This Promotion Gig

As I update my blog today, I'm in between two radio interviews. One was at 5:30...AM! BEFORE COFFEE. Which meant I woke up every few hours to make sure I hadn't overslept. And I had very, very weird dreams. Like my entire extended family was in the kitchen with me during the interview...just staring at me.



Finally, at 5:15 AM, I got up, started the coffee pot... and looked through my notes to make sure my brain and mouth were synchronized.

It was for a live commuter radio show in Missouri...and I really enjoyed it! The two hosts were genuinely interested in the takeaway value of the Amish life.

One thing I'm finding with these radio interviews, no matter how well you prepare, the host has his/her own ideas of what he/she likes to talk about. Usually, it's something you're completely unprepared for. Talk about trying to be fast on your feet! And remember...I'm a writer! I like to edit myself!

No such luck with live radio. Alas.

In about thirty minutes will be the next interview, so I'm letting the puppy try to get out all of her energy so she won't get hurt feelings when she's popped back in her crate.

Promoting books is half the life of a published author. It takes quite a bit of energy...especially when you're not "smoooooooth" at it. Like me. I have a friend who is a remarkable author--he had a blockbuster best seller! But he disliked promotion so much that he gave up the writing side and is now an editor at a large publishing house.

I'm finding that I do like this promotion gig, though I don't sleep well before events, and I never feel as if I hit any speaking event out of the ball park. But I respect that an author is partnering with the publisher. Book promotion is a skill set we writers need.

And when your publisher does something like mine did for me this week...well, I'd be willing to take a speaking engagement on the moon! (Even though I'm horribly claustrophic and would be worried about how we going to get this flying tin can back to earth for 99.9% of the trip to outer space.)

Drum roll...please...



I found out on Monday that The Choice, my first novel with Revell, has been chosen as a Main Selection for Crossings.

That...is...a...WOW.

Anna's Overnight Blueberry French Toast

My husband had this at an Amish home this summer and LOVES it!

12 slices bread, cut in 1" cubes
8 oz. cream cheese cut in 1" cubes
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
12 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups milk

Place half of bread cubes in a 9"x13" baking dish. Top with cream cheese, blueberries and remaining bread. Beat eggs, syrup and milk and pour evenly over bread.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until well done.

Sneak Peek at "The Choice"

The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher

An excerpt from Chapter One...


Carrie Weaver tucked a loose curl into her cap as she glanced up at the bell tower in
Lancaster’s Central Market. The clock had struck two p.m. more than ten minutes ago,
and an English couple was haggling with her stepsister, Emma, over the price of a crate of strawberries. After all, the man was saying, the market was closing for the weekend.

“Certainly, you Plain folks wouldn’t want this fruit to go to waste now, would you?
Tomorrow being Sunday and all?” He rested his hands on his round belly and fixed his
gaze on Emma, a satisfied look on his red face—as red and ripe as a late summer
tomato—as he waited for her to buckle.

But this red-faced English man didn’t know Emma.

Carrie saw Emma purse her lips and hook her hands on her hips in that
determined way and knew where this stand-off was headed. Emma wouldn’t drop the
price of her strawberries to anyone, much less an Englisher whom, she was convinced,
had a lost and corrupted soul. Her sister would plant her big feet and squabble over the price of strawberries until the sun set and the moon rose. Carrie picked up the crate and handed it to the man. “Abgschlagge!” Sold!

The man and his wife, surprised and delighted, hurried off with the strawberries as
Emma spun to face Carrie. She lifted her hands, palms out. “Have you lost your mind?
My strawberries are worth twice that price! What were you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that it’s past two and the market has closed and the van is waiting.”
Carrie pushed the leftover crates of red ripe strawberries into the back of the van of the hired driver and slammed the door shut, pinching her thumbnail. Wincing from the pain, she knew she didn’t dare stop to get ice. There wasn’t a moment to waste.

“Dummel dich net!” Emma muttered as Carrie opened the passenger seat door for
her. Don’t be in such a hurry! “You’ve been as jumpy as a jackrabbit all morning.”

