Kid's True Fiction

More Insightful conversation with Janet Grace Riehl

2009-07-09T05:46:00.008-06:00

Photo shows Janet Grace Riehl with her father, Erwin Thompson. Today, I have the pleasure of continuing yesterday’s conversation with Janet Grace Riehl author of Sightlines, a Poet’s Diary, and the audio book, Sightlines, a Family Love Story in Poetry and Music. JMH: Janet, as I listened to your audio book, I was impressed with the way you tell your family story in poetry,

Conversation with Janet Grace Riehl

2009-07-08T04:11:00.007-06:00

I'm honored to have Janet Grace Riehl as my guest today and to be included in her blog tour as she discusses her audio book, Sightlines: A Family Love Story in Poetry & Music. You can find a complete list of Janet’s tour on her blog. The previous post on the audio book tour was at Molly Lundquist’s Lit Lover book club site. There Janet posted a regional recipe of scrapple, a guest blog useful for

Life's changes

2009-06-27T15:31:00.005-06:00

There are times in life when we feel as if the world is a sunny garden, planted for our enjoyment, and we will flourish, no matter what. Our possibilities are endless. Then something shifts to rock our world, and we must adjust. How we do so depends on our inner resources to cope. We may process and move on or we may peacefully accept the circumstances we are given. Change is never easy, yet life

Of Death Do We Speak? Helping children cope with death of a loved one.

2009-05-31T06:16:00.003-06:00

My paternal grandfather died when I was eight years old. I cried as I watched my parents and two older siblings drive away to attend the funeral. I was not allowed to go to the funeral. I guess my parents felt I was too young and it would be too hard on me. Or maybe they were just so steeped in their own grief to think of my need for closure. I loved grandpa. I did not want to be left out of

Kyleah's Tree is a finalist

2009-05-19T07:14:00.003-06:00

Kyleah Ralston's mother has died. She doesn't know where her father and brother are or even if they are still alive. She joins her friend Benjamin to leave the foster home in Kansas where they both live. Though she seeks to find her lost brother, it is her true self she is looking for—and finds, through the many hair raising adventures they encounter from Kansas to Canada. Kyleah's Tree, by

Chautautqua, an assembly for sharing

2009-04-15T06:04:00.018-06:00

It has been a great pleasure to participate in the relaxed atmosphere at the Elling House in Virginia City, Montana each third Saturday evening of the month from January through April. Music, poetry, essays, humor and drama are presented by anyone who wishes to participate. And we never ceased to be amazed at the quality and quantity of talent in our area. Laughter, camaraderie, and mutual

Developing creative writing habits

2009-03-30T09:25:00.004-06:00

In March, I completed another enjoyable workshop with six talented authors in Ennis, Montana. It was the first five-day writing workshop and included four more lessons in the workbook. A daily schedule of lessons will soon be posted on our website. You can e-mail author@janetmuirheadhill.com and request a workshop schedule, a list of lessons covered, a registration form, and/or more information.

Compelling Fiction Comes from the Heart, not the Head

2009-03-02T12:14:00.007-07:00

Are you intimate with the characters in the novel you are reading? Do their problems become yours as you are reading? Are their emotions, happy, sad, frightened, or angry, real to you? Felt by you? Then you are reading a book written by an author who tells his or her story from the heart, not from the head. The author became one with the characters, felt the emotion, and suffered or rejoiced with

Publishing truth about child sexual abuse

2009-02-10T06:19:00.004-07:00

My main purpose in writing "Kyleah's Tree," besides furnishing an exciting reading adventure, was to attempt to dispel the beauty myth that is so pervasive among today's youth. Too many kids believe that you have to be beautiful to fit in. If they don't see their own beauty through the eyes of their peers, their self-esteem plummets. What I hope for kids to get from this book is that today's

Truth in fiction: Helpful or Hurtful to young readers?

2009-01-28T04:48:00.009-07:00

After receiving an e-mail from a school librarian objecting to what she called "many problems" that make Kyleah's Tree "inappropriate" for her students, I asked her to be more specific. She said, "Kyleahs tree has death, runaways, orphans,foster families, physical abuse, sexual abuse, alluding to BIA police as corrupt with drugs, adults using children to benefit their careers. Too many problems

Happy Meme

2009-01-27T12:07:00.002-07:00

Mary Cunningham, www.cynthiasattic.blogspot.com, tagged me for a meme. It's simple. I only have to list six things that make me happy. Well, maybe not so simple when there are so many to choose from. Hmmm. Let me think. 1. Watching my next to youngest grandson have fun in the snow. 2. The view of hills, wildlife, and changing sky through my office window. 3. Listening to the laughter of my baby

Editing for brevity

2009-01-15T07:21:00.005-07:00

One of the most important steps in editing anything I've written, is to cut—lots of it. As William Zinsser claims, about 50% of what we write can be eliminated without losing meaning. A good example is my last blog post. I usually edit each one several times before posting. This time, I was forced to publish it quickly before my computer shut down. I couldn't get it to save and I didn't want to

