A glorious moment today. I held my first book, "Beth, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch," in my hands. I've spent twenty years wishing, hoping, and dreaming for this event. It makes me smile to think of my sweetheart Nyle's pride for this accomplishment.
In case anyone reads my dedication and wonders who "Bingo" is....that was one of the many names for my husband. He was in a play at Brigham Young University that he didn't want to be in. The director begged Nyle so he decided to do it even though it was a tiny part. He had his name listed as Bingo Smith because he was slightly embarrassed to be on a small stage in a small part.
How could he have known that the small stage with the small part would earn him a nomination for the Irene Ryan Regional Acting Award? This is a very big deal in this corner of the world. Imagine his chagrin when on the list of nominees he was listed as "Bingo Smith," just as he had printed on the program.
After that many of his friends called him Bingo. I thought this story was so funny, and it was entertaining to call him Bingo. I have a lanyard somewhere that says "I Love BINGO." Our girls gave it to me for Christmas one year. Many people would be surprised and say, "Really, do you love Bingo that much?" Then they would get to hear the story about my beloved Bingo...and NO it wasn't about the game!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
A hint of news from the 1800's
So....we speak often in our country in the year 2012, about the current litigious nature of our culture. It seems as though we're always hearing about somebody suing somebody else. Imagine my surprise to discover that in the nineteenth century the people of America were MORE litigious!!
In 2012 if you go to the doctor he wants you to sign an arbitration agreement. This means that you WON'T sue him if problems arise. Instead you will have a mediator who will work with both parties to reach a compromise.
My husband was an attorney for twenty years. He believed in the justice system. On the other hand he believed that litigation was a LAST RESORT, not something to ever be used frivolously.
Well, there is my little random factoid about litigation in the 1800's!
In 2012 if you go to the doctor he wants you to sign an arbitration agreement. This means that you WON'T sue him if problems arise. Instead you will have a mediator who will work with both parties to reach a compromise.
My husband was an attorney for twenty years. He believed in the justice system. On the other hand he believed that litigation was a LAST RESORT, not something to ever be used frivolously.
Well, there is my little random factoid about litigation in the 1800's!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
How and Why Vivian Varlowe?
My beloved Mama wanted to be a writer. As a child she felt driven to record feelings, experiences, and to create stories, and verse. Tucked into bed she would wait until her parents had gone to bed. Then flashlight in hand she would quietly climb into her closet. There she would write, sometimes into the wee small hours of the morning.
Dreaming of fame and fortune Mama wrote, wrote, and then wrote some more. One day it occurred to her that she needed a name to attach to her writing. In her estimation her own name was a little too common, too everydayish to warrant such a grand thing as the name by a writer would be known.
Vivian Varlowe....how she received that exact inspirational name is lost to history. As an adult I told Mama about my compulsion to write. She laughed and shared with me her childhood dream, complete with her pseudonym.
The sad tale is that at some point Mama became convinced that she had no talent to write. Feeling the pressing cares of everyday life Mom quit writing stories and books. Fortunately she kept writing letters, journals and occasional poetic verse. She didn't become a "published" author, but her writing is incredibly precious to her over 75 descendants.
As I grew closer to finishing the first novel in my series "Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch," I went to a book store one day. I looked at the neat alphabetical novels on the shelf. There was Carol Smith...part of my name. Next I looked and found CJ Stone...another extremely close version of my name. Perplexity wrinkled my brow as I considered my approach to this conundrum. I remembered Mama's dreamed of author name and looked on the shelves. I didn't see anything close to Vivian Varlowe...a pseudonym was born!
So...readers please look for and find my first book, "Beth, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch," by Vivian Varlowe, at Lulu.com for book or Nook, and at Amazon for Kindle. It is also carried at Aunt Addy's Country Home in Farmington, Utah. If you live in Utah that is the best deal. You can purchase it there for $3.00 cheaper, and no shipping charges as well. My first book signing will be held on May 31, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Aunt Addy's Country Home in Farmington, Utah. I will soon post the address. Thanks Mama for dreaming big, and passing those big dreams on to me!
Dreaming of fame and fortune Mama wrote, wrote, and then wrote some more. One day it occurred to her that she needed a name to attach to her writing. In her estimation her own name was a little too common, too everydayish to warrant such a grand thing as the name by a writer would be known.
Vivian Varlowe....how she received that exact inspirational name is lost to history. As an adult I told Mama about my compulsion to write. She laughed and shared with me her childhood dream, complete with her pseudonym.
The sad tale is that at some point Mama became convinced that she had no talent to write. Feeling the pressing cares of everyday life Mom quit writing stories and books. Fortunately she kept writing letters, journals and occasional poetic verse. She didn't become a "published" author, but her writing is incredibly precious to her over 75 descendants.
As I grew closer to finishing the first novel in my series "Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch," I went to a book store one day. I looked at the neat alphabetical novels on the shelf. There was Carol Smith...part of my name. Next I looked and found CJ Stone...another extremely close version of my name. Perplexity wrinkled my brow as I considered my approach to this conundrum. I remembered Mama's dreamed of author name and looked on the shelves. I didn't see anything close to Vivian Varlowe...a pseudonym was born!
