Winner of the IDIA Fan Creations Contest!

Hullo, everyone! The IDIA Fan Creations Contest officially closed on Monday, which left me with the difficult task of… deciding a winner. I have absolutely loved seeing all of you guys’ creations, and it was so hard for me to just choose one winner. All of the submissions were so awesome, and I got so excited every time I got a new submission. 😀 So I thought I’d share all of the submissions with you before announcing the winner. I’m putting them on here in the order that they were submitted. Enjoy!

Madeline J. Rose – Quote Pictures

Twinepathy Quote “Change” – Madeline J. Rose

Twinepathy Quote “Antarctica” – Madeline J. Rose

Twinepathy Quote “Friends” – Madeline J. Rose

Aren’t these awesome??? I especially like the mask on the last one. 😀

Esther – Quote Pictures

Twinepathy Quote “Blaze” – Esther

Twinepathy Quote “Together” – Esther

These two are so pretty! And that second quote is one of my favorites that I forgot about writing. 🙂

Jemma – Character Drawings

Albany – Jemma

Maddie – Jemma

Brooklyn – Jemma

Blaze – Jemma

These are officially the first character drawings done for the IDIA series! Eeeep!!! 😀 I was so excited to see these! Jemma did a great job, and I love how the clothing reflects the characters and is pretty much exactly what the characters would wear (especially Albany’s Flash shirt).

Elizabeth – Character Art

Blaze – Elizabeth

Maddie Through The Peephole – Elizabeth

Aren’t these so amazing??? They look exactly like I pictured them. Plus, the perspective on the picture with Maddie is so cool!

Sara – Quote Pictures

Twinepathy Quote “Shower” – Sara

Twinepathy Quote “Teleport” – Sara

These are so cool! Pun intended. 😉 I really love the design on the shower quote, and that’s one of my favorite quotes from the whole book. 😀

Shay (elvenpadawan) and Sharah – Cosplay

Sisters – Shay (elvenpadawan) and Sharah

Albany and Brooklyn Cosplay – Shay (elvenpadawan) and Sharah

Brooklyn Profile – Shay (elvenpadawan) and Sharah

Albany Profile – Shay (elvenpadawan) and Sharah

IDIA Comic Book Cover – Shay (elvenpadawan) and Sharah

These are so amazing!!! Shay and Sharah did amazing on these pictures! “Day job: Teenager”.  😀 Also, I love that comic book cover that they made. It looks so cool!

 

This was such a hard decision to make, because I really loved all of these! They were all amazing and I am so glad we had so many people participate. I had to actually use a scoring sheet to help me decide. 😀 So, without further ado, the winner is…

Elizabeth with her drawing of Blaze!

Blaze – Elizabeth

This was seriously so close! But I absolutely loved this drawing that Elizabeth did (as well as the one of Maddie 😀 ), and this is exactly how I pictured Blaze! Great job, Elizabeth! I’ll be contacting you about your prize shortly.

And I have to say a very special thank you to everyone who participated!!! You guys are so awesome, and I loved getting your submissions. If you weren’t able to put together a submission this time,  don’t worry! We’ll probably do something like this again. 🙂

What do you think of the fan art? Would you want to participate in another contest like this? Comment below with your thoughts!!!

 

9 Ways To Make Your Favorite Author Happy (And Motivate Them To Write More)

Hullo, friends! I’m still getting responses on the poll I posted, but I thought I would go ahead and share this post with you that I’ve had sitting in my drafts for a while. This is inspired by Rachelle Rea Cobb’s post called 20 Ways To Support Your Favorite Books. Go check it out, and take a look at her books, too, while you’re over there!

I’m pretty sure there is a direct correlation between fans fangirling over books and their authors writing more of said books. It makes sense, right??? So here are 9 ways to make your favorite author happy. This can also help that author write more by reminding them how much you love their books. (Note: these can be used for pretty much any author, although I know a few authors don’t agree about fanfiction.)

