Tag: writing (Page 12 of 15)

Meradeth Houston on Ending The Chemistry of Fate

May 25, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Let’s give a warm welcome for returning guest poster Meradeth Houston. Her new adult novel The Chemistry of Fate (see my Goodreads review here), a companion to her YA novel Colors Like Memories, recently released from MuseItUp. The Chemistry of Fate Is on sale for $2.99 for the duration of the blog tour. And as if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a giveaway! (Whew…)

The Way It All Ends

Thanks so much for hosting me Katie! I thought it would be appropriate to talk about novel endings here today, especially after you helped me figure out what to do with the ending of The Chemistry of Fate :).

When it comes to novels there area few different types of endings:

The happily ever after (HEA), where all, or at least most of the main plot threads are tied up and there’s the promise that things are going to go well for everyone at all. Think most harlequin novels and Disney movies.

The cliffhanger, where there’s another book where things will (hopefully) be tied together. Usually some of the main plot threads are undone and the reader is usually left tearing their hair out waiting for the next book. The Hunger Games had some good cliffhanger endings.

The question mark ending (I’m inventing terms—there are probably official words for these, but what’s the fun in that?), where the reader is left thinking about what happened and is still wondering about it days later. Some important thread isn’t totally tied off, either intentionally or not. This happens in movies like The Graduate, Inception, and Primer.

The what-the-heck-just-happened ending, where there’s a dues ex machina ending that kind of leaves the reader wondering just what happened. I felt like the last book in the Fallen series by Lauren Kate did this (literally!) and it’s often not totally satisfying. Or there’s the kill-everyone-off version too (Hamlet…).

These are some of the common endings, though I know there are more (I’d love to hear more examples!) and it varies from person to person what kind of ending works best for them. (I even know someone who prefers the “everyone dies” ending.) Personally, I love an ending that leaves me thinking, so long as some of the threads are neatly tied off. The ending of Inception was utter perfection to me.

With Chemistry, I originally had an ending that left things really hanging. While I knew who survived and who didn’t, I purposefully left it ambiguous. Which was fine, until I started discussing the next book with my editor :). She made the very valid point that what I was doing wasn’t going to work, as the book wasn’t resolved enough to flow with book #3 (which is based on two very different characters). So, I went back to the drawing board (and emailed writing friends to beg support!).

The ending that currently stands is what I came up with. I won’t give anything away, but it works a whole lot better :). (Though if anyone’s read it, I’d love to hear what kind of guesses you have as to what originally happened at the end!) But, there is something to be said about leaving your readers feeling really uncomfortable with the ending, and I’d rather heed my editor’s wise advice!

Of course, this makes me really curious. What is your favorite novel or movie ending? What kind of ending do you prefer?

The Chemistry of Fate blurb:

“They are everywhere, can be anyone, and are always the last person you’d expect.” When Tom stumbles across his grandfather’s journal, he’s convinced the old man was crazier than he thought. The book contains references to beings called the Sary, immortals who are assigned to save humans on the verge of suicide. They certainly aren’t allowed to fall in love with mortals. Which the journal claims Tom’s grandfather did, resulting in his expulsion from the Sary. As strange as the journal seems, Tom can’t get the stories out of his head; especially when he finds the photo of his grandfather’s wings.

Tom’s only distraction is Ari, the girl he studies with for their chemistry class.

Ari has one goal when she arrives in town: see how much Tom knows about the Sary and neutralize the situation. This isn’t a normal job, but protecting the secrecy of the Sary is vital. If Tom is a threat to exposing the Sary to the public, fate has a way of taking care of the situation, usually ending with the mortal’s death. While Ari spends time with Tom, he becomes more than just an assignment, but how far can a relationship go when she can’t tell him who she really is? When she finds out just how much Tom actually knows about the Sary, Ari is forced to choose between her wings, and her heart.

THE CHEMISTRY OF FATE is a companion to COLORS LIKE MEMORIES and is set before the latter takes place. It is geared toward an upper YA, or New Adult audience. Buy it at MuseItUp Publishing, Amazon, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and other ebook retailers.

