sandra_ferguson

Copies of Harm's Way have arrived

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 02:54:16 GMT

They're here . . . they're here!

That's right; my shipment of HARM'S WAY has finally arrived.

A truly cool experience to open a box of books, sniff that great fresh print smell, and know that without me these books would never have existed.

Okay, I'm not diminishing my dynamite publishing house The Wild Rose Press, which BTW is where you can still download the ebook version of HARM'S WAY should your prefer; or my great and fabulous editor, Ally Robertson; or my tremendous critique partners, Shannon C, Sherry D, Andrea G, Mary K, Laura M, and Delores S who pushed me and supported me every step of the publishing way; AND certainly not my irreplaceable family, heroic Jim, and my three adorables who never stopped believing or considered giving up as an option . . .

However . . .

What's inside the pages of HARM'S WAY is totally a product of my imagination. For an instant after opening the box of books, the feeling is one of birth, sans labor. Oh wait . . . that took place while I was writing, rewriting, editing, rewriting again and so on. So labor was longer than the nine months it normally takes to get a kid to show up, but that scent of ink, the smell of paper, the high that always overtakes me when I hit the library, was only better this time because it was my personal library.

Jeremiah Johnson quote . . . The old trapper asked Jeremiah if all the pain, the loss, the love, the survival in the harsh mountains had been worth the trouble, Jeremiah replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "Eh, what trouble?" Humble man, honest answer.

Success is always worth the trouble.

May you know many successes in your life.

In the Area?

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 03:26:58 GMT

Will you be in the DFW area on Thursday evening, September 6th, 2007 around 7:30pm? Then stop by Barnes & Noble, 8525 Airport Freeway, N. Richland Hills, TX.

I'll be signing copies of HARM'S WAY, my recent romantic suspense release from The Wild Rose Press.

Drop by for a cup of coffee and a quick hello.

I'd love to meet fellow Live Jounal members.

Best Always,
Sandra

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:14:37 GMT

All righty, then, my weekend at my HARM'S WAY book-signing was fabulous.

I sold out, yep, that's right, I sold out of HARM'S WAY in 45 minutes.

Lots of wonderful family, friends, and co-workers all turned out for the event at Barnes & Noble in N. Richland Hills. It was unbelievably to walk in to the store and see so many familiar faces.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming out to share this once-in-a-lifetime moment with me.

To all who took pictures, please feel free to send copies to my email: sandraferguson@sbcglobal.net

Here are a few pictures from my dear friend and Romance Writer's of America, Golden Heart finalist: LA Mitchell. If you were at the book-signing, she was the lovely lady seated to my left. Delores Shaffer, another special critque partner made sure you all received your 'autographed copy' stickers. My brother and I. That's my dad in the cute hat.

The folks

Historical and contemporary author, Geralyn Dawson and ck2skwipsandkritiques moderator and book reviewer, Kelley. I was sold-out by the time Geralyn arrived. She was giving me a little grief -- and I loved it.

BECAUSE I SOLD OUT . . . Barnes & Noble placed an emergency order with the book distributor and I will be signing books again.

So next book-signing:
Barnes & Noble
8525 Airport Freeway, NRH (near NE Mall)
Thursday, September 6th, 2007 @ 7:30pm

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:00:01 GMT

What’s in a character’s name?

How does a writer select the perfect name?

Is it the symbolism behind a name? Some personal preference? Just what comes to mind?

I recently watched I, Robot. Great film, heavy symbolism, terrific imagery – well worth the invested time to watch. However, it was one character’s name that stopped traffic for me, one name that held center stage, the robot: Sonny

The meanings behind such a simple name captured my attention. Was the robot so named because . . .

1) The doctor considered himself to be the figurative father of all these robots, but specifically this one that existed only because of his creative powers. He made Sonny personally – rather like fathering a son.
2) Or did the original creator of I, Robot, author Isaac Asimov, mean to enact a more literal link: Sonny as the actual son of God. Certainly, the imagery exists for viewers of the movie, I, Robot to make this connection. Watch the closing seconds of the film. Sonny stands atop a hill in front of a destroyed bridge (that closely resembles a cross) as thousands mass beneath the hill and turn expectantly toward him and the insight he can provide. What will these gathered masses learn? Sonny has the secret. All are created with the ability to choose – the ultimate freedom. It does smack of Christianity, does it not?

Whether you're a writer, a reader, a TV/Movie buff, you have an opinion on a favorite character’s name. Share and tell why. Are you a parent? How did you pick your children's names? Family tradition? Favorite name? What you'd like to be named? Come on -- do share!

Autumn

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 15:46:51 GMT

Hello, to those who asked to see my puppy (not really a puppy, anymore), here she is.

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 15:39:18 GMT

If you're looking for me today, I'm at Sparkle This! blog.

If you're interested in great writing tips, pop over for a quick read. It will be worth your time.

Looking for Me?

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 18:54:27 GMT

If you're looking for me today, I'm at Sparkle This! blog.

If you're interested in great writing tips, pop over for a quick read. It will be worth your time.

Mark Twain's take on Congress

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:03:42 GMT

"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress...But I repeat myself." ~Mark Twain

Okay, is this a great quote or what? Has anyone been watching the news? And what's going on in congress . . . or the lack thereof? Did we actually elect these people? Oh yeah we did, because that's when they promised to do something.

