Two Lists for Book Lovers with Guest Author, Janet Kay Jensen, plus a Giveaway for her book, Gabriel's Daughters

It's the season of lists.

December brought us shopping lists, to-do lists, naughty-and-nice lists, and wish lists.

January brings us goals or dreams for the coming year, along with lists on how to achieve them.

Thus, I felt it was only fitting in hosting a post for Janet Kay Jensen to celebrate the publication of her new book, Gabriel's Daughters, that I should ask her to come up with a list of her own.

Lucky for us, Janet responded with two! As it goes, these lists are perfect for book lovers all around. You'll certainly want to check out these titles or revisit the favorites that you share in common.

So, here we go!

What are some of your favorite books and why?

1. To Kill a Mockingbird  by Harper Lee. The voice in this story is so clear and honest.

Author Janet Kay Jensen

2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles. An allegory about the small wars that take place in the human heart, as boys in an exclusive prep school prepare for World War ll and the world around them falls apart.

3. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. She evokes a sense of place, and fate, that are unforgettable.

4. Mansfield Park  by Jane Austen: You can say what you like about Jane, but I think her humor is deliciously wicked. 

5. Anything by Charles Dickens: I think he created some of the most memorable and vivid characters in literature.

6. Atonement by Ian McEwan: Events unfold that can’t be taken back, and their effects last for generations. 

7. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Twain’s biting humor and social commentary take a back seat to the romance of floating down a raft on the mighty Mississippi.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Anne Tyler, Barbara Kingsolver, and Ann Patchett.


Thank you, Janet!

As for me, I have been thoroughly enjoying my advanced reader's copy of Gabriel's Daughters. So I decided to come up with a list in describing my experience with her book.


5 Reasons I love Gabriel's Daughters

1. Deliciously perfect.   Many passages gave me pause, simply because I stopped reading in order to go back and reread what I just enjoyed for its flawlessness. Here's an example.

  Chef Damian was a large balding man with a big, booming voice. As a graduate of a renowned culinary school, he ran an efficient kitchen. His white coats were always starched and his hat appeared to be two feet high. Damian had a broad smile with a flash of gold between his front teeth and he rarely spoke without large gestures. As long as Harry stayed out of the kitchen, the two men maintained a working relationship.
  "I make the food," Damian explained. "He does the business. We both make the money."

2. Bordering on poetic.  This goes along with number 1, but here's another example to show you what I mean. It's passages like these that kept me glued to the story, and looking forward to reveling in others that would surely follow.

  She heard the soft "Whoo? Whoo? call of an owl in a scraggly juniper tree, and Mormon crickets answered in accusing unison with their rhythmic "You-you, you-you, you-you" chorus. She knew her memories of this night would glimmer with moonlight and smell of sagebrush while in the distance she would hear the owl's mournful question and the cricket's mocking reply.

3. Mysterious.  Would Zina's past catch up with her? And if it did, what would be the consequences?

4. Layered. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter seemed to possess lives of their own, with some allowing for personal reflection and all connecting intimately with progression of the story.  Here is one:

  Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it inflames the great. - Roger de Bussy-Rabutin

5. Captivating. I simply couldn't get enough of the characters. Each one seemed to step off the page and into my living room as living, breathing human beings. Janet did a wonderful job of creating them, working them seamlessly into the story. As I read, I wondered what would happen to them as Zina's story unfolded and drew them into her decisions. I couldn't imagine how their futures wouldn't be left unaffected by her own.


By now, you are surely wondering what this book--which has so handily captivated my attention--is about. I highly recommend it. 

About the book, Gabriel's Daughters: 

Wrestling with issues of polygamy, homosexuality, and modernity, Gabriel’s Daughters examines them through the lives of the large, loving, and polygamous Martin family. The story is told primarily through the eyes of Zina Martin, a young girl who—upon discovering she is impregnated by her “sterile” teacher and will soon be married off to a man three times her age—escapes the enclosed polygamous town of Gabriel’s Landing, Utah. Zina then embarks on a journey of self-discovery, yet she can never fully escape the longing she has for her family and even the controversial and outdated lifestyle she once lived. Through both tears and triumph, Gabriel’s Daughters reveals a moving story that not only acts as insightful social commentary but also prompts readers to re-evaluate their lives.