1. Fangirl over their books. On their blog, on Goodreads, to your friends, to that random stranger who asked you what you’re reading on the bus. Sharing your love for the book(s) with others will pique their interest. And who doesn’t want friends to fangirl over a book with them?
2. Share on social media. If you have a Twitter account, tweet a cool picture and a quote from the book! Post your thoughts on Goodreads while you read. Find the author on Pinterest and follow them. Like their Facebook page. Sharing your love for the book and the author goes a long way.
3. Write fanfiction. Some authors don’t like fanfiction, but many do. Have a random idea about what may be happening behind the scenes? Like a side character and want to write about how they saved the world? Found a spot where the author hints at something that happened and want to guess what it is? Write a fanfic! It doesn’t have to be long. Even a short fanfic can remind an author that people love their book.
4. Create fanart. You don’t have to be an awesome artist to create fanart. You could draw an important symbol from the book, make a collage online, or even film a scene from the book and share it on Youtube. Homemade book trailers are cool, too! (You can see one Alea Harper did for Twinepathy here.)
5. Write a review. Reviews help authors a lot. On Amazon, reviews determine how easy it is to find a book when searching, and readers are more likely to pick up a book if it has a lot of great reviews. Along with that, you can post reviews on Goodreads and your own blog. Authors also love it when you use gifs and fangirl in your reviews!
6. Participate in events. Whether your favorite author is hosting a giveaway, a blog tour, or doing a Q&A, they want to interact with you! Ask them questions, offer to help spread the word on social media, and provide suggestions for future events. Authors love having help when they host big events.
7. Share quotes. A good, memorable quote can grab someone’s attention, especially if it’s a relatable one. And while it’s easier to make quote pictures for movies because you can use pictures from the movie, books are fun to do, too! If you don’t want to do pictures, you can always just tweet a quote or add it on Goodreads.
8. Give the book as a gift. While Christmas may be half a year away, there are still many opportunities to give gifts, like birthdays and graduations. If you have a book you love, think about sharing it with your favorite bookworm. After all, what bookworm doesn’t love getting free books?

I hope you enjoyed this post, and hopefully you’ll be able to use a few of these ideas to help motivate your favorite authors. Comment below on which of these you’ve done, and don’t forget to share this post with your fellow bookworms!

Speaking of things authors love, I’d love for you to find me on social media! If you haven’t already, be my friend on Goodreads and follow me on Pinterest! There’s also a group board for the IDIA series on Pinterest, which you can join by commenting on this picture. Check it out!

Tales From The Writer’s Desk: A Special Day

Hullo, everyone! Nothing like a book release to get me posting again, hmm? In case you missed it yesterday, Twinepathy is now available on Kindle! I realized it was about time I did another Tales From The Writer’s Desk, this time with the characters from Twinepathy. Because, let’s face it, why wouldn’t they hang out with Bri? Also, the sign-up for the Twinepathy blog tour will be posted tomorrow. So keep an eye out for that, and enjoy this post! I know I sure did!

I know immediately that something’s wrong when I walk into my office the day after my July 4th break. To start with, the mess of Post-it notes and index cards that usually covers the walls of my office is gone, replaced by rows and rows of horribly identical sticky notes. My usually cluttered desk is spotlessly organized, with all the pens in the penholder and all of the scattered papers gone. Instead of having my usual movie theme song music playing, my laptop is spouting classical orchestra music. The bookshelf behind the desk has been dusted, and the books are somehow organized by both color and height. I shudder at the thought of what my cluttered book room must look like now.

“What did you do?” I ask the woman sitting at my desk, my voice tight.

The woman spins around in the chair. Her brown hair is about shoulder length, and her eyes sparkle with both life and sadness. “I was waiting for you, and I honestly couldn’t stand the mess in here anymore.”

I cross my arms. “Jen, has anyone ever told you that it’s not polite to rearrange other people’s belongings?”

Jen–or Data, as she’s known with her code name–smiles at me. “Of course. But it’s also not polite to keep someone waiting.”

She has a point. So of course I shift subjects. “Why are you here?”

Jen leans forward. “Just wanted to check up on an old friend. There’s been a lot happening at IDIA lately. Some good, some… less good.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Really?”

She smirks. “Somewhat. Actually, I was just looking for our favorite troublemaker, and that brought me here.”

I groan. “What’s Blaze gotten up to this time?”

