Now that I do know, I can’t unknow it. What do we do when things we thought were true turn out to not to be? How shall we respond when things we’ve managed to not know come knocking on our conscience demanding to be acknowledged.

Acknowledging events of the past seems to be a good starting place. With that in mind, I offer this land acknowledgment statement:

As I prepare these words for you to read, I acknowledge the sacred lands on which I now live, giving thanks to those Indigenous Peoples who nourished this place, and who are still among us today, in spite of the many broken promises that I mourn. As I know more, may I do more to help pave a path forward, working together to nourish this land for the benefit of all people.

Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890

Ever hear of the Morrill Acts? I did not until I was trying to figure what was located on the land currently occupied by the Ohio State University Newark Campus. It turns out that campus is not the result of these acts. However, The Ohio State University main campus, sprawling over 1,700 acres of Columbus, is one of two land grant institutions in this state. The other one is Central Ohio State University. Curious to know more, I read several articles about land grant colleges.

These are institutions designated to receive funds from the Morrill acts. A total of 57 institutions of higher education benefitted from the 1862 act and another 19 from the 1890 act. In 1857 Congressman Justin Morrill of Vermont introduced a bill that eventually passed in 1862. It seems it’s always taken a long time for an idea to meander through the legislative process.

After the Civil War, Congress established a funding system to assist states in modernizing their higher educational systems. The 1862 Morrill Act gave federal land to states to establish colleges. The intended purpose was to teach agriculture, science, military science, and engineering, without eliminating other scientific and classical subjects. The goal was to expand higher education beyond Latin, Greek and mathematics.

The 1887 federal Hatch Act established an agricultural experiment station at these institutions to do research on best agricultural practices. The second Morrill Act in 1890 required former Confederate states to either provide access to land grant universities, regardless of race, or to provide separate educational options for white and black students. The result was the creation of nineteen additional HBCU – Historically black colleges and universities.

Expansion and Shifting Priorates

By 1914 these land grant institutions had strong political support, enabling them to expand the definition and scope of university course offerings. Over time most land grant institutions evolved into a network of large state universities. For example, the Ohio State student enrollment hovers between 45,000 to 50,000 every year. Today large state universities often dominate the news because their premier athletic events more than their focus on researching agricultural advances. Universities do what they can to attract and keep donors.

Revisiting the Past

According to an August 18, 2020  High Country News article, 52 of the Morrill Act institutions were funded with land stolen from Indigenous Peoples. The article includes the content of a letter preserved by the family of a Native American known as Captain Jim. He received the letter from a U. S. Indian Agent on Department of the Interior, Indian Service letterhead. Written from Fort Hall May 18, 1900, it reads, “Captain Jim, an Indian of this reservation, has permission to be absent for a period of ten days to visit Boise, Idaho. Captain Jim is a leading Indian and chief on this reservation and his tribe formerly roamed in the neighborhood of Boise. He is commended to all persons as being a good Indian, friendly to the whites and deserving of consideration.”

Wow. An adult man needed to carry a letter verifying he had permission to walk about the land that once belonged to his people. The article states that nearly 11 million acres of land was acquired, from an estimated 250 tribes, bands and Indigenous communities. Over 160 deals were brokered through violence, treaties made and later ignored, or pressured transfer of land ownership. The 1862 Morrill Act stipulated that those receiving the land sell it for the benefit of the new institutions. The plan raised close to $18 million for the initial 52 institutions by early in the 20^th century.

Doing Better

When I wrote Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures I learned about a partnership between a university and the Pokanoket people in the area. Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, is named for the 17^th Century minister who helped establish Rhode Island. Over the past few years university leaders have partnered with Pokanoket leaders to learn, retain, and disseminate the history of the area Indigenous people who once roamed freely where the university is now located.

For example, a group of students produced a booklet that documents the oral history Pokanoket people have passed down through a dozen generations, dating back to the 1600s and earlier. Massasoit Ousamequin called on the early English settlers in Cape Cod to work out the first treaty between Indigenous people and the English speaking people we know as the Pilgrims.

Historical facts don’t change, but how we preserve, record, and teach them does from generation by generation. Though some of what I learn is hard to accept, it also gives me hope that by learning more, together we can do more to partner more going forward.

Are there any historical discoveries that have influenced how you think about things? Click this link to check out land grant colleges in your state.

Thank you for reading along. If you’ve enjoyed this bit of history, you might also enjoy  my posts on Substack.

I write about a variety of topics, but focus on how history influences our present and informs our future.

Mary Brewster’s Love Life and Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures: available wherever books are sold. Bookshop.org/Mayflower; Mary BrewsterAmazon.com/Mary Brewster’s Love Life
Amazon.com/Mayflower-Chronicles
BarnesandNoble.com/w/mayflower-chronicles
BarnesandNoble/MaryBrewster
Autographed copies are available on my website.

The post Land Grant Colleges Research appeared first on How Wise Then.

Then someone has to publish and distribute the book. That someone could be the author, but it is just as likely to be a publisher who can navigate the ever-changing world of modern book production and distribution in electronic, print, and audio formats. I’ve been privileged to work with dozens of word lovers who have chosen coaching, editing, graphic design, marketing, printing or publishing as a career path. I am grateful to all of them. For without them, everything I’ve ever written would be languishing in notebooks and computer files.

Publisher Van Velzer Press

It is impossible to name the dozens of people who have helped get my words into print since my first article was published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer back in 1968. Allow me to introduce you to one of my teammates. Trish Lewis, the founder of Van Velzer Press, is the publisher of Mary Brewster’s Love Life: Matriarch of the Mayflower.

