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Simplify Your Family Life eBook Sale

April 16th, 2012 at 6:00 am / Amy Bennett / No Comments »

If you like eBooks you need to pay attention to this post. If you don’t like eBooks yet and you want to, you should listen too.

Mandi from Life Your Way and Corey from Simple Marriage have come together for the second time to create a 96 hour eBook package including $375 of eBooks for only $29. It includes 38 books and let me just do the math for you…that’s .75 for each book. You cannot get all these books at the price at one time anywhere else. And I’m so honored they have included my eBook Entangled!

A few familiar others that jumped out at me were:

Blogger Behave by Laura @ 10 Million Miles ($4.99)

Tell Your Time by Amy @ Blogging with Amy ($4.99)

One Bite at a Time by Tsh @ Simple Mom ($5.00)

That Works for Me by Kristen @ We Are THAT Family ($8.00)

Truth in the Tinsel by Amanda @ Impress Your Kids ($6.99)

That right there is $30 worth of AMAZING books and well worth the other THIRTY-THREE books you’ll get. Click here if you just can’t wait. If you’re just dying to see the whole list first, here ya go:

Entrepreneurship & Blogging

Blogger Behave by Laura @ 10 Million Miles ($4.99) How to Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too by Mandi @ Life Your Way ($12.00) Make Money Blogging by Tara @ Feels Like Home ($4.99) Tap Into Your Unique Creativity and Self Expression Webinar by Lisa @ WellGrounded Life ($39.00) Tell Your Time by Amy @ Blogging with Amy ($4.99) Your Blogging Business: Tax Talk & Tips from a Bookkeeper Turned Blogger by Nikki @ Christian Mommy Blogger ($4.99)

Food & Cooking

Get Lean Recipe for Success by Nisha @ Healthy Mom’s Kitchen ($37.00) Got Dinner? by Susan @ The Confident Mom ($4.00) How To Cook For Yourself: A Complete Beginner’s Guide by Rachael @ Kitchen Courses ($35.00) Plan It, Don’t Panic by Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home ($4.99) Real Food Basics by Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama ($6.95) Real Food, Real Easy by Erin @ The Humbled Homemaker ($9.95) Smart Sweets by Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship ($9.95) The Everything Beans Book by Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship ($9.95)

Homemaking

2012 Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner by Susan @ The Confident Mom ($9.00) Clean Start: Your Guide to Natural Home Cleaning by Michelle @ Open Eye Health ($4.95) Complete Printables Download Pack by Mandi @ Life Your Way ($7.00) Food on Your Face for Acne & Oily Skin by Leslie @ Crunchy Betty ($7.99) From Debtor to Better by Barry @ Debtor to Better ($15.00) My Buttered Life {Summer + Gift Giving Editions} by Renee @ MadeOn Hard Lotion ($10.00) Not a DIY Diva by Melissa @ The Inspired Room ($3.99) One Bite at a Time by Tsh @ Simple Mom ($5.00) That Works for Me by Kristen @ We Are THAT Family ($8.00)

Marriage & Relationships

A Simple Marriage by Corey @ Simple Marriage ($4.99) Buck Naked Marriage by Corey @ Simple Marriage ($2.99) Entangled by Amy @ Permission to Peruse ($4.99) The A to Z Guide: 26 Ways in 26 Days to a Happier, Healthier Marriage by The Dating Divas ($9.97)

Minimalism for Families

101 Ways to Simplify Your Life by Laura @ Journey to a Simple Life ($9.95) 321-Stop by Lori @ Loving Simple Living ($9.97) Inside Out Simplicity by Joshua @ Becoming Minimalist ($11.99) Simple Ways to Be More with Less by Courtney @ Be More with Less ($9.97) The Minimalist Mom’s Guide to Baby’s First Year by Rachel @ The Minimalist Mom ($9.95)

Parenting & Kids

4 Moms of 35+ Kids Answer Your Parenting Questions by the Moms @ 4 Moms, 35+ Kids ($7.99) Flourishing Spring by Michele @ Frugal Granola ($5.95) Mindset for Moms by Jamie @ Steady Mom ($4.99) Nurturing Creativity by Renee @ FIMBY ($3.00) Parenting with Positive Guidance by Amanda @ Not Just Cute ($9.00) Truth in the Tinsel by Amanda @ Impress Your Kids ($6.99)

The Simplify Your Family Life Sale is brought to you in part by Plan to Eat, an online meal planner that makes eating at home simple. Receive an exclusive coupon code on a one-year membership with your purchase!