About the Author:
MeradethHouston
Meradeth’s never been a big fan of talking about herself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about her:

She’s a Northern California girl, but now lives and teaches anthropology in Montana.
When she’s not writing, she’s sequencing dead people’s DNA. For fun!
She’s been writing since she was 11 years old. It’s her hobby, her passion, and she’s so happy to get to share her work!
If she could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because she’s terrified of heights.

Find more about Meradeth and her books on her website, her blog, Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

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Meet Kai Strand author of Beware of the White

May 20, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Today I’m doing an interview over at the new MuseItUp Young and YA blog. In my absence, please welcome fellow Muser Kai Strand, author of the middle grade fantasy Beware of the White (check out my Goodreads review), as she discusses her editorial process.

DO THE HARD WORK

Hi everybody! I’m Kai Strand, author of the newly released middle grade fantasy adventure, Beware of the White. I’m thrilled to be on Katie’s blog. Katie was my content editor for Beware of the White and she helped me SO much!

I have a love/hate relationship with editing. I cannot stand the initial revisions, the first pass review that follows the creative high of the first draft. As painfully boring as those revisions are to me, I understand they are crucial to the process. I have great critique partners and I don’t want to jeopardize our working relationship by sending them work I haven’t done due diligence in. It is disrespectful of their time and expertise to send sloppy work.

Once I get their input, I enjoy the editing process again. I like to see how they suggest improvement to the storyline or character development. I love to see where they melt over a character or shake a fist in frustration. I even find the occasional question mark (the ‘what-exactly-do-you-mean-here’ question mark) challenging. As an author, it isn’t my job to defend my work, it is my job to make the story and characters clear to the reader so that no defense is required.

After that, I usually go into another funk of ‘this is so boring’ as I prepare the manuscript for submission. Once I get an editor assigned from the publisher I fall back in love again. I love when an editor really challenges me to improve the book. I love wanting to tear my hair out because it feels like so much work after having put in so much work already. Because I know that will make it a stronger story that will resonate with the reader.

So here comes my last hateful relationship with the editing process. The hard work. Ah, you thought I already mentioned the hard work above, huh? There is one more crucial step. When a content editor reads your work, she examines the story for logic, gaps, motivation. She notes if the pace falls off, mentions an awkward dialogue exchange, points out where your heroine suddenly jumps out of character. You fix the things she mentions and the two of you exchange the manuscript a few times to tweak and refine your words. The line editor points out all of your misuse of commas, grammatical errors, and tweaks to the formatting.

But wait…who is making sure that after all these changes, the words still flow? OH! The author. Before those final edits are turned in, do the hard work and read your story aloud. When you are micro-editing it is so easy to edit in duplicate words or phrases, awkward transitions or a different writing voice. The only way to make absolutely certain the edits are a success is to start at the beginning and read all the way to the end. And do it OUT LOUD! Don’t cry. I know it’s a lot of work, but your story will be stronger for it. I promise.

About Beware of the White:

As is tradition, Terra learns on the Saturday past her twelfth birthday that she is a Natures Spirit. It is her legacy to serve in the peaceful underground city of Concord. Learning she is named in a prophecy and being threatened by the leader of the death tribe…that part breaks tradition.

The Trepidus are the death janitors of the Underworld, responsible for delivering fatalities with a smile and cleaning up after themselves until Blanco, recent leader of the Trepidus, decides the day of reckoning for his species is coming. He begins organizing the creatures and leads them toward an uprising. The prophecy says there is one person who can stop him. Terra.

With Spirit of Security, Frank, protecting her, Terra attempts to complete her training and discover her Spirit talents. Together, they go on a rogue investigation to learn how to defeat Blanco. In the end, it comes down to a battle of the minds. The future of Concord is at stake. Will Blanco, the older, more experienced being win? Or will Terra, the young, new Spirit earn back the peace of the city?

Buy It:

MuseItUp Publishing

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

To celebrate the launch of BEWARE OF THE WHITE, Kai Strand has awesome book related prize packages. Be sure to enter to win. And return again and again to claim entries as you qualify. Kai will also have Spontaneous Giveaways during her book tour. Those giveaways won’t be announced so be sure to follow Kai’s tour. Only virtual stalkers will have the opportunity at all the fun!

About the author:

Kai Strand writes fiction for kids and teens. Her debut novel, The Weaver, was a finalist in the 2012 EPIC eBook Awards. She is a (very lucky) wife and the mother of four amazing kids. The most common sound in her household is laughter. The second most common is, “Do your dishes!” She and her family hike, geocache, and canoe in beautiful Central Oregon, where they call home.

