Could Minecraft Change the World?

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’m back today and I’m talking about my boys and their obsession with Minecraft.

When they first became obsessed with this game, I was concerned. They could play for hours if I let them. Of course, I didn’t most of the time anyway. 🙂 Even though I’ve limited the amount of time they could play, I began to notice something, and that was how proficient they were on the computer.

It amazed me that they were able to do some basic tasks like copy and pasting, uploading files, and deleting them. I realized they were learning basic computer skills while playing this game. In my opinion, dealing with computers is the future for our kids. If they’re comfortable with them they’ll have a skill that’s in demand when they’re out searching for a job.

Also, the Minecraft game itself is similar to my husband’s home building software that he uses when he gets an idea for our next house. He wants to build and he’s always drawing up computer generated plans to compare to see which layout we like the best. It’s fun and we’re able to dream. 🙂

When my kids are playing Minecraft, they’re building all kinds of structures. Similar to my husband’s house building software and it’s such an awesome thing to see them working together, sharing their ideas with each other, and problem solving together.

They can even get on the server and play with other kids from all over the world. Isn’t that amazing? Wouldn’t it be funny if Minecraft and other interactive games solved the cultural barriers that we now have? Imagine it…video games solve problems that the United Nations couldn’t solve. I know it’s a big leap, but maybe an accurate one.

Just imagine my son becoming friends with someone in Iran as a result of Minecraft. They continue their friendship and when  my son becomes President of the United States 😉 and his friend becomes President of Iran; they solve world problems because they learned to work together solving problems on a video game. They already trust each other. It could change the political process completely. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

I know, I’m making a huge leap, but I can do that. I’m an author! 🙂

Thanks for reading my post today! I’d love to read your thoughts, so please share them and leave a comment!

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

 

Book Review of “Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today with a review of “Fangirl” written by Rainbow Rowell. This one is going to be quick because I’ve made a change to my manuscript and I’m back in the editing cave. It’s too bad this little nugget of inspiration didn’t come to me until I was almost ready to send it to the publisher, but that’s the way it happens sometimes.

I liked “Fangirl” very much, not as much as I liked “Eleanor and Park,” but it was still worth the read. It’s the story of Cath and her twin sister Wren and how their relationship changes when the go off to college. Cather is more introverted than her sister. Therefore, when Wren gets a little too involved in extra-curricular activities it’s a source of conflict between the two sisters.

I liked how their father who struggles with bi-polar disorder took control of the situation, confronted Wren, and forced her to get some help for her out of control partying. This can be a problem for young teens that are experiencing their first taste of freedom.

I also liked how Cath and Levi’s relationship developed slowly over time. I think the best relationships do. If you read my post from Monday, you’ll know that I don’t buy the idea of instalove. 🙂

Here’s the link: https://lisaorchard.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/is-the-instalove-in-ya-books-setting-our-teens-up-for-disappointment/

Overall, it was a great read and I enjoyed it. Rainbow Rowell does a great job of illustrating the anxiety of that first year of college very well. Below is the cover and blurb.

Thanks for stopping by, I’d love to hear from you, so if you know of a great YA author or book that would be worth my time to read, leave the title or name in a comment! 🙂

 

In Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

Tween Meme for the Emblazoners!

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! This is the first Wednesday in which the Emblazoners are participating in our Tween Meme. So, I thought I’d write about a book that I’m currently reading.  It’s title “Girls Succeed: Stories behind the Careers of Successful Women.”  The author is JQ Rose who was a guest here a few weeks ago.

I’m enjoying this book immensely. This is not a piece of fiction. This book is a collection of stories about successful women and how they got where they are. It is very inspiring especially for young girls in those “tween” years.

If I had a daughter, I would get this book for her. It’s inspiring and informative. It illustrates girls who dared to pursue their passion. And isn’t that what the tween years are all about? Finding your passion?

Dare to dream. That’s what we should be teaching our tweens don’t you think?  This book has everything from horse trainers, to cyclists, to authors, and doctors. The message in these stories is crystal clear. You can be whatever you want to be all you have to do is choose. I love it.