Isn’t that an amazing list? Remember, this collection is only available from Monday April 16th 8 a.m. to Friday April 20th 8 a.m. Click here to purchase your collection today! You’ll be taken to the Life Your Way page and it will have the link for you.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Book Review: The Grace of God

April 12th, 2012 at 2:20 pm / Amy Bennett / No Comments »

Two chapters into Andy Stanley’s The Grace of God and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to finish. Even this book and word lover (and Andy Stanley fan) was finding ALL THE WORDS awfully boring. I am of the sort which cannot not finish a book though so I determined to move on. About halfway through the book I found the rhthym to the writing and idea behind each chapter. Towards the end I hit the chapter “Filled By Grace” and I knew that was the reason I’d read the book. Powerful chapter about relying on God’s grace to fill us.
Beth Moore says on the front of the book that “Andy Stanley has captured grace with a wide-angle lens.” Practically what that means is this book uses each chapter to retell the Bible in chronological order, choosing a Biblical character for each to draw out how grace was woven into God’s story from the beginning.
After having just read the Bible through at the beginning of the year I have to admit that a lot of it was redundant. However, perhaps because I had just read it I could appreciate the additional history behind each story. How come I didn’t remember that Matthew was a hated tax-collector named Levi? Why didn’t I remember that after Nicodemus went to visit Jesus at night, he was there for his burial after the resurrection? Little things like this and even bigger things like political and cultural facts surrounding each story helped me understand these Biblical stories and gave me a greater understanding of God’s grace in each of them. More than that, it was a great reminder that I’m a lot more like the Jews than the Gentiles and I a lot to work on where grace is concerned.
I think for many this book has the capability to completely change your viewpoints on Biblical stories and grace. For me, it wasn’t one I will call my favorite but I definitely had some takeaways and think it was worth the read.

I was provided Grace of God by BookSneeze in exchange for this blog post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Popularity: 26% [?]

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Book Review: Empty Promises

April 10th, 2012 at 6:00 am / Amy Bennett / 5 Comments »

untitled I’m going to be honest from the get-go here: Pete Wilson’s new book Empty Promises was a bit of mystery for me. I wasn’t sure whether this would be a book for me or not but it turns out yes, everyone needs to read this book.

Empty Promises is about all the pitfalls we encounter while trying to do this thing called the Christian life. It’s the things that we think if we get more, we’ll be happier. Some would call them idols. Pete calls them Empty Promises.

I’m a little embarrassed to say I was surprised about how much of the book hit home. Not that I’m embarrassed to have issues but embarrassed that I thought it wouldn’t hit home. The book goes through several Empty Promises: achievement, approval, power, money, religion, beauty and dreams. While all of them sneak up in one way or another, there are definitely a few that poked and prodded especially hard. A few of my favorite quotes from the book:

“Maturity comes when we become aware that this is going to be a lifelong battle…and we make up our mind to engage in it on a day-to-day basis.”

“I think we’ve done a disservice in our churches by saying God can provide them with a completely satisfying life and not adding that this won’t happen completely in their lifetimes.”

“The cross Jesus died on—and the empty tomb was God saying it with a megaphone: “I am with you. Will you choose to be with me?”

I feel like this is one of those books you can keep on your shelf and read over and over as you walk through different stages of your life. A definite must-read.

Watch the promo here:

Empty Promises Trailer- Full from Pete Wilson on Vimeo.

I received a copy of Empty Promises from NetGalley.com in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

Popularity: 26% [?]

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Kindle: Snap Review

August 15th, 2011 at 3:30 pm / Amy Bennett / 4 Comments »

I’ve had my Kindle for a week. I’ve finished one book completely on it and have read parts of others. I’m no expert but here is my snap review.

Pros

All your books at your fingertips. No more “where is my book?”
No stacks of books lying everywhere.
Moreover, no books to organize. While I *love* a home library I have to admit I felt a great sense of relief not having to find a home for the book when I was done.
Easy manipulation of the book. Not too heavy to hold above your head when lying down. You only need one hand to manipulate the book. Is anyone else too lazy to use one hand to hold a book and the other to turn the page?
I love the highlighting and the way it keeps a running summary of all your highlights in a central location. So much better than continually flipping through a book looking for them.
Fast delivery! Love not waiting a week to get it in the mail.
Love the book categories. The Kindle is more organized than my shelves of books.
You can lend the eBook. I love this because there are complete strangers hooking up on BookLending.com and sharing books they never would have had the chance to.

