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Showing posts with label Journey Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Journey Home. Show all posts

Monday, March 3, 2014

All The Books Around The World.. ..A journey In Writing...Part One

      

     Many people have asked about my books and writing of the books and stories. I promised to do a blog with all of them and it has taken some time to do what I really wanted to do. I wanted to share not only the books, but the links where they can be found. There are many other places to find the books and they can even be ordered from your favorite books stores. When I began writing and first got online with the internet I felt it was my way to reach out beyond where I am. I wanted to be able to not just fade away but to feel alive. When I published the first book I did not know if there would be a chance for any future when they told me how critical the cancer was. Every heart beat brought me close to being inoperable. I was not strong enough or have enough lung capacity to survive the surgery. I worked with treatments until they could do the surgery. I had two novels I had written but had to decide what one I would choose to publish knowing it may be the only chance I would have.

I loved Journey Home. It is a novel and a story I think you will not soon forget. I also love Life Goes On. When I first got the idea to write this story I wanted to share something others could relate to. I wanted to write it to feel so real you would know the people, share their pain, and gain an insight to some of the problems and issues others might have with economics, home, family, children, teenagers, and the dangers of the choices we make in life with consequences that may be far reaching. I wanted it to be a story that would take the reader with them all into the story and life.

There is a new reality television show here sharing the life in a rural area of Hard, Arkansas. Life Goes On takes you into the life this family works to build as the relocate from north to south and city to country with children who do not want to go. None of them dreamed they would go from a life of stability with a good job, beautiful home, safe schools, friends and neighbors to unemployed and life cascading out of control. The loss of job results in a loss of home and moving to a rough neighborhood and a life they had never really understood. You can read the story and feel the people. You can experience the life as they learn to adapt. Many people love the reality shows. This is a work of fiction but has the feel of real life and real people in a place many call home.

Children are survivors and adapt to environment. The environment was not one that any parent would choose, but also not one they could avoid. When they could not pay rent there they were facing a future of being homeless or taking the offer of help from a relative and relocation.

We may pass people who are homeless and often look away. We never really see them or think of who they are or were, and where they came from to arrive in such circumstances. People who have worked for years at the jobs and building their lives suddenly find themselves in situations loosing their homes and struggling to survive. What if there was no place to go? What if there was no one to help? This family had few choices left and a long way to go in miles and transitions.
Each person would have changes, challenges and problems with choices that could affect not only them but their whole family and those they love. They would have to live with the consequences and find a way to go on ….. as Life Goes On.

When I was looking for the links to my book, I wanted to share the links to all of the countries it may be found. I have compiled a list of the Amazon sites.

Before that I want to also explain that every one of my book covers is one of my pieces of art. Many are my paintings and some a from my photos worked to be special for the book or art from pastels. Life Goes On is one of my photos we took many years ago as we traveled from St. Louis, Missouri to Arkansas. The sky was ablaze with color and it took my breath away. It was that special time of evening just before darkness. When I saw the headlights of the cars, the thought occurred to me wondering about those who traveled that evening. They each had their own stories, places to go and pasts they left behind. I knew that was right for this story. Life Goes On.

This is a list of the countries I will provide links for through Amazon.....

US United States            UK United Kingdom            IN India
DE Germany                  FR France                         ES Spain
IT Italy                           JP Japan                           BR Brazil
CA Canada                    CN China                          MX Mexico
AU Austrailia


I have author pages in the US at http://www.amazon.com/Linda-Nance/e/B004PVDVR4/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1 and the UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Linda-Nance/e/B004PVDVR4/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1393520462&sr=1-2-ent
There are many other place I often go and have sites such a linkedin, goodreads, twitter and many others. For today I will share the Amazon links to all of the books and all of the countries I could find.

This is the original picture I use for the cover of Journey Home and the final cover for the book.




