Writing

$.99 Sale – Two More Days

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

QUIVER FULL COVER - GOLDDon’t forget. My inspirational novel A Quiver Full of Arrows is on sale for $.99 at the Amazon Kindle store for two more days only.  On Friday morning, it goes back to its original list price of $2.99.

What’s it about?  Check out the description below. It will give you the picture in a nut shell — a peanut shell to be specific.

Peanut Shells! Piles of them around the front steps! Three days in a row! Where can they be coming from? Lawson Wainright isn’t sure, but he has a gut feeling that those shells, and the two sleeping bags he finds rolled up under his front porch, are somehow connected with four run-away children who have been in the news. And if he’s correct, his quiet, orderly life as a forty-year-old bachelor may be on the verge of being turned completely upside down.

Take a cast full of characters that will make the reader’s heart melt. Add a miracle or two from the hand of a loving God. And readers end up with a story that carries them through the troubles and struggles of life in an imperfect world and right into a somewhat surprising, but well-deserved, happy ending. The lesson learned by the end of the story: Sometimes trying too hard to do things according to accepted protocol can just get in the way of love.

An inspirational read for the whole family.

You’ll find the book at this link, and if you don’t have a Kindle, don’t let that stop you. Amazon offers a free Kindle app for any of your devices, and you can download it free right from the same page where you order the book.

 

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Daily Post Prompt: Circus

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

NO CLOWNS ALLOWEDI detest circuses!!!!!   Maybe I should add a dozen more exclamation points, because I don’t think the five used make the point effectively. Have I been to circuses?  Yes, but mainly because my family and boyfriend wanted to go. I’ve been to amateur party-entertainment circuses, I’ve been to moderate-sized professional circuses, and I’ve been to what is supposed to be the epitome of the circus world: the Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey circus.

All of them are dirty, stinky, deplorable, detestable, and detrimental to my peace of mind. The acts presented are ridiculous — some of them even asinine — and the only thing in the “so-called entertainment world” that is more asinine is boxing. (I mean, come on: grown men spending their lives learning how to beat up other human beings, practicing until they are good at beating up other human beings, and then making their living for decades by beating up other human beings.  Sheeeeesh!)

And what about clowns???? I hate clowns.  They are one of the worst parts of the circus. I have never, in all my 60-plus years, been able to figure out why grown men and women actually want to put on abominably grotesque make up and clothes and go out in public for the purpose of acting like they are mentally deranged. And even in the Christian arena, I find clowning detestable. I have friends who think that if they dress up in some abominable clown costume, it will somehow help them spread the love of Jesus Christ to people.  For the life of me, I cannot understand that thinking!!! In fact, many children are actually afraid of clowns.  That fact should tell us something ……….

My detest of circuses has nothing to do with the animals, however. I love animals — wild and tame — but I don’t like the way they are treated or used at a circus, and I’d much rather see them in a responsible zoo where they can at least live with some measure of dignity in something close to their natural lifestyle. Of course, I’m sure there are some zoos that don’t treat animals well, but all the ones I’ve visited have been places where the animals are well cared for and presented in a habitat as close to what nature intended as possible.

I like visiting zoos, but will I ever go to a circus again?  Never.  I repeat: Never. In fact, I haven’t been to one since I was 21 years old — thank God.

So —– there you have it folks. My two-cents worth on the subject suggested by the Daily Post Prompt today. My apologies to anyone who performs in a circus if I hurt your feelings, but if you feel the circus is a worthwhile entity, then today’s prompt is your opportunity to sing its praises and share your side of the story.

 

 

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Prompt Nights 16: Rain

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Visit  “A Dash of Sunny” to get the details about participating.

RAIN IN CITY - ENLARGEDRAIN

I love rain:
The showers of spring that stir up life and its delightful scents.
The soft, warm summer rains I can walk in,
The cooling, freshening rains that end a scorching July drought,
The thundering, pounding rains of a sudden summer storm,
The steady, two-day autumn rains that intensify the unique scents and colors of my favorite season,
The gray, quiet winter rains that, thankfully, melt away the unwanted snow.

I love rain:
Rain moving in heavy curtains across the mountains,
Rain dripping from the roofs and trees all along my quiet street,
Rain gently soaking thirsty fields and gardens pregnant with seed,
Rain pounding the roof of the empty church where I pray alone,
Rain sweeping in gusts across my front porch where I stand delighting in its feel on my skin,
Rain in the city, blurring the ugly and adding an extra glisten to the lights and colors.

I love rain!

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Hey … There’s a Book Sale Going On!

