BJ Salmond's "Grudges And Grace"...Available Today

 It's been a few years since I last saw Brad, or BJ as it's printed on the book cover. About twenty years ago he and I worked on the same floor in the same building, each work day, Monday through Friday. Several weeks ago I ran across a post on a Facebook writer group of which I am a part.

Brad was asking for advice for his new book.

Dude's an author! I had no idea.

BJ Salmond's Grudges and Grace came out today. You can order the book for yourself by clicking: HERE. Since I got into this writing world, I've met many authors. BJ is the first I met that I already knew.

Grudges and Grace is historical fiction set in the mid-nineteenth-century middle America. We meet William Chestnut, a young man who wants more than a life on the farm. He dreams of the business world. What I found interesting in Salmond's storytelling are the details. If you were to take a snapshot of a person's life, they may be interested in sports, or politics, or their career, or even thinking about downtime. Salmond includes details that put me not only in the scene, but in the time of these people.

The novel is based on a true story. Historical fiction is a genre I enjoy, even though I don't read it often anymore. The good news is Grudges and Grace is only the beginning. I look forward to see more books from BJ Salmond.

The First Tree...First Of Many, Hopefully

 We weren't looking for fruit trees to put in the yard--it's still a little early. We don't even have a sprinkling system installed, but we saw the tree and snagged it. A few days later, we dug a hole and stuck it in the ground.

Tree Number 1.

In a tree-less yard.

Back before 1847 the valley in which we live was uninhabited. That summer Mormons entered the valley and set up shop. It was part of Mexico back then and had the valley been more appealing, it might have already been occupied. But, because no one else wanted it, it was available. I haven't done a lot of research about the area before the Mormons arrived, but I have heard that the people who first saw the valley said there were no trees...tree-less.

On the hill where we moved, there's not a lot of trees...kind of how it looked almost two-hundred years ago. One of the first things we planted at our old home were fruit trees. We're hoping to do the same here. We started with an apricot tree. We'll be looking for other fruit trees--those that do well in our climate. When we're done we plan on having a little orchard, like we had before.

It's just one tree. We'll have to water it by hand until the sprinklers are installed and we're glad to do it. It's strange living in an area where trees are few and far between. Maybe in the coming years, the little hill will have many trees. That's the goal.

Give Thanks...Small Towns

 Another Sunday, another Sunday drive. Last week we ventured a little north and a little east and found ourselves driving through the quaint hamlet of Beaver Dam, Utah. We'd driven past it several times going from Tremonton to Logan on State Road 30.

But, you can't see the town unless you leave the road.

We're surrounded by small towns. We've visited many of them over the past several months on our little Sunday drives. There's a feeling you get when you travel along the small, two-lane roads, pass by the small-ish (mostly...) homes, see how people live in these towns. 

I grew up in a small town--it was much smaller back then. Back then, we'd have to leave to go see a movie, to pick up speciality items (think hardware store...), and the like. Now, things have completely changed. That small town isn't small anymore. When we travel through these small Northern Utah towns, I think of the kids who grow up in them. The parents...well, they probably chose to live there and they stay because it suits them. But the kids...they don't have a choice.

I've met many people who have grown up in small towns. I've met them because they left those towns and moved into a larger city. The opinions I heard are most likely biased because those with whom I spoke didn't like the small town life. They left. When I drive through these small towns, I wonder if the kids want to leave or are they content to stay. I'm sure there are those that hate living where they are--there are always unhappy people.

Things have changed since I was a kid (cue old man voice...). We couldn't wait until we were sixteen, had our drivers license in our velcro wallets, and had a car to get us places, movies, dances, eating out. Life at home was...in a word to a teenager...boring. Now, life at home is anything but. The entire world is available to a teenager. Many not only don't want a license, they don't necessarily want to drive at all. The whole concept seems so foreign.