When I wanted to reach around the world I truly felt as if I was seeing my books in all of these places


LIFE GOES ON

256 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1453780138 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1453780130
BISAC: Fiction / General

LIFE GOES ON The Family of five found themselves in crisis as they were evicted from their apartment after the father lost his job. With great trepidation they accepted help from a relative that offered them a place to live and new start in life. They had no choices except seeing their family homeless in a rough part of the city. It was not an easy adjustment for any of them as they experienced moments that would test their sense of humor and times that would test their strength of character. There were some difficult issues they would have to face and how they responded could have life altering consequences. Learning what family can mean was a lesson each person learned in their own way. This is a story of people and a place they would work to make their home. It is struggle, heart, moments of triumph and times of despair. It is a story that speaks to many of us in different ways as the characters struggle with life. They had weathered the difficult transition of the relocation and would face new challenges as life goes on for them all. Life Goes On is a dramatic story worth reading and remembering.










AMAZON PAPERBACK http://www.amazon.in/Life-Goes-Linda-Nance/dp/1453780130/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393523882&sr=8-1&keywords=LINDA+NANCE

DE KINDLE https://www.amazon.de/dp/B004XJ6U26








JP KINDLE https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B004XJ6U26


AMAZON PAPERBACK



AMAZON PAPERBACK

AMAZON PAPERBACK



The more I get into this, the more I feel the excitement. With every book and story I wrote, I wanted it to be more than just a story to entertain. I wanted it to feel real and let you get to know the people and be able to see the places. As I worked to find all of the links for the books I really did get the feeling or reaching out beyond these walls as I sit here typing.
I love this book. It is the first novel I ever wrote but one that will always have a special place in my heart. Many people have asked me how long it took me to write it. I have no real answer except that life got in the way. I did not give up on it and worked for many years before it became what it is today.



How would you feel if you believed and knew someone was watching, following, even stalking you and no one took it seriously? Lara relocated thinking she would leave her problems behind. She met new people, made new friends and saw some from her past when she went back to what she thought of as her childhood home. She had to stay for nine months but found those nine months could be a life time or and end to life depending on finding the truth and realizing who she could trust.

What it you looked out your window as darkness approached and instead of enjoying the view, you wondered who and what might be looking in? These were just some of the problems this young woman would face. Her new friends seemed too good to be true but she could not stop the feelings she began to experience for the man who might have the most to gain if she failed to stay or anything happened to her.

Knowing who to trust could be an impossible thing but being alone could be disastrous. The problems she was having were more than an infatuation that developed into stalking. Life and death could be the result for her and anyone close to her. Were the feelings she could not control for Alan real, or would they be what destroyed her? Were her new friends too good to be true or a blessing and her only hope?

Home is more than a place you live or an address where you receive mail. Home is a place in the heart. For this woman to find her way on her Journey Home to find a Home of heart she would have to survive. She would have to survive the Journey Home and find a way to live life.

I had the story, but I needed a cover. I thought of so many things I could try to use. I still hardly knew how to use a computer and the frustration trying to learn so many new things was almost more than I could survive.
Many years ago I did a painting for my father-in-law. I did not have fancy art supplies. I had used a simple piece of typing paper and a 99 cent tray of children's watercolor paints. I got a piece of paper towel and some brushes and tried to capture the sky and the place. All of these years later he is gone from us now but the painting and memories are still alive in our hearts. I knew that was what I wanted for the cover of Journey Home. We each have paths in life we travel and this painting was a path in a place so like the book describes. It may be a path Lara would have walked. I may be a path I would love to walk. It was the path that would take the story Journey Home forward to becoming a book I could hold in my hands.

This is the original painting.



Here are some of the places Journey Home has traveled....

JOURNEY HOME

480 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1456507213 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1456507214
BISAC: Fiction / General

Contemporary family-oriented story with suspense.
Journey Home Lara Stanley’s life is about to drastically change as she embarks on her journey home after the death of her uncle. Join in the journey with mystery, romance, drama and a story to remember. Have you ever wondered as darkness falls and you look out the window, if there is someone or something looking in? A story that takes you with a woman on a journey to find her way in life. Home is more than a place, but it can also be filled with questions and even danger. Finding the truth might be all that saves her.
Journey Home

Even from the grave, love comes to make sure the Journey Home is safe and fulfilling—excellent suspense keeps pages turning ‘til the end- GABixlerReviews

Linda Nance awakens the reader’s understanding of what greed, hate, revenge and deceit really mean. –Fran Lewis




















AMAZON PAPERBACK



AMAZON PAPERBACK

AMAZON PAPERBACK




That brings me to The Pumpkin Field. This is one book that will always be dear to our hearts with a long history even before it became a book. When our boys were young they came home from school telling how much they hated poetry. I explained that a poem is many things. A poem could actually tell a story. They laughed and made young boy faces saying “Yuck, it would be a love story.”

