Faith Lift Friday

I am still on the road, but going to head home today. Looking forward to finding "normal" again if there really is such a thing.

This song was on my heart this morning.

Cares Chorus
by Kelly Willard

I cast all my cares upon You,
I lay all of my burdens down at Your feet.
And any time I don't know just what to do,
I will cast all my cares upon You.

I cast all my cares upon You,
I lay all of my burdens down at Your feet.
And any time I don't know just what to do,
I will cast all my cares upon You.
I will cast all my cares upon you





Visit Sheryl at Taking the Challenge to find some great blessings to take you into the weekend.

Many prayers,

Julie

Selective Vision

It's nice to know to some people I will always be young.

Dad and I were talking and the subject of hair color came up. I told him that I had decided against covering my grey. Bless his heart, he said, "But you don't have any grey hair."

I laughed and leaned over to show him my significant number of greys, visible to many from across a room.

He said, "I still don't see any."

Well it might have been the lighting, but I'm guessing it is Selective Vision.

You think I could get people to see me as having no grey hair AND weighing 135 lbs???

Hey, I can wish!

What Women Want in a Man

Original List:

1. Handsome
2. Charming
3. Financially successful
4. A caring listener
5. Witty
6. In good shape
7. Dresses with style
8. Appreciates finer things
9. Full of thoughtful surprises
10. An imaginative, romantic lover

What Women Want in a Man, Revised List (age 32)

1. Nice looking
2. Opens car doors, holds chairs
3. Has enough money for a nice dinner
4. Listens more than talks
5. Laughs at my jokes
6. Carries bags of groceries with ease
7. Owns at least one tie
8. Appreciates a good home-cooked meal
9. Remembers birthdays and anniversaries
10. Seeks romance at least once a week

What Women Want in a Man, Revised List (age 52)

1. Not too ugly
2. Doesn't drive off until I'm in the car
3. Works steady - splurges on dinner out occasionally
4. Nods head when I'm talking
5. Usually remembers punch lines of jokes
6. Is in good enough shape to rearrange the furniture
7. Wears a shirt that covers his stomach
8. Knows not to buy champagne with screw-top lids
9. Remembers to put the toilet seat down
10. Shaves most weekends

What Women Want in a Man, Revised List (age 62)

1. Keeps hair in nose and ears trimmed
2. Doesn't belch or scratch in public
3. Doesn't borrow money too often
4. Doesn't nod off to sleep when I'm venting
5. Doesn't retell the same joke too many times
6. Is in good enough shape to get off couch on weekends
7. Usually wears matching socks and fresh underwear
8. Appreciates a good TV dinner
9. Remembers your name on occasion
10. Shaves some weekends

What Women Want in a Man, Revised List (age 72)

1. Doesn't scare small children
2. Remembers where bathroom is
3. Doesn't require much money for upkeep
4. Only snores lightly when asleep
5. Remembers why he's laughing
6. Is in good enough shape to stand up by himself
7. Usually wears some clothes
8. Likes soft foods
9. Remembers where he left his teeth
10.Remembers that it's the weekend

What Women Want in a Man, Revised List (age 82)

1. Breathing
2. Doesn't miss the toilet.

Blood Brothers: Blog Book Tour

Blood Brothers by Rick Acker


I received Blood Brothers by Rick Acker not long ago and realized that Dead Man’s Rule had preceded it. I really don’t like starting in the middle with characters so went that night to the library and found Dead Man’s Rule. I was thrilled with the book.

Dead Man’s Rule—Ben Corbin is a Christian lawyer and has his own law firm, but the income isn’t coming as fast as he needs it to. He has several clients, not all of whom are capable of paying well. He has one big case that could shore up his firm and attract more cases with bigger payoffs. He shares his office with his wife Noelle, an accountant who also acts as his office manager. The last thing Ben needs is a client with a dubious case, not likely to be won. But that is what he gets. Enter former Russian scientist Mikhail Ivanovsky claiming ownership of a safe deposit box but no proof in hand.

