Where Did You Have a REALITY CHECK? (RESULTS)

THE RESULTS ARE IN! Each contestant got an entry for each picture they submitted and for any votes they may have received. Today we selected a random winner from those entries. (No member of my immediate family was included in the drawing. I figure I give them enough stuff as it is.)

THE WINNER IS: ALISON T!! She received a silver bracelet with a starfish/heart charm dangler.

Thanks everyone for your fun entries! And always remember: if you're going to have a Reality Check, you may as well have a fun one!

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WHERE DID YOU HAVE YOUR REALITY CHECK?? Check out the fun photos below:

                                  A. I have a feeling this is exactly how he got Pinocchio too.

                                   B. I was in a fantasyland when I had my Reality Check.

C. Mouse approved

D. Being married to Homer ought to be enough of a Reality Check. But, no.

E. Um, you're Reality Check is about to bounce . . .

F. Can I use my lifeline?

G. Reality Check Beatles Style: Even meanies get Reality Checks . . .

H. Having a dental Reality Check up.

I. What's hotter? Thai food or Reality Check on Kindle Fire?

J. Some Reality Checks are more fun than others.

K. If he's looking for iambic pentameter he's really in for a Reality Check.

L. Being a first time mom, this is now my Reality Check.

Reading Clean Giveaway Hop (RESULTS)

CONGRATULATIONS to Kara P, who was the winner of the Giveaway Hop and will be receiving an autographed copy of my novel Reality Check!

Thanks everyone for participating! Happy reading to all!!

Come and join me for the Reading Clean Giveaway Hop, hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer, One Librarian's Book Reviews, and Clean Teen Fiction. This is a fun opportunity to find great books that are "free from sex, language, and gratuitous violence. Books you can share with anyone without hesitation, be it your mother, daughter, or bishop's wife." 

AND POSSIBLY GET SOME OF THEM FOR FREE!

Remember—Christmas is just around the corner. So if some of the books offered are ones you already own, what could be better than winning another copy to give as a gift?  

For a chance to win a signed copy of my novel Reality Check, simply:

1) sign up to follow this blog on Google Friend Connect or by email, and

2) fill out the form below so I can contact you if you win. (I will not share any email information with an outside source, but to be Internet safe (because I'm a mom) only enter if you are 13 years old or older, please. 

I will post my winner on Thursday, September 13th.

What is Reality Check about, you ask? Here's your answer!

 

After college graduation, Lucy Kendrick heads home with big plans for work, travel, and relishing her freedom—which means no romantic entanglements. But her two best friends have other ideas. Lucy is seriously steamed when she realizes they've signed her up to be a contestant on the reality dating show Soulmates, but she decides not to renege and soon finds herself in Los Angeles—a small-town Mormon girl vying for the love of millionaire bachelor Ethan Glass. 

At first this cute, smart, fun young woman who would rather pray than party bewilders Ethan, as does the fact that his interest and admiration grow with every encounter. But a conniving associate producer is determined to stir up some made-for-TV drama and plants hidden cameras that inadvertently catch a truly honest but unsensational moment. And since reality television is anything but real, when the show finally airs, the story is not even close to what actually happened and Lucy has been recast as someone she unquestionably is not. Will the duplicities that have created this humiliation ever come to light? And will the truth emerge too late for the would-be soulmates?

For more chances to win more great books, link to any or all of the participating blogs listed below. Spread the word! And happy (clean) reading everyone!

Remember: 1) sign up to follow my blog, AND 2) fill in the form below. Thanks!!

And then I woke up . . . and my clothes were still on, thank goodness!

You know that dream where you're with a large group of people and you realize you're naked? That's what getting a book published is like.  

This is part of an email I wrote to a friend, who had shared her thoughts with me after reading Reality Check:

Thanks for your kind comments. You read like a writer. I was hoping for that, actually. 

When I was in college I was a composition major for a time, and each week we attended a master class where our compositions were performed, followed immediately by critiques from the professors and other comp students. Since I'd already survived a lot of piano festivals, I figured I could handle the criticisms, although I knew it would be tougher. . .

So I figured I knew what I was in for while I waited for the book to come out. But I was honestly surprised by the emotional reaction I've had, now that it's on the shelves for general consumption. It's like that dream everyone has where you're in a room full of people and you realize you're naked. You're completely vulnerable, because everyone reads and writes to some extent and everyone judges. 

I know I judge what I read and what movies I watch, so fair's fair. And to be honest, people have been kind so far. I'm merely commenting on a strange and unexpected reaction I've had going through the process, one that's slightly (and surprisingly) unnerving.

