Dedication to a Hero

I’m dedicating my blog to a wonderful man who died of cancer on December 24, 2011.

Obituary:

Robert “Jake” Jacobsen

Born: October 13, 1945

Died: December 24, 2011

Jake was “just your basic hero” devoting his working life to public safety.  He was a dedicated firefighter, a member of the first paramedics in Utah, and served as a crewmember on LifeFlight.  In 1984, he founded Burn Pattern Analysis and devoted 25 years to private fire investigation.

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I met Jake only once, but I dedicated Love on Laird Avenue (aka, Household Repairs) to him.  As an author, I wanted to come up with a unique way to blow up a house.  I called my local fire department and was met with great concern about wanting to blow up a house.  The fire chief said it would be against regulations for him to give me that kind of information but that he knew someone who could help me.  That led me to Jake at Burn Pattern Analysis.

I remember Jake laughing about the situation when I called.  He happily agreed to meet with me for an interview.  He had the most wonderful ideas for my book.  I enjoyed talking with him so much that I didn't want the interview to end.  The world truly lost one of the good guys.  He was indeed “your basic hero.”

Another Holiday Pet Peeve

I can’t help it.  It’s Christmas…a time of showing our love and gratitude by giving…but I still have a bone to pick.  And what I want to pick about it this:  Who cares about material gifts. Why can’t we all be kinder to each another?

I was driving down the street with a friend and someone waved at us.  I returned the wave, but my friend didn’t.  He wanted to know who the person was in order to wave back.  I wanted to know from my friend why it mattered.  Can’t you wave to someone you don’t know to just be friendly? The friendly gesture brightened my day.  Is there a law against being kind? Do we have to be suspicious of everyone?

Here’s another one.  You’re driving along and someone cuts you off.  You veer over and get up next to them, ready to mouth a few words in their direction.  You look over and see it’s your next door neighbor. You gulp everything back down and smile instead. Should it matter that you know them?  Aren’t we all neighbors really? Aren’t we all in this life together?

 Okay.  Here’s the third one and the last one. (Luckily, I only complain in threes. J ) Christmas has been designated a national holiday that touches everyone in one way or another.  Christmas is called different things by many people. I’m reminded of a scene in the movie Santa Clause with Tim Allen.  He’s arrested and the police officer questions him about his real name.  “Name?” the officer asks. Scott Calvin replies, “Kris Kringle. Sinter Klaas.” “Name?” the officer asks again.  “Pere Noel. Buon Natale. Pelznickel. Topo Gigio.”

The same is true of Christmas. It doesn’t matter what we call it, the meaning of the season is still the same—show love and gratitude by giving.  Let’s worry less about the politically-correct name or whether trees should be called holiday trees vs. Christmas trees ⁽¹⁾ and, instead, embrace our differences and our likes and be kind to one another whether we know each other personally or not.

Here's a song by Sammy Davis, Jr. that really reflects these feelings:

What’s your take on the holidays?

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Frohliche Weihnachten, Hristos Razdajetsja, Mele Kalikimaka,

Cindy A. Christiansen

Sweet Romance, Comedy, Suspense…and Dogs!

Fly into a good book at:  www.dragonflyromance.com

⁽¹⁾ See article: http://www.ksat.com/news/A-Christmastime-fight-Christmas-trees-vs-holiday-trees/-/478452/5368086/-/qyg73e/-/index.html

123RF Stock Photo

Christmas Letters... Don't Get Me Started

Have you written your Christmas letter this year? Hmmm. Some people do and some don’t. I have to admit, I have issues with the traditional Christmas letter. In retaliation and a joking mood several years ago, I posted the Christmas letter I’d sent only to my sister. Amazingly, it’s had more hits than any other blog I’ve posted.

