Elaine Stock--Author***Everyone’s Story Blog: Hollywood Lost

Showing posts with label Hollywood Lost. Show all posts

Friday, November 13, 2015

Ace Collins: What Does Zacchaeus, Trevone Boykin, and Writing Have In Common?

He's back… and Everyone's Story is happy and thrilled to again host author Ace Collins. I hope you will enjoy the many facets of Ace this week, from talented and award-winning author, collector, pro at using clever advertising, to last but not least, a heartfelt writer who always delivers a much needed message. Do check out Ace's awesome BookGiveaways. Both Ace and I look forward to hearing from you!

BookGiveaway:

Ace is offering a two-book-BookGiveaway to 2 luck winners! Each package will contain a copy of his novel THE FRUITCAKE MURDERS as well as a special hardback edition of HOLLYWOOD LOST. The winners will be announced here on Friday, November 20th between 5-6 PM EST. To be entered in the Giveaway, please leave your contact information within your comment (you may choose to use the Contact Me form to privately send me your email address--the form is in the right-hand sidebar on the blog's main page, toward the bottom).

Little Things Really Do Mean A Lot Ace Collins

On October 17, 2015, Iowa State hosted Texas Christian University in football. ISU was struggling while TCU was ranked #3 in the nation. There was no upset on the gridiron that day, the Cyclones fought hard but the Horn Frogs from Fort Worth had little trouble winning the game. The story that resonated with the nation on this afternoon was not what happened on the field, but rather an image of a quarterback kneeling in front of a small child’s wheelchair.

Trevone Boykin is one of the best players in the nation. During his career, he has engineered several late game comebacks and is the principle reason for his team’s high ranking. Therefore it is not surprising that he is one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. Yet, during the moments just before kick off on October 17th, the Frog’s signal caller noted a small child sitting in a wheelchair wearing an Iowa State jersey. During the coin toss Boykin asked the child her name and spent a little time getting to know her. A photographer noted the moment and took a picture of the Frog quarterback and the seven-year-old Cyclone fan. That photo went viral. When it appeared on a Twitter feed, Boykin tweeted, “It’s bigger than a game. I love touching young people’s lives.”

The girl in the wheelchair, Abby Faber, has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy. There is no cure. Like many who are handicapped, she often gets overlooked or ignored. Even at her tender age, it is something she understands well. Therefore she was just as shocked as the tens of thousands of Iowa State partisans in the stands that one of the nation’s greatest players wanted to know who she was and hear her story.

As I look at the photo of Trevone Boykin kneeling before Abby Faber I am reminded of the biblical story of Zacchaeus. At the time the little man climbed the tree, Jesus was the center of the world’s focus. On that day thousands were lining the road and demanding His attention. Yet, Jesus was not so fixated on where He was going or the fame He was experiencing to miss seeing Zacchaeus. That meeting changed a tax collector’s outlook and taught a lesson that is just as relevant today.

Trevone Boykin going to a knee and getting to know a little girl, coupled with a photographer capturing that moment, has led to more than $25,000 being raised for Abby’s treatment and therapy. The little girl has also received messages from all over the world. Boykin’s simple act has changed Abby’s life and brought a spotlight to the disease that has handicapped her. It has also proven that little things really do mean a lot.

I think vision is the most important element of being a good writer. The same holds true for life. If we get so caught up in our schedules that we fail to note the needs of those around us, we will never really make a lasting impact. So each day we need to stop and look out the window to see who can use three of the most powerful forces on this planet…a kind word, a loving touch and a warm smile. If you don’t believe these three things have the potential to make a mighty impact then ask Abby Faber, Trevone Boykin or Zacchaeus.

Ace's Previous Appearance on Everyone's Story:

When The Dedication Page Inscribes the Heart
What Wyle E. Coyote And A Muti-Award-Winning Author Have In Common
The One Thing We Don't Want An Editor To Say

Ace's Ah-hahs To Tweet:

Like to read whodunits? Hate fruitcake? Visit award-winning author @AceCollins for sweet revenge. (Tweet This)

#SuspenseReaders: Just in time for the hoidays, check out @AceCollins’ special #BookGiveaway. (Tweet This)

@AceCollins: What do Trevone Boykin, Zacchaeus, and #writing have in common? (Tweet This)

Author's Bio:

Citing his Arkansas heritage, Christy Award winning author Ace Collins defines himself as a storyteller. In that capacity, Ace has authored more than seventy books for 25 different publishers that have sold more than 2.5 million copies. His catalog includes novels, biographies, children’s works as well as books on history, culture and faith. He has also been the featured speaker at the National Archives Distinguished Lecture Series, hosted a network television special and does college basketball play-by-play.

One of Ace’s most talked about books was released in late 2015. The Color of Justice earned the Christy Award winner for Best Suspense Book. This novel is a courtroom drama examining racial prejudice in 1964. Also in 2014, Abingdon released Ace’s Man’s Best Hero at the Book Explo of America. This nonfiction book earned the IndieFab Book of the Year Winner and has generated interest well beyond the dog community.

Beyond books, Ace has penned more than 2000 magazine features, appeared on every network morning television show, as well as CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox. He also does scores of radio interviews each year.

Ace is married to the Chair of the Department of Education at Ouachita Baptist University, Dr. Kathy Collins. The couple lives in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and has two sons.

Places to connect with Ace:

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Please note:

--I have a title change for my novel coming soon from Elk Lake Publishing: Always With You.

--I will soon launch a specially designed website that will incorporate Eveyone's Story blog. I hope you will follow me on this new site. When it goes live, I'll make the announcement!