I decided to write a poem about a haunted pumpkin field. Most children and many adults love a ghost or haunted story. I wanted it to be more than a poem and more than a story. I wanted it to be something we could use to explore thoughts, dreams, fears, hopes, and more. I wanted it to be something that could generate enough interest they might begin to explore their own thoughts and creativity.

For many years that is what it was. It was a little poem with a big reach. If a child was afraid of the dark the first part was something I could use to help them understand that night is not bad.....it is a different kind of light. With teenagers and older people they could find and see more. They could and did relate it to life as we find darkness and shadows in life and we have to find a way to find our way. What lies in the darkness and shadows?



My witch does not eat people or hurt people. She is old, ugly and dresses strange. She is different and scary. That does not always mean that different is bad. What we see on the outside is not always what is on the inside or real of the person we see. There are many forms of prejudice and most come from what is different or we do not understand. If we could overcome our fears and look beyond appearances we could come to a much deeper understanding and also discover some amazing people we might have feared or disregarded. I tired to write the entire story in a way that people of all ages could relate to and children would love.



The local schools began to use the poem in their classes at Halloween time of the year and I even did posters with the characters. The State Park near here used it as a focal point and special thing for the children with me reading the story, poem at their Halloween event. The newspapers took pictures of the posters and told all about it.

My husband told me I just had to make it into a book. He believed in me. To do it justice I would want the illustrations to follow the story. That is a lot of art work. How and what to do? Day by day and page by page I decided to work with Pastels to do the pictures. I did full page pictures so the children could really enjoy the book with full color. My little poem became a book.


I thought back to the many time through the years we gathered around a bonfire and I told the little story. Our children, neighborhood children, friends and relatives loved the little poem, story and asked for it over and over. Now they bring their children to hear it and have the book to read. I had to laugh when one many told me it was Christmas time and his two daughters had to have him read them the Pumpkin Field as a bedtime story.


I was overjoyed when I heard from one reader in England who had shared the book with her daughter's class at their grade school. She said her daughter never tired of the book and they read it together over and over. When I found out classes and schools in another country were enjoying my little book there are no words to describe the emoticon I felt.

I may be sick, old, crippled and have problems but as I sat here at home typing, drawing and working on the books that I love I really did feel as if I had escaped these walls and a part of me reached around the world sharing something special to me. I kept the original sketches before I did the pastels for the book. Since my grandson was a baby I used them for coloring pages. He love it. He could make decorations for Halloween and also use them to make his own little book. I would staple them together and he would add to the pictures making his own little stories.

I have had more than one person tell me how stupid I was to not make a coloring book and sell it. I may one day but I wanted to have pages others could copy for free and the children to be able to do as many as they wanted. Each child seems to pick one character that is their favorite. In a coloring book that is one page. For free they can copy as many as they want. Some choose a pumpkin and some choose the scarecrow or even the witch.

That little boy that colored the pictures and stapled the pages together making his little books never gave up on the idea. He has told me that is not the end of the story. There is more to it. I smiled and encouraged him to tell me more of his ideas.

We have worked and he loves his stories. I wrote a book called An Adventure In Writing. It is a journal type thing of what we learned and worked on for an 8 year old to write a book with a story and characters I believe not only children but adults might find interesting. It shares part of his first book called Down The Path http://www.amazon.com/Down-Path-Linda-Nance-ebook/dp/B00GW51ED4/ref=la_B004PVDVR4_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393874832&sr=1-1 and the next one he is still working on he said he will call Beyond The Pumpkin Field.