It tells our tweens that the power is in their hands. And that’s an important message. As women we have to take responsibility for our own happiness, we can’t rely on anyone else to make us happy.  And once they get that message and own it just think how our tweens will be empowered. And think about that next generation as parents and leaders, they’ll do a tremendous job teaching their tweens that same message.

So, if you have a young tween that you’d like to inspire, check out JQ Rose’s book.

The cover and blurb are below. I’m enjoying it immensely and I think your tween will too.

In my non-fiction ebook for girls, Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women, the family of a woman I interviewed moved so many times when she was a child, she couldn’t make friends. She was always the odd one in a group. Because she didn’t want to stand out, she tried to hide how smart she was and was not proud of it. Finally her last few years in high school, she joined the band and sports teams and made friends. She blossomed into the person she really was. She is now a medical doctor and researcher at a university.

We’ve discussed non-fiction, but did you know that reading fiction is just as important? That’s right! Just check out this article from the New York Times titled “Your brain on Fiction.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I was so excited when I read this!  I felt like my passion was serving a higher purpose.

It has been proven that reading improves self-esteem, social skills, and analytical skills. So, I got together with some other authors who feel the same way I do. We have our own website and our books are geared toward the tween age group, and every fourth Wednesday of the month we write a tween meme on our blog.

So, check it out and check out all the books that are available for tweens! The link is below!

http://emblazoners.wordpress.com/

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!

“Side Effects” the Movie that inspired this Post on Human Drug Testing

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! I’m taking a break from discussing teen issues today and talking about a movie I saw. I went to see “Side Effects” a couple of weeks ago. It was a great movie with an awesome twist toward the end. I enjoyed it and the movie started me thinking about the new drugs that deal with psychological issues that are available on the market today.

Now, I’ve never taken a drug for depression or anxiety so I have no first-hand knowledge of what some of these drugs can do. But this movie raised some concerns for me. I asked the question, how do we know what the side effects of these drugs are? How do we test for them?

So, of course, I did some research and this is what I found:  A new drug has to go through three phases of testing before it is considered safe for the market and all drugs have to be approved by the FDA.

Phase One: This is where the drug is tested on animals. After the company does this type of testing they must fill out a “New Drug Application.”  This application is then reviewed by the FDA and a local Institutional Review Board. If the application is approved, the review board (made up of scientists and non-scientists in hospitals and research institutions) moves forward and sets up a clinical trial protocol. This protocol describes the type of people who can participate in the human testing of the drug.  The people tested in this stage are healthy humans and they are paid for their participation. The emphasis in this stage is safety. Researchers are looking for any negative effects the drug has on healthy individuals. If no major health concerns appear they move on to Phase Two. The number of participants for this phase range from twenty to eighty people.

Phase Two: This is the phase where they test the effectiveness of a drug while still keeping an eye on safety. They want to see if the drug actually works on the conditions or diseases it’s designed to help. The number of participants for this phase range between a few dozen to about three hundred.  If there is evidence that there is a positive effect from the drug the researchers move on to Phase Three.

Phase Three:  In this phase they gather more information on effectiveness and safety; testing the drug on different populations and different dosages. They also combine the test drug with other medications to see if there’s any negative reaction. The number of people tested in this phase range from several hundred to three thousand.

After this phase the sponsor of the new drug must fill out a New Drug Application. This is the formal step needed to seek approval from the FDA to market any drug in the United States.  If approved that Clinical Trials are set up and these trials are what take so long. They can take several years to complete. For more information on the New Drug Review Process please click this link.  http://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm143534.htm

It takes several years for a drug to appear on the market. As I researched this I grew concerned.  Who are these companies testing the drugs on?

Since these companies are paying individuals to be human guinea pigs there isn’t any criteria to become a test subject. Therefore, I concluded that the test subjects are usually the poor or uneducated or young people who need the money, like college students.

What happens when drug testing goes horribly wrong? As parents we need to teach our young people to value their health and not take it for granted. I know that drug testing is essential and I don’t fault modern medicine for finding new cures, but testing a new drug can be very dangerous for the volunteers. The risks are too great in my opinion. So, what are we to do?

