Fun Friday – The Truth

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

The truth is I’m cheating. I’ve been so busy writing Q & As for my upcoming blog tour that I don’t have a pithy thought left in my brain for a fun Friday post. So…

I’m sharing a fun post I wrote for Roxanne Rustand’s blog back in December.

Roxanne had invited me to share a story about one of our animals, and I couldn’t decide on just one—animal or story!

Now any of you who have been with me for awhile have heard many stories about Bella, my hubcap-eating husky who, like a Houdini, can mysteriously escape from her crate without unlocking the door.
She likes people to think she’s a perfect angel, but don’t be fooled by the wings and stardust. We’ve lost count of how many shoes and collars she’s chewed through, not to mention plastic flowerpots.

We have no idea where she keeps finding those!

Yes, she causes us no end of anxiety. One day my daughter saw her standing on the far side of the hayfield at the edge of the woods. She called and called her to come, and naturally, got pretty frustrated when the dog just stood its ground and stared.

But what happened next chilled my daughter to the bone.

Bella loped happily up to her… from behind.  

Did I mention Bella looks like a coyote?

Yup, my dear daughter was trying to coax one of the local coyotes to come home to us. Thank goodness, the animal didn’t oblige!

Is it any wonder we’ve earned a bit of an eccentric reputation around the neighborhood? It’s not every family who gives their chickens wheelbarrow rides.

Or who walk their horse and goat along with the dog.

Or who give the neighborhood cats pony rides.

But perhaps one has to be a tad eccentric to spend hours a day writing novels!

Your Turn: Please share a funny story with us!

BTW If you’d like to read that husky hubcap story, clickhere. It’s my favorite. I’d love to see it become one of the top stories on my sidebar. *grin*

The Truth about Lying ~ Part 2

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Before we delve into examples of how my undercover cop hero (or you) might tell if someone is lying, I must warn you that it’s not a good idea to tell others about their signs of deception.

An intelligent liar will merely use the information to throw you off the next time. Hmm, now that might be an interesting plot twist!

On to the examples:

1) Frequently pausing before answering questions (if this is not a normal speech pattern) can be a strong indicator of deception, while stuttering or mumbling are generally not reliable indicators.

2) Nervous laughter might be a sign of evasiveness, or it might simply be a release of stress. But a single deep sigh after a subject has been uncooperative, often signals a readiness to confess.

3) Hand movement to the mouth, nose, eyes, or ears while talking often indicates deception.

4) Contrary to popular opinion, using the eyes to identify deception is unreliable. There are a lot more variables at play in whether someone frequently breaks eye contact, or moves their eyes in a certain direction.

5) Of course…since #4 is a popular belief, a liar may go out of his way to maintain eye contact to convince you of the truth of what he’s saying. An interesting observation I might use in my next cop story. *grin*

6) The movement of a person’s body away from you (often toward the door) is a strong indicator of deception, especially if accompanied by other cues.

7) Bargaining. “I was keeping up with traffic, not speeding.” Or a politician may have “misspoke” or been “quoted out of context.” These are all examples of attempts to disguise reality.

8) Attempt to remake the interrogator’s image of him, for example, by saying, “I’m a veteran.” or “I’m a faithful husband.” or “I’m a good employee.”

9) Attempts to stall. Examples: answering a question with a question; pretending didn’t hear; cough, repeating the question.

10) There are many more examples (and cautions) in the book, but I’ll end with the use of blocking statements. Example: “Why would I lie about something like that?”

Your Turn: Can you think of a memorable line or action you’ve seen in movies or read in books where someone is lying?

Like Lie to Me when they’d point out a “tell” then flash clips of famous politicians who’d been caught doing that very thing, such as Clinton touching his nose during his testimony about Monica Lewinsky.

Giveaway Notice: Kav has posted a fabulous review of my March release and is giving away a copy to one commenter this week, plus a copy of a January LI book of their choice! Here’s the link:  http://bestreads-kav.blogspot.com/2012/01/shades-of-truth.html

 

The Truth about Lying

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Since the heroes of my Love Inspired Suspense series are undercover cops… 


Lying is pretty much part of the job description. Whether they call it misleading, hedging, evading, fabricating, falsifying, distorting, misrepresenting, or spinning the truth, it’s all deception. 

Since I’m working on a fourth book in the series (fingers crossed), I thought I’d read The Truth about Lying by Stan B. Walters, a provider of interview and interrogation services, as well as, training to business, industry and law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. (He’s also known as The Lie Guy.)

I figured it would be a great resource from which to glean little “tells” that my cops can notice in suspects that are lying to them, not to mention, those my hero might exhibit while interacting with the heroine.

But the book has so much more–information you might like to know when that car salesman says this is the absolute best deal he can give you, or when your teenage son swears he’s never touched drugs.

Wednesday I’ll share some of the “tells”. Today, I want to share the key factors that exist when lying takes place: choice, ability and opportunity.

