How I turned a Christmas present into a book--The Wizard's Workshop.

I admit it—I’m a nut when it comes to picking out gifts for my kids. A cracked nut that goes completely crazy, spending hours and hours trying to come up with the perfect gift. Sticking to a tight budget, I can’t afford to bomb out in this department. You know what I mean—kid spots a fabulous toy in the story—can’t live without it—mom buys toy—toy is enthusiastically played with (for 48 hours), and then it sits on the self for the next 2 years. Ugh!  

This year I tried a new strategy and really paid attention to how my children played. I noticed that my girls play make-believe—a lot.  It’s a kind of wizard game where they choose powers and they build a story which they act out. I hear conversations like:

“I create a large wave with my wind power and I push it at you.” (Hands in the air and lots of swishing noises.)

“But I freeze the water with my wand and I run over here.” (Hides behind a chair.) “This is my cave and I put a shield over it so you can’t come in.”

The story goes on and on with the two girls using their powers against each other until they discover that they are actually long lost sisters and then together they must fight the evil wizard that had kept them apart in the first place.

I also noticed that my girls (and their friends) would come into the kitchen to make potions. Water, a bit of food coloring, dirt, a twig, and three leaves all mixed together could somehow vanquish an evil foe. This is where my case of nuttiness kicked in. I wanted to come up with something that would enhance their make-believe play time. Then it hit me—like a bolt of lightning across the forehead—and yes it left a scar. I was going to make my kids . . . a potions kit! 

The initial idea was basic—a small antique chest filled with old bottles, a quill pen, a list of spells on parchment paper, and a hand-made potions book that utilized a few science experiments. I wanted my girls to be able to actually mix some kitchen ingredients together and get a chemical reaction.

Like I said, I’m a nut. I spent over 6 months researching science experiments. I perused through every science book in our local library and ordered several more through the interlibrary loan program. I watched over 1000 internet videos on various science experiments and searched countless websites. My mail box had regular deliveries of things like potassium nitrate, manganese dioxide, potassium iodide. I half expected homeland security to show up on my doorstep, but they never came. However, my husband would come home to find things bubbling over on the counter and scorch marks on our front porch. As I write this, I still have a gooey mess of ferric oxide in the dining room—there’s got to be an easier way to make that stuff.

After all that work, I ended up with a very select compilation of experiments to add to my potions book.  My criteria for selecting an experiment:

1) It had to have a huge wow factor—something that the kids would want to do over and over again.

2) The experiments had to be able to translate into a wizard’s potion. There is some cool science behind things like building a rocket, or using centrifugal force to keep water in a bucket as you swing it over your head, but they don’t really fit as “potions”. I only selected experiments that had a magical reaction.

  

3) Experiments have to take 30 minutes or less to complete. When a child is playing make-believe and needs a potion to defeat an evil sorcerer, they need something that will work now—not in 3 days when they’ve moved on to another game. 

     

4) Ingredients had to be fairly easy to get without costing you an arm or a leg and that wouldn’t bring Home Land Security down on you.

So after all that, I came up with the perfect potions book which will allow kids to catch night fairies, break a witch’s spell, tell if a ghost is nearby, overpower a werewolf, and so much more. My little potions kit for my kids ended up being a full-blown potions cupboard and their friends always insist at playing at our house now. 

So that’s it—the perfect gift that provided countless hours of fun for kids as well as adults. It’s been such a huge hit, and I’m so excited to share it with everyone, I’ve decided to fine-tune the book and get it published.  

I hope the world is ready for some awesome potions. Check out The Wizard’s Workshop page in the sidebar to learn more. 

Potions Cupboard

Potion ingredients. Used medicine bottles with labels of my own design.

Potions box with additional supplies.

The original potion book I made for my kids.

One of my original potions. Each page was hand stained to give it the feel of an antique book.

Ghost Towns and Graveyards

It’s official—October is here, 
and that means Halloween is just around the corner!

 (Imagine creepy music here)

I’m actually a scaredy cat at heart. Scary movies and blood and gore tend to give me the heebie jeebies, yet I love Halloween. It’s the one time during the year when I can make fun of my fears and face them in a non-threatening way. When else can I dress up as something from my childhood nightmares and have fun?  It’s also a time when I can share with my kids the strange and unusual things of this world. And let’s face it—sometimes it’s just fun to get creeped out.

Fall is interesting to say the least. Summer is gone and the world is changing around us. Plants and trees grow unusual and strange looking seed pods--knobby and gnarled. Leaves change color, and gardens shrivel up and die. It’s the perfect time to take the family out to enjoy the unusual.