Cons

The price. It seems silly that we just paid over $100 just to have the ability to read a book. I would balk if our library started charging $100. And don’t get me started on prices of eBooks. $9.99. Really? For every new book I want to read? I’m all for buying used or, yes, lending.
I really miss the physical book. There is some sort of connection I have holding a book. Or being in a bookstore or library. Don’t get me started. I love seeing rows and rows of books. To me, it represents so much hard work and creativity. I can’t tell you how much I love receiving a book in the mail. The clean, crisp pages and opening that front flap for the first time ever. Honestly. You just don’t get that kind of emotional response from an eBook.
Moreover I’d miss my stack of books beside my bed and my bookshelves.
I’m having a harder time telling how much book I have left. It gives the percentage and all but I like seeing an inch of book and knowing how to guesstimate how much reading time I have left.
Lending is limited. Amazon lets you lend but only to one person for its lifetime and only for a specified 2 week period. This was always my biggest drawback from the Kindle. And still is.

What does your love/hate relationship look like with your eReader? Or what’s holding you back from getting one?

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Book Review: Love You More

August 14th, 2011 at 2:47 pm / Amy Bennett / No Comments »

With the cover of this book highlighting adopting, I was quick to choose this book from BookSneeze. Reading more about adoption is certainly on my to-do list as we may be only months away. I was hoping to read a great story interweaved with lessons and spiritual insight.

I felt like I got a Hallmark movie. And maybe not a great one. And probably only those that know me best know I do not like Hallmark movies. I know I probably seem heartless but I just do not have the patience for them.

While I obviously think every adoption is a beautiful story, I can’t help but think this was perhaps better fit on a blog. The spiritual insights were nearly non-existent. In fact, the only thing I remember is reading the recommendation if we were only doing it for religious purposes we should skip the whole adoption. And while I agree, the point is this is not the book to turn to when looking for spiritual help through the process. Perhaps had I adjusted my expectations I could have enjoyed it more.

Moreover, I had a hard time relating to this mother. Her background and parenting couldn’t have veered much further from mine. And while I can certainly appreciate that hers are different, it was hard to relate to her story when I couldn’t relate to her.

Not only that, I had a hard time with the pacing of the book. At times I just wanted to say get on with it already and indeed, if I wasn’t expected to review it I probably wouldn’t have finished it.

Gosh, I hate being this negative. I do have to say the writing is beautiful. The author is a very talented writer and her professional career as a writer was clear. I do wish her, Mia and their family well. I particularly enjoyed the epilogue seeing Mia so many years later relating so beautifully with her mother. Regardless of what I thought of the book, their story is inspiring and appreciate the resources at the end of the book.

I was provided a copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Review: Heaven is For Real

June 24th, 2011 at 12:00 pm / Amy Bennett / 6 Comments »

I have had this book on my wish list since the day it came out. The Internet was abuzz with its message. But I have to admit, I was skeptical.

Last week my friend Jo Ann visited us in Florida and had read it on her road trip down. She raved about it. No sooner had I gotten back from Florida this weekend and my mom and sister were both on Facebook raving about it. Last night I picked the copy up from Mom’s.

The book itself is a great read. I noticed after finishing that it’s co-written by Lynn Vincent who also wrote Same Kind of Different as Me. The writing style and pacing completely made sense and accounts for why I liked the style of both of them so much. In the same way Same Kind of Different As Me had me up for nights just plowing through, I had this shorter book read in a few hours. I felt like you had a clear picture of the setting, characters and storyline. They did a great job of unfolding the story in much the same way they experienced it. So bravo on that end.

I have to preface my review of the content by another review I did of The Shack. I walked into that book unprepared. I didn’t realize it was fictional. I spent much of the book going, “Really?” Beyond that, the conversations with God supposedly happened and even those, I still question because they don’t align with much of my current theology. Basically, The Shack was well written but I don’t believe it. So going into this book I was skeptical. Really skeptical. Here is a family who is writing a book based on things a FOUR year old said. The biggest claim people say is, but that’s the point! A four year old wouldn’t know these things! And that’s right. I agree. A four year old wouldn’t know those things. But an adult would. And a creative adult can write any story any way he wants just like in The Shack. So I’m not saying the proof isn’t astounding. I’m just saying that a deceptive, creative set of people could write this book. There wasn’t anything about heaven that someone hasn’t conjectured already.