Dead Man’s Rule is a lean, fast paced thriller that is based on biological warfare, Russian and Chechen gangs, and a rarely used legal statute that causes Ben and Dr. Ivanovsky’s case to spin out of control. A fantastic, rapid fire read. Part of me breathed a sigh of relief at the finale, part of me wished that it would just keep going. Thankfully the sequel, Blood Brothers was waiting for me.

Blood Brothers finds Ben Corbin and his wife Noelle expecting a baby, a little bit better off financially and maybe a bit more mature. Rick Acker takes us to the world of pharmaceuticals and board rooms where egos and intrigue meet, where the testing and preparation of new drugs for FDA approval could be miraculous or disastrous.

I would say Dead Man’s Rule had a bit more action (just a bit) but Blood Brothers is possibly more of an intellectual thriller. Oh there is still crime and danger; it just comes in a different package.

Blood Brothers brings back private detective Sergei Spassky and FBI agent Elena Kamenev. They were exciting secondary characters in the first book and we get a closer look at them in the second story.

Acker’s books are well written, appear well researched (to my untrained eye), he certainly has the inside scoop on the courtroom and his perspective is definitely Christian without being legalistic. My opinion is that his work will appeal to suspense and action/mystery lovers, both men and women. I’ve got a few men on my list to give copies of these books to.

Well done!!

From Kregel Publications and Glass Road Public Relations press releases:


Neurostim is a brand new drug that dramatically increases productivity and creativity. Developed from the seeds of a long-extinct Norwegian tree, Neurostim dramatically improves response time by allowing subjects to think and process information more quickly. The implications are staggering. It could help people in all walks of life, but could easily become a lifesaver for policemen, fireman, doctors and other first responders. But initial tests reveal a hiccup—some of the monkeys tested exhibited maniacal, homicidal behaviors. As the lead lab tech was approaching company authorities with the evidence, however, she was killed in a mysterious one-car accident.

Without any reported side-effects, the FDA authorizes human trials of Neurostim and the trials appear to go smoothly. Brothers Karl Bjornsen and Gunnar Bjornsen, however, are deeply embroiled in a bitter legal battle for control of the company—and Neurostim. Gunnar developed Neurostim while working as President of Bjornsen Pharmaceuticals and he’s the only one who knows the secret formula. When Karl ousted Gunnar as President, Gunnar took the formula with him.

What begins as a simple trade secrets case, however, quickly escalates and becomes more complex as Gunnar’s lawyer, Ben Corbin, discovers embezzlement and bribery with Karl as the prime suspect. When Ben and his team travel to Norway to investigate the accounting discrepancies with the company’s Norwegian branch, Bjornsen Norge, their very lives become endangered.

Is Karl Bjornsen behind the Norwegian attacks that endanger Ben and his team? Is Neurostim safe? Can the FDA stop the human trials on Neurostim before its too late?

About Rick Acker

Rick Acker does his best work while traveling, and he pecks out pages every dayon the commuter train to his “real job” as a Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice. Rick’s other books include Dead Man’s Rule and the Davis Detectives series for tweens. He lives in Northern California with his wife, Anette, and their four children.

Q&A with Rick Acker, author of Blood Brothers

Q. Where did you get the idea for Blood Brothers?
A. Blood Brothers really sprang from three different ideas: First, I've had a ringside seat to several fights between former partners, and they were among the most intense and compelling cases I've been involved in. How much more intense and compelling would a case like that be if the partners were also brothers?

Second, the ancient Norse sagas are filled with fascinating stories that took place just before reliable historical records began to be kept in Scandinavia. Some of these tales are undoubtedly true, but which ones? And how might the lost knowledge behind them matter today?

Third, I've long felt challenged by Christ's admonition that it's easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The secular psychologist William James had some surprisingly similar observations. What does it mean to be a "rich man" in modern American society?

So, how do those three pieces fit together into a biotech/legal thriller? Read Blood Brothers and find out.