To find out more about Kai’s books, download companion documents, find links to her published short stories and discover all the places to find Kai both virtually and in person, visit her website: www.kaistrand.com. She loves to hear from readers, so feel free to send her an email or visit her facebook page, Kai Strand, Author.

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Meet Rick Taliaferro Author of Cascades

May 17, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Let’s all wish Rick Taliaferro a happy book b-day as he celebrates the publication of his contemporary YA novel Cascades (see my Goodreviews review here) by guest posting on the blog today. Welcome, Rick!

alt “Technology’s great when it works.”

We know this phrase, usually muttered when technology is not working. But, here’s one case where it did work, usually very reliably and consistently. And I have the feeling that it’s more the general case than an isolated, personal case.

In the past several months, I’ve been thinking up ways to publicize my newly available teen/YA novel, Cascades, in addition to studying and emulating what other writers are doing to promote their publications.

A really great idea that I had was to streak a well-attended public event here in the Raleigh area, wearing just a t-shirt or carrying a sign with quick details about my novel. A friend could video-record it and post it to YouTube. Then I’d sit back and wait for the post–and sales of my novel–to go viral.

My wife thought otherwise.

“How about if I could get Justin Bieber to read it and tweet about it?” I suggested.

“Uh-huh, sure.”

Another idea that I had was to pitch the following proposal to local media here in the Raleigh metropolitan area. In a nutshell: “Local author gets first novel published, and credits current technology as helping in that achievement.” I haven’t heard from any one of the media yet, and perhaps won’t; they might rightly view my proposal as a self-serving attempt to get free publicity. Which it is. But I think there’s a broader general interest element to the proposal, which goes beyond an author’s desire to sell books, and which applies to writers today, especially aspiring writers.

So, in lieu of an appearance in local TV, radio, and newspapers, here’s what I would have covered in the hoped-for interview. And these observations are not original, nor new (some of you might call them ancient history by now), and don’t cover various other recent consumer-tech advances of which I’m an ignoramus and which you’ll notice by their conspicuous absence. But perhaps we can generalize the specific devices noted here and extrapolate their positive effect to other technological advances in this post-Guttenberg-paradigm that we’re in. I’m inviting readers of this guest blog to fill in the consumer-tech gaps that I’ve left, and note the positive effect technology has had on their writing efforts–as soon as they stop guffawing that I haven’t used them, yet.

Naturally, it’s possible that technology exerts a negative influence on one’s endeavors, such as writing, but let’s save that topic for another blog. By coincidence, there’s a thought-provoking article on this topic in the “Related articles” links below.

Alright, the technological devices which contributed to my getting published are email, the Internet, and perhaps most importantly, the e-reader, as described here. Again, please jump in with your thoughts and arguments.

Email has improved the communications between authors and editors/publishers. The quality of the communication still depends on careful wordsmithing, but turnaround time in submitting and receiving responses has become more efficient. For sure, online journals can still take several months in which to respond to a submission, but the advent of email has enabled a more efficient submission-and-response apparatus. You’re no longer tasked with putting pages and SASEs in an envelope and posting it; neither is the editor when responding. The transmission of your submission is nearly instantaneous, as is the response (that is, the transmission after the writer or editor gets around to processing the email and clicking Send). And, though some journals still take months to respond, I think email, by its instantaneousness, has encouraged a faster response time. At Bartleby Snopes where I’m an associate editor, our usually met target for responding to submissions is 3-5 days, and usually quicker than that, even with requested feedback. Part of this response rate is because of email.