I have an answer. 🙂 But you knew I would didn’t you?  Where can we find human volunteers? My answer is why don’t we look for volunteers in our prison system? We’ve got a number of individuals who are either serving life sentences or on death row. They would be benefiting society and drug companies wouldn’t have to pay them. Maybe that would also bring the cost of the drugs down, which could ultimately bring down insurance rates for health insurance. Hmmm….makes you think doesn’t it?

One may argue that prisoners don’t fit the criteria of a healthy individual. Well…that is a point but my response to this arguement is…most prisoners eat better than our poor and uneducated. Sadly…they are probably healthier than many of our current volunteers.

Is it considered cruel and unusual punishment? I think not…because it is on a volunteer basis. In my opinion, doctors would be able to monitor the subjects in a controlled environment, which would make monitoring the side effects of the drug easier and more accurate. 🙂 This would protect our college bound youngsters, the poor, and uneducated who have done nothing against society.

What do you think? I know this sounds a little extreme…but then you’d have to see the movie to understand my concerns.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on my opinions. 🙂 Do you think this would be feasible?

***I want to thank www.fda.gov for some of the information provided in this post.

Valentine Day Ramblings

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s that day when you do something special for the ones you love.  As I write this post, I think back on all the Valentine’s Days in my past. I remember in High School we used to buy roses from the student council and give them to that special someone.  It was something we looked forward to on a cold, snowy day.

Now, I enjoy getting a card from my hubby and I enjoy giving him one. But the real joy I feel is when I go to my kids’ Valentine’s parties. They are so excited!  And I remember the feeling I got when I was a youngster and I would go to my school party. Beforehand, I carefully selected the perfect Valentine for each friend and signed my name on the back. I carried them to school with an air of anticipation, excited to give as well as receive.

As I think about all of this, memories of my childhood parade through my brain. I remember playing kick the can with the neighborhood kids until it was too dark to see. I grew up in a small town and there was no fear of abductions or strangers walking in the dark. Everyone knew everyone else.

I smile as I think about where my “kick the can” friends are now.  Some still live in the same small town and others have scattered to the four corners of the Earth. I wonder what they’re doing now. And I hope their lives are everything they hoped they would be.

As I dwell on these thoughts, I wish for those simpler times when we didn’t have to lock our doors at night. Now, I won’t let my kids run around the neighborhood in the dark without me or my hubby being there.

I loved growing up in a small town until my teens when I found the familiarity all too oppressive. Everyone knew everyone else’s business. I felt suffocated and had the itch to leave.  I did leave and moved to a bigger city and I’m glad I did. I’ve experienced more things and accomplished more things than I would have if I had stayed.

I look at my kids and I hope that I’m creating happy memories for them. I want them to look back on their lives with joy and contentment. I know they’ll have struggles like we all do, but I hope they’re few and far between. 🙂 I hope they have a lot of good “kick the can” memories like I do.

Who would’ve thought that Valentine’s Day would’ve sparked a trip down memory lane? Thanks for stopping by and if you’d like to share some of your own “kick the can” moments, feel free to do so! I’d love to hear from you!

Jessie Andersen talks about juggling Motherhood and Writing

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! I’ve got Jessie Andersen as a guest today and she’s sharing her thoughts on the juggle all of us mother’s do–whether it’s juggling writing or a full time job with motherhood. Take it away Jessie!

I had to laugh when I emailed Lisa recently to ask her to remind me the topic of the post. You see, my little 14 month old is sick. She’s been crying, whining, wriggling, screaming, snotting and coughing for two days. I’m working on little sleep and little patience. So, Lisa graciously emailed me back and said, “We discussed the topic of juggling motherhood with writing.” HA! If that’s not irony, I don’t know what is.

So, here it is in a nutshell: my family comes first. I try to set aside time to write at least an hour a day, but the Little Bug won’t let me sit at the computer until she’s sleeping. Well, unless I want a bunch of “kskdfhio” put into the middle of my WIP. She likes the space bar and the ‘page down’ button too, so I find myself typing in the middle of a previous paragraph if I try to do anything with her awake. In the morning, I get the older two kids off to school with the help of my awesome hubby and then The Bug and I hang out. We play in the living room, and every once in a while I try to clean something, but it’s futile when I have a 14 month old going behind me messing up whatever I clean. Folding laundry… that’d be nice if The Bug didn’t climb on my piles and pull the neatly folded clothes into a big heaping mess again.