Carrie reached out an arm to clasp her younger brother on the shoulder, pulling him
back as he started to climb in the van behind Emma. “I need to run an errand and take the bus home later today. Andy’s coming with me.”

Andy’s eyes went round as shoe buttons, but he followed Carrie’s lead and hopped
back out of the van.

Emma twisted around on the seat. “What errand?” she asked, eyes narrowed with
suspicion. “You know your dad wants you home to visit with Daniel Miller.”

Carrie blew out a big sigh. Silent, solemn Daniel Miller. He and his father, Eli, were staying with the Jacob Weavers this summer. Eli Miller and Jacob Weaver made no
secret of the fact that they had a hope for her and Daniel. Well, they could hope all they liked but Carrie’s heart was already spoken for. Spoken for and claimed, and the thought warmed her.

“Daniel’s mighty fine looking, Carrie,” Emma said. “Your dad is hoping you’ll
think so too.”

“If you think Daniel is such a looker, why don’t you visit with him?” Carrie stepped
back from the van to close the door. That had been mean, what she said to Emma, and
she reached out to give her sister’s arm a gentle squeeze in apology before she swung the door closed and the driver pulled away. Dear Emma, nearly twenty-seven and terrified that she would end up an old maid. Carrie felt a smile pull at her mouth and fought it back, as an unbidden image of a large celery patch popped into her mind. Emma and her mother, Esther, grew celery in the family garden in hopes that this would be Emma’s year.

Carrie shook off her musing and grabbed Andy’s hand and hurried to the bus stop.
She wanted to reach the Lancaster Barnstormers’ stadium before Solomon Riehl would
start pitching. Last night, Sol told her he might be a closing pitcher in today’s scrimmage, so she should be in the stands by the last few innings.

“What kind of errand?” Andy asked Carrie.

She shaded her eyes from the sun to watch for the bus. “It’s a surprise for your
birthday.”

“I won’t turn nine ’til October.”

Carrie looked at him and tousled his hair. “Consider it an early birthday present.”
She knew she wouldn’t be here on his birthday.

As Carrie and Andy climbed on the bus and sat amongst the English, she felt the
happiness of her secret spill over her. She didn’t even mind the pain radiating from her throbbing thumb. She was entirely preoccupied with the conversations she had been
having with Sol lately. Last week, he called her at midnight, as planned, from the phone shanty across the road from his father’s farm. During that call, he had talked to her about leaving the community and trying to make a living as a baseball player.

And he told her he wanted her by his side, as his wife.

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Feeling a little overworked?




Overwhelmed?



As if you can't get on top of things?




As if you no longer own your stuff. It owns you.



Tonight, join me on Facebook from 5-7 (Pacific time...so that would be 8-10 East Coast time) to talk about Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World, a book that addresses those very issues.

At the end of our party, I can guarantee you will feel less overwhelmed and far more relaxed.



As if a burden has been lifted.



Join me tonight!

Tons of wonderful prizes will be given out by my publisher, Revell, we'll have lots of talk about the Amish and how they live more intentional lives, and you'll get to hear other people's stories, too.

Go to Facebook, search for Suzanne Woods Fisher, and click on my Events tab. (Or click on the button in the top right column of my blog.)

Hope to see you there!

Discouraged?

September 2, 2009

Resisting Discouragement
by Rick Warren
“So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).

There are many things that work to keep us from completing our life-missions. Over the years, I’ve debated whether the worst enemy is procrastination or discouragement. If Satan can’t get us to put off our life missions, then he’ll try to get us to quit altogether.

The apostle Paul teaches that we need to resist discouragement: “So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).

Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? I think we all do. Sometimes it seems easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing.

When we’re discouraged, we become ineffective. When we’re discouraged, we work against our own faith.

When I’m discouraged, I’m saying, “It can’t be done.” That’s the exact opposite of saying, “I know God can do it because he said . . . .”

