It's Monday

The title seems to say it all, but since you, my faithful readers are expecting an entry today, I figure I'd better produce. I was going to continue the Music Mondays, and I will still write occasionally about my music, but how about I just keep it random? I do my best writing that way, I think. I am still keeping the Writing Wednesdays, though, and this Wednesday I will go in to detail about my newest book, which, BTW is now available for sale on
www.amazon.com
It's called, "To Tame A Heart" and it's the next book in the Wild Heart series. So, if you have read Wild Heart, and you are wanting to know what happens next, go check it out.

Since I will save all the details for Wednesday, today I'll write about other things.

Here's a question for you. Why am I in the mood to write on a day like today? It's not a bad thing to be in the mood to write, but I feel guilty concentrating on a story, when the dishes are piled up and the laundry is in desperate need of washing. Not only that, but I want to straighten up my house and try to make room to move my grandmother's sewing machine in here. So, the reason I can't write today, is because I won't allow myself the luxury until at least some of the house work is finished. Also on the agenda is a thorough bleaching of my shower curtain, which according to the man of the house, has begun to host another life form, one that is not friendly to the environment. So, how can I relax when that is going on in my bathroom? Answer? I can't. And, what about home school? You know, that calling I feel God has placed on my life? I would like to tell myself that allowing the kindergartener to watch PBS programming is good enough for this rainy Monday, but somehow I can't convince myself.

Did I mention it's raining? Seems it's been raining since Friday, even though I know this is not true. We had an awesome thunder storm earlier this morning, and a small thunder storm last night. Here's something else odd for the last day of February; last night I heard spring peepers. Yes, you heard me right. The frogs are already out! It's usually April or at the earliest, late March when you hear them around here, but I heard them last night. Is spring here? Man, I hope so.

Speaking of rain, my grandmother was buried Friday after noon. It started raining that morning, and the wind was blowing colder by the moment. I remember thinking that even the weather seemed to be in protest of what was about to happen. Folks even said they saw snow flakes before the day was over. Fitting, I guess for this time of year, but Mamaw would have been mad enough to sit up and grouch about it, just the same. There is a lot she may not have approved of concerning her funeral and burial, but it would have made her so happy to see her church filled up with people. It was standing room only. I haven't cried since the funeral. In fact, I don't think I've cried since last Wednesday when I read her obituary in the paper, but there is a sense of unreality about her passing. My whole life, she has been around, and I can't imagine life without her. She taught me to sing alto, she loved to read. She loved to sing and to sew. She loved to go shopping, especially when she was able to go, and she was so proud of her great grandbabies. :) She hated for anyone to see the gray in her hair. She absolutely hated the snow, and she did not like chocolate cake! lol

She always called me to task when she saw my messy kitchen, and she would be scandalized if she could see me blogging when my house is such a wreck. lol So, on that note, I reckon I'd better git on the ball and put my clothes in the "worsher" "worsh up my deeshes" and get that crud off my "shar curtain". lol Y'all keep me and my family in your prayers and thank you for reading. Drop me a comment so I'll know you're still there.
God bless!

Give Me A Few Days

There will be no articles posted today or Wednesday of this week. My grandmother passed away last night, so your prayers are appreciated. God bless
Shannon

Will You Read Me A Story?

Welcome to another edition of Writing Wednesdays! I'm sorry if this is
posted later than y'all were expecting, but I had a slight emergency when I
woke up this morning; I was out of sweet tea! lol

Today's article, first apeared in the July 2009 issue of Poetic Monthly
Magazine
www.poeticmonthly.com
As you will see, it's outdated, but it's still true, today. So, here it is!

