Sandra Brown talks about movies...

My all-time favorite author, SANDRA BROWN, is at http://goodbadandunread.com/2008/07/22/sandra-brown-talks-movies-and-books/#comment-67360 today, blogging about movies and books. Stop in for your chance to win her upcoming release, SMOKE SCREEN.

Oh...what a dream come true. To win an autographed copy of Sandra Brown's novel!

Don't Forget!

The Wild Rose Press wants you to have a SONY eReader!

All this summer (June 11 – August 31), every time you purchase a title by any of these sponsoring authors (see list below), you will be eligible to enter our drawing to win a SONY eReader. The drawing will be held on Tuesday evening, September 2, 2008 at our weekly chat (9:00 p.m. eastern). (You do not need to be present in the chat room to win).
When you purchase any title from these authors simply email your order number to:
SONYREADER@thewildrosepress.com

FREE READS DO NOT COUNT AS PURCHASES. Make sure you have a current email address and/or include your contact information so we can find you if you win.
You may enter as many times this summer as you wish. If you purchase more than one title in the same order, feel free to send two emails and include the order twice. We will verify that you did indeed purchase more than one title.
The following are the sponsoring authors for this wonderful contest. Please look for their author information on our web site and enjoy some fabulous reads this summer from these participating authors. If you click on the author's name it will take you directly to their books on our site.
Donna L. Bolk
Allie Boniface
Linda Carroll-Bradd
Laurel Bradley
Rachel Brimble
Charlotte Chalmers
Elaine Cantrell
Pam Champagne
Christine Columbus
Sandra Cormier
Cheryl Cornell
Amy Corwin
Sharon Cullen
Donna Dalton
K.M. Daughters
Debbie Doggett
CarolAnn Erhardt
Valerie Everhart
Samantha Gentry
Cindy Green
Kathleen Grieve
Larry Hammersley
Stacy Dawn
Sharon Horton
Tara Nina
Anna Kathryn Lanier
Marly Mathews
Nicole McCaffrey
Donna Michaels
Stacey Joy Netzel
AnneMarie Novark
Cindy Spencer Pape
PL Parker
Katie Reus
Jane Richardson
Donna Marie Rogers
Pam Roller
Emma Sanders
Kathleen Scott
Carol A. Spradling
Debra St. John
Lily Stone
Browyn Storm
Leanne Tyler
Brenda Weaver
Nita Wick
Teri Wilson

For information about the Sony eReader click here
For questions on this contest, please contact LisaDawn MacDonald at
lisadawn@thewildrosepress.com

or Rhonda Penders at rpenders@thewildrosepress.com

Please put the words SONY eReader contest question in your subject line.
Good luck!
*No purchase necessary to win the SONY eReader. If you do not purchase a title, you may enter the contest by mailing a post card to The Wild Rose Press, Sony eReader Contest, P.O. Box 708, Adams Basin, NY 14410. Please include your name, email and contact information. In addition, you must write down three titles from any of the participating authors. Postcard entrants will be added to the names of email entrants and a winning entry will be drawn on September 2, 2008.

August Rush

August Rush was an amazing movie, despite some of the credibility issues. Because the movie was so deep, it was easy to look over some of those issues (such as Julliard taking a child without calling the police and reporting him as missing or as a runaway).

It was better than I expected and brought out emotions that just made me want to cry, jump for joy, and every emotion in between. Plus, the music was amazing. It's a movie I would like to own.

(Yes, I keep saying amazing, but that's truly what the movie was. How else can I describe it?)

Music is an amazing art, however I feel a lot of people try to drain out everything around them with music instead of letting it empower them. I went to the river one morning, and before long there were a whole slew of people with their radios turned up as if we all wanted to hear their tunes. As much as I love music, sometimes it drains me. I thought of the movie and the child, who walked around the world listening to the melody of the earth and letting it empower him and his calling.

The wind whipping through the trees, the birds and their chirping, the water as it flowed down the rocks and to the other side. People's voices and intonations. Once they turned on their radio at the river, I couldn't hear or appreciate any of those sounds.

I used to fuss at my husband because we'd take the boat (when we had one) out on the lake and he always wanted the music on. "My ears ring when there's silence," he would say. My argument was "of course your ears rings, because you're always trying to have noise around you." Why not enjoy the music that nature offers? Why not let nature empower you, instead of drowning it out every chance you get? Then, when you do hear a good song, you can enjoy it that much more.

There are days when I can't write with music. I need silence. But then there are time when I can't get going without music. If you look up music in the dictionary, it calls it an art form consisting of sound and silence. Pleasing and harmonious to the ears. I love how that kid in August Rush found the music in everything he did, and once he picked up a musical instrument he was just amazing, because it came from the inside of him.

So...let's do something fun. If you are listening to music, turn it off. Listen to the sounds around you. Does it conjure up any emotions, any memories, or make you feel a certain way? Use that in your writing (or you painting, or in whatever it is you do). And tell me what you hear.

I hear the whir of the air conditioning, the soft murmur of the television in the next room, and the tap tap tapping of my keys as I'm writing. Every now and again, the computer will prattle. But as I let those noises connect with me, they seem to communicate with each other, and it makes me feel peaceful.

8 Things I Love About Summer

Okay, I'm back and I'm going to try to stick to my previous blog schedule. Of course, I can't promise anything, but I want to get back into blogging and what better way than to do it on the Top 8 of '08 day!

Here's the top things I LURVE about Summertime!

1. Barbecues




2. Swimming




3. Sunshades




4. Camping




5. Watermelon




6. Pina Coladas




7. Summer showers




8. Vacations

Six Random Things...

