“Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated,
This bird of dawning singeth all night long;
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad,
The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow’d and so gracious is the time.”
William Shakespeare
To order the e-book, please go on-line to your favorite e-book store and type Ask the Wolf in the search window. The print book is still delayed, but you can download free software to read it on your computer, phone, or other device. Choose your own font size. It's a fast, fun read. A little over 300 pages.
Happy Holidays to Everyone!
Wishing you peace and a blessed New Year.
Photo by Radu Andrei Razvan
What is your dream talent?
If you woke up tomorrow with the ability to have any talent, or skill, that you haven't had before, what would it be?
Why would you choose that talent?
What would you do with this ability?
Thanks to Beth and her husband for this writing prompt.
Note From Stella:
I've been reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. He cites
studies showing that outstanding talent arises when people are given the opportunity to spend time on what they want to excel in.
Opportunity is more important than innate talent.
Once given the opportunity, all they have to do is devote 10,000 hours to the subject, and they are instant mavens.
Famous writers say the best way to become a better writer
is to write.
It sounds like they’re right!
Challenge yourself to write every day, if only
for five minutes.
The Wolf is Back!
Ask the Wolf by Stella North
Sorry, the links to my novel disappeared. You can order the e-book by logging in to your favorite online bookstore and typing Ask the Wolf in the search window. Kindle has free software you can download to your computer for reading e-books.
Secrets A missing mother A lost child And a black wolf
Alyson Zavala is five the first time the wolf rescues her. Over the next fifteen years, her quest to find her mother takes her from her home in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Seattle, and into dark and dangerous places.
Along the way, Alyson meets loyal friends, mysterious wolves, a couple of cool horses and some very strange people. I think you'll like this story.
Review by Amy Peters
Ask The Wolf is riveting from beginning to end. The story follows Alyson’s mysterious encounter with a wolf, when she was a young child, to the wolf appearing at critical points during Alyson’s teenager and young adult years.
Who is this wolf and why does he protect her? Is the wolf connected to Alyson’s long absent parents? If so, where are they? Alyson’s quest for answers takes her on a journey that is exhilarating, painful, and even dangerous. Ask the Wolf skillfully tells the tale of Alyson’s search for self, while incorporating humor and transformation. Highly recommended!
Writing Memoirs
Photo by Pixaby from Pexels
What do
you remember?
The brief
story that follows, “My Great-grandfather,” captures the essence of memoir
writing. Notice how the author, Maude Francis, draws in the reader immediately,
setting her narrative in the intimacy of family story telling. Everyone can
relate to family gatherings where we hear relatives give us glimpses into the
past—into history that is our
heritage.
After the
short introduction, the author gets into the riveting meat of the story—the
exploits of an amazing young boy who grew up to be an amazing man—Maude’s
great-grandfather. Maude enclosed the story in a circular frame, ending it with
herself back in the picture, showing us the love and respect she has for this
extraordinary relative whom she never met.
My Great-grandfather, George Griffith
by Maude Francis
George Griffith was my great-grandfather. I didn’t ever meet him, but I heard of his life as my grandmother would recall her life and the lives of her family.
When George was a young boy in Missouri, many of
the townspeople were becoming Mormon. His family was always Catholic, so he
told his mother that he couldn’t live that life. His mother tried to get him to
stay with the family, but he decided to “Go West, young man.”
His mother walked with him to what, I’m sure, was a shallow
or narrow spot in the Missouri River. He kissed his mother goodbye, jumped in
the river, swam across, and got out on the other side. He waved to his mother
from the bank, turned and walked away, never to see her again.
At twelve years old, he had a very big task in front of him.
He found work wherever he could, walking along with wagon trains going west.
One of the stories I heard was he made it to Dodge City,
where he got a job in a saloon. By this time, he could have only been thirteen.
George told his children of the patrons and all the shenanigans at the saloon.
His jobs would include getting lunch from the diner for two
card players. One was Wyatt Earp. The other was Doc Holliday.
He moved around the West, finally coming to Bannock County,
Idaho. He was able eventually to homestead a nice chunk of land on the
Yellowstone Highway, living the rest of his life raising kids, breeding race
horses, and becoming sheriff of Bannock County for a while.
Later in life, he was crossing Yellowstone Highway when he
was hit be a car, and was the first person in Bannock County to be killed by a
horseless carriage.
There is still a street in town named for him, Griffith Street. I wish I could have known this man. I would have loved to hear his stories, “Straight from the horse’s mouth,” as, I am told, was the way he always told them.
Maude’s story about her great-grandfather is a gem of a classical memoir.
Here’s a fun way to get into the swing of
memoir writing:
Retell a favorite bedtime story as though
it happened to a relative, or to you.
Put your emotions and
reactions into the story.
Memoirs can
be written any way you want—
Just write!
" No One Is Dead" written by Allan Priddy. Allan Priddy was a larger-than-life man, as amazing as the folk heroes in tall tales...