["Will you read me a story?"
That's the question my three-year-old has been asking, ever since a friend
gave her a huge pile of children's books. Most of them are those Little
Golden Books. After taking them out of the bag, both the three-year-old and
her sister who is 18 months, sat down in the floor and began going threw
them, turning pages and exclaiming over the pictures. I didn't have the
heart to make them put them away, not then, anyway.
Later, after my husband came home from work, my oldest daughter came to him
and asked, "Daddy, will you read me this book? It's about a lion!"
My husband asked her if she could wait, due to a terrible headache he was
having. She was disappointed and came to me.
"Mommy, will you read me this book?" she asked, so sweetly that my heart
broke in to pieces when I had to tell her no.
"I guess if you wasn't blind, you could read it to me," she said, so sadly.
The next day, my sister came over and finally, my daughter had someone to
read the book to her. My sister read it twice, or maybe it was three times.
My cousin came over one day, and she read the book three times.
Thinking on how much my girls like to be read to, I remember how as a
child, I loved to hear Mom read to me. In fact, I still love to hear her
read. Actually, if you want the truth, that's why I love audio books so
much; I just want to be read too. There's just something about losing
yourself in a voice, especially, when that voice can transform a book in to
something more.something kind of magical. And, if I listen to a certain
narrator long enough, I find myself thinking in their voice. Strange, huh?
So, just a few weeks away from listening to my own book in audio, I am
ecstatic! It should be finished some time in mid to late July, and I can't
wait. I heard an excerpt, and realized that my book, "Wild Heart" could
also be one of those that came alive when narrated. If you would be
interested in an audio copy of "Wild Heart", drop me an e-mail at
ShannonNicoleWells@suddenlink.net
If the entire book is as good as the excerpt, we are all in for a treat!]

Speaking of audio books, now, 2 years later, I can say that W. B. Ward did a
wonderful job at narrating my first book! In fact, he did so well, i have
contracted with him to narrate the sequel, as well. It might take 6 months,
but I am excited! If you want more info about "Wild Heart" in audio, go to
www.wildheartbook.com
It's $12 and I accept PayPal. Here's the neet part, if you are a student who
is under the age of 18, email me privately at
ShannonNicoleWells@suddenlink.net
and you may get it for free.

Speaking of the sequel to "Wild Heart", I submitted the final copy to
CreateSpace last Thursday, and I am supposed to receive the proofs on Feb.
23 or 24. After I ok the proofs, I ok it to be published. It is 580 pages,
6 by 9 inches and will cost$15. It will be available at CreateSpace's EStore
and Amazon.com.

Well, I think that about wraps this entry up. i was looking on my old
Toshiba's hard drive and it seems that this is the last time I will be
posting articles from Poetic Monthly, but rest assured, Writing Wednesdays
will still be here. I don't know exactly what I'll blog about, but I have a
whole week to think on it, so make sure to come back next Wednesday. Also,
be sure to come back on Monday for more about music. I think I'll write
about the new CD I'm working on.

So, until next time, keep reading the Word, keep praying, keep smiling, and
when you have a minute, drop me a comment. I really enjoy hearing from my
readers!

Music Mondays: The Music I Sing

Welcome to the second edition of Music Mondays! Today I will be talking about the music I sing, but first, what did you think of last Monday's post?

If you know me at all, you will already know that the music I sing is different, somewhat, than what I listen to. My singing was once compared to Sherri Easter, and even though I am thankful for the compliment, I can't hear the resemblance. I can't think of anyone to compare myself to, in singing or piano playing. If you can picture what OldTime Christian music would sound like, though, then you are probably close. Think down home, and you're even closer. Sometimes, I take Bluegrass Gospel and put it to my own form of piano music and sing it. Sometimes, I take an old hymn and put my own spin on it. Sometimes, I take a song the choir sings and sing it my own way. I have even taken a contemporary song and made it a Southern Gospel one. lol

Some of the artists from whom I have borrowed songs, include:
The McKameys,
The Singing Cooks,
The Easter Brothers,
Jeff and Sherri Easter,
Gordon Mote,
and many more, of whom I am unaware.

As you can probably tell, I am not up on who is who, today or who is the newest sensation. I like the old stuff, usually. I am looked down on by some for singing only old stuff, but that is who I am. Sure, I hear new stuff, sometimes, and even sing new stuff, but most of the time, if I say it's new, it's only new to me. I usually hear singers sing something at church and think, "Oh wow, I like that. I think i'll sing it."

Why do I sing? I can't help it; it's in my blood, I guess. Just as listening to music invokes memories, feelings and inspiration, singing invokes memories, feelings and inspiration. Why, I wouldn't know how to praise the Lord, if I couldn't sing it! Simply put, I sing to praise; I sing to worship. I sing to inspire others; I sing to witness. And, in real hard times, I sing to remember who is in control of it all.

