Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

Have you ever wanted to jump into a photograph or a painting? To step into that meadow by the lake, or be at the base of that mountain or on that sunlit beach a million miles away?

I remember a picture I had hanging on my wall in High School. I think I bought it with my own money one hot summer while perusing the Arts Festival that my beloved town holds every year.

It was a picture of a bright green hill, with even greener hills in the distance. The sky was a robin’s egg blue at the forefront and slowly faded to a stormy greyish-black in the distance. And on top of the green hill there sat a single tree, it’s trunk thick, and the wide branches bending under the weight of flickering leaves that created a small little shaded space. You couldn’t tell whether it was a sunny day and that the dark sky was making it’s way like a grumpy old man towards the tree, or perhaps that the grumpy old man had just past by and all that was left was the back of his long black coat as he left.

But either way, I always found myself longing to sit under that tree, in that small shaded space. And I never thought about what I’d do when I got there or what I’d think about or wonder,  I just wanted to be there…all alone under that solitary tree and watch the world go round.

I still think about that picture every now and then and I sometimes wish that I could jump into it and sit beneath the tree without the sound of voices calling for me to settle a dispute, make dinner or breakfast or lunch or snack or dessert, or clean up throw up, or help make 50 some valentines, or wipe a nose.

But mostly, right now, I don’t think of the tree on the hill that much. Instead, I think of photographs that hang lopsided on my fridge, and I long to jump back inside and be there.

To be with an eighteen month old Ella Jane, standing on our old Cabin deck with too-big pink Hello Kitty boots on, thin short baby hair, and round pudgy cheeks.

To look out at the ocean with Gracie for the first time and see what she’s cupping in her hand and ask her why she wanted a big straw hat so bad that summer.

To push Noah in that cheap plastic red swing and watch him giggle a toothless grin.

To stand in the water again and wave back at Isaac as he floats down the cool Colorado river in a red inner tube and wonder again at how wide his smile can make my heart feel.

To hop back into the black and white picture booth on the Boardwalk with John and make silly faces and kiss behind the little red curtain.

To be with my sister and her family in front of the fireplace and mantel that I’ve never seen, and find out what Texas green leaves my nephew and nieces were standing in front of for their pictures.

To stand with my parents on the sandy shore of Ocean City and say thanks again for paying for us all to be there together cause I know it was a lot…thanks.

To be back with my closest and dearest friends in Redstone standing in front of that camper in Bruce and Connie’s backyard.

And I know a lot of this is just sensitive, emotional me…but I find that though I long sometimes for my tree on a hill, I would trade a thousand trees on a thousand hills to be back in one of those photographs again, even for just long enough to say “Cheese” once more.

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

Though the tree has been put away a month ago, and the Christmas lights stored, and the stockings packed in their boxes with care, it seems as if winter should be over…or nearing it’s end at least. That spring should be peaking it’s head out from behind the trees for longer and longer periods of time until we finally catch it and yell “I found it!”

But really, we still have three very full months of winter left. And I find myself sometimes wanting to rush through the rest of the snowy days and cold mornings. Hurry up the days and months until spring…or mud season as we call it in the mountians. Hurry and rush and rush and hurry to get the days that I want right now.

But I am a rushish/hurryish type of person anyway. I know what I want and I figure out how to get it, and then I simply do it. But most times I realize that unlike making myself an iced mocha whenever I want, there are certain things that simply cannot be hurried along…nor should they be.

They come like slowly ticking clocks and flipping calendar months.

One day at a time.

One moment.

One breath after another.

And time is one of those mysterious things in life. A piece that we easily sigh and tap our feet at to “hurry up already,” as well as a piece that looks at your now 8-year-old and wonder “why did it happen so fast?”

Some days seem to last forever while others seem to strike out like a stray spark.

And as a rush-rush, hurry-hurry person like myself who does have things to get done and is always excited for the next thing to happen, I find I have to slow down and stop cause most likely that next thing to happen, is happening right now.

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

My fellow awesome critique partner, Kate Milford’s, The Boneshaker is due out May 24! It is so amazing and I recommend EVERYONE to go to amazon and preorder…NOW!

Right now, she is currently holding a contest on her facebook page! Check it out here:

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

This is what my 8-year-old Gracie wrote for a school assignment. The last line is my very favorite.

My Dreams

by Gracie Eland

“Martin Luther King had a dream that all people were treated equally. If I had a dream it would be about wishing to become the most famous artist in the world. I hope that I become not one of the best artists but this best int eh world. I would draw and paint animals and people like Mona Lisa. I hope that I become just as good as my mom’s sister, Alisa (and she is amazing!). I dream of sharing my gift to the world. I also dream of being the fastest human on earth.”