HOWEVER. Unlike when I read The Shack, I felt complete peace and joy reading the book. When I’ve read and listened to interviews of The Burpos online since then, I feel there is a sense of honesty there. They are just a family that experienced something supernatural and they’re putting it out there, no matter what you think. I’ve experienced that a time or two and know what it’s like to put yourself out there.

All of the things he said has lined up with Scripture, which I appreciated that they did throughout the book. In each interview, they are consistent in their message and don’t dodge questions.

Is there a small part of me that is still skeptical? Of course. People are capable of much more deception that you realize. But God is capable of what happened to this little boy too. So if I went in 50% sure of this, I came out 99% sure of it.

Which means. What an awesome story. What a good God we serve. How much more do I want to have that child-like faith. How awesome is the comfort so many people can receive from their story. And what color is my sash going to be??

I give it two thumbs and a Must Read!

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Book Review: Love & Respect

February 11th, 2011 at 4:00 pm / Amy Bennett / 8 Comments »

Honestly I thought I had a handle on how to love my husband. As an advocate of the Five Love Languages, I had his love languages down and when his tank was empty, I knew just how to fill it back up. It turns out though I think I only had half the equation. A band-aid, almost. Yes, I know how to love him but it turns out the other BIGGER half of the equation for men is respect.

If you would have asked me before reading Love & Respect I would have said respect is not being sassy and not putting him down in front of people. And it is those things but it’s so much more. Eggerichs introduces the book by discussing the difference between love and respect and why women need love and men need respect. My eyes were open when he talked about The Crazy Cycle. It’s when he quits loving so she gets disrespectful and so he gets even more unloving and the cycle goes on. I have often said to people, you know, our marriage is usually really good or really bad. I recognized that when one of us decides to love/respect, the other responds in kind. I loved the Eggerichs put a name to it and I can 100% attest to it! The problem Scott and I have always had was who takes the first step? I have always argued with Scott as the leader he should. But Eggerichs suggests whoever is the most mature! The point is if you want off the Crazy Cycle, you have to do something about it instead of waiting on the other person!

My eyes were also opened to something I’ve noticed with Scott. When we fight, I want to talk it out. If he’d just see all my points, he’d see his faults and he could improve (and mine as well). Well, I’d just have to say one point, and he’d be like, “OK, I don’t want to talk about it,” and walk away. I always assumed he was being rude and unloving to me by not trying come to a resolution but guess what? Men don’t think the same way! I realized that he was trying to do the loving, honorable thing by not getting in a fight with me. He already knew he had failed and really didn’t need me to guide him through every point!

Eggerich spends the second part of the book with specific ways women need loved and men need respected. Men have six areas in which they need respected, or more simply, appreciated.

Work
Desire to protect
Desire to lead
Desire to analyze
Shoulder-to-shoulder friendship
Sexual intimacy

I can’t go through each one but I have found my eyes open in several areas where I haven’t been downright mean, but have not been appreciating these needs. One funny one I must share.

Men have a need just to be shoulder-to-shoulder with their spouse; they like doing things together, even if you don’t say anything. I can’t count the number of times Scott has asked me to come sit with him. Usually he is playing his game or watching a (boring) show. It happened just yesterday. Scott was playing his game and he said, “Come sit with me.” My prompt response was, “I don’t want to just sit there and watch you play your game!” I was thinking of how much I had to do…plan dinner and funny enough, sneak in some time to read Love & Respect. I hadn’t read this section yet so I didn’t go sit with him (shame on me) and went back to read this exact section:

When your husband says, “Hey, honey, come in here and watch Discovery Channel with me,” what happens? You come in and sit down and he, indeed, does watch Discovery Channel, possibly commenting now and then about “the size of those elk” or “look at the teeth on that crocodile.” But most of the time he’s fully absorbed in what he’s doing: watching TV. If you are a typical wife, you will sit there thinking, I’ve got laundry to fold, I have to make dinner, the kids’ lunches for tomorrows still aren’t packed…You’re not communicating, so how could this be building the relationship. But wives continue to report that that is exactly what happens.

