Holy cow! September already?

I was happily going along with my crazy week when I realized that it's September 2nd. And that I said I'd pick a winner for my book giveaway on Aug. 17th and post it the first day of September. Which was yesterday.

Oops!

Even though I'm a day late, Random.org helped me choose a winner! And it is the commenter Impkatt!! *applause* *whistling* Email me your mailing address at jaimetheler AT yahoo DOT com. Impkatt wanted me to pick my favorite of my two books, but I won't tell which one. I'll let it be a surprise. (Mostly because I haven't decided yet.)

Giveaway, Bon Bons, and Dramatic Superhero Music

Imagine it: you've had a relaxing summer lounging by the pool, soaking in the sun and eating bon bons while your attentive and always-obedient children speak kindly to each other and fight for the opportunity to fan you. You've gotten through that entire To-Read list of fabulous books (which grew bigger throughout this month as you've heard of all the great books from the authors on this blog), your brain is all relaxed and happy-like and you think to yourself, Self, I'm ready to kick my brain in gear. If only I had a good non-fiction book.

Well, dear readers, I am here to save the day! (Cue dramatic superhero music.) With just a few presses of the keyboard and a click or two, you can be entered to win one of my two non-fiction books. You heard me right--you get to choose, you lucky, lucky blog readers!

Behind Door #1:

Enjoying the Journey: Steps to Finding Joy Now

As Latter-day Saints we strive for joy in eternal life -- but many struggle to find joy during the journey there. Let this book help you learn to rejoice and find more joy right here, right now. Clearing away the clutter, staying in touch, and living with purpose are only a few of the many tips this book provides to help you enjoy your journey through life. Specific steps in each chapter will guide you through important principles and help you apply them to your feelings, thoughts, and actions. Reach for your full potential as a child of God and find the joy the Lord intends for each of us during our journey back to His presence. Enjoying the Journey is a delightful and heartwarming message for any who need a lift.

And Behind Door #2:

Parenting the Ephraim's Child: Characteristics, Challenges, and Capabilities of Children Who Are Intenseley MORE

What is an Ephraim's Child?

Like those of the tribe of Ephraim, an Ephraim's Child has great determination, energy, and a headstrong will. Ephraim's Children are also often high maintenance, emotional, controlling, and aggravating. What other sources don't tell you is that these children are a special and covenant people. As Hyrum G. Smith declared, "Today is the day of Ephraim." These are the children of the final days when strength of character will be so crucial.

Parenting the Ephraim's Child: Characteristics, capabilities, and challenges of children who are intensely MORE examines the nine common characteristics with examples and real life stories to explain how each trait contributes to the challenge of raising an Ephraim's Child. Parents can understand and work with these temperamental traits, and then see how each is actually a strength in need of refinement. The scriptures and words of modern prophets are used extensively along with secular sources of wisdom to demonstrate how these qualities can be valuable tools in the Lord's hands. Ephraim's Children can be valiant in building the kingdom of God because of their characteristics, not despite them.

Choices! Choices!

The Rules
1. Comment on this post through the end of August.
2. In the comment, mention which book you'd like.
3. Include a funny anecdote about summer, your kids, etc. For example, last week I got involved writing and let my kids run amok for an hour (bad idea). Afterward, I found out they had a lot of fun with blue paint, and we're still scrubbing the front porch which looked like a Smurf murder scene.
4. If you don't want to do #3, then shameless compliments will suffice. You know, "Jaime, you are definitely the most talented cheese-eater I've ever known" or "I wish I could trip on nothing as gracefully as you do." Stuff like that.
5. Since I only post the third Monday of every month (I'll wait while you dash to your calendar to write it down) and you don't want to wait a *whole month* to see if you're the lucky winner, I'll do a quickie And the Winner Is... post on Sept. 1st.

Good luck!