Internet. Several characteristics of the Internet are serving the aspirations of writers.
- Publishing opportunities. With the increased use of the World Wide Web (WWW) — thanks to Tim Berners-Lee — came an increased number of publishing opportunities. (Probably also an increase in the competition, too, but undoubtedly an increase in opportunities.) Imagine the number of small literary magazines, of varying quality, before the WWW, and then exponentiate that number (by what factor, I don’t know, but you get the point) after the invention of the WWW. Anyone can start an online journal, more efficiently and very cheaply relative to paper-based and paper-mail-based journals. As a result, many talented and astute editors have founded such journals, to the benefit of readers who enjoy fiction and the writers of that fiction. (I’m one of those writers. My first story publication was online.) To use the example of Bartleby Snopes again, we publish eight stories a month, opening up 96 publishing opportunities for story writers and readers during a year. This number doesn’t take into account our special projects such as our annual Dialogue-Only Contest and our recent Post-Experimental Project.
- Exposure. Another salient feature of Internet-based journals is the greater exposure afforded to the writer whose work appears online. To save space in this blog, I refer you to Jason Sanford’s essay on this characteristic, “How to Expose New Writers: Online Versus Print Magazines,” below in the “Related articles” section. (By the way, if the links are problematic, let me know, and I can provide PDFs of the linked-to articles.)
- In addition to publishing opportunities and exposure, the underlying code that provides part of the WWW infrastructure can also provide opportunities for creative experiments in narrative form and structure. For example, in the use of linking, and forward and backward referencing. There’s lots of examples of this. My short story, “Keynote Address,” attempts to use HTML coding in several narrative places to tell the story (in one example, the story links to a description of what is generally regarded as the early example of hypertext fiction, “Afternoon”). I think the point I’m trying to make here is that with HTML, there are new opportunities for narrative form and structure, so that we can produce works that are more than just a traditional, paper-based story in an online medium. There are technical features of HTML that can serve story-telling.
E-readers. The advent of e-reader technology combines and extends several of the characteristics discussed above. But I think the most salient characteristic is the lower publishing costs. In the same way that a journal editor can easily and relatively cheaply start an online journal, so can a publisher of e-books and print-on-demand books. The costs for such an enterprise are higher than a small journal, of course, but much cheaper than traditional paper book publishers. With cheaper production costs and a greater number of publishers, come greater opportunities for book writers. (Here again, my first published novel is an e-book.)

So, in reading over this blog, it appears that the primary benefit of recent technological developments is an increase in opportunities for aspiring writers. That’s true in my writing efforts. I can’t say whether I’d have been published in the olden days. Maybe, but chances were against it. However, I can say that I am getting published now, and technology gets some of the credit.

As this blog started with a common observation about technology, I’ll end it with a more general folkism that also applies to technology: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” As helpful and facilitating as technology can be in a particular project, writers still need to persevere, accept rejection and, if possible, learn from it, and above all to keep writing. That’s old school advice that’s timeless. You combine that counsel with technology, and you’ll get published.

Okay, it’s your turn to fill in the gaps. That’s right, please add your experiences with cellphones, Facebook, Twitter. All that.

Here are links to just several of numerous articles that provide interesting points and counterpoints to the discussion of technology in the context of writing endeavors. The last article has a broader thesis, but is relevant to the discussion.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2009/11/22/202564/in-the-age-of-twitter-the-short.html

http://www.salon.com/2013/02/21/sorry_the_short_story_boom_is_bogus/

http://www.storysouth.com/TheSite/winter2002/fictionafterword.html

http://www.salon.com/2013/05/12/jaron_lanier_the_internet_destroyed_the_middle_class/

Cascades blurb:

When Karen dumps Greg, he tries to keep the relationship going with a simple plan: become the kind of guy she wants. He needs to prove he’s decisive and can take initiative, qualities she admires. Not to mention he needs to read Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls for a class presentation. Middle-aged Victor arrives at the local hangout, a dam called The Cascades, giving Greg the means to succeed in the plan. Victor has a romance problem of his own, as well as a drinking problem. Greg attempts to help Victor sober up and reunite with his estranged wife, all in hopes of winning back Karen. Then tragedy strikes at The Cascades, and Greg is left to question love, the value of a life, and how he will ever finish his book presentation.

Buy Cascades at the MuseItUp bookstore, Amazon, and other ebook retailers.

About the Author:

Rick Taliaferro is a freelance writer and editor (www.textposit.com) and an associate editor at the renowned online literary journal, Bartleby Snopes (www.bartlebysnopes.com). In his spare time, he spends one hour or one page or 200 words per day on fiction. He has published short stories and is currently rewriting the first draft of a new novel. Cascades is his first published novel. He hopes you enjoy it.