I have heard it said, to write what we know and he does that naturally. I have to smile at parts knowing what is behind the words and stories. We live in a very rural area with miles of forest behind the house. He knows to never go into the woods alone. He knows there are animals there. He knows he is supposed to listen to us and his mom but in his story the children thought just this once it would be alright to go into the woods. I would tell you more but will save it for when I do that book. I tell it now because the little story of The Pumpkin Field was the beginning. It was the beginning of him wanting to write his own stories and books and the beginning of many conversations with young and old alike.


We still love to get out back around a fire and tell stories with family and friends. This is one picture of my little coauthor and his grandpa.



The Pumpkin Field is a little book with a big reach. It reached through the years and around the world. Here are some of the places it can be found.

THE PUMPKIN FIELD

40 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1461044819 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1461044812
BISAC: Juvenile Fiction / Holidays & Celebrations / Halloween

Through the years as I have told or read this story the children sat listening to every word. When the story is over it is only beginning as the questions flood forth about all different things from the different children. I see emotions relating to excitement, curiosity and a desire to share their thoughts, feelings, experiences and questions. 
 
Each and every page is an art work done to bring the story to life. I am so pleased to be able to share something so special in so many ways. The characters are ones that will remain in memory not to haunt but to be happy memories almost like friends on an adventure. The first of the book allows you to write to and from, making it a gift that is special just as you would a greeting card. This is a greeting of happy memories and good times shared. 
 
In a short and magically poetic story many doors open allowing communication on various topics and of as many thoughts as are possible in the young minds of those who share the tale. It is not just a story to tell but one that can be special in many ways. 
 
On this journey through the pumpkin field there are strange, ominous, mysterious, and even magical things that occur. Was it real or was it a dream? Could that be why it is requested even now into a new generation? I hope that my illustrations will bring this tale to life and just as my children and grandchildren and so many others have loved this tale, it will bring a special smile and create memories shared by all who read or receive it. This book is my gift to be passed on and shared, that can live on and reach out beyond the pages leaving delighted smiles. The Pumpkin Field is a little book with a big reach.




US KINDLE  










AMAZON PAPERBACK






AMAZON PAPERBACK

CA KINDLE https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00DIQUBIE

AMAZON PAPERBACK http://www.amazon.ca/Pumpkin-Field-Linda-Nance/dp/1461044812/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393527484&sr=1-5

MX KINDLE https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B00DIQUBIE
AMAZON PAPERBACK

AU KINDLE https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00DIQUBIE
AMAZON PAPERBACK

Before I go I want to share a few of the pages and pictures. 




At the beginning of each book I did a page where you can write to and from. I wanted each child to feel as if the book was special for them. It is sort of like a greeting card giving them a gift. I hope it will be a gift that will inspire communication, creativity, imagination and a wonderful time.







I would stay and tell you all about all of the books but I have to do things a little at a time and this is actually something I have worked on for some time. I will be back soon and share more about the books and my journey writing them. I hope you can help me share about them to others everywhere. I have to do things a little at a time and can not promote them as I would love to do. For me this is more than sharing books for sale..... it is sharing a passion, stories and something created from the heart.
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Saturday, July 2, 2011

CHARACTERS AND THEN SOME

CHARACTERS AND THEN SOME

I am not an authority on writing.  I try my best and want to do something special.  I had never really thought about what I do or how do I do it.  It is just something that I get into so much, that it happens …but when I take the time to analyze it there are some things that are occurring even if we do not realize it as we write until we have to take the time to explain it to another person.

As I was writing the story Journey home, I did not have a title or even know what would happen.  It just began as I had described earlier, writing a short story that became very long.  As I had described for my daughter to create a character I explained that I loved a story where the characters seemed so real you could almost feel as if you knew them.  You may like them or hate them, sympathize or detest them, but there should be such humanity about them that they would be the story.  What were they really like?  Why?  Were there things in their pasts that would make them react or think in a certain way?  What did they look like?  How did they dress?  How old and tall or short or fat or skinny or a dozen other things about them are questions to ask yourself.

“But Mom, what am I supposed to do?  It would be boring if I sat here and made of list of this and that is what that person is.”  At that point I smiled and knew that she was already thinking and working on the project even before she realized it.

