Princess Kandake – Released Today!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by lynnkelleyauthor

Today is the official launch date for Stephanie Jefferson’s PRINCESS KANDAKE – Warrior By Choice….Appointed to Rule.

My post of January 4, 2012, explained the inspiration behind this story. If you missed it, you can read it here. The January 11 post covered all the work Stephanie put into the cover design, including how she made a leather breastplate. Here’s the post if you missed it.
 
What’s really cool about this book is that under the title “Nubian Princess,” it made the semi-finals in Amazon’s 2010 Breakthrough Novel Award contest. Although the manuscript didn’t win, it received a great review from Publishers Weekly:

 
“This stellar historical novel brings ancient Nubia to life as one girl struggles to understand her destiny. Kandake, 14, is the youngest child of King Amani, ruler of Nubia. Her desire is to protect the land she loves as a warrior, but the decision is not in her hands. When Great Mother announces Kandake as the heir to the throne, she sadly accepts the inevitable, striving to understand Great Mother’s reasoning. Meanwhile bandits have been raiding Nubia’s trading caravans, and Egypt, Nubia’s ally and neighbor, is asking for assistance to protect its borders from the Assyrians. When Kandake’s brother Alara fails to return from a hunting expedition, King Amari makes a difficult decision: Nubia must use her resources to defend her border. Alara’s rescue must take second place. Unwilling to accept this decision, Kandake and her friends sneak away to find Alara. This skillfully crafted novel weaves cultural details into a remarkable, well-structured plot featuring a strong African heroine. The characters are fully developed, and their motivations, inspirations, and the growing maturity of these teens are believable. Readers will eagerly hope for a sequel to resolve the larger political issues facing Nubia and its future Queen.”
 

Readers who are capitivated by Princess Kandake will be pleased to know Stephanie has finished the first draft of the sequel.


You can buy Stephanie’s debut novel here:
 
Stephanie’s doing a book tour this month. She’s scheduled for lectures and books signings at the following locations in Southern California, open to the public:
 
Cal State University San Bernardino – Pfau Library, Wednesday, Feb. 15 at Noon
Corona Library, Thursday, Feb. 16 at 3:30 p.m.


Congratulations, Stephanie! It’s been amazing witnessing your journey with all its highs and lows, twists and turns, and your recent miraculous recovery from a massive heart attack! This is truly a time to celebrate! Cheers to your health, happiness, and a prosperous writing career!
 
 
Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Embarrassing Moments – Parenting Plights & Delights

Posted on January 30, 2012 by lynnkelleyauthor


Ginger Calem left a comment on my Holiday Shopping With Kids post that still makes me chuckle every time I think of it. Here’s a photo of her little darling when she was a little older than the incident Ginger shared with us. 

Ginger has a few nicknames for her daughter:
Little Pip, Sassy-Pants, Bossy-boots, to name a few!

Here’s Ginger’s parenting comment:

Ah … kids! Being embarrassed by them in public is part of a parent’s initiation to the big leagues! Here’s the first grocery store one that popped into my head. I was shopping with my very young daughter who was in the early stages of talking. I took her temperature that morning and announced she was running a fever, low-grade, no big deal. Off to the store we go. In the feminine product aisle (no less!) we pass two senior citizen women who smiled at my daughter and exclaimed how cute she was. My darling daughter announced in an alarmingly articulate manner, “I have a beaver.” No amount of shh’ing or repeating ‘fever’ would stop her from telling everyone about her beaver. Then she asked for a Dora balloon, the one with a dick. STICK, honey, a stick. Yes, I want it with the dick. *Sigh*

Pat O’Dea Rosen said: My parents told a story about toddler me panicking at the top of a down escalator and clinging to my dad’s khaki-clad leg. Unfortunately, the leg didn’t belong to my dad, but to a guy too kind to shake off a scared kid.

Stephanie D. said: I was shopping with Peanut at Target when she was about 2-ish (and super talkative). We passed the bra aisle and she yells out, “Look, mom, there are your boobies!”

