A Time For Thanks

Writers hate to be labeled as hackneyed or cliché, but one time of year that I don't mind doing what's expected is this week. Yes, we should be thankful all year long and I like to believe that I am, but this week is the time to pay special attention to all of the blessings in our lives. And I have a lot. So here's what I'm thankful for:

Samuel knows exactly
what to do when the
phone is pointed at him.

Family: Folks who know me are aware that I live with my parents. That's partly an economic thing, but it's also a family thing. My mom and dad took me in a few years back when I was going through a divorce and it's just worked out well enough that we decided to keep it this way. Yes, living as an adult with your aging parents has its unique challenges, but I believe the blessings far outweigh them. I love them very much and am thankful to still have them in my life. The same is true for my siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, and other family members, some of whom I don't see as often as I'd like, but they are also a great blessing to me. 

Friends: The gang of folks I hang around with, unofficially known as the Nerd Night Group, got a little larger this year. Part of that was by inducting new members--thanks for joining us, Cosbys--and partly by birth. Very shortly after Thanksgiving last year, Samuel Christian Schoenhut came into the world and completely stole my heart. There is just nothing in the world that
brings me greater joy than seeing him smile and hearing him laugh. I just love him more than I thought it was possible to love a miniature human. I know he's not my child, but I'm honored by the fact that Keith and Jennifer welcome me into their lives so that I feel like I'm actually contributing to his upbringing. So for my dear friends, I'm deeply thankful.

My wall of senior pics
that reminds me of all the
remarkable friends I've
had over the years. 

My Kids: I don't have any biological children, but every year I get the joy of temporarily adopting a bunch of kids who are officially my students, but I think of them as more than that. And there's a small group of kids who eat lunch in my room. Yesterday, on the last day before our Thanksgiving break, we all got together for what the kids dubbed "ThanksStephens." We had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing--all the traditional favorites. But more than that, we had fellowship and laughter. It reminded me of just how amazingly blessed I am to do the job that I do. Sometimes I talk about retiring early if this writing thing ever takes off, but I'm just not sure I'm ready to give up these wonderful, loving, kind, hilarious kids. 

I could go on forever talking about all the remarkable things for which I'm grateful, but three seems like a good round number. I do want to say one last thing for which I'm thankful: you. All you lovely people who read this blog and buy my books. Your support means the world to me and I really do appreciate it. Now I leave it to you. I would love it if you would share what you're thankful for this Thanksgiving week. Comment here or on the Facebook link; either is great. But I'd really love to hear from everyone who reads this. 

30 Day Blog Challenge, Day 7: My 10 Favorite Foods

This is day 7 of my 30 day blog challenge. My topic for today is my ten favorite foods. If you've ever actually seen me, you know that I like food. I try to eat food several times a day. So I think the hardest part might be narrowing it down to ten. But I'll give it a try.

1. Pizza--more specifically, Giardano's Pizza from Chicago. If you've never eaten there, you're in for a treat. It really is literally a pizza pie. It's a crust, about a hundred pounds of toppings, another crust and more toppings. It's literally about three inches thick. Just the top part is like a regular pizza. One slice is approximately eleventy billion calories. And worth every single one. A slightly distant second is Pizza Place in Parkersburg. It's my favorite pizza I can actually get on a regular basis.

2. Cheesecake--I like them all. Fruit-topped, turtle, caramel-drizzled--I don't care. I even like it plain. I just love cheesecake. The creaminess. The tart sweetness. The graham cracker crust. It's all perfection.

3. My pancakes--I'm a bit of a pancake snob. I used to make them completely from scratch, but I discovered Pioneer baking mix and probably never will again. The way I like them best is with eggs over easy. As in pancake, egg, pancake, egg, pancake, and egg. When you cut down through it, the yolk mixes with the syrup and melted butter for the perfect combination of savory and sweet.

4. Egg salad--weren't expecting that, were you? I just love egg salad. Especially on a big buttery croissant.

5. JR's apple fritters--sadly, my stomach won't allow me to eat these anymore, but if I ever get suicidal, I may just go buy about a dozen and go out happy. They really aren't fair to the other pastries.

6. Homegrown tomatoes--anyone who has eaten a fresh-grown just-picked tomato will understand that those pink abominations they sell in the store aren't even worthy of the name. Sliced on toast with butter, chopped up on a salad, all by themselves with salt--they're all amazing.

7. My mom's chocolate chip cookies--every holiday season, I'm helpless before them. Especially when they've just come out of the oven and the chips are still melty. Add a cup of coffee and life is about as good as it gets.

8. PB&J--I feel really sad for people who are allergic to peanuts. And it needs to be Jif peanut butter with grape jelly. Strawberry will work in a pinch, but nothing else is okay. This is not a time for experimentation.