So waiting for bed time is the perfect solution except that nap time is limited. So I have to be fast and efficient. I’m neither, which is why it takes me so long to pump out a manuscript. Oh well. In the long run, The Bug is more important than my writing career any day.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. I could write in the evenings, but when the older kiddos get home from school, it’s homework, cub scouts, gymnastics, and guitar lessons. Not to mention, we do need to eat, and eating together as a family is an important tradition in the Andersen household. I cook nearly every night, and we sit down together, asking our kids how their day went. This means that all writing oriented stuff must stop by 3:30.

There are weekends. But with my kids in school, we keep weekends open. I won’t do work on Sunday. That’s our day of worship and family, and Saturdays are usually filled with baking, crafts or whatever else we can’t fit in during the week. So, if you really look at it, I have only 5-10 hours a week to do anything writing related.

But I’m not complaining. God has blessed my writing, and I’m privileged to be able to raise my little one from home and still have something that I can call ‘mine’. In the end, I may not be remembered for being a famous author or even a good author, but I will be remembered for being a good mom. That’s the most important job there is. 

 

You’re so right Jessie! If you get a chance, check out Jessie’s book! It’s on my TBR pile that’s for sure! 

 

 

During her junior year, sixteen-year-old Maggie Reynolds expected to shop for prom dresses not maternity clothes. Now, instead of studying for the SATs, she’s reading, What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Maggie’s ‘Mother Dearest’ lives in fear that Maggie will somehow taint the family name, so Maggie can’t turn to her for help. Meanwhile, her father is oblivious to anything but his 9-9 job. And her boyfriend, Justin? She’s pretty sure he’ll stay by her side.

While Maggie wrestles with her options, Justin offers a solution: abortion. It would solve all her problems quickly, easily, and effectively. And her parents would never know, which means they won’t throw her out and cut her off like they’d always threatened if she got herself knocked up. But an easy decision becomes difficult when Maggie’s aunt discovers her secret and sets out on a mission to stop the abortion, putting a kink in Maggie’s plan. Now Maggie must decide which choice she can live with: abortion or teenage motherhood. Either way, it’ll be a tough road to travel.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/At-What-Cost-ebook/dp/B008BEDPPO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1345589010&sr=1-1&keywords=at+what+cost

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/at-what-cost-j-andersen/1111557851?ean=2940014771320

http://astraeapress.com/#ecwid:mode=product&product=12328251

www.Jandersenbooks.com
www.Therabidwriter.blogspot.com 
www.readbetweenthelinesbookclub.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/jandersenbooks
www.twitter.com/jvdlandersen
http://www.goodreads.com/jvdlandersen

 

 

RIP Zig Ziglar

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and are looking forward to Christmas! I know I am! It’s my favorite holiday. 🙂

I’m just getting over a bout with the stomach flu, so my post is a little late today. Sorry about that. 🙂 But on the plus side, I’m feeling much better and I’m almost back to my old self!

Yesterday, a wonderful man passed away, one that was an inspiration to me as well as millions of people. His name was Zig Ziglar. I want to talk a little bit about Zig today because I was impressed with the man.

He was a World War II veteran. After the war he worked for a series of companies in the sales field. That’s when I first learned about Zig because I started my early career in sales as well and his books were recommended to me.

When I first started out I read a variety of “sales” books that were going to show me how to get to the top. They basically said a career in sales is really a numbers game. The more people you see the more sales you get…yada…yada…yada.  Then I read Zig’s. Not only did he motivate his readers to be the best sales people they could be but they also encouraged people to be the best humans they could be. 🙂

You see, to Zig a career in sales wasn’t just about the numbers. He really wanted to improve his customer’s lives with his product. And isn’t that what we all want to do as authors, with our books? Improve or make better the lives of our readers?

That’s what I gleaned from his books and his motivational speeches anyway. And the man was funny! 🙂 Not only were his jokes funny…but they also rang true in many cases. 🙂

Here’s one that I really like. “People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing that’s why we recommend it daily.” I always chuckle when I read that one and it puts me in a better mood.

