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.

Places to connect with Ace:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Amazon

***I'll love for you to take a moment and take this month's short poll on the right-hand sidebar. Thanks so much.

Karla Akins: Fit For Life And Writing

Everyone's Story is pleased that the wonderful Karla Akins joins us once again. I love Karla! She manages to make us smile while sharing important facets of life. This week Karla writes about the value of exercise and staying fit, not only for health's sake but also for the writing and faith journeys that we continue through our years. Please check out Karla's BookGiveaway, her cute book trailer, and of course, her inspiring message. Both Karla and I look forward to hearing from you.
***I'll love for you to take a moment and take this month's short poll on the right-hand sidebar. Thanks so much.

BookGiveaway:

Karla is offering 1 copy of any one of her books (some are only in e-version) to 1 randomly chosen commenter. The winner will be announced here on Friday, May 8th between 5-6 PM EST. To be entered in the Giveaway, please leave your contact information within your comment. 

Diary of a Wimpy Grandma by Karla Akins

Hello. My name is Karla and I’m a wimpy grandma.

I own it. In fact, that’s what I told my personal trainer (PT) the other day.

Which is the very reason why I have a PT in the first place.

You see, not only am I a wimp but when it comes to exercise, I’m lazy. 

As comedian John Pinette put it when asked by his trainer to do a sit up: “I don’t do ups. I do downs. Sit down, lay down, chow down, slow down. Give me a cheeseburger I’ll wolf it down. But I don’t do ups. Ups defy gravity. Gravity is a law. I obey the law.”

Like John, my favorite activities are sedentary: reading, writing, eating, rinse, repeat. I blame it on the fact that I was never encouraged to play sports as a kid. Title IX didn’t actually hit our public schools in Kansas until I was a freshman in high school. By that time I was beyond hope. I was that kid in gym class who tossed up my cookies after one lap around the track, who never made a basket, and couldn’t hit the volleyball over the net. 

I’ve never had much confidence in my physical abilities. I’m clumsy, uncoordinated, and have no depth perception (which makes riding a motorcycle a real trip). I suppose that’s why swimming is the only “sport” I enjoy. I don’t have to worry about causing harm to myself or others. Also, when you’re fat, you float really well.

However, I’m not getting any younger, and I want to live the last years of my life strong. So, when a gym opened up in our town (pop. 6000), I thought, why not? Let’s join. And not just join, let’s sign up for some personal training sessions.

Having an imagination is great for writing but doesn’t always serve one well in real life. What on God’s green earth (where there exists DQ Blizzards and Chocolate Cake) was I thinking?

.

After my first session with my trainer, one thing is patently obvious.

I’m going to die.

And since I’m going to die eventually anyway, why speed up the process by exercising until my legs feel like gummy worms and my arms like last month’s limp celery?

Seriously, though, I signed up with a once-a-week trainer because I simply can’t motivate myself to exercise. I need a drill sergeant. I’m not intrinsically motivated to do anything that has to do with moving faster than 1 MPH and sweating.

Still, I think maybe I did a good thing in joining a gym and signing up for training. I tried to get out of my second session by texting my trainer and telling him I wasn’t coming. I have fibromyalgia, and I was aching and hurting and depressed. But PT’s too good at his job. Guess who was suited up and at the gym ten minutes later?

This wimpy grandma.

PT’s got me doing things I never imagined I could do. Activities I was convinced my body didn’t know how to do and would never learn. I thought my knees were too shot to do stepping-up exercises. I didn’t think I could walk faster than 3.5 MPH on a treadmill without hanging on. I was sure I’d end up flying across the gym in a hilarious YouTube video, but no. My body is much more capable than even my imagination could fathom.

Maybe, just maybe, this gym thing wasn’t a hair-brained idea after all. Maybe I’ll actually get stronger and in the process gain more confidence in my ability to take better care of myself, make better eating choices, and not fear pain.

There is no growth without discomfort. I need to embrace that fact.  My biggest obstacle at this point is my attitude and my ability to stay motivated.

What about you? Are you addicted to working out like a lot of people I meet at the gym? Or are you more like me and hate to sweat? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below!

“Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise I fear that after enlisting others for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to stand aside.”

1 Corinthian 9:27 (Living Bible)

Check out Karla first and very popular appearance on Everyone's Story titled Be Inspired By Autumn.