Ask yourself these questions:

• How do I handle failure?
• When things don’t go my way, do I get grumpy?
• When things don’t go my way, do I get frustrated?
• When things don’t go my way, do I start complaining?
• Do I finish what I start?
• How would I rate on persistence?

If you’re discouraged, don’t give up without a fight. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without endurance and energy.

When an artist starts to create a sculpture, he has to keep chipping away. He doesn’t hit the chisel with the hammer once, and suddenly all the excess stone falls away revealing a beautiful masterpiece. He keeps hitting it and hitting it, chipping away at the stone.

And that’s true of life, too. Nothing really worthwhile ever comes easy in life. You keep hitting it and going after it, and little-by-little your life becomes a masterpiece of God’s grace.

The fact is, great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. Great people don’t know how to quit.

Honey, Honey, Honey

On Wednesday afternoon, I had a tiny bit of oral surgery that I would not wish upon my worst enemy. I will spare you the details...suffice to say it was not for the squeamish.

Anyway, I was running on low-wattage yesterday, but needed to get to the bank and get some cash.

While there, my cell phone kept ringing and I probably sounded rushed. Cuz I was. The teller took one look at my bruised and swollen cheek, misunderstood the situation and asked me if I needed to talk.

The more I tried to say that no, I hadn't been in a fight recently and that my husband was a very nice man...the more she shook her head and clucked her tongue. I could tell she thought I was living in complete denial.

Then she gave me her card and told me to call her. She said she was a very good listener.

Are the Amish Happier?

A week or so ago, I had an interview with
Stay Happily Married about comparing Amish marriages to non-Amish marriages.



Some things may surprise you:

The Amish have, essentially, a zero divorce rate.




Major depression occurs about one-fifth to one-tenth as often among Old Order Amish individuals as it does among the rest of the United States population.



The Harvard School of Medicine found that Amish people have a much lower rate of heart disease than do average Americans.

There might be a few things we have to learn from these people!

Life Coach

My niece, Hilary, is training to be a Life Coach. She passed along these reflective, simple but profound questions from her training program:

Ask yourself what you need to KEEP doing.

Ask yourself what you need to STOP doing.

And ask what you need to START doing.

Great advice for decision making, for life re-organizing, for distilling a concern down to its essence.

On another note, the winner of the drawing for a copy of Mama's Got a Fake I.D. is Crystal! Will end you an e-mail for your addy, Crystal. Congrats!

Swine Flu and Clorox Wipes

This winter, according to California's state government, one of four Californians will contract the Swine Flu.

And of course, this whole darn vaccine thing is a problem, they say. Not enough, not the right virus, needs more research, etc.

Those kinds of nameless government-originated edicts make me mad--they create nothing but fear.

Until I remember that most everything the government of California predicts is usually wrong, anyway.

To my way of thinking, common sense is the best medicine. Wash hands a LOT. Get more rest. Slow down a little. Eat more healthful foods. Take your vitamins. Exercise. Get out in the sunshine and fresh air every day. Laugh more.



And use Clorox Wipes! Apparently, (and I have it on good authority) that product is BOOMING.

TGIF:

If you have a moment for something fun and interesting, these clips are all the same guy...Sam Tsui. He is incredibly talented.

Radio!

Had a seven a.m. radio interview this morning about Amish Peace and had to get up extra early to feed the dogs and get ready.

Fifteen minutes before...shoo my family out the door early. They think they're quiet but they're oh so NOT.

Ten minutes before 7am...lay out all of my paperwork on the kitchen counter and review...to try to refresh my faulty memory. Note on the front door not to ring the bell. Cancel call waiting.

Five minutes before 7am...dogs put in crate so they don't bark. Or, more likely, so the puppy doesn't do something--give me one of her looks, for example--that makes me start to crack up. Totally inappropriate.




One minute before 7am...wait for the phone to ring. Say a prayer. Look at the phone again. Palms start to sweat.

And just when you think that the station has forgotten all about you...the phone rings! And the interview is off and rolling.



Funny thing is that the interviews really are fun. The hosts are great communicators--warm and friendly and talkative and curious. Probably why they're in that field in the first place.

