Linda Ford – Page 23 – Linda Ford is a fan favorite of historical Christian romances that center on faith, family and a forever love.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Posted on November 14, 2015 by LindaNovember 14, 2015

Here I am signing a new 6-book contract.

This series is set in the fictional town of Bella Creek, Montana in the late 1880s where a gold rush takes place. In reality there was a gold rush in NW Montana in the area of Libby and Troy.

I took a research trip there. What a beautiful area.

Of course, my heroes are mostly cowboys so I was looking for ranching areas.

(the cabin picture is, I believe, a photo I took of a postcard). The Marshall family has been born. Watch for them, their friends and their future wives and husbands in this upcoming series. The first book is tentatively scheduled for release in Oct. 2016.

Guess I better get busy and write them.

WHICH BUTTON TO PUSH?

Posted on November 8, 2015 by LindaNovember 8, 2015

Have you noticed all the options we have on Facebook? You can friend, unfriend, go private or public, and you can follow or unfollow. It was the last of these that caught my attention recently.

I could unfollow Joy. I could unfollow Grace. I could unfollow Faith. I could unfollow Hope. Wow! That’s quite a choice to make.

I sometimes think I might have selected one of those buttons. I too often look at the unjoyful, unhopeful, ungraceful things in my life. There’s always something to negative to complain about.

I think what I’d like to find is an unfollow button for complaining and comparing. Or perhaps I simply need to make the choice to follow joy, grace, faith and hope.

I’m posting some pictures to remind me of some of the reasons I have to follow joy and every other positive attitude.

Have you ever considered the things you need to follow or unfollow? What would they be?

PLANTING BULBS AND HOPING

Posted on November 1, 2015 by LindaNovember 1, 2015

The garden has been harvested. The flower beds mulched and covered in preparation for winter. The leaves have fallen from all but the last few trees. The most color I see is the clusters of red berries on the mountain ash. The snow will soon come and the scene outside will be muted white and greys. I’ll miss the colors of the other seasons.

Knowing this I was enticed by the promise of early color in the flower bed.

I properly armed myself:

I planted the bulbs in clusters right outside my office window.

It doesn’t look like much right now but next spring I will enjoy some spring color…at least if everything/anything grows. I have faith in what lies beneath.

It’s a good thing I can envision something beautiful coming from what is now a patch of dirt because I am working on revisions of a story. At the present, it is only an unshaped mess. The ‘bulbs’ of the story are there but like I often say to my critique partner, I have to dig deep to uncover them. Then arrange them in a structure that makes sense. It’s so much like planting bulbs…digging, planting, arranging except for one significant difference… I have no control over whether or not my efforts at planning for spring color will turn out but I trust my process when it comes to story. I will have a well-structured story in the end if I continue to dig and mulch and patchwork. At least, that is the hope that keeps me going.

I am reminded of these words: I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen. by Frank Lloyd Wright

BARN REPAIRS ARE LIKE BOOK REVISIONS

Posted on October 24, 2015 by LindaOctober 24, 2015

The last few weeks have been busy with getting our old barn repaired/renewed. I didn’t do any of the real work but I paid the bills, went for missing material and wrung my hands. Lol.

Here is a before picture taken in 2013.

Pictures of progress—use of Gene Manlift and front-end loader on tractor in order to get the top pieces on.

Not quite finished but close. No windows yet.

It’s been an experience to watch the repairs to the building and then see the tin replace the old siding. The amazing thing is the most important, the most time-consuming work is not visible unless you know where to look. Things like straightening one wall, fixing the footings, bracing the leaning wall, etc. I couldn’t help but think taking a story from first draft to finished product is so much like that. Readers see the book with its beautiful cover and the printed pages. They do not (one hopes) see the twisted, confused raw material that had to be untangled, sorted out and constructed into a solid structure.

I remind myself of how much work went on beneath the surface and find encouragement as I struggle to take the tangled mess of my current story and create a shiny, well-formed book.

FROM THE HEART OF THE WILDERNESS

Posted on October 18, 2015 by LindaOctober 18, 2015

Last evening I watched a fascinating documentary. Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Group of Seven, I quote from this website:

http://www.whitepinepictures.com/painted-land-in-search-of-the-group-of-seven/

“The tangled wilderness of Algoma and Lake Superior’s expansive North Shore inspired Canada’s most famous artists, The Group of Seven, as well as their guiding spirit, Tom Thomson. Their work defined Canada’s artistic representation of itself for most of the past century. One hundred years later, their paintings retain a powerful hold on Canada’s visual imagination..”

Wikipedia says: “The Group of Seven, also known as the Algonquin School, was a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933…Believing that a distinct Canadian art could be developed through direct contact with nature,^[2] the Group of Seven is best known for its paintings inspired by the Canadian landscape, and initiated the first major Canadian national art movement.”

In this stunningly beautiful movie, the producers explore the rugged location of many of the paintings of the Group, searching for the exact spot of some of the famous paintings. To see the ‘real’ scene and then the painting was eye-opening and moving. I wish I could show a pair for your enjoyment. You can see a bit in the trailer on this site.

http://www.reidbetweenthelines.ca/tracing-the-footsteps-of-the-group-of-seven/

http://www.whitepinepictures.com/painted-land-in-search-of-the-group-of-seven/

I hope you enjoy a few of the scenes I saw last night—at least the paintings of the scenes.

Image result for the group of seven

Members of the Group traveled throughout Ontario, often spending weeks living together in a box car provided by the railway company. They went out every day, hiking and or canoeing through the wilderness with their painting supplies and a lunch and capturing dozens of paintings. Their collection of Canadian scenes is truly awe-inspiring.

To think how they searched for scenes, and recreated them in stunning colors is truly awe-inspiring and reminds me I should seek the heart of my stories with the same abandon and dedication these artists did.

