I've now done the A to Z Challenge two years in a row. However, this year I took on an added challenge of my own by not only doing it on this site but also my author site (kristenatunstall.com). I may not have always got my post up on time, which only happened a couple of times, I did get every letter written in the month of April on both sites. Just like last year, for this year's challenge I chose to do each letter about Mari in some way. In a way I hope people could see through each letter … [Read more...]
Z is for ZZZs #AtoZchallenge #acfw
The dreaded ZZZs. It's exactly what we don't want to do to our readers. That is make them fall asleep as they are read our books. We want our novels to be so engaging that they have a hard time putting it down so much so they don't want to go to sleep. This has happened to me so many times where I'm so into the book that it's hard to put it down. I still remember waking up not to long ago and my Kindle was on my bed beside me. I was so close to the end of a book the night before that I wanted … [Read more...]
Z is for Zoom Zoom #AtoZchallenge #acfw
Zoom zoom. When I think of Mari and her constant energy, I think of her zoom zooming all over the place. She was constantly on the go doing something. Mari would be in her room playing. She lined up whatever it is she's playing with. Then she would flap her little arms and go, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." I still don't know exactly why she did that but I think maybe she just needed to make her sounds. It helped her in someway. As she would draw on her Magna Doodle drawing whatever new picture she was … [Read more...]
Y is for Year Journey #AtoZchallenge
For those of you who've been following my site for a while know I've been doing a year-long writing journey. What I've been doing is going through a book with 365 different entries, reading through what the author has put, then I write out my own take on the prompt she had for that day. I temporarily put doing this on hold while doing the A to Z Challenge. However, on May 1 I plan to pick right back up where I left off on day 104. I think by doing this those who read the posts get to know me … [Read more...]
Y is for Young #AtoZchallenge #acfw
When people hear that I've had a child who passed away when she was 8 1/2 years old, they almost always say something like, "She was so young." And she was, but I'm always amazed at just how much someone so young has touched so many people's lives. This morning I called Todd Hochberg to ask for permission to put some of the photographs from my daughter's last day in the memoir I've written about what happened and he said yes. When he gave me the photographs he asked if he could have permission … [Read more...]
X is for eXpectation #AtoZchallenge
In life we have so many expectations that we'd like to see happen. From watching our children grow and hoping they become successful adults in whatever we do. To being successful in whatever job we do. To so many things in life. As a writer I have several expectations I want to do or have happen for myself. Like, continually being ready to learn how to improve my craft of writing. The more I focus on this the better my writing has become over time. I know I still have more to grow, but the … [Read more...]
X is for eXceptional #AtoZchallenge
When I think of exceptional I think of Mari, and I could talk about everything I think that is exceptional about Mari but I think I've done that already this month. However, as many of you know I've been writing a memoir about what happened with our daughter and how we lost her. In the story I'm including some very special pictures that were taken by a very special man who has a big heart. His name is Todd Hochberg. He is a professional photographer who gives of his time to those parents who … [Read more...]
W is for Women’s Fiction #AtoZchallenge #acfw
Picture this. You take a woman who is an avid reader of romance. She loves both historical and contemporary. With or without suspense. She's been reading it since the time she was about thirteen. So what kind of book do you think she would probably write? I bet you'd logically said romance. However, since today's letter is W and the topic is women's fiction, it must be women's fiction, and that writer would be me. From the time I first read a teen romance I fell in love with the heroine and … [Read more...]
V is for Voice (Writer’s) #atozchallenge
The writer's voice. It's distinctive. It's unique. It's why a favorite author becomes just that, a favorite. When you go to write a book and say that you want to sound like, let's say, Hemingway or Jane Austen or John Grisham, then you've missed something because sounding exactly like another writer isn't what people are looking for when they go to read a book. If they wanted to read someone who writes like Jane Austen, guess what they'll most likely do? They'll read a Jane Austen … [Read more...]
W is for Water #atozchallenge
Mari and water, a dynamic combination. Mari loved being in, playing in, basically anything to do with in the water. From the time Mari was a baby, she loved to go swimming. My husband's family was always amazed that I could put her in the swimming pool and she had the time of her life. She didn't mind if the water got in her face. She just giggled and had a blast. As most of you know I've been writing a book about what happened with our little girl. In the book there is a dedication section … [Read more...]
