What I meant to say

The first Sunday of each month at a LDS church is "fast and testimony meeting." Members are instructed to fast for two meals before attending, and after the sacrament is passed, the meeting is open for anyone to speak.

Sometimes this means some interesting times. I do believe at some point in the past two years my ward has been chastised by a Seventh Day Adventist. From our own pulpit. Awesome day. And of course there are good, uplifting moments too. 

Today somehow I felt as though I should speak. The words were in my head. But when I went up there, I totally bombed it. My voice was shaky, my speech was slow, unsure.

The nerves turned into anxiety and I'm still shaking. I've heard it said, "if you can speak in church, you can speak anywhere." I guess I'm not there yet. 

What I wanted to say is that I've been thinking about why I am Mormon lately. I've been thinking about why the heck I'm religious.

Why, when I believe in equality of the sexes, do I attend a church in which that is not consistently present? Or why, when I have been insulted and offended by church leaders, do I continue to return each week? The whole Prop 8 debacle, if I even dare bring it up. Despite me missing the past two weeks of Sunday school because I just didn't want to debate Eve's roll in the Fall. 

It comes down to the inability to deny it. And the strength that I have within because of it.

That I believe in the truth of the teachings and that I can look past the imperfections, as I hope that others can do with me. 

I am healthier, stronger mentally by not partaking in substances (I think I would make a horribly drunk). I know He answers my prayers. My beliefs keep my marriage strong, as a friend in my MBA cohort noted one day, because we're both working for the same thing, with the same idea of what marriage is.

For others, their life works just fine. But for me, this works. It has built my character and built me into a stonger person - even if I have reservations about some things, globally I am sustained in faith.

But should it all came to an end, and my beliefs in eternity are not quite true, I will be OK. Because I lived with hope. And happiness.

That's what I meant to say. If only I was a speaker not a writer.

Photo

Pom poms

Another contender for one step too far in the headband trend. For me anyway, for another perhaps it would work.

From Etsy seller Spinthread. Who actually has amazing jewelry. Love this "right angle necklace" though anything with triangles makes me think about that horrible GMAT.

Originality

There is an ongoing debate on creativity -- are there any new ideas or do all ideas just build on past ones?

While this would explain the reoccurrence of lime green being "the color for summer" about every four years, I tend to stick with the "new ideas" camp.

This totally explains why I think that. And it kept me fascinated for quite some time.

A series of YouTube clips that can be played all at once or at different times, and they always sound like a song.

Thanks Sarah.

Flight guide

Somehow, in a rough economy, the travel industry is getting away with highway robbery. They advertise that they'll take you somewhere, but don't let you take anything with you to do so.


"Sure, come on an exotic getaway, but that swimsuit has to stay home. Unless you wear it on the flight."


"Want a fabulous weekend in New York City? Book our flight, but don't stay too long because we don't let you take shampoo. Don't want a smelly return trip!"

Makes. No. Sense.

The extra fees do influence who I fly with. Next month, we're taking a getaway to Seattle, and it is on Southwest.

I was stoked to see Airline Fees: The Ultimate Guide on Today in Travel. A spreadsheet of all major airlines and what they charge for the first bag, second bag and so on. They even have a European version.

I still think it it is robbery though.

Found via Mona's Posterous

Photo of Yakima Valley in Washington by Seattle Miles

Interview with Richard Doetsch

I reviewed The Thirteenth Hour by Richard Doetsch a few weeks ago. The publisher, Atria Books, asked if I wanted to send him some questions and I was excited because someday I want to publish a book and such. So I asked him questions about writing. I've always wanted to know what it is like to write, really write, fiction.

I'm still hung up that he wrote the book in 30 days. Hold the phone. 

What is your favorite book?

Such a tough question. All time would probably be A Christmas Carol, something I read every year. Ghosts, redemption, great characters, the holidays what could be better. close second though is The Count of Monte Cristo.

I love so many books it would take too long to list them but I might add some of my favorite authors are Dickens, Hemingway, HG Wells, Jules Verne, Ludlum, Crichton, Alistair Maclean, Alexander Dumas, Ian Fleming. I love To Kill a Mockingbird, The List of Seven, Sherlock Holmes, I could go on and on.