“I don’t know,” Jen admits. “I just wanted to check and see if he was here. And I wanted a chance to say hi to you and see how you’re doing. And to let you know that we’re taking over.”

“You’re taking over what?” I ask with a frown.

Jen grins. “The blog.”

I sigh. “Please no.”

“Just for one day,” she reassures me. “It’s just going to be an… interview. By commenters.”

I grin. “Well. That’ll end well.”

Jen nods. “Of course. I’ll be in charge. If you’ll excuse me, I’d better head back to headquarters.” She stands up and heads to the door.

“Bye,” I tell her, turning back to my ruined office. As the door closes behind her, I can’t help but grumble, “Handful.” Time to see what damage she did to my book room.

I open the door to the book room and stop in shock. In front of me lies the book room, looking perfectly normal… except the floor is covered in grass and there’s a huge tree growing out of the middle. The ceiling’s gone, and above I can see blue sky with fluffy cotton-ball clouds over it.

I sigh. “Blaze!!!”

The teleporter appears in front of me with a grin. He waves a hand slowly in front of my face. “I am not the agent you’re looking for.”

“Hardy-har-har,” I grumble. The illusion disappears, leaving my normal book room. “Thank you.”

“Any time,” Blaze says. “I’m just going to go mess with Benedict, ‘kay?” He jabs a finger towards the book room. “Just wait until that illusion disappears and you see what Data did to your precious books.” He grins and teleports away.

I sigh again. “This is the start of a wonderful day.”

Hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out Twinepathy and come back tomorrow to sign up for the book tour! The aforementioned takeover by the IDIA agents will occur on the day the print book releases, and the post for questions will open up on Friday, or before. Comment below with what you think should happen in a future Tale From The Writer’s Desk!

 

Twinepathy (Part 27): You Have No IDIA

Hullo, everyone! I hope you had a great weekend, and a wonderful Valentine’s day! I hope you’re enjoying all of the post-Valentine’s sales… Enjoy the part, and check out part one if you’re new.

The drive home is gloomy and quiet. Denver must be thinking about our failure, while I’m just trying to figure this puzzle out. I’m smart, you know. I might not be able to match up with Jen’s brains, but I’m not an idiot. Right now, though, I feel like one. Why can’t I figure this out?

Mom and Dad are up when we get home, and Maddie’s helping them make breakfast. Denver gives them our story: we wanted to go for an early morning hike, which we actually do sometimes. They accept it without questions. Brooklyn’s still asleep, and I don’t blame her. We’ve had a rough week, her most of all. She deserves the rest. But that also means that I can’t go on the computer and check out this Keller person. Everyone else is too touchy about their computers to let me use them, especially since that one time I accidentally deleted Dad’s important twenty-one page paper. And that was five years ago. Yeah, my family holds grudges.

I help my mom with a few little things around the house and then turn my attention to Maddie. I think it’s high time she learned how to play Monopoly. I mean, she’s been here for about a week already, and we haven’t played with her yet! It’s basically a family tradition. So I convince Denver and Dad to join us, and we sit down in the living room, ready to play.

We play for about an hour, with me helping Maddie. She’s far, far ahead of all of us when the doorbell rings. Denver shoots up and races to the door like he’s on fire. What is he…

Ohhh. When he opens the door, I hear Ezra’s familiar voice. No wonder he was so eager to get to the door. He didn’t mention that they had any plans today.

Denver brings Ezra into the living room. “Let me just go get my stuff,” he says, moving towards the stairs.

Ezra nods and sits down, giving us a shy smile. She doesn’t know Dad very well, I know that much, and she always seems to have a little trouble talking to adults. Dad says hello and chats politely with her before excusing himself and leaving. I lean forward, moving my game piece to Go. “Hi, Ezra. Had any good IDIAs lately?”

Ezra gives me a confused look, but then it dawns on her, and she gives me a nervous look. She looks around and then leans in. “Does… does your family know?”

I know what she wanted to ask. Does Denver know? I shake my head. “No.”

Denver walks back in. “Okay, I think I’m ready. Albany, I think I heard Brooklyn moving around. You can probably go check on her.”

Finally. It’s almost lunch time. I don’t think she’s ever slept in this late. I nod. “Okay, I will. Have fun, you two. Make sure your phone’s charged.” I wink at Ezra.