Stephen Tremp said:

What comes to mind was our littlest girl going to the bathroom at Souplantation all by herself. She ran up to our table and exclaimed, “Mom, dad, you have to see my poop. It’s enormous!” Then she ran back to the bathroom with such pride. The whole restaurant, including us, burst out laughing.

Jennette Marie Powell said:
First story that comes to my mind is one of the “kids say the darndest things” variety: When my daughter was five or six, my mom took her to the kids’ discovery museum. When they got to the insect exhibit, my daughter saw the roaches and said, “Look, Grandma, just like at your house!” My mom (who honest, is a very good housekeeper!) was totally mortified! I was LOL! 

Ah, kids, gotta love ’em!

So, do you have an embarrassing parenting or grandparenting incident
or another story you’d like to share? 
If you’re not a parent, memories from your own childhood count, too! 
 
Warning: I might feature your story in a future post. 
(Names can be changed to protect the guilty!)
 
I’d like to thank those who shared a parenting story with me last week. 
I’m saving them and will publish some in future posts.
 
If you don’t want to leave a comment but would rather contact me by email, 
here’s my address: lynkelwoohoo at yahoo dot com.
Posted in family, Funny, Humor, Parenting Plights and Delights | Tagged , | 38 Comments

Heart Stopping Moments – Parenting Plights & Delights

Posted on January 23, 2012 by lynnkelleyauthor
 

When I first started this series, I put out a call for parenting stories. Thank you to everyone who’s responded. Following are the kind of memories that get your adrenaline pumping again every time they come to mind:

C. Lee McKenzie of The Write Game shared a cliffhanger (just like a writer!):
Well, there was that one time when I looked out my window to see my youngest clinging to the end of a rope, his legs windmilling over the edge of our property. Now, so you’ll see why my heart stopped, our property slopes to the edge of a canyon with a creek below.

Lee’s youngest is on the left. The other two are her nephews.

My son and his friends had rigged a rope swing from an old oak and while my son was doing his death-defying high flying act, the limb cracked, leaving him over the creek with no momentum for his return flight!
Have you ever seen a mother fly? The story was that I did that day. And I somehow had the presence of mind to grab the long handled ceiling brush that extended to twenty feet. With that I pulled him back to the bank. You can imagine the rest: lots of hugging, then scolding, then grounding for weeks and weeks, then more hugging. I have flashbacks to that day, and when I do I call that little bugger and tell him he’s still grounded for that stunt. In fact, after reading your post, I’m going to call him about it again. I’ll tell him it’s your fault for reminding me!
Good thing you had the sense to grab that long-handled brush, Lee! How about if you ground him an extra week for me, okay? LOL!

Helen Ginger also answered my call:
My kids are grown now, but when my son was a teen he thought it would be fun to get on his skateboard, hang onto the back of a friend’s car and skateboard down the hill to our house. His escapade did not have a happy ending.
Yikers, I’m afraid to find out what his injuries were!

Here’s one of  ‪Laura Pauling‘s heart-stopping moments:

When the back door flew open on the highway and I couldn’t slow down and my 2 year old was back there. Thank God for car seats!
I have a feeling lots of you can relate to Laura’s experience. Car seats have saved many young lives.

‪Bish Denham shared a scary memory from her own childhood:

OMG! My sister and I were in Puerto Rico visiting our cousins. One day there was something going on up at their school that we went to. That same day a man escaped from the prison that wasn’t all that far away.

My cousin and I got tired of being up at the school so we decided to walk home (not far.) It was a very hot and very still day. As we walked by a big stand of bamboo it began to squeak and groan the way bamboo does. But there was no wind! How could it possibly be making all that noise! It terrified us. We just KNEW the escapee was in there. We ran home and locked ourselves in the house. We actually had to be convinced when the rest of the crew came home that it was them. 

The really spooky part is this…they caught the escapee in the bamboo.