I was sad when I heard he passed away. He was one celebrity I would have loved to meet in person.

Now, that I’m working on becoming a best-selling author. 🙂 I can use the same principles that he used in his motivational speeches to achieve that goal. And I must say I see many authors who use these principles too. I don’t know if they realize they’re using them, but they are. And that’s one of the things I love about the Publishing Industry.

So, many authors are out there willing to help each other out. What a refreshing experience after working in the dog eat dog world of Corporate America. 🙂

This quote from Zig summarizes what I’m trying to say. “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

That’s how I feel about the authors and bloggers who have helped me by either critiquing what I’ve written or helped me by promoting my books. Thanks everyone! 🙂

And another quote that all of us authors can relate to, is this one. “There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.” 🙂

Just tuck that little nugget into the back of your brain and remember it when you get that one or two star review. 🙂

In closing, I’d like to say thanks to Zig for sharing his philosophies with everyone. He’s touched my life with his realistic humor and I’m sure he’ll continue to touch many people’s lives with his words of wisdom.

If you want to check out Zig Ziglar’s books click the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Zig-Ziglar/e/B000AP7VIY/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1354205732&sr=1-2-ent

Thanks for stopping by today and reading my post. 🙂 If you’d like to share your thoughts on Zig…leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

It’s a Thanksgiving Blog Hop!

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! Some of my colleagues and I have put together a Thanksgiving Blog Hop just for you! There will be prizes so check out everyone’s site! 🙂

All of us are listing five things that we are grateful for this year. Check it out and share your thoughts! Let me know what you’re grateful for! I’d love to hear from you!

 

Five Things that I’m Thankful For

 1. My wonderful husband and my two boys. 🙂 They are my inspiration and keep me headed in the right direction.

2. My awesome publisher ASTRAEA PRESS for accepting my manuscripts. And the awesome editors that edit my books! Your guidance has been instrumental in my stories.

3. The wonderful AUTHORS that I’ve met in the publishing industry. Their help and encouragement has been a real blessing.

4. My Critique Group THE GRAND RAPIDS WRITERS EXCHANGE. They’ve been instrumental in helping me get my manuscripts in shape.

5. Last but certainly not least my FANS and READERS! Without you my stories would be sitting on the e-book shelves gathering dust!

So to celebrate my gratitude I’m going to give away a signed paperback of “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer”! Whoo Hoo! 🙂 It would make a great Christmas Present for the Tween/Teen in your life! 🙂

How do you enter this giveaway? That is a very good question. You can enter by posting a comment about what you are thankful for and that will count as one entry. You can also enter by tweeting and sharing about the giveaway and then posting the tweet or share in the comment section at the end of this post. Each tweet and share equals two entries. So, if you tweet 4 times…you’re entered 8 times.

That’s it! That’s all you have to do! 🙂

The winner will be announced on November 23^rd! I will post the winner on my blog, facebook, and twitter. I will also send the winner an e-mail. 🙂

Here’s the cover and blurb for “The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer”.

This book opens in a small town in Michigan where fifteen-year-old Sarah Cole is stuck spending the summer at her Aunt and Uncle’s with her sister, Lacey. She’s not happy with the situation until she befriends a girl named Jackie. The three girls stumble upon the ruthless murder of a reclusive neighborhood woman. One of the officers investigating the crime believes the girls are responsible for her death. Fearing that this officer will frame them for the murder, the girls organize their own detective squad. They become the Super Spies and start their own fact-finding mission.  The Super Spies can’t understand why anyone would want to murder the “Cat Lady” until they start digging into her past and discover a horrible crime that happened thirty years ago. They uncover a connection between the two crimes and attempt to bring this information to the police, only to be reprimanded for meddling in the inquest. Not only are the girls upset by the admonition, but they also struggle with the fact that their exuberant investigating could provide a legal loophole allowing the killer to go free. To make matters worse, the police don’t even believe them. Frustrated by this turn of events, the Super Spies realize it’s up to them to snare the Cat Lady killer, or die trying…

The next stop on this blog hop is E.A. West’s blog! Check it out! The link is below.

http://thewestcorner.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/thanksgiving-blog-hop/

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope you have an awesome Thanksgiving! 🙂