The Blanding Librarian Conference

A few weeks ago I was at the state fair when I used my phone to check my e-mail and found a message from Dan. Dan and I have a mutual friend who lives just up the street, though he lives clear down in Blanding. We are both writers so, the last time he'd been up my way, our friend Kayleen had invited me over for dinner to meet with him. We got along splendidly.

Well, when I got the e-mail from Dan my jaw dropped. He wanted me to come down to Blanding to be the keynote speaker for a Librarian Conference. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Don't you need to be important to do those kinds of things? Granted, I've got a book coming out, but not for another several months. Still, I wasn't stupid enough to pass up an opportunity like this, so I immediately said yes. He asked me to, in essence, give a "pep talk" to the librarians, which I didn't think would be difficult. Libraries and books have had a huge impact on me as both a reader and a writer. I played with the thoughts and ideas for weeks before I finally sat down and wrote the speech in one sitting just a few days before I was to leave.

Part of what I wanted to share was an experience I'd heard Tracy Hickman share at the BYU Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Conference I went to in June, so I e-mailed Tracy and asked if I could use it. Being the kind gentleman that he is, he of course said yes, and the final piece of my speech was in place. Still, I was nervous. Would the librarians react the way I hoped they would? Or would my first speech be a total flop?

Kayleen and her husband Allan caravaned down to Blanding with me on Thursday and we got there around 8:00 that night. I kept trying to read my speech to get it in my head. I didn't want to have to read the darn thing during my presentation, but I was too nervous to concentrate right then. Finally Friday morning arrived and before I knew it my time had come. I made my way to the podium and all of the nervousness just melted away. I was able to give my speech slowly and concisely and didn't have to read the whole thing. I could feel the energy building in the room. It was awesome. And when I finished I had a round of applause that seemed sincere, but the greatest compliment of all came around lunch time.

A lovely older lady come up to me just before breaking up for classes and, sniffling, said, "you made me cry!"

You just can't get any better than that, and let me tell you why. If you can make someone cry, you just made them feel, and when people feel, they remember.

I wanted all those Librarians to remember that they are the gatekeepers of knowledge and the title they hold is a noble one. I want them to remember that they are special--for they are the wizards of our world.

Quote of the Day "Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book, If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for."

~~Alice Walker~~

Blogless

I'm afraid I've been at a loss for words lately. My life is busy, but boring. Not much of interest to talk about. I'm moving my office into the basement and have been working hard on painting it Fairy Godmother Blue and Forest Sunset Orange. Disney colors from Home Depot. Love them. Anyway, it's been a long and grueling process and I am tired. Worn to the bone, so to speak. There hasn't been much time or brain-power left for writing, but the end is in sight. I should have all of my stuff moved into my new space today or tomorrow and hopefully can then turn to more intellectual pursuits. Or more fantastical ideas. Yeah, I'll get back to writing and soon, I hope. In the meantime, I apologize for being gone for so long. I'll post pictures of my new office as soon as it is finished and shall return within just a few more days.

Quote of the Day:" But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think."

Lord Byron

OUCH!

I woke up yelling today. I never knew people actually did that until I found myself rolling around in pain this morning. See, I have this strange tendency to sleep on my side at the very edge of my bed and let my arms dangle into the open space. For my right arm, that's fine, but for my left arm my elbow locks and it sticks straight out. Add to that a fan blowing cool air across it all night long, and many mornings I wake up with it stiff and achy.

Not today. Today it started screaming at me. Went into total spasms and didn't want to stop. I just rolled around, trying to rub the cramp out of it, yelling, "Owie, owie, owie" (no, really, I did!) over and over again, but every time it would ease and I'd push the muscle, thinking to rub it out, it would cramp again. Five minues worth. Seriously! I finally put some chinese massage oil on it I love called Po-Sum-On and it's starting to calm down.

Looks like I'm going to have to find another way to sleep! OUCH!

Quote of the Day: "If writers stopped writing about what happened to them, then there would be a lot of empty pages."

Elaine Liner

You Are God's Original Masterpiece

One of my Facebook friends posted this yesterday and it has had a profound impact on me. I couldn't wait to share it with all of my friends. Watch this and tell me what you think, how it makes you feel. I'd love to hear from you. An please be patient . . . it takes a couple minutes to load.

The Artist's Way

Years ago, my friend and mentor gave me a book to help me through some of the creative self-doubt I'd been struggling with. It is a book that has changed my life and one I have bought and given to friends many times over. The book is called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron and it is a 12 step program, a spiritual path to creative self recovery. Who would have thought artists needed creative self recovery? But we do. Artists as a group tend to be very sensitve and doubt themselves and their abilities frequently. Artists are rarely encouraged to pursue their love of the written word, or music, or painting. It's most often supported as a hobby or not at all.