Ezra and Denver both give me odd looks, but Ezra’s has so much more meaning. The front door shuts behind them, and I burst out laughing. Maddie gives me that funny look little kids give grown-ups when they do something that makes absolutely no sense. “You’re weird.”

I laugh harder. “You have no IDIA.”

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the wonderful mothers out there! I hope your kids have shown how much they love you…

And that you’ve laughed plenty, as well.

I saw this quote/story on Goodreads, and I thought I’d share it with everyone.

When God Created Mothers

By Erma Bombeck

When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day of “overtime” when the angel appeared and said. “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”

And God said, “Have you read the specs on this order?” She has to be completely washable, but not plastic. Have 180 moveable parts…all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair. And six pairs of hands.”

The angel shook her head slowly and said. “Six pairs of hands…. no way.”

It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,” God remarked, “it’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.”

That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel. God nodded.

One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, ‘What are you kids doing in there?’ when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say. ‘I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.”

God,” said the angel touching his sleeve gently, “Get some rest tomorrow….”

I can’t,” said God, “I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick…can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger…and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower.”

The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. “It’s too soft,” she sighed.

But tough!” said God excitedly. “You can imagine what this mother can do or endure.”

Can it think?”

Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise,” said the Creator.

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.

There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model.”

It’s not a leak,” said the Lord, “It’s a tear.”

What’s it for?”

It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride.”

You are a genius, ” said the angel.

Somberly, God said, “I didn’t put it there.”

Happy Mother’s Day!

Writing, Marketing, And Other Wonderful Things

I mentioned in when I did the 777 Writing Challenge that I would tell you more about my work-in-editing soon. And I believe this is a wonderful time to do that.

But, first, some updates on Paralyzed Dreams!

I want to thank everyone who has reviewed the book! Every review helps, and the more reviews, the more the word gets out. All of you are amazing! 😀 If you’ve written a review in one place (Goodreads, Amazon, your blog, etc.), it’s super easy to put it on other sites, too! Special thanks to everyone who has done that, too. (That means you, writefury and Kathy @ Kathy’s Cottage Books!) If you haven’t reviewed, it only takes a minute to write down a few thoughts, and a couple more to be detailed. Even just rating on Amazon or Goodreads helps. 🙂

And Paralyzed Dreams is now listed on the Homeschooled Authors blog. Go check it out, along with the other homeschooled authors!

If you haven’t already, tell your friends about the book, too. And if you’re interested in an author interview, let me know! I’d definitely be interested.

Oh, and if you have an Instagram, Pintrest, or other social media account… Here are some quotes from the book you can share!

Now that we’ve got that over with, let’s get on to even more fun stuff.

I finished the first book in my new series! It’s in the editing stage now (which I’m procrastinating, of course). I may have mentioned it before, but now it’s time to officially announce the title of the series. Now. Right here.

Drumroll, please.

The world of Lerali is at the brink of war, and its fate rests in the hands of five teenagers, the group called WISHE. Their task? To find a long-lost portal before it’s too late.

Sound interesting? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

If you’re interested in helping to promote my books and join my street team* (Got any cool street team name ideas? Share!), head on over to my contact page. I’d love to hear from you!

And don’t forget that the Super-Duper Fan Fiction Crossover Challenge (the Second) is open for submissions! The deadline is May 1st, which may seem far away, but it’s not… so get started now! (Tell me that it’s not far away the next time I’m moaning about Avengers: Age of Ultron…) I can’t wait to see you guys’ stories! Need ideas? Check here.

I believe that’s all, folks! Got any questions? Got ideas for street names? Like the quotes? Curious to learn more about anything? Comment below! I’d love to hear what you have to say!

*A street team is a group of devoted fans who help promote an authors’ work, through book reviews, social media, and just telling others about the book. In exchange they get exclusive content, bonus fun, and, sometimes, ARCs. Worth it? I’d say so.

Thank You All So Much!

Thanks so much, everyone! All of you are absolutely amazing!

I just want to give everyone a hug!!! *virtual group hug* But since that’s the best I can do, here’s a shoutout for everyone who participated!

