Tag Archives: Author

A Book That May Change The Way I Write!

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The Life We Bury

I write Cozy Mysteries. My mysteries are silly, fun, and highlight unique characters living in an unusual community. I thought I always wanted to only write lighthearted mysteries, until a book I read this past month touched me in a way that might change my mind.

A few weeks ago my oldest son said to me, “Mom, why don’t you write a serious book that everyone will want to read. You have it in you.” I laughed and was honored  he thought I might be able to pull something like that off. I am happy writing fluff which makes people laugh.  Then I read a book that made me change my mind. That book is a mystery called The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens.

Usually I read cozies, occasionally deviating from that practice to read something inspirational or a book that is a little more graphic.

I decided to read Author Allen Eskens book  because I have met the author and liked him. I had read the reviews. The plot and cover drew me in.

I read  books by friends and I am honest when I review them. If I feel I need to say something negative about the book I will email the author, or leave no review at all. I also don’t expect all my friends and family to like my books. I preface this before I talk about this book because I don’t feel in any way that I am obligated to comment about The Life We Bury. The fact is Mr. Eskens doesn’t need me to give a review or say anything, because I am small fish in a big pond and he is receiving accolades from the publishing world with his writing. My heart tells me I need to say something about this book because The Life We Bury took my breath away for many reasons.

The Life We Bury takes place in my own backyard of Southern Minnesota. The places Mr. Eskens mentioned are familiar to me. The book revolves around writing student Joe Talbert who must complete a writing assignment for an English Class. Carl Iverson is a convicted murderer and a Vietnam Veteran who is dying in a nursing home. His interview is going to be Joe Talbert’s assignment.

I could say so much more about the story, but much has been already written about the content.  What struck me most about the book was the writer and his interpretation of the events in the book. Perhaps the reason I feel the need to comment is because I am a writer of fluff,  but could feel the emotion inside of myself brought out by this story, this mystery, and a need to write for myself a story that shakes the depth of someone’s soul because there is a hidden life in all of us that we shy away from or we dismiss so we can live in today’s world.

It takes a great writer to show their emotion in their writing and  let that emotion transport a reader into the story and perhaps remind them of hidden jewels of emotion in their own lives. That is what this book did for me. I felt I was inside Joe Talbert’s heart when he dealt with his mother’s alcoholism and the effect it had on his brother. I felt my husband’s pain when Mr. Eskens wrote about Vietnam. I know my spouse has experienced some of the same gut wrenching emotions while serving in Vietnam and kept those emotions hidden for a long time, somewhat like Carl Iverson.

As a writer of a very different genre I was awestruck when in the midst of a paragraph Mr. Eskens would toss in a little tidbit about the past. Doing that was genius and brings the reader back to the little things of the past we had forgotten.  It wouldn’t have been anything I would have thought of adding to a mystery, but those little tidbits, which I don’t want to give you details so as to spoil the surprise, are little jewels making you feel as if  you are a kid in a candy store receiving a treat.

I am an emotional person and I read this book with my emotions. That was the gift from an outstanding writer. I believe the author has to be in touch with the compassionate side of his soul and knows how to feel joy, love, anger, bitterness, and gives himself the freedom to share himself and those emotions with us through his writing.

Whether that is true or not, he did all that for me,  as I lost myself in the book. I want to experience putting my soul and emotions into a book, a mystery, touching something deep in someone else.  No other book that I have read has  drawn that part of me to the surface.  The Life We Bury did. For the reader I have a feeling  each person who reads the book will find something different drawn out of themselves if they let themselves experience the emotion of the book.

It does not matter to me if the inspiration of this writer on my life results in a book that is noticed by the public. What matters to a writer is letting themselves feel their writing and translate that feeling to their readers. Can I give my readers that experience? Only time will tell. Thank you Allen Eskens for giving me the desire to change the story I write.

Read Allen Eskens best selling book The Life We Bury.
It will be a journey you won’t regret.

 

Greeting Card Challenged?

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Something About Nothing

by Julie Seedorf  published by the Albert Lea Tribune July 2015

 

cards1Did you get the Fourth of July card I sent you? How about the birthday card or the Christmas card or the I’m thinking about you card? Of course you didn’t, because I never sent them out. I am greeting-card-sender challenged.

This little quirk of my personality didn’t just pop up out of the blue since I became an adult. I was reminded of this fact as I poured through old pictures and memorabilia from my past. I found letters written to my relatives in my childhood and teen years that I never mailed. It was always a standing family joke: if you wanted a letter or a card from me during those years you had to visit to receive them.

I love receiving greeting cards, birthday cards and postcards. I love any mail that is not junk mail, but I seldom receive it since I am so bad at mailing things myself.

I have good intentions. Recently I found a card that I had ready for my friend, Lisa, a book reviewer. I don’t know why I didn’t send it and I don’t know what it says. I didn’t open it as it is sealed. I am going to send it to find out what her response is. I also found an RSVP that I never sent back. I have that habit too.

The same thing can be said for thank-you cards. I am very thankful for everything someone does for me or a gift that I receive, but I have a problem sending that thank you. Maybe I need to get some counseling to find out why I can’t seem to get around to writing those cards or if I write them — mailing them.

Last Christmas this little quirk extended to Christmas cards. I didn’t mail any out. I didn’t write my Christmas letter. Is it no wonder my friends and family from afar have given up on me?

