The True Story of My Daughter's Life With Autism

It is New Year's Eve and most of us are hopeful about 2015. I know I am.  What a better way to start the New Year than by releasing a story of triumph over adversity, faith for the future, and reflection on all that we have overcome?
For our family, one constant in our life is the challenge our daughter "Sophie" faces with autism. As you will see in her story, The Journey to Normal: Our Family's Life With Autism, Sophie was born with no differences.  She was a typically developing child until she was almost two years old. Then, the difference became quite obvious.  We searched for a diagnosis for many years and it wasn't until she was six that our fears were confirmed.  Sophie was a child with autism.
However, Sophie has made tremendous progress through the years. When she was three, she was essentially nonverbal. Now, at seven, she is sitting next to me as I type, telling me all about the Mine Craft world she is building.  We've gone from, "Something is wrong with your kid," to "Sophie is a little quirky, but I would have never guessed she has autism." Through various therapies, amazing educators, some fabulous advice, and following our instincts as parents, we have found a treatment program that is working for Sophie.
I named the book "the journey to normal" not because I want Sophie to be like everyone else, not because I have an illusion that there is any such thing as "normal," but because I wanted Sophie to have the same opportunities to experience life as everyone else.  Sophie is a brilliant, amazing, enigmatic little girl.  Without the ability to understand language or to speak, she would have had little chance of experiencing all of the things that you and I take for granted in life, let alone accomplish the great things I know she is capable of.  Now that she is speaking and can understand language, I know Sophie will change the world and make it a better place.
While part of me considered keeping our story private, I knew that, like Sophie, I have a responsibility to make the world a better place, too. Sophie's story will not only guide other families who are on a similar path, it will provide hope and a beacon of light for those who are lost in the dark clutches of disability and differences.
If you know a family in a similar situation, feel free to send them to my blog or have them email me. For me, this isn't about book sales; this is about sharing our story and comforting others, providing them with answers and a shoulder to cry on.  If you happen to read our story, feel free to leave a few words of encouragement for Sophie in the comment section of my blog or send me an email at authoridjohnson@gmail.com
I hope that 2015 is a year to celebrate for you and your family.  God Bless!
Here is the link to The Journey to Normal: Our Family's Life With Autism
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RMZC0LS

My daughter "Sophie" at two when she started slipping away

Things That Make You Say, "Shut-Up!" ***Spoilers***

There's nothing more satisfying as an author than making your reader exclaim, "Shut-up!" in a good way.  Whenever I write a specific kind of scene into one of my books--one that I hope will have a certain element of surprise or shock--I secretly hope that this scene will make the reader exclaim some such phrase of surprise.  For me, a "shut-p" moment is one of both shock and awe.  For example, though I would never tell one of my students at school to "shut-up" when I want them to stop talking, I do tell them occasionally that, when I saw how awesome their grade was on a test,  I couldn't help but yell, "Shut-up!" They always giggle at this (even the boys!) and I know it's because I'm speaking their language.

Where you shocked by any of my writing choices? Smiley Face Man was!

So, here's my question for you, the reader.  What, if any, scenes in my books have made you make some such exclamation of awe and surprise?  If you haven't read Deck of Cards and Cordia's Will, you might want to stop reading this post until you have finished both books. That's because, if you read my suggestions of examples of what might scenes might have been surprising to my readers, you might ruin the books for yourself.  As a writer, it is very helpful to know that I am in touch (or out of touch) with my readers. If I am including certain elements in my books because I want to catch the reader off-guard and surprise them. If it's not working that way, then I need to know it. If it is working, then that's also awesome to know, particularly since I have so many works in progress.
So, what do you think? Here are some example of scenes designed to catch the reader off guard!
1) When King Leopold slaps King Philip across the face for going behind his back in Deck of Cards
2) When King Philip cuts Rose's tongue out in Deck of Cards
3) When King Leopold kills King Philip in Deck of Cards
4) When you find out Queen Margaret is still alive in Deck of Cards
5) When Queen Katherine is found dead in Deck of Cards
6) When Jaris dies in Cordia's Will
7) When Cordia becomes engaged to Carey in Cordia's Will
8) When Carey confiscates Cordia's mail in Cordia's Will
9) When Will returns in Cordia's Will
10) When Cordia steps out with the gun aimed at Carey in Cordia's Will
Are there any others that I missed??
Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments here or on my Goodreads blog.  However, if you are going to comment with a spoiler, please mark it accordingly. Otherwise, you can always just leave the numbers of what you saw as the major "shut-up" numbers. Seriously--even if your comments are anonymous I would really love to hear from you! Feedback from my readers is vital to my writing process.
Also, if you haven't left a review on Amazon, Smashwords, and/or Goodreads, please consider doing so. I would love to hear your thoughts there as well. And if you love either or both of my books and you spread the word, it helps others to decide to give them a try and it helps me to know that I am making good decisions as a writer. If you have constructive comments, I can use those as well.