RED BOUNTY

Posted on October 4, 2015 by LindaOctober 4, 2015

We’ve had a productive garden this years. Lots of potatoes, carrots, beets, beans, peas and tomatoes.

I picked the tomatoes while they were still green because of early frosts and simply put them in the laundry room and waited for them to ripen which they are doing nicely. What, you ask, do I intend to do with them? I’m glad you asked. Nothing too labor intensive. I freeze them. It’s easy-peasy.

Wash them, cut them up and put on baking trays.

Roast at 350-400 for 1/2 to 3/4 hour until cooked and slightly browned.

Salt generously. I like a coarse salt. Note: I’ve tried freezing both salted and unsalted and salted is far better. It preserves the flavor.

I then blend/puree them and freeze in freezer bags.

Lovely in soups or stews. Can also be used in sauces.

Just another day down on the farm.

ALCATRAZ ESCAPE

Posted on September 27, 2015 by LindaSeptember 27, 2015

Oh wait. I mean Alpaca Escape. lol

We’ve had our daughter’s alpacas grazing here this summer. The other day I glanced out my office window and noticed a strange looking animal heading north on the field across the look. I looked closer. THE ALPACAS HAD ESCAPED.

By the time I found my hubster, they were really gone.

They know the sound of the quad and started for home but the wide open spaces beckoned and they tried to get around him.

They were no match for a man on a machine and were soon herded back across the road.

And back to safety. Wait! No wonder they escaped. The fence had fallen down. A big post broke right off. I guess it was rotten in the middle and the weight of the slab fence in the brisk wind of the day before had brought about its demise.

The animals were moved and are now grazing contentedly.

Just another day down on the farm.

KIDS SAY THE CUTEST THINGS.

Posted on September 20, 2015 by LindaSeptember 20, 2015

I’ve been remembering a few of the things my kids and/or grandkids have said that made me smile. I thought I’d share just a few.

1.This one isn’t from the family but from a mentally challenged young man I supervised.

K complaining that his mom makes him go to church when he goes home, says when he gets married he’s not going to church.

I ask if getting married means him mom won’t still care.

K says I’ll have a wife.

But your mom will stay care, I say.

K looks at me for a serious minute then says, “Well, I’ll move to Chicago.”

Because we all know that mother’s in Chicago don’t care. lol

2. A three-year-old grandson just before his little sister was born tells me, “Mom is going to the hospital where the doctor is going to take her apart to help get the baby out and then he’s going to put her back together.”

3. A son saying grace over left-overs, with no idea what he’s just said, prays, “Bless this food and the hands that repaired it.”

4. My daughter asking a grandson how old he was because she wanted to know when little boys became brats. (I guess the grandson had been rather naughty). He said he was 8 but he became a brat a long time ago at age 5.

5. I asked a granddaughter on her fifth birthday how old she was now. She turned to her mother and asked, “Am I going to kindergarten yet?” Her mother said, “No, not until September.” Child turns back to me and says with great disgust, “I’m still four.”

6. Grandson #1, at about age 4, was asleep when his parents brought him home late at night and they put him into bed without waking him. However, in the middle of the night, he wakened and stomped into his parents’ bedroom. With arms over his chest, he crossly informed them, “You didn’t read to me.”

I love the freshness of how children see things. I wish I could find the same freshness for my writing.

I’ve shared this on Facebook but wanted to share it here as well. I have a Christmas novella being reissued along with a story by Anna Schmidt. Watch for it in Nov.

CARE FOR A CARROT?

Posted on September 13, 2015 by LindaSeptember 13, 2015

It’s that time of year. When a person—particularly a gardener—feels the chill in the air or the rain on his/her skin and gets the urgent need to get the garden cleaned up. We have dug potatoes and carrots. They are now in the root cellar but it was very hot the day we dug the carrots and my fingers are crossed that they will keep.

Of course we had lots of help.

Yup, little Mr. Peanut follows us at every task we do and thinks he’s helping by attacking our hands and feet. He loves when I work in the garden. Aren’t I doing it just so he can chase my fingers?

I love my garden. I especially love the fresh produce. Some of the family was out yesterday to dig their produce and I made lunch for them. A big pot of soup with fresh vegetables. I shredded carrots so one little granddaughter wouldn’t recognize them. I added freshly dug potatoes. Of course I washed them and cut them up. Smile I added green beans, and a bit of fresh dill. And from last year’s tomato crop, I added a container of frozen tomatoes. Yummy.

Yes, I love the garden but it’s a lot of work. I can’t say I will be sorry to see it go to bed for the winter.

GET MOVING

Posted on September 6, 2015 by LindaSeptember 6, 2015

I can’t even begin to guess how many mornings I get up with great plans. I am going to write X number of words—tons and tons. I am going to edit a complete manuscript. I am going to plot out a new story.

I sit in front of my computer and then reality hits. I CAN’T GET STARTED.

I constantly complain about the difficulty of breaking through that initial barrier. I research hoping for some magical answer. What is the problem?

I call it MENTAL INERTIA.

According to Newton’s first law… An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

I need an ‘unbalanced force’ to kick me into moving. An opposing force against my inertia.

The trick, the answer I seek, is what can I use as an opposing force? I don’t have any answers and would welcome ANY suggestions, things that work for you. But I have learned a few tricks to get myself moving.

1. Coffee

.

2. crying

3. working on paper rather than on the computer…hopefully tricking myself into thinking I’m NOT working.

4. I call my critique partner and hope talking about writing will get me going.

5. My most effective thing is my timer. I set it for 15 minutes and force myself to write for that amount of time. And just like the law of inertia says, once I get started, I keep going.

Tell me? Am I the only one who has this struggle? And if you have it, how do you deal with it? Any and all suggestions more than welcome.