Top on my list for fall outings are ghost towns and old graveyards, and this October we are also going to take a tour of a mortuary. Creepy? I can’t wait! Besides satisfying our curiosity, it’s also quite educational. 

And ghost towns and graveyards are a great way to introduce our children to the local history. I suggest taking a tour though Sego canyon just outside of Crescent Junction Utah for a great outing.  

The first thing you’ll notice is the ghost-like pictographs and petroglyphs that seem to haunt the canyon walls. Ute, Fremont, and Barrier styles, among others, have been discovered throughout the canyon.

Then visit the graveyard and ghost town for another excursion through history. The old coal mining town had quite a few buildings and homes, but due to a dwindling water supply and other problems the mine only operated from 1911 to 1947 before it closed completely. Only a few structures remain standing, but you can find several foundations and buried mine shaft entrances if you explore.

October is a great month to take the family out for some "creepy" fun, so get out there and do some exploring of your own. 

If you want to visit Sego Canyon here are the directions:

East from Green River going towards Grand Juction--Take Exit 185 off I-70, proceed on State Highway 94 through Thompson, and continue driving approximately three miles to Sego Canyon. Major rock art panels are visible from the road. To reach the ghost town of Sego, drive approximately 0.5 mile further up canyon until you reach a fork in the road. Turn right at the Sego Canyon sign. Proceed for about a mile, and you will see a cemetery and other historic structures.

Delivering a great story climax

I'm in the middle of a rewrite, which I admit can sometimes be a little painful. I know it's making the story better so I'm tackling it the best I can. One thing I need to tighten up is the climax. While preparing to address that scene, I went back through my notes about how to deliver a killer climax. I found some good stuff, so I thought I'd share.

Climax is key. In fact, a lot of editors, when deciding whether or not to accept a book, will read the start of the manuscript, and if they like the first 50 pages or so then they will skip to the end to see if the author can deliver in the climax. Face it--what readers say after they put your book down matters more than what they say when they pick it up. Books are judged by their final impression, not their first, and what readers tell their friends will determine where your sells go.   

Does your climax pass the test? Here's the Do's and Don'ts that I learned from some Reader Digest articles.

Do's
1) Is this Incident a titanic final struggle? Blow away your readers. No incident that precedes the closer should be more exciting.

2)Does the heroic character confront the worthy adversary? Absolutely mandatory. No exceptions. mandatory.

3)Does the heroic character learn an important lesson? Your hero’s scars cost him something, but he also wears them like badges of learning.

4)  Is the conclusion logical? Just as all that goes before should point to the closer, even if many signposts have been artfully concealed, all that flows from the decisive moment of climax should be reasonable. An ending with a twist is fine, but no tricks.



Don'ts
1) Does the Incident introduce new material? It shouldn’t. Everything that appears in the closer should have been set up earlier in the story. Worse yet, new material introduced by the writer rather than the hero is flat-out cheating. Readers hate that.

2) Does the Incident rely on flashbacks? Avoid them at all cost in the closer. Keep the story moving with action and dialogue.

3) Does the Closer use exposition? Explanation causes this vital incident to drag. If the heroine has to give a 10-minute lecture to show how brilliant she is, the story has failed in some way. The genius should be self-evident, both in the heroine and in the author’s work.



Bottom line--You must create a climax that surpasses any other incident in the novel in terms of action, conflict, imagery and dialogue. Blow your readers away with the height and depths of the emotions you achieve. Do it the best you can and then, if you're like me, you can always tweak and improve it in the rewrite.

My Facination With Graveyards

I have what most people would call a strange addiction. I am fascinated with graveyards. The older, the better. There’s just something distinctive about them. When I walk into an old cemetery my skin tingles, my senses seem to move into hyper drive, and I can practically smell the history.

I haven’t always felt this way. While growing up, other than the fun, spooky allure around Halloween time, a cemetery wasn’t top priority on my places to visit. But when I moved to Carbon County I decided to research some of the local history, and with that came some trips to the nearby ghost towns and their cemeteries.

My first experience in a graveyard which made a lasting impression came when I was studying the 1924 Castle Gate Mine disaster. Inadequate watering down of the coal dust and the open flames in the worker’s head lamps sparked an explosion killing everyone (172 men) in the #2 mine owned by the Utah Fuel Company. I was wandering through the old Castle Gate Cemetery, where many of the victims of the mine disaster were laid to rest, when I was drawn to a tall, chalky-white headstone with a commanding presence. A lily was carved into one side with the faith-provoking phrase: “Rock of Ages”. As I looked at the stone pillar I discovered that it was a marker for two graves--a father and son. Both had died in the mine explosion.