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

BOW & ARROW -- QUIVER COVER FOR KINDLE - beige - NARROWED

My novel A Quiver Full of Arrows is on sale this week at the Kindle store on Amazon for only $.99.  That’s a savings of $2.00.  It will go back to list price in 6 days, 10 hours, and 51 minutes (from the time of this post).

It’s a story packed with delightful characters, God’s goodness, and a very satisfying ending.   (And I’m not prejudiced …… honest. )

Check out the more detailed description and make your purchase HERE.

And don’t forget: if you don’t own a Kindle, you can download a free Kindle app onto your computer, your iPad, or your iPhone and enjoy the story anyway.

 

 

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Prompt Nights: Imperfection is Beautiful

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Visit Saana at “A Dash of Sunny” to find out how to participate in this challenge.

Well, I just had to have some fun with this week’s challenge. When this idea popped into my head, I knew I’d give in and write it out.

FACE LOOKING OVER SHOULDERSONG OF THE ELEVATED EGO

I find it oh so easy to detect the faults in you.
It doesn’t take much effort; quite a simple thing to do.
And the guy who stands beside you, and the girl from down the street —
Well, it’s clear that not a one of you could my high standards meet.

But I balk at your suggestion that I may myself have faults,
Or that I come short of perfect due to imperfections caught.
No, it just seems quite impossible that problems you could see,
For I’m the measuring standard: there is nothing wrong with me!

 

 

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WP Discover Challenge: Apology = ‘Sorry’ (a short, short story)

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

SMILEY - SAD FACE - BLUEToday WP has challenged us to write a post that relates to an apology. One of their many suggestions for ‘how’ to respond to the challenge was to write a story about an apology gone wrong. I decided to take that direction just a tad farther, urged along by a couple episodes I’ve known about in real life that gave me the basis for this tale. (All names have been changed.)

One of the sad realities in this life is that not everyone who hurts another person can even comprehend that he/she is actually responsible for inflicting wounds and damaging lives. For those self-focused, clueless people, the word “apology” has no significant meaning. I’m grateful that the vast majority of people I know in this world do understand and practice making sincere apologies when they are warranted.

On to the story:

SORRY

“Get out! Get out! Get out!” Marcy’s voice bounced off the walls of the living room and echoed down the hallway to the front door, where Ryan stood, putting on his coat. Sadness overwhelmed him. He was beyond using words. They wouldn’t do any good anyway because she couldn’t hear them now. Her mind was so filled with her own pain and her need for revenge that it couldn’t receive anything from outside.

Ryan knew, in the objective part of his brain, that he couldn’t deny he was partly responsible for things coming to this point. But even as he accepted that truth, he also realized that he was more sorry that he had told her than he was about having committed the acts themselves.

He was a man, after all. Even the pastor of the church he occasionally attended had acknowledged that sometimes a man had needs that couldn’t be ignored. He’d heard him talking to another member, and he’d said that if a man couldn’t get those needs fulfilled at home, it was understandable that he’d feel driven to look elsewhere. That had surprised him a little, until he remembered that the whole reason the congregation had hired that particular man was because of his loose, liberal leanings where scripture was concerned. Ryan liked the way the guy explained scripture. You weren’t supposed to take it literally for every single situation in your life.

Ryan had told Marcy what that pastor had said and even offered to go with her to meet with him and let him explain it all to her. She’d refused, shouting, “Pastor! He’s no pastor! No man of God would condone what you’ve done! He’s nothing but a hypocrite the rest of you hypocrites voted in so that he’d tell you what you want to hear. His brains are probably the same place yours are, and I won’t lower myself to describe where that is.”

Ryan shook his head from side to side in obvious expression of his befuddled thoughts. Women! Who could figure them? It wasn’t as if he had left her and committed himself to some other woman, after all. He’d just had sex on several occasions. What was the big fuss about anyway? Marcy hadn’t seemed too interested in that part of their marriage lately, so why should it bother her if someone else took care of that part of his life?

He shook his head again in disgust as he opened the door and stepped out into the 0° chill factor. He pulled his coat up around his neck and hurried to unlock his car and get in. He was angry at himself for not at least waiting until warmer weather to get kicked out of the house. He guessed he’d have to bunk down in a motel for the night and see what tomorrow brought. Maybe during the night he could think up some kind of apology that would work on her. Confounded women!

Yeah … he was sorry all right – sorry he’d told her.

 

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Share Your World 2016 – Week 20

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

To participate in “Share Your World” visit “Cee’s Photography”.

NO WATERMARK GLOBE - smaller. for editingJPG

Question # 1:  When do you feel most connected with others?