Highlights from SCBWI Conferences

May 2, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Tomorrow I’m off to the New England SCBWI conference! YAY! It’s my first conference in over a year, so I’m very much looking forward to it…but it is also my first weekend away from The Boy, so it’ll be hard to leave. We’ll both be fine, though. (That’s what I keep telling myself anyway!)

I’ve been going to SCBWI conferences for quite a few years now and have gathered a plethora of great tips. I’ll certainly be sharing my favorite nuggets about this conference, but in the meantime, here are some highlights from past conferences I’ve attended.

Take the time and make the space for your writing dreams. ~Laurie Halse Anderson
A vital aspect to nurturing talent is to accept and validate your need to create. Honor, cherish, and celebrate it. ~Laurie Halse Anderson
There are no secure boxes. Do whatever you want to do, and do it wildly, purely, uncensored, even regrettable. Do it as hard as you can. ~Donna Jo Napoli
Never give up because you might be on the one yard line, and you just don’t know it. ~Donna Gephart
Books take us away from home, so we can actually see our home. ~M.T. Anderson
Human beings need stories; we always have and we always will. ~Gennifer Choldenko
As artists, we need to fill ourselves up to flowing and give it all back. ~E.B. Lewis
In a roller-coaster ride you know exactly where you’re going, end up where you began, and you can a buy a ticket to go on again and have almost the same exact experience; it’s thrilling, but it’s not a journey. A journey takes you where you’ve never been before; it’s pretty scary and the dangers are real. ~Sandy Asher
All stories are based in truth somewhere. Pay attention to those stories and write them down. ~Judy Schachner
Use your very guts to spill out your very best. ~Susan Patron

Enjoy your weekend, everyone. With the likes of Nova Ren Suma, Kate Messner, Sharon Creech, and many other authors, agents, and editors presenting at the conference, I know I will have an awesome weekend.

Meet Kris Rutherford author of Nothin’ But Net

April 19, 2013 / Katie L. Carroll

Today reluctant reader turned writer Kris Rutherford shares a little bit about his writing process. You can read my review of his middle grade sports story Nothin’ But Net over on Goodreads. Welcome, Kris, and happy book b-day!

alt Can a Reluctant Reader be a Decent Writer?

by Kris Rutherford

First, let me get out one shocking fact. I don’t read much. Never have. Yep. There it is. It’s been said by many that any writer has to “read, read, read” to be successful. Well, I wouldn’t exactly say I’m successful, but I have published several articles, two fiction books, and I have a contract for a non-fiction book in hand. But, I don’t read a whole lot more than the sports page and internet news. Sure, I like to peruse books on subjects I’m interested in, but “peruse” is the key word. Read them cover-to-cover? Seldom. And, fiction? Blechhh. I don’t have the time or energy.

So, how did someone who has spent little time reading and, I swear, never “curled up with a book,” end up as a youth sports fiction writer? Well, my dad was an English professor, so when I was a kid, a bit of reading was compulsory. But, I wasn’t about to read something in which I had no interest. A novel based on a movie I had already seen was always a great option, but the novel had to be written after the movie, not the other way around. I didn’t want anybody to ruin a great movie by changing it up on me. Plus, I liked the option of skipping over the boring parts. Aside from these classic works of fiction, though, my interest was in sports. In fact, I had few interests beyond sports. I watched them incessantly, regardless of the game or season. Curling intrigued me as much as football. I’d even watch sports on the French language channel beamed into Southern Maine from Quebec, despite the fact my knowledge of French went no further than Huckleberry Finn’s “Polly-voo-franzee” (I saw the Disney version of Huckleberry Finn sometime in the mid-70s at the local drive-in, and I admit I did read—or maybe skim—the book for ninth-grade English. Personally, I found Twain’s version a little disappointing). Regardless, my young life revolved around sports—watching and playing (with limited ability and even less success).

As far as youth sports fiction is concerned, I chose to read it for two reasons: 1) I was interested in the subject matter; and 2) Even the longest work seldom exceeded 200 pages (for purely psychological reasons, I preferred to read of less than 100 pages, but I made exceptions in the case of sports). My influences were probably the same as most sports-minded kids of the 70s—Matt Christopher and Alfred Slote. I loved Christopher’s play-by-play narrative and the wide variety of sports he covered. “The Kid Who Only Hit Homers” and “Return of the Home Run Kid” remain favorites to this day. But, for me, nothing could top Alfred Slote. “Hang Tough, Paul Mather” has to be my favorite book of all-time. The main character is a Little League baseball pitcher battling leukemia but refusing to give up his favorite sport despite the risks involved. At the time I read the book, I was having some weird medical issues of my own, so maybe I thought Paul and I had something in common. Slote’s masterpiece still resonates to this day, and I even reread it on occasion some 35 years later. “My Father, The Coach” is probably my second favorite Alfred Slote work.