About the author, Janet Kay Jensen:

Janet has written other books titled, Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys (Bonneville Books 2007) and The Book Lover's Cookbook (Ballantine Books 2003), and not surprisingly, has won some awards. You can connect with Janet at her blog (www.janetkayjensen.blogspot.com), website (janetjensen.com), and social media at twitter (https://twitter.com/JanetKJensen) and facebook (www.facebook.com/JanetKayJensenAuthor). While you are on facebook, I recommend stopping by to say hello and "LIKE" her page. 

Also, be sure to enter the Gabriel's Daughters book giveaway below! This book, which is published by Jolly Fish Press, will be available from major booksellers on January 20!

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Kindle Highlights - a useful tool and much more

I'm a bit slow when it comes to technology. I've had my Kindle for nearly 2 years I believe, and only recently did I become aware of how to actually use the highlighting tool. Of course, it should come as no surprise that I DID KNOW this tool existed. And what's even more silly is how I first became aware of it. I'd come across a quote that readers had highlighted from The Ghost in Me, and it brought me pause because I didn't really remember writing those words. BUT obviously I had, because there they were, noted clear-as-day by other readers.

And here it is, as I saw it on Amazon.


Popular Highlights (What's this?)                
   

1. “We all have our beginnings, Myri. We are born with them, and we die with them, too. We carry them with us wherever we go. They keep our future open and unwritten… like blank pages waiting to be filled at the beginning of a journal, or those that lie waiting at the end of a book.”

   15 Highlighters    

After the initial confusion passed, the realization of my reality was followed by another equally silly idea, as I went on to think, Well that's pretty cool. I actually wrote that.

Uh, yeah.

As I said, I can be a bit slow, or daft, or absent-minded at times. But I'll also give myself some benefit of the doubt by saying that my life is full. I'm busy with my own kids--not to mention 180 other high school biology students, so it tends to be full of distractions. Plus, it seems perfectly reasonable that words I've strung together in the past have been shuffled to the side in order to make way for the new books that are working their way into the creative space occupying my mind.

But back to the point of this post: Kindle Highlighter as a Tool. For those that have to read and write analytical papers on novels, this is a handy way to keep track of text that moves you or relates to your paper topic. Other blog posts and web articles are available on how these highlighted texts can be downloaded by Kindle readers for use in such papers.

Kindle Highlighter also serves as another communication tool that readers can use, because readers can share text (just be kind and avoid sharing spoilers). For example, I was able to tweet a short passage that I liked recently as I was reading The Dress by Sophie Nicholls. Here is the tweet I sent, courtesy of Amazon as I was highlighting the prose on my kindle>

TWEET: Passages like these are just simply beautiful to read. And the author does this again and again:     

Ella watched her disappear then, watched her gaze travel far away, out into the air somewhere above her head, where she imagined that she could almost feel the shape of the past shimmering and pulsing for a moment. -- The Dress by Sophie Nicholls

I also noticed that my kindle offers subtle highlights on popular passages that have been selected by other readers. I can see these in the background of the prose as I'm reading. It was neat to pause and reflect on how this lovely novel was connecting with others, and if we were have similar or different experiences with the book.

All in all, if you are a student who has to write an analytical paper, or a reader who simply likes to share books you like, the Kindle Highlighter offers another interested way to connect with other readers.

I look forward to seeing how I use kindle highlighter in more of the ebooks I read, both as a reader and a highlighter.  

New Book and Concert by Tyler Whitesides

Some people go through life never knowing who their neighbors are.

As it turns out, I am lucky not to be one of those people; although I suppose it's hard to avoid stopping and getting to know your neighbor (out of sheer curiosity) after seeing him drum away on a few toilets, desks, and paint cans in his driveway -- and have company while doing it, at  that!

Yes, that is the story of how I came to know Tyler Whitesides, author of the Janitors series.

Apparently, Tyler openly embraces his craziness when it comes to creating music with his fellow band-mates, and I can tell you that he has been practicing quite religiously for his latest "percussion" show in association with the upcoming release of the third Janitors book. So far, his rehearsals have drawn a steady and growing crowd, myself being one among them.

Can I call myself a groupie? Do I dare?

I will say that as far as the show goes, I've heard parts of it, I've seen parts of it, and it's going to be awesome when Tyler finally takes the stage on the 13th at Logan High. I can't wait!

