Inklings
• Mar. 23, 2006 - I Have Decided...
• Mar. 21, 2006 - Insta-Publish
I just published a book,
after a whopping three days of hard work. Ah, the wonders of modern
technology... and oh, the innocence of us. I mean, who says "Sure, we
can have that manuscript that hasn't been touched in years published
and ready to order by next week"? I do.
I'm sorta pleased with
it... I wrote this book when I was very young (even younger than I am
now) so it has a soft spot in my soul. In fact, it was my very first
novel. I really wasn't planning to publish it this year, but a strange
thing happened. You see, some time ago my family was going to start a
publishing company called Paper Birch Books. We built a Web site for it
and everything. And one of the books we planned to release was Theodore Pharris Saves the Universe--the
stellar piece of literature in question. Well, the publishing company
never actually happened, but the Web site never came down. (We don't
take old Web sites down... we leave them to litter the cyberpaths of
yore in hopes that someone may shed a tear for us, or trip on them, or
something.)
Last week a woman was delving into the internet's
hidden secrets and she came across our Web page. Apparently she has a
father who shares his name with my main character. The father is
turning eighty or so and she wants a copy for his birthday. At the end
of the week. So of course I said "Yes, we can do that." What else should I say?
I formatted the book and put front matter together while my talented sister Deborah worked feverishly to create original artwork for the cover. We uploaded the whole thing to Lulu.com and bang whizz presto, there it is.
Admittedly, it's not very officially published. It still lacks an ISBN
and a few critical go-overs. But it's readable, it's pretty, and it's
available for purchase. That's what counts, right?
Theodore watched as the green thing plummeted to the ground. It bounced up and landed in the grass with a gentle thump. He raced for the landing site.
"Now where did it go?" he mumbled as he searched. His hands parted the
grass in front of him and the thing was suddenly in plain view. His
eyes got even wider, seeming to swell with wonder.
It was a spaceship.
Nice, eh? |
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• Mar. 18, 2006 - Subscribe!
For the past five years I've been writing an ezine called "Letters to a
Samuel Generation," with the intent of encouraging fellow believers to
love and follow our Lord whole-heartedly. Alas, with everything else
happening these days, I'm no longer able to write and send "Letters"
every month, so I've decided to retire it.
However, I obviously
haven't stopped writing. I'm starting a new ezine, "Letters to a
Peculiar People," which will be made up primarily of the best spiritual
gleanings from this blog. It should go out once or twice a month.
If you're interested in subscribing, I put a link on the sidebar under "Links."
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• Mar. 15, 2006 - Sidewalk Battles of the Ages (or, Someone Else Is As Crazy As We Are!)
Every Wednesday morning since November, my friend Alexis and I have
grabbed up our "I Am a Child, Not a Choice" picket signs and gone
a-trudging. Yes, we live in Canada; yes, it's freezing and often snowy
and icy out there; and yes, we go so early that it's still dark when we
get out there. But every time we do it, we're blessed.
I did an
image search on "abortion" this morning; not a pleasant experience
unless you enjoy gruesome. But I found this. Makes it all worth it, eh?
This
morning when we were about halfway through our lonely march, we saw a
woman coming toward us holding a handmade sign. Our hearts didn't
exactly leap, but they fluttered. We squinted into the wind, trying to
make out the words. Did it say "Yard Sale"? Or could it really be... it
was! It said "Abortion Stops a Beating Heart." We had a compatriot. She
had seen us out marching the week before and decided to join us.
We
were joking about it later. When we couldn't read her sign initially,
we wondered if perhaps we had a counter-protester. Can't you just see
it? The two of us walking one direction, this woman walking the other;
passing in the middle; probably praying that each other's signs will
burst into flame. In a way, though, that's what we're doing every time
we get out there. We're speaking out in the battle for our culture.
Every person who drives past us sees our message. It may confirm or
contradict their own beliefs, or perhaps it just gives pause to the
undecided.
We pray every week that God will change the hearts in
this nation. I want my generation to learn to value life again. It
really is a battle. Join us if you can... our culture needs you. |
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• Mar. 14, 2006 - Review: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
I was asked to review The Old Schoolhouse Magazine recently, and had a lot of fun doing so.
 It's
not hard to see why The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is one of the most
popular homeschooling magazines in the country. It's thick, and it's
not full of fluff. Articles range from the practical to the humorous to
the challenging to the downright inspirational. They keep readers
informed on what's happening in the wide world of homeschooling
(conventions, must-read books, trends, legal info), provide practical
helps, teaching tips, and curriculum reviews, and tell the stories of
homeschool parents, students, graduates, and others on this joyous (and
tumultuous) journey. The tone of the magazine is highly relational:
these writers aren't distant experts dispensing wisdom from the towers
of knowledge, they're homeschoolers just like you and me. TOS connects
families across the U.S. and all over the world and joins them in one
exciting conversation.
Perhaps that's TOS's greatest strength.
They're doing more than publishing a magazine: they're actively
creating a community. Most author bylines include email addresses, Web
sites, and blog URLs (many of which send the reader to
HomeschoolBlogger.com, a huge blog community created by TOS), which
allow the reader to interact, follow up, and link hands with their
compatriots around the world.
- Rachel Thomson
FOR SUBSCRIPTION AND OTHER INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.THEHOMESCHOOLMAGAZINE.COM
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