Karla's Ah-hahs To Tweet:
Author Karla Akins @KarlaAkins on Everyone’s Story: Diary of a wimpy grandma (Tweet This)

Author Karla Akins @KarlaAkins: What’s the connection between fitness and writing? (Tweet This)

Like #BookGiveways? Check out @KarlaAkin’s varied offer on Everyone’s Story (Tweet This)

Author's Bio:

Karla Akins’s first novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was published in August, 2013. She also writes interactive, biographical narratives, and content for iPad applications with an on-going contract for her World Explorers Every Child Should Know series. Jacques Cartier, hit #1 on Amazon in its category. Her hobbies are book-hoarding, riding her motorcycle and looking for treasure. She is represented by Linda S. Glaz of Hartline Literary Agency.

Places to connect with Karla:

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Amazon

Sigrid MacRae: Uncovering Family History

Everyone's Story welcomes author Sigrid MacRae. I was first introduced to Sigrid and her work when I read a book review of her then just released non-fiction telling of her family life, A WORLD ELSEWHERE. I had to read tho book! Sigrid's account of the Baltic-German father she never knew, of the strong American mother who saved her children from great turmoil and hardships during and post World War II, struck the very themes I enjoy reading and writing about. I contacted Sigrid and was thrilled when she accepted my invitation to appear on my blog. Sigrid offers valuable insights to a time that no one should ever push aside and forget. Do check out her Giveaway offer, her intriguing book excerpt, and please welcome her warmly. Both Sigrid and I look forward to hearing from you.

BookGiveaway:

Sigrid is offering 1 copy of her non-fiction A WORLD ELSEWHERE to 1 randomly chosen commenter. The winner will be announced here on Friday, May 1st between 5-6 PM EST. To be entered in the Giveaway, please leave your contact information within your comment. 

Excerpt from A WORLD ELSEWHERE:

Prologue from A WORLD ELSEWHERE by Sigrid MacRae

The box was beautiful. My mother had bought it in Morocco many years ago, and as a child, I admired it in secret, stroking the tiny pieces of mother‐of‐pearl inlay on the surface, its patterns conjuring far‐ away places. Its ivory keyhole held a key with a striped ribbon attached. Turning the key always produced a soft pling-plong, but never opened the box. After many decades, my eighty‐five‐year‐old mother was tired of Maine winters and was moving to Arizona. Parceling out her possessions and the memories they held to her five surviving children, she now held the box out to me, saying simply, “Your father’s letters.”

I had always suspected that the box held them. Exotic and mysteri‐ ous, it was the perfect receptacle for the treasured relics of a husband long dead and a father I had never known. It contained a chapter of my mother’s life that she had closed long since, one I was reluctant to re‐ open. The moment was freighted with feeling; her expression suggested things that I was afraid I could respond to only with tears. Neither of us felt comfortable in such emotional territory, and we cut it short. I stowed the box tenderly in the car along with the other pieces of her life she had designated for me: a miscellany of books, pictures, rugs, silver. As the car pulled away, she stood, small and contained, the enormous firs by the garage dwarfing her as she waved good‐bye. Behind her, morning sunlight skittered across the bay.

At home the box sat—still beautiful, but still steadfastly, stubbornly locked—keeping its secrets. Though my mother had given it to me, I felt that breaking this family reliquary open by force was wrong. Besides, I was reluctant to discover what the box held. Inside was the person who had changed the shape of my mother’s life, whom my older brothers and sisters loved and remembered, a real person to everyone in the family except me, the youngest… (who never knew him)… 

My mother died about ten years after she gave me the box of letters, and not long after, turning the key opened it. Inexplicable, I thought, magical, until my husband confessed that he had tinkered with the lock. After all these years, my father revealed himself quickly...The voice of my mother’s young lover, so long silent, emerged from his letters like a genie out of a bottle. From the pages of one letter slipped silken, nearly transparent poppy petals of the palest salmon pink—the tender gesture of a long‐ago love. So this was the person who had lurked inside the box all those years...

Questions for Sigrid MacRae:

A WORLD ELSEWHERE is as much your story as it is a story about your mother, Aimée, a strong and resilient woman. Is there a central message that you would like to encourage other women with using your mother’s life story as an example?

People are often capable of far more than they imagine. Why and how my mother, a weak and affection-starved child, grew into an indomitable force is not easily explained, but when the need arose, she demonstrated enough courage for an army. Though she may have flinched privately, she was an example to her children, an inspiration to many.