When I come up with an idea for sports fiction, I usually try to pluck some small memory from the back of my mind and build on it. From the perspective of a sports nut who had limited athletic ability, my main characters are typically athletically-challenged or have a flaw in their game. In my first novel, “Batting Ninth” (Enslow Publishers), the main character was a great fielder but a lousy hitter. In “Nothin’ But Net,” Blake Creekmore is about as unathletic as they come. But, his best friend is the school’s top athlete. Their rather awkward relationship and lack of common interest forms the basis for the story.

I also like to include an adult or two in each story, at least one of whom is not a great role model. My pet peeve growing up was overbearing baseball parents. In fact, in college my original intention was to become a city parks and recreation director in order to fix everything wrong with youth sports, which, in my opinion, focused generally on the adults. I soon found, however, that many of the adults who run youth sports don’t want them fixed. Local youth sports associations have become adult hobbies. As one journalist wrote many years ago, “Youth sports teach kids games adults play.” I love to weave the stereotypical “little league parent” or coach into my plots. Call it an outlet for my frustration.

Finally, as far as my writing process is concerned, I may break, or at least fracture, the mold most writers follow. When I sit down at the computer, I hold my sliver of a childhood memory and a general idea of my theme and how I want the book to end. But, everything between the first and last paragraph is an open slate. I seldom outline, don’t think too much about supporting characters until I find a need for them, and choose plot direction and subplots on the fly. For me, this process has generally been successful. While I do “revise, revise, revise” (as opposed to “read, read, read”), my initial plot usually holds up. I’ve become used to limited word counts—Lord knows I was a fan of them as a kid—and I keep these counts in mind as I’m writing. If I see a subplot consuming too many words, I hit the delete button and redirect toward the final target. My revisions normally focus on flow and, of course, mechanics.

Oh, and I only write in the first person. I’m a conversational writer. I find third-person extremely awkward and a hindrance to my sense of humor, cynicism, and sarcasm. But, I assure you there is not a touch of sarcasm in what I’ve written here. I’m not a reader, and I never have been. I’m a writer. Kind of weird, huh?

Nothin’ But Net blurb:

Blake Creekmore just cost his middle-school basketball team its shot at the district championship—and he’s not even on the team. Blake would much rather be at a Boy Scout meeting than any sporting event. He convinces his best friend Dustin, the school’s star athlete, to join him in an afternoon on the lake, where tragedy strikes. Dustin is injured and lost for the season, and Blake bears the blame of the team, the coach, and his classmates.

Battling his guilt, Blake seeks refuge in the activity he knows
best—bass fishing and enjoying the outdoors. With the support of his father, a local bait shop owner, and a most unlikely character, Blake learns the importance of friendship and what it takes to be a member of a team. And, in the process, he unwittingly teaches his classmates a few lessons about life and the environment as well.

Nothin’ But Net is available on the MuseItUp bookstore and Amazon.

About the Author:

Kris Rutherford has been a recreation and natural resources management professional for nearly 25 years and has been involved in youth sports as a player, volunteer, coach, and administrator his entire life. He holds a Master of Agriculture from Colorado State University and majored in Recreation Administration at Arkansas Tech University.

Nothin’ But Net is Kris’ third published book. He has also authored the youth sports novel Batting Ninth and a non-fiction work, Homeseekers, Parasites, and the Texas Midland: The Texas League in Paris, 1896-1904. In addition, he has published a number of articles in professional Recreation and Parks and Municipal Government journals.

Kris has held positions with Arkansas State Parks and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and currently serves as Grants Officer for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. He lives in Maumelle, Arkansas, with his wife and three children. For more about Kris and his books visit his website.ague in Paris, 1896-1904. In addition, he has published a number of articles in professional Recreation and Parks and Municipal Government journals.