Everything you ever dreamed or imagined

2009-01-04T09:33:00.006-07:00

Each morning, I break the code of a cryptogram that is a quote from some profound or famous person. This morning's fits very well into both the recorded interview I had last night with Reader Views' Irene Watson and Loving Healing Press owner, Victor Volkman on Author's Access and my workshop on writing "True Fiction." The quote is by Orison Swett Marden, who was a prolific American writer who

Our Children; Our Future

2008-12-27T07:22:00.008-07:00

I can't imagine the Christmas holiday season without children. In our family, this time of year is special for bringing family together, putting aside worries and work, and finding the love and peace that connects us. But it is the children who make it so joyous and promising. I was given a bookmark with a most profound message that I wish all of us, including our world leaders would take to

Creative writing, both inspiration and perspiration

2008-12-10T05:47:00.004-07:00

"Eliminate the time between the idea and the act, and your dreams will become a reality." Jean Jacques RouseauGood advice, I think, especially for the writer. Ideas are plentiful enough. It's the act of transferring them to paper (or word processor) before they evaporate that is too often lacking. Writing requires inspiration, but inspiration alone produces nothing if it is not acted upon—and

Hidden Population/Innocent Victims of Social Stigma and Neglect

2008-11-07T06:40:00.007-07:00

Imagine you are a child. You wake up one morning to find that your father (or perhaps it's your mother) is gone and won't be coming back. Dead? No, worse. He (or she) is in jail...going to prison. But you are not allowed to talk about it. "Don't tell anyone. They'll hate you if you do." But kids in school find out. They whisper about you. They point fingers. They stop talking when you enter the

Releasing Suppressed Emotions/Healing with True Fiction

2008-11-03T08:19:00.011-07:00

Perhaps it's because of a childhood experience that I empathize with a child separated from his or her parents—and why I write and publish books that express the trauma such children experience. It is my hope in publishing these books that readers will understand and accept their own feelings and know they are not alone. Too often, kids think that their feelings are wrong and that they are

Present Influences on Our Writing/Writers Block

2008-10-26T09:11:00.006-06:00

"The future influences the present just as much as the past." When this quote by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzche came up in my cryptoquote for the day, it seemed fitting. Like most working class Americans, my present decisions are being influenced by the forecasts of a future financial recession. I don't know if that is what he meant or whether I agree with him. It seems to me that the future, not

The season to write is now, but don't give up on promotion

2008-10-21T07:28:00.005-06:00

I have the perfect antidote for the prevailing fear and uncertainty that plagues most of us as a result of the falling stock markets reacting to the mismanagement of our country's financial institutions, the failure of the imprudent government bailout attempt to fix the problem, and the recession in which we find ourselves. The average American is cutting back spending to cover basic needs.

Battles of Will

2008-10-03T08:01:00.009-06:00

"It is a great mistake to command when you are not sure you will be obeyed," said Honere, Compte de MirabeauThis morning's quote for the day reminded me of Jenny's story. Jenny was a precocious two-year-old, eagerly exploring her world to learn for herself how everything worked. With typical two-year-old zeal, she explored her own independence, as well. Wrapped in love by her parents and two

Criticism and Self Esteem

2008-09-26T14:48:00.003-06:00

Esteem-building in Children Produces Successful AdultsBy Janet Muirhead HillThe trouble with most of us is that we would rather by ruined by praise than to be saved by criticism. Norman Vincent Peale Nice outfit, Good thinking, Well done, Beautiful picture! Delicious meal! All are nice words to hear. On the other hand: Your fly is open, You need to brush—your breath is overpowering, or I

The joys of Grandchildren

2008-09-20T18:29:00.004-06:00

On the 12th of September, a new grandchild was added to our family. Nothing is more exciting than a new baby. I'm in awe of how perfect and precious our little Dawson James Andrews is. Here he is, brand new, with his big brother, Kaden, age 4 and 3/4 years old. Congratulations to the proud parents, Joel and Tayla Andrews.I'm a happy grandma, and a sober one as I contemplate the future for my

Physical beauty and self-esteem

2008-08-28T08:39:00.012-06:00

In my latest novel, Kyleah's Tree, although she doesn't understand it in these terms, Kyleah is looking for herself—a better self than the one she perceives when she looks in the mirror. "I wished to be pretty so Dad could love me," she told Aunt Jude upon return to her foster home after running away. She was less than 4-years-old when her mother said to her, "Pretty is as pretty does. Don't go

Kyleah's Tree is HERE.

2008-08-21T10:28:00.005-06:00

I was extremely pleased with the book when it arrived from the printer last week. Herb Leonhard's beautiful cover illustration depicts the story so well. A girl in a tree at sunrise. Kyleah, whose tree connects her with all she has lost and hopes to find, reminds me a lot of myself, whose childhood refuge was the tip-top of a tall cottonwood in our backyard. Kyleah, who suffers from a lack of

True Fiction for child victims

2008-08-16T05:37:00.006-06:00

No matter how one feels about the war in Iraq, all must surely agree that the children who are left behind are the innocent victims. As I watched news clips after the invasion of Iraq, I felt deep empathy and sorrow for the children pulled from the arms of a mom or dad, and in some cases, both, after a prolonged and tearful goodbye. I listened to a mother left behind with three preschool age