Erinkenobi2893 posted a character interview with Pam!

Two excerpts from Paralyzed Dreams were posted, one on Lights and Shadows and the other on aspiringwriter22!

So many amazing book reviews! Thank you all! Check them out on A Glimpse of Starlight, Sarah Plain & Average, Kathy’s Cottage Books, and Writefury.

Ness Kingsley at of words and books hosted me for an author interview!

And, finally, on my sister’s amazing blog, Mandie’s World, I revealed who I based Jeremy off of, along with showing off some of his encouraging quotes from the book!

You all were so awesome! I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by all of your encouragement and support! Go check out their posts, both for the book tour and their other ones, and follow them! I’m pretty sure you’ll find something you like.

If you wrote a review, or if you’ve read it and you’re planning on reviewing, make sure to let me know so I can read and comment! And if you’d like, please post your reviews on Amazon, too! Every little bit counts. And *cough* once I get ten reviews on Amazon I’ll be posting an extra Avengers Isle post…

And I leave you with a quote…

The Super-Duper Fan Fiction Crossover Challenge!

As you can see, I’m horrible at naming things, including challenges/contest. 😛 But does that surprise anyone?

Rhetorical question…

For some reason, I really, really like crossovers. It’s always fun to see my favorite characters come together in a way they probably never will in real life. I honestly haven’t written one, unless you count the Avengers’ Isle series thing, but I’d like to, if I could come up with a good idea. For those of you who don’t know what a crossover is, it’s basically fan fiction combining two different universes, e.g. The Avengers/Chronicles of Narnia, or something more book-ish, like the Hobbit/The Hardy Boys. (BTW, the second one was a random, on the spot one I made up…)

So, on to the challenge/contest. Basically, you are to write a fan fiction crossover. (Duh… *facepalm*) Since I will be “judging”, the fandoms must be ones that I know, from movies or books that I’ve watched. I’ll give you a brief list. Pick two, or if you think of a different one you’d like to do, comment and ask. I can’t properly evaluate characters from movies and books I don’t know.

Here’s the list:

Movies

The Avengers (Please keep in mind that I haven’t watched Iron Man 1/2/3, The Incredible Hulk, Thor 2, or Cap 2. No spoilers for those, please. 😀 )

Finding Nemo

Frozen

Tangled

Brave

Toy Story 1/2/3

The Chronicles of Narnia

Night At The Museum 1/2/3

National Treasure 1/2

The Princess Bride

The Lego Movie (??? If you do this one, that will be at the top of my list to read. 😛 )

Books

The Sherlock Holmes stories/novels

The Bible (Please don’t feel obligated to do this one, but I would enjoy reading it all the same…)

Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew (These apparently qualify as one, although I do not agree…)

Dr. Seuss (Eh-he, eh-he… *imagines Avengers/Dr. Seuss crossover*… *dies laughing*)

Frankenstein

The Tale of Despereaux

The Word Changers

Indian in the Cupboard

*end “brief” list*

Ah, so now that we have that over with, we can continue. You do not have to do a book and a movie, I just wanted to provide plenty of choices. If you don’t see something you’d like to do, just ask?

Feel free to do multiple crossovers and submit all of them.

Speaking of submitting… After you finish writing your story, post it on your blog, if you have one (if you don’t, borrow a friend’s, or comment and ask me… hopefully I’ll think of a solution…). Then post a link in the comments here so that I can find your post. The deadline shall be… February *goes to see if it’s a leap year* 28th. That gives you a little over a month. If I don’t have any submissions, I’ll extended the deadline, reboot the contest, whatever.

Now, prizes. If you submit a crossover (or multiple ones 😉 ) you are automatically guaranteed a link/shoutout in the post on the deadline. I will pick the winner based on plot, level of difficulty (e.g., a Lego Movie/Avengers crossover would get more points than a Frozen/Tangled crossover), how close the characters are to the original, and probably a few other things I come up with… And the winner’s story will be posted on here, with the author’s permission.

Now, go start wr–

Wait, what? *whispers with invisible friend Bob* Bob here says I haven’t made this hard enough! He wants me to make it more fun! And what better way to do that than…

Add a twist!

