Genesis Moments - A Writer's Journey

NEW Edition: Project You is Back at School!

Open publication - Free publishing - More back at school

Check out the summer issue of Project You!!

Open publication - Free publishing - More ann

CLOSED: GIVEAWAY: $100 Visa gift card & our top-secret Philly Rice Krispies Recipe!

Update: Thanks for stopping by. This giveaway is now closed. Winner selected by Random.org is being contacted by email. Congrats Comment #41 (Karen).

This month, Team Philly is competing against 3 other teams in a national Rice Krispies Treat Challenge, the first of FOUR we will do this year. Our designated theme was "Easter" and we had to create a unique Rice Krispies Easter treat with a fun display using even more Rice Krispies.

And, we each get to giveaway a $100 Visa gift card. How incredible is that?! {Rules to win my gift card are at the bottom of this post!}

So, we gathered our pans and our wits and headed over to the kitchen of our challenge captain, Joey.

I knew I was at the right house when I saw the recycling bin full of Rice Krispies Cereal Boxes! Brave Joey had tried one display idea that just wasn't happening. We put our heads together and came up with this fun recipe!

Cocoa Butter Krispies Easter Egg Treats

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp Butter
3 cups Marshmallow
3 cups Cocoa Rice Krispies
1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened*
1 cup butterscotch chips

Coating: pastel candy melts with speckles

Instructions: Melt Butter in large pot over Medium Heat. Mix in marshmallows and Cocoa Rice Krispies. Turn heat to low as you add coconut and butterscotch chips. Mold into egg shapes and set on tray.

Follow directions on the bag to microwave candy melts until liquid. Dip into melted chocolate, whole or halfway. Sprinkle with colorful sprinkles and pipe with icing as desired. Kids LOVE this!

*Coconut could be optional. Butterscotch is the main taste that tingles the tastebuds. And, these treats are seriously mouth-watering.

**********

 

But, Team Philly was on a roll! As you can see in the display below, I was working with some serious overachievers and loving every minute.

Can YOU find all the Rice Krispies in this picture?

  

HINT: 

• Look for the large Rice Krispies wrapped Easter Basket w/ chocolate bunnies inside,

• the Rice Krispies woven basket with candy pops inside,   
• the iced Rice Krispies Easter Flower cut-outs on sticks in a yellow metal tin,
• and of course, our yummo Cocoa Butter Rice Krispies Egg Treats on egg plates in front.

(Team Philly: Captain Joey, Zareen, Tara, me)

 

Each of the blogs below are also running a $100 giveaway! Go visit and comment! (And, "like" our Cocoa Butter Krispies entry on Facebook when it goes live April 13th!! This is a contest after all and we need YOUR help!)

PHILADELPHIA:

Zareen Fidlon, Cooking with Z

Tara Bucci, Baby Momma Blog

Joey Fortman, Real Mom Media

 

We are competing with teams from Phoenix, Kansas City and Asheville! To see their entries, head over to The Motherhood Rice Krispies Circle where we will be posting our recipe too.

 

How to WIN Here:

1) Leave a comment here telling me your favorite way to eat a Rice Krispie Treat!

2) For additional entries to win: Blog, Tweet, and/or Facebook a link to this post. Or, subscribe to Genesis Moments via Networked Blogs, RSS feed or email. Come back here to tell me you did each thing in separate entries.

Tweet:  

Enter to win a $100 Visa Gift Card via @SPeppel http://ow.ly/4sAto #RiceKrispies  

4) Contest ends at midnight April 11, 2011. Winner will be randomly selected via Random.org .

Happy Krispy Treating!!

Official Rules:

Abbreviated Rules: No Purchase Necessary. Begins no earlier than 12:00:00 AM (ET) on 03/28/11 and ends no later than 11:59:59 PM (ET) on 04/12/11. For complete Official Rules, go tohttp://web.mediacdt.com/docs/EasterGiveawayRules.pdf. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Subject to complete Official Rules. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: The Motherhood; www.TheMotherhood.com. 

View official rules here:http://web.mediacdt.com/docs/EasterGiveawayRules.pdf 

Disclosure: This is part of a paid campaign sponsored by the makers of Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® cereal ®, TM, © 2011 Kellogg NA Co.

Check out Joey's awesome video of the event:

Check it! More giveaways this week from Philly Social Media Moms.

