Violet Flowers and Violet Eyes

My husband, Dave, took this picture of Libby and me last evening in front of the clematis that is beginning to bloom on the south side of our front porch.

I can take no credit for its beauty. I do nothing special during it's growing season and I have only once cut back dead branches. In spite of my relative neglect, it keeps blooming year after year with beautiful violet flowers.

The word "violet" as an adjective is one I have consistently avoided since my youngest years, but that's really the best descriptor for these flowers' color.

Look at the picture. Isn't "violet" the best color name for those flowers? They aren't really "blue" and they aren't really "purple"; they're "violet."

The reason I've avoided "violet" is because one of the earliest stories I ever wrote (it was probably the summer when I was between first and second grade) had a beautiful heroine as the main character. I wanted to make her special; I didn't want her to have boring brown or blue eyes, so I gave her violet eyes.

My sister began to read the story, but didn't get past the description of her eyes.

"Violet eyes!" she laughed. "She has violet eyes!"

I didn't write things down on paper for a long time. I didn't want to risk anyone seeing them and making fun of me again. But it seems as if most of my time in grade school was spent staring out windows and writing dialogue in my mind.

When my high school English instructor showed the class pictures and told us to write a story based on one of them, I was thrilled. This was my chance to finally write something on paper again!

Looking at the picture of a young man walking through swirling snow outside a small house, I quickly imagined an entire scenario. This young man had made a bad decision. He had gotten his girlfriend pregnant and had been coerced into an unwise marriage. Now he was stuck with a shrewish wife and a fussy newborn.

The story described the baby crying in the background to set the scene. Then it recorded his thoughts about the argument with his wife, which had driven him from the house into the snowstorm.

"Not another one," his thoughts began, but that's as far as the instructor got when he read it aloud. The whole class erupted into laughter. They thought "another one" referred to another baby and for some reason found that hilarious. The stories were being read anonymously and I admit that I laughed along with the class because I didn't want anyone to know it was my story.

I didn't write anything for a very long time.

Yesterday I read from the first novel in my "Matthew" series to fifthgraders at Pella Christian Grade School. They were interested. They listened intently and laughed at appropriate times. They asked great questions afterward, like:

"How much does the book cost?"

"Did you make all that up or is it real?"

"Can you tell us what's the matter with the mom?"

I guess it's not terribly surprising that I was a bit nervous about reading my novel to a potentially critical audience. But it's time to get past my phobias and be more confident about sharing my writing.

And it's time to use "violet" whenever that's the best word.

"Matthew" to school today

Today I'm taking Matthew to school.

This morning I'll be reading from Matthew Muddles Through to the combined fifthgrade classes at Pella Christian Grade School.

The half hour slot immediately before their end-of-the-year outing will be just enough time to read the first three chapters with plenty of expression.

Matthew Muddles Through is the first book in the series of four juvenille fiction novels that I am writing (and about which I am communicating with a major Christian publisher).

I'll be giving each of the fifthgraders a bookmark that describes the series and directs them to this blog for updates and publishing news.

Here's the text printed on the two sides of the bookmark:

Matthew is not only in the middle of his family; he’s in the middle of conflict at home, at school, and his church. In the four books of the series, Matthew Muddles Through, Matthew Makes Strides, Matthew Morphs Outdoors, and Matthew Moves Ahead, Matthew climbs the mountains of conflict in his life as he anticipates the ultimate camping experience in the Canadian Rockies. Through the conflict, Matthew develops new friendships and discovers new truths about others and himself. He also learns more about God’s creation, his sovereignty, and his love.

Fifth-grader Matthew Vos worries about losing his mom’s book, which has been sucked into the “Black Hole” bottom drawer of his principal’s desk. He worries that he might not be old enough to attend Camporee, which only happens every three years. Matt is overshadowed by his older brother, who gets good grades and all the girls. He’s annoyed by his younger brother, who hits in his sleep and wrecks havoc in the home. Matthew is intimidated by a science teacher who targets creationists and a PE teacher who runs a boot camp class. Matt’s Cadet club is crammed into the church basement and his catechism class meets in the parsonage, which happens to be his home. But Matt worries most about his mom’s mysterious illness.

The Challenge of Matthew Two

Now that Matthew One is fairly fit, I've been working on the second book in my juvenille fiction series about Matthew. Matthew Two has a frame of about 25,000 words, but like Matthew One this Matthew needs some fattening.

The real challenge has been to craft a beginning to this second novel that provides the necessary information from the first novel while grabbing the reader and pulling him or her immediately into the story.

The challenge of that introductory and transitional material initially intimidated me. But once I stopped thinking about it and actually started writing it, I had great fun!

The things my characters say and do sometimes surprise me.

Flags and Wildflowers

This morning I took time to smell the roses...or the wildflowers and irises as the case may be. These photos were taken in a small patch of woods near the house, where I am trying to establish native wildflowers, and along a raised bank west of our house, where I am fighting my annual losing battle against grass encroachment. Prairie trillium
White shooting star


Look carefully! Do you see the green bug?

Blue flag iris

Yellow iris

Providence

Few doctrines are as precious or practical as God's providence. I am continually amazed at how God works the events of my life according to his purpose.

Yesterday morning's sermon was on 1 Kings 19, a passage that I had just incorporated into the first book of my juvenille series of four novels about "Matthew."

This morning, while searching for a pastor's email address, I found this excellent article about why pastors ought to read fiction.

Was it coincidental that I found the article the morning after a woman from my church asked me to consider giving a presentation on good Christian fiction to a group of young women?

I think not.

"Matthew" goes to school

"Matthew" is growing up. In fact, he'll be going to school on May 28, when I will read an excerpt from the first novel to fifth graders at Pella Christian Grade School.

Book Review: Where the River Ends by Charles Martin

Broadway Books, hardcover; 375 pages; © 2008 by Charles Martin
Broadway Books is an imprint of The Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York

Charles Martin has been compared to Nicholas Sparks, but Martin's novels are less love stories and more wrestling meets. His male protagonists usually wrestle against overwhelming odds, but primarily against God.

Where the River Ends is a beautiful and painful story of unconditional love. Through juxtaposition of flashback with current narrative, Martin weaves a seamless story about artist Doss Williams and his undying love for his dying wife.

Abbie is the daughter of a powerful senator with an even more powerful personality, but she has created a name for herself through successful modeling and design careers. Until she was diagnosed with cancer.

As time and treatment options run out, Abbie asks Doss to help her fulfill the most impossible item on her list of things she'd like to do before she dies: travel the St. Mary's River all the way from Moniac to its end.

"It's where we started," she says. "They say we have reached the end.... So let's start over."

Doss loads a canoe with supplies, his wife, and enough pain killers to bring her suffering to a final and pain-free finish. In addition to the natural dangers lurking in and along the river, unnatural danger stalks behind Doss and Abbie as they work their way downriver. Every bend brings it closer.

Doss and Abbie meet horrendous evil and pain as well as unanticipated assistance and laughter as they draw nearer their goal. And in the climactic maelstrom, Doss irresistibly encounters divine providence.

"Matthew" shapes up

"Matthew" has shaped up nicely this week and reached his target weight! We're still working on coordination, but he should be ready to go to town soon.

"Matthew" becomes animated

As Matthew gains weight, he also becomes more active. He's growing into quite a lively little guy.

Like a proud mom, I'm pleased to see the improvement.