Choice – The person chooses to lie to either gain reward or avoid punishment, or because he’s unsure of the consequences of admitting the truth. The more that seems at stake, the more compelled he’ll be to lie.

Ability – good communication skills and intellect enhance a liar’s ability to lie well.

Opportunity – this is the only factor under the interrogator’s (or parent’s or shopper’s) control. To avoid being lied to make it unrewarding. If you can spot and challenge lies as they occur, the liar may be less likely to try again, or he may show more signs of deceit, thereby exposing himself.

Which brings us to an interesting topic of discussion: What’s our own role in encouraging deception?

As Mr. Walters says, no matter how good we get at detecting a lie, we’ll set ourselves up to be lied to if people are afraid to tell us the truth.

Your Turn: These questions are from the book. Please share what you’re comfortable with, perhaps examples from your own teen experiences or raising your children or buying that used car. *grin*

Do you make it difficult for people to tell you the truth as they see it because you react emotionally? Do you violently express hurt feelings? Are you easily offended? Do you punish your children if they admit they’ve done something wrong?

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to…

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

The Grocery Store.

Yup, earlier this week a writing friend and I did groceries together. What better way to kill two birds with one stone–brainstorm murder and mayhem, and okay, romance, too, AND stock the cupboards.

The trouble began as we were walking into the store, and I told my friend that I could kill her father. [meaning the heroine’s father, of course]

My friend stopped dead in her tracks, turned to me and said, “You can’t do that!”

The jaw of a woman exiting the store dropped to her chest. I kid you not.

Playing it up, I, of course go on to explain how easy it would be. We can lace the chili with the poison. He’ll never know.

Okay, I’m just kidding about that last part.

But seriously, the woman started reaching for her cell phone. We’re thinking 9-1-1. Cop cars swerving into the parking lot. “Honest, officer, we’re writers.”

Being a quick thinker, my friend says loudly, “I won’t read another one of your books if you kill her father!”

After a good chuckle, my single friend muses, “What a great way for a heroine to meet the next cop hero!” LOL–I’m reading between the lines on that one! The heroine, huh? Hmmm.

As we strolled through the store it was very tempting to see how many others we could drag into our plot. A grocery store is a great place to dream up plot twists for a murder mystery. Hee, hee, hee.

Your Turn: Where did you meet your significant other? Or if you’ve yet to meet him, where might you imagine the meeting happening?

BTW: If you missed the news in my comments on Wednesday’s post, 
Linda Ford currently has a free read on the Harlequin site called A Cowboy’s Promise. Happy reading!

Author Interview – Linda Ford

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

I had the privilege of meeting fellow Canadian author, Linda Ford, a few years ago at an American Christian Fiction Writers’ Conference. Then our paths crossed again in 2010 when her flight to another ACFW conference had a connection in Toronto, and we actually ended up on the same plane one seat in front of the other!

I remember that year well, because it was my first conference as a contracted author! Linda was already writing for Love Inspired Historicals so our paths crossed often that weekend at various meet and greets.

She’s shared much writing wisdom with me since, and was an awesome supporter of my debut launch.

Since I used a question from her latest release, The Cowboy Tutor, on Monday’s blog, I invited her to share how she came to write the series. Take it away Linda…

I’m not sure what got me started on the idea of these stories. My brainstorming file suggests I was concerned with the circumstances of young women during the Depression.

Here is a bit from that file:
Mrs. Morgan has 3 lovely daughters who seem destined to be spinsters due to the lack of suitable single men. Most of them have been whisked away to relief camps or ride the rails looking for something better than what the Depression offers. But Mrs. Morgan isn’t about to stand by and see her daughters denied the joys of marriage and a family. So she devises a plan…

I’ve always had an interest in the Depression, partly because my parents and grandparents lived through it. I heard of the challenges they faced and saw how they’d learned to adapt. I also did human interest articles for a newspaper and interviewed a number of seniors. They all told stories of strength, heroism and inventiveness in dealing with the Depression. I know they probably didn’t look back at the time as ‘the good old days’. But I loved the feeling I got of people who faced incredible odds with humor and came out as victors.

I’ve learned some interesting tidbits in my research.

First, in Canada we also call it the Dirty 30s (because of the violent dust storms.) I thought everyone was familiar with the term but my editors weren’t.

Paper was expensive so used carefully and as many ways as possible. Letters were written across the page then the page given ¼ turn and more words written across the original. I found it almost impossible to read.

Groceries came wrapped in brown paper, tied with string. The paper was folded carefully and used over and over. The string was added to the ball kept in the kitchen drawer and rationed for use.

I grew up on the prairies and have lived most of my life in an area that was deeply affected by the Depression. In fact, we don’t have a county, we are called the Special Areas. Most of the land is owned by the government and leased to farmers and ranchers. Before the Thirties, many settlers came to the area and broke a few acres.