Here’s Bish at age 11 or 12
 

That’s a pretty scary memory, Bish, and I bet it was the escapee you heard, since that’s where they found him! Crazy!
‪
Stephanie, PQW‘s memory was a freak accident. This one really blows my mind:
Talk about a scary moment. I was riding in my friend Chris’ station wagon on the freeway in Los Angeles. My daughter Claire was seated in the very back with my friend’s daughter, Micah. The car in front of us stopped short and Chris slammed on her brakes. For whatever reason, the tailgate of the car flew open and Micah fell out. The car behind us started honking like crazy. We had no idea what had happened until we looked back to see why the guy was laying on his horn.

I’m sure glad that other driver was paying attention. Just think what might have happened if they had cell phones back then and he was busy texting. *Cringe*

So, do you have a parenting or grandparenting incident? 
If you’re not a parent, memories from your own childhood count, too! 
 
Warning: I might feature your story in a future post. 
(Names can be changed to protect the guilty!)
 
I’d like to thank those who shared a parenting story with me last week. 
I’m saving them and will publish some in future posts.
 
If you don’t want to leave a comment but would rather contact me by email, 
here’s my address: lynkelwoohoo at yahoo dot com.

 

 

 

 
Posted in family, Parenting Plights and Delights | Tagged | 23 Comments

Weird Al’s Parody of Lady Gaga

Posted on January 20, 2012 by lynnkelleyauthor
Lady Gaga comes up with some “original and unusual” costumes, don’t you think?
Gotta love Weird Al Yankovic. I think he’s the only one who can outdo Lady Gaga.
Those of you who have been following my blog for long know I’ve worn some pretty strange costumes and makeup myself, so I especially got a big kick out of the wild gimmicks in this video. Not the costumes that barely qualify as underwear (gag), but the real costumes.
Need a chuckle to start your weekend? Here you go! Unfortunately, there’s an advertisement at the beginning that there’s no getting around (dang it), but I hope you’ll hang in there because the parody is fun, fun, funny.
Warning: Not for kids. There’s no colorful language, but there are some crazy, ‘colorful’ dance moves.
I hope you have a good weekend. Do you have any special plans? As for me, I’ll be packing and moving more stuff. We’re losing our house. That’s one of the un-fun things I’ve been dealing with lately, but we’ll get through it. So many people are hurting worse than we are. I’ll blog about it someday when there’s more distance.
We’re living in difficult times. This video made me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh, too!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Learning to Fly Fish – Parenting Plights & Delights

Posted on January 17, 2012 by lynnkelleyauthor
 
I would like to thank JJ Botta of The Disconnected Writer blog for sharing the following parenting story with me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:
 
Years ago, I used to fly fish for trout in the Catskill Mountains of New York. I had a business partner who introduced me to the sport, and I became a fanatic.
 
Now for those who have never tried it, or those who think fishing is just fishing, it would be a stretch to believe fly fishing is an art. But it is, and fly fishermen are serious about it. In fact, most of us eventually learn to tie our own flies. There is a special feeling of accomplishment for one to tie an artificial bug to the end of a line and fool a fish as cagey as a trout. 
 
When my son was around six years old, I took him on one of my fishing excursions to the mountains. After camping out all night, we hit the rivers early morning, and I used every trick I had learned over time, but all to no avail. Around noon, disheartened, we went into town for lunch, where I treated my son to pizza, while I talked fishing to the others who got “skunked” that morning. Without paying much attention to the boy, I kept assuring him he could “have” any of the condiments lined up on the counter top at the pizzeria. He always took things literally.
 
Apparently, everyone’s luck was bad that morning, and the most experienced anglers were convinced it was the fly selection responsible for the lack of fishing action. Determining the exact fly to imitate what trout are eating on any particular day is essential to the art. We were all certain the “locals” knew something we did not, so a group of men, myself included, wandered over to the fly shop, where thousands of flies were offered to the public. The proprietor insisted there were no “special” flies that would yield more success, but we all knew fishermen lie.
 
As we continued to explore the selection, one gentleman I did not know noticed that the flies in one cabinet had a peculiar odor about them. Soon, everyone in the store smelled the flies, and there was no doubt about it. The locals had a secret.
 
Once we figured out the special make-believe insects were scented, we started buying up the place. Every fisherman in the establishment purchased handfuls of the tiny lifelike creatures in hopes of a festive afternoon catch. I bought three dozen!
 