When  I’m teaching them. It seems to be true whether I’m teaching the Word of God or a writing class or a blogging class. Any period of time when I am sharing with people some part of knowledge that will make their lives better or that will help them to grow and do something important to them, I feel very closely connected.

I relish those times because so much of my life is lived in a solitary state. Because I’m in ministry, I spend a great deal of time studying the Word of God and praying. Both of those activities are best done alone. When I’m preparing a lesson — regardless of the subject matter — I need to be alone in order to concentrate and give it my best work. And since one of the biggest parts of my life is writing, that, too, requires total solitude. I’m not the kind of person who goes to a coffee shop to write my books. I’m able to do some writing even when I find I have to sit in a restaurant or library at times, but I do my best writing when I am totally alone and with no noise.

I enjoy sitting and visiting with friends and family, and I do manage to connect with them pretty well during those times, but it’s when  I’m actually teaching and interacting with someone to whom I’m imparting knowledge that I “feel” most connected.

Question # 2:  What daily habit would you like to introduce to your life?

Returning to a pattern of cooking and eating more regularly. Because I have the freedom to do as I please where most meals are concerned — and because I am generally doing much of the solitary work that I spoke of in question # 1 —  I often eat at erratic hours and seldom put the time and effort into actually preparing food the way I did 10 years ago. But I always  enjoyed cooking. I guess it just can’t compete with the writing and the teaching these days.

Question # 3:  What one mini-little-adventure would you like to have in the coming week?

I’d like to fall in love. It’s been a long time since I was really in love, and it’s such a great experience. Of course, it has it’s up’s and down’s — as all things do in real life — but all the joys are worth the aggravations ——— well, at least that’s how I remember it. Maybe this week, if my adventure comes true, I’ll find out if I still feel that way. I’ll let you know.

Question # 4:  List at least 5 things or events that changed your life.

  1. Accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord.
  2. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit
  3. Marrying my husband
  4. My husband’s death
  5. Writing my first novel

Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful that I FINALLY finished a novel that I started 4 years ago and have struggled to get finished. During that four years I completed two other novels and saw them published, but this one kept getting away from me. I don’t feel I am required to finish every story I start, but I felt this one had real merit, and I didn’t want to give up on it. But whew!  I thank God it’s done!  (A lot of my readers won’t like the ending of this book, because it’s different from the norm in my novels, but I believe the ending is what it’s supposed to be, so that’s what counts.)

This coming week, I’m looking forward to basking in the joy of not feeling guilty and not mentally beating myself up because I didn’t write another chapter in that book. It’s done, it’s done, it’s done!

 

 

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Friday Fictioneers 4/29/16 – ‘Sales Appeal’

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

I haven’t had a chance to participate in Friday Fictioneers in a while, and I’m just getting in under the wire this week. But the picture conjured up this little story, and I couldn’t pass up sharing it. The picture prompt is courtesy of Mary Shipman. My story is below the picture.

PHOTO PROMPT © Mary Shipman

SALES APPEAL

“Pops, when you asked me to come and help with the store, I had no idea you’d been losing money the past ten years. What’s the deal with all these tools and auto parts? And your line of pipe and chewing tobacco is weighing down the shelves.”

“I’m just well-stocked.”

“But your only customers the month I’ve been here are genteel ladies. They don’t buy that stuff.”

“Yeah, the men never shop here.”

“Well, get me the ladder. I’ll fix that.”

(Two hours later)

“Ivan, you can’t hang all those women’s undergarments from the rafters! It will embarrass our customers.”

“Not the customers we’re after. You just wait and see. We’ll have men customers coming out our ears by next week.”

 

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Daily Post Prompt: Music – ‘Word Music’

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Exif JPEG

I’m a musician. I play keyboard instruments mainly. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of using my talents to entertain in various venues, to minister as organist and choir director for two different churches, to help facilitate weddings and funerals for scores  of families, to compose and orchestrate numerous songs, and to teach others to use their gifts and talents to bless the world with music from their own keyboards.

These days I rarely sit down to a musical keyboard. Instead, I’m nearly glued to the kind of keyboard that is attached to a desktop or laptop computer. For,  you see, I’m also a writer. Now, some people feel that I have left music behind as I’ve devoted so much of myself to the writing. But you know what?  I’ve discovered a truth that, ten years ago, I may not have even thought about:

I’ve discovered that music — true music — doesn’t come from a keyboard on a piano, an organ, or an accordion. Nor does it come from a horn, a guitar, a violin, or any other instrument. On the contrary, music comes from the soul. It’s the melody, the harmony, and the rhythm of life that courses through our beings and finds its release through any number of avenues. Frequently, it is released through instruments constructed for that specific purpose, but the music of the soul is also released through words.