Crazy as it sounds, I've never met anyone who can beat out a really cool tune on a set of school desks or toilets, and I believe I will never meet anyone else in the future who can boast such talents, but I am lucky to know THE ONE guy who can do just that. And the fact that he is an amazing, talented and successful writer, as well as an all-around super friendly person, is simply icing on the cake.

Tyler will be celebrating his upcoming book release on Friday at Logan High School at about 7 pm in the evening. His unique concert will be followed by a book-signing and book-begetting event.

Wherever your interests lie, this is an event that music-lovers and book-lovers will not want to miss.

See you soon!

 

My Life as a Lumberjack and its Recipe for Omelets in a Bag!



One of the things I love about summer is being able to find quiet times where I can sit in the shade while the sun beams down around me and read a book, especially if it is a cute book--one that makes me laugh, one that takes me elsewhere, and one that I immediately want to share with the other readers in my life, like my daughter and my YA book-loving friends. My Life as a Lumberjack (or How I Fell for the Wrong Guys) meets all of these expectations. It's a fun-tastic read that took me to the heart of an adventure set in the mountains of Northern Utah. Plus, I've got a recipe to go with it! "Omelets in a Bag" is hot off the press (or the pen), from the Lumberjack author herself, Sara V. Olds.

Whether or not you're up for making an omelet lumberjack-style, I'm highly recommending that you add this fun book to the TOP of your "Must Read Summer List!"

 

And there's another plus! Since this book is currently on tour, we've got a contest that you can enter to win cool prizes, like a copy of My Life as a Lumberjack! Click here to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway

 So buckle your seatbelt! Wrap yourself up in that apron you know you've got tucked in a kitchen drawer, or go out and kindle that fire. Here we go!

Omelets in a Bag

 

Ingredients:

Eggs

Onions

Tomatoes

Pre-cooked bacon or ham

Mushrooms

Shredded Cheese

Salt and pepper

 

Supplies:

Quart-sized freezer zip bags

water

multi-quart pot

tongs

knife

cutting board

Dawn Dish Detergent

 

  Before using the cooking pot, smear a thin layer of Dawn on the outside of the pot—it will make it easier to clean up and keep it from staining in the fire. Fill the pot about one-half to three-quarters full of water. Set on heat source (fire or propane burner) to boil. Chop fresh ingredients while water is coming to a boil. (If this is for your first breakfast in camp, your ingredients could already be prepared if you thought ahead to pack them in so they're ready to use).

  With a partner, break eggs at least two—into one of the freezer bags, then add all other ingredients as desired and squish up eggs in the bag to mix. Squeeze as much air out of the plastic bag as possible (**VERY important!).  Zip and drop flattened bag into boiling water. It WILL expand! Boil for 2 to 3 minutes and fish the bag (or bags) out, using your tongs. Carefully empty your eggs onto a plate and eat! Use the boiling water that remains for hot chocolate or tea. Use the hot leftover water for cleaning any dishes.

 

(Isn't that so smart?!)

 

Who is brave enough to try?

 

Author Sara V. Olds

Visit Sara's website here

 

Find Sara on Facebook here

Children's Book Week, May 13- 19th

I love children's books. Of course I do.

As I grew up, part of me learned how to connect with the world through reading books. And when I became a mother, my connections with my kids were made stronger in sharing books we read aloud together.

So to celebrate Children's Book Week, I'm sharing a list of 5 titles I highly recommend. These are books that I have read in the past year and thoroughly enjoyed.


1.Chicken Big by Keith Graves. A laugh-out-loud funny twist on Chicken Little that gives a whole new meaning on what it means to be a chicken.

2. The Monster Under the Bed Loves Chocolate Chip Cookies by Judith E. Torres. This one will leave your little ones giggling under the covers after you try to tuck them in at night. (Notice I said, "try?") Just kidding! All kids and monsters do end up in bed by the end of this story.

3. Frankenstein, a monstrous parody by Rick Walton and Nathan Hale. This is not your tried-and-true Madeline, at least not the way you remember her to be.... Cute, cute, cute!

4. The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen, a middle-grade novel for older readers about an orphan boy who might or might not want to become king. Full of twists and turns that both boys and girls will love.

5. Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver, a fantastical ghost story from an author who is multi-talented in writing both MG and YA. Again, one for both boys and girls.