So...readers please look for and find my first book, "Beth, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch," by Vivian Varlowe, at Lulu.com for book or Nook, and at Amazon for Kindle. It is also carried at Aunt Addy's Country Home in Farmington, Utah. If you live in Utah that is the best deal. You can purchase it there for $3.00 cheaper, and no shipping charges as well. My first book signing will be held on May 31, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Aunt Addy's Country Home in Farmington, Utah. I will soon post the address. Thanks Mama for dreaming big, and passing those big dreams on to me!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
The first book in the series is done! HOORAY!
Wilhelmina Elizabeth, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch is my first finished novel in the series. I am NOT writing the books in perfect chronology. Eventually when all eight novels are finished I may consider numbering them in the order of time that they happen. For now I rather like having readers bounce about seeing bits and pieces of things, but left wishing to know the story before or after.
I just hope that readers will enjoy reading the novels as much as I've enjoyed writing them!
I just hope that readers will enjoy reading the novels as much as I've enjoyed writing them!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Excerpt from Wilhelmina Elizabeth's novel
Beth NEVER felt positively towards another human being except her family and Eric Calkin. Marriage to Jamie had not changed that. Looking at him with the sun shining through his thick, strong hair the blue-black of a raven's wing, Beth noticed again that he was very handsome. He was lean, with strong, firm, muscles. His eyes were so deeply brown that it was like looking into a bottomless well. He had long, curly eyelashes. When Jamie was angry, or happy, he had dimples that decorated his face. Eric Calkin his brother, and Blake Calkin his father had the same dimples. It was definitely a common Calkin trait.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Beth's Checkerboard Knitted Hotpads
Most household things were made in the household in the middle to late 1800s. Lucille Bond is a whiz at all things domestic. She teaches Beth, her daughter, how to make the following pattern.
MATERIALS NEEDED
Size 10 or 11 knitting needles
two skeins of yarn (3 oz or more, this is a loose measurement you may have more than needed)
CAST ON 120 STITCHES.
FIRST ROW: knit 1st 6 stitches, purl six stitches, knit 6 stitches, purl 6 stitches (alternate knit and purl for 20 segments)
SECOND THROUGH SIXTH ROWS: Repeat the above pattern
SEVENTH ROW: purl 1st 6 stitches, knit six stitches, purl 6 stitches, knit six stitches, (alternate purl and knit for a total of 20 sections)
EIGHTH ROW THROUGH TWELTH ROW: Repeat seventh row.
FOR THE REST OF THE PATTERN: Alternate knit and purl every six rows to make a checkerboard pattern. Make a total of 6 rows x 20...ending with a total of 120 rows
CAST OFF
Fold knitted piece in half. With a needle and thread (matching color to yarn), sew the right sides together of the hot pad. Leave one inch undone to turn the hotpad right side out, then blind stitch the last unstitched segment.
MATERIALS NEEDED
Size 10 or 11 knitting needles
two skeins of yarn (3 oz or more, this is a loose measurement you may have more than needed)
CAST ON 120 STITCHES.
FIRST ROW: knit 1st 6 stitches, purl six stitches, knit 6 stitches, purl 6 stitches (alternate knit and purl for 20 segments)
SECOND THROUGH SIXTH ROWS: Repeat the above pattern
SEVENTH ROW: purl 1st 6 stitches, knit six stitches, purl 6 stitches, knit six stitches, (alternate purl and knit for a total of 20 sections)
EIGHTH ROW THROUGH TWELTH ROW: Repeat seventh row.
FOR THE REST OF THE PATTERN: Alternate knit and purl every six rows to make a checkerboard pattern. Make a total of 6 rows x 20...ending with a total of 120 rows
CAST OFF
Fold knitted piece in half. With a needle and thread (matching color to yarn), sew the right sides together of the hot pad. Leave one inch undone to turn the hotpad right side out, then blind stitch the last unstitched segment.
Family Connections
The Drifting Anchor Ranch was begun by Blake Calkin. He was a ship's captain with a dream. He wanted to start a family, a ranch, a legacy but needed the perfect place to achieve this goal.
Blake Calkin was married three times. His first wife was Ardis, and she gave him a son named Eric. His second wife was Sarah, she gave him a son named Jamie. His third wife was Celeste, she gave him twins, Daphne, and Daniel.
All eight of the novels in the series Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch are connected to Blake and his ranch in one way or another. Seven of the books orbit around one specific person. The eighth novel is called Tapestry, and it will be a bit about everyone in the series in one way or another.
The books are Wilhelmina Elizabeth, Ardis, Sarah, Angela, Celeste, Rose, Lily, and the above mentioned Tapestry.
Blake Calkin was married three times. His first wife was Ardis, and she gave him a son named Eric. His second wife was Sarah, she gave him a son named Jamie. His third wife was Celeste, she gave him twins, Daphne, and Daniel.
All eight of the novels in the series Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch are connected to Blake and his ranch in one way or another. Seven of the books orbit around one specific person. The eighth novel is called Tapestry, and it will be a bit about everyone in the series in one way or another.
The books are Wilhelmina Elizabeth, Ardis, Sarah, Angela, Celeste, Rose, Lily, and the above mentioned Tapestry.
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