Editing

Not my favorite part at first, but I have come to love editing. Mostly because I really dislike reading poorly written material, I have learned to wait a bit and go back to look at my book with fresh eyes. Then I read it out loud to others (I can't tell you how many times in the last few years I've done that), turned it into the audio script for the audio book, went to a writer's conference and came home with an editing vengeance :)
I also am excited that God has blessed me, us, with Diane Shadwick. She has returned to PSU to take their publishing course connected with Ooligan Press. This has been a vital help, can't wait for her to become our Editing Director. She is also an excellant writer in her own right and we look forward to publishing her work through Graftling Group LLC.

Cowboys and aliens

One day I was with Lyon doing some ministry work and met Jonny. He was dressed like a cowboy, and we were not exactly in cowboy country. However, Jonny redefined my view of teens, as he just didn't care what anyone thought. He was raised on a ranch in California, and was a cowboy, so he didn't change to please anyone. I became his tutor throughout high school and was truly blessed by the experience.

During those years of tutoring I pulled out the book that had been sitting for 5 years on a shelf and asked him to edit it with me in hopes of inspiring his own use of a budding talent as an author. He is a great author in his own right, and has contributed many hours and thoughts to our series. He is responsible for Barcothium and for our fight scenes being believable. He got a fencing teacher to consult with us, and he too was full of ideas and even fenced with Clay for hours to help me "see" the scenes better. He is the main author of a side novel that will be released sometime in the next year or two, date tba. I value his friendship and love him like a son. I miss our days brainstorming at Cafe Delirium, and the times we had team brainstorming sessions with pizza at his house.

I have him and his grandma to thank for helping me overcome my fear of horses... they got me riding one of their Belgian horses! His grandma, Hazel, is a dear friend who laughed me through my fear. She is not afraid of anything.

So what does a cowboy have to do with aliens? I think his ability to create and live out his own persona produced a strong sense of self worth. He carries over his character, full of honor and perseverance, into the character he most loved in our book, Captain Jules LeDoux, and that is why he began writing the side novel on the life story of Jules. Jonny now lives in Arizona while attending college and helping out at a barrel racing arena, but he still has a writers heart.

First Artist

When I first met Lyon he was at a summer camp my son and I attended. He found my artistic attempts on a tablecloth a bit lame and so offered to help our drama team create fun images for our props. I soon learned he was a gifted artist. After the camp ended we began what has been a ten year friendship, and a God driven business partnership. Originally he designed artwork for t-shirt designs for a company my son and I owned, and had plans for his own line.In 2004 we asked him to become a partner with us. We also asked him then to look over our book and consider doing art for it. However, it took me four years to convince him to even begin to work on the Ren Prophecies project, but he agreed thanks to some encouragement from Jonny (But Jonny is another story), and for the last four years we have worked together to create the world of Cadeau and the species that live on the linked lands. He has created numerous illustrations of our unique creatures, our logo and book layout, and helps with all design issues. A while back he returned to college to study graphic arts, and has excelled in animation. His 3-D image of the nerr species is dramatic and exciting. My hope is to incorporate his new skills into our video trailer for the first book in the series. We are so glad he is partnering with us and is the lead artist for the Graftling Group LLC team. 

First Blog

Creating Cadeau actually began many years ago when my son was in high school. He decided he wanted to be a writer, and the adventure began. We spent many grueling hours trying to be creative and still keep a good relationship. That is not an easy accomplishment. We are both strong willed and we weren't praying our way through back then. Many people, including my son, have mentioned that the writing is better now than what we originally wrote over ten years ago. He is an excellent writer and very creative. I think the problem was we were in the parent/child mode and both sure our creative ideas were the best. Today, well, today we have a large, ever-expanding team of consultants, and a smaller core team of authors and artists developing Cadeau and contributing to the storyline. God has pounded some humility into both of us and taught us to have grace, kindness, patience, and to be open to others inspiration from Him. I love working with the team. I know praying for inspiration and letting God be the real CEO of our Graftling Group LLC team has made all the difference in what we are accomplishing. Our Creator deserves all the glory.