Publishing runs in Trish’s family. Her great-great-uncle, F. C. Van Velzer, and his father, as well as his father’s father, were traveling newspapermen. They traveled from the East Coast across the expanding United States in the 1800s, leaving behind them a trail of small-town newspapers. They stopped in towns lacking any reliable contact with the outside world and stayed long enough to establish a local paper. Then they traveled to another town in need of a paper. Eventually, they settled in California, near San Diego, where they launched another weekly newspaper in 1902.

Connection to Walt Whitman

Trish says her family tree includes Louisa Van Velsor, the mother of Walt Whitman. Trish is carrying on the family business by publishing books. “We are proud to continue the family business in the art of literary magic. Van Velzer Press concentrates on our glorious country that boasts of such a rambling, brave, innovative history.”

I met Trish at a Vermont writers’ event, where she was available to assist six of us authors competing for a publishing contract. At the time, I was working on Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures. I found her suggestions insightful and helpful. When I decided to write a second Mayflower historical novel from Mary Brewster’s perspective, I asked Trish if she’d be interested in publishing it. We both thought Mary ought to come out of the shadows of historical obscurity into the sunlight of appreciation for her role in the fledgling Pilgrim community.

Mothers Who Research Family History

Trish and I have in common mothers who put in the long, tedious hours required to trace our respective families’ heritages. Trish credits her mother and her grandmother, a dignified lady Trish knows as Grammy, for populating her family tree with names and details. I have my mother to thank for her detailed notes, which connect our family to William and Mary Brewster, who were part of the Mayflower voyage.

Aware of the strong publishing background in her DNA, she launched Van Velzer Press in 2019. “Yep, right before the pandemic hit, and tossed all my plans for my first year up in the air. No one but my husband and my mother encouraged me; everyone else just gave me a side eye and stayed quiet. I forged on ahead.”

Trish earned a Bachelor of Science in Sociology in Pennsylvania, which has helped her prepare for her current vocational passion. She’s over halfway through the credits required for a double master’s degree in of all things Microbiology and Political Science. It helps that she worked as a book editor for nine years before launching her own publishing business.

Joys and Challenges

When I asked her what gives her the greatest satisfaction from publishing, she told me, “Creating a quality book involves a heavy amount of research, even fiction, and lots of time rewriting, fussing, and rethinking. So, when authors hold their galley copies in their hands, it is like a Christmas present. I love to see their joy. I also like helping produce stories that have an overall positive energy to give to the world.”

Trish says her greatest challenges have been access to good software and the high costs of printing and distribution. Like the authors she publishes, she finds the creative stuff a breeze and the rewarding part. I asked her if she could start over and if she’d do anything differently. “Like planting a tree, I would have started earlier. I had the skills long before I realized I had built them up strong enough to be a publisher.”

Words of Wisdom for Authors

She has advice for authors about working with a publisher. “Many authors think their stuff is great right out of the gate. Well, it is not.  Authors write for themselves, and that is great.  Publishers then help shape the final book for readers, which means a decidedly different end product. The craft of writing — the skills — is something most hopeful artists fail to spend enough time perfecting. So, an author needs to know there will be changes to the manuscript. They need to enter into the process with a spirit of teamwork. Then it is all happy days and golden sunshine.”

I know many people who dream of writing a book. The difference between a dream and an accomplishment is the willingness to put in the hours required to learn the craft and produce the product. Trish’s advice to would-be authors is “Start by writing your story and not worrying about a thing.  Then, don’t be lazy – do rewrites and rewrites and rewrites until you think your manuscript is perfect. Then laugh when you see all the red a good editor puts on that screen for yet another rewrite.”

Editors as Advocates

It helps if an author can send his or her ego on vacation when the book is ready for serious editing. Red ink is not a grade about the author as a person or the value of the author’s work. Instead, it is rather a professional’s opinion on how to make a piece of good work better. Anyone who does much reading at all can quickly spot books published by authors who tried to skip this step of writing a book.

Thank you, Trish Lewis, for being part of my team and adding your red ink to my efforts.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Share it with a friend or sign up for your own free subscription at HowWiseThen. I will not sell your information. Select a monthly newsletter and/or weekly articles about whatever’s on my mind that week.

Mary Brewster’s Love Life and Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures: available wherever books are sold. Bookshop.org/Mayflower; Mary Brewster
Amazon.com/Mary Brewster’s Love Life
Amazon.com/Mayflower-Chronicles
BarnesandNoble.com/w/mayflower-chronicles
BarnesandNoble/MaryBrewster
Autographed copies are available on my website.

The post Van Velzer Press appeared first on How Wise Then.

I think of Dr. Roger Leslie as a sort of Mr. Rogers for adults, especially those with dreams of becoming authors. His unflappable good cheer, encouragement, and helpful insights have kept numerous authors from giving up their dreams of being successfully published. Discouragement is often more prevalent in the publishing world than bylines and checks. An editor may insist the author’s favorite phrase or scene won’t sell and has to go. The rare agent who actually responds to a query is more likely to say, “Not my genre,” than “Sure, I’ll work with you.” Writing for publication can be hard, discouraging work.

Life is a prism

Dr. Leslie instills hope and helps authors turn the situation around. “My philosophy is that life is a prism. Everyone is looking at the prism from a different facet. If you don’t like what you’re seeing, you might try seeing the world from a different facet and see how it changes your perspective.”