Is there a 'lemon-law' for congressional employees? Like on a car (or any really expensive purchase) you get so long to change your mind, resend the offer, cancel the policy. How do we cancel Congress?

Me, personally, I'm all for electing Moms and teenagers (college age is okay) to Congress. Why? Moms know how to get a thousand things done at the same time and they know how to finish a task. Just try half-cleaning a room and see a mom's reaction. They also have eyes in the back of their heads--and you thought big-hair was only for fashion. Moms know what goes on around them, in their real world. I'm certain most of Congress must be from another planet because they seem totally clueless as to what the average American wants or needs.

As for why I'd put teenagers, who live in the World of Me, into Congress: they believe everything affects them, everything is personal--there are no time outs for teenagers. Okay, so we'd have to deal with the whole drama-thing for teenagers . . . wait, we're already dealing with that in Congress and those folks are old enough to know better. But I'd love to have someone in Congress who feels personally about the world, who takes their commitment personally--who simply believes personally.

My wallet is personal (high gas prices, soaring food costs). My children's education is personal (no child left behind--yeah, right) My morals are personal (how are we still ignoring dying children just because their country doesn't produce oil?) Where do we find folks who take their job personally?

Pick anyone, from any walk of life, who would you choose to put in Congress?

Asking the right questions?

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:54:10 GMT

These questions came from James Lipton’s, Inside the Actor’s Studio:

What is your favorite word? Saved

What is your least favorite word? Error

What turns you on (creatively, spiritually, or emotionally)? Spanish guitar music

What turns you off? Dirty dishes, smelly trash

What sound or noise do you love? The rush of the ocean crashing to shore.

What sound or noise do you hate? WHINNING--if you can't be part of the solution, hush.

What is your favorite curse word? Wow, I'm a southern lady and a Baptist, we don't admit to cursing at all *GRIN*

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Architect--I think seeing my designs built into life would be fabulous. Oh, that's sort of what a writer does.

What profession would you not like to do? Short-order cook

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? You were worth the wait.

What else would you add to this list of questions?

Harm's Way is in PRINT

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:19:29 GMT

Harm’s Way

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: info@thewildrosepress.com

Cover Art by Tamra Westberry

The Wild Rose Press

PO Box 706

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0706

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Crimson Rose Edition, March 2007

PRINT ISBN 1-60154-047-7

Published in the United States of America

There it is . . . the COPYRIGHT page for my released book.

I can’t quite describe the feeling of seeing my name listed behind the COPYRIGHT logo, except to say this all suddenly feels very real.

This is the accurate ISBN for HARM’S WAY, and with this number you can order a print copy from any Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com or Ingrams book store.

HARM’S WAY is now available.

I’m working toward an actual ‘book-signing’ date with my local Barnes and Noble. Check back for details.

Still #1

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 18:43:09 GMT

Wow, oh Wow, just visited the Wild Rose Press site, www.wildrosespress.com, checked under Chrisom Rose (look on the left-hand side of the screen) and found that HARM’S WAY is still holding at #1 for Romantic Suspense. Yep, it’s a good day.

Old Movies

Wed, 23 May 2007 03:33:31 GMT

This week celebrates John Wayne's 100th anniversary, and one of the networks is running 100 hours of marathon John Wayne. Does it date me to admit I remember watching his movies for real and not as re-runs?

Tonight they played the classic Red River. True heroism in every sense of the word . . . oddly enough the real hero of the movie wasn't John Wayne, alias Dunston, but the young boy he'd adopted by the name of Matthew Garth. Great hero name--down to earth with real meaning behind it.

A mature Matthew Garth, fired by the Civil War, returns to Texas and Dunston, his surrogate father, only to find the ranch he loves and help birth in desperate straights. Why? Carpet-baggers and money-grubbers abound in the state of Texas after the war. The only solution is to drive Dunston's herd of 9,000 + cattle further North to a railroad. During the cattle drive, things go bad, as of course, they must for any western to be a classically good western. Unfortunately, Dunston (Wayne) loses his prospective in this die-or-lose-the-ranch campaign. Who's strong enough to stop Dunston when he crosses the humanity line? Reluctant hero Matthew Garth steps in and stills Dunston's atrocity. I'd say any character who could face down John Wayne is hero material for me. It was a great study of heroism for future characters.

The romance (always my favorite) was a bit corny, but true-to-heart and therefore, perfectly redeemable.

Red River was well worth my invested time. How much TV can we say that about these days?

Sojourner Truth speaks the truth

Tue, 22 May 2007 15:23:19 GMT

A few nights ago, my intellectual college freshman related this quote from her ‘Something-Something-Study-of-Gender-and-Something class.’ I normally just say, ‘um, how interesting’ a lot, because she manages to hit cruising altitude over my feeble head in a hurry. Of course, college is all about flying in the clouds, zooming above the mundane, and expanding heavenward, so I get that she and her fellow classmates should recognize these historical and possibly obscure people and what they accomplished in their lifetimes. HOWEVER, it’s been a day or two since I finished my college degree, and I’m a little behind on the ‘in-the-know’ scene. The following quote is from Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist, who survived incalculable hardships and delivered the message of freedom to men and women of all skin colors.

This quote is a keeper. If you’re female and breathing, you’ll appreciate the following:

“That little man in black over there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.”
--Sojourner Truth, Ain't I A Woman, a speech delivered in 1851

What to read more? http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Sojourner_Truth/