9. A big green salad--I know this doesn't really fit with the rich, fattening stuff on the rest of this list, but I love a big salad with romaine, peppers, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, bleu cheese, and Italian dressing. If it can't be fresh tomatoes, then it needs to be grape tomatoes. I enjoy them blowing up in my mouth.

10. Thanksgiving dinner--I know that's several foods, but I don't care. Roasted turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, cranberry sauce, and dessert (pumpkin and/or pecan pie) on Thanksgiving day is by far my favorite meal of the entire year. By a lot.

Runners up include: homegrown green beans, homegrown corn, burritos from Moe's, the Rachel (turkey Reuben), and the Blizzard. I would have put it in the top ten, but I already talked about it this week.

Yours?

I Can't Not Be Thankful

When I used to teach underclassmen, I emphasized the rules of writing that were unbreakable. Now that I teach Advanced Placement senior English, I enjoy letting them in on some secrets about effective writing, one being that every rule can be broken if it's for a good reason. Hence the title of my post. It's a double negative, which is strictly prohibited. But it's exactly what I need to say, and when we have to decide between following a rule of grammar and communicating exactly what we want to, always choose the latter.

It's not that I have to be thankful. I don't have to be. It's not a requirement of survival. It's that I'm incapable of ingratitude. I can try not to be, but it's baked right in. And this isn't some statement about how wonderful I am. The exact opposite, really. It's a statement of just how abundantly blessed I am. So blessed am I that any person with just a shred of human emotion and decency would be unable not to feel a deep sense of thankfulness in response.

Here's a brief list of the more outstanding blessings in my life for which I'm thankful:

This is almost everybody. Wish Don could've made the trip.

• Family: At age 52, I find myself in a relatively unique position among my peer group. My entire immediate family, including my parents, are still living. Not only that, we all still love each other and enjoy each other's company. Family events are joyful gatherings, not tense affairs in which everyone walks on eggshells and guards their words. I'm more and more aware of the fact that this is not something to be taken for granted. Specifically, my parents have been such a powerful blessing to me. They took me in without hesitation in my time of need and continue to do so on a daily basis. I can't express in words how much that means to me. So for my family, I am thankful.

I hope you guys realize that you've saved me.

• My Other Family: I don't mean my extended family, though that is something for which I have reason to be grateful. I mean my spiritual family, and, more specifically, my close circle of friends. I've written about these folks so many times that I hope you guys who read this don't find it boring, but I can't overstate how powerful a positive force these folks have been in my life. Keith and Jennifer and Jonathan and Maria are family to me just as completely as if we had all been born blood relatives. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ, but they are brothers and sisters in a more specific way too (though they're all nearly young enough to be my children). They have been my port in the storm. I can text or call or show up at either of their houses without notice and they'll take me in. They love me unconditionally and I them. In the years since my marriage dissolved, they have kept me upright with their undying support. And on top of all these things, they are without question the most fun people I have ever known. I can't be around them and stay unhappy. So for my other family, I am thankful.





Many times through the years, my students have felt like my
family. In a couple of cases, they've become my permanent
children. I love you so much Jenna and Poonam. Could you
have ever guessed you would become sisters?

• My Work: Somebody somewhere said that the ideal job is the intersection between your greatest passion and the worlds' greatest need. Sadly, a lot of people can't say they make a living at that street corner. Their job is a way to make a living but has nothing to do with making a life. It's nothing more than a paycheck. Yes, we can learn to make meaning wherever we are, but I am doubly blessed in that I have a job that I actually enjoy that gives me the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of literally thousands of people. I get the privilege of helping to show generations of young people that they are loved and they matter and that they can make a difference in the world. Who could not be grateful for that? So, for my work as a teacher, I am thankful.

• My Other Work: When I sat down that first day to write that first book, I really had no idea at all how joyful a journey I was embarking upon. I may never get to a point where I make a meaningful amount of money doing this, but I've found that money is pretty much the least important form of compensation. I'm compensated in much better ways, like through the friends I've made and the places I've gone and the fulfillment I've felt every time I've finished a book and felt good about the story I've told. Writing, like my family, has been my refuge, my sane place. During those times when I'm writing and I'm the brave, smart, young, talented Harry Shalan instead of just plain old Joe Stephens, all is right with the world. After that, sales are just gravy. So, for my writing, I am thankful.

I could go on for quite a while, but who wants to read that? Before I close this, I want to point out that all of these things for which I'm thankful are from God, the giver of all good gifts. So, rather than having a separate point for that, I want you to see God as shot throughout everything I've said. My prayer is that you can say the same about your life.

Finally, for each of you who take time to read my blogs and books and follow my life as a writer, please know that I don't take you for granted. Sometimes I question whether you're out there, but never for very long because one of you inevitably comes along at just the right time with an encouraging word that sends me back to my keyboard to keep on writing. So, for you, I am thankful.