He’s had plenty of his own experience seeing things from a different perspective. He’s fond of talking about what he calls ‘fateful detours.’ For example, he knew from his early teens that he wanted to write novels. He grew up in Dearborn Heights, MI, until his family moved to Houston when he was fourteen. After high school, he was on track to become a published author, choosing his courses at the University of Houston accordingly. “But then one day a friend told me, ‘You can’t make a living as a writer.’ So, I changed my major to English Education and set out to teach, just long enough to launch my writing career.”

Change of Plans

Often our temporary plans prove more permanent than our long-range ones. He accepted a teaching position at a Houston area high school where, much to his surprise, he “fell in love with teaching. That really taught me so much about myself and people. Those kids were the biggest blessing in my life.”

He was apparently quite a blessing to them as well. In 1989, his fourth year teaching, he was named teacher of the year for the entire Galena school system. By then, he’d settled into a manageable routine of teaching by day and writing evenings and weekends, still hoping to become a successful enough writer to make that his career. He completed a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and did have some success publishing his work in various periodicals.

“But I always wanted to write books. I’ve always believed the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Nothing stands in the way.”

The Life-Changing Phone Call

He was in his classroom one day when he got the phone call that led him on a fateful detour away from that straight line. “The Department Chair told me the principle needed a librarian. He offered me the job, though I had no degree in library science and lacked the appropriate certification. “I went home that evening and had a conversation with God. ‘You’re not listening to me! I want to be a writer!’”

The principle countered Roger’s objections by pointing out he’d have more time to write since he’d no longer be reading student essays, the position would mean a pay increase, and he could arrange for emergency certification.

“I took the job.”

New Opportunities

That job led to opportunities he could never have imagined. Dr. Maureen White and Dr. Patricia Wilson ran the Library Science program at the University of Houston’s Clear Lake Campus, where Roger enrolled. One of Dr. White’s assignments was to write reviews of children’s books. She loved his reviews and told him to pick out three which they submitted to Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association. “That led to assignments, pay, and a by-line every two weeks in the most prestigious magazine in the field.

It got even better. Dr. Wilson invited me to co-author a book for librarians. The first day we began working, we realized we had a series, not just one book to write. We pitched our idea to Libraries Unlimited and ended up with a three-book contract from one of the most prestigious publishers in the country. By going back to school and doing something I didn’t want to do, I also met publishers at the annual library conferences. These are what I call ‘fateful detours.’ Detours that seemed like delays actually catapulted me to where I needed to be.”

And More Opportunities

Roger is quick to share his experience, connections, and knowledge with others, partly because, as a teen and young adult, he learned how hard it is to go it alone. “I grew up gay in a Catholic midwestern environment. During that time, I had an epiphany. Because I’m an old soul, aware of spiritual and emotional things others don’t seem to notice, accepting being gay was my light come out of the closet. Accepting being gay meant going against everything I learned from the parochial school I attended and my family. I knew something didn’t fit, and I concluded I would just have to live my life alone, without love. But as I explored my own soul, I realized I needed to determine for myself what was right for me.”

In undergraduate school he met Jerry. Their friendship gradually evolved into their life-long commitment to each other. However, they didn’t find much support from anyone, even within the gay community. Back in the 1980s, many in the gay community thought their vision of having a lifelong marriage was cute but naïve. They had to venture out on their own. “That experience emphasized for me how important it is to support other people; because it’s so hard to go it alone.”

Look for the Light

Today Roger is living the life he wanted for himself and helping others do the same. He says on his website, “I feel grateful every day to live the life I dream. I am an author. All dreams flourish with outreach. As an author, speaker, coach, editor, and publisher, I love guiding people along their path to make their dreams come true, too.”

“I always look for the light.”

Having worked with him on one of my books and observed him in a variety of situations, I’ve observed that often he is the light that sheds hope and help to countless others.

Thank you for being part of this growing online community. If you appreciated this post, share it with one or more of your friends. Or, sign up for your own FREE subscription. You may also enjoy an earlier article about Dr. Roger Leslie.

Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures is available wherever books are sold in paperback, eBook, and audio.
Bookshop.org (Supporting local Indie Bookshops)
Amazon.com/Mayflower-Chronicles-Tale-Two-Cultures/
BarnesandNoble.com/w/mayflower-chronicles-kathryn-haueisen/
Autographed copies are available from my website or BlueWillowBookShop.com/book/

The post People of Hope – Dr. Leslie appeared first on How Wise Then.

I met author Russ Smith on an Ancestry.com cruise a few years ago when he was speaking about one of his books. He has recently published The Pointe System. I liked the premise of the book and invited him to write this guest blog about it. Thank you Russ for your book and this blog.

The Pointe System

What actions do we as individuals and a society take to include or exclude people? How do we make people feel either welcome or unwelcome? I began to ask myself these questions when I did research for my recently published murder mystery, The Pointe System. In some cases, actions to include or exclude people are taken by the community or even the state or nation, while in other cases, actions are taken by individuals or small groups of people.

The Pointe System is not only the title of my book, but also the name of the system that was used for over thirty years to keep certain people for moving to Grosse Pointe, the suburb of Detroit where I grew up. I knew Grosse Pointe had a history of not embracing diversity, but it was a revelation to me of how systematic the efforts were to keep it restricted to a very limited number of ethnic groups. When the pointe system was in place, the local property owners association partnered with Realtors to investigate home buyers before the sale of a home was allowed to progress. They used a scoring system to assign points for various characteristics of potential residents.

Deciding Who’s Allowed In

Points were given for lack of a foreign accent, lightness of skin color, occupation, religion, club memberships, profession, and various other traits. People with Western European heritage needed fewer points than people whose ancestors came from Southern or Eastern Europe. Jewish people needed an even higher score and were rarely allowed to buy a house. African Americans or people with Asian heritage were always rejected. The system, which was once upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court, was finally eliminated by federal civil rights legislation in the late 1960s.