Q. What is your greatest inspiration as a writer?
A. Deadlines. There are lots of things that inspire me as a storyteller--unusual people I meet, compelling cases I litigate, interesting articles in the news and so on. But what actually inspires me to sit down, focus, and turn the stories running around my head into books? My publisher's deadlines.

Q. If Blood Brothers became a movie – who would you cast in the lead roles?
A. Good question. I have an unlimited budget, right? In that case:

Tom Cruise: Ben Corbin, the handsome but not particularly tall lawyer who tries the case at the heart of the book

Penelope Cruz: Ben's lovely wife--and reluctant forensic accountant--Noelle (This might be a little uncomfortable for Tom, but I get to make the casting decisions, not him.)

Adrien Brody: Russian-American detective Sergei Spassky

Uma Thurman: Elena Kamenev, FBI agent and Sergei's on-and-off love interest

Cilian Murphy: the vile cybercriminal George Kulish

I'm drawing a blank on who should play Gunnar and Karl Bjornsen, the brothers of the title. Know any six-foot-plus actors in their late fifties with weightlifter arms and faces like the Old Man of the Mountain (before he collapsed)?

Q. What was your greatest obstacle to overcome in writing this novel?
A. Self-discipline. This book took a lot longer to write than it should have, mostly because I didn't have a deadline at first due to a little contract mix-up.

Q. How would you suggest that aspiring novelists avoid similar obstacles?
A. Give yourself a deadline. Better yet, have someone else give you a deadline and hold you accountable. If you don't have a publisher (who will generously provide this service for free), have your spouse or a good friend do it and give him/her the right to fine you if you blow your deadline. It works.

Beloved

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Matthew 11:25-30

This morning at Mass during the sermon I was reminded that I was a child of the King of Kings. This morning I was reminded even though a sinner saved by Grace, I am a beloved daughter of the LORD. No matter what Satan says, no matter what anyone else think, no matter if I am poor or rich, famous or insignificant in the eyes of the world, no matter—I am beloved.

****************************************

The county fair was one of my mother’s favorite things. I’m not sure why, but she loved the whole thing and wanted to make sure we enjoyed it too.

Thirteen years ago my husband and I moved near my parents. Two years later we had our first son, Roo. Boo followed two and a half years later. Within eight months of that we moved nine hours away from my parents and, with one exception; we’ve not been nearby since then. So for the last six years I brought the boys to my parents’ house for a long visit in the summer.

My mother always took vacation time and the first four of those years created “Camp Gramarama” that included water balloon fights, Dairy Queen trips, a zoo visit, the county fair parade, and subsequent visits to the fair. Somewhere in there my parents got a pop-up camper and parked it next to the cornfield. It became “The Camp Clubhouse.” The adults rotated sleeping in it with the kids.

The fifth year my mom had every intention of doing all of that and made good on most of it, but the chemo was catching up and my sister and I did our best to fill in the gaps. I don’t know who we were trying to do it for, her or the children. Maybe both. It was still a good “Camp.”

Last year, my mom, three years into chemo, spent the first part of the week resting/sleeping; rallying to try to get to see my niece exhibit her cat. Mom made it to the fairgrounds. My dad had obtained permission to use their golf cart to drive her up to the exhibition tent, but even sitting was too difficult and he and I took her home before the show started. She did hear the show (the judge comments during the judging) over the cell phone—one of those “how did we manage before?” moments. She got to hear my niece interviewed on the radio also. A day later she was in the local hospital. She was then moved to a university research hospital. She spent more time the next six weeks in the hospital than at home. And then she really got to go HOME.

*********************************

I’ve debated a lot lately about my blog. I’m trying to remember what made me think I could keep up with one. I’ve never been a good journal-er. I had another crisis last year about the same time—actually a couple weeks earlier. But I also had to deal with some intense personalities along with my ventures into the reality of the world outside the walls of my home. And I was dealing with the reality that my mom wasn’t going to be around much longer

This time, between the last month of going against my nature—having to operate as if I were a morning person, having to be out of my home four to seven hours a day; trying to wade through the hormonal upheavals of peri-menopause, making important decisions about our future with my husband and then getting ready to be gone for five days, when what I want to do is be home, I questioned whether there was any point in keeping it open.