But then the rains failed to come. The land dried up and contributed to dreadful dust storms. The settlers walked away leaving the banks with unpaid mortgages and loans.

The government bailed them out and took over ownership of the land. The people of the area still face many of the same challenges of the Dirty Thirties.

As my family drove along the various roads there were many empty farm sites. Some were only an empty cellar but there were leaning barns and weather-worn houses. I never saw any of these without wondering what had happened to the people who once owned them.

I would get lost in imagining their struggles, their disappointment, and lost dreams.

Sandra again, thanks so much for visiting with us today, Linda. I enjoyed having a glimpse into your creative process, and the extensive background work and research that contributed to the story’s realism.

Your turn: Do you have any questions for Linda?

Faith in Times of Crisis

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
Title links to blurb

This past week I read The Cowboy Tutor, a Love Inspired Historical by fellow Canadian author Linda Ford. It’s the first of a three book series, releasing January to March, about how a mother helps her three daughters find husbands during the Great Depression.

I have never read a Linda Ford book that I haven’t liked, and this book was no exception. I read it in one sitting, staying up until 1:30 am to finish it!

From a family of three sisters myself, I enjoyed watching the interplay between the three vastly different personalities. But what resonated with me the most was how firmly the heroine believes that God will see her through every crisis in her life.

She works hard, extremely hard, to keep her family together and from losing their home. Considering the world’s current economic situation, our faith is increasingly being challenged by similar crises.

Your Turn: These characters lived during the Great Depression. Times were tough. What similar challenges are you or people you know facing today? How have these strengthened, or made you question, your faith?

Did you live through the depression or hear stories passed down from parents and grandparents?

I remember many stories my grandmother used to tell, and to this day I have a difficult time parting with clothes or fabric that could be recycled into quilts for the day when we can’t afford heat…of course, considering we live in a drafty old farmhouse and keep the thermostat at 63F most of the day, it’s little wonder!

FUN FRIDAY – PROMISES, PROMISES

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

This past week my mother-in-law dug out the greeting cards that my sweet hubby made for his parents when he was a little tike. My father-in-law took great pleasure in pointing out how his son had twice written that he wanted to buy his dear old dad a car. 
Isn’t that sweet? 
Those expressions of generosity were, of course, quickly followed by something like “but I hope being with me will do.”
LOL. This feeds my fiction-writer’s mind with all kinds of fodder for a hero’s backstory.
For myself, I can’t remember ever wishing to give my parents anything so grand as a car—it must be a guy thing. I always loved it when my children drew me pictures, or when they wrote about how much they appreciate the things I do for them.

Oh, and sometimes they’d give me coupons to redeem for vacuuming or washing dishes or some such chore. Of course, they were always really great about doing chores anyway, so I never actually had to redeem them. Hmm, now that they’re getting busier and not able to help out so much, maybe I’ll have to dig out some of those old coupons. I hope they didn’t put an expiry date on them!!

Your Turn: Do you remember a special or humorous card you gave your folks as a child or that you’ve received from a child?

THE TIME IS not NOW

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
Have you noticed that every January an epidemic of posts about how to organize your life and manage your time populates blogs?
I blame calendars.

How can we resist the urge to plan better when faced with a pristine new calendar filled with panoramas of places we’d love to visit, or with scrumptious images of dishes we’d love to try, or adorable pictures that make us smile every time we look at them?

These days…I use calendars for another reason—to plot my characters’ actions.

After all, as much as many of us would appreciate an eight-day week or an early Friday now and again, a writer can only take fiction so far.
By fitting the scenes of my book into corresponding days on a calendar, I ensure I don’t have a dreaded eight-day week or a Friday two days after a Monday.  
Meticulous historical authors working with specific dates will go as far as to note the times of the full moons and new moons, sunrises and sunsets, high tides and low tides. I merely ensure I don’t have two full moons in the same month, although I pay special attention to those sunset times!

The current book I’m plotting features a heroine who is helping her folks with their flower shop, so I’m on the lookout for a floral calendar that will give me added inspiration.


Your Turn: What’s your favorite kind of calendar? Do you use calendars in less-than-usual ways?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard
I don’t know about you, but for me, this past year felt as though it zipped by. Even my youngest thinks so, although my eldest…not so much. 
I guess not having the luxury of sleeping through the night in almost nine months would skew anyone’s perception.

When my children were young, I’d write a little note to my children each night to share something cute they’d done or said, or to tell of some milestone they’d reached, or to journal the special way we’d spent the day. I pasted these notes into scrapbooks with photos and gave them to each of my children on their twelfth birthday.

I believe that the exercise helped me to treasure each day, even when operating on only a few snatched hours of sleep. Through the years since, I’ve journaled off and on. It helps me gain perspective. 

With the feeling that the years are racing away, I think it’s time to resume the habit—a new year’s resolution of sorts.

Your Turn: What about you? Have you made any new year’s resolutions? Do you journal? How has it impacted you?