The afternoon failed to pan out. Not a bite. I packed it in around 7:00 pm, and found myself back at the tackle shop in the company of the same fishermen I had met at lunch time. No one caught a fish. As we exchanged ideas and strategies for the following day, I noticed my son over at the fly display. I called to him and asked him not to touch anything. He did not respond. 

Then, in a sentence etched into the memory banks of every would-be fisherman in the area that day, I said to my son, “What are you doing over there?” His reply was classic. “Nothing. I’m just putting more garlic powder on these fake bugs.” 

So, do you have a parenting or grandparenting incident? 
If you’re not a parent, memories from your own childhood count, too! 
 
Warning: I might feature your story in a future post. 
(Names can be changed to protect the guilty!)
 
I’d like to thank those who shared a parenting story with me last week. 
I’m saving them and will publish some in future posts.
 
If you don’t want to leave a comment but would rather contact me by email, 
here’s my address: lynkelwoohoo at yahoo dot com.
Posted in family, Funny, Humor, Kids, Parenting Plights and Delights | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments

The Making of a Leather Breastplate

Posted on January 11, 2012 by lynnkelleyauthor
Last week I shared the inspiration behind Stephanie Jefferson’s novel, PRINCESS KANDAKE – Warrior By Choice….Appointed to Rule. If you missed it, you can read it here.

Today, I’d like to cover the fascinating process Stephanie went through to make the leather breastplate for her model, Makeda, to wear during the photo shoot. Stephanie knocked herself out to get every detail of the costume as authentic as possible.

Here’s a cool shot Stephanie 
considered using for the book cover.
If the model’s breastplate looks like it was made to fit,
that’s because Stephanie designed it specifically for Makeda. 
Watch the video clip below to hear how she did it!

Here’s the cover shot Stephanie decided on.
I have to say I think it makes a beautiful cover.

After wrapping Makeda (wearing a t-shirt) with duct tape to make the mold, Stephanie formed the breastplate out of calf skin. She figured out this whole process on her own. Very impressive! She made the sarong, too, designed the pattern and dyed it so it was the color of dried grass. Beads give it a nice touch. You can read Stephanie’s post about it here. 
 
But that post doesn’t explain the making of the mold, which she created with plaster strips.

 Watch this video clip to hear Stephanie explain 
how she designed the sarong and made the leather breastplate.
(This video was shot a month before she
suffered a massive heart attack in September.
Thankfully, she’s making an astonishing recovery.)
 

Here’s a comical excerpt from her blog post of July 12, 2011. She had a bad morning trying to accomplish other things, so she decided to work on the breastplate instead:

I’m  in the craft room setting up the mold, taping everything in place so that the bloomin’ thing won’t shift when I pour the plaster in it. The duct tape is sticking to the plastic drop cloths. The braces shift because I’m removing the tape from the plastic.Finally I get it all set up. So now I’m mixing the plaster. The dog runs by. I still don’t know how he got caught in the plastic sheeting, but the mold starts sliding off of the table. Now remember I’m mixing plaster and have a short window of time to get it poured.

I grab at the plastic to keep the mold from hitting the floor. The piece of board I’m using to stir falls on the floor. Now I have to mop up the spill before the dog gets into it. I get it all cleaned up and I’m ready to finish mixing the plaster, but it’s hardened in the bucket. SCREAM!!

 
Okay, so that day was a bust. Some things have gone delightfully well for Stephanie. She lucked out by finding a bow for $10 at a garage sale. When she showed the archery dude who was going to lend her a bow to use for the photo shoot, he told her what a bargain she got and he offered to buy it for $300. 


Stephanie isn’t selling the bow. It will make an awesome visual aid at book signings and speaking engagements, along with the breastplate and sarong. She also plans to use gemstones that would be found in Nubia and will grind some of them to demonstrate how to make eye shadow. Now, that sounds like something that would interest Tween girls!


In addition to designing the costume, Stephanie spent hours braiding Makeda’s hair for the photo shoot. All that work on the cover paid off. Stephanie googled “Princess Kandake” to see what came up and was delighted to discover that her book won Royal Book Cover of the Month for January 2012 from the World of Royalty Blog. You can view the link here. 