The Pointe System is an example of how a community or state can support division and exclusion. Since it can take years for demonstrations, lawsuits, and lobbying of legislators to drive change at the community, state, or nation level, what can we do today, as individuals, to include or exclude people? How can we make people feel welcome? What actions do we and others take to exclude people?

Gossip Kills Reputations

Gossip is one of the tools often used to damage the reputation of others and exclude them. I create characters who gossip in all of my murder mysteries to spread fear, hatred, and anxiety. Personally, I become concerned when I hear someone start a sentence with something like “I’m not one to gossip, but did you hear…?” People who tell tales about other people don’t always realize the damage they may be causing. They won’t stop, unless they are challenged and told that such behavior is not acceptable.

Gossip has taken on a whole new dimension with the emergence of social media on the Internet. We no longer just have one on one discussions with individuals but now make comments that can go global and instantly destroy the reputation of an individual, an organization, or a business. Comments on blogs can create fear, distrust, and divide people. Websites thrive and make millions of dollars by providing forums for gossip and disinformation. We can decide to stop reading or posting hurtful material on such sites.

Less Talking, More Listening

Other than challenging people who gossip and being selective using social media, what else can we as individuals do to promote inclusion and acceptance? Actively and genuinely listening is a tool to make another person feel welcome and respected. The less you talk when having a conversation with someone who has something to share, the more you hear. After listening, asking clarifying and intelligent questions shows that you want to understand their point of view.

Another way to improve your ability to understand people and include them is to find opportunities to meet and work with people from different backgrounds than your own. When you do so, you may be invited to be included in their group and you might be inclined to invite them into your social or work group. I’ve been lucky to have had jobs with work assignments in many different countries, each with a different culture and ways of doing business. I was only successful in those assignments when I learned to work in those cultures and adapt to them.

Look for Opportunities

You could volunteer. I seek out opportunities to work with people with different life experiences than my own. In the past few years, I’ve helped people recently released from prison write resumes, refugees from Syria settle into their new homes, recent immigrants learn English, and students from low-income families prepare for college exams and apply to universities. Each person I’ve worked with has had different perspectives than mine. Working with them helped me to understand them and helped them to understand me and where I come from.

Many of the legal barriers to inclusivity have been eliminated over the past fifty or sixty years, but are we more inclusive? Do we listen to other people? Do we actively engage with people who are different than ourselves and make efforts to include them, or do we just tolerate people who are different and actively try to avoid them and stay with people who make us comfortable? Ask yourself these questions?

Russ Smith is the author of 4 murder mysteries. The Pointe System, Murder at Beulah Crest, The Carinthia Secret, and Table 29. Examples of inclusion and exclusion are found in all of his books. You can learn about his books at www.crimemysteryauthor.com.

Thanks for stopping by. When have you felt included? Excluded? How would you advocate for someone who’s been excluded?  If you got this from a friend, sign up for your own free subscription to my weekly articles and/or monthly newsletter at HowWiseThen. I focus on good people doing great things in our global village.

Mayflower Chronicles: The Tale of Two Cultures covers the Pilgrim’s escape from England and much more of the interaction between them and the Pokanoket people. Available wherever books are sold in paperback, eBook, and audio.
Bookshop.org (Supporting local Indie Bookshops)
Amazon.com/Mayflower-Chronicles-Tale-Two-Cultures/
BarnesandNoble.com/w/mayflower-chronicles-kathryn-haueisen/
Autographed copies available from BlueWillowBookShop.com/book/

The post Who Sits at the Table? appeared first on How Wise Then.

Getting It Right

The cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Spelke says, “It’s not about being right. It’s about getting it right.”

Kathryn knew The Mayflower Chronicles required extensive research to ensure the inclusion of everyone’s facts and voices, including the Pokanoket people the Pilgrims confronted upon their arrival in Plymouth. On the other hand, I thought I would write a funny little book about moving in with my father when I was in my early sixties and he—a retired U.S. Army full colonel–was in his eighties.

My real-life and social media friends and followers thought my posts about life with Dad were great. They thought my father and I were hysterical together. They posted about how we were a model adult child/parent combo. Sometimes, they told me my stories made them cry. “You should write a book,” they said. “I wish I could have that kind of relationship with my father,” they told me.

The Incomplete Truth

Based on what they read on my pages, they were right. I wrote humorous, poignant, and sensitive snippets. I programmed tasty and easy to swallow bites on my social media feeds. They only saw what I wanted them to read because I controlled the narrative. I was truthful. But I did not provide all the facts.

I avoided some topics like why I moved in with my Dad, how he knew I needed to before I did, and what it took to realize the shape I was in before making changes.

Before I make it sound like my memoir will reveal deep, dark secrets, let me be transparent. My father was not The Great Santini. My family was ordinary in some contexts and extraordinary in others. Like all families, we had our joys and dysfunctions. But as a military brat, I grew up spending only about fifty percent of my childhood with my Dad around. Then I lived away as adult children tend to do for over 40 years.  So why, when I moved back in with him, was I surprised that we did not know one another as well as I had assumed?

Getting To Know You – Again

Once I moved in with Dad, we started to have tea each afternoon. He began to tell me about his childhood. We shared our memories of the times and places we lived together. We talked about what it was like when he was not with us and stationed far away.

I realized that I did not know as much about him as I thought. He seemed genuinely surprised by many of the things I told him. It took some time before I realized that the personal narrative that I had constructed to explain my life was inaccurate because I did not have all the facts. My story needed some verification.