6 - 1,100,101 What titles would you like to add to the list? Add them here!

More on Classroom Visits

As a teacher, I have the benefit of being able to understand both sides of an author visit. In today's economic environment where schools have tighter budgets and fewer teaching days, providing an author visit that meets and exceeds expectations is more crucial than ever before. It's not enough to simply think that carrying the title of "I''m an author," and waving your books is all you'll need to bring your audience to their knees in rapt attention. And in today's multi-media, multi-tasking world, unless you are a professional storyteller, the reality is that being just yourself by yourself probably won't be enough. Plus, it may not be enough to entice an invitation in the first place.

So, how do garner those invitations? Here are a few ideas.

1) Identify your target audience. i.e., what grades would you like to visit? What age do you write for? What group size would you like to speak to? You'll want to specify this in your contact materials.

2) Identify the genre that your books fall into, and identify some of the other books/authors that will you be talking about in your presentation (aside from your own). Some schools are leary of bringing in authors that view school visits simply as a means to sell books. Your visit should go beyond this goal and include an obvious agenda of wanting to inspire young readers and writers as a whole, coupled with the realization that not every student will be a fan of your genre and writing style (and that's okay).

3) Identify the core curriculum that your presentation supports. Exploring your state's core curriculum can help you identify how your presentation will supplement educational requirements. For example, my book, Little Red Riding Hood, Into the Forest Again, which is a fractured fairy/folktale, fits in with the 3rd grade language arts program that strives to cover fables, folktales and story structure. Therefore, part of my presentation includes having the students identify the elements that make my book a fractured folktale. A google search of Core Curriculum for your state will bring you to web sites where this information is available. An example is shown here (Scroll down to page 11 in the pdf to see where the curriculum gets into specifics.)

4) Provide a suggested schedule that is streamlined, specific, and succinct. For example, if the heart of your presentation is 20 minutes, follow it with 10 minutes allotted for questions and/or a writing exercise.

5) Keep the duration of your program age-appropriate. For example, it's difficult for some kindergartners to keep their attention glued to the reading of even one story; so these types of visits will be shorter and more engaged. Actually, engagement for any age-group is a must, but for kindergartners, allow no more than 5 minutes to read your story, followed by 3 minutes for questions, and then 10 minutes, if class time allows for coloring a related picture or putting together a story puzzle. Judy Torres, author of Duck, Duck, Moose and other picture book titles, follows the reading of her story with a sing-a-long, where she teaches the students a simple repeating and rhyming song that centers on her book and its characters.

6) Incorporate multimedia. This could include an accompanying power point or book trailer, even if it's not your own, to highlight a discussion on plot elements or theme, for example. Again, use of everything, including multimedia, should be used as an educational tool, not simply a sales pitch.

7) Above all, don't forget to find connections with the students you are visiting. Use student volunteers to help show specific concepts, such as demonstrating or acting out certain characteristics that the students would then need to put into words in an interesting way. Ask them what they like to read and write. Ask them who their favorite characters are and why. Plant the seeds for discussion and do a little digging, if you have to, with your own questions to get them thinking about writing style and the infinite varieties that are published.

Showing an interest in the students around you, rather than showcasing only your own work, is the greatest gift you can bring into a classroom setting. The best outcome will be that your inspiration will set the students moving forward with giant moon-steps as they pursue, develop, and share their own stories.

Fixing Up Fridays with Indie Music, an Indie Book, and Darn Good Food

My daughter brought an acoustic version of Neyo's "Let Me Love You" to my attention today, which we found covered by a lot of different artists on YouTube. Here is one my favorites that combines two songs together: "Let Me Love You" by Neyo and "Diamonds" by Rihanna. Can't go wrong with this one! It's sung by Indie Artist Maria Zouroudis.





As for the week's latest book suggestion, I'm not much of a romance reader, but I have been lured into buying a few titles lately for my Kindle. Here is one that I am about to dive into: Sand Dollar by Indie Author Sebastian Cole.  Basically, boy meets his soul-mate girl, but circumstances keep them apart. The boy is introduced to us on his death bed, yet, we don't know if his life ever brought him back to that soul mate girl, whom he could never stop thinking about. Could be an interesting read! It's earned an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.

Now for the food.

