Stuffed Animal Kingdom: The Keys to Storyworlds

  I took a heartbreaking journey recently. The painstaking, memory filled process of sorting three trash bags full of well loved stuffed animals.

Okay, that was a little dramatic. But I did cry once through my grin.

My mama laughs sensitively if the subject of my growing up years enter a conversation. I never wanted to let go of childhood. I remember asking her, “What can you do as an adult?” Stumped her there. But I soon learned. Still, when something triggers a memory from those glorious years I thought was life, warm fuzzies dunk into my heart and bring back a tear on the rebound. Such a beautiful girlhood.

As I sorted each stuffed animal by family, I found it hard to recall all their names or even who was married to whom once upon a time. “Is that your mama?” I asked them. I don’t think they cared. They were quite exhausted from the years of play my brother, Jon, and me put them through. I took group pictures and thought about the story worlds we created. In the afternoon long process, I realized how important those days were.

Aha! This is where my imagination began developing. No two of these critters were alike. No family was alike. They had their own voice, made their own decisions. I learned how to create compelling stories. After all, if it couldn’t keep the attention of an eight and ten year old, we moved on.

I learned what drives a story forward, how to create conflict and resolve. I guess you could say my first coauthor was my brother. He took on one set of characters, I took on the other. We constantly pitted them against impossible odds and extreme dangers. I usually let him take on the part of the antagonist. (He was a natural)

When our mama made an announcement for dinner, the answer was typically a question, “Can we finish this scene?” At a “stopping point” we’d leave them set up in a way we could pick up the story right where we left off. Sometimes the same one would last for days. How inconvenient when we set up our world on a bed. It was destroyed nightly and had to be rebuilt. Same with hallways. My dad might scoot plastic horses and their stuffed animal riders out of the walkway when he arrived home from work, only to have us screech, “No! They were all set up for the next scene!” Anyone who lives with a writer is probably cracking up with laughter at the parallels here.

The bags sorted, I sent my brother a text asking if there were any stuffed animals he wanted to save. It took three texts and a face-to-face conversation to get him to answer, “Oh, probably just Jimmy and Smoky.” He wouldn’t admit it, but I could bet my favorite teddy bear, Springer Sr., that deep down, he loves those memories as much as I do. And he’s a natural storyteller.

I wonder why.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Prov. 3:5-6

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

No, My Life Ain't Perfect

  Someone recently commented about her Facebook friends and their sunshiny status updates. God is good, life is great. Couldn’t be happier. No troubles, no disasters. Just living everyday without getting a scratch on them. She asked, “Do people really have those kinds of lives? If so, I must be doing  something wrong!”

I chattered away about how “of course people don’t live like that.” They only put the good things in their life on display. Who wants to read about the bad? Who wants the world to know about their struggles and heartache and rejection they face on a daily basis?

Somewhere along those lines, I realized I’m one of those people. Really, how many depressing status updates of mine have you read? Do you get the impression my life is perfect? (Hold on until I can stop laughing…)

No, my life ain’t perfect. I cry on a regular basis. Hey, even the sight of a pot holder can bring up memories that send me sobbing. Pain and confusion run deep below the surface of my heart. Doubts about what in the world I’m supposed to be doing freeze me with fear at times.

I’m not happy with my weight (who is?), there’s my knee injury that gives me trouble at the oddest times, and there’s the adult acne battle going on for a number of years. My eyeglasses are twice as thick as your grandmother’s. I don’t have a car or much gas money. Most of my clothes are given to me by my “personal shoppers” as I like to call them. (I hate shopping anyway)

Then there are those disasters. I can joke that I live life in the breaks I get between crisis’s. I could recount the ones just since January of this year, but I don’t want to write that long of a post.

I love my family more than anything and would drop my heart’s desire in a breath to run to their aid. And that’s what I do. My writing journey has been put on hold so many times in the last two years, I’d have to take off my socks to count them. But that’s okay. I know it’s all in God’s timing and I’ve seen it work out perfectly again and again.

Oops. There’s that perfect word. But what does the scripture say? But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:4. (NKJV) Perfect in this case meaning mature. I like the sound of being mature and complete. That’s what God wants my life to be, and what I strive for everyday.

Still, my life ain’t perfect and I hope neither here on my blog nor on Facebook and Twitter, does my life seem that way to the outside observer. But now, at least, you can consider yourself an insider into the life and times of Sarah Elisabeth.

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

Micro Fiction from Me

I decided to try a little (pun intended) micro fiction. Hope you enjoy this story with no title. >>> 

Susie stepped back to admire her latest painting. The accident had destroyed her right hand and forearm. It took years to recapture her love for art, and more years to train her other hand to stroke the canvas in elegance again.

A few more brushes, and she considered it complete. Her painting depicted Jesus on a white horse. He held the reigns in His left hand.

>>> 

Have an idea for a title? Drop a comment and I just might go with it!

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

Do You Like Me?

  Well, not me exactly. My new Facebook fan page! I finally have Sarah Elisabeth Writes up and running, looking smart with the welcome page featuring my first ebook cover. Here are 7 reasons to “LIKE” my fan page:

1. I’ll post things on it not available on my personal page

2. Occasionally, I’ll hold a drawing exclusively for fans of the page

3. I’m starting a series called “A Thousand Reasons to Praise God.” Be encouraged and join in with your reason of the day!

4. You can easily share my writing with your Facebook friends by inviting them to “LIKE” the page

5. When I need beta readers, I’ll ask my fans first

6. About once a month, I post one of my flash fiction stories

7. I’ll like you forever and ever!

That’s enough reasons to “LIKE” my fan page, right? I hope so, because I don’t want to take up anymore of your time talking about it. Oh, and thanks!

