Maxwell 15: Simplifying Thanksgiving into Less than Regular Dinner

[littlehouse]

I love that Preparing Sons has had a face lift inside and out (the content is the same).  So there is a new cover and basically nothing else?  Great work there Steve.

[catlady]

she may have thought she was being original in using the name Sunflower for the town (that's what it sounds like to me, too).  but then, Kansas is the Sunflower State; sure, that's a bit of arcane trivia, but not overly creative since they live in Kansas.  

[mango_fandango]

Sunflower is definitely the place where the Moodys live, it’s in the title of the short story, Christmas Comes to Sunflower.

We get sample pages if you click the link. It’s the exact same characters, barely half a page in and Mitch and Maddie are mentioned. They go shopping. Moses mentions something about how great things are when he leads, or something. Gack. 

http://www.titus2.com/sunflowers-christmas-miracle.html?utm_source=155&utm_medium=288&utm_campaign=423

[HereticHick]

36 minutes ago, Rosie said:

I have read the description of Sunflower's Christmas Miracle and have no idea what it is about.  None.  

Christmas is right around the corner in Sunflower, and life is full of surprises. Some good, some not. Mr. Gibson is at the root of them, but what can twelve-year-old Moses do? At the town hall meeting, Moses is proud to watch his older brother stand up against opposition, but the new piece of information is troubling. When their Christmas season turns into a crisis, can Moses handle what’s before him? Sunflower’s Christmas Miracle will tug your heartstrings in this incredible story of hope and love.

It is a series of non sequiturs.

I have a sinking feeling that Mr. Gibson is an evil non-fundy Christian who wants to remove the manger scene from in front of the Sunflower Town Hall, or something, and our little homeskool heroes thwart his atheistic plans.  [But not the homeskool sheroes; they would never speak up at the Town Hall Meeting because they are too busy baking cookies to nurture their brother's manhood.]

"Sunflower's Christmas Miracle: the Moody boys enlist in the War on Christmas."

[Eternalbluepearl]

4 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

I have a sinking feeling that Mr. Gibson is an evil non-fundy Christian who wants to remove the manger scene from in front of the Sunflower Town Hall, or something, and our little homeskool heroes thwart his atheistic plans. 

Oh my goodness, I think you've figured out the plot in about 2 seconds! Wow. That was impressive! Or perhaps the Starbucks in Sunflower isn't using Christmas cups and the Moody family must stand up for what is right? I mean this book was described on the blog as electrifying so it must be about something really meaningful. 

[SueEllenMishke]

And we have a typo on the second page of the sample pages..."jist" instead of "just."  C'mon Steve-Oh, get that proofreading done before you publish the sample. 

[anjulibai]

Yeah, she said she was going to write a book with new characters and a new setting. 

My guess is that she couldn't think anything up, so she just aged the Moody's. It also sounds like this book is pretty last minute, so it was all she could think of. 

I agree that the book is probably about Mr. Gibson not wanting Christmas decorations, Mitch or Max arguing at the townhall that the decorations should be kept and then some very unrealistic, not really exciting shenanigans with the end result that Mr. Gibson is saved and the decorations stay up. 

Oh so riveting. 

[usmcmom]

59 minutes ago, SueEllenMishke said:

And we have a typo on the second page of the sample pages..."jist" instead of "just."  C'mon Steve-Oh, get that proofreading done before you publish the sample. 

Dang! I'm about to defend the Maxwells and I hate when that happens. 

From reading the preceding dialogue from Mr. Gibson, it seems that character is being portrayed as a "hick," kind of like Festus on Gunsmoke. Maybe his backstory is that he is a non-Christian who went to ebil guvment school so he has poor grammar. As opposed to the stellar education the Maxwell kids received, you know. 

[anjulibai]

BTW, the previous Christmas book is Christmas Comes to Sunflower. 

God, Sarah, seriously. 

Steve and Teri, stop pushing her to write when it is clearly not her forte!

[SPHASH]

Good God.  Does anyone think Max is Smug Joe?  He is pastor of their church, married to Elisa, and has a daughter Hannah.

[SueEllenMishke]

17 minutes ago, usmcmom said:

Dang! I'm about to defend the Maxwells and I hate when that happens. 

From reading the previous dialogue from Mr. Gibson, it seems that character is being portrayed as a "hick," kind of like Festus on Gunsmoke. Maybe his backstory is that he is a non-Christian who went to ebil guvment school so he has poor grammar. As opposed to the stellar education the Maxwell kids received, you know. 

You know, you might be right. I hadn't thought about that but it could fit into the country bumpkin stereotype they have going on for Mr. Gibson. Its so hard to tell with the elementary-level writing what is purposeful and what is just their piss-poor excuse for an education. 

Edited to add: I guess we'll find out if Steve does a quick fix after reading here and updates the sample pages. 

[Jingerale]

How is this NOT a Moody book? Anyone?

[catlady]

28 minutes ago, usmcmom said:

Dang! I'm about to defend the Maxwells and I hate when that happens. 

From reading the preceding dialogue from Mr. Gibson, it seems that character is being portrayed as a "hick," kind of like Festus on Gunsmoke. Maybe his backstory is that he is a non-Christian who went to ebil guvment school so he has poor grammar. As opposed to the stellar education the Maxwell kids received, you know. 

i completely see your point, and i agree that any writer of even moderate skill would be inclined to express a character's dialect this way.  but this is Sarah, whose characters under age 12 say things like "time is of the utmost importance."  i honestly don't believe she would think of writing Mr. Gibson's dialect.  that, and her books have a history of typos as noted here and in some of the Amazon reviews.

please note that i am in no way criticizing Sarah; her parents are at fault for giving her the short stick regarding her education.

[Odd1Out]

"Those who’ve previewed Sunflower’s