I was blessed to have a mother who encouraged me to write. It was a love we shared. She'd always wanted to be a journalist, but life and family made her put that dream on the back burner for many years. She finally turned that love to writing several family histories, and writing occasional articles for magazines, and gaining a final publication credit of two experiences in a book just a few weeks before she passed. Mom always told me I could do anything I wanted in this life if I wanted it bad enough. She always told me she had confidence in me and my abilities--and yet still this book was needed, though I've never been able to get beyond chapter 4, for some strange reason. Just those first four chapters have given me tools that allow me to be creative and know where that creativity comes from.

Recently, three of my dear friends and I have begun this journey together. They are new to the Artist's Way, but their e-mail to me have been full of excitement and eye opening wonder as they discover the gifts that doing morning pages have given them, or the eye-opening understanding of adding voices to their Monster Hall of Fame. Discovering where those negative critical voices come from has been crucial to their creative self-recovery, just as it has been to mine.

This journey for me is not new, and yet even now, the fifth time I've begun it, I have discovered things about myself and the blocks that have made me what I am. I've added new Monsters and am realizing some of my potential.

But, I think the pinnacle of this week was knowing that I'd made a difference. While doing affirmations two of my three friends told me that they weren't hearing any blurts (the negative self talk that comes when we praise ourselves). And then they told me why. They in essence said that they weren't hearing blurts because when they did the affirmations they heard my voice telling them it was true. One of them listed me in her Hall of Champions. It was an act that was more dear to me than any award I've won, made me feel more value than any money I could gain. It humbled me to the depths.

I was somebody's hero.

Quote of the Day: "Creativity is God energy flowing through us, shaped by us, like light flowing through a crystal prism."

--Julia Cameron, TheArtist's Way

Googling

I googled myself yesterday, wondering if having a contract and publication date gave me more hits than just my blog, facebook, and my one published poem. I found two very surprising things in this search. First:

I'm dead.

Yes, Karen Elizabeth Hoover passed away on August 6, 2009 in Missouri. The eerie thing about it is not just that someone by my exact name passed away, but that she did so exactly one year after my mother passed. It felt very strange seeing my name attached to a memorium. Not liking that one much at all.

Second: Somehow I've been added to a list of LDS authors with books coming out in the near future. My name sits directly below Tracy Hickman's! I'm on the list with people like Shannon Hale, James Dashner, Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Mull, and Orson Scott Card. My head sort of exploded when I found myself on that list.

It made it all real. It's no longer just a dream that I will become an author. Word is already spreading about my book and I find myself both thrilled and terrified to have leapt into this league.

It's funny how we put people on a pedestal, make heroes out of ordinary people who write extraordinary things. I don't know how to be part of that group. I'm awkward, and quiet, and like to do silly things like talk in a silly high pitched "bobby" voice, and play video games. I'm a book worm and movie buff who likes to tell stories. And I'm on the same list with these guys?

And yet, if I am completely honest, there's nowhere else I'd rather be.

Hi. My name is Karen Hoover, and I am an author.

. . . But, I'm not dead yet!

Quote of the Day: "Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish."

John Jakes

The Secret to Good Soup

I love soup. I grew up with my mom frequently creating what she called "Garbage Soup," which is actually much better than it sounds. It basically meant pulling whatever was on the shelf and any leftovers or fresh vegies in the fridge and putting it together. It never tasted the same, but one thing I could always count on is that it was going to be good.

So, as I became a mother and wife and started looking for cheap ways to feed my three boys, soup was a natural solution. My first attempts were edible, but not great, until I found a book on making soup. I never liked any of their recipes, but they had some awesome advice that has stuck with me over the years.

The advice was this: Flavor your broth the way you want it before you add any meat or vegetables. That's it. Simple advice, but I've found that when I follow it and make my broth as tasty as I can ahead of time my soup always turns out perfect. When I forget and add the flavoring later, no matter how hard I try I can't make it quite right.

Tonight I made some vegetable soup that totally rocked! I'm not a follow a receipe kind of gal. I'm like my mother in this. I take what I can find and toss it in if I think it will taste good. I know most people aren't like that, so I'll toss out my ingredients here and if anyone wants to attempt my rockin' veggie soup, go ahead, and let me know how it turns out!

BROTH:
Water
beef bullion
chicken bullion
Knorr Vegetable Bouillon (4 cubes)
Knorr Tomato bullion with chicken flavor
Knorr Chipotle seasoning bullion cube
Garlic powder
Onion powder
curry (not too much. Just to taste)
juice of one lime
3-4 sprigs fresh basil

Everything else:
1 can of black beans
1 can of red beans
1 can of RoTel diced tomatoes & Green chilies
1 bag of frozen white corn
3 stalks celery
2 carrots
1 sweet onion
1 large zucchini (=about 4 small)
3 small potatoes
3 fresh roma tomatoes
multigrain noodles

Dice all the vegies to whatever size you like and toss them in. Let it boil until potatoes and noodles are soft enough to eat and veggies are cooked through.

Sorry I don't have specific amounts on the bullion. I'm a shake and taste person. Just remember, you can always add more water if it gets too strong.

One last tip: BE GENEROUS with the garlic and onion powder. They make everything taste better!!!