Still, I wish I could speak the way I write. You know, after edits.

As prepared as I try to be, questions always come out of left field and my mind is scrambling to sound mildly intelligent. It's so frustrating to know you're rambling and don't know how to wrap this unwieldly topic up!




But I was much less nervous than the last one. And next week, I have two interviews scheduled, starting at 5:30 am for the East Coast commuters.

So I'll keep working on this interview gig! After all, practice makes perfect.

Kreativ Blogger Award

Thanks to Katrina Wampler for nominating my blog for this very fun award!



I never win anything...in fact, I'm the kind of person you don't want to stand behind at the check-out counter in the grocery store, or at the post office, or especially in a foreign country going through Customs, because I will have inevitably picked the World's Slowest Line...so this award made my day!

Take a Breather on September 28th, 5-7 pm (PST)!

Join me for my Facebook Party for Amish Peace and get a little Amish wisdom for modern, busy lives!

Take a look around you. Everyone is rushing around with endless to-do lists and back-to-back deadlines, barely able to catch a breath.

Everyone, that is, except the Amish.



Living on the outskirts of modernity, the Amish are icons for a simpler life and a slower pace. It’s this allure—something of a sanctuary, suspended in time—that draws millions of tourists to travel to Amish country every year.



And now I’m inviting YOU to come bring your overworked, overextended self and attend a fun Facebook Launch Party for Amish Peace! I know you’re busy (and tired) so I’m bringing the festivities to you! So grab your comfiest chair and slip away from that long To-Do list and join me for a two hour Amish Peace Party.



I'm going to be sharing some of the Amish wisdom I gleaned while researching and living with the Amish! Not only that, but I'll also be hosting a fun Fact or Fiction Contest (how well do you really know the Amish?), giving away an incredible Amish Gift Basket filled with terrific Amish-made items directly out of stories in Amish Peace, and advanced copies of The Choice (exciting news – the first book in the my new Amish fiction series)!



I'll also be answering questions, and getting to know YOU! I'd be honored to have you as my guest – and to prove it I'll be giving away books and prizes throughout the party!

Let’s connect...in an admittedly non-Amish way...on Facebook, September 28th from 5-7pm (PST)! (Below is a pix of an Amish phone shanty. A number of Amish families on the same street will share one phone.)



My Facebook account name is: Suzanne Woods Fisher.
My twitter name is: suzannewfisher

Here is the schedule of events:

5:00 pm -- A Story behind the story – I'll share why I wanted to write this book!
5:00-5:30 -- Q&A time (ask me questions!)
5:30 -- first trivia contest --Fact or Fiction? How much do you really know about the Amish? Winner announced asap!
5:45-6:15 -- Q&A time (more questions, please!)
6:15 -- A bit about the new series, "Lancaster County Secrets" and the book, The Choice.
6:30 -- 6:45 Q&A time (more questions, please!)
6:45 -- second trivia contest (winner announced asap) Fact or Fiction?
6:45-7:00 -- Last Q&A time & wrap up

There's a saying among the Amish: "Du kannscht ken Laerning griege imme Saerigachtul." It means, "You can't get no learnin' in an easy chair."

Well, on September 28th, maybe we can! So mark your calendar and tell your friends. Hope to see you there!

Mama's Got a Fake I.D.

So many women wrestle with their identity once they become moms.

And then they wrestle with it all over again as their kids head off to college!

Caryn Rivadeineira, author of Mama's Got a Fake I.D. (Waterbrook), wrote this book to address the conflicting feelings moms have about their identity. And while it speaks primarily to young moms, her biblically based conclusions work for moms at any stage.




Caryn explores what God (not culture, not peer pressure, not even best friends) has to say about the role of motherhood in a refreshing, honest, "real" way. She encourages women to love the role of being moms, while not neglecting or undervaluing God-given creativity/talents/gifts that makes them who they are. Caryn has been an editor for many magazines, including Marriage Partnership and Christian Parenting Today, and she has an intuitive sense about what's relative to readers.