If you were looking for the links, here they are!  Deck of Cards can be purchased here and Cordia's Will can be purchased here.

Why I Chose Lamar, Missouri as the Setting for Cordia's Will

Setting is everything to a novel. If you have believable characters, an excellent plot, and a lousy setting, readers won't be able to stay focused on the story. So, when I decided to write a book about the Civil War, I knew I needed to select a setting I could easily incorporate into the story without straining the focus on the characters or the plot.
Though I have visited most of the major Civil War battlefields, there was one that I have explored far more than any and that is Wilson's Creek near Springfield, Missouri. Likewise, I have spent a lot of time visiting the Battle of Carthage sight near Carthage, Missouri.  It just made sense that I would want my characters fighting in these two battles. I decided that, if I was going to incorporate these battle into my novel, the obvious location for my heroin to live was Lamar, Missouri.  I grew up in Lamar and I know a lot about its rich history. It would make perfect sense for young men who grew up in or around Lamar to enlist and fight in these two battles.  Also, I was always intrigued by the historical raids by Quantrill and his men on Lamar.  Not once but twice the notorious raider brought his band of guerillas into the small town and left his bath of destruction in his wake.

Battle of Wilson's Creek

Battle of Carthage, courtesy of Missouri State Parks

Farmhouse at Wilson's Creek

Growing up, I lived in a small brick house on Tenth Street. Until I was about eight, the house next door was a large white Georgian that pre-dated the Civil War. I was never allowed to go in it, even though I had some friends that lived there, because my mother said it wasn't kept-up well and it was dangerous.  When it burned down one night, I was devastated. All of the neighbors that came out to watch it burn made statements like, "It was the only house in a four block radius of the square that didn't burn down during the Civil War." I don't know how true that is but I do know that several houses were burned during the war and that, if you walk around Lamar, particularly close to the square, you will see lots of old houses but none of them appear to be old enough to have been built before the Civil War.  I'm sure records exist for this but it wasn't vital to my story so I didn't travel back to Lamar from Texas to do the research.
There is one house in Lamar that is believed to have pre-dated the war for sure, and I used this house in my book as Cordia's house.  When I was growing up, the pastor of my church and his family lived in this house on Broadway Street. It is a beautiful brick structure and I always loved to visit it whenever I could.  In my mind, this house is very similar to the one I describe as being the Pike residence in my book. Legend has it that, in the attic of this house there is damage from a cannonball that struck the home during the Civil War.  I incorporate this occurrence in my story because, in my opinion, this is an important part of the Civil War history of Lamar.

Another landmark would be the Adams Farm. In my mind, this farmhouse is very similar to the house my grandparents owned while I was growing up. Located on a few acres east of town, the old farmhouse was allegedly built in the 1850s, which meant that it would have been there when Quantrill rode into town. Though the house I remember did not have a second story like the Adams Farm main house does in the story, the description of the location of the bedrooms, as odd as they may seem, follows the layout of my grandparent's home. Unfortunately, this house was condemned and torn down earlier in this years

The current courthouse on the town square in Lamar is certainly a landmark.  This building was built after the war was over. There is a debate as to whether or not the original courthouse was burned by Quantrill or before.  In my story, it is Quantrill who burns the building.  Whether this is actually the case or not, we may never know for sure. If anyone has reliable documentation, I would love to hear it. Incidentally, I worked at the Confederate Memorial State Park in Higginsville, Missouri when I was in college. This happens to be where Quantrill is buried.

Current courthouse on the Lamar Square

Originally, the courthouse had a wooden steeple. I envisioned the original courthouse having one, too.

Current Post Office. Did Cordia's post office look like this?

Quantrill's grave in Higginsville, Missouri at the Confederate Memorial State Park.

