Win a $6 gift certificate

Want to win a $6 gift certificate to White Rose Publishing? You COULD, if you help spread the word about the release of Yesterday's Promise. Trust me, you'll be surprised what $6 can get you at White Rose!

Interested? Here's what you do:

Send e-mails to as many of your friends/contacts as you can think of, and/or post on Facebook, Twitter, etc. about my book. Blind copy (bcc) me (delia @ delialatham.net - be sure to take out the spaces) so I'll know. Voila! You'll be entered in a contest to win a gift card!

If you need help wording your post/e-mail, here ya go: "My friend Delia Latham has a new electronic novel through White Rose Publishing that is an absolute must-read! Yesterday's Promise is a touching Christian romance about betrayal and abandonment, faith under fire, and love renewed. Please check it out at http://whiterosepublishing.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&zenid=55e3659778d9cb5ad5c4e93bfa69b5c5&cPath=149&sort=20a&filter_id=614&alpha_filter_id=0!"

Enter as many times as you'd like. I'll draw a winner on April 9, so do it while it counts! :)

Note: I won't be conducting the drawing myself, so even friends and family are eligible to enter.

Wanna Win a Kindle?

We're doing something a little different for the next few days here on The Melody Within. By different, I mean something not on the "schedule" - and I think it's something you'll love! See below.

Head on over to Misty Taggart's site to vote for your favorite book trailer. Each voter gets an entry for the grand prize giveaway- A KINDLE! Hurry- midnight (PST) March 23, 2010 deadline.

http://www.trailertothestars.com/topvideotrailers.html

I've already been there ... and I was NOT bored by these trailers. You're going to enjoy this - and wouldn't it just be "the cat's meow" to win a KINDLE?

What are you still doing here...? Go on! You've got trailers to watch! :)

Don't Make Me Come Down There

Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.

The young mother pointed a finger at her child, who stood across the room. One tiny hand hovered over the flowering plant he'd been told repeatedly not to touch. His big blue peepers fixed themselves on his Mommy, whose own eyes were wide, one eyebrow arched high in obvious frustration. "Don't make me come over there," she warned.

I smiled behind my hand. Will that phrase never go "out"? My mother used it on me, and my kids are quite familiar with it, as well. I'm pretty sure it's universally understood, and it is not generational. I doubt there's a child anywhere, of any era, who doesn't know trouble's brewing when they hear those words.

Words that say, "I've had all I'm going to take." They make it clear that it's time to "shape up." They hold a tacit warning to "behave yourself," and strongly advise to "toe the line."They also say, "Or else!"Any child with an ounce of smarts will shape up, behave himself and toe the line. Nobody wants the "or else."

Sometimes I get this funny little picture in my head. God, attired in his royal robes, perches on a huge golden throne, shaking a long finger Earthward – eyes huge and glowing, one eyebrow cocked so high it nearly disappears beneath his crown. "Don't make me come down there!" He speaks softly, but in God-speak, even a whisper can sound like a roar. The implication is clear: "Or else!"

Wise children of God know how to heed those little spiritual nudges (God's pointing finger and raised eyebrows). Those with a bit of intuition recognize the warning for what it is and don't hesitate to repent and whip themselves into shape before their heavenly Daddy has to do it for them!

Others aren't quite so intuitive. We always have to touch the pretty plant – and for no better reason than that we were told not to. When will we headstrong Christians ever learn that it isn't worth it?

Yes, God is a loving God. But He's also a Father, one who wants His kids to be obedient. And according to Hebrews 12:6 (NIV), "The Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." If we disobey and are chastened, it means He loves us. By obeying Him – or learning from the chastening when we don't – we become strong and upright, like our Father.

Listen closely. Is that your Father's voice? "Don't make me come down there!" Hurry! I think He wants you to shape up, behave yourself and toe the line.

And don't touch that apple….

Precious heavenly Daddy, teach me to truly hear Your voice, every slightest nuance, each hint of pleasure or displeasure. I want my behavior to please You, my actions to line up to the rules You've laid down, my reactions to be obedient and compliant to Your will, which I know in the deepest part of me, is PERFECT. I love You, today and every day. Amen

Delia Latham

© 2008

Today's the day!