#BIAM Day 2: Outlining Your Ten Top Scenes

Okay - so I didn't get as much of my story map done yesterday as I had hoped but I did get the chapters laid out, I journaled, I dreamed, I graded papers for class, I taught class, I talked to my kids, yada, yada, yada.

But, today's assignment is: Outline your TOP ten scenes - more to be filled in later. Now is the time for those broad sweepings strokes.

Words from my 13-yr-old - "HOW BORING, Mom!"

What? Are you kidding me? Boring?

Right now we are looking at plans for a new deck. We are deciding the material, the look, the feel, the size. I went to a lumber yard yesterday. I talked to a guy about all the little displays of deck toppers - made of cedar, plastic, pine, mushed together ground up trashbags and wood fibers, and more. You know what he said:

"Whatever you use on top, the foundation will always be the same pressure treated lumber."

My top 10 scenes - This is the same process I'll go through no matter what I write - these are the foundation on which my story grows. This is where I dig the holes and pour the cement. I need to spend time here making sure it's right. Because if I don't? No matter what material I make it fancy with later - it's not going to stand the test of time.

And yes, my friends, I want this book to stand the test of time. I want it to be that good. I want the materials to be solid. They may take longer to work with (kinda like the incredibly hard Brazilian ipe wood -sounds like "epay" -- my husband would rather use if it didn't quadruple the price) but I don't want to put my name on this unless I am proud of it.

Now, back to story writing.

AND, yes I know that people LOVE to see pictures on blogs BUT, you know what, I have a novel to write, a house to clean, papers to grade, paid review work for a review site to complete, a column for the local paper to write and all around life to live. I don't have time to feed your need for photos. Perhaps another day. If you want to send me a photo because you feel sorry for me, by all means I would love the contribution because I like pretty blogs too but right now I have to worry more about pretty words.

Verse for the Day:

Psalm 32:7 “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.”

AND, if you want to see where all this began - check out Day One where I talk about the BIAM or Book in A Month book and community started by Victoria Lynn Schmidt.

Book In A Month: Setting Goals & Developing Your Oneliner #BIAM

Okay, so I am really doing it. I am writing the novel that is searing through my brain. Characters are begging to be let go and TODAY I began the arduous journey.

Well, I really began last month when I created a story board and started sticking post-its like crazy all over the board. As strings of post-its got longer, I decided I was ready to take on the Book In A Month (BIAM) challenge. My primary goal: get the book thoroughly outlined with maybe half the actual writing done.

So, what does that mean?

If a typical novel is about 65,000 to 80,000 words or roughly 260-300 pages and I want a rough draft in a month AND I only want to seriously work 5 dys/wk since there's something called LIFE that keep intruding --- THEN, I need to be writing about 4,000 words per day. YIKES! Okay, so, if my true goals are to get a thorough outline and about half of it written, I am looking at more like 2,500 words per day (but not all in straight text - some in description and character development.) I have also joined the BIAM club and I love the input flying back and forth between newbies like myself and others!

See the link below in case you are interested in joining us. I bought the BIAM book too (see link below) but you can access some great worksheets in the files section of this Yahoo discussion group if you need them. The book helped me understand how to use the worksheets to focus my time and my thoughts but this group really gives immediate feedback. The author of this book and community is Victoria Lynn Schmidt. Check out her website and other resources HERE.

Click to join VBIAMClub

So, a big part of today's job was creating the oneliner for my story.

Here's my first attempt:

"After a tragic, amnesia-inducing car accident, popular blogger Tassi Copple must quickly piece her life together using clues from her own social media outlets to rebuild her memory of who she was before the dangers that led her to blog anonymously come back to haunt her life and threaten the lives of her twin daughters."

BUT, a discussion group member cried: CUT! CUT! and suggested this:

"Blogger Tassi Copple must overcome amnesia and use clues from her past posts to solve a murder before he strikes again."

Hmmm. . . now the danger - which I didn't specify before -- just became a murder. But, I didn't have a murder planned. I do have other lurking dangers . . . but I don't know now - a murder always catches attention. Might have to invent one. That might just make this story more interesting! I do love watching all the CSI shows. But so many writers already do this genre and do it well.

And what if in sharing this plot, those authors who do it well use it. I'd better get back to writing. FAST. The only reason I am sharing is because I REALLY hoping an agent or editor some day sees this post - not other writers mining the story.