The Devil himself, William C. Quantrill, courtesy of Wikipedia

If you live in Lamar or the surrounding area or if you are a fan of Civil War history, I hope that you will read Cordia's Will. I would love to hear your opinion of the story and how I have balanced my discussion of the war with the love story at its center.
You  can pre-order Cordia's Will on Kindle here.  It will be available on Nook and Apple soon as well. Paperback addition should also be available for order within the next few days.

Ten Years Later, Cordia's Will is Finished!

January 2004, I went to see Cold Mountain while on a sort holiday trip to San Antonio with my husband. My father and I had always been huge Civil War buffs and so I was eager to watch the movie and discuss it with my dad. Unfortunately, both of us were fairly disappointed. We both felt like the explicit content was unnecessary to the story and that it was lacking in actual Civil War content. There just weren't enough battle scenes. Nevertheless, the movie got me thinking. If I was to write a book about the Civil War, what would I write?
As a teacher, I had a few days off from work before school started again. So, once I returned home, I went to the computer and started writing. No outline, no clue what was going to happen. I just knew I was going to write about the Civil War, that it would be a love story, and that I would include as many battle scenes as I could without compromising the integrity of the primary story.
I wrote like a crazy person for the next several weeks (including my first weeks back to work.) I got about 45,000 words in to the story and then, I suddenly realized, I didn't know what happened next. I was stuck.  And then, life got busy. We ended up finding out shortly there after that we were moving to Dallas.  After the move, new jobs, new friends, etc. I got distracted.  Two children and another move later, I finally decided that my characters deserved to have an ending. I sent the manuscript to my sister for a second opinion. I wanted to know if it was any good and if it should even be finished. If so, what should happen?

My Kindle Cover. Pre-order here.

First of all, she loved it, which was relieving.  She was really upset that it wasn't finished and demanded that I finish it as soon as possible.  She also made some suggestions for the ending, which helped lead me to the eventual ending, although, I must admit, I wasn't sure what was going to happen in the final chapters until I started writing them. When I started writing Deck of Cards before I finished Cordia's Will, my sister was not happy.  She refused to read Deck of Cards until Cordia's Will was completed.
Incidentally, Cordia's Will was not the title until about a month ago. The novel sat on my desktop as CW for almost a decade. CW stood for Civil War--not Cordia's Will. That finally came to me about a month ago. Once you read the book, you'll understand. I will say, my sister thinks the double-entendre makes it a ridiculous title and, while she might be right, it made perfect sense to me.
Cordia's Will is currently available for pre-order on Kindle. Click here. Incidentally, though it is a romance novel, there are no inappropriate scenes although there is a big of innuendo.  There are a few incidents where the characters use some strong language but nothing most children haven't heard on television. I would rate it PG or PG-13.
It will be available on Nook and Apple in the next few days. Please check back for information and for a coupon code that will allow you to safe 25%.
I am looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks of this novel that took me so very long to complete. Comments are reviews are always welcome!

My original photo teaser 

The Dreams that Inspired Deck of Cards

I have always had extremely vivid dreams. Perhaps that is one of the reasons I like to sleep so much.  Often, my dreams seem real and I remember them long after I awake. Such was the case with the two dreams that inspired DOC.
The first one I had several years ago but I can still remember it very well. I was a princess, searching for her prince in a dungeon far below my father's castle.  He had locked my true love away over a misunderstanding and I had to traverse the dark and dangerous pathways, lined with cells full of criminals, until I reached an expansive chamber where a large group of the captives were congregated. I had to locate the prince and find a way to save him.

John Henry Fuseli's work The Shephard's Dream

This dream inspired two separate events in DOC. The first one is fairly obvious.  Katey is searching for Matthew and is instrumental in formulating his escape plan.  The other scene comes later in the book and, while I don't want to give it away to those who haven't read that far yet, it involves Katey and Caleb.  I find that, when I have time to ponder the events in my dreams, they can inspire my writing in many ways.
The second dream was more recent. I had it just a few months before I started writing DOC and it was the driving force behind actually sitting down and getting the story written. I dreamt that I was a princess (see the theme here?) and someone was chasing me in the woods.  I knew that something terrible had happened but I wasn't sure what.  Then, I time-jumped to being forced to marry a man I didn't love while my chosen prince was on his way to rescue me.  If you've read the book then you can clearly see how this dream inspired DOC.  Again, there were definitely some changes but you can see the similarities.
My question for you is, are your dreams vivid and memorable? If so, have you ever had one inspire you to write? I would love to hear about it!