There is a song...and I don't know who wrote it or who sings it...that sort of sums up what I want to say, and I will post part of it, below.

"I sing because there is an empty grave. I sing because there is a power that saves. I sing because His grace is real to me. I sing because I know i'm not alone. I sing because someday I'm going home, where I'll sing through all eternity."

I am in the process of recording a new CD, with old songs on it. lol So, keep coming back, and you'll be sure to hear when it is finished.

Thanks for visiting me today! I hope you will come back on Wednesday to read about writing, once again. I will be posting another article from my Poetic Monthly days. Until then, take care, keep smiling, keep singing and remember God loves to hear from you!

Why Write?

Welcome to another edition of what I am calling, Writing Wednesdays! And,
this week, I managed to put the article on the blog on the correct day. :)
Today's article, which is also taken from Poetic Monthly Magazine, was
written in May of 2009, so it is a bit behind the times, but it still holds
true, today. The book I mention in the article is ready for publication,
and, wow, I can't hardly believe it! I hope your interest is peaked, and
after the article, I will give you a link to one of my websites, to learn
more about my books. So, here's the June 2009 article I wrote for Poetic
Monthly Magazine
www.poeticmonthly.com

Why Write?

[Yesterday, my grandmother asked me, "Well, why are you writing on another
book, when you haven't even sold very many copies of the book you just got
published?"
"Well," I answered, "why not? I mean, I plan to publish again, so I'd
better write while the ideas are coming, because there will come a time when
I'm fresh out of ideas."
For the past two weeks, I've been getting up around five A.M. and writing
for about an hour and a half before my children get up. I average about
five pages a day, sometimes less, sometimes more. The ideas just seem to
pop out of my head and flow through my fingers, until voila, I've got one
hundred and fifty-nine pages, most of which is completed enough to have
someone read over it. And, all this since I began the book in February.
As for publishing, well, it seems like it becomes something you just have to
do. It's like, now that I've done it once, I know I'll be doing it again.
It's a fever, if you will.
Here's another answer to my grandmother's question. My readers say I have
too.
Those who have read "Wild Heart" are begging for a sequel. I never thought
of writing one, until folks started asking, but now, the sequel to "Wild
Hart" is well on it's way. Depending on how many copies of "Wild Heart"
that I sell, I may have to wait until next spring to publish the next book
in the series, but that just gives me time to edit and edit and proof and
proof, and you know something, I think it's going to be better than the
first.
So, why write? Well, save it to say, I just can't help myself. I got folks
talking in my head, and they wanna get out.]

As you may or may not already know, the name of the sequel to "Wild Heart"
is "To Tame A Heart". It's approximately 572 pages, almost double the size
of the first book. :) I promise I'll let y'all know the minute it is
available for purchase, but until then, you can visit my website
www.wildheartbook.com
and explore to your heart's content. Let me know what you think of this post
and my website, too. I love hearing from my readers. Hearing from y'all lets
me know whether I'm on the right track or not.

So, there you have it, my entry for Writing Wednesdays! Did you like it? How
about Music Mondays, what did you think of that? Well, be sure to come back
each Monday and each Wednesday for something new. I'm thinking of doing one
on Fridays or Saturdays, but I haven't come up with what, yet. Until next
time, keep writing, keep reading, and keep praying.

Music Mondays: The Music I Listen To

Welcome to this first ever edition of Music Mondays, here on the Old-time
Christian blog! I have never written about music, so I'll just play it by
ear, if y'all don't mind. Ahem, pun intended. Today, I'll start things off
by talking about the music I listen to. Next week, I'll write about the
music I sing.

First thing you need to remember about me and music, is I do not have one
favorite singer or one favorite song; I have many different favorites in
several different genres. Some of those favorites, I think will surprise you
and some will not. I have listed them below. Some are famous, and some are
not.

In Christian music, all genres:
The Hoy Family,
The Easter Brothers,
Jeff and Sherri Easter,
The McKameys,
The Martins,
The Isaacs,
The Happy Goodmans,
Gateway Worship,
Glenn Mooreland,
Dennis Morris.