I'm pre-empting the scheduled Friday Fun day to announce the release of Yesterday's Promise! It's available NOW at White Rose Publishing in electronic format. Here's a blurb:

A whirlwind romance amidst the natural splendor of Yosemite National Park. A spur-of-the-moment wedding at the foot of Bridalveil Fall. A young bride who awakens the morning after to find her new husband gone with the mountain wind.

Songbird Hannah Johns supports the child born of that ill-fated union by singing in a dinner lounge. Her dream of someday owning the elite establishment and turning it into a venue more suited to her Christian values is shattered when an unexpected transaction places it in the hands of Brock Ellis, the handsome biker who abandoned her in their honeymoon suite.

Ensuing sparks fly high, revealing buried secrets and forgotten pasts. Seeking to find peace with her painful past, Hannah returns to Yosemite, only to have Brock show up hard on her heels. Back where it all began, she finds herself in danger of losing her heart yet again to the man who shattered it the first time around.

12 Nuggets of Writing Wisdom

by Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ (mailto:shery@writesparks.com)

1. Work hard to become competent.

Neil Gaiman said, "There's no magic formula. To become a competent writer, you write until you start to sound like you, and then you keep on writing. Finish things you start. Get better."

2. View life from different perspectives.

Douglas Clegg said, "Get out and live and travel and see the world from perspectives other than the one with which you've been saddled. Youth doesn't last very long, and it might be better to participate in life awhile before writing from it."

3. Write one page at a time.

John Steinbeck said, "When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me and I know I can never do it. This happens every time. Then gradually I write one page and then another. One day's work is all I can permit myself to contemplate and I eliminate the possibility of ever finishing."

4. Strive for vigorous writing.

William Strunk, Jr. said, "Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts."

5. Be vigilant and ever ready.

Earl Nightingale said, "Ideas are elusive, slippery things. Best to keep a pad of paper and a pencil at your bedside, so you can stab them during the night before they get away."

6. Develop your own writing voice.

Michael Chabon said, "A voice, not merely recognizable, but original, unique, engaging and above all derived from, reflecting, and advancing the meaning of the story itself, is necessary to good and worthwhile literature."

7. Write with confidence.

William Zinsser said, "Don't say you were a bit confused and sort of tired and a little depressed and somewhat annoyed. Be tired. Be confused. Be depressed. Be annoyed. Don't hedge your prose with little timidities. Good writing is lean and confident."

8. Develop a writing habit.

Richard North Patterson said, "Cultivate steady work habits: a schedule that contemplates either regular work hours every week or a certain number of pages. Artistic inspiration is one of the most overrated premises for a writing schedule; a writer should try to get pages done on a regular basis, then work to improve them. If one waits for inspiration, rather than treating writing like a serious task, it becomes much harder to ever finish a book."

9. Write right now.

Jack London said, "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."

10. Venture out and attempt to be read and published.

John Campbell said, "The reason 99% of all stories written are not bought by editors is very simple. Editors never buy manuscripts that are left on the closet shelf at home."

11. Rejection is part of the writing life.

Meg Cabot said, "You are not a hundred dollar bill. Not everyone is going to like you or your story. Do not take rejection personally."

12. Write with passion.

Ann Patchett said, "The end result for a writer may be finding a publisher, but publishing is not anywhere near the beginning or the middle of this process. So when we advise young people about writing, it would be best if we could move students away from that kind of thinking and say, 'Write because you're passionate about it. Think of yourself as a glass blower. You don't blow your first glass and take it to Tiffany's. You blow your first glass, and you smash it. You blow it again, and you smash it.'"

Copyright (c) 2004 Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ

[ And just in case you have a web site or publish an e-zine, feel free to reprint this article. Just don't forget to include my resource box below. And please publish my article as is, without any alteration. ]

=> Resource Box <= Shery created WriteSparks! - a software that generates over 10 *million* Story Sparkers for Writers. Download WriteSparks! Lite for free - http://writesparks.com/

Season of Sonshine

Ezekiel 36:26 - A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.