I find that I’m releasing the music of my soul constantly as my fingers whisk over the letter keys of my laptop. I’m letting all those melodies, harmonies, and rhythms of life course through me to touch every reader. And when those readers are touched, my words create emotions, thoughts, actions, and reactions as surely as the strains of sound vibrating from a piano or a horn. I’m calling to and capturing the soul of the reader as surely as the chords from a guitar call and capture the soul of the listener.

It is not the instrument that creates the music. In truth, the music is created from the deepest part of our being and simply seeks an avenue — any avenue — of expression. So, personally, I believe I am offering music to the world through the words that flow from my soul onto the page as surely as I have offered it in the past from the keyboard that sent forth vibrations of sound.

So, my fellow writers — let the music play.

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WordPress Daily Prompt: Music

 

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Prompt Nights 12 — Earth Day

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

GLOBE WITH SMILEYIn honor of “Earth Day” Sanaa, the hostess of “Prompt Nights” has asked us to share a poem about one of the specific elements (wind, water, fire, or earth).  And since I missed last week, I’ll share two poems this week to make up for it: one focusing on rain; the other on wind.

Also, I know I’m going against the tide in my offerings today. I can’t seem to muster a poem that bewails the supposition that man is destroying this planet.  I just do not believe that’s true, so don’t expect poetry from me that goes there. Instead, whimsy is my bent today, so I’m offering a light-hearted look at the short, but significant life of a raindrop and the longer and more powerful life of the wind.

I AM A RAINDROP

I am a raindrop.

And I’m looking for place to plop.
I’m falling quickly and cannot stop.

I don’t know where I’d like to be,
But I definitely don’t want to land in the sea.

You see, if I were to land in the sea,
It would be so anti-climactic for me;

I would lose my personal identity,
Even I would no longer recognize me.

No, I must find some place solid instead.
Perhaps on a daisy in a flower bed,

Or a plant so parched it’s almost dead,
Or the page of a book that’s being read.

I must decide as fast as I can,
I’m falling quickly toward some folks on the sand.

So many are out there just getting a tan.
Hello, there, little bald-headed man!

His head sure was tempting, but then a breeze blew,
And drove me off course; what am I to do?

Oh, I see it! I see it! My target’s in view!
Get ready; get ready; I’m landing on you!

Plop!

*

I AM WIND

I blow where I will, and no one can still
My movement.

I rustle the trees and gust where I please
Each moment.

I sweep ‘cross the plains and often drive rain
In torrents.

Raging through canyons, I roar with abandon
And torment.

But sometimes I play; come April or May,
I’m a teaser.

On soft summer nights enrobed in moon’s light,
I’m a pleaser.

I’m gentle and warm, and sweethearts I charm
Into romance.

Then on to the fall, with crisp breeze I call
Leaves to dance.

I carry the scents: burning leaves, bonfires spent
Ripened fruit.

But I bring colder days, frigid nights on the way;
Find those boots.

For I’ll huff and I’ll puff, and the tempts will be tough;
I’ll bring snow.

Though the drifts may be bad, children’s hearts will be glad:
School’s a “no.”

Through the rafters I’ll sing, and my bite – it will sting,
For a while.

But in no time at all, I will bring springtime’s thaw;
Gardens smile.

I lift birds on the wing, and the song that I sing –
It brings rest.

I am wind, and I’m thrilled that I cannot be stilled;
I am blessed.

*

 

***

 

NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 9

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

Join the fun. Hop over to NaPoWriMo.net to get the details.

CHOCOLATE BANNER

 

Cinquain # 9:  Chocolate
(You knew I’d have to do it sometime this month.)

Choc’late
Deserves awards
For all it gives to us.
Comforts souls, soothes taught nerves, aids health.
Sweet treat!

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Prompt Nights # 10 – Surely You Jest

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

This week the ‘Prompt Nights’ challenge offers us the choice of writing either poetry or prose, with a theme that tips its hat to April Fools’ Day. So to celebrate this day of fun and frivolity, I decided to “focus” on a bit of frivolous prose.

 

SEARS CHOCOLATES ONLY close upFOCUS:
A One-Act Play

Place:  A city street
Time: April Fools’ Day

Conversation:

Friend:   “Wow!  Did you see that?”

Sandra:  “I’ll say. I’m salivating even as we speak.

Friend: Oooooh, me too. Makes me feel hungry all over.

Sandra: I know what you mean. That box of chocolates must have held at least 10 pounds.”

Friend:  “The girl who gets that will be over the moon.”

Sandra:  “Mmmmm. That much chocolate candy would definitely make me one very happy lady.”

Friend:  “Huh? – Wait – What?”