And then I started going through my archives.

Some people wear their hearts on their sleeves—or blogs, as the case may be. They give you lots of details on what’s going on. I’m not often one to do so. I try to share about me without sharing too much about others who might not want to be blogged about. I’ve noticed there are others who blog this way too—they blog, but there’s more going on than what is in the post.

Both ways are good. But I wondered if my style of blogging would really help me look back.

It did.

Even though a reader might not get all the details, one post, sometimes one sentence is enough to bring back a flood of memories for me.

Last year we left for my parents’ and the fair almost immediately after Summer Intensives. This year blessedly, I gave myself the weekend to recuperate a little. But it still doesn’t feel like enough. Next year—I don’t see us going for this return to the county fair. I guess I did it for the children—my niece and nephew, as much as for my boys. Maybe I did it most for my mom. We’ve had a trying year and I didn’t feel right changing what’s become a tradition for us. But although I like a day at the fair, I’m not a die-hard fair go-er. But things are changing, things that the children can’t see yet. I’m sure they feel it, but the grown-ups get to make the decisions and that is hopefully because we have more facts.

Hopefully.

Whatever the case may be I think I’ve decided to keep my blog and continue posting. Maybe it’s time to get a private journal too. I definitely think I may need to rearrange some priorities. Usually when someone (or me) has a crisis it is a signal that our approach to life isn’t where it should be. I need to work on that. I've made some really good and significant changes this year--but I think I need to make some more.

The supportive comments and prayers and words of encouragement have meant so much. Bless each of you. I will be on the road, but hopefully have time to get back to visiting and leaving comments and returning e-mails. Thanks for being so patient with me.

Remember that you, too are BELOVED.

Always in HIM,

Julie

Experiencing Technical Difficulties

Totally overwhelmed and in need of some perspective. Be back when I get my act together.

Thinking of Having Kids?

I've got nothing...the brain is fried. Oh, there are a couple ideas, but I cannot at this moment come up with a way to convey what is going on. So, you get this. It's been rolling around the internet for over ten years, but it is still funny. Someone sent it to me when I was pregnant with Roo. And it is true.

Hopefully the brain will start to work again soon.


Thinking of Having Kids?

Do this 11 step program first!

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them o n the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons.
How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice.. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Half a Year's Reading for Boo

Fifty-one books for Boo (who will be eight in a month and a half). Some of the books seem really easy compared to what he is reading now, but they were good sources of information, without being overkill. I firmly believe that if you leave them wanting to know more, they will find more to read on a subject.

Boo discovered comic books are available at the large library we visited during June and July. We will be going back there because it is near the ballet. Boo is also getting interested in how to look up information--that also means he's found out that I don't know quite everything. But hey!! I know where to look.

If you look at the list you will find Boo was (and still is) on a Roald Dahl kick. I highly recommend Roald Dahl's writing for anyone, but especially for reluctant readers and especially for boys. Boo keeps asking for more. That, for me, is awesome.

Again as with Roo's List the books are linked so you can find a source to buy or possibly a review.

