Saturday, May 30, 2015

Contest Results

Hello, I'm here to announce the winner of The Haven by Cara Simmons. And it is....


Mikayla L!!!!!! Congradulations!

Here is her entry and the poem it was based off of.


 “If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking”
 By Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.



I hurried along the cold cobblestone streets, tucking my hands further into my muff, lined with soft fur.

“Hurry, Isaac! The orphanage will be closed soon, and I want to drop the dresses off first!” I called to my butler. He nodded, silently following me, the parcels in his arms – many for the children, and one containing a beautiful dress that I simply could not wait to wear to church come morn.

“Work to stop only one heart from breaking, and you will have not lived in vain, my dear.”

My mother’s last words to me echoed in my ears. My father was a wealthy Englishman, and as such, I was spoiled beyond imagination. I made a habit of donating old clothes and toys to the orphanage. Today I had a few big bags filled to the brim with items, and I was excited that I would, once again, see their faces as they dug through my old treasures.

We rounded another corner, and I couldn’t keep the elated skip out of my step.

“Hello, Madame Eva! How happy we are to see you!” The plump old lady, Martha, who ran the orphanage called, opening the door to the orphanage.

I smiled, “Good evening! How are the children?”

“Hello, Eva!” The eighteen young girls in the building chorused. I waved hello, ducking into the establishment.

Martha chuckled, “They are well, Madame.”

I took the bags of clothes from Isaac, passing them to the girls. “Enjoy!”

It was then I noticed a new girl, a girl about my age, sitting in a corner, a sullen, angry look on her face, despair and longing in her eyes.

“Hello! My name is Eva Gertrude Edwards. What is your name?” I asked, smiling.

She frowned, “My name is Genevieve.”

“I haven’t seen you here before.”

“That would be because my parents were just killed in an accident. They were coming home from town in their carriage.” She said quietly.

“I’m so sorry, Genevieve.” I said, then wasting no time to second guess myself, I reached for her hand, “You know, Genevieve, I brought a special dress just for you.”

Pulling her to her feet, I practically had to drag her across the room to Isaac.

“Isaac, may I have the package we purchased earlier?”

He passed it to me, and I handed it to Genevieve. “It will suit you quite well, I think.”

I bit my lip, partially regretting the choice. That feeling washed away as soon as Genevieve opened the parcel, drawing out the sapphire blue dress, with the slippers and handbag to match, the new muff resting atop. Her eyes lit up. She looked at me curiously.

“Madame Eva, are you sure you wish me to have this?”

I smiled encouragingly at her, “Of course! And please, just Eva will do.”

Then the longing in her eyes was replaced with excitement.

That evening, walking through the beautiful London streets, I didn’t think twice about the beautiful dress I had given up. I could only think of the surprise, the happiness, on Genevieve’s face, and that fact that, at least momentarily, I had eased the aching soul inside one girl.

“Your mother would have been proud.” Isaac said, as if reading my thoughts, his kind face and bright eyes smiling at me.

Well, then, I have not lived in vain.


Second place goes to... John! Thank you for your entry! 



“Courtney, I’m home!” I said as I walked through the door in our downtown apartment. 
“Hi Bret!” My wife of two years entered the front room and gave me a hug. 
“You’ll never guess what happened!” I could barely contain my excitement.
“What?” she asked.
“I got a $5,000 bonus! My manager has been really happy with my work and the owner of the company even called and told me that I was getting promoted!”
“Oh my goodness!” Courtney was just as ecstatic as I was.
“God’s really been helping me exceed and be successful and now everyone sees it. We can finally start planning for that dream vaction--” I was cut off by a knock on the door. I opened it and there stood a man who lived one street over. I had only talked with a few times and I knew he was going through some hard financial times. His family wasn’t always the best dressed and his car wasn’t the nicest but he had good character. 
He cleared his throat before speaking in a soft voice. “Mr. Johnson-” 
He didn’t need to finish. I knew what he was going to say. Even before he started talking, I knew what God wanted me to do. “Here, Mark.” I said as pressed the envelope that was still in my hand into his. 
“Thank you.” he said with face beaming. “You’re very kind.” 
“God bless,” I replied. He turned and walked down the street. Once I closed the door, I realized what I had just done, but I didn’t regret it.
“You gave your bonus.” My wife observed. I lifted my gaze from the floor to her face and was surprised to see her smiling at me. “You did the right thing and I’m proud of you, even if we don’t get to go on that dream vacation just yet.”
“It was worth it. Now, come on let’s go celebrate!”