Why? Maybe people are searching the Internet for examples of traditional letters because they’re not sure what to write. I mean honestly, what do you say about a whole year in one page? Or, maybe they’ve shared my letter with others because they thought it was funny. It’s anything but conventional. Here it is:

Greetings to you this holiday season!
I wanted to share our year with family and friends.
New Years - surgery, yada, yada, yada.
St. Patrick's Day - son's surgery, wheelchair, therapy three times a week.
Easter - family fight.
Fourth of July - blah, blah, blah.
Thanksgiving - turkey, baking, lots of stress.
Now it's Christmas.
Happy Holidays, everybody!

Personally, I’ve received some pretty annoying Christmas letters where they just went on and on…and on about all the wonderful things each family member had done (and even bought…and even said). I guess they hadn’t figured out that if we really wanted to know, we would've kept in touch maybe once through the entire blooming year! J  Let’s face it. Nobody’s year could be that good, and who are they trying to impress anyway? Get real.

Whoa. Sorry about that. I have issues with gloating Christmas letters. How about you? Are you a Christmas letter writer?  Do you like to get the long (several pages long) letter from Cousin Hildy and hear every detail of every family member’s life over the year? (Save it for your diary.)  What's your view on Christmas letters?

Cindy A. Christiansen

Sweet Romance, Comedy, Suspense…and Dogs!

Fly into a good book at:  www.dragonflyromance.com

I’ve Got a Bone to Pick… What About Was?

"I'm So Confused!"

I have multiple sources I could quote. Maybe you’ve heard it before:  A writer must write in an active voice, not passive. That leads us to little words like “was” and “were.”

I recently went to a popular bookstore and asked for copies of the top romance authors.  All covers touted that the authors were USA Today or New York Times bestsellers. The first thing I noticed was “was”.  Wases here, wases there, wases everywhere.

Here’s the stats on the top six authors:

AUTHOR	WAS IN FIRST SENTENCE	# OF WASES IN FIRST 25 LINES
Author A	1	6
Author B	1	6
Author C	1	7
Author D	1	7
Author E	0	5
Author F	1	5

I’m shocked. What about you? Another rule from literary agents, publishers and expert authors has been not to open the book with the backstory. Many of these bestsellers did. Shocker! I have to admit, I’m a bit confused. What about the rules? What makes these authors top sellers? What’s your opinion? Tell me, tell me, tell me. (Can you hear the panting?)

Cindy A. Christiansen

Sweet Romance, Comedy, Suspense…and Dogs!

Fly into a good book at:  www.dragonflyromance.com

123RF Stock Photo

Celebrating Kiss of Death Day!

Does "Kiss of Death" mean my bad breath?

Kiss of Death: The Place for the Murderously Inclined Romantic

What great romance doesn’t have suspense in it? Whether a spy thriller in Regency times, a paranormal romance with a revenge-seeking zombie, or a traditional serial killer after the heroine, romance relies on suspense, leading the reader through the trials of the heroine and hero to see if they will get their happily ever after ending. If you can call your writing suspenseful, then the Kiss of Death chapter of the Romance Writers of America has something for you!  I love being a part of the Kiss of Death chapter.  You can ask questions and get tons of help from the other authors.

Formed in 1994, KOD—as we call our chapter—promotes and supports the writing and reading of suspense and mystery fiction with strong romantic elements. We’re one of the largest RWA chapters with members from across the globe who join our online family of mayhem-loving writers. Joining gives you access to a wide array of programs to help your writing develop and grow.

Top among membership benefits is our College of Felony and Intrigue (COFFIN) online workshops for only $15 per class for KOD members. In addition, KOD offers online networking, a critique group, brainstorming support and a book-in-a-week challenge to help you to get that draft on paper. We support our members with an active Facebook group and Twitter feed giving you access to the information you need, whenever you need it.

Nothing says romantic suspense like RWA’s Kiss of Death chapter. Nothing says I’m a romantic suspense author like being a KOD member. Join us today during our annual membership drive. As an added bonus, all new members or renewing members who join in December will be entered to win a first chapter critique from PAN Kiss of Death members Sue Swift or Kylie Brant.

To join Kiss of Death, visit us online at http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org/join.php for easy PayPal or traditional payment options. For the joining fee of $35 ($30 for renewal), you’ll love us to death!