Boo's Reading List 2008

• The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• The Year Of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill
• John Paul II: The Pope from Poland by Deborah A. Parks
• The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill
• Saints for Young Readers for Every Day, Vol. 1, edited by Susan Helen Wallace
• Canada Geese Quilt by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
• A Big Ball of String by Marion Holland
• Greg's Microscope by MillicentE. Selsam
• Atlantis: The Lost City by Andrew Donkin
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• Zeppelin: The Age of the Airship by Andrew Donkin
• Daniel's Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla
• Transformers: The Uprising by Andrew Donkin
• The Fire Cat by Esther Averill
• School Days Around the World by Catherine Chambers
• Transformers Armada: The Unicron Battles by Andrew Donkin
• Dinosaur Detectives by Peter Chrisp
• The Big Balloon Race by Elanor Coerr
• Let's Eat! What Children Eat Around the World by Beatrice Hollyer
• The Usborne Complete First Book of Nature
• Spacebusters: The Race to the Moon by Phillip Wilkerson
• Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
• Around the World Series: Houses and Homes by Ann Morris
• Around the World Series: Food by Margaret C. Hall
• Trojan Horse by David Clement-Davies
• Beastly Tales: Yeti, Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster by Malcolm Yorke
• Know-It-Alls--Fish! by Christopher Nicholas
• Know-It-Alls--Bears!
• Know-It-Alls--Bats!
• Know-It-Alls--Birds of Prey!
• Know-It-Alls--Predators!
• Know-It-Alls--Sharks!
• Know-It-Alls--Wild Cats!
• Know-It-Alls--Frogs!
• Know-It-Alls--Snakes!
• Know It Alls--Crocodiles!
• Know-It-Alls--Wolves!
• Know-It-Alls--Whales!
• Know-It-Alls--Spiders!
• Know-It-Alls--Seals!
• The Atlantic Ocean by Susan Heinrichs
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• Pompeii...Buried Alive! by Edith Kunhardt
• Oceans by Susan H. Gray
• Francis Drake by David Goodnough
• The Great Corgiville Kidnapping by Tasha Tudor
• Globes by Paul Sipiera
• Corgiville Fair
• The Knight at Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne

Half a Year's Reading for Roo

Thirty-one books--not bad for half a year's work when you are ten. And looking at the list I think I may have missed one or two. Going to recheck my records and update. All the books have links, so you can either find the where to buy (usually Amazon) or a review.

This doesn't count any of the books he read about card tricks, magic, games (card games and board games), programming and languages. I gave up keeping track of those things. We haul them home from the library and then he gives them back when I insist they will come raid our home if we don't haul them back. Kidding...sort of...

Anyway some fun reads in this list.

Roo's Reading List 2008

• The Wild Country (Little Britches) by Ralph Moody
• Public Enemies: On the Run, Book 5 by Gordon Korman
• Guardians of Ga'hoole, Book 3: The Rescue by Kathryn Lasky
• Warriors: The Darkest Hour by Erin Hunter
• Little Pear and His Friends by Eleanor Frances Lattimore
• The Fire Within (Fire Star Trilogy) by Chris D'Lacey
• The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland
• The Serpent's Children by Laurence Yep
• Septimus Heap (Book 2): Flyte by Angie Sage
• The Life and Times of Franz Peter Schubert by John Bankston
• The Spiderwick Chronicles--Book 4: The Ironwood Tree by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
• Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas by Russell Freedman
• Let's Eat: What Children Eat Around the World by Beatrice Hollyer
• Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
• Sentinel by Landel Bilbrey
• Septimus Heap (Book 1): Magyk by Angie Sage
• The Indian Ocean by Susan H. Gray
• The Pacific Ocean by Susan H. Gray
• Warriors: A Dangerous Path by Erin Hunter
• The Life and Times of Frederic Chopin by Jim Whiting
• Oceans by Susan H. Gray
• Spiderwick Chronicles--Book 3: Lucinda's Secret by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
• The Spiderwick Chronicles--Book 2: The Seeing Stone by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
• Guardians of Ga'Hoole: Book 2--The Journey by Kathryn Lasky
• The World's Greatest Explorers by William Scheller
• The Atlantic Ocean by Susan Heinrichs
• The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Field Guide, Book 1 by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
• The Spanish Exploration of Florida by Bill and Dorcas Thompson
• Warriors: Rising Storm by Erin Hunter
• Maps and Mapping by Barbara Taylor

Beyond The Night: Blog Book Tour

Beyond The Night by Marlo Schalesky

Beyond the Night is a good story but an agitating read. The characters made me mad by their choices and I got frustrated at their blindness to the wonderful opportunities surrounding them—how interesting since one of the main characters, Maddie was going blind. Marlo Schalesky portrays her characters in very human strokes with all too familiar faults.