I mean, imagine: people in that hypothetical dream could approach you and say, "Wow! You look great!" But they might just as easily say, "You look . . . mmm . . . okay for an old lady. Did you know you've got a big pimple on your back?" Or maybe they simply pretend they don't see you—and could that possibly be worse?

So what do you do when you have The I'm Naked in a Group of People Dream? Do you strut your stuff? Smile and act casual, as if nothing's the matter? Would you cower and run to the nearest exit? Try to wake up?

Naked or not, in it's own way, the experience of having a novel published is its own kind of "reality check." Just sayin'.

Reality Check Update

My publisher posted the first chapter of Reality Check on its website today. So, if you're interested in a sneak peek, take a look here:  http://www.covenant-lds.com/books and just click on the picture of my book.

In the first chapter you'll get to meet Lucy Kendrick and her two best friends, Grace and Allie. You'll also watch them discover Ethan Glass [*sigh*], millionaire hotshot and star of the new reality dating show Soulmates. He's pretty dreamy. (Even my daughter said so!)

In addition to being available at Seagull Books and Deseret Book, you can also find Reality Check on Amazon, in both paperback and Kindle format.

We have a fun Reality Check blog tour planned for a couple of weeks from now, and a few ideas to keep the fun going after that and the summer doldrums away.

Happy reading!

Space, the Hubble Telescope, and Eternity

Today a friend sent me an amazing video of images taken by the Hubble Telescope. The scientists deliberately pointed the telescope at a part of the sky that was completely black, hoping it wasn't a waste of time and money to do so, but curious nonetheless to discover what—if anything—might be there. The results were profound.

I have seen images like this before, and they never fail to affect me. In fact, in an early scene of my novel Reality Check, the main character Lucy describes her own reaction to Hubble images and how they impacted her views about eternity and the idea of "forever." (Page 84 if you're curious . . .) 

The image you see posted here is titled "Close-Up of Galaxies from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field Image" and is from that "empty black space." Not so empty, after all.

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour."         Psalm 8:3–5

Makes you think.

I've also included the link to the video, describing what the Hubble team found and what it means. Enjoy!
http://www.flixxy.com/hubble-ultra-deep-field-3d.htm

Image courtesy NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team

LDS Author Giveaway Hop (RESULTS)

A big shout out and CONGRATULATIONS to Renee Burnette and Froggy, who were the winners of the Giveaway Hop and will each be receiving an autographed copy of my novel Reality Check!


Thanks everyone for participating! The amount of interest I received was unexpectedly cool, considering my blog was at the tail end of a very long list of cool blogs! Happy reading to all!!

Come and hop along with me at the LDS Authors Giveaway, hosted by The Book Bug and I Am a Reader, Not a Writer. This is a fun opportunity to find fun books to read this summer, and possibly even get some of them for free!


Check out as many of the blogs listed below as you like. Each one is offering a giveaway.

My giveaway:

All you have to do, for a chance to win an autographed copy of my debut novel Reality Check, is:

1) sign up to follow this blog on Google Friend Connect or by email, and

2) fill out the form below so I can contact you if you win. (I will not share any email information with an outside source, but to be Internet safe (because I'm a mom) only enter if you are 13 years old or older, please. 

If you want to know what Reality Check is about, check this post: Reality Check.


For an additional chance to win, repeat the process at my other blog: A Tuft Act To Follow.




  

Reality Check

I'm giving myself a reality check. First I pinch myself . . . yep, I'm awake. I'm not dreaming. Holy cow, it's really happening?? Yeah, baby!

My debut novel Reality Check will be hitting the store shelves in June. I'm not sure of all the locations, but you can pick one up at any Seagull Book and Deseret Book store for starters. Below is the blurb on the back cover:

Αfter college graduation, Lucy Kendrick heads home with big plans for work, travel, and relishing her freedom—which means no romantic entanglements. But her two best friends have other ideas. Lucy is seriously steamed when she realizes they’ve signed her up to be a contestant on the reality dating show Soulmates, but she decides not to renege and soon finds herself in Los Angeles—a small-town Mormon girl vying for the love of millionaire bachelor Ethan Glass. 

At first this cute, smart, fun young woman who would rather pray than party bewilders Ethan, as does the fact that his interest and admiration grow with every encounter. But a conniving associate producer is determined to stir up some made-for-TV drama and plants hidden cameras that inadvertently catch a truly honest but unsensational moment. And since reality television is anything but real, when the show finally airs, the story is not even close to what actually happened and Lucy has been recast as someone she unquestionably is not. Will the duplicities that have created this humiliation ever come to light? And will the truth emerge too late for the would-be soulmates?

Fun times! And especially written for all you Bachelor and Bachelorette fans out there (and even all of you who aren't) who constantly wonder, "What would happen if . . . ?"