Sandra:  “What do you mean, what?”

Friend:  “What do you mean? I’m talking about that drop-dead gorgeous hunk who just passed us carrying the box of chocolates, you dope.”

Sandra:  “Oh, was there somebody carrying the chocolates?”

~~~

 

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NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 1

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

NAPOWRIMO LOGO 2016


Cinquain # 1:  Meeting The Challenge

 It’s here:
NaPoWriMo.
The challenge now is this:
A brand new poem ev’ry day.
Begin!

This year for NaPoWriMo, I’m creating a new cinquain every day in April (or at least I’m starting out to do that. I may or may not have 30 when we’re done.) If you’d like to challenge yourself to write a new poem every day during National Poetry Writing Month, hop over to the NaPoWriMo site for some interesting information and prompts. You don’t have to follow the prompts, but they’re worth checking out in case they strike your fancy.

I’m doing cinquain because, although I generally prefer poetry forms that require rhyme and specific meter, I do occasionally enjoy writing in some of the forms that are based on syllable count. And of all those forms, my favorite is cinquain.  It is also the only totally American poetic form — created by the American poet Adelaide Crapsey.  She was inspired by the Japanese forms of haiku and tanka, but cinquain has its own syllabic pattern and its own unique charm. So this time around, rather than follow the NaPoWriMo prompts, I’m going cinquain all the way.

The form requires a 5-line stanza with the syllable count in each line as follows:

Line 1 — 2 syllables
Line 2 — 4 syllables
Line 3 — 6 syllables
Line 4 — 8 syllables
Line 5 — 2 syllables

The basic meter is iambic pentameter. However, there are many variations on the cinquain that Adelaide Crapsey wrote, and as with other poetic forms, each poet adds his or her own personality to the work.

 

 

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Recipe for Creative Writing: A Quiet Corner, a Cup of Coffee, & Chocolate

| Sandra Pavloff Conner

What?  You don’t think I’m serious about this recipe? Well, I assure you that I am. In fact, I’ve been writing — very successfully, I might add — for many years now using these ingredients on a regular basis.

BLACK TYPEWRITER w. quiet1. A Quiet Corner:

I must have quiet when I’m creating.  If I’m simply relaxing — or doing housework — or eating — I often enjoy listening to music, a TV program, or a lesson on a subject that interests me. But if I am intent on creating something with words, I do not want any conversation or music whirling around me. I want to be closed into my own private world — just me and my words — until I have received conception of and given birth to that brand new entity that has been waiting on me to bring it into the world. So this ingredient is a must.

2. A Cup of Coffee:

COFFEE STEAMING - REDMy, there’s just nothing that quite equals the soothing, uplifting aroma of fresh-brewed coffee. And I’m tired of hearing all the uninformed critics out there who try to make coffee drinkers feel guilty because there is an element of caffeine in coffee. I have always maintained that, since the Lord told us in Genesis that He made the seed-bearing trees and plants for us to eat, then we should be able to partake of coffee with a clear conscience and a happy heart. And let’s not forget that God made the coffee bean with the caffeine in it. We human beings did not add the caffeine the way we add so many artificial ingredients into our food. That caffeine must have some good qualities in it, or the Lord would not have put it into the bean in the first place.

Furthermore, there have been numerous medical and scientific experiments done over the past half dozen years that prove coffee has many beneficial qualities for the human body — everything from quickening our brain function to eliminating headaches as quickly as aspirin to protecting the body against several kinds of cancer and heart problems. Naturally, nothing is good for our bodies if we partake of way too much of it, to the exclusion of other important elements. But in moderation, coffee is a great blessing. And considering the fact that, in my family, a good cup of coffee has always been associated with family togetherness, wonderful fellowship, and comforting relaxation, coffee is, for sure, a substantial ingredient in the recipe.

3. Chocolate:

BOX OF CHOCOLATESAs with coffee, the medical field has grown in its understanding over the past decade concerning chocolate. Researchers in the field have learned that chocolate has many helpful — and healthful — benefits for our bodies. Again, we remember that everything we ingest is most helpful when taken in moderation. But there’s one more quality associated with chocolate that we must add to our evaluation of it. We need to consider the connotations associated with that delicious treat — you know: mother’s love, romantic love, comfort, and a little extra surge of energy. Now, given all those positives, why would anyone want to leave chocolate out of the recipe?

Combine all ingredients in whatever ratios make you happy.

So there you have it folks. There’s just no other recipe quite so perfect for the dedicated, committed creative writer. And if you haven’t yet tried this particular recipe, you should. You’ll be surprised at just how well you write when you partake of these ingredients.

 

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