I figured out that Caryn and I are about fifteen years apart. As I read her book, I kept wishing that I had a book like Mama's Got a Fake I.D. when I was a young mom. I remember experiencing so many of the same feelings she writes about...adoring my baby but feeling intellectually restless. And a little guilty over that.

Caryn's writing style is such that you feel as if you're hanging out in her backyard on a warm summer afternoon, sipping iced tea, while the kids are playing on the Slip 'N Slide. (Wait...do those things still exist?) Anyway...as you read, you'll feel as if you're just talking to your friend about heart issues. Mama would be a great read for book clubs and Bible study groups. Caryn has added thought provoking questions for reflection and discussion at the end of each chapter.

Caryn has been kind enough to provide a book as a giveaway, so leave a comment to win a free copy of Mama's Got a Fake ID. The drawing will be Monday, September 22nd. I bet we could get Caryn to sign it, too.

You can find Caryn on-line at www.carynrivadeneira.com
and also at www.themommyrevolution.com.

An Indiana Cemetery

Read this in Randy Alcorn's excellent book, Heaven, and laughed out loud!



An Indiana cemetery has a tombstone, more than one hundred years old, with the following epitaph:

Pause, stranger, when you pass me by:
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be.
So prepare for death and follow me.

An unknown passerby scratched these additional words on the tombstone:

To follow you I'm not content,
Until I know which way you went.

Sozo!

This clip has the feel of a "church basement video," but the message in the song is theologically correct and quite thought provoking!



One thing about my dad's battle with Alzheimer's...I find that it is very comforting to dwell on the "restoration" aspect of our eternal life.

Sozo!

Nature's Wake-Up Call!

Woke up on this Saturday morning to a loud CRACK of thunder, followed by the sound of rain starting. Delightful sounds to those of us living with "Spare the Air" days in the parched San Francisco Bay Area.

The sounds of nature are the most beautiful of all...

Do you ever wonder if the heavenly realm is watching, too? This short clip must be what it looks like from the top-down point of view:

This Little Gal Can Take a Joke

This clip is HILARIOUS!

The bride's new husband accidentally pronounces 'lawfully' as 'wawfully,' and she cracks up so much that they had to take a break in the ceremony.

My Kitchen during Radio Interviews

Yesterday morning, I had two back-to-back radio interviews about Amish Peace. One live, one for podcast. This is what my kitchen counter looked like during those interviews:



The radio hosts are sent a Q&A sheet, plus bio info, plus a copy of the book for the interview. Being slightly neurotic, I wrote out answers to all of those questions, plus every other possible question under the sun, plus looked for stats and facts. Just in case they asked.

One host went right down the Q&A list. The other one made up his own Q's. Kind of odd ones, like "Do the Amish bathe?"

Sigh.

The first minute or so of the interview is painful--getting used to the host's style, awkward pauses, discovering with horror that blocking Call Waiting didn't work (Grrr! I hate that blocking thing! Sometimes it works, mostly it doesn't!). But once the interview gets underway, a rhythm gets rolling and it's really kind of fun.

Sort of.

When it's all over...I do the happy dance! And then feel like a popped balloon for the rest of the day.

Conversations with Dad

On Monday, my folks came over for lunch and afterwards, I took my dad and my niece, Heather, to a bookstore to see if we could find Amish Peace. Voila! There it was!



My previous books have been with a small royalty press--a great experience to learn about the publishing biz--but bookstores don't automatically stock small press books. In fact, they have a rather snobbish bias against them. So anytime a book of mine was in a bookstore, it was because I had made contact with the manager. One by one.

Thus, seeing a book of mine IN a store, automatically stocked, just warmed my heart!

And Dad got a kick out of it, too. He recognized my name on the cover, though I don't think he fully understood that I wrote it. It was sweet and sad...he wanted to buy the book but didn't have any money. He couldn't come up with the words, but he emptied out his pockets.

Anyway, this pix will be a lovely memory of Amish Peace's release week.