Friday, May 8, 2015

Ace Collins: When The Dedication Page Inscribes The Heart

Everyone's Story welcomes back author Ace Collins, finalist for the Christy Award for his novel THE COLOR OF JUSTICE. Congratulations, Ace, on your achievement! Perhaps because I'm a writer and a Christian, I admit I think a lot about life and death. Perhaps we all do. When the two elements collide in an author's life, what impact does it have on the writer? This week Ace shares with us the life and loss of a most beautiful young woman who was called home by our loving God, and what it takes to compose a dedication. Please take a moment for reflection, consider lifting Shelby, her family, and Ace in prayer, and share your thoughts. Also, check out Ace's BookGiveaway and intriguing book trailer. Both Ace and I look forward to hearing from you.

BookGiveaway:
Ace is offering 1 copy of either HOLLYWOOD LOST or THE COLOR OF JUSTICE to 2 randomly chosen commenters. Winners will be announced here on Friday, May 15th between 5-6 PM EST. To enter the Giveaway, please include contact information within your comment.

Dedications by Ace Collins

The dedication page…

When it came to my latest novel, Hollywood Lost, there was absolutely no problem identifying the person I wanted to cite in the dedication. So while “the who” was easy, the real issue was how to adequately paint a word picture of this remarkable young woman in just a sentence or two.

When I met her, Shelby was a freshman at Ouachita Baptist University. Barely five feet tall, this cute brunette was a force of nature. She walked in the door with an “awe shucks” attitude, and even though she did nothing to demand attention, you still couldn’t take your gaze off of her. In other words…she owned every room she entered.

I once described Shelby as squirrel because she would dart from place to place, idea to idea and project to project faster than anyone I’d ever seen. Yet she finished everything she started. She was a talented artist, writer, and dancer. She was imaginative, funny and compassionate. I have only known a handful of people with her drive, enthusiasm and character.

Courtesy of the Shelby Seabaugh family

Shelby was also the most giving person on the campus. She was constantly looking for ways to praise others. She lifted up the downtrodden and thanked everyone she observed doing any act of kindness or goodwill. She made people laugh, think and even sing. She was the caretaker of the misfits and yet the most popular kid too. She was known to say, “Smile away your troubles and they’ll burst like a bubble.” And she smiled away a lot of folks’ troubles, and if that didn’t work, she offered to carry their burdens.

Some folks are candles, some are flashlights, a few are spotlights and then there was Shelby…she was a beacon. By simply being herself she changed hearts, attitudes and lives. And then one night, when she was just twenty-one, she went to sleep and never woke up. And suddenly the world was a much darker place. For a moment it was as if the air had come out of life’s balloon.

I cannot begin to describe the sadness I felt as I contemplated this young woman’s death. A death that even an autopsy could not explain. It overwhelmed me and left me numb. Then I considered the profound affect she had during her life. I thought about all the people she’d had touched, inspired and motivated. As I looked around campus, as I observed those who had known this young woman, I saw Shelby everywhere. Because she lived every moment of everyday with the expressed goal of making a positive impact on others, she was not really gone. There were countless people of all ages carrying around Shelby’s remarkable spirit in their actions and attitudes. That’s how deeply she impacted everyone she met.

So how do you sum up a life like that in a simple book dedication? Perhaps, of the millions of words I’ve written, this was my biggest challenge. In truth, though I spent hours writing and rewriting that dedication, I never did do her justice. In the end I just wrote a brief portion of what she had stamped on my heart during her all too short life.

To Shelby Rebekah Seabaugh, whose spirit lit up every room she entered and who positively changed every life she touched. No one defined joy as completely as she did.

Writing a book is not that hard, but composing a dedication is impossible when it’s focused on a person who blessed me and countless others in ways beyond my abilities as an author to describe.

Check out Ace's first appearance on Everyone's Story, The One Thing We Don't Want An Editor To Say.

Ace's Ah-hahs To Tweet:

Everyone’s Story: Visit with #ChristyAward Finalist @AceCollins #BookGiveaway (Tweet This)

Authors: @AceCollins asks which is tougher, writing a book or writing a dedication? (Tweet This)

@AceCollins: When writing an unexpected dedication can break you heart. (Tweet This)

Author's Bio:

Citing his Arkansas heritage, Ace Collins defines himself as a storyteller. In that capacity, Ace Collins has authored more than seventy books for 25 different publishers that have sold more than 2.5 million copies. His catalog includes novels, biographies, children’s works as well as books on history, culture and faith. He has also been the featured speaker at the National Archives Distinguished Lecture Series, hosted a network television special and does college basketball play-by-play.

In 2014 Ace is releasing Man’s Best Hero, a book on dog heroes, a courtroom novel, The Color of Justice, that examines racial prejudice in 1964, and a groundbreaking ebook series, In The President’s Service, that provides readers with a new adventure each month. He has several more novels set for release in 2015 and one of his books was just optioned for a motion picture. His fiction writing has covered everything from value-driven plots, to adventures, mysteries, historical stories, sentimental tales and comedy.

Beyond his fiction and nonfiction books, Collins has penned more than 2000 magazine features, appeared on every network morning television show, as well as CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox. He also does scores of radio interviews each year. His speaking engagements have taken him from churches and corporations to the America’s Dog Museum in St. Louis and the National Archives in Washington DC. Collins has penned several production shows and speaks to college classes on the art of writing.

Collins’ hobbies include sports, restoring classic cars, Wurlitzer jukeboxes and running. He is married to the Chair of the Department of Education at Ouachita Baptist University. The couple lives in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and has two sons.