WHICH is why I am cutting off this post now and not giving any more away. And, I will have to decide in the next 30 days how much to share. Do I give you tidbits to get you excited? Or, do I risk others taking the idea first and running with it? Well, nothing is new under the sun. Hopefully, I can put my own spin on it 'cuz there's lots of goodies I have planned in what I hope becomes:

Book 1: A False Sense of Security.

 

Now, on to the story map!

__._,_.___

Novel Inspirations from Nail Your Novel by Roz Morris!

When you have a novel eating it's way through your brain, your heart, your soul, you know only one thing: this MUST be written. Whether it ever gets read by anyone else but your tortured friends and family, you don't know but you do know: THIS MUST BE written  -- just to get it out of my brain.

I am at that point right now - BUT I do find reading books about writing helps and so I ordered a few this week.

First, I ordered Nail Your Novel by Roz Morris. Why? Because somehow I subscribed to her email list and I started getting awesome emails based on the chapters of this book. And, so I said to myself - I NEED this book. It arrived yesterday and I took it with me this morning to the car dealership to read while I waited for my oil to be changed. And, because I forgot my phone, I had NO excuse but to read this book. AND, because they told me I was soon due for an inspection and they could conveniently do it right then and there, I had no excuse but to KEEP reading this book.

One problem, I brought one tiny notebook with me. One chapter in and I was ready to write PAGES and PAGES. But, I controlled myself and made a small note to do one thing when I got home: search for little pieces of paper or notecards and one big piece of construction paper.

BONUS: I found a stand-up construction presentation board PERFECT to get started.

Inspired by the planning section of Nail Your Novel, I wrote on the left side: Characters. On the middle: Plot-Story. And, on the right: Theme of the Story.

Armed with a stack of post-its, I started posting little notes under character names; basic ideas about what each person was about. Remember, this is the starting point. I expect MANY more post-its and possibly a board for each person later - maybe - unless I can do it in the notebook I started.

Then, I started making post-its of initial steps each character will take and then ALOT of post-its with questions I will need to answer as I go.

Under Theme (which is totally brilliant if I might say so myself), I wrote down all the ways I see this theme in life, both broad and specific, which will help me incorporate these ideas big and small in various ways throughout the story - adding to the depth of meaning - I hope.

And, now, I am starting to think about my wish list and wish-not list. What do I want this novel to be? What do I NOT want this novel to be? Hmmm. . .  time to head to the notebook. If I told you here, how would you be surprised?

I would tell you more but I am working through the first steps. This is definitely a practical handy little book that will definitely inspire you to pick up where you left off or to start fresh and FINISH THAT BOOK!

Kindle Edition of Nail Your Novel comes out next week!

My New Year's deadline to start my first ever novel is LOOMING! Quick, someone stop me.

I am being surrounded by words. Big words, little words, scary words, soothing words, creatively devious words, intensely descriptive words.

AND, I would totally love to share them with you BUT, I've made a commitment to myself. The bulk of my creative efforts (beginning January ONE - yes, a mere THREE days away) will go into my FIRST EVER novel that has been growing wildly, insanely in my head for the last year. Scenarios slap me in the face in the shower. Characters are born by the kitchen sink. Mysterious, fictional conversations consume my mind as my kids try to grapple my attention back into their world.

It's gonna happen, I tell ya. I'm being surrounded. I open my emails and I see ones from Copyblogger about the Top 10 Blogs for Writers 2010. Then, books like Writing the Breakout Novel workbook by Donald Maas haunt me from the shelf in my office and An Introduction to Christian Writing by Ethel Herr watches from my bedside table as I sleep at night. Dreams fill my head, resolving plot conflicts and creating new ones.

But, can I do it? Can I write a novel that draws you in, drags you by the coat sleeve down dark and twisty turns and dumps you at the end of a rainbow of possibilities wanting more, oh please more?

Someone asked me recently, "What is your novel about?"

In one boring, overdone word, I said, "Blogging."

"You mean like, 'Julie and Julia'."

I said, "Oh no, much more sinister than that."

She laughed. I love mystery, suspense, twists and turns, romance and fun. I am hoping to somehow capture those elements in my writing and take the reader on a wild and crazy ride through the dark and unseemly side of writers who blog for profit, writers who blog for catharsis and writers who blog for the joy of it and the clash of interests in between with some unlikely, "love 'em-hate 'em" characters with secrets to hide (in plain view) mixed in the middle.