Spring steals in on dainty, silent feet. With gentle firmness, she ushers out tenacious Old Man Winter, who takes his reluctant leave, grumbling as he goes, and needing more than one relentless shove before he disappears. In his wake, from branches recently coated with ice and snow, tiny leaves begin to show themselves…slowly, hesitantly, as if to peek at their surroundings before emerging. A touch of Spring’s warmth will be enough to make them linger, to grow and spread, cloaking the naked trees in glorious green garments.

I welcome the touches of new life…I’ve missed the green. And while I don’t want to seem an ungracious hostess, Winter overstayed his welcome this time around—I’m not sorry to see him go. Of course, I must confess to a bit of a prejudice toward Lady Spring. I much prefer the gentle touch of warm sunrays to icy wind and biting cold.

As nature works its magic around me, I can’t help likening Spring’s emerging beauty to God’s work in a human life.

Think of a heart as the landscape: ravaged by hurt and pain; weighted down beneath heavy layers of bitterness and anger; shivering beneath frigid winds of sorrow and disappointment; blackened and hardened by sin and shame. A harsh winter landscape, untouched by the sun, hopelessly exposed to every biting blast of wind and each cold, wet downpour of rain.

But then something wonderful happens! Into this bleak winter scene—this dying landscape—a sudden bright, beautiful beam of Sonlight appears. Its warmth is magnetic, drawing every ounce of life toward it. Gently, this amazing Light begins its miraculous work. Hard edges of bitterness soften and melt away. Threatening clouds of anger and hurt disappear into the distance. Dark shadows of fear and doubt slink away like the frightened spirits they are.

And into this newness of life—this reawakened terrain of heart and soul—GOD comes to live. He takes up residence, bringing the warmth of love and acceptance, coaxing forth tiny buds of peace and joy, shedding a light of fresh life into every dark corner and dingy crevice. He refreshes, revives, rekindles. He makes of that once-daunting landscape an environment that thrives in the fresh air of a new dawn and a new day.

A new life.

As Spring awakens the earth, take a moment to appreciate the Springtime in your own heart and soul. And if you haven’t experienced it yet, well…lift up your eyes, open up your heart and let the Son shine in!

Thank You, Jesus, for bringing Springtime to my heart! Thank You for the peace You breathed into my life. I don’t miss the cold winds of sin, and never again want to feel its clammy darkness in my soul. You are my Sonshine, and I treasure the privilege of living in Your love. Amen

Friday Fun

Thank God it's Friday! Maybe you'll enjoy working this crossword during your relaxing weekend. Print it out and see how many of these Bible characters you're familiar with.

ACROSS

2. Oldest Man
4. He rode a flaming chariot
5. She lied and died
6. Traitorous treasurer
9. Beloved mother-in-law
11. She was dog food
13. Beautiful, treacherous barber
14. Jacob's hard-earned wife
17. His hair was his final hang-up
18. First murderer
20. Paul, before he saw the light
(3 words)

DOWN
1. Singer & dancer

3. Mother of a well-known Baptist

6. He was caught by a fish

7. A famous dead giant

8. He envisioned double wheels

10. A queen's uncle

11. The psalmist's friend

12. A night caller

15. Sister to a miracle man

16. Aaron's tongue-tied brother

19. Husband of a harlot

WORD BANK:
Amos

Cain

David

Delilah

Elijah

Elizabeth

Ezekiel

Goliath

Jonah

Jonathan

Judas

Martha

Methuselah

Mordecai

Moses

Rachel

Sapphira

Saul of Tarsus

Nicodemus

From Vague to Specific: A Writing Activity

by Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ (mailto:shery@writesparks.com)

Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, it's important to write with clarity, not with vagueness. By communicating yourself in concrete, specific images, you help your readers understand you (and your poem/story).

Today's activity has two parts. You may or may not do the second part, if you'd rather concentrate on the first part. Don't skip the first part, though, because the second activity relies on what you'll be able to concoct in the first.

So crack your knuckles, pull out your keyboard (or sharpen your pencils) and let's begin.