I've actually done this before, but I was tagged by my dear friend, THE DUCK, so I've decided to try to come up with some new things about me. However, I'm not going to play by the rules this time. I'm not going to tag anybody new, since I did it a few months ago. So, here's 6 random things you may or may not know (or care to know, LOL) about me:

1. My ear lobe piercings are uneven. When I wear certain earrings, it's more noticeable. One side is lower than the other.

2. I have a lot of freckles.

3. I have a lot of ideas but not near enough time or energy to follow through with them. I love to learn new things, but if something doesn't interest me, I won't even try to learn. If it does interest me, I'll put in 110%. I also get bored easily.

4. I've always wanted to learn to play the drums.

5. I'm moody. Some days I'm very cheerful and extroverted, other days I just want to be left alone. I also have a propensity for negativity and have to fight it on a daily basis.

6. I love to travel but hate to fly. I actually have a slight anxiety disorder when the plane is about to take off. Otherwise, I'm usually not an anxious person.

Don't leave me out!

A painting, a word, a song...art speaks to us and makes us feel things in a way that nothing else can. Music is a universal language. If you only speak English but hear a song in Spanish, it can still affect you. The blend of instruments with voice is a powerful device that can flip a switch inside of us.

When I'm depressed, music cheers me up better than any happy pill. I'll turn up the music and dance around the house as I'm cleaning. It pushes me to finish that last rep or that last mile on the treadmill. But it can also lock you into that depression if you listen to a sad song. Some say music makes you kill (sorry but I think if you're going to do that, you don't need music to make you).

My art is with words, but I've often wished I could make music. Music is an art that is more widely accepted, and appreciated. I don't know anyone who doesn't sing to the radio and karaoke is a huge thing for a reason, though I do know people who don't really listen to music. It can annoy and exasperate, gratify and entertain. It speaks to us on a deep level. Looking at a painting can bring these feelings out, but there's just something about music. I turn on my mp3 player when I'm writing and there is always a song that matches the emotion I need for the particular scene I'm working on.

Good singers use their emotion. Guitarists or drummers or pianist or fiddlers etc etc use their emotion but put it into the instrument they are playing. When I play RockBand, I feel, for a little while, that I am helping to create that song. Even though it isn't a real instrument, I have a lot of fun tapping on the drumset and drumming up a powerful feeling within me. Being a part of something, creating a song. That game is as close as I'll ever get since I don't play a musical instrument. I can match and hold a note, but I'll never be good enough to actually do anything other than sing to the radio.

Music is like writing in that each author has a voice. I can recognize any song from certain bands that I have come to love just by their voice and their style. Today I want to give a shout out to LEFT OUT. A friend I've known since 2nd grade is married to the singer/guitarist, so I'm highly supportive of them and love their stuff. I just got their next album (before it was released!!!!) and am happily drinking my coffee and listening to it. I don't have the album cover to post, but the one above is from their last album, which is just as good. And if you don't know how good, well here's a video of my book trailer with their song, RUST.

http://youtube.com/emmasanders
(Well, for some reason I can't find my saved version on my computer. Argh!)

Happy Anniversary!

Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings. Anais Nin

Today, my husband and I celebrate fourteen years of marriage. We are just in love now as we were those many years ago, even if we do have problems. With so many relationships failing (much of my family's have fallen apart), I'm going to write what I think is important to keep a relationship alive.

Love is just like any other part of our life. We can't skip work all the time and expect to keep our job. We can't not exercise and expect to stay fit. We can't abandon our friendships and expect to stay friends. Why should marriages be any different? Yet so many people treat them as if they are different. As if they're supposed to last without any work. So many people don't put the work involved to keep a marriage alive, yet after a divorce you have to work even harder. It doesn't make sense.

Why do people fall out of love with the person they once cherished? Why do they feel the grass is greener elsewhere? Those cute habits become annoying, those moments become something you have to do.

Personally, I think it's because they let it. They stop trying. They feel unloved themselves because maybe their spouse isn't putting even 100%, much less 50%. Here are just few tips that I feel will help:

1. RESPECT. Without respect, you can't stay in love. Or at least you won't feel like you're in love half the time. What did you once respect about your spouse? Can you find it again? Also, you have to be respectful. Bringing up a fault of your spouse in front of people is disrespectful. Arguing with him in front of others is disrespectful. You don't have to make it everyone else's business. Argue in private. You don't always have to be right.

2. TRUST. You can only trust by being truthful, yet sometimes it doesn't matter how truthful you are if others aren't. Even little white lies are hurtful. Honesty with yourself and others is always the best policy.

3. FUN. Have fun. Be silly. Laugh and play. You don't have a act like a grown up all the time. Laugh at your spouse's jokes even if they aren't funny. Eventually, you'll probably find them funny. Show your spouse you still find him/her charming.

4. TIME. Spend quality time together, but also allow your spouse his/her time. My husband has his hobbies and I have mine, and we both respect each others. We also have hobbies we enjoy together. He'll do things for me he doesn't necessarily want to do because he loves me, and vice versa. This is also respect.

5. TALK. Tell him/her how much you appreciate him. Tell him/her when you are proud. Praise him/her in front of others (though not all the time, that gets old, too).

6. CHERISH your partner.

7. CHANGE. Don't expect your partner to change. You be the one to make the changes. Most of the time, he/she will follow and be willing to make changes in order for things to work out.

8. SURPRISE each other! Your man likes them just as much as you do!

And here are a couple of things NOT to do:

9. DON'T EXPECT. High expectations will always disappoint. Your partner can't read your mind. You have to tell him without throwing out accusations.

10. DON'T TAKE without giving and don't take each other for granted.

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.- Captain Corelli's Mandolin. "Love is the beauty of the soul."--St. Augustine

Being in love is wonderful. You can be together forever and still have that "in love" feeling. Happy Anniversary, honey!!!