So You Want to Write a Book

Guess what? You’re not alone. According to some surveys, 80 percent of the U.S. population wants to write a book. And it sounds pretty cool, right? Flashing a shiny, new book with your name embossed across the front cover. (Total Aside: You imagine doing that, but then when you actually have a shiny new book you feel a little self-conscious flashing it to people because you worry that they’ll think you’re full of yourself.) The fame, the book signings with lines stretching out the store and down the block (maybe if you’re J.K. Rowling or Stephen King). Yeah… the good life.

Well, if you’re one of those 80 percent, then how do you get from wanting to actually writing a book? Drum Roll… The first step is to have a good idea.

Stay with me here. I am betting that a good chunk of people wanting to write a book don’t actually know what they want to write a book about. You know, you just have this nebulous idea that writing a book about . . . well, something . . . would be really cool. You first need to figure out what that “something” is. So let’s delve a little into the realm of ideas.

How do authors get their ideas?

The answer to this is as varied as authors themselves. I get my ideas for non-fiction because of a need in my own life which I notice isn’t addressed very well. For example, I wrote Parenting the Ephraim’s Child because of what I couldn’t find in other parenting books. Think of a book that you would like to read but haven’t been able to find, then write it.

Believe it or not, I have way more fiction ideas than non-fiction ideas. I have a notebook full of story ideas, and these story ideas have come in many different ways.

It may be that I see a news article or hear about something, and think what if. For example, in today’s headlines is the story “Boy Once Confined to Bubble Emerges Seemingly Healed.” A 7 year-old boy who has a genetic mutation called NEMO (what endless title possibilities!) finally emerges from his bubble. This could be a great coming-of-age story. Or what about a fantasy where not only does the genetic mutation cause immune problems, but maybe superpowers too? Or this could be a story from the parents’ point of view. What would it be like to be the mother of this child? How would it impact siblings?

Sometimes I’ll just have an idea for a dilemma. What if you had to pretend insanity to keep from being killed for political reasons, for example. Jodi Piccoult writes excellent dilemma books. One of my favorites, My Sister’s Keeper, is based on the dilemma of one child that has leukemia and parents that have another child to be a matched donor for the first.

You can even take a story and think how you could twist it in a completely different way. Fractured fairy tales like Robin McKinley writes—Spindles End (Sleeping Beauty), Beauty (Beauty and the Beast), and Rose Daughter (another retelling of Beauty and the Beast)—are great examples of this.

The book I am currently working on originally stemmed from a story I told my son on a rainy day to keep him entertained. He asked to be told the story again and again. The idea then morphed when I heard of the title for another book and decided to do a little research. I have combined both ideas into my current project.

I get many ideas from music. Not the lyrics of music, but the feel of a song. The idea for the next book I’m going to write, in fact, popped almost complete into my head while listening to a song in the car one day. I can’t listen to that song when writing anything else, because it belongs to that one book. And when I start writing it, all I have to do to get in the right mood is play that song.

So, there you go. A few ideas on how to get ideas. I’m sure there are many other ways and I would love for anyone to share other ways they get ideas. The point is, ideas are everywhere, and if you’re a writer at heart, you will find them.

A little about me . . . in pictures

Hello, wonderful readers! *waving* I'm going to introduce myself a little differently today. First of all, my name is:

Pronounced Jay-mee Thee-ler

I like to:

I have raced recently in a Sprint Triathlon, a half-marathon, and this Friday I'll be running this race: But not by myself. It's a relay race (with teams of 12 runners).

I'm addicted to:




I never quite grew out of:

painting by Rosalie Belaisis (found here)

Copyright Jason Engle (found here)

I don't like:


And at the age of three I was run over by:



I have 2 non-fiction books published with Cedar Fort (which I wrote to help me figure out things with my own life)

Parenting The Ephraim's Child: Characteristics, Capabilities, and Challenges of Children Who Are Intensely MORE











Enjoying The Journey: Steps to Finding Joy Now











And I'm looking forward to participating in this blog! Look for me every third Monday.

*If you want to know more about me, then you can visit me on my blog, Bookmom Musings, or visit my website at jaimetheler.com.