As I go, I will try to give some updates - perhaps some teasers to tickle your fancy and build anticipation. After being in the blogging world for the last three years, I think we can have some fun with this - without getting anyone too mad BECAUSE ALL CHARACTERS will be a work of fiction, not meant to resemble ANYONE in particular. Just getting that out of the way, now.

Let's do this!

Dining with Susan Hirshman of "Does This Make My Assets Look Fat?"

Last week, I enjoyed a wonderful dinner with the lovely and talented Susan Hirshman who is promoting her first book on teaching women financial literacy. A group of ladies participating in The Bloggers Book Club met with Susan at the lovely and delicious Trattoria San Nicola in Paoli, PA.

The book parallels dieting and finances and I would tell you more but I just finished a more thorough write-up over at DIYFrugal.com; so, I'll send you over there to read the rest - by clicking HERE! Enjoy the desserts of saving and investing now and having the money to retire happily later.

 

Interview with Lydie Denier of "Me Jane, ... Not You!"

Recently, the lovely and captivating Lydie Denier, was kind enough to answer my questions about her first book, "Me Jane,... Not You!" released exclusively from Magellan Books in an online downloadable format.

This book specifically details the making of her most famous role, Jane Porter, in the hit 1990s TV show, Tarzan; but, it also shares the raw, fresh and honest insights from a woman who saw it all . . . Hollywood at its finest and its worst.

To see the whole story, go online HERE to read more about Lydie and to order a copy for $12.95.

Now to our interview:

Was there a moment, with all the animals and jungle props, that you were afraid? Why?

     My first day shoot, my first scene was with a giraffe. I had to feed her. I kept my hand really high up so the giraffe didn’t have to bring its face too close to mine. When the director said, “Cut!” I turned around. The giraffe kicked me in the butt like a horse.

     In the second scene, I had to feed bananas to a baby elephant. I had no idea that baby elephants have thorns on top of their back and on their trunk. I found him so cute and so friendly. I wanted to pet him. Aoutch! Thorns from his trunk shot into my hand. The on-set doctor applied tweezers to each thorn. Each time she jerked one out, it felt like she eviscerated my hand. She disinfected my hand with alcohol. God, it burned like hell.

     The third scene was Tarzan cuddling a spider monkey in his arms. But as I touched Tarzan’s arm, the monkey tried to bite me. He even jumped on my head and pulled my hair with its horrible monkey strength. I jerked my face from a guaranteed gouge or two. That was the beginning of a three year relationship with jungle animals.

     During the filming of a scene, year II, Cheetah jumped in my arms, happy to see her. But during the filming of that scene, Cheetah kissed me on my neck with his teeth. “Cheetah is biting me!” I yelled in an unsteady voice. His trainer removed him away from me and scolded him roughly. I don’t believe Cheetah meant to hurt me. I do believe, as a male chimp, he wanted to show me that I was the weakest sex. I had his teeth mark for the next ten days. A little blood dripped, but nothing to be alarmed with. Thank God, Cheetah didn’t sink his teeth deeper into my neck!

     The third season, Cheetah got bigger and stronger. He was more mischievous than before. If we would have filmed a fourth season, the production would have hired another chimp, smaller, younger, around two years of age. Trained animals are still wild at heart. It is important to always listen to professional trainers. They know best. And if you visit a zoo and see “Do not feed the animals”, it is for your own protection. In a fraction of a second, your life could turn into a nightmare.

 

Who was your favorite Tarzan?

     Johnny Weissmuller is my favorite Tarzan of all time. His muscles were strong yet lean just like a swimmer. He had the most beautifully, shaped body. In 1986, in Hollywood, I received a beautiful gift. My first acting coach, Alan Rich, knew I was a fan of the Tarzan movies, especially those that starred with Johnny Weissmuller. For my birthday, Alan placed an original photograph of Johnny Weissmuller done by Georges Hurrell in my hands. I was so thrilled. I framed it. I hung it in my bathroom above the bathtub. A place where I could see it all the time. Four years later, I was to become the first French actress to play the role of Jane. Climbing a tree was a great childhood pastime. And now, it was reality.

Do you miss the role of Jane? Or is part of her still in you? What part?

     Yes, I do miss her. I saw my Jane as a modern woman who brings the positive aspects of civilization to the jungle. Jane conducted research on endangered species. But Jane also came to the jungle to find herself. She had just come out of a bad relationship. She was intelligent and independent. She had no fear. She could and would do anything. In a strange way, my life was at the same point as Jane so much so that I often wondered if I would survive.

