Blog Archives

Re-developing my Website

12/29/2022

After attending a writers workshop in October, I came away with some ideas of how I could improve the look of my Musicals. After having one of my picture book covers critiqued, I decided that what would work for the picture books, I could apply to the covers for my Children's Musicals.

So, I have been madly altering the look of the covers trying to use as much of the original artwork as possible. After all of that work, I can say that the bigger, brighter covers are more eye-catching.

One of the criticisms was that the figures on the cover should be near in age to the characters in the book. So, I tried to follow that advice as much as I could.

They also suggested that the scene represented on the cover should draw the audience into the story. So I tried to follow that advice, too.

Here are some of the covers that I worked on.

0 Comments

The Season of Gift-Giving

12/8/2022

2 Comments

"Fourteen hundred dollars!"

As I listened to the commentator on the radio say that most people will spend $1400 on Christmas gifts this year, I couldn't believe it. He also said that most of that expense will be on credit.

My first thought was that I obviously don't give enough. My next thought was that I must disappoint my family because I can never think of very good gifts to give anyway.

But then I remember that I really have too many people in my family that I potentially could give gifts to. Seven children, their spouses, 25 grandchildren, brothers, sisters, cousins...where do you draw the line before you go broke?

Many of my friends have just a few grandchildren. They like to lavish gifts upon them. (They say that's their love language.) I guess lavishing expensive gifts on kids is not my love language.

Fortunately, my children have told me that they do not expect me to lavish expensive gifts on the grandchildren. They prefer that I make the effort to come see the kids' concerts and games and just be there. That's enough.

But, I always want to give something...something a little bit special.

So, I a few years ago, I came up with the idea that I would share family stories in the form of a new Children's Picture book each Christmas. The first five books have been about my own children. Then I wrote a few about stories from my own childhood. This year, I have branched out.

The new story is about my Grandmother Lora Harmon Thompson. When she was a little girl, she loved to sing. She loved singing so much that when she helped out in the family's co-op store, the customers often asked her to sing for them. (Yes, the singing gene is strong in our family!)

But one day, her father was called on a mission. The older kids in the family thought of ways they could help earn money to send to their father on his mission. Lora wanted to do something, too, but she was just 6 years old.

Then she had a brilliant thought. The next time the customers asked her to sing, she held out her hand and said, "Nickel, please." And that's how she sent $98.50 to her father on his mission. Pretty good earnings for a 6-year-old in 1898!

I hope my family will appreciate having a Family History story for Christmas this year!

2 Comments

Re-developing my Website

The Season of Gift-Giving

Author

Archives

Categories