Some of my all-time favorite Christian songs include:
The Baptism of Jesse Taylor,
Jesus Signed My Pardon,
He Is Risen,
God On The Mountain,
Amazing Grace,
Thanks to Calvary,
Thank You Lord for Your Blessings On Me,
Just As I Am,
There Is A Fountain Filled with Blood,
New Doxology,
Faithful God,
By The Grace of God,
What A Friend We Have in Jesus,
Highway To Heaven,
Little Mountain Church House,
Speak To The Mountain,
Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down.

It's a long list, isn't it? I could go on, too. But, for the sake of space
and time, I won't. Besides, there are many different singers on the secular
side of things that I want to mention.

Now, before we go on, there is something I want you to understand about me.
Just because I like a singer's voice, does not mean I like what they sing. I
was exposed to a lot of different music, growing up, and I think it has
contributed to my current tastes, but below I have listed those singers
whose voices I like to hear, not necessarily the songs they sing.

Garth Brooks,
Patty loveless,
Tracy Lawrence,
Loretta Lynn,
Patsy Cline,
Brad Paisley,
Allen Jackson,
the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks,
Nancy Griffith,
Maura O'Connell,
Stevie Nicks,
The Eagles,
Bruce Springsteen,
Bryan Adams.

Some of the songs I have liked, are:
The River, (Garth Brooks)
The River (Bruce Springsteen)
Everything I Do,
Summer of 69,
Rhiannon,
Silver Springs,
Gulf Coast Highway,
Lyin' Eyes,
The Girl From Yesterday,
Coal miner's Daughter,
Amanda,
Maggie,
Troubled Fields,
Beaches of Cheyenne.

Do you notice a trend among this last list of songs? Just about everyone of
them tells a story. And that, dear reader is why I have liked them. Many of
these songs have inspired a story, and if they haven't inspired one yet
written, they are inspiring me to type out a new one.

Do I listen to all of this music, not all of it, and certainly not all the
time. I do have ones I listen to frequently, The Hoy Family, The Easter
Brothers, and Gateway Worship, to be exact. But, on occasion, I get in the
mood for a certain song. Sometimes, those songs bring back memories, or
invoke a feeling about something.

Take Bryan Adams' song, "Summer of 69." It makes me think of hot, lazy days
at the pool. Probably this comes from hearing it played over and over again
at the Glasgow pool. Likewise, Bruce Springsteen's "The River" with it's
harmonica makes me think of summer days at the park. I can almost smell the
charcoal smoke and grilling burgers and hear children laughing. The Eagles'
"Lyin' Eyes" makes me remember listening to my daddy sing and play his
guitar, when I was a kid.

Well, there you have it, the types of music I listen to. Of course, I did
leave out one genre, mostly because I am surprised by it, myself. You see,
the older I get, the more I realize how weird I am and how I'm ok with being
weird. So, here's the real surprising thing about me and music. You know
those musical numbers from movies that school choirs like to force on proud
parents? Yep, lol you guessed it. I love them. I like the music from
'Pocahontas", "The Princess and the Frog", "Beauty and the Beast", "Mary
Poppins", "Charlotte's Web", and I don't know what all.

I'll share this one funny story, and then I'll wrap up this post.

I went to an All County Chorus performance a few years ago with my family.
My sister sang in the show choir, and I wanted to hear them sing. This one
group of teenagers, came out in costumes, someone said. The lead singer, a
girl, was wearing scrubs and carrying a fake machete. As she danced, she
sang, "Like a surgeon, cuttin' for the very first time." Haha! I still think
that's funny, and to this day, I think I'm the only one there who laughed
out loud. Lol The guy lead singer was dressed like the dentist from "Little
Shop of Horrors". What a hoot!

See, y'all, that's what being weird is all about. Just think, I could have
been one of those music teachers who gets everyone involved. Lol

I don't know how many of these Music Mondays I can keep doing, but be sure
to come back next Monday, when I'll write about the music I sing. It's quite
different than what I listen to, you can be sure.