I laughed so hard! This had JUST happened almost word for word. I didn’t have time to sit with him because I needed time to go read how I should be sitting with him!! And yes, I put the book down and spent time with him! I always thought it was just a Scott thing that he was trying to fill his “touch” love language by me sitting with him. Yes, it is that, but it is so much more.

These few examples are just a smidgeon of what I took from Love & Respect. I so wish I would have read this years ago and would highly suggest that EVERY couple read this and really, even single women would do well just to understand men in dating.

This book was provided on behalf of Thomas Nelson publishing in exchange for the review. If you would like to participate in the book review program, please visit BookSneeze.com

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Book Review: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

May 21st, 2010 at 12:03 pm / Amy Bennett / No Comments »

I don’t know how I missed out on reading C.S. Lewis my whole life. I feel really, really behind in posting this but I must. I am hoping there are others that are not familiar with him and his books in introducing him a bit. He lived in England until the 1960s as an author and faculty member at Oxford and considered himself an atheist until his early 30s. You will probably recognize The Chronicles of Narnia before you recognize any of his other works.

I had often seen and liked quotes from C.S. Lewis on Twitter, Facebook and even in other books so when Pioneer Woman had it on her recommended list at Joseph Beth’s during her signing, it seemed like the right thing to buy it.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I liked this book. Lewis is witty and plain-spoken and easy to understand and even funny. In a nutshell it is a Christian theology book walking the reader from understanding that there is higher power all the way to talking about a new life in Christ. He talks about prayer and divorce and drinking and war and so many things that I think Christians mull over. He seems to have a way of explaining them I think the way Christ would (and did). He uses many metaphors and stories to explain his point in a way that turns on a light to the truth. In some cases he has no answers and has no problem with admitting that and relying on faith to answer them one day. He doesn’t push his point on the reader but simply offers them as a help and even suggests that they be thrown aside if they do not.

I particularly liked the chapter about Time. If you read my two posts on Prayer and Predestination you will know why it meant so much. In it, it seems we asked the same question and then he chooses as well to use a book to answer. It was like this confirmation for me that I wasn’t off my rocker in my answer to my own question and I wanted to say, hey, we must be talking to the same God! It was a very uplifting moment finishing the chapter. I wanted to give a high-five to Lewis knowing all the while that God was and is the one that had revealed these answers to us. He is so faithful to us with inquiring minds.

This book certainly goes down in my Top 10 favorite books of all time and I’m looking forward to reading more of his works.

So there, I am at least caught up to 1960.

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Review: Plan B

May 3rd, 2010 at 7:00 am / Amy Bennett / 10 Comments »

Plan B. It’s the route your life takes when you were trying to steer it elsewhere. Maybe an unexpected sickness. Divorce. Infertility. Singlehood. Failed Business. Job loss. Death. The moments in which you begin to question who God is and why he moved the Do Not Enter sign where you had firmly placed it.

But Pete Wilson’s book Plan B doesn’t dwell in the despair of Plan B’s. He helps you see that maybe Plan B was the right route after all. In a word, this book is hope. Using stories from the Bible and modern-day experiences, Pete walks the reader through all kind of feelings and perspectives of those living out Plan B.

Can I be honest and say when I picked this book up I wasn’t sure I’d get anything out of it? Not that I doubted Pete’s abilities in the least. I’ve learned a lot from Pete in the past and I knew he’d have a word. I just wasn’t sure if it was one for me. I haven’t had a catastrophic or even alternate event in my life to make me doubt God. But let’s be clear. Plan B is coming. As Matthew Turner says in his review, “if you’re working on plan A, Plan B is a good prerequisite.” But I’d take it further than that. I may not be in Plan B right now, but there are scores of people around me that are. And I can’t tell you the hope the book has given me that I can offer others in need that are in Plan B. God has not forgotten us. There is hope in our Plan B’s.

While reading, I marked several passages and thought I’d share some of my favorite talking points.

For those in Plan B, you may feel like life is spiraling out of control. However, in the chapter Don’t Run Pete explains, “Your dreams may not be happening, and things aren’t turning out the way you expected, but that doesn’t mean your life is spinning out of control. It just means you’re not in control.”
In the chapter Your Jordan, Pete says that in most Plan B situations, it is a lot like standing at side of the Jordan river with the enemy chasing you. It seems impossible to get through alive. The fear can be overwhelming. He asks the reader to identify that Jordan in your life and says that your Jordan always involves fear. The good news is God has gone before us and we shouldn’t be afraid.
From Whiplash, “it’s often a process, not a final destination.” He gives the example of someone not getting the job they interviewed for and the person assuming they’d missed God’s will by not getting it. He says God may simply wanted the person to learn something from the interview. It’s good to remember life is a process and God is in it all.
In the chapter Whiplash, Pete reminds us to trust in the person of God and not in our circumstances.