Beaver Dam is halfway between Tremonton and Logan...three places most in the wold have never heard of. I'm grateful for small towns. The people there choose a different life, tougher in some ways, but much simpler in others. They are independent, proud and humble at the same time. In many ways I envy them, envy that simplicity. Many of the people I know who left small towns because it wasn't their thing might not understand our decision to leave "civilization" for cleaner air and less traffic. I'm glad these small towns still exist. They're really special.

Hey You Short Story Writers...Here's A Call For Your Story!

 Life, The Universe, And Everything, a.k.a LTUE has announced a call for submissions for an anthology. It's called, I Have a Sidequest For You. You can access the announcement website: HERE. For you writers out there, you should check it out.

LTUE has a soft spot in my heart. It was one of the first writing conferences I ever attended. It's one of the first conferences that invited me to participate as a panelist. It's been almost a decade since I first attended LTUE. It was the cheapest convention out there, which I always appreciate, and they seemed to have a lighter and more fun atmosphere than other conferences.

Because writing symposiums attract creative people, those people like to...well, create things. This anthology is an example of what happens when you assemble people who like to write.

From the website:

Since its beginnings in the early 1980s, the Life, the Universe, & Everything Symposium has been a staple of the Utah and Intermountain West author and artist community. Many authors, artists, and editors have found inspiration for their careers at the feet of scores of symposium guests. Influential professors and others have mentored those planning and running the symposium, but many of these mentors have passed on.

The symposium helps students of all ages by providing greatly discounted student memberships. Hemelein Publications—in conjunction with LTUE Press—created a series of memorial benefit/charity anthologies to help the symposium continue to help these aspiring creators learn about their crafts at a reasonable cost. Author, artist, and editor proceeds from the anthology go to LTUE to help students attend for a very low cost.

The fifth of these anthologies, I Have a Sidequest for You, is a science fiction and fantasy sidekick adventure anthology, created in honor of Tom Grover. Tom was always helping out with LTUE, volunteering for anything and everything. He always seemed to be there when help was needed, and he was tireless in his efforts to make LTUE a success. He passed away in 1988 following a mountain climbing accident.

If you're interested, here's more information: 

• Science fiction and fantasy sidekick stories (including superhero, fantasy adventure, and so on) where the main character is the sidekick in a larger story. These are stories of the sidekicks, the plucky comic-relief guy, and the not-so-chosen ones. The “main” story should only be referenced in this story about the sidekick. We want stories featuring the sidekick-type character—janitors, lunch ladies, innkeepers, librarians, the type that don’t go on adventures or become heroes and chosen ones—stories that feature the sidekick as a hero-character.
  For example, a story about Will Scarlet instead of Robin Hood and Little John? Or a story about one of the lesser-known knights of the Round Table? These don’t have to be big adventures or even save-the-world stories, just stories where the sidekick gets to shine instead of the “main” hero.
• The characters in the story must be your own, original characters. Do not use other creators’ characters.
• Any length up to 17,500 words
• Unpublished or reprint stories
• Up to two submissions per author
• This is a benefit/charity anthology, so stories are donated and author receives no monetary compensation
• Authors receive a print copy of the anthology and an electronic copy
• Meet the content guidelines described on the Submission Guidelines page
• Stories are due by June 20, 2021 at 11:59pm Mountain Time.

It's been a while, but I've had several stories published in anthologies. They are not the biggest money-makers, but they can open so many doors. They're a great place to start or help a writing career. Come on--give it a shot. Check out the site, write a little story, and send it in.

Who knows what can happen?

Met The New Neighbors...

 In our backyard...well, in our backyard and across the foot path, a foundation for a new house has been constructed. Just south of the new foundation is a home less than a year old--to the north, a house being built, a few months ahead of the foundation.

Today, we met the owners of the foundation--soon to be house.

And we're no longer the "newbies."

We moved from a street where I lived off-and-on for fifty years. I saw homes go up where only fields and weeds existed before. I saw people build houses, move away, have others move into that house, move away, and so on. Basically, I knew the history of my little town for half a century. Almost all my neighbors, save a handful, were "new" to the area--even those who had been there for decades.