Deck of Cards Book Trailer

Can I just say I love Animoto!  I made this trailer entirely of images from google with no restricted use--besides the image I purchased for my book cover.  Though it's not exactly what I would have done, for the amount of money I spent, I think it's pretty awesome. Please let me know what you think.

Find it here.

Why I Believe Deck of Cards is a Genre Breaker

I believe the publication process for Deck of Cards was probably more difficult than writing the book. Unlike Cordia's Will, which has been written slowly and painfully over the last ten years or so, Deck of Cards practically wrote itself. (I'll explain that more in later posts. )  But, when it came time to actually make the book available on Kindle, that's when I really ran into some brick walls.
First of all, I'm not completely convinced Deck of Cards is a romance novel. It certainly has elements of romance, especially considering there are at least two--possibly three-"blush worthy" scenes.  This content was one of the reasons I decided to go ahead and place it in the romance category.  Another consideration is that one of the primary driving forces of the novel is Katey's search for true love.  This, in my opinion, is romance in it's purest form. I think we often let the word "romance" mean "sex" and, in real life, those two words are not interchangeable.  So why should they be in text? This is definitely not a romance novel filled primarily with scenes of love-making. However, I strived to create a piece that centers around the idea that romantic love can overcome all obstacles. Though some reader may be disappointed in the sheer numbers of explicit scenes, I hope more readers will be enthralled by Katey's pursuit of love and that, in the end, both categories of readers will walk away appreciating the outcome.

This picture perfectly sums up Katey's journey.  She's lost in a dark forest, searching for love. She sees the light in the distance but she can't quite get there without an arduous journey.  You can buy Deck of Cards here.

Another issue I ran into is that Deck of Cards isn't quite historical fiction either. For a true categorization of historical fiction, the setting has to be real. Clearly, none of the places in Deck of Cards ever really existed. Though the setting is realistic and nothing fantastic happens within the story that would call for a "fantasy" listing, without that crucial piece, it wasn't quite right to say it was historical fiction either. Yet, the setting and plot closely align with medieval history.  The reader can certainly imagine that these events could have truly happened in a real kingdom that existed during that time period. So, for those reasons, I chose to list it as historical fiction as well.
These are difficult decisions an author has to make and it's not always easy to find guidance, especially when self-publishing.  In the end, my hope is that Deck of Cards will be discovered and remembered for being an amazing well-told story, regardless of what labels we want to apply.
As a reader, when you choose a book, how do you decide which one to read?  Do you choose by genre or just keep looking until you read a description that you find captivating?

A Window Into My Mind

As a reader, I often have burning questions that I would love to ask the author. Sometimes they are about character choices, sometimes about plot twists. Often, when I am really into a book, I want to know what happens next, after the final pages.  Unfortunately, most authors are so busy (or so reclusive) they don't have the opportunity to make themselves accessible to their readers.  Now that I have joined the realm of published authors, my hope is to find the time to connect to the reader in a way few authors do. I want to be able to offer my insights, explore my thinking, and listen to your feedback. I want to write books that you want to read. If you like a particular choice I made, I'd love to hear about it. If you were not a huge fan of a particular decision, I'd like to hear why and what you would have done differently. I write the kind of books I like to read but that's only important if other people want to read them, too. To that end, I value your comments immeasurably.  And, in exchange for your candid comments, I will always try to explain why I chose to follow the path you ultimately followed in the book.

A view from Van Gogh's window. Oh, to see the world from his perspective.

Additionally, I will share updates on upcoming novels in the work. I will be asking you questions as well. Occasionally, I will do a giveaway. In fact, I have a giveaway happening right now on my Facebook page. You can win a signed paperback edition of Deck of Cards just by sharing your opinion. Pretty cool, eh?

Deck of Cards now available on Amazon kindle and in paperback.  Buy it here.

I will also be looking for readers to preview my upcoming works from time to time. You don't want to miss out on that! How cool would it be to get your hands on a manuscript before it is published?
So, please, check in often. Don't be a lurker--unless you insist--jump in, take part, speak up.  I look forward to sharing the creative process with you!