     With this book, I unpeel the layers of my personal and professional life to give the reader an in-depth view of the barriers I overcome to become an accomplished actress. From being on my own from age fourteen to living in constant fear of my life while living with a possessive and jealous insurance executive and being raped while working, I am a living proof that you don’t have to go down the tunnel like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton for attention. You don’t have to destroy yourself to overcome one’s life barriers. Insights into how Hollywood functions, both on and off the set, bring readers intimate glances into the Hollywood process. It gives readers an opportunity to vicarious live the personal and professional life of a model, a writer, an actress, a rape victim, a victim of physical, verbal and sexual abuse.

 

How did you get into acting? Or rather, when did you know this was to be such a passion in your life? Who were your heroes growing up

     As a little girl, Hollywood dominated my dreams. Actors and movies mesmerized me. Beauty and elegant gowns fascinated me. I loved Ava Gardner in “The Barefoot Contessa” and “Pandora and The Flying Dutchman”. Greta Garbo bewitched me. I admired her especially in “Mata Hari” and “Queen Christina”. Elizabeth Taylor, an iconic two-time Academy Award-winning actress, is considered one of the great actresses of Hollywood’s golden years. For the men, I was in love with Marlon Brando in “Mutiny on the Bounty”, Rock Hudson in “Pillow Talk” and of course Johnny Weissmuller in “Tarzan of the Apes”. These movie stars seemed untouchable. Powerful.  Hollywood always had such an impact on my life. Growing up in the countryside of Brittany, France, there were always two American movies every Wednesday night and Sunday afternoons. And not new movies, always movies from the Hollywood era of the thirties and forties. At age five, I knew I wasn’t like other little girls. Wishing to be a schoolteacher or a stewardess seemed so boring. My dream was Hollywood.

     In 1985, ABC organized a search for new talent. My agent suggested I should go. The contestants had to prepare a ten-minute monologue. Numerous actors entered the contest. I picked a scene of a baffled woman getting a divorce from her cheating husband. Pouted lips, tears running down my cheeks, I looked fragile and drained. My unhappiness coming through on the screen, I was one of the eleven contestants ABC picked.

     I signed a one-year contract. ABC paid for an acting-class, a voice coach, a singing coach and English lessons.  In 1989, I signed a one-year contract on “General Hospital”. I played the role of Yasmine Bernoudi.  And the rest is history...

What are you doing now(hobbies, work, etc.)?

My hobbies are hiking, kayaking, mountain biking and sailing. I started a few weeks ago stand-up paddle board and I just love it. I continue to look for interesting projects as an actress. And as I love challenges, my new challenge is to become a very successful writer. Even though I always loved writing and I started at age eight writing short plays for school, I always thought writers had to have a certain level of education to do so. But if you have a story you want to tell, with hard work and a great coach and mentor, you can overcome this challenge. I did and I am grateful to have the best mentor, award winning writer, Don L. Vasicek.

What dreams do you have at this point that you hope to achieve in the coming years?

     Besides becoming a very successful writer, I wish to see on a big screen a screenplay I wrote based on “The Flying Dutchman”. And I want to concentrate on getting parts in feature films.

What role haven’t you played that you want to play?

I want to play Hedy Lamarr and Mata Hari.

What words of wisdom do you wish to impart to future actors and actresses just getting started or perhaps just beginning to dream?

     Anyone who at one time or another in their lives had wished to become an actor might rethink their choice. Life as an actress is not all glamour as one would think. It’s hard work and the constant abuse in this business is hard to cope with in everyday life. But if it’s a dream of yours, then do not let anyone tell you, you can’t do it. Never give up on your dream. Dream into action. Miracles occur. But one has to work terribly hard for them.

Thank you, Sarah, for your interest in “Me Jane… Not You!” All the best, Lydie.

Thank YOU, Lydie!! What a wonderful interview. Thank you for your time.

Learn about The Zone & Toxic Fat with Dr. Barry Sears

After picking up a copy of The Zone off a resale shelf at the library, I was excited to get the opportunity to interview the famous author Dr. Barry Sears who has a new book out called Toxic Fat.

To check out our interview, click over HERE to DIYFrugal.com where I posted my article based on our talk. The man has some fascinating things to say about fat! (By following his principles, I've lost 8 pounds in the last TWO weeks! Only 43 to go - based on the Metropolitan Life Tables of 1983. Boo- hisss. .. )

To check out his new book, click over to Amazon by selecting the link below!