Public Libraries Closing for a Few Weeks

Not sure if you've noticed that your town is a little less literate lately, but many public libraries have closed for a few weeks--end of August/first week of September--to try and make up budget deficits.

Seattle, for example.

The city was $43 million in the hole and every department had to make cuts. After looking at several options the library department came up with the week long furlough. About 700 employees were NOT paid for the week. In all about $655,000 was saved.

It all comes down to money.

Or does it?

Here's my idea: what if public libraries were to remain closed on Sundays? You know, the way people have lived for centuries. Taking a day off. A Sabbath's rest.

Maybe one thing we need, as a culture, is to slow down and take a breath. You may not agree that it's a spiritual necessity, but few would say that they don't need a break from routine.

And if we need a break, so do librarians. Maybe not causing someone to work--librarians, grocery store clerks, gas station attendants--maybe it's all a part of the idea of a Sunday break. Giving yourself a break. Giving others a break.

And who knows? Maybe the savings will help the government get back in the black. Miracles can happen!

TGIF "God and Dog"

Oh...this is a keeper! Thanks to Mary Lou for passing this charming clip on to me.

Barnes and Noble

My daughter sent me this photo of Amish Peace, in-store, via her camera this week. Taken from a Barnes and Noble in Oregon.



You know what especially thrills me? It's that my books are practically neighbors to Richard Foster's. I mean, the man is an ICON.

Granted, it's only because I'm a Fisher and he's a Foster. But...still.

Now, having books near Phillip Yancey's would be every bit as exciting...but then my name would be Yankovich or Yabtoil or Yak.

Skipped My Morning Rant

My son zoomed out this morning, late, and zoomed back in to ask me for a check for his parking spot. (Which, btw, I still think is outrageous. Pay to park in a high school parking lot?! Talk about voluntary taxation! Whenever I suggest riding a bike instead, Tad looks at me as if I have just landed from Pluto. I don't understand why kids spend so much time working out at the gym...also known as buffing...but eschew bicycle riding as a mode of transportation. But...I digress.)

Anyway.

I did whip off a check to him and told him I would not rant and rave about how costly a public education is...but not because it doesn't deserve a good rant. The reason was that I had just received this lovely review, not one minute earlier:


For the Love of Dogs
Suzanne Woods Fisher
ISBN 9780981559292
Vintage Inspirations (2009)
Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Rebecca’s Reads (08/09)

Every now and then a book comes along that you just can’t put down. It touches you in ways you just couldn’t imagine and leaves you feeling just good. “For the Love of Dogs” by Suzanne Woods Fisher one of those books. It is a very compelling, heart touching story. Samantha is a very competent, independent person who finds herself going blind. It is incredibly hard for her to accept the fact that she needs anyone else.

As with most people it is hard for anyone to admit weakness and that is so with Samantha. Her family is supportive but she is having a very difficult time facing her future. She is paired up with a wonderful, talented yellow lab named Azure destined to prepare for what is to come.

In this compelling tale, which has many complex characters intertwining with Samantha, Azure, and Jack, you will cover each emotion possible and leave you feeling drained and fulfilled at the same time. Personally, this book has touched my soul and I can’t wait to read other works by this outstanding author.

Happy Release Day!

Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World is officially released today!

Off to a running start, if I do say so myself!



If...when...you get a chance to read it...I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This book changed me.

For example, yesterday I was having a very non-Amish Peace-like day. Something important I was working on fell apart and fizzled to a death...and I was distracted and bothered all afternoon.

More than a little ironic on the release-eve of my book about peace!

So I took a long walk and tried to puzzle out why I felt so distressed. Two important questions came to mind:

Where was my focus? (On myself...not on God)

What was the simpler solution?

Answering those questions actually helped me to let go of the frustration I'd been feeling. That's the kind of "takeaway value" in the book, even for the one who wrote it!

Then I woke up this morning to an e-mail with disappointing news about another project. This time, though, I shook it off.

Release date or no release date, life just keeps truckin' on. Know what I mean?