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

Facebook.com/SarahElisabethSawyer

My E-book Release

  As a writer, I should have some creative way to introduce my first e-book to the world, right? Wrong. Here’s the best I can do with trembling fingers and gritted teeth.

These seven flash fictions are to give people who are unfamiliar with my writing a chance to try it for .99 cents. It also gives “fans” something to tide them over until the Complete Collection is finished, which should satisfy everyone until my first novella is released, which should then hold everyone over until my first novel dazzles the world, lol.

See? I have it all planned. And it begins with Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions.

Available on Amazon for Kindle: Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions

Available on Barnes & Noble for Nook: Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions

More Details:

The production of an e-book for an indie author is emotionally, physically, and time draining. I formatted the book myself, a wonderful romp through HTML land with the guidance of Guido Henkel. My hat’s off to this man (though I don’t endorse horror novels). He personally answered all my questions via his blog and through email. If you decide to publish an e-book and don’t want to tackle the formatting yourself, I recommend you hire this expert.

Then there was the cover design. Wow. My mama, Lynda Kay, went through headache after headache with that, tweaking, redesigning, changing font, adding layer after layer after layer. She used the freebie, Paint.net, to create it from this free stock photo:

All that to say, our only resources were time and heart to invest in this project. Which brings me to the stories themselves.

They were written, edited, read by third parties, self-edited, edited by my mom, who passed them back to me, sent back to her, back to me, back to—anyway, I lost count. Then most of the stories went to my dear friend, Rachel Phelps for editing. Back to me, back to my mom, back to me, back to my mom…

Even after they received the green light from everyone, and I began formatting, I was still editing.

Tested in the Kindle app on my computer, I began the upload process on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. I checked the preview of the doc and the cover picture. Things weren’t right and I sent more emails and texts with cries of help. Not sure if it was just a lousy, inaccurate preview, I finally clicked publish. Next thing I did? Sobbed. For ten minutes. Not from joy, unfortunately, but because I wondered if I’d done everything wrong and failed miserably, forced to go back to square one. I had to wait until the book finished the review process—the next day. The thing that got me through the night? Prayer. God granted me peace and patience.

The first time I saw my e-book on Amazon, I squealed. The cover was fine. I checked the interior. Off center. I cried. Sent another email to Guido with my source file. He pointed out potential problems. I corrected those, and uploaded again. Another long wait. I checked. It seemed to have updated, but the preview was still off center. I left it alone, checked back a couple of hours later, refreshed, and…cried. It was perfect.

With all the bugs worked out, the upload to Barnes & Noble went smoothly.

After all that, I’m offering this e-book at .99 cents. Why? Because it’s a labor of love, a learning experience. My prayer that goes with each copy is that God will reach His hand through the words and touch the heart of the reader.

That’s my writing dream.

Months of work–was it worth it? Yes. Every critique, every frustrated “I can’t do it.” Every moment, every tear.

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:4 (NKJV)

Please share this blog post with your friends and family, via email, your blog, Facebook, Twitter or whatever your favorite outlet. My desire is to see as many people touched by these stories as possible.

I hope you enjoy Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions.

For Him,

Sarah Elisabeth

Available on Amazon for Kindle: Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions

Available on Barnes & Noble for Nook: Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions

 Third Side of the Coin, Seven Flash Fictions

Heart pounding. Heart wrenching. Heart tugging. Raw and realistic, these short stories show a third side of the coin.

With the gift to find real meaning in a story, award-winning author Sarah Elisabeth creates tales to stir the heart and evoke deep, often buried emotions. Not one to shy away from tragedy or crisis of faith, she explores human conditions through engaging short stories.

“Sarah, your writing is so clear and evocative that there are moments I forget I'm reading and just experience the story.” Rachel Phelps, Multi Award-Winning Master Author

Third Side of the Coin (Seven Flash Fictions) contains seven gripping short stories, and is a prelude to Third Side of the Coin, Complete Collection.

These seven titles include:

I’d Rather Die—Faithwriters.com Editor’s Choice. In a few minutes, a woman must decide to deny her faith, or die.

“People need to read this story.” Jessica Turner-Stotz, Fan

Everything—After turning his life over to Jesus Christ, a man learns his greatest battles are yet to come.

“The raw emotion of your story is incredible. I lived this exact story with my own wife over the last year. Your words couldn't possibly be more accurate.” Gerald Shuler, Flash Fiction Master

Forgotten—Faithwriters.com Editor’s Choice. The lonely elderly. Forgotten by God?

“This story touched me in ways you will never know. Thank you.” Cheryl Harrison, Blogger

Secure—Faithwriters.com Editor’s Choice. A grandmother struggles to connect with the estranged granddaughter now in her care.

“Pain and the promise of healing is so alive—yet restrained—in this very sensitive piece.” Noel Mitaxa, South Eastern Australian Pastor

Understanding—The impact a letter can have—on the sender as well as the recipient.

“The more I talk about my past suicide attempts, the more I open up. You may never know the difference you might make in one's life by penning these words.” Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom, Writer and Mother

Scarred—Truly redeemed? A woman reaches out to help a former heroin addict begin her new journey.

“This is an adult piece with raw emotions and an ugly all-too-human subject. You offered God's grace...” Mona Purvis, Retired Executive

Third Side of the Coin—A foolish error costs one news reporter more than her career.

“Your character's pain was raw…I could feel it, see it.” Lollie Hofer, Teacher