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 . . . ?"

Books Don't Come With MPAA Ratings

When I walk into the library a block from my house I notice one thing in particular: the children's books are at one end of the building and, not surprisingly, the adult books are at the other end of the building. I know. Amazing, right?

The kids' section is made up of smaller sections . . . based on children's ages and reading abilities. The call numbers will begin with a J for Junior: JP (Junior Picture Book), JF (Junior Fiction), etc. As the age and the reading level of the child increases, he or she will migrate to books with a Y (Young Adult) call number: YF (Young Adult Fiction), YNF (Young Adult Non-fiction). (Squidoo has a good webpage for explaining the basics of finding a book in the library at http://www.squidoo.com/bookfinder.)

Adult books are generally classified as fiction or non-fiction. Adult fiction will generally begin with an F, followed by part of the author's last name. If it's genre fiction, the library catalog will indicate the collection where it is shelved: mystery, fantasy, romance, western, and so forth.

Adult non-fiction usually has a call number and part of the author's last name.

Everyone knows this stuff. I'm not mentioning it because I think people don't know their way around a library. I mention it because BOOKS DON'T COME WITH MPAA RATINGS, like movies do. (Even TV and music have a ratings system.)

When you let your child loose in the library (at any age), or when you yourself roam the stacks of books, remember that, beyond the call number classification, books don't come with a ratings system. And especially remember this: books located in the adult books section of the library are ADULT BOOKS. That doesn't mean their content may not be suitable for younger readers, only that you shouldn't ever assume that it is. Those books weren't necessarily written with a young reader—and a young reader's sensibilities—in mind.

It is good practice for you to quickly check through any book you or your child selects. Check the call number. Read the back copy. Skim a few pages. A book that may be geared for young adults may not be suitable for your particular teen. Even a children's book may include content that your child may not be developmentally and emotionally prepared to handle. Only you have the real expertise to assist your child when selecting books to read.

And always, always, look for appropriateness if the book your child or teen picks up is from the adult stacks. That's my parental two cents worth, anyway.

(I've included the link to the MPAA ratings web page below, if you're curious to see what thematic elements and contents generate which ratings in movies.)
http://www.mpaa.org/ratings/what-each-rating-means

Get Me Out of Here! (Escapism)

Which of the following statements are true:

1) When I read or watch a movie like The Hunger Games, I am transported to a dystopic world and imagine myself as someone like Katniss, Peeta, or Gale to the point where I actually think I am one of them. Where's my bow and arrow?

 2) When I read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings (or again, watch the movies) I find myself believing in hobbits and elves, and I am constantly on Google Maps searching for Rivendell and Middle Earth.

3) When I watch Star Trek (in any of its incarnations), read the fan fiction, or dress up like a Klingon or Vulcan and attend a Trekkie convention, I am in need of my anti-psychotic meds because I'm expecting to be beamed up at any moment.

4) When I read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works, I am a brilliant detective in Victorian London, shrouded in fog and intrigue, working feverishly to solve a complex riddle before something deadly happens. I also talk in a British accent and refer to my dog as Watson, although his name is actually Buster.

5) When I read Pride and Prejudice, I realize that Mr. Darcy is the perfect male specimen and insist that any and every man I meet must measure up to his standards. Relationship expectations cannot be taken too lightly.

Answer: None of them is true. And yet, could any of them possibly be true, in certain situations? Sure.

Most of the articles I've read related to the romance genre would make the claim that none of the above statements is true—except #5.  Apparently the writers of the articles would have us believe that women, in particular, are unable to distinguish between fantasy (as it relates to the romance genre) and reality, when it comes to love and their romantic expectations in their partners.

And yet these same women watch movies like Transformers and the various Harry Potters and have no more expectation of having their Volkswagens turn into a robots, or plan to fly on a broom while playing quidditch than the men seated next to them. Are women actually watching Brad Pitt or Ryan Gosling on screen and expecting either actor (or character played) will propose to them? Are men hoping Megan Fox or Angelina Jolie are going to give them a smile and a "hey, baby, text me" anytime soon? I don't honestly think so.

That being said, everyone—whether sitting in a theater, reading genre fiction, playing online games, or doing the traditional couch potato thing—can benefit from the occasional self-inventory when it comes to escapism. Sometimes people do run too far and escape for too long. And if we frequently find ourselves in that position, seeking to avoid the realities of our daily lives by these means of escape, then I suggest that maybe it's time to figure out why and head safely back to the world of reality.

Romance Novels: Another Form of Porn? A Rebuttal

Dear Ms. Bardsley,


I just read your blog titled "Romance Novels: Another Form of Porn?" in LDS Living Magazine. As a reader—and writer—of romance, I would like to offer a differing viewpoint.


Quoting from the Romance Writers of America genre description page, which I have copied and pasted from their website (http://www.rwa.org/cs/the_romance_genre) a romance novel is defined as having:

A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around two individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel.

An Emotionally-Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love. 

Romance novels may have any tone or style, be set in any place or time, and have varying levels of sensuality—ranging from sweet to extremely hot. These settings and distinctions of plot create specific subgenres within romance fiction. 


The romance genre is frequently and unfairly maligned. Are there those books you describe? Yes, definitely. But it seems to me your blog lumps anything that can be construed a romance into one big, evil pot. You imply that, specifically, romance novel escapist tendencies are bad, while the escapist tendencies of other novels in general are not. Are you telling me that horror, science fiction, fantasy, and mystery cannot potentially do the same things you are accusing romance of doing? In my opinion, your statements paint with too broad a brush.  


You seem to think women's escapist choices in particular undermine individuals, relationships, and families. And yet, if you read the description of the genre from RWA once more, it would appear that the general intent of romance is the struggle, development, and ultimate success of the relationship. The RWA also requires an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. To me, that is what the Gospel is all about: developing a deep and loving relationship with my husband, and looking forward to eternity—the ultimate "happy ending."


That said, I also recognize that one must be careful selecting reading—romance or otherwise—from the national market. We each have our own sensibilities, and each romance author has her individual style and approach when it comes to the inclusion of intimacy and the level of sensuality. However, to clarify, sex scenes are not the primary content of most romances, as you state in your blog. And while there are authors I will not read, there are others whose writing I find to be sensitive, and who deal with intimacy in a context within the story that I feel is respectful. 


Age and experience are definitely factors that need to be considered when choosing any reading materials. It is unfortunate that the 17-yr old you mentioned had a bad experience. Good for her for having good judgment. There have been books (of all types, not simply romance), movies, and TV shows my children have expressed an interest in reading or watching over the years, and I reviewed and censored them as I deemed appropriate. Trips to the library should not be an exception to this rule. 


I am glad Deseret Book is developing a brand of "Proper Romance." Women are relationship driven. It would only make sense that novels dealing with these types of stories and themes would hold appeal for many women. 


Sincerely and respectfully,
Karen Tuft 


http://www.ldsliving.com/story/68147-ae-romance-novels-another-form-of-porn