Oh, that last line. How I love it. Of course, I love the fact that Gracie wants to be an artist and she really is an exceptional one…but that last line: “I also dream of being the fastest human on earth.” It makes me laugh out loud and smile even as I read it. The randomness and sweetness of the statement and the dream.

I remember the talk in Elementary school about who was the fastest.

Fastest boy?

Fastest girl?

Fastest kid overall?

Me and a great friend Lauren McGrath were the fastest girls in the 6th grade. Sometimes she would win and other times I would (though I have to say that I did not beat Lauren after that year and she went on to race all through High School and College…the Air Force, to be exact, so umm…yeah, she’s faster) Anyway, I remember as a kid running as fast as I could, the breath whooshing through my lungs, my legs on fire. The image I had in my mind of what I probably looked like…or what I hoped I looked like was not unlike Dash in The Incredibles. So, so fast that my legs were blurry. That if someone took my picture I’d just be a streak on the film.

Ah yes. The dream of being the fastest.

Sweet memories.

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

How could you not love stained glass? There is an elegant and raw beauty in the transluscent color of stained glass. The way it captures bits of the sun and immediately illuminates a picture, a work of art, shards of glass glued together meticulously in an arrangement that makes you look up and take notice.

But stained glass isn’t always illuminated. Sometimes the sun isn’t hitting it at just the right angle and And the sun is not always at the right angle nor does the stain glass light up at night. And when it’s like that stained glass tends to darken, reflecting the cloudy day or the dark church or the night sky. A piece of art that is meant for those precious moments out of the day.

And there are stained glass moments through each day. Moments that are illuminated just for us—even if for a tiny second.

We just have to stop in the midst of our business, in the midst of our heartache or worry, and stop and look up and let the sun illuminate that moment that is all yours.

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

Hi everyone! Here’s another interview I did with the wonderful ladies at Mundie Mom’s!

Check it out!!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

Click right here to read!!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

Stars have always been a favorite of mine. I don’t necessarily know when I looked up and saw that one star that changed the way I saw the sky, and I don’t know why it changed the way I thought of them, but I find myself loving them now more than ever.

They make me think of bigness, and dreams, and hopes, and love…the kinds of things that make my heart and my world expand. I think they’re magic.

I love their distance and how they still sparkle from millions and millions of miles away.

The way they shoot across the sky so fast that you’d miss it if you blinked. And I like to wonder where they’ve gone.

And I know there is science behind the stars, and though I respect the science of what they are and where they’ve gone and the approximate distance they are from us, and how big they really are…I don’t want to know those things. Really I don’t.

I want them to remain a mystery and a wonder to me. I want to look at them and marvel and smile and feel my heart quicken at the sky filled with so many sparkly diamonds I literally gasp.

I had a wooden brown box when I was younger that my dad gave me. Inside I kept special notes, the dolphin charm I got at the beach, the bracelet I bought in El Salvador, Indian Rupees, a small stack of “books” my cousin and I would write back and forth to each other, the ring my dad got me when I was sixteen, a picture of my sisters, a small glass fish I used to hide in my desk in fifth grade.

I would take out the box every once in a while and open it. Peek inside and take out each treasure one by one by one.

I find that the older I get the more I don’t want to know about some things…like stars. How some things I’d just like to keep to myself…to keep it the way I first saw it, to the way my heart sees it still.

And I know that if I could catch a star, I wouldn’t show it to anyone…no one at all. Instead, I’d keep it closed in my brown wooden box, and every once in a while when I wanted to smile, or wonder, or gasp, I’d lift the lid just a little bit and peek inside and smile at my own piece of heaven.

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

Here is a fun interview I did for the show Off the Page with the wonderful librarian Stacey Mackenzie! If you scroll down the page a little you’ll see “Off the Page” and then a link to the show featuring author Mary Peach Finely and myself! Enjoy!

Off the Page Link!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

Every year starts out much like a book. We wipe the slate clean and start fresh when the sun rises on that January 1st morning. We set down the old book of last year and pick up that new book and start to read and live at the same time. 2009 started off much that way for me.

SUMMARY:

There was a whole lot of ups and a whole lot of downs.

Tension on every page, dramatic and rising action, page-turning chapters that leave you on the edge of your seat (or awake at night), emotional crying scenes and those that leave you laughing out loud, a few villains here and there, and just enough heroes and rescuing to make you let out your breath and sigh with relief.