The story line is good, the arrangement is interesting, but somewhat contrived. The ending left me with a few questions unanswered, but with the feeling that the author had a very good comprehension of how we humans really are. How we often turn down God's very best gifts.

I think this would be a good choice for a book club read. There’s a lot of interesting questions raised. There is a readers’ guide in the back of the book with the author’s note to some insightful questions. All in all a it was a good book.

From the press releases of Multnomah and Glass Road Public Relations:


With music of the 1970s playing throughout, Marlo Schalesky has joined forces with Multnomah Books to release Beyond the Night, the first of three books whose endings aren’t what readers expect.

A wet road, the dark of night, and pouring rain become the cruel combination that forces Maddie and her husband’s car off the road. Now Maddie lies in a coma, her faithful and loving mate by her side speaking words of encouragement.

As she rests in the darkness of her hospital room, the life journey Maddie has traveled plays again in her mind. Scenes flash in between whispers of a voice she’s grown to love. “Maddie, remember with me. Remember the day I fell in love.”

A playful kiss igniting romance between friends, an extraordinary love, a universe of fear and darkness, a triumph over blindness in both eyes and soul. Maddie’s walked a hard road and succeeded against the odds.

But then came the night that changed everything.
Marlo Schalesky delivers a powerfully emotional story that is certain to take both Maddie and the reader Beyond the Night.

About Marlo Schalesky

Wind Remembers, Cry Freedom, Freedom’s Shadow, and Empty Womb, Aching Heart. A graduate of Stanford University, Marlo recently earned a Masters of Theology with an emphasis in Biblical Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. She also runs her own construction consulting business as well as an engineering firm that she and her husband own. Married nearly twenty years, she lives with her husband, Bryan, and their four daughters in California.Q&A with Marlo Schalesky, author of Beyond the Night

Q. Marlo, you’re a woman full of surprises! What made you decide to work in the construction industry? Isn’t that a field normally dominated by males?

A. Well, something has to pay for my Starbucks venti white mochas! But seriously, when I met my husband at Stanford years ago (Note: A number of incidents in Paul and Maddie’s love story in Beyond the Night grow out of my story with Bryan . . . I’ll let the reader guess which), he was majoring in Engineering, and I majored in Chemistry. After graduating, he got a job in sales in the construction industry (roofing); I did chemical research. We discovered that there was a lot of chemistry involved in roofing. So, about ten years ago, we decided to open our own engineering firm that specialized in roofing and waterproofing. From the contacts and experience I gained there, in January of 2007 I opened my own construction consulting firm where I can use my left-brained skills (writing novels uses up all the rightbrained energy) to earn a few bucks and pay for those fancy coffees. And I have to admit, I enjoy doing something that’s so different from my writing.

It’s refreshing to deal with numbers and forms, caulking and chemicals, instead of only words and ideas. It makes for a nice balance in my life.

As for construction being male-dominated – it certainly is as far as actual construction workers and facilities managers. But there are plenty of women working in the administrative aspects of the business, which again makes for a nice balance. It’s fun to meet different kinds of people, and a number of them have also become my readers. Others just think I’m crazy – trying to run a business, writing novels, and take care of my four little daughters. But, hey, with God all things are possible . . .

Q. How did you decide to write a series of novels with surprise endings?

A. It was all God’s fault. And it started with a dream. Not one of those “I have a dream” kind of dreams, but a real, honest-to-goodness, it’s-3am-and-I’m-asleep kind of dreams. I dreamt Paul and Maddie’s love story. And when I woke up, I couldn’t get the two of them out of my head. I thought about them in the shower, on the way to seminary classes, in the grocery store. Everywhere! For weeks, I found myself replaying tidbits of their story in my mind, until I finally figured out that maybe God wanted me to write their story.

“But,” said I to God, “there’s not enough here. It’s not compelling enough.”