 
These are just a few glimpses into Stephanie’s inspiring and amazing journey, which has taken years of hard work and dedication. You can follow her blog here to keep up with the latest in her adventures. If you love history, Stephanie is doing a series about the ancient land of Nubia. Read the first in the series here.

Stephanie visited family in California for the holidays, 
so some of the members of our critique group met 
with her to see her book in print and to celebrate this milestone 
in her writing career, plus the fact that she survived the heart attack 
and is making a remarkable recovery. 
She passed out trading cards. How cool!
Julie was able to join us later. 
Left to right: Stephanie Jefferson, Julie Fredericksen, 
Tommy Kovac, Steve Attkisson, Melissa Salazar, Maria Toth.
 

On February 1st, print copies of PRINCESS KANDAKE – Warrior By Choice….Appointed to Rule will be available at Createspace and Amazon. 


Note:  If you buy from Createspace (a division of Amazon), the author gets a much better royalty!


Ebooks will be available through Smashwords, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.


I can’t tell you how happy I am that my friend survived such a close call with death and is living out her dream. I’ll leave you with this question, friends: If you had a close call with death, do you think it would spur you on to accomplish your goals sooner rather than later?

Posted in Books, Friends | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

Meet a Nubian Princess

Posted on January 4, 2012 by lynnkelleyauthor

My good friend, Stephanie Jefferson, is beyond excited, as most writers are when their debut novel is about to come out, but this is an extra-special time in Stephanie’s life. You see, she had a close call with death in September. Her doctors tell her she’s lucky to be alive. It’s one of a writer’s fears, not living long enough to see the book they poured their heart and soul into become published. 

That joyful day is fast approaching for Stephanie. In February, just in time for Black History Month, she’s launching her novel, PRINCESS KANDAKE – Warrior By Choice….Appointed to Rule. 

Today I’d like to share with you the inspiration behind this awesome historical novel for Tweens.

All the work Stephanie put into designing 
and making the costume for the model 
to wear paid off big time. Isn’t this an amazing cover?
Stephanie Jefferson
Retired psychologist, full-time writer
The members of our writers critique group, Books Born Here,
are thankful our dear friend survived pneumonia, 
followed by a major heart attack a few months ago.
Her husband, a retired fire fighter, performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. 
 She’s still receiving cardio-therapy, but she’s already made amazing progress,
just in time to do a week-long book tour in February to launch her baby! 

It’s been quite a journey, the making of this book. It all started with a little girl asking her grandma a simple question. A simple question without a simple answer. 

Here’s an excerpt from Stephanie’s blog post of November 20, 2011 that explains the inspiration behind PRINCESS KANDAKE (pronounced Kon-da-kay): 

I have the most beautiful granddaughter on the planet. . . She loves to play dress-up. One day she came to me and said, “Nana, I want to be a princess, but they don’t look like me.” She was pointing at a Disney ad. “Where are all the beautiful brown princesses?”

That got me started. I was on the hunt. My daughter (her mother) and I started pointing out every princess of color we could find. We looked everywhere, at every book, poster, and magazine available and even some that weren’t.

It occurred to me that Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc. were sitting on the bookshelves of every library and close at hand for anyone to pick up, anyone except my granddaughter. Being who I am, I couldn’t rest until I did something about it and I wanted a story that would not be time-sensitive and could even become a classic. (Why dream if you can’t dream large!) The research began.

I needed someone from history and the further back the better. I hit upon ancient Nubia. Learning of the power and far reaches of this ancient kingdom were perfect! I started with a picture book, but the tale outgrew that format. It is now a Tween novel filled with adventure, action, conflict, and a hint of romance.

This ancient kingdom is revived in Stephanie’s novel, thanks to her extensive research. I wasn’t familiar with Nubia until she read chapters of her work-in-progress to our critique group. Nubia is a very real place to me now. So are the characters, although Stephanie says they’re fictional, but I’m not so sure about that! 