As I explained that she does not have to list every attribute of a person or facet of their personality to create the character.  That would be boring.  I hope that as I write I do not tell you what or who a character is.  I try to develop the story and show you as it goes who and what and why things and people are as they go.  I often catch myself sounding so unprofessional as I might speak saying the person instead of the character.  I think that is because as I am writing these are people and not just a technical character to develop and describe.  People do and say and react in certain ways for certain reasons even if they do not realize themselves why they do and say the things that they do or think in a certain way.  Characters are the same way.  I think that by showing through the story… the person, events, circumstances, surroundings in a way that allows the reader to be there, see that, and hear or know that…they can feel and be a part of the story instead of just hearing a tale.

If a person is severely injured in a bad car accident on a rainy night they may overly react if riding in a car on a rainy night at the sight of car lights coming around a curve.  Others may not understand or realize the intensity of the reaction unless they knew enough about the person to understand why they responded as they did.

If a person has lost several people close to them that they loved or was hurt in a very bad romantic relationship they may have trouble bonding, trusting or getting close to others.

If there is something about them that is different others may not accept or may criticize they may keep a distance or hide what makes them special or different.

I would say that these are conditional responses or reactions.  From the time we are infants we learn from life and those around us.  We constantly learn new things and some are unpleasant or even hurtful.  We do not want to repeat those negative feelings and learn to react and avoid or hide or respond or avoid things that threaten us.  We also respond to things that bring pleasant, comforting, or happy feelings.  A character is a complexity of many things, and emotions, and thoughts, personality traits, objectives, hopes and desires.  I do not want them to be simplistic creatures that just do this or that, because of what ever the one thing is you are describing at the moment.  They are a complexity of all that their lives have taught, shown, thrown and bestowed upon them prior to the story.

I think the same is true in describing and showing the surroundings.  When we think about the scene or setting that the action or story takes place I think that we need to allow others to be there, see that, smell that, and hear it.  It needs to be so real that they feel as if they are there too.

The sunset blazed with beautiful colors does tell what it looks like.  If the character named Lara “gazed at the beautiful colors that painted the evening sky ablaze in all it’s beauty and splendor.”  We can feel her as she experiences the sight and know what it is that she sees.  I do not tell you what it was, she does it and you know.

There may be times that the terrain or setting influences the story.  It may present a challenge to survive or a place where things are hidden or threats and dangers await.  It may be a place of beauty and tranquility offering solace and comfort.  It may be many things but it is important to the story for us to be able to be there, see that and make it real.

I know there are better ways to explain these things and more professional ways to phrase the technicalities of writing and developing a story but if you were sitting here chatting with me and we shared a few thoughts these are my words and feelings and thoughts about something that I love and strive to do.

To me there is a difference between writing a story and working a story.  Writing a story is when the words and thoughts and people, places, things and events begin to pour out and take life.  Working the story is a different thing of bringing it together and giving it some order and clarity.

The character in Journey Home named Lara had experienced some difficult times in her life.  She often felt a bit different than others and suffered the loss of several people close to her in her life.  A person can be in a crowd of people and yet be all alone.  He Uncle knew her better than most people could ever know her and her heart, and he loved her.  He realized that if he died she might feel all alone and tried to give her more than things than those of monetary value in his will to help her through the rest of her life.  There were things that even he had no way of knowing that would not aid her or make life easier but actually threaten her and her very existence.  The danger she found herself in may have been unavoidable but seemed to be brought to her with no way to avoid when she agreed to the terms of the will by living in then old home place for a specified period of time.

One by one I tried to not only introduce the characters that would be involved in the story but also allow them to be real and help to make the story complete and let anyone who read it know them each and every one.  I wanted people to be able to know the place, and see the sights, feel the fear and confusion as well as the special moments and bonding that takes place.

What were the answers?  Why and who was behind the problems?  How much was real or did a vivid imagination play a part?  What more was to come?  How would it ever stop, until it was discovered who was behind it and also why they were so intent with what ever their plans were?  These were difficult questions but without answers the situation appeared to become more dangerous and more intense.

 As you read the story of Journey home I have to ask….Do you really know who your friends are?  What about the other people in your life?  Who and what is it that knows you?  Who can you really trust?  If it is getting dark outside….Do you have your doors locked and curtains closed?  Who and what might be outside looking in…and WHY?
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