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My guest author today is Heather Ingemar

Heather S. Ingemar has loved to play with words since she was little, and it wasn’t long until she started writing her own stories. A musician since the age of five (piano, saxophone, violin, pennywhistle and Irish flute), she completed a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in December of 2006. She and her husband reside on the family cattle ranch, where she takes great delight in thinking up new stories to tell.

Mary: Welcome, Heather. Your latest story, A Slip of Wormwood, has a very intriguing title. Would you tell us a little about it?

Heather: Thank you, Mary, for having me here! "A Slip of Wormwood" is a dark little tale about what happens when sibling rivalries go too far. Dr. Edgar -- he's "Frog" -- has recently lost his brother, Hamilton -- "Toad" -- and is now in charge of taking care of the family estate. Through the course of the story, we find out that Toad was the family favorite and that Frog had terrible jealousy issues, to put it mildly. "Wormwood" details the brothers' relationship, and things quickly become not as they appear. I had a lot of fun writing "Wormwood." It's a delightfully twisted little tale; I think it's my best work yet.
Mary: Sounds very reptilian and the storyline sounds fascinating, Heather. In Darkness Cornered, two of your characters are a mad scientist, and a vampire named King Lear. Where did you come up with the story and the characters?
Heather: I don't know. They just came to me, as most of my stories do.

Mary: Your imagination must be as active as mine! What do you think is your most successful marketing tool? Do you find it more difficult to market e-books?

Heather: I think my most successful marketing tool has been my website. For authors, having a website is crucial in this day of internet searching for information. If a reader can't find you on the web, they immediately think you aren't worth reading, or that you're a small-time fish. Yes, having a website is very important for marketing. As for marketing ebooks, yes it's difficult, well, at least in my area. I live in an area where few people have even heard of ebooks. Many of them who have are very suspicious about them. They're leery. That makes it difficult to market face-to face, because you see in their eyes that they're doubting every word that comes out of your mouth. They may be excited to meet a published person, but they are also more likely to discredit you, write you off because you aren't in print. It makes it hard. In the online community, however, marketing is wonderfully easy! There, people know about ebooks, they like technology. It's a much easier sell online.

Heather Ingemar's website

A Slip of Wormwood is available through Echelon Press, LLC or Fictionwise

Tonight marks the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. This is the first year in almost a decade that I haven't had the Jewish holidays off work, and I'm thinking wistfully of the holiday book collection at my old job and wishing I could get my hands on some of them now, to share with my daughter and to think about myself.

The central concept of Yom Kippur is tshuvah. Though tshuvah is generally translated as "repentance," it literally means "turning": turning from sin--however you define that, whether it be hurtful behavior or not living up to one's own potential--to something better. Trying, and failing, and apologizing to whoever you hurt, and trying to make restitution if you can, and then getting back on that horse and trying again.

This is a concept that even--or maybe, especially--young kids can understand, and there are several decent children's books on the topic. One perennial favorite is Gershon's Monster, by that doyen of Jewish holiday books (and Anansi stories, while he's at it) Eric Kimmel. Instead of repenting or apologizing for any of his little thoughtless acts, Gershon sweeps them up and puts them in the cellar. On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, he tosses them all into the sea. Eventually all the un-dealt-with sins become a huge monster that threaten what is dearest and most precious to him. There are echoes of King Lear and other old, dark tales in this simple story, but it never seemed to bother the enraptured kids who sought the book out by name even in the off-season. I think they recognized the power and truth behind it. Or maybe they just liked the big scary monster, as illustrated by Caldecott Honor medalist Jon Muth.

Jacqueline Jules's The Hardest Word is more nakedly didactic, but still enjoyable. The Ziz (an imaginary huge bird creature that apparently has its origins in Jewish mythology), after destroying a vegetable garden, must do repentance by finding and saying the very hardest word of all. Any guesses what it is? (hint: it starts with an "S.") Kids enjoy this one, too, and can identify with the well-meaning but hapless Ziz.

For my money, though, the best book about tshuvah is a title doesn't even refer to Yom Kippur, or to Judaism at all. In Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, by Kevin Henkes, Lilly goes through all the important steps of true repentance after drawing a mean picture of her teacher, Mr. Slinger, in a burst of temper: She owns up to what she did, she feels true remorse, she makes restitution by drawing a nicer picture and writing a story and bringing in home-baked cheese balls, and she apologizes in person. She even does the hardest thing of all, which is to confront the evidence of her wrongdoing when Mr. Slinger gently brings out the dreaded picture and asks what she thinks he should do with it.

I'll be thinking of Lilly tomorrow night when the final shofar blast sounds and everyone cheers, and then the whole congregation--like Mr. Slinger's class--eats some tasty snacks. Tshuvah like hers deserves a celebration.

Yesterday, Peter Heather the author of The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Roman and the Barbarians taught us about the Battle of Hadrianople. Today he has kindly answered a few questions for OUP.

OUP: Have you always been interested in Roman history? What inspired you to write this book about the fall of Rome, rather than tackle an easier Roman period? (more…)

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Peter Heather, a leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, a teacher at Worchester College, University of Oxford and author of The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians is our guest on the OUPblog this week. Heather’s book proposes that centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling the Roman empire. In the article below Heather looks at The Battle of Hadrianople. Be sure to come back tomorrow when Heather answers a few questions for OUP.

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