When an author creates fictional characters, she creates their stories, personalities, triumphs, and traumas. But she must consider each of them within the entire cast of characters she composes. The people in my memoir are not fictional. They have lives, emotions, dreams, and disappointments. There was so much I did not know despite assuming I did. I began to doubt my own story.

Family History

When I confronted the character from the personal narrative I had internalized on my memoir’s pages, she startled me.  Some days I was ashamed. Some days I wanted to be gentler, more compassionate. There were times I laughed at her. And there were times I was proud and amazed that she was still standing. The distance the words on a page must travel to one’s mind and heart allows time to process and distill the truth.

I finished Tea with Dad, sure that I had told the entire story and had all my facts straight. But as fate would have it, I was wrong. As I share in the book, Dad let me know that a family story about my great uncle was not true.

“Uncle Al was not a polygamist. That’s ridiculous,” Dad said. “He had three wives, but not at the same time.”

Family Connections

Last month Uncle Al’s granddaughters, Erin and Eileen, met us for the first time on Zoom. As they compared notes, Dad cleared the air (just in case they were worried, which they were not) by correcting the rumors about Uncle Al.

“He only had three wives,” he told them.

“Oh, there was a fourth one,” our cousin Erin replied. She was so unphased. She went on to let us know that they had documents—the announcement of the annulment of the third marriage and then her grandmother’s divorce papers dated after the annulment announcement.

“There’s a fourth?” Dad asked, surprised. “She slipped in before…”

“My book is wrong!” I gasped.

“A fourth.” Dad was stunned. He shook his head.

“My book is wrong!” I repeated. No one paid any attention to me.

Get It Right – Again

I have decided to view this philosophically. Erin and Eileen provided us with information we did not know. This meant a lot to my father as he was so fond of Uncle Al and his young cousin Jacqueline. There is documentation. We will edit the family story though it is too late for my book.

I did the best I could to get my book right based on the information available to me when I wrote it. History as we know it changes as new evidence appears. As someone else said, “If you don’t get it right the first time, keep trying until you do.”

Tea with Dad is being published by Green Writers Press and is for release April 27, 2021. It is available for pre-order now at Amazon/Laird Young. Nancie lives in Maryland where she writes and continues getting to know her Dad better.

The post Nancie Laird Young & Family Life appeared first on How Wise Then.

Team A.N.G.E.L. Series:
Strength From Within; 5 Grace Restored Books; 3 Holy Flame Trilogy Books); 4 Divine Legacy Books

My books are Christian/Fiction, but, “They’re not your mama’s Christian/Fiction.” In my books, the spiritual realm crosses into the physical. Where there is dark, there is light. Where there are angels, there are demons. The underlying group is called: A.N.G.E.L. (Available to Nurture God’s Eternal Love). They get assignments from Michael, The Archangel, and then sh out into the world to help people. Some of the characters cross-over storylines within these series. This enables you to get more of another character’s storyline in another series! A portion of the proceeds from these books go to charities, so you get a good read, and help a charity at the same time!

What makes these books different from other books?

These are not your mama’s Christian/fiction. There is action, adventure, and suspense. Men and women have equally enjoyed the series. Strength From Within, Grace Restored Series, and Holy Flame Trilogy all take place at the same time. The Divine Legacy Series jumps forward twenty-years, where the next generation takes over the divine legacy from Team A.N.G.E.L.! These edge-of-your-seat adventures will challenge your heart and mind.

What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

There are many messages within the pages of the books. What you pick up depends on where you are in your life. For those who say the Bible is too old to apply to life now, I do my best to give a different perspective of how to apply the Bible to modern life. Take the challenge and see what you may learn.

What qualifies you write these books?

I always write from the heart. I have a myriad of life experience that I translate to these pages. I write what God lays on my heart. He takes care of the rest.

Basically, there are two kinds of writers – planners and pansters. I am a pantser. This means I basically write by the seat of my pants. When I start a story, I never know how it will end. Many times the characters took over, taking the story a completely different way than I thought.

‘Tis The Season, A Holiday Anthology: 2020 Season

Anthologies run the gamut of themes or specific genres. The requirement for this anthology was it had to be a holiday themed story. My sister and I run Texas Sisters Press. We initiated and published this anthology, choosing a unique group of authors to include, with the idea readers would get an interesting mix…and it worked! Each story had an individual cover at the front, and a little something about each author at the end of their story.

The diverse group of authors each brought their unique perspective to the holiday season. This book is a huddle on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy type read. Authors wrote their own stories, with their own spin. My story, Christmas Wish, like most of my stories, has a Christian bend to it. Nothing supernatural about this one, just a lot of heart!

Cruising (Adventures of Chief and Sarge, Book 1)

Children’s books have their own classification, with as many types as adult books. As for the Chief and Sarge books, multiple things make them unique. First off, are Chief and Sarge themselves. I grew up military brat in a family with a general bend toward the Navy. My husband, a retired Navy Senior Chief, was a Navy Corpsman. He worked closely with the Marines as their doc. We found Sarge on a military base, wearing a USMC kerchief, so we named him Sarge, after the Marine side of things.

People fell in love with Sarge, and because of that, we felt Sarge needed a brother. We got him a big brother – Chief (named after Navy Senior Chief). Sarge is a stuffed monkey and Chief is a stuffed koala. We take them on real trips, taking photos along the way. People fell in love with Sarge because he is a naughty little monkey, often getting into places he shouldn’t go. This allowed kids to travel with Sarge. When we added Chief, it added another element of fun! We have taken them to military bases, on cruises, to the Grand Canyon, drag racing, etc.