My REVIEW:

When I look back on this 365 page book, colored with the good and the bad, the climactic and the anti-climactic…I think it was a brilliantly wonderful book–one of my favorites yet–that I will place on the shelves somewhere inside me and glance at and think back on and treasure with all my heart–they are memories now…and memories, unlike real books, cannot be relived or re-experienced. So as much as I loved and adored this book, it’s time is done and the possibilities that will accompany the next one await to be read and lived when the sun rises tomorrow morning on January 1st, 2010.

Happy New Year one and all!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the well-wishes for Scones and Sensibility!! I can’t believe it’s actually released into the world today!

Anyway, the winner of my Triplet’s Scavenger Hunt is….RK CHARRON!!!! Yipppeee!!

Don’t forget to check Rhonda and Bree’s blogs to see if you are the lucky winner of their contest!

Thanks to everyone for entering and happy reading!!!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

Click here to view it! Thanks Kim!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

The top 10 reasons I adore my editor–the wonderful, vivacious, and hilarious Elizabeth Law!

1. Confident…Elizabeth exudes confidence in everything that she is. She is ccompletely confident in who she is as a person as well as an editor, confident in what she likes and doesn’t like, and confident in her choices. I can’t tell you how relaxed and comfortable I feel knowing that my book(s) are in her capable hands!

2. Professional…She is not only completely personable in every way, but she is totally professional and savvy…a woman and editor who takes her job seriously but not in a t00-serious way

3. Advocate for writers…Elizabeth is always, always, always sharing advice and her thoughts on writing and pulishing and revision to aspiring writers as well as to established writers and I don’t know of any other editor out there right now who spends so much time helping others succeed.

4. Understanding…Elizabeth knows the weaknesses in my writing and asks the perfect questions that not only remedy the problem, but have made me a better writer in every way.

5. Risky-business…and I’m not talking about Jacob Black’s abs. I’m talking about an editor who not only scuba dives (something that is completely terrifying to me), but a few years ago she left her job to become the publisher of an unknown (at least on US soil) and unestablished company, hiring brilliant minds to accompany her and then bringing that company to the forefront of Children’s publishing. WOW!

6. Romance…She is overly-dramatic and overly-romantic making her my long-distance very bosom friend as well as the best, most-capable editor for Polly Madassa’s story ever…and thus the very best editor for me.

7. Passionate…she is passionate not only about Twilight (yes, in honor of her, I think I must mention Twilight at least a few times in this post), but about books and specifically about Egmont’s authors and their manuscripts.

8. Funny and Hilarious…sadly I have yet to meet Elizabeth in person, but each Tweet and Facebook update is enough to have me completely cracking up and wiping tears from my eyes.

9. TV…as a person who doesn’t have TV (just a television that we can watch movies on)…so I never get to see Glee, Idol, or Top Model. But it’s nice each day because I usually can get a play-by-play of every show, and it’s always hilarious and, lucky-for-me, commercial free!

10. Twilight…this one word alone should say enough to the millions of Elizabeth Law fans, but I must continue: not only is Elizabeth heartily Team Edward (besides Jacob’s abs, that I admit, are delish) like myself, but is obsessed with all that is Twilight and keeps me in the know of all of Robert Pattison’s movements.

So, thank you Elizabeth for being the amazing editor that you are and for being such a wonderful person! Know you are celebrated and loved today!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

Hop over to author Margie Gelbwasser’s site and read some of my writing advice as well as advice from other amazing authors!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

To celebrate the final seven-day countdown till Scones and Sensibility is released out into the world, I’ve teamed up with two amazing authors whose debut novels are also releasing next week!

Bree Despain author of the amazing THE DARK DIVINE

and

Rhonda Stapleton author of the wonderful STUPID CUPID!

But before I get into the nitty-gritty of the contest, let me tell you all what you win!

Drum roll, please….

A signed author’s copy of SCONES AND SENSIBILITY, a signed authors copy of THE DARK DIVINE, and a signed authors copy of STUPID CUPID!

I know, it’s amazing, right?!

So now, what do you need to do to enter this amazing contest?

You must email me (lindsayeland at me dot com) the answers to two questions about each of us correctly! And if you tweet, facebook, or blog about the contest you get an extra entry, but leave a comment here to let me know where you have advertised the contest! And remember, all three of us are doing this scavenger hunt, so when you’re done with mine head on over to their blogs and you can enter in their scavenger hunt contests , but be careful…cause all the questions are different!

So here goes!

Search Bree’s website to find the answers to a little bit of what Bree is all about! www.breedespain.com

1. What is Bree’s #1 favorite TV show?

2. True or False: Bree loves chocolate.

And here is a little bit about her book THE DARK DIVINE being released on December 22, 2009 with Egmont USA!

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel’s dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

Now onto Rhonda!