I have some friends and family that always send a thank you. My daughter-in-law always makes sure I get a thank you, and she has taught her children they need to do the same thing. I am happy those grandchildren do not follow in the footsteps of their grandmother. I hope their kindness and saying thank you continues on.

I could blame my mother. To be fair, my mom didn’t have the time to see that I sent out a thank-you note. She would tell me to do it when I got older and trust that it got done. Her schedule — taking care of our house, taking care of her mother and brother and working in my family’s shoe store — didn’t leave her much time to nag me about thank-you notes.

I also failed at the mother part when it came to teaching my children about thank-you notes, although I think at least one of them is good at it.

It is important to thank people for what they do for others. It is important to make people feel valued in life. I believe that sincerely and I hope I do that with my words. I apologize to those who have been victims of my mailing phobia. Just know that although you might not have received a thank you, I am very thankful for your friendship and your kindnesses.

I cannot go back and change my past behavior, but I can go forward and try and do better.

Recently, feeling stressed, I realized I need more balance in my life. I take responsibility for things and feelings and others actions that are not my responsibility. Because I do that, I get so caught up in worrying about tomorrow and trying to fix things that I get more stressed and more frustrated and live with a constant feeling of being overwhelmed. Balance means realizing I am not superwoman. I can’t fix others problems because I can’t fix my own because I am too busy spinning.

This Melody Beattie quote says it all, and I would be wise to listen, “Letting go helps us to to live in a more peaceful state of mind and helps restore our balance. It allows others to be responsible for them and for us to take our hands off situations that do not belong to us. This frees us from unnecessary stress.”

When I write I lose all track of time. I forget to eat and can find myself sitting at my computer the entire day. During that time the stress melts away. The world melts away. When I am in that world I am not worrying about anyone else. I am not trying to fix things beyond my control. I am not telling someone else what to do (I am good at that); only my characters bend to my will. I am refreshed. I find balance in writing. I need to carry that balance into the real world and remember who is in control. If I do that, maybe you will get that greeting card.

 

Do You Have A Junk Drawer or Two?

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jiunkEvery household has a junk drawer — don’t they? My house holds furniture that has many drawers. I would have to say that most of those drawers probably hold a little junk. My husband would say they hold a lot of junk.

Because I had to conveniently rearrange some of my furniture this week I decided perhaps I could do without a small stand by my bed that is comprised of three drawers. I converted part of an old vanity to a nightstand, but it wasn’t quite what I wanted in my bedroom/office.

I have a hodgepodge of furniture moved from other houses, inherited from family and kept by me during remodeling because it was too good to throw away. The bedside table is in the last category.

I took out the first drawer and began muddling through all the tiny pieces of this n’ that residing in the drawer. I had my “to keep” pile, my “to toss” pile and my “giveaway” pile. In the keep pile were items I didn’t know I had, and of course, they were valuable, and I certainly would use them now that I found them.

The toss pile remained empty as I sorted items, deciding that some items were too good to throw and someone could use them. They landed in the giveaway pile.

Did I need all the different types of glue that were in one drawer? You never know when you need super glue or just sticky-it-up-for-a-little-while glue. Did I need my old glasses from eighth grade? I didn’t know I still had them, but I now like the frames. Perhaps I should keep them and take them along when I get new glasses so I can match frames — they are back in style.

I finally found the snowman hanger I had been looking for at Christmas. I should put it with the Christmas decorations. How many nightlights do I need? The grandkids don’t need them anymore.

I would toss something in the giveaway pile only to pick it back up. Those pieces seemed to stick to my fingers and I didn’t even need all the glue that had been in the bottom drawer for the items to stick. I had sticky fingers caused by a sticky mind. Memories stuck in my mind kept items stuck to my fingers.

Finally I picked everything up and neatly organized it back in the drawers, put the old vanity-nightstand back in my bedroom/office and decorated it with a green piece of cloth that gave my room a more finished look. I could not part with any of it.

I have more junk drawers I must tackle, but if it is like the nightstand drawers, I won’t get rid of anything. I have too much sentimentality in me along with the you-might-need-that-someday emotion.

On another note — I did tackle all the old cleaning supplies under my basement steps. The plan was to take them to the recycling and waste day. I thought most of the cans were empty and old and out dated. What I found was they were full and in date, and because we didn’t take the time to look for them, we bought more. We probably won’t need cleaning supplies for years. The key is to organize them and put them in a place where we know where they are.

I live a scatterbrained life. I toss things in drawers instead of having a place for everything and putting everything in its place. I waste time looking for things I can’t find but know I have. I always vow to do better, but I get busy and stressed and because I multi-task, I toss things where it is convenient. It drives my other half crazy, but he does the same thing on a smaller scale in that what he tosses isn’t needed for another year or so.

Will I ever change? I don’t know. I want to, but to accomplish that I have to be able to let go of the junk in the drawer. It is hard work. Not only physical but at times emotional.

It is the same with the junk in our lives that isn’t material junk. How often do we hold on to hurts, anger, resentment, sadness and hatred that get in the way of living our lives, and affect the quality of our life and our relationships? We think we let go and then we pull it back to save it for another day.

Will the tug of war ever end? Only we can decide.

Junk is the ideal product — the ultimate merchandise. No sales talk necessary. The client will crawl through a sewer and beg to buy. — William S. Burroughs