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

The Chief and Sarge’s books stand out because: 1) The pictures and story in the book are photos of the people we meet and the experiences we’ve had. These pictures are on their web page and social media; 2) Not many children’s book authors have this unique spin. It is kind of like the idea of the grade school ‘flat Stanley’; 3) Fun facts! I always enjoy adding fun facts to the back of the books for all members of the family to enjoy! One family told me they use them for a game! I love that idea!

I hope this book gives kids some adventure and exploration of our world! Some kids lack the benefit of traveling while young. These books (there will be more) allow little ones to momentarily take a trip with Chief, Sarge, and the Serenity Acres crew to places around the globe! I hope this sparks the imagination of children everywhere to explore our world, and realize the world is bigger than their home or school! Adventure is out there!

 What qualifies you to write this book?

Honestly, as you can see from above, I am generally not a children’s book author. However, I do love to travel, and I enjoy the imagination of littles! What qualifies me is that I was a little kid once, so I understand traveling, adventure, and exploration. Sometimes that is stifled in children, and they lose their zest for life before they graduate from high school! I hope and pray this ignites a passion for reading and travel in the kids who receive these books!

My sister, LM Mann – of mannwrites.com, is a children’s book author. As I wrote the book, I had her review it multiple times before we agreed it read at an appropriate age level. Finding just the right illustrator, Waleed Ahmad – skyitservices.com, was a challenge. He did an amazing job converting real-life photos into cartoon form!  I’m grateful I found him!  

What advice do you have for other authors?

Write from your core – whatever that may be. You were given a story to write. Write it from your heart. Write the book you want to read. Do not write to the latest fad. Write from your heart and core.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I am an author, blogger, podcaster, and farmer. Life is never dull around us! We own an apiary (bees), with a garden and orchard. We talk about this in the blog: The Journey To Fruitfulness on my website. I talk about our joys, mistakes, successes, and epic failures. I apply the lessons we learned to our spiritual walk. I also have a podcast: The Journey Is Real where I talk to real people about their passions, and the journey that brought this passion to their heart. As for the author portion, there are always stories bouncing around my ADD brain! LOL! Life is honestly never dull!

Where can people get your book?

Everything mentioned above can be found on my CJPetersonwrites website. Sign up for my bi-weekly email, which allows you to stay connected with my insane world! I love to hear from my readers. Feel free to email me as well. Thank you for allowing me to invade your blog for the week, Kathy. And, thank you for taking the time to read about my work! I look forward to hearing from you!

God bless, C.J.

“While the stories are fiction, the journey is real.”

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An Imperfect World: Ben Tanzer talks with Kathryn Brewster Haueisen about the Mayflower, pandemics, & giving voice to Native Americans in her new book.

HAUEISEN: I am the daughter of a reference librarian. My mother documented our family’s connection to William and Mary Brewster. I am a wife and mother. My experience in those roles informed my curiosity about the women of the Mayflower, especially Mary. I was stunned to learn she left three of her five children behind when they sailed on the Mayflower.

Image: Green Writers Press.

One of my daughters married into a family with a generous percentage of Native American DNA. The three children of that union are bicultural. Seeing the world through the lens of their father’s relatives led me to rethink some of the history I was taught, and what I never learned that I should have.

I am a Lutheran pastor and half my DNA is German. I’ve been immersed in the history of the Protestant Reformation, which started in Germany in 1517. That formed a foundation for my research into the religious turmoil that is part of the Mayflower story.

Finally, I am an author and an avid reader. I know the power of the printed word and was convinced I needed to tell the Mayflower story again — this time to give voice to the women and Natives. Since their versions of the story have not been recorded, that required me to tell it as historical fiction. The people are real. The events are real. Most of the dialogue and some of the details are my imagination.

TANZER: I was struck by your desire to “give voice to the women and Natives,” and I’m wondering what kind of research you did to ensure this happened. 

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The Life-Changing Magic of Engaging with Life

By Rochelle Melander

Last year, I talked with a writing buddy about our social media problem: hanging out online was interfering with our writing productivity. Does that ever keep you from achieving your goals? I vowed to be more purposeful about my time online and take time offline to engage with the world. (The Upside of Going Offline) My friend, author Elizabeth Cole, found that having a life was the best way to stay offline (See Stop the Internet from Stopping You).

I was doing so well staying offline until I fell in love … with a tiny but powerful piece of technology. My old phone broke, and I purchased a new one. Wow.

How the “Wow” Factor Woos Us 

For the first time in years, I understood why people:

+Pick up their phone an average of 63 times a day

+Spend between three and six hours a day on their phones.

+Use their phones within an hour of going to bed and five minutes of waking up.

On my old phone, I could make phone calls, text, check the weather, and play a few games. And now? I can do it all. And I’m doing it. My phone gives me a detailed report on how I spend my time—and I’m averaging about 10 hours a week on my phone. That may be well below the national average, but it’s also the equivalent of a part-time job!

My new toy gave also gave me a big “aha” moment. Suddenly, I knew why I could easily ditch social media to write every morning but not be able to stay off social media on evenings and weekends. In the mornings, I had set a goal to do something positive. That’s called an approach goal—and they work. In addition, my morning writing session had become a habit. Our brains find it easier to find a successful routine and repeat it.

Setting Limits on Social Media

But my goal to avoid social media on evenings and weekends were avoidance goals, and they leave us feeling more anxious and less happy. That’s probably because it’s harder to avoid a habit.