It's a strange feeling being the new and not the other way around.

It's even stranger because we haven't been able to meet many of our neighbors, covid and all. The subdivision next to ours is twenty years old. I'm sure many of them have been there the whole time. I suppose they would be those who've seen growth over the years. I could ask them about a town event from the past two decades and they'd probably remember it. They are what I was. I'd love to get to know them better.

The owners of the foundation and I had a good chat. They're relocating from down south--not as south as us, but south. They're also moving close to a parent, just like us. It's good to be able to help your elders. They're slated to move in the fall, but hopefully their foundation + house will be completed before that. Once they're in, we'll have a fence between us, so I don't know how much contact we'll have when it's all said and done. Fences make good neighbors...just not connected ones.

I hope the new neighbors find what they're looking for in their new house on the hill. I know we have.

Sometimes Reaching 50K Takes A Month...Sometimes Eight Years

 When I updated my Mac a few updates ago, my Microsoft Word software no longer worked. Changes over at Microsoft mean if I want to continue using their product, I need to purchase an annual license (at least, I think it's annual...I never paid for the license so I'm not sure).

Without Word I needed new writing software. I chose Scrivener. I'm liking it so far, liking it a lot. I don't utilize all the bells and whistles of Scrivener (I didn't with Word, either...). But, it does what I need it to do. 

Because I took the novel I was working on in Word and cut it up into chapters in Scrivener, I had no idea how many words I'd written, since I had added several chapters using the new software. I did a search--turns out I've surpassed 50k.

That's a milestone.

Every November, writers all over the world try and write a complete novel during the month, and if not a novel, at least write fifty-thousand words. It's called NaNoWriMo and the only time I took the challenge seriously, I was able to do it. I wrote my first published novel before November ended. That took less than four weeks. This latest story I stopped working on in 2013 before I started up again. That's eight years for me to reach 50k.

Quite a difference.

After I completed my first NaNoWriMo challenge, the story flowed so easily. I was sure I could duplicate it. And maybe I can with another story, but every time I've tried, it's been tough. That's why I haven't done it again.

Now that I've hit that mark, I can begin to wrap it up. I finally figured out my ending a few weeks ago so now it's just a matter of putting in the work and getting the first draft finished. Of course, many writers say once the first draft is done, that's when the writing process really gets going. It's true...once the first draft is done, so many of the things that turns a good story into a great story begin. I do like that part of the process. I'm glad I can see the end of at least this part of the journey.

Dad Tests...Not Quite Fair

 Can't remember where I saw this one (that happens a lot when you see a lot of memes...), but I thought it was funny so I snapped a picture of it and sent it to a friend. I ended up sharing it with my wife and family.

They all laughed. 

Which, I suppose, made the meme successful. But, to me, it was a tad unfair.

Most have heard of dad jokes. They're similar to puns...the worse they are the better they are. This is my opinion--others would disagree. To them, the worse dad jokes/puns are, the worse they are. There's a simplicity to this type of humor. It's understandable...maybe too much so.

I have a few stand-by dad jokes. The above Dad Test contains things I myself have said, and that I will continue to say. "Look, horses," I say that all the time. When I read the test to my family, they thought it was hilarious. But then, I heard some say, "That's something I say." My kids (and wife...) who admitted to saying some of the things on the test were not dads, so that's why I felt the test was a little unfair.

Maybe the title of the test should be, "How Prone To Saying Silly And/Or Dumb Things Are You?" But, the focus is on dads. Dads say silly and/or dumb things all the time. I know I do. It's part of the job, in my opinion. The world can survive without humor, but it's a far worse place to be.

I thought, as I started reading the dad test questions, there would be one thing dads say, one silly thing I expected to be on the list--one thing I say almost every time I can. Whenever I pass a cemetery, I always say, "Look--a cemetery. People are dying to get in there."

I say it...the family groans. It's a deal and we play our part. It works for us.

At least, it works for me. I guess I pass the dad test.