Disclaimer: I think a lot is mispelled here, so I ask for your forgiveness.

They Call Me A Day Dreamer

Welcome to another edition of Writing Wednesdays...except this week, it's on
Thursday. :) As promised, today's entry includes another article that I
wrote 2 years ago for Poetic Monthly Magazine
www.poeticmonthly.com

[They Call Me A Day Dreamer

The sun is hot. The ground beneath my feet is also hot and so dusty that
each step I take stirs up a cloud that inevitably covers me in dirt. I
attempt to wipe the perspiration from my face, but only succeed in making
muddy tracks down my cheeks. All around me I can hear men and women
shouting, "Woe there! Git up, now!"
There are the subdued sounds of the women and children talking on the trail
ahead, carried back to me on the slight breeze. Fainter still is the sound
of cattle balling, and always there is the creaking and groaning, as the
wagons jolt protesting along on their way West. Any minute now, I am hoping
to hear our guide call out, "Make camp!"
Instead, however, I hear faintly in the distance, "Shannon! Shannon!"
I blink and suddenly, instead of being a preacher's daughter driving a wagon
toward Oregon Country, I am just me, Shannon Wells, Terry's wife and mom of
two little girls. I'm not walking in the midday sun, but in the mall in the
middle of Charleston, WV. In actuality, the year is not 1842, but 2009. It
takes me a good long minute to adjust.
If you are a writer, you know what I'm talking about; you've been there
before. I get an idea in my head, start cultivating it, and suddenly, I am
no longer in this world, but in one of my own making. I usually write about
people and places that exist only in the past, but even when I am writing in
the present, I can still be transported in my mind to whenever and where
ever my characters' lives take them.
This not only happens when I am creating, but when I read a good book, as
well. Reading is a pass-time for me, but it also can be an obsession.
Here's how it usually happens. I hear about a good book. Then, I start
reading. If the book attracts my attention, transporting me to another time
and place, well then. So be it. I am known for staying up all night, just
to finish a book. When I am in the midst of a really great book, it's hard
to concentrate on anything else. In fact, my daughter has learned to say,
"Mommy, take off your headphones!"
"Headphones?" you ask.
Yes. I am an audio book enthusiast. I download digital versions of them,
listen to them on CD, and even own a few on cassette. I borrow them from
libraries, borrow them from friends, by and download them from the internet,
and occasionally, buy them from stores.
Seriously, though, the best audio book for me is the ones created in my own
head. When I can't sleep at night, I mentally pull out the stories I'm
working on and imagine what should happen next. If I happen to be attending
an event that requires sight, I usually get pretty bored and go back in my
mind to one of my creations. So, whether walking through a mall or trying
to pass away the time until morning, I allow myself to leave the present and
enjoy losing myself in another time, another place, and another person's
trials and triumphs. Maybe, someday, if I ever get it all down in book
form, you too, will lose yourself in the imaginations of my mind.]

What did you think of the girl headed West to Oregon? Want to know more
about her? Well, so do I! lol Her name is Clarissa, I can tell you that. I
can also tell you that she and her story are sitting on a back burner in my
mind. She has a story, a good one, too, and I plan to tell it...sometime.
Clarissa, when she first came to my mind, was a preacher's daughter. Her
family came from New York and were looking for new opportunities in the
Oregon Country. Now, however, I think she is an English woman, out searching
for her long lost husband. Think arranged marriage, hasn't seen her groom
since they were wed as children...blah, blah, blah, and you'll be thinking
like me. Of course, this is in no way set in stone; it's just a thought that
needs cultivating.

like Clarissa, all my characters go through a lot before their story comes
out. I guess that instead of writing character analyses, I write lots of
different analogies. Take the characters in "To Tame A Heart" which is on
the virge of publication. Deric Christy almost moved to Texas. His wife
almost had a baby. He...oops! Can't tell you no more, or you won't wanna
read it. lol Suffice it to say, I do a lot of writing before a story is
born, and a lot of that writing never makes it in to the end result, but
that's all right. I am getting to know my characters.

So, now you have a teensy glimpse in to my world of writing. Come back next
Wednesday to read more about writing. I promise another Poetic Monthly
article.