I noticed that on the evenings and weekends where I had planned to do something positive—go to the theatre, volunteer at a community event, or read—I had no trouble staying offline. As my friend Elizabeth Cole had discovered, when we have a life, we can easily stay offline.

So here’s my plan going forward: I’ll schedule positive activities during evenings and weekends so that I can spend more time with real people and activities.

Plan the Work, Work the Plan

As we move into planning for a New Year, think about how you would like to be spending your time. Are there people you’d like to connect with, skills you’d like to learn, or activities you want to participate in? Make a list.

Choose one or two of those activities. Set a goal to do it during the times you usually spend on social media. Perhaps they’d read something like this:

• I will spend two hours every Saturday learning to sew so that I can meet my goal of learning a new craft.
• I will read a book in the evenings, so that I can meet my goal of reading 12 books a year.
• I will plot my novel after dinner, so that I can meet my goal of writing a novel this year.

I’m confident that approach goals will help me do more of what’s important to me. As you plan and prepare for the New Year, I hope you’ll be able to do what matters to you, too. Because engaging with real life can be magical!

Ready, Set Goals, Go Meet Them

For some great tips on how to achieve what you want to accomplish and avoid what you’re rather not accomplish, look no farther than Rochelle’s new book: Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination, and Increase Productivity. In Level Up, you’ll find your perfect solution to any obstacle you face by turning them into quests. Instead of playing someone else’s game, you get to design the game, create your own playbook, define the rewards, and reap them all! You’ll also adopt a secret identity, recruit allies, identify villains, and celebrate your epic wins. Because you’ll be using a gameful approach to shaping your creative life, doing these quests won’t be a chore. Instead, you’ll relish investigating your life, play be able to play with possibilities and maybe even have some fun along the way!

Rochelle Melander has helped thousands of people design a writing life and connect with their readers. She teaches entrepreneurs and professionals how to overcome writer’s block, write more, turn their ideas into books, navigate the publishing world, and use speaking and social media to reach their readers. You can follow Rochelle at WriteNowCoach. You can find her book here.

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How writers answer the question “Where do you find your best writing inspiration?” will be as numerous and varied as writers giving answers. For me—and I imagine for many writers—inspiration comes from a myriad of sources.

Calendar and Client-driven “Inspiration”

To be honest, much of my writing is not inspired at all, at least not in the common understanding of that word. For those of us writing for clients, or personal blogs, the deadline is often the primary motivating factor.

As a ghostwriter, I carefully listen to my clients, to understand what they want the written product to accomplish and who they anticipate will read it. This gets my creativity geared up to most effectively achieve their vision.

We writers shouldn’t beat ourselves up that deadlines may generate as much writing inspiration as some powerful insight. This is human nature, and today with information overload, we’re busier than ever. Deadlines can keep us on track.

Everyday Encounters

I find inspiration in both positive and negative daily occurrences. When I witness an unusual kindness—or even regrettable rudeness—I may be prompted to encourage readers to put their highest values to work. Through our writing, we can bear witness to the impact of small actions.

Observations combined with a questioning mind can yield a treasure trove of content. When we see something curious or even ordinary, we can unearth all kinds of ideas by asking, “Why?”

• Why did they do that?
• Why did they say that?
• Why does it work that way?

And then further questions can expand thinking:

• What if they had done it differently?
• What if they had said that with a different tone or in a different way?
• Does it HAVE to work that way?
• What happens next?
• What caused that to happen?
• Where did that come from?

A questioning mind can yield great writing results, whether they are problem-solving, fleshing out a fictional character, or developing a plot.

Nature

I am a keen observer of the natural world. Nature often reveals themes, lessons, and insights that find their way into my writing. Cycles of change…life, death, and renewal…the changing seasons and the life cycle of a butterfly…all reminders our own darkest hours will not last forever.

Reading and Listening

As an avid reader of books and listener of podcasts, I am often struck with phrases, ideas, themes, and insights that inspire me. The trick is capturing them while on the go. My cell phone has become my best tool. I use the dictation function to leave notes to myself. I usually do this in an app called Evernote, but other text app’s can help as well. I sometimes even email myself!

At home I have a reading journal in which I write highlights from my reading. I also keep a running “swipe file” in the back of a spiral notebook where I write down phrases and images that strike me as especially powerful. I haven’t yet come up with a system to effectively minie these, but I peruse them often, hoping they’ll inform my writing when I need it.

Nudges from God/Spirit

I call them “God-hugs,” but others might call them serendipity. These usually come with a “quickening of the spirit”—a sort of emotional spark that indicates they are important. As an avid note writer, I often experience these when a particular person comes to mind, and I feel I need to send them a personal, handwritten note.

A related spiritual inspiration I sometimes get comes when I simply ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit and anticipate an answer. It doesn’t always come right away, but I trust a helpful response will show up when the time is right. As a Christian writer, I ask for guidance as a regular part of my prayer life.

Meditation

We should give our subconscious mind more credit for working on our behalf “behind the scenes,” even when we’re sleeping! If we stay busy all the time and try to think our way to every word we write, we’re missing a powerful resource that can’t be reached without still, quiet times.

When I meditate regularly, even if only 10-20 minutes, I find the creative juices flow more readily, and my writing has more energy. I don’t always do this, but when I do, it makes a huge difference.

I have a writing friend with an unusual approach. When she has a writing problem, question or obstacle, she writes it on a piece of paper and puts it under her pillow when she goes to bed. She swears her subconscious mind goes to work while she sleeps, and she often finds herself “unstuck” when she wakes up the next day. It’s worth a try!