And my favorite passage of all:

“You’ve got to stop looking at your shattered dreams and your unmet expectations as something God is doing to you. He’s not doing something to you. But he might be doing something through you. He might be doing something in you.”

God wouldn’t let us go through these Plan B’s for no purpose. I always love Beth Moore’s saying, “He’s either doing it for His glory or your benefit.” He’s not torturing us. He doesn’t love us less. But He is allowing it so that we might be transformed.

I can’t recommend this book enough for everyone. If you aren’t in Plan B, I know there is someone you can hand this to you and say, “Here’s some hope.” I’d love to hand this copy to someone here with the gift of hope. Leave a comment on this post and I’ll draw a random winner on Wednesday at 9pm.

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Non-novel: The Proof Edition

August 3rd, 2009 at 5:22 pm / Amy Bennett / 3 Comments »

Emma recorded me after receiving a copy of the proof edition of my non-novel.

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Non-novel First Reaction

July 6th, 2009 at 9:32 am / Amy Bennett / 4 Comments »

This weekend I got one of the best emails I’ve gotten in a very, very long time. Outside of those that helped me write, Sarah was the first person that read my non-novel and sent me her reaction. And ya’ll, it was good. Yes, there is a list of things that need work but I knew that. It really didn’t get me down at all because these few sentences made my day:

I loved it, I really, really loved it.

I think it’s really wonderful. I cared not only about Sam, but about Dominic, about Beth, about all the peripheral characters. You made them interesting and real. And I forgot that I was reading something that you wrote – it just flowed and drew me in. I really, really loved it.

*squeee*

Thank you, Sarah!!!

Popularity: unranked [?]

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The Time Traveler’s Wife

June 22nd, 2009 at 12:06 pm / Amy Bennett / 3 Comments »

I know I’m a little late on this one. I mean, the movie is coming out in August.

When I remember this novel, I’ll remember that it read like a commentary (a great one). I’ll remember the dual first-person point of view. I’ll remember the short sentences. The wit. The humor. The beauty. I’ll remember Clare’s innocent-yet-not-love for Henry. I’ll remember Henry’s frustration and yet determination to deal with the life he was given. Their lust for each other. I’ll remember the mystery. The game of it all. The science of it all. The innocence and wonder of Alba. Just the smartness of the idea and plot. The way it made you think about love and time.

I’ll remember it was a good book until the end. I really, really feel like we were jipped out of that last scene. So many times we only saw glimpses of Henry’s life and yet kept reading to find out we were given them later. For example, Clare’s 18th birthday. Such a big part of the story and yet we didn’t get it until almost the end. And Henry told us about that last scene they would have together and I was so sure we’d get to see and was so disappointed when we didn’t. It’s like watching The Notebook and never seeing them die together.

I’ll go and see the movie just because I think Rachel McAdams will be a perfect Clare and Eric Bana should do Henry justice but really? Unless they fix that last scene, I don’t know if I’ll have a good feeling walking away.

Popularity: unranked [?]

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She Dribbles, She Shoots, She Scores!

May 30th, 2009 at 10:36 pm / Amy Bennett / 2 Comments »

OK, that’s about as close to any sports talk you’ll get on this blog and I’m not even sure I said it right. And what I mean to say is I hit 50,000 words on my book! It feels GOOD to see 50,435 on my word count! Things are starting to wrap up in the book. Just a few scenes left and I ended on a good note tonight. So for now, I’m all smiles.

Popularity: unranked [?]

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State of the Union at 49,541

May 30th, 2009 at 8:29 pm / Amy Bennett / 2 Comments »

Not sure why I’m being so dramatic about this but here ya go…

Melissa wanted me to join Nanowrimo in November 2008. Nanowrimo requires a participant to write 50,000 words to be considered a winner. I didn’t participate but at first I tried to keep up with the 2600 minimum word count per day. Near impossible. We were right in the middle of TV season (which requires extra blog work for me), the girls’ birthdays were in November and Thanksgiving and Christmas were just around the corner. 50,000 words became a maybe-in-another-lifetime, or at least another-year, goal.
But a plot was forming in my head and characters and suddenly I was excited about getting the story on paper. Not because it was the best plot ever or the best characters or full of the best page turning moments but just because I had thought of enough ideas, that strung together, someone could, if given the time, write 50,000 words about.
But writing was still an effort. I started with one scene that became the opening and then another that I figured would sit 3/4 of the way through the book. The rest though? I struggled through. Filling in all the gaps of the plot was hard. Figuring out who my characters are and where they came from and why they do what they do was really hard. I started calling it my non-novel because surely I would never be able finish.