“Yes,” said God to me, “but Maddie’s going blind.” (Well, maybe it wasn’t so much in those words, but just in the revelation of what was going on with Maddie.)

“Oh,” said I, “That’s very interesting. But it’s still not enough. Not quite.”

Two more days went by, and Paul and Maddie’s story still kept teasing my mind. “It’s not enough,” I kept saying to God. “There’s got to be more.”

And then I saw it – the big twist. The incredible truth that I had no idea about before. It took my breath away. So, after I finished picking my jaw up off the floor, I sat down and starting working on the proposal for Beyond the Night.

As I fleshed out the story, I realized that this is exactly the type of book I’d like to keep writing – something with the poignancy of a Nicolas Sparks love story (without the sap!) matched with the knock-your-socks-off twist of a M. Night Shymalan movie (without the horror!). That kind of story excited me, spiritually, emotionally, mentally. And I figured that there had to be more people like me out there – people who want to be both moved emotionally and surprised and delighted intellectually. People who want to be changed, challenged, and caught with wonder by a story. People who just want something more in their stories, because the typical story is just not quite enough.

Happily, Multnomah agreed. When my agent sent them the proposal for Beyond the Night, they asked for two more ideas in one week. But how could I come up with two more stories like that in such a short time? It usually took months, even years, for me to find the right story. But God was faithful again. Onthe first day of that week, the storyline for Book 2, Faces in the Sand, came to me. And on the last day of the week, I got the idea for Book 3 (with five very nervous days in between). Multnomah contracted all three, and now I’m pressing forward, writing these books that God has given me to write, and praying every day that I’ll see the story as He has dreamed it. And I’m hanging on to the belief that He who gave me this mission will be faithful not only at its inception, but in the execution and beyond.

Q. You’ve been in the publishing industry for a while now with four previous novels and a nonfiction book to your credit. How has your publishing experience lined up with expectations? How has it not?

A. You’ll find that most of my books include a theme about life not turning out the way you plan or expect. That’s because God has given me the equivalent of a PhD in “My plans are not your plans, saith the Lord . . .” And my publishing experience has been a significant course in that learning process.

Nothing in my experience with publishing has gone according to expectation. At first, that was just because I was naïve. I thought I just had to write some good stuff, and I’d get a contract for my first books, which, at the time, was an end times series (this was before the Left Behind craze). So, I went to conferences with my proposal and heard from all the editors, “We aren’t interested in this type of futuristic fiction.” What they meant, of course, was they weren’t interested in that type of story from a newbie like me.

So, I tried historical fiction. And got a contract just as expected. Except the contract was canceled . . .that was unexpected. And it hurt.

Eventually, another publisher contracted that book and it became my first published novel. I received a few other contracts, had those books published, and then came another rude awakening in the form of sales figures. I expected to write a good book and have it do well. But that’s not how it worked for my third novel. Because of internal publishing house changes, sales went badly. And there wasn’t anything I could do about it. That was hard because I’d written the story as an act of faithfulness to God’s call, I felt He was pleased with it, I’d done everything I could in promotion and marketing, and still it “failed.” Ouch!

At that time, I was told to expect the numbers for that book to prevent other publishers from wanting to publish future books of mine. “It would have been better for you if that book hadn’t even been published,” they said. But God was about to crush that expectation as well.

A publisher contracted my next historical novel, I wrote it, and then just before it was scheduled for release, the company went through a large restructuring – they cut fiction, most of the members of the PR department left, the fiction editor left, and my book was stranded. I hadn’t expected that either.

But God was up to something in the meantime – a new story idea that I simply had to write. A story that so moved the Multnomah team, even in its synopsis form, that they wanted to publish it despite my previous sales numbers. They wanted that story, plus two more. The story was Beyond the Night. It came as an unexpected gift from God.

And just like everything else in my publishing experience, it has taken me by surprise. Pre-readers are calling me and emailing saying how the story has moved them, impacted them. But it’s not because of my great planning. It’s because God has again done something that I didn’t foresee, didn’t expect. And I thank Him for it.