IF I CAN STOP ONE HEART FROM BREAKING

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

By Emily Dickinson


It seems this was a popular poem to use!
Thank you to everyone who entered!
 -Mikayla

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Interview with Cara Simmons!

Today we have an interview with Cara Simmons, author of The Haven!

Hello Cara and welcome to Future Homeschool Authors!



First could you tell us a bit about yourself? 
     I am a native of New England and I especially love the Green Mountains of Vermont, having grown up there. I live in Connecticut now, with my wonderful husband of 17 years this month, and five great treasures from God - ages fifteen down to seven years old. I began homeschooling in 5th grade, back in the day when it was a foreign and unknown thing to do. I became a homeschool graduate in 1993 and moved on to take a few community college courses, worked different temp jobs, and then met my husband and we married in 1998. I homeschooled my children for about five years, and then they began to go to a private Christian School, where I became a Kindergarten teacher. I have written three books in a series called The Orphans of Mordecai's Castle Series and hope to write more books very soon. 

Why did you decided to be an author? 
     I have always enjoyed writing, even from the time I was a little girl. I can remember sitting in one of my favorite trees with my best friend and we were talking about what we wanted to be when we grew up. I still remember saying, "I want to write a book someday." I always had a story at the back of my mind, but in 2006 I began to finally make time to get it out of my head an onto the paper. I felt it was time to share my adventures with the world around me, and God gave me the go ahead.  

Whats your favorite book? 
     My favorite book/s are by Francine Rivers: The Mark of the Lion Series. 

Who's your favorite Author?
     Francine Rivers (as mentioned above) She has such a way with words that I soak in everything she says and hope that one day I will be able to write and express myself just like she does. 

Can you tell us anything about the book your working on right now?
     I am working on two different projects. One is a children's book about two little snails, and another is a story based on my childhood, though the main character will be a fictional one. 

What were the best and worst parts of writing The Haven?
     I loved how the characters grew to be close friends to me as I wrote their story. I held their future in my hands and so when it came to have to quit writing for the day, I became very agitated knowing they were stuck in a predicament. It was only by my writing their next pages that they were able to get out and overcome their situation. The writing was the best part. Most of the time the story flowed, but there were a few times when I got stuck and did not know where the story was going to go. The worst part was the editing...over and over and over again. I had to read and reread the story until I could not see any more mistakes. Then I had to give it to someone else to look over so they could see the mistakes I missed.    

What is your favorite genre? 
     For reading? I like historic fiction, romance, and adventure. For writing? I like writing about adventures of young people that possibly could be me; real life events. Oh, and animals. I love animal stories. 

Do you do any research for your books? If you do, what are your main sources? 
     I have done a little for my three books. I mainly looked online for information about the time period the books took place, as well as other things such as the luminescent rocks mentioned in my books. 

What do you like most about writing? 
    It is doing something I love. I find it relaxing. I like how creative I can be, and how I can watch a story from my head come to life on the page of a book, then in turn, I can share it with the world. 

Any final thoughts? 
     My encouragement to other writers is do not fret about how the whole process of publication will work. If you have an idea, just write. Get it onto the paper. If you do not have much time, like me, take little bits of time here and there and write when you can. Keep a notebook in your purse or pocket and write your thoughts down when you get inspired. You will forget them if you don't! God will work out everything in His perfect time, and He will reward you with something great in due time. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. May God bless you as endeavor to serve Him in all you do. 

See more about Cara at http://www.carasimmons.com/

Saturday, May 9, 2015

May Contest

SUMMER! SUMMER IS HERE! Ok. Sorry. I'm a little excited. Now to this month's contest! We will be giving away a paperback copy of The Heaven by Cara Simmons to the first place winner! Second and Third place will get posted on the blog along with First place!



This is a really simple, yet very interesting contest! Please pick one of your favorite poems, and write a short story based off, or inspired by this poem. We are excited to see your entries; please send them to futurehomeschoolauthors@gmail.com. The Contest ends on the 24'th and the results will be published on the 30'th.