 The air around me felt heavy as I thought about the mother who had buried her beloved husband and son there. The somber feeling was compounded as I moved to the other side of the headstone and read this heartfelt inscription:

 “I little thought when they left home, that they would never return. That they in death so soon would sleep, and leave me all alone.” 

 The statement from a bereaved women almost a century ago had reached through time and touched me. Since then, I've been visiting old cemeteries to "feel" the stories left behind.

Castle Gate Cemetery

For me an old cemetery is a quiet place to think about the world. I’m drawn to the rickety fences that enclose the sacred ground, the art and architecture of the tombs and old headstones, and the inscriptions that hint about fascinating stories untold. But most of all I love the feeling—the history and memories that are there, and the sympathy and compassion that I am able to feel for strangers I have never met.      

My most recent graveyard exploration was at the abandoned Woodside Cemetery. 

Woodside Cemetery

A small marker in a bed of rocks signifies the final resting place of "Henry".

Old, rusted barbed wire surrounds these wooden headstones.

 

Antiquated fence encompassing a small family plot.

The hand-carved names in these weather-beaten wood headstones have long since worn away.

 I hope there are a few other people out there that share my appreciation for old graveyards. I plan on visiting several this year, and I'll be posting pictures on my blog, along with any interesting stories I learn along the way.

Author Event

Before I tell you about this fantastic Author Event, I need to announce that we have a winner from the LDS Author Giveaway Hop. Congratulations to "Books Are Sanity" who will be receiving a signed copy of 

The Alias by Mandi Tucker Slack!  As always, winners are selected by random.

Author Event

This afternoon I am going to take a little drive (2 hours) to the Salt Lake valley to attend the first ever Author Event night hosted by Endeavor Hall and Taylorsville City Arts Council! I am so excited to be participating in this! This is going to be such a fun evening and they are packing it all into 2 1/2 hours.


Check out the line up of participating authors: Clint Johnson, Mette Harrison, Kristyn Crow, Anne Bowen,
Tess Hilmo, Tom Haraldsen, Thal Dixon, Jayanne Sindt, Stacey Williams, Jennifer Clark, Linda Garner, Lesa McCullough, Carolee Griffin, Brenton Barwick, Sydney Salter, and Eric Patten.

Yes, I get to be one of those authors! I'm even giving a presentation on helping kids develop a love for reading, writing, and creating their own stories. It's going to be a lot of fun. Due to time constraints, I have to keep my presentation to 15 minutes, but I can do that. I'll just talk realllly fast! I won't complain because they are fitting a lot into such a short time period. Here's their schedule:

• 6-7 pm author book signing & mini classes
• 7 p.m. author panel
• 7:30 - 8:15 p.m. Literacy Game Show

For more details take a look on their website. http://www.endeavorhall.org/

My presentation will start at 6 in the small conference room upstairs.
If you can, come and hang out with us tonight!

May 18, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.
Taylorsville City Hall,  2600 West Taylorsville Blvd. (off 5400 S)

LDS Authors Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the LDS Authors Giveaway Hop hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and The Book Bug.

I am giving away a signed copy of 
The Alias by  Mandi Tucker Slack.

From the back of the book: Jacey Grayson is an average, young, divorced mother struggling to build a new life for her son, Blaze. But when the FBI discloses some disturbing information about her ex-husband, Jacey's life becomes anything but average. At the risk of losing her identity, her future, and her heart, Jacey and Blaze flee to Utah, hoping to hide and start over once again. But no matter how far she runs or who she pretends to be, her past is always lurking nearby, bringing old fears with it. Thrilling action and a suspenseful plot make this novel an edge-of-your-seat read.


To enter this win this book:
 1) Be a follower of my blog
 2) Leave me a comment on this post. Please include your email address so I can contact you if you are the winner.

LDStorymakers Conference

I came to the LDStoryMakers conference in disguise--or so a couple of people told me.
One lady said every time she saw at me she thought I was Stephanie Meyer.
It was a great compliment, but I'm not so sure I share much of a resemblance.
If I don't look like her, at least I can pretend that I can write like her.

Stephanie Meyer

Me

Apparently that's not the only disguise I wore. I was also told that I look like Dana Delany. 

I thought that was pretty cool so I decided to change my disguise and try to look like other people. 

How do I look as Dan Wells?

Don't you see the resemblance?

And here I am as the famous Sarah Eden!

There were some famous people there...

James Dashner and Dan Wells

And there were a bunch of future famous people there...like those in boot camp 

and those who braved a pitch session.

I didn't sign up for a pitch session--I'm just pretending to be like all of you who did.

But all of us together made a GREAT conference!

I hope everyone had a fantastic time like I did!