First, pick a number from 1 to 5:

1. cave
2. garden
3. backyard
4. kitchen
5. teacup

Next, you guessed it, pick another number from 1 to 5:

1. joy
2. enthusiasm
3. relief
4. love
5. gratitude

Combine your two choices and you're off! What's your location? In a cave of love? Have you ever found yourself in the kitchen of gratitude? How about finding relief in a teacup?

Brainstorm and list specific/concrete images for your place. Concrete images can be anything -- fictional, nonfictional, whimsical, philosophical, you name it. You can come up with a list by asking yourself:

~ What happens in the garden of joy?
~ What's cooking in the kitchen of gratitude?
~ What happens after you drink in a teacup of relief?
~ How is it to be inside the cave of enthusiasm?
~ What things would be happening in the backyard of love?

Brainstorm for at least 5 minutes. Don't worry if the first few images you brainstorm are bland. As your list grows longer, the more interesting your images will become.

The first part is metaphorical and you'll likely find yourself writing a poem. However, you take your piece where you want to. If at any point in your brainstorming, you get a story idea, then by all means, pursue it.

Now for the second part. Are you ready? Again, choose any number from 1 to 5:

1. hate
2. guilt
3. pride
4. anxiety
5. fear

Now put the emotion you chose in your location/place. Plop it down, drop it like a bomb, sneak it in, etc. Make this emotion "disrupt" the generally feel-good ambiance of your place. It's the conflict.

What's pride doing in your backyard of love? Why is fear hanging about in the cave of enthusiasm? What's guilt doing in a teacup of relief? Again, brainstorm for reasons or for the things this disruptive emotion could cause.

So knock yourself out with this writing activity. If you'll excuse me, I need to make sure there aren't icky wiggling worms of anxiety and fear trying to make a home in my garden of enthusiasm.

Copyright (c) 2004 Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ

[ And just in case you have a web site or publish an e-zine, feel free to reprint this article. Just don't forget to include my resource box below. And please publish my article as is, without any alteration. ]


=> Resource Box <= Shery created WriteSparks! - a software that generates over 10 *million* Story Sparkers for Writers. Download WriteSparks! Lite for fr*e - http://writesparks.com

Just Like Daddy

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)(1)Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children (2) and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

My two sons are about as alike as night and day. They bear a physical family resemblance, but their personalities are worlds apart. Both of them are grown men now, but as very young boys, they did share one strong personality trait.

They wanted to be like their Daddy.

Even as toddlers, they’d step into my husband’s boots – which struck them about hip high – and strut around the house trying to walk just like him. I remember laughing behind my hand when I’d hear words and expressions roll off their tongues that were so much like their Dad it was uncanny. They were little clones of the one man who stood tallest in their eyes.

My husband loves to sing along with the radio - and the louder, the better. Long before my oldest son was old enough to have a personal preference as to music genres, he knew dozens of country western songs word for word … because Daddy did. And he'd belt them out at the top of his lungs, just like he heard his father do. At that time in his life, his preference was whatever Daddy liked.

At times it was absolutely hilarious. But nothing could have made my husband prouder. Watching his sons mimic his every action, word, and expression brought him tremendous joy.

We too often forget that our heavenly Daddy derives the same kind of pleasure when His children strive to be like Him. When we stretch ourselves to walk in His footsteps, it makes Him proud. When His words come out of our mouths, His heart swells with love. When our likes and dislikes reflect His own, His eyes light up with joy and gladness.

And when we show love to one another, our Father basks in that glory. He breathes it in like a heady aroma. He wears it like a sweet perfume.When I stumble around in shoes too big for me, trying my best to be like my heavenly Father (because, after all, there’s no one else quite like Him!), He turns to the angels with an ear-to-ear grin and brags, “That’s my daughter!” When my actions glorify Him, He tells them, “That one’s mine! Don’t you think she looks like Me?”

Oh, how I hope I do!

Father, let it be so! I know I’m a work-in-progress, but as I become what You’re making of me, I pray that You are reflected in my words and deeds. Mold me in Your image, Lord. I want to be so much like You, the world can’t tell us apart! I ask it in Jesus' name. Amen

Note: The devotion above is reprinted from a 2007 post on this blog site.