I can't promise that it is anything very good for you, other than the wee bits of vitamin C provided in the form of lemon zest. But if you like sponge cake with a bit more heft, this may be the treat for you:

 

Railroad Cakes.

 

 

This recipe is taken from my latest cookbook: From Rivets and Rails, Recipes of a Railroad Boarding House Cookbook, which is based on the cookery journal written by my great grandmother, Elizabeth Shade Kennedy. She ran a boarding house for railroad workers on the NY and Pennsylvania Railroad line. If you'd like to learn more about the connections between American cooking from the early 1900s and the expansion of the American railroads, I highly recommend you grab a copy of my cookbook! Chef John Malik at the Huffington Post book reviews says, "It’s a delightful slice of Americana and a glimpse into the life of a hard working cook at a time in our country’s history when self-sufficiency was a matter of life and death."

Railroad Cakes

1 cup white sugar
1 cup flour (or more to make batter thick like cookie dough)
3 eggs
butter, the size of an egg
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
zest of 1 lemon
a little milk (as in a smidgen, or drop, (not much!) )

Mix these up and bake at 350 degrees until done. Since these cakes were meant to be individual cakes that were commonly purchased from vendors at the railway stations, I baked them in small tart pans. This recipe gave six 4-inch cakes. Delish!

Fixing Up Fridays

Today is a very good Friday. Yes, a very good Friday, indeed.  I learned a couple days ago that my book, Reality Bites, has been selected as a Finalist in Juvenile Fiction for The Book of the Year Award given by ForeWord Reviews magazine. Since St. Patty's Day is just around the corner, combined with the fact that I am a wee bit Irish, I'm hoping that St. Patty will shine his luck down on me and help me win a medal in the final rounds of judging. Of course, that luck will need to be generous and extend for 3 months, since the final winners will not be announced until June. Despite the fact that I'm up against some tough competiton (Brandon Mull, Candy Shop Wars book 2), I have to believe that Anything Can Happen.

Perhaps this calls for a nod at the song. It is Friday after all.



And since it is Friday, I suppose I shall have to suggest something good to eat as well. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it has to be cooked. Avocados have been great lately, and there is nothing better than slicing one open, sprinkling it with lemon pepper and eating it slice by slice. Following it with a tall glass of fresh squeezed OJ, makes it even better.

So there you have it. I've walloped you with four great things for Friday in the short span of a couple paragraphs. Enjoy your weekend! And if you've read Reality Bites, and enjoyed it, let me and others know by sharing your review on line.

Make it a great day!

Fixing Up Fridays

Hello again! It seems like I haven't been here a while. Since it's Friday and I feel like I finally might be coming up for air after a whirlwind tour in stupidity and the details of life, I thought I'd share a video that is akin to how I'm feeling. Plus, it's worth a good laugh.



As for the rest of this post, a few Friday's ago I thought I'd close the week on Friday with a recommendation of a book, a recipe, and a drink. The book is easy. Right now I'm in the middle of The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen. It's a quick read and entertainning for young readers or the young at heart like me. My son read this book recently and liked it, so I thought I'd give it a go. So far, so good. Although I must say, I am starting to develop a pet peeve for books for young readers that have violence in them (one of the kids in this book is murdered within the first few chapters.) I don't get it. Is this really what our literature for young readers has come to? Are we as a society unable to identify with any else? Nevertheless, the story is good. Thus, the dilemma to my thoughts.

Moving on to food. Tonight I shall be travelling to see our local high school basketball team (Mountain Crest) battle it out with another local high school basketball team (Logan High) for some sort of semi-final match. What does one eat when one must travel during dinner time for such occasions? I don't know. Probably nothing, which is why there will be no recipe with this post. On second thought, if you're in rush like me, there is this thing called Bruschetta, which involves topping sliced bread with tomato, garlic, basil and mozzarella, and sticking it in the oven at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. How's that for a recipe that you can literally run with? Here's a pic where I actually had time to make it look pretty. And yes, it is almost waving at you like a flag, because I didn't have time to flip the pic.

The drink? The other day I enjoyed mixing Pomegrante Juice and Lemonade. And no, Chef John, it wasn't fresh-squeezed. :)  (He likes the good stuff, and has reprimanded me on this topic in the past.)  The drink is Quite yummy with a splash of, well.... let's keep it Rated G and call it 7-UP.

Any one seeing Jack the Giant Slayer this weekend?