The lesson: Don’t underestimate yourself, and never give up

Born of an American mother and a Baltic-German father (killed on Hitler’s Russian front before you were born) you were born in Germany and came to live in the United States at the age of 6. Through a child’s eyes did you experience any kind of prejudice and resistance once you left Germany? How did this shape you as an adult?

In first grade in Hartford, CT, a boy named Skippy yelled “Nazi” at me. As a fresh off-the-boat displaced person, just turned six, I had no more idea what a Nazi was than I knew that the jar in which Skippy brought his dessert with a big red Skippy on the lid was a peanut butter jar. But I knew it wasn’t good. This was post-war America; it was only the first of many incidents. I held my father responsible for that taunt and others that followed me through childhood and beyond, making me feel alien and “in this world but not of it ” - a double-edged sword that is hard for a child to deal with. Sometimes it still is, but time, maturity, and writing the book taught me to overcome such knee-jerk prejudices. Now I appreciate the other edge of that sword, and see that it is an advantage that enlarges my perspective.

Your mother’s story unfolded years after she gave you a box of letters written by the father you never knew. Did you open the box right away? Why or why not? What emotion did this release in you?

The box was locked. It was a beautiful family reliquary of sorts, and I could not bring myself to force it open. I was also reluctant to find the man who lurked inside. He was half of my mother’s love story, yet in some way I also held him responsible for her countless difficulties, and for my being called a Nazi for years. After my mother’s death, my husband tinkered with the lock. The little pling-plong opened to door on someone so young, so vivid, thoughtful, and funny, that it was hard not to fall in love with him too.

Upon learning of your family’s history, the one your mother and you had chosen not to rehash, did you learn of any particular pleasantry you would like to share?

I am not sure what you mean by “pleasantry”; will these do?

“Life is a verb, everyone has a story,” she used to say.

Another favorite dictum: “Life is full of surprises, ready or not…”

What did you hope to accomplish in publishing your personal family story?

First: I wanted to find some answers for myself.

Second: To show that history is not necessarily what is found in textbooks, but rather many thousands of individual histories and motivations, and that my father and many others did not fall under the blanket ”Nazi” rubric so routinely and carelessly applied to anyone caught up in Hitler’s war.

I’m a firm believer that history (the tragedies) tends to repeat itself if not shared and that is one of the reasons why I admire A WORLD ELSEWHERE. However, some stories are not easy to pass down. Did you experience any trepidation in publishing this very personal account?

Yes, of course. I felt like an intruder while reading my father’s early letters, and my mother’s too. But it was important to share what I learned from those extensive letters. Shaped by a civilization that disappeared like Brigadoon in the Bolshevik mists when he was a boy, my father was part of Hitler’s war on Russia, trying to recapture what was lost, and to free the Russian people from a dreaded Stalin.

It must have looked like the closest vehicle that might bring what Hitler’s regime had prevented him from accomplishing in Germany.

I suspect that he knew it would kill him, but that his death might accomplish what he had not accomplished in life.

Another point: The huge, ongoing sensitivity to the “Nazi” issue meant that historical accuracy and scrupulous honesty were crucial. Yes, my father had joined the party, but understanding when, why and how - and that he was also thrown out of the party and into jail for religious principles not long after, is critical too.

Any parting messages?

There are few open and shut cases in history. I hope that the book will strike a blow against ideology – a form of blindness and a common excuse for evil. There’s no room for ideology in our shrinking world; it deserves no patience.

People are often capable of far more than they imagine. Why and how my mother, a weak and affection-starved child, grew into an indomitable force is not easily explained. She had imagined a bright future that turned fairly quickly into a story of ongoing disasters. While she may have flinched privately, she was equal to terrifying circumstances when the need arose, a lifesaver to her children, an inspiration to many.

Sigrid's Ah-hahs To Tweet:

Everyone’s Story: Meet Sigrid MacRae, author of true family life story in Nazi Germany #BookGiveaway (Tweet This)

Author Sigrid MacRae: What happens when a mom passes down an unexpected family legacy? (Tweet This)

Like family biographies showing strong women in face of WWII? Visit Sigrid MacRae #BookGiveaway (Tweet This)

Author's Bio:

Sigrid MacRae is the coauthor of Alliance of Enemies, about the undercover collaboration of the German resistance to Hitler and the American OSS during WWII. She holds a graduate degree in Art History from Columbia University, spent many years in publishing, and lives in New York City and Maine. 

Places to connect with Sigrid:

Website
Goodreads
Facebook