Inklings
let go
I admit it. I’ve got fears upon fears.
One that bothers me more than most is that in my busyness, I’ll miss my calling. I’ll miss what I was really meant to do.
Joseph Campbell–what a brain. You wrote about the Hero’s Journey for years, and then went on one of your own.
Now then. It’s time for me to go find out what’s waiting for me.
League of Utah Writers Roundup
What’s Roundup? That, my pretties, is a writing conference. It’s coming up in September, and really, you should go.
It’s going to be great. Lots of workshops to pick from, amazing speakers, agents coming in from New York, etc. One session I’m especially looking forward to is a “Simulating the Slushpile” panel. (Similar to what some of us saw at LDStorymakers) People will be invited to submit the first couple of paragraphs from a work in progress. These will be read to the panel, who will then raise their hand at the point where they’d stop reading, and say why. This was one of the most enlightening things on writing I’d ever attended, so I’m excited to witness another.
The League moves its conference location every year, and it’s in Logan this year. That may sound far away, but it will be WORTH IT.
Have you heard of Waddie Mitchell? He’s a cowboy poet, and a special guest for the Friday night banquet. He is SO AWESOME…a personal friend…and I cannot wait to hear him.
Get the details at the website: League of Utah Writers
Book review–All That Was Promised
Toot! This is the first stop on the virtual blog tour for the new book, All That Was Promised by Vickie Hall.
The moment I took this book from the shipping wrapper, I was impressed. The cover image is beautiful. Decorative embossing adds to the book’s charm. I immediately felt drawn to find out what lay inside.
And so I turned the page…
First, a disclaimer. I haven’t read much LDS fiction, and only a very little romance. Not really my thing. So I can’t offer direct comparisons to other similar books on the LDS market. But perhaps someone will find my unique perspective useful, keeping that in mind.
This is Vickie Hall’s debut novel, published by Cedar Fort/Bonneville Books. The story is set in Cardiff, Wales, and is about the birth of the LDS church in this area. The setting is interesting and well-researched, although I didn’t feel facts being pushed at me, the way they sometimes do in historical novels, when the author just has to get that tidbit of research in there SOMEHOW. (After all, it took so long to dig it up. Gotta put it in…) The facts pertaining to the setting felt naturally disclosed.
This story includes a nicely diverse cast of characters that the action intertwines around. I grew to care about each one. Certain folks felt a bit like stock characters, and more development might have helped avoid that, but I still was anxious to see how things came out for each.
Maybe the plot was a little predictable, but although I yearned for more surprise and depth in character reaction, the story was satisfying.
My main complaint is a matter of personal preference. I found the use of omniscient point of view distracting as we danced from one person’s thoughts to another. I like stories with multiple viewpoints, but I prefer a single viewpoint within a section, if that makes sense. Ye Olde Third Person Limited.
A big plus for me was the use of dialect. Authors are often cautioned against trying to duplicate an accent or dialect through phonetically spelling things out. I thought the author’s way of dealing with this was just right. The language added a nice touch of setting and realism without being distracting.
I recommend this book for LDS females of all ages. Although one of the central characters is male, I suspect the womenfolk will be most pleased with it.
Here’s the Amazon link for snapping this up: All That Was Promised
Snape’s to-do list
the one hundred most beautiful words
Courtesy of Deshoda.com:
Ailurophile A cat-lover.
Assemblage A gathering.
Becoming Attractive.
Beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.
Brood To think alone.
Bucolic In a lovely rural setting.
Bungalow A small, cozy cottage.
Chatoyant Like a cat’s eye.
Comely Attractive.
Conflate To blend together.
Cynosure A focal point of admiration.
Dalliance A brief love affair.
Demesne Dominion, territory.
Demure Shy and reserved.
Denouement The resolution of a mystery.
Desuetude Disuse.
Desultory Slow, sluggish.
Diaphanous Filmy.
Dissemble Deceive.
Dulcet Sweet, sugary.
Ebullience Bubbling enthusiasm.
Effervescent Bubbly.
Efflorescence Flowering, blooming.
Elision Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.
Elixir A good potion.
Eloquence Beauty and persuasion in speech.
Embrocation Rubbing on a lotion.
Emollient A softener.
Ephemeral Short-lived.
Epiphany A sudden revelation.
Erstwhile At one time, for a time.
Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
Evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.
Evocative Suggestive.
Fetching Pretty.
Felicity Pleasantness.
Forbearance Withholding response to provocation.
Fugacious Fleeting.
Furtive Shifty, sneaky.
Gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.
Glamour Beauty.
Gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk.
Halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.
Harbinger Messenger with news of the future.
Imbrication Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.
Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.
Imbue To infuse, instill.
Incipient Beginning, in an early stage.
Ineffable Unutterable, inexpressible.
Ingénue A naïve young woman.
Inglenook A cozy nook by the hearth.
Insouciance Blithe nonchalance.
Inure To become jaded.
Labyrinthine Twisting and turning.
Lagniappe A special kind of gift.
Lagoon A small gulf or inlet.
Languor Listlessness, inactivity.
Lassitude Weariness, listlessness.
Leisure Free time.
Lilt To move musically or lively.
Lissome Slender and graceful.
Lithe Slender and flexible.
Love Deep affection.
Mellifluous Sweet sounding.
Moiety One of two equal parts.
Mondegreen A slip of the ear.
Murmurous Murmuring.
Nemesis An unconquerable archenemy.
Offing The sea between the horizon and the offshore.
Onomatopoeia A word that sounds like its meaning.
Opulent Lush, luxuriant.
Palimpsest A manuscript written over earlier ones.
Panacea A solution for all problems
Panoply A complete set.
Pastiche An art work combining materials from various sources.
Penumbra A half-shadow.
Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.
Plethora A large quantity.
Propinquity Proximity; Nearness
Pyrrhic Successful with heavy losses.
Quintessential Most essential.
Ratatouille A spicy French stew.
Ravel To knit or unknit.
Redolent Fragrant.
Riparian By the bank of a stream.
Ripple A very small wave.
Scintilla A spark or very small thing.
Sempiternal Eternal.
Seraglio Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.
Serendipity Finding something nice while looking for something else.
Summery Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious Secretive, sneaky.
Susquehanna A river in Pennsylvania.
Susurrous Whispering, hissing.
Talisman A good luck charm.
Tintinnabulation Tinkling.
Umbrella Protection from sun or rain.
Untoward Unseemly, inappropriate.
Vestigial In trace amounts.
Wafture Waving.
Wherewithal The means.
Woebegone Sorrowful, downcast.
Love these. Also, check the comments on the Deshoda site for a few great additions.
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