I’m fascinated by the years of research and rewrites that have gone into this work and the great lengths Stephanie went to for the cover design, which is a story in itself. 

In next Wednesday’s post we’ll learn how Stephanie made an authentic-looking breastplate, a beautiful sarong, and some other cool facts about the making of the cover. 

Have you ever heard of Nubia? Do you like historical novels? 

(Friends, I’m dealing with some difficult issues right now, so if I don’t comment back right away, please know that I will as soon as possible.)



Posted in Books | Tagged | 27 Comments

Holiday Ding-a-lings – Parenting Plights & Delights

Posted on January 2, 2012 by lynnkelleyauthor

Whew! I don’t know about you, but I’m battling holiday fatigue. I do some pretty ditsy things when I’m overtired, like putting eye liner on my lips, pouring coffee into my cereal bowl, and paying the cashier for gas, then driving halfway down the street before remembering I didn’t put the fuel in my car.

I know I’m not alone. While the hustle and bustle takes a toll on mothers, many fathers also feel wiped out after all the holiday cheer (especially after celebrating New Year’s). I remember one Christmas years ago when my brother-in-law Jim worked long hours as a corporate executive. Each night he came home to a list of chores my sister Cindy needed his help with to get everything ready by the 25th.

One night Jim flipped through the JC Penney catalog and found the special pull-away sweat pants he’d searched the stores for as a gift for his son. He asked Cindy to phone the order in. Cindy told him to do it himself since she was putting the three kids to bed.

“I don’t know what to say,” Jim told her. “I’ve never placed a catalog order.”

Cindy knew her executive spouse could handle the task. “I’m putting the kids to bed. Call it in.”

So, Jim dialed the number, but it was busy. A few moments later, in another room on another phone, Jim hit ‘redial.’ He didn’t realize he’d called the pizza joint they’d ordered dinner from.

A male voice answered and mumbled something Jim didn’t understand. “Will this be pick up or delivery?” the man asked.

“Delivery,” Jim answered. The man asked for an address, so Jim recited his address, including the state and zip code.

Next, the guy asked, “What would you like to order?”

“R424-0529D,” Jim said.

“Excuse me?” the guy asked. Jim repeated the number.

“Sir, just exactly what kind of pizza do you want?”

Jim was so embarrassed, he hung up the phone. He told Cindy what happened and they had a good laugh. Cindy ended up placing the catalog order, then called me to tell me about it, knowing I’d get a big kick out of someone else acting as dingy as I do. A good belly laugh sure helps relieve holiday stress!

Scan-3Jim, Cindy, and kids

Happy New Year, friends! I hope you enjoyed the holidays and are off to a happy and healthy start for 2012.
So, do you have a parenting or grandparenting incident? 
If you’re not a parent, memories from your own childhood count, too! 
 
Warning: I might feature your story in a future post. 
(Names can be changed to protect the guilty!)
 
I’d like to thank those who shared a parenting story with me last week. 
I’m saving them and will publish some in future posts.
 
If you don’t want to leave a comment but would rather contact me by email, 
here’s my address: lynkelwoohoo at yahoo dot com.
Posted in family, Funny, Holidays, Humor, Parenting Plights and Delights | Tagged | 20 Comments

Happy New Year – Toga Party?

Posted on December 30, 2011 by lynnkelleyauthor
How do you plan to celebrate New Year’s Eve?
Maybe an old school Toga party?
Will you celebrate with Friends?
A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other. 
~Anonymous
New Year’s Toast

DSC09065-1-1-1 Here’s a toast to the future,
A toast to the past, 
And a toast to our friends, far and near.
May the future be pleasant,
The past a bright dream,
May our friends remain faithful and dear.
~ Anonymous

 
Posted in Holidays | Tagged , , , , | 28 Comments

Christmas Gift Wrap Prank

Posted on December 28, 2011 by lynnkelleyauthor
Has anyone ever pulled a prank like this on you?
Do you think these guys are dedicated friends?
What would you do if you came home to all this?
Would you laugh or be mad?
One last question:  
Would you save the gift wrap and recycle it next Christmas? 
 
 
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 12 Comments