Now, for the sake of your sanity, this twist won’t be required, but you’ll definitely earn some bonus points if you do it. 😉 So here’s the twist. To earn those special bonus points, you must include a quote from a third fandom (as in, not one of the two in your crossover). It must be one of these ten quotes:

1. The Avengers: “So that’s what it does.”
2. Finding Nemo: “I am a nice shark, not a mindless eating machine.”
3. The Princess Bride: “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders – The most famous of which is ‘never get involved in a land war in Asia’ – but only slightly less well-known is this: ‘Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line’!” (Or if you would rather you can use “Anybody want a peanut?” or “Hello, my name is [insert character name]. You killed my father. Now prepare to die.”
4. Tangled: “Frying pans! Who knew, right?”
5. Frozen: “Oh, look at that! I’ve been impaled!” (Please don’t make this disgusting if you use it…)
6. The Lego Movie: “A house divided against itself… would be better than this.”
7. Night at the Museum: 1 – “Let’s do this, people! And… animals! And… weird faceless puppet creatures!”  2 – “You know, two words come to mind when I hear you talk. “Delusional” and “weirdo”. And if I had to say a third, “goofy.” Just goofy.”  3 – “What, have you never seen a gorgeous woman before… who could be a model if she didn’t love pizza so much.”
8. National Treasure: 1 – “It’s a big blue-ish green man… with a strange-looking goatee… I’m guessing that’s significant.” 2 – “Sir, please dismount the banister.”

I stopped at eight because somehow I already had more than ten quotes… Go figure.

So, let’s recap, because that was long and rambling…

1. Find two fandoms, and (optional) choose a quote to include.
2. Write your crossover!
3. Post your story on your blog (or someone else’s).
4. Put a link to your story in the comments here.
5. Repeat!

Please, please participate! The more participation, the more likely it will be that I’ll do this again! Have fun!

 

The Scribbler Award

Thanks so much to erinkenobi2893 for nominating me for the Scribbler Award! The rules are as follows…

1. Link to your favorite writing blog, share your favorite writing tip, or do both.
2. Pass the award along to up to five more people.

I follow so many amazing writers, that it’s hard to pick one as my favorite, but I guess I must. Or I can just share my favorite writing tip(s). Of course there is “write what you love” and “write what you know best” and “write something that you yourself would love to read”. And “use your story to change your readers”. Which I just made up. I’ll work on making that more eloquent. But I think as an absolute favorite writing tip, I’ll use this edited quote from Dori:

“Just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing, writing, writing…”

It’s okay, you can laugh. It’s also okay not to laugh. I know, I’m cheesy. And come to think of it, I just gave

And now for my five nominees…

Irisbloom5 – Her stories are awesome. And I can’t help it; here’s one of my favorites: Never Alone

Aul – He has a great perspective, and his character descriptions are really nice to read.

Icedmocha34 – She’s awesome, people. Just plain awesome. Check out her other blog, too: Quotes From The Coffee Shop.

The Ink Stain – This site has some great stories on it. Just be careful. Three chapters of one story are posted, and it leaves you hungry for more. 😉

Red Lettering – These posts are written pretty much for writers, by a writer. And they’re great. With everything from character/plot details to writing prompts to advice on writing itself, this is a great blog for writers. Check it out!

So here’s to all of my fellow writers. May your scribblings be exciting for both you and your readers.

Book Review: Under God by TobyMac and Michael Tait

I just finished reading this book, and it is amazing!

Under God is a compilation of stories of sacrifice and faith from America’s history. From the American Revolution to the Civil War to the post-Civil-War segregation, this book is filled with touching and inspiring true stories. As TobyMac states in the book: “Knowing the past is crucial to dealing with the present.”

Along with awesome quotes…

Freedom is not an ideal, it is not even a protection, if it means nothing more than freedom to stagnate, to live without dreams, to have no greater aim than a second car and another television set.

-Adlai Stevenson, American Statesman

“Racism is not a skin problem; it’s a sin problem.”

-Nathel Tait, Michael Tait’s father

And touching stories like the Sand Creek Massacre, there are some great verses pointed out and wonderful commentary. I highly recommend this book. It was absolutely awesome.