loving Right NowMUSIC Oh, my gosh. This made me cry buckets. Grab tissues before watching! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhabkCVy0pE FOOD This is the time of year for unexpected company. My good friend Kay Croke made these, and I made a pig out of myself. What I like most about them is you can keep the ingredients easily on hand and put these together FAST. Tomato and Cheese Tidbits 1 roll of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
BOOKS I'm loving Randy Wayne White's work. My friend Linda Hengerer introduced me to his books. Here's her story: We met Randy Wayne White in Vero Beach after going to his restaurant and seeing his books there. Stopping by Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grille was indeed a happy accident, and we lucked onto a fine-dining sports bar. Randy Wayne White is a great writer, and as entertaining in person as he is an author, if not more so. His story about riding out the 2004 hurricane: "I spent the first half in my Lexus SUV, and when the eye came through, I went into my house to check on things. Forgetting about the other half of the storm, I spent the remainder of the hurricane curled up in my fireplace in the fetal position." When an audience member commented on spending the storm in his vehicle, his response was, "Oh, it was fine. It's meant to go 160 mph." My husband is hooked on his books as well, and we snap up each new one as it comes out. Check Randy out for yourself. Try Tampa Burn or Everglades. All of us can contribute to global warming! (You'll see what I mean!) PLAN NOW FOR A WEDDING OR REUNION THIS SUMMER Here's a great idea. Ellen Braunstein, founder of Courtship Stories, is a journalist who writes, designs and publishes the stories of how couples met and fell in love. They are 12 page, professionally designed, card-stock books, 5.5 by 8.5 inches. They are given to all the wedding guests at the reception as a personalized keepsake and for entertainment. She also does wedding anniversary books for large celebrations-and newsletters for family reunions. Talk to your family over the holidays and make plans for that special occasion this summer. Read an interview with Ellen. AND FOR YOUR SOUL This came from my little sister Jane. Isn't it lovely? Click here: http://i.euniverse.com/funpages/cms_content/2529/4candles.swf Results from our Last ContestCongratulations to Mariah Oliveira! Joanna- My dog Bo just loved the liver treats. They were small enough for my 1 year old to feed to him. Thanks, Mariah Oliveira I had to laugh about Mariah's email. I keep dog treats in my office on my desk. (The dogs won't come when I call unless I shout, "Yummies!" Boy, they've got me trained.) We had a cold snap, and I noticed little mousie poops all around my desk. Yuck. My son Michael didn't want me to kill them. Last year he actually caught two mice with his bare hands. (No, I don't recommend that method of critter control. He came downstairs and saw the mice dancing on my computer router and took action.) So instead of setting traps right away, I waited while Mike tried a variety of no-kill, homemade mousetraps-like a paper bridge with a trapdoor into a deep jar. The mice were too smart for Mike-and for me. They took an ENTIRE bag of yummies off my desk one night. Didn't even leave crumbs. Well, it was in time for Thanksgiving after all! The NEW ContestLet me tell you about my friend Emilie Richards. She's a best-selling author, and a real sweetheart. You know how sometimes God just brings the right person into your life? Well, Emilie is one of those gifts. You may have seen her books in Target or on their own shelf or display in a "big" bookstore. I promise you, if you pick up Blessed is the Busybody or any of Emilie's Shenandoah Album series, you'll see her keen understanding of human nature shines through.
You gotta-- Put Suspects in the subject line. By when?-- December 30, 2006 Check out Emilie at-- www.emilierichards.com or read about the Ministry is Murder series at www.ministryismurder.com A Holiday Card from ME to All of YOUHere's a special holiday message from me to you! http://www.careerbuilder.com/monk-e-mail/?mid=16947694 Stuff You Need to KnowLike the ideas here? You'll love our books. Click on www.my-memories.net to see the complete line of our books. Comments? Contact Joanna at savetales@aol.com. We love to hear what you think and what you'd like to read more about. We like questions, too, but give us a while to answer them, okay? Have a product you'd like for us to try? Send us samples at Scrapbook Storytelling, 7 Ailanthus Court, Chesterfield, MO, 63005. Phone 636-519-1612. About the author...Journaling goddess Joanna Campbell Slan is the author of Scrapbook Storytelling which has sold 70,000 copies in addition to seven other books on scrapbooking, one textbook on storytelling, and two inspirational books. Contact Joanna at savetales@aol.com |