Beware Comparing Yourself

It often seems other writers have more inspiration and talent than I do. Yes, indeed, there are always better writers in the world, but that doesn’t make me any less a writer or make my writing any less valuable.

Some writers swear that their ideas, plots, and characters come to them fully formed—or that they even appear as real people telling them what to write. I believe this happens, but never to me, and I’m not postponing my writing until it does.

Be Yourself and Find Your Own Inspiration

It’s great to be original, seminal thinkers, generating brilliant, new ideas that inspire readers to lead lives of meaning and significance.

But there’s also a place for interpretation, explanation, and curation of other people’s ideas. “There’s nothing new under the sun” has become a cliché because it’s pretty much true. When we can help our readers see or think about their world differently, we’ve expanded their horizons. When their reaction to our writing is “Oh my gosh, I’m not the only one!” we have conveyed a gift beyond measure.

You may be a world traveler or an armchair traveler, a corporate professional or a stay-at-home parent, “right-brained” or “left-brained,” a writer for income or a writer for your own reasons. Whatever kind of writing you do, your own surroundings and circumstances will always be the best source for your inspiration.

Expect them…look for them…and give thanks!

The post Where I Find My Writing Inspiration appeared first on How Wise Then.

How did you get started in writing? 

I was a full time homemaker, raising two young daughters. When I was young (in the 50’s) women had four career options: nurse, teacher, secretary or homemaker. I chose homemaker, but by the 70’s. I felt I was failing at many elements of that task. I was no good at needlepoint. I was no good at tennis. I was no good at bridge. I was 35 years old and trying to figure out what I was going to be when I grew up.

A church friend was getting ready to publish a literary journal. She asked me if I would write an article for it. Her question came out of the blue. I was just shocked that she would ask me to do this. It was the 70’s and she was interested in promoting ZPG (Zero Population Growth). Since I had two children, one adopted and one not, she wanted me to write an article about the Myth of Motherhood – about how a woman can become a mother without biologically reproducing herself.

I sat and thought about it and then I heard a voice in my head tell me, “How you answer this question will determine the rest of your life.”

That moment is engraved in me. I can vividly recall where I was sitting, what I was wearing, what the weather was like. I drew in my breath and said, “OK, I’ll do it.”

Small Steps Lead to Big Breaks

So I wrote the article and she published it. As luck would have it, another Houston publisher saw it, liked it and got in touch with me. She asked me if I had anything else. I lied and said “Oh sure!”

When she asked me what, I told her I had a funny little piece about learning to ski downhill in my thirties. She said she wanted to read it. So I wrote it. She liked it. She published it and put me on her magazine’s staff as a contributing writer. That’s how I got started.

Boldness Pays Dividends

I was writing and getting published in Houston, so I thought I’d submit to the many national women’s magazines that were popular back then. I started contributing ideas and proposals to them, and I started getting rejection slips. There was a writer’s conference coming to Houston and I decided to go because one of the workshop leaders worked for McCall’s. I thought I’d listen to her and find out what I was doing wrong.

So I went. During an opening on my schedule, I saw there was another workshop about writing non-fiction for children. I had never even thought about writing for children, but I thought “What the heck, why not?”

I listened to the woman leading it and talked to her afterward. She was an editor with Thomas Nelson, the Biblical publisher. I asked her if she thought there’d be a market for a book for children about adoption – reasons why parents might give up a child, the difference between genes and heredity, that sort of thing. She said she loved it. I thought she meant she loved the book, which I hadn’t written. Of course, she was merely talking about the idea.

However, when I met an agent at the conference I told her, “I have an editor interested in my book.” Those are magic words to an agent. She asked for samples of my work, and I could produce those early Houston articles, which she took back to New York. That was in August. She called me in October and asked me exactly what I’d told the editor. Then she said I wasn’t obligated to that editor and she would take me on, but she wanted me to write a proposal for the book.

When You Don’t Know, Find Out

I didn’t know what a proposal was! I went to the bookstore and got a copy of Writer’s Market and learned. That agent sold my book and I stayed with her for twenty years. About ten years ago we both moved on. She was interested in going directions I wasn’t so it was time. I found another agent and we’ve been together now for ten – maybe fifteen years.

You Don’t Always Have to Write About What You Know          

Elaine publishes books for Upper Elementary and Middle School, the majority on space and science topics, but also a daring rescue of trapped miners, a biography, and two novels. Since most of her books have a science theme, I thought she must have studied those subjects in college.

She did not. She was an English major, thinking about teaching English until she became a homemaker raising her daughters. A writer doesn’t have to know that much about a topic to write about it; just be willing to do the research. She does all her own research. Living in Houston, she knows many NASA people willing to introduce her to people to help with the research.

Tips for Beginners

Elaine emphasizes two golden rules for writers.

Rule Number One: WRITE. Just start. Your work doesn’t have to be good at first. You can always go back and polish your first draft. Just start writing. Get published, however you have to do it. You need a portfolio of published works to show agents and editors.

Rule Number Two: Get the most recent edition of Writer’s Market and read it. Then go forth and do likewise.

Elaine’s books are available in bookstores, particularly independent bookstores and at Amazon.

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Write Away Retreat – Coming in April 2019!

Would you like some help and companionship to move your writing efforts along? Join me at the Zion Retreat Center on Galveston Island April 26 – 28, 2019 for the Write Away Retreat. I’ve structured the schedule to give you time to work on your own writing project and learn from other authors as we share insights and experiences on a variety of writing related topics. The cost for two nights and five meals is just $235. Check out the facilities at Galveston Zion Retreat Center. Register for the Write Away Retreat through Lutherhill Ministries.

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