What path led you to become a writer?

I came to writing a bit later in life, in fact, the first thing I wrote (and longer than five pages) since high school was my first novel, The Thieves of Heaven. I never took a writing class but found that my voracious appetite for reading served as the ultimate school. I actually consider myself a story teller first and a writer second as my job is to tap my imagination so as not to repeat what others have done.

One day I was looking for something new to read but I found nothing interested me which got me thinking what would I want to see in a book. Everyone talks about writing a novel someday which is ridiculous from so many points of view, but I had a story to tell so I just started writing on the train one day and did it every day for almost a year, writing my first novel, The Thieves of Heaven. I never had so much fun and, as it turns, out, I could actually do it.

What do you love about writing? Also, what do you hate?

I really have a passion for writing and consider myself lucky that I found it at this point in my life. Some people drink to forget, play golf to get away, watch TV to escape, I get all of that plus much more when I sit down to write.

I get lost in my stories as my mind takes me to places and situation that I can’t believe I imagine. The greatest thing is to pick something up that you wrote and be entirely baffled that you wrote something that good. Of course the bad part of that is, you think you will never write something that good again.

Your characters in The Thirteenth Hour almost develop backwards... did you have to write the story forwards to get that?

Writing The Thirteenth Hour was like playing five games of chess in my head at the same time. I wrote the story backwards in the same way the reader experiences it. In so doing, I had to remember the future and the past. It was difficult but fun as it was like a giant puzzle whose every move reverberated throughout the story. I wrote a one page outline broken down by 12 chapters (hours) and wrote down how each started and ended. Other than that it was just full steam ahead with whatever popped into my head at the moment. I should note I had a note pad that grew daily with little facts, notes, and time sensitive points so I wouldn’t fall flat on my face in frustration or failure.

Julia Quinn is a sassy power-woman attorney. Why did you want to pick a strong woman for the role of the victim and how did it help the story?

Julie Quinn is Virginia Doetsch, my wife, with blonde hair. My main characters are usually based on my wife and I and in The Thirteenth Hour, they are an even closer reflection of us than my other books. As I was trying to write the story in 30 days, it was far easier for me to tap into our lives whether it be our jobs, our experiences, or our hearts as opposed to creating the characters out of thin air. I do believe by doing this it makes the characters far more real and helps the reader connect even more.

Where do you get your story ideas? How do you develop those into a novel?

I consider myself a story teller first and writer second and so I think, just like writing everyday, we need to keep the imagination sharp creating fresh, original stories. I have what I call the every day idea file where I force myself to dream up a new story each and every day. It has grown rather thick over time and is filled with ideas that go in every direction, some terrible, some good, and some completely original, wild, and great.

When it comes time to start a new novel, I sort through ‘the file’ and decide what excites me the most. Because there are so many ideas, I sometimes end up combining some of the ideas for a richer story. I’ll then do a very brief outline as I have found when I do a long outline, it loses some of the spontaneity and fun for me. I’ll then start writing. I write every day in usually three shifts: 8:30 until noon., 1 to 5 and then 10 pm to 3 AM. Of course, I do live life so when I’m out or have plans those times can shift around but I still find the time to get it all in and endeavor to write 3,000 words a day.

Any new and exciting projects you'd like to share?

My next novel, The Thieves of Darkness comes out this August in hardcover from Atria Books. I’m really excited about this story as it is the third in my Thieves series. The first book in that series, The Thieves of Heaven is being developed by 20th Century Fox while the series is published in 28 languages as they are really globetrotting thrillers about a gentleman thief.

We are also nearing the start of casting for The Thirteenth Hour. New Line Cinema and Mike Deluca are making it; the script was written by Mike Brandt and Derek Haas who did 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted, and I have to admit the script came out great. Early next year people will se the novel I just completed called Half Past Dawn. It’s a stand alone story that I think is even more exciting than The Thirteenth Hour.

FTC Disclosure - the book was provided to me by Atria Books.