But I plodded on, maybe more out of a Type A, must-finish attitude than anything. Or maybe it was just something else to fill my quiet nights with. I don’t know but it’s six months later and it’s another one of those quiet nights. I think I’ve figured out my characters, the plot has been written and I’m 459 words away from 50,000.

And it scares me to death to write them.

You would think being that close I would just start spouting off at the fingers and type any conversation I could come up with just to put me past the word count. I remember being in school and adding in all kinds of unnecessary words just to get to the word count goal. But not with this. I’ve spent all day fiddling with the end of my plot, recalculating the “big scene” and picking through my main character’s flaws. I’ve written ideas and stared at the sky trying to come up with the best thing to say. I think because part of me knows when I hit 50,000 words, I’m really close to the end. And when it ends, I’m scared I’ll never go back to revise it, which it needs so desperately. And if I don’t carefully write those last words, I’ll know that I didn’t do my best, that the words I wrote aren’t something to be proud of. And maybe it’s not just the last 459 words before my goal, maybe it’s the whole book. Maybe I’m scared that when I get to the end I’ll look back and six months of work and countless hours of planning, worrying and strategizing later, realize that it’s just 50,000 words strung together than no one wants to read.

Yes, I’m scared to fail.

And I guess in art, there is no such thing as failure. But there is something to be said for the millions of manuscripts that go unread every year, written by millions of authors set out with so much hope and ending with thousands of words to themselves and no one with whom to share them.

Or worse yet, words that they don’t want to share.

So yeah, I’m scared to reach my goal, scared to finish. And yet, I’m going to type this last sentence, open my manuscript and write the best story I know how and just hope I’ll be able look back and smile.

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Twitter’s #QueryDay

April 17th, 2009 at 10:22 pm / Amy Bennett / 1 Comment »

I ran past the #queryday hashtag on Twitter today and somehow became hooked on it most of the day. Basically what happened is a few agents took questions from the Twitter public about query letters and answered them publicly with the #queryday hashtag. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about a query letter since school. And while I don’t see submitting my non-novel in progress, I think it’s possible I might have one good enough one day to submit. And really, some of the advice was directed towards the book itself, not just the query letter so I loved that.

I know a lot of bloggers are aspiring writers so I thought it might be helpful to share the tweets I favorited today. A big thanks to all the people who gave such great advice.

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davidalexanderm@angelajames One thing TV drummed into me: get into the story as late as possible, and out as early as possible. #queryday

RachelleGardnerIf I can change my two-spaces-after-a-sentence habit after 25 years of typing, so can you. One space is standard in publishing. #queryday

RachelleGardnerTip: If you want to draw me into your novel, don’t write your query in a dry, boring, uber-business-like and/or academic style. #queryday

RachelleGardnerTip: Don’t send us something outside of our guidelines and try to impress us with how “out of the box” you are. It’s been tried! #queryday

RachelleGardnerTip: If you mention a previously published book, better make sure I’ll be able to find it on Amazon because I WILL look it up. #queryday

RachelleGardnerTip: I prefer your query NOT tell me what a great movie your book would make. If it has movie potential, trust me, I’ll notice. #queryday

ColleenLindsayAttached entire manuscript and a head shot. Fail. #queryday

RachelleGardnerChristian writers: Best NOT to say you’re going to explain something about the Bible that no one has ever understood before. #queryday

RachelleGardner@TerriMo I do everything by email. No need for hardcopies… everything goes on my Kindle. #queryday

achelleGardner@TerriMo Never, never, never phone an editor or agent unless they’re YOUR editor or agent. #queryday

RachelleGardner@MaricarMac No need to reveal entire plot in query; give the set-up and premise; make me want to read it. #queryday

RachelleGardnerTip: A query that talks only about the THEME of your novel is rarely effective. You need to tell about the STORY. #queryday