Preview of "Harry and the Redheaded Angel"

Thanksgiving through Christmas is my favorite time of year. I always thought as a writer that I would probably, at some point in time, do a collection of Christmas-themed stories. I haven't done that yet. And if you've read In the Shadow yet, you know that Christmas isn't exactly jolly in that story. So I was excited to get to tell a happier holiday tale in "Harry and the Redheaded Angel." It's not only a story of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it's a story of great romance. As an added bonus, I wrote it during the hot summer months, so it took me temporarily to the chill air of November and December.

I thought this would be a good time to give you a little taste of the story. It's from the very beginning, when Harry meets his angel. Well, meets isn't completely accurate. He already knew her. He just didn't realize before that she was his angel. I'll let the story explain it. Here's the opening scene of "Harry and the Redheaded Angel."

I was running late—again. I was tempted to find a sparsely populated pew in the back after I shook hands with an usher who handed me a bulletin. The first strains of an old hymn, one I’d undoubtedly heard a thousand times before but the title of which I just couldn’t place, were filtering into the narthex as I swung the door open and stopped to get my bearings at the threshold to the sanctuary. Halfway through scanning the pews, I spotted my boss and only real friend in town flagging me down like one of those people who wave in an airplane after it’s landed. The ones wielding the flashlights with the long orange extensions on them. There’s probably a name for that job, but I’ll be darned if I know what it is. He was way down front and the service was just about to start. I found it uncomfortable walking all the way up the center aisle in front of the whole church. Especially since I’d only been here one time before. But Lucas McCain was not letting up, so just to get him to stop, I hurried to take a seat beside him.  

“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” was the hymn. I really had heard it a thousand times. The pianist was really vamping it up, though, so I didn’t recognize it at first. I figured it out as she was finishing.  

“You barely made it,” whispered Lucas, scooting over to make room for me. “What happened?” 

“Guess,” I said, flipping through the bulletin without really looking at it.  

“Again?” 

“Again.” I glanced down the order of service, half paying attention. Something on the page caught my eye. “I wonder…” 

“Wonder what?” 

“Huh? Oh, nothing.” 

“What?” 

“It’s just the soloist. Same name as somebody I went to high school with.” 

“In West Virginia?” 

“No, the other place I went to high school.” 

He looked at me, his face deadpan. “Such disrespect. I just mean I doubt it’s her.” 

“Yeah,” I said. “Deanna Baxter’s probably a pretty common name.” 

“You know her well?” 

“No, she was a couple years behind me.” 

“But you remember her name?” 

“Dated my best friend for a while.” 

“Looker?” 

“I don’t know. She was only sixteen last I saw her. Redhead.” 

“You do like redheads.” 

“I do.” 

“Speaking of which, what are you going to do about J Lo?” 

“I don’t know. She’s getting really temperamental.” 

“I’d say. It’s not even that cold.” 

“Tell J Lo that.”  

It had become unseasonably cool early for Louisville, Kentucky, with the night before, November 1st, falling well below freezing.  

“You gotta do something about her,” he said. 

“Pay me a living wage and I’ll gladly move on.” 

He started to respond, no doubt with something to the effect that I was barely worth what he was paying me as it was. To which I would have said something to the effect of bite me, after which we both would have laughed too loudly for the setting. That was our relationship from the day we met. Never a serious word except when it came to work. And sometimes not even then. With some of the cases we worked, you couldn’t help but laugh. Others, it was laugh to keep from crying.  

But before he could speak, the heavens opened and my whole life changed.  I’d only been half listening to the pastor as he introduced the soloist. Lucas and I were busy gabbing. After a short piano introduction, she began singing. From that first note, I was captured, captivated, entranced. I was half afraid to look up, nearly convinced she was an angel and that her glory would blind me. As it turned out, I wasn’t far from right.  

Well, Shalan, I thought, better hope she’s beautiful because you’re going to marry her. Slowly, deliberately, I raised my eyes. Maybe it was coincidence or possibly divine intervention, but she looked right at me at precisely the same moment I focused on her. Probably mirroring mine, her eyes grew wide with recognition. It was Dee Baxter. My Dee Baxter. Well, to be fair, she was Otis’ Dee Baxter back in high school. She’s mine now, I thought.  


Want to read the rest? Well, you have two choices: wait until Thanksgiving week and get it on Smashwords or Amazon. Or join my mailing list and get the whole thing for free today! It's easy. Just put your email address in the box at the top of the page. You'll get a confirmation email and as soon as you confirm, you'll get a link to this whole novella absolutely free. And not just that. You'll get the first Shalan Adventure, Harsh Prey and a four-chapter preview of the third in my series, In the Shadow. All for the low cost of zippo.