A Writers of the Desert Rose Cafe Member Releases a Book

George Johnson is a member of the Writers of the Desert Rose Café. A year ago, the group published an anthology, available on Amazon.com. In it, there are several stories by George, including an especially funny one about an on-the-loose snake.

Publishing short stories pushed George to take the next step and release his novel  Acre. George tells us a bit more about this story in his own words below.

     The recently published book ACRE written by George Johnson brings out the purity and wholesomeness one expects when looking for a book to just relax and read for complete enjoyment.  The cover catches the eye of the average sports fan; however there is more inside that makes for pleasant sit-down reading.

     The life of a teenage boy, intermingled with normal family activities certainly enforces a repeated adage that if you have a goal you can achieve it if you work hard and do not give up.

     Losing his sweetheart Sharon and his dear friend Homer tears at the reader’s heart strings making him want to read more. Achieving various awards keeps the flow of excitement going throughout the book as Acre goes from a teenager to a young man.

     There are thrills, excitement, sadness, tragedy, love and family devotion that challenge the reader to not set the book aside until complete.  ACRE is a perfect book for any home or school library, and very suitable for any age, male or female.

What sets George’s stories apart is the lack of cursing or four-letter words. It’s hard to find a G-rated author, but anything written by George is safe to hand to any child. George is a former school teacher, so he’s sensitive about keeping children protected from the harsher things in life. He figures life will expose kids to that soon enough, so he doesn’t have to. For those who are hunting a clean read, pick up George Johnson’s stories in either Writers of the Desert Rose Café, An Anthology or Acre.

 

7 Elements of Telling a Story

In this week’s meeting of the Writers of the Desert Rose Cafe, a member told a quick child’s story aloud. Afterwards she discussed the seven story elements for successful story-telling.

Have you been asked to tell a story to a group? Do you think you may receive such an invitation in the future? If so, note the following elements to make your story-telling better:

1. (This one seems obvious) The story must have identifiable characters.

2. The characters show emotions: fear, indecision, love, joy, whatever. (You, the storyteller, use your voice, expression, body language to convey the emotions.)

3. The main character has a problem to solve.

4.  An antagonist creates trouble.

5. The characters find a solution to the problem.

6. The main character learns something from the situation.

7. The main character changes and grows.

Kid’s Stuff 2–Homemade Suet Cakes for Birds

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I plan a Kid’s Stuff book sometime in the future. Here’s another project from the book suitable for the school-aged child. It’s a perfect activity for the Christmas break from school. It keeps idle hands busy, AND it teaches children about the winter life of birds.

In winter, natural foodstuffs for birds can be sparse. When the thermometer dips, birds need a source of fat, carbohydrates and protein to provide calories for warmth, flight fuel, and general health. Suet cakes offer a source for all three at one convenient location.

Children benefit from this project by:

• engaging in a useful activity
• learning about other creatures who share space with them on the earth
• helping birds survive in winter
• learning about bird nutrition
• identifying the birds that show up to eat the suet
• Understanding the thermodynamics of changing a solid to liquid (melting suet) and returning the same to a solid (freezing the suet cake)
• following the directions in the recipe
• working cooperatively with you to complete a project

The first item you need is a feeder. The hanging wire cage type of feeder, with an opening door on one side for reloading, is readily available where bird seed is sold. Or you can recycle (another child benefit) an aluminum pie pan to use as a flat surface feeder.

The second item you need is wax paper to wrap the finished product for freezing. You may substitute freezer wrap or other food wrapping material if wax paper is unavailable. Scotch tape is useful for sealing the package ends.

Ingredients list

• jar of peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
• 1-2 lbs beef fat (see the butcher at your grocery store). Any bits of beef still attached to the fat offer a source of protein, but you want the fat as clean of large pieces of meat as possible
• 1 C flour (if you have old flour that has gotten buggy, that is perfect for this project)
• 1 C corn meal (ditto on the “buggy” advice above)
• Sunflower seeds or mixed birdseed
• Raisins and/or finely chopped apple or cranberries

Assemble a square cake pan or small rectangular casserole dish, a large mixing bowl, a measuring cup and a large spoon for mixing the dough. Spray or wipe the pan surface lightly with oil to make it easy to remove the finished suet cake.

Instructions

Melt the beef fat, using a large pan over medium to low heat. You do not want the oil from the fat to sizzle. (Warning:  closely supervise your child to prevent the child from getting burned.)

When the beef fat is melted, add the contents of the jar of peanut butter to the fat and stir until mixed well. Turn off the heat under the pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal and chopped fruit. Carefully pour the hot, melted fat into the dry mix and stir, adding the seeds to help thicken the dough. You want a finished consistency of thick cookie dough. Set aside and cool until fingers can safely touch the soft dough.

Press the suet cake dough into the cake pan. Let it cool thoroughly. Slice it into rectangular blocks, sized to fit the suet cage feeder. Wrap the block in wax paper, tape it closed, and freeze until you are ready to put a block into the feeder.

1,000 Words Per Day Habit

Ray Bradbury, the author of classic Fahrenheit 451, died recently.  Stephen Miller, Wall Street Journal reporter writes of Bradbury:

“His view of books and libraries as cornerstones of civilization and communities inspired Fahrenheit 451, which Mr. Bradbury wrote on a rental typewriter in the basement of a University of California, Los Angeles library.”

Mr. Bradbury was unable to afford college, so he haunted libraries. He educated himself through reading. Over time, he developed skepticism toward technologies that could be turned against humanity. The dystopian consequence of nuclear war was explored in some works. Yet, he lauded what he viewed as positive technologies: he extolled space exploration.

By the time of his death at age 91, Bradbury’s body of work included science fiction, autobiography, film scripts, stories for television, short stories, magazine articles for the likes of Life magazine, children’s books, poetry and text for coffee table books.

According to his obituary on CBS News Sunday Morning, Bradbury developed the habit of writing one thousand words per day. It was this habit that enabled Bradbury’s productivity. He continued writing into the 2000’s.

Mr. Bradbury ordered his own tombstone. He summarized his identity simply:

“Author of Fahrenheit 451.”

 

 

 

Finding Illustrator Lan Truong

Twice I have stumbled onto an illustrator’s website and twice I have been pleasantly surprised. It isn’t difficult to find an illustrator by using a traditional Internet search.

Today I am including a link to a blog other than the artist’s because the blog has a better collection of the artist’s illustrations than the artist’s website. But the blog provides a link to the artist, in case your need for an illustrator is immediate.

http://shitiheart.com/2012/03/25/kick-ass-illustrator-lan-truong/

Personally, I would use this artist for a children’s book. Her work appears primarily in magazines, but I love the simplicity of her designs.