Check out her website to find the answers to a little bit about what makes her tick! www.rhondastapleton.com

1. What two electronics does Rhonda hate being on at the same time?

2. Which author is listed last under “My Favorite YA Authors?”

And here is a taste of STUPID CUPID being released on December 22, 2009 with Simon Pulse!

Felicity Walker believes in true love. That’s why she applies for a gig at the matchmaking company Cupid’s Hollow. But when Felicity gets the job, she learns that she isn’t just a matchmaker…she’s a cupid! (There’s more than one of them, you know.)

Armed with a hot pink, tricked-out PDA infused with the latest in cupid magic (love arrows shot through email), Felicity works to meet her quota of successful matches. But when she bends the rules of cupidity by matching her best friend Maya with three different boys at once, disaster strikes. Felicity needs to come up with a plan to set it all right, pronto, before she gets fired…and before Maya ends up with her heart split in three.

And finally, here are two questions about moi!

1. What are the four states I have lived in?

2. What was my wonderful fifth grade teachers name?

Thanks for playing our Book Triplets Scavenger Hunt and good luck! Winner’s will be announced on release day…December 22, 2009!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

First off, thank you so much for all the entries and the hilarious and wonderful names you came up with!! I have to say that I might just have to use all of those names at some point!!

But of course, there can only be one winner (though of course you ALL are winners to me!), so after I wrote each name down and put them in the magic white bowl (all the cereal was washed out, so don’t worry) I let my youngest son, Noah (who can’t read so he’s completely unbiased) reach in…and this is the name he pulled out!!

Kristin Gray!!

Looks like I’ll be using either Penelope Tulip or Charles “Chaz” Stapleton in my book…or perhaps they will be twins…hmmm, the wheels are already turning!! Kristin also won a signed copy of Scones and the Holiday Traditions book! Contact me, Kristin, and I’ll send out your prize tomorrow!

Thanks again to everyone that entered, I LOVED reading your name suggestions!

And this weeks contest is going to be a bit different but the prize is out-of-this-world! And I hate to leave you hanging like that…but I have to. I’ll announce the contest tomorrow, so stay tuned!!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

There are travel agents and there are undercover agents and there are real estate agents and there are talent agents.

And then the cream of the crop are literary agents.

And then, above all agents everywhere in the world–on top of the cream of the crop–there is MY AGENT!

That one person who believed in my writing enough to say, “Won’t you be my client?” (maybe not in that Mr. Rogers type of way…but you know what I mean).

That one person who sent along one revision letter after another because she saw potential in my writing and myself as a writer enough to know that my manuscript could be better. And it was because of her questions and her suggestions and her insights that it became better.

That one person who was savvy and knew just the right editors to send my manuscript to.

That one person who encouraged me when the rejections began to pile up.

That one person who has been supportive of every manuscript that I’ve shown her…always seeing the potential in it and gently steering me in the right direction when I felt like I was floundering somewhere in the Atlantic without a paddle.

That one person who is my advocate in the great wide world of publishing, and who has made me ten zillion times better of a writer than I was a year and a half ago.

Someone, whose questions and comments and suggestions have made my dialogue come alive, my characters have motivation, and my plots have backbone (cause my plots sometimes have the spine of a jellyfish…and yes, jellyfish don’t have spines…so enough said).

I think my agent, Rebecca Sherman, is outstanding in every sense of the word and deserves to be recognized as the savvy, professional, friendly, and brilliant agent that she is!

Thank you so much, Rebecca! Know that today you are celebrated for the amazing work that you do and for the outstanding person that you are!

Cheers!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

I did a super fun interview with Suzette at QueryTracker! Thanks so much for having me!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

I did an interview with a wonderful book blogger, Faith! Thanks for having me! Check out the interview and her site right here!

Originally published at Lindsay Eland dot com. Please leave any comments there.

The new winner for this week is da…da..da..dummmm

Megan Hubbard!!

Megan won a signed copy of Scones, Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, as well as The Anne of Green Gables Cookbook!!

Congrats Megan! And thank you so everyone who commented and followed and announced it to friends! You guys are all amazing!

And now for this weeks Countdown To Scones Contest!

I’m writing a new novel right now and am in need of some creative, fun, name suggestions for a character! Here’s your chance to name a character in one of my books!

Leave your name suggestion in the comments section and I’ll randomly draw the winner next Monday! And as a disclaimer, I reserve the right to use the name for any character, minor or major, good or bad, clown or nemesis! So what do you win?

Well…you win your name will be used in one of my books as well as a signed copy of Scones and Sensibility and a Holiday Traditions book by Debbie Mumm that is filled with fun, festive ideas to celebrate this holiday season!

So get cracking! I look forward to hearing what you come up with!!