ColleenLindsay@luckychica Humor very very hard to sell unless you have a major platform or are a well-known comic. #queryday

DanielLiterary@moonbridgebooks Yes it’s fine, most agents expect it. Don’t really need to mention it. #queryday

moonbridgebooksIs it okay to query many agents at once; if so, do we need to tell agents this? #queryday #queryday

DanielLiterary@Selestial I don’t like to hear anything about series in a query. Often scares me off. #queryday

BostonBookGirlPass: The entire query is about how important it is that this person tell their own story. The query is written by someone else. #queryday

RachelleGardnerReality check: If you are your family’s breadwinner, plan to keep your day job even after you sell several books. #queryday

DanielLiteraryIf you don’t do enough research to address me by name or at least by my agency name, you’ll almost certainly be rejected. #queryday

DanielLiterary@ChristaCarol Only if you get huge traffic. 5,000 unique visitors a day at least. #queryday

RachelleGardner@gempari We need word count, not page count, to determine if it’s something we represent. #queryday

RachelleGardner@jennnixon Most agents only want to know if you WON a contest. The finals, MAYBE. Other than that, it’s not helpful info IMHO. #queryday

RachelleGardner@waterfallbooks I rarely find mixed comparisons helpful (“Jane Austen meets Frank Peretti”). Works in Hollywood but not for me. #queryday

skyladawn#queryday Don’t name more than 3-4 characters in your synopsis. I’m not going to keep them all straight. Just give me the MAIN plot.

michellewitte#queryday Last advice before I start work: Keep your spirits up. If you’ve written a great book eventually someone will want it. Persistence

ElaineSpencer@Daylilie222 depends on genre, & of course there are excptions to evry rule, you could have gr. novel at 50k, but that is not norm #queryday

LeighEllwood#queryday Titles can matter in romance. My mostly female readership might be turned off by “Biker Sluts Weekend in Vegas”.

RachelleGardner@christinerose You don’t need comparative titles in the query, but in the PROPOSAL, you do. #queryday

skyladawn#queryday Don’t send me a manuscript without any dialogue in the first twenty pages. Really. Don’t be afraid of people talking!

RachelleGardnerTip: DON’T say “the book gets exciting in chapter 5” or “the pace really picks up toward the end.” Make it shine from page 1. #queryday

BJMuntainRt @RachelleGardner loves queries that are straight-to-the point and don’t try too hard. The matter of fact approach is refreshing #queryday

ElaineSpencerIf ur novel is over 120k I can’t help but be a little afraid. Plz explain why (or at least acknowledge) ms is so lengthy #queryday

RachelleGardner@janastocks Listing comparable books is important, it puts yours in context, shows u know your market, helps agent “get” your bk. #queryday

RachelleGardnerWhen people send queries on Christmas, New Year’s, Easter… I WANT to auto-reject on principle! But I don’t. #queryday

RachelleGardnerFor me, previously self-published is totally irrelevant. Neither helps nor hurts. See my posts: http://bit.ly/spTIb #queryday

JoeBerkowitzAnd never sidestep the comp titles issue by saying “there’s never been any book like this before.” There totally has! Find them! #queryday

BJMuntainRT @RachelleGardner Query that makes me laugh is a great thing! Whether or not the book is for me, it definitely gets my attention #queryday

RachelleGardnerTip: This may be hard to hear, but I suggest you avoid being in a rush to get published. Take TIME to develop your craft. #queryday

RachelleGardner@mbsmith090801 You must include the genre. Publisher, bookstore, consumer all need 2 know! Find books/websites that discuss genre. #queryday

BostonBookGirlUnnecessary query info: I assume you have edited your work, have a writers group and have shown this to someone who likes it. #queryday

RachelleGardner@AdelleLaudan Depends on whether I feel assaulted. But cursing’s often used as shortcut; u should be able to express self w/o it. #queryday

LeighEllwood#queryday What kills the yes in a potential ms? For me, improbable situations, and characters who aren’t endearing.

zumayabooks@TheaRauth Beginners can replace lack of creds with info on how they prepared manuscript–critique, editor, whatever. #Queryday

DanielLiterary@jjochwat If I were a writer trying to find the right agent, I’d pay for access to Publishers Marketplace.com. #queryday

RachelleGardnerTOP reason I say “no” to queries is the story doesn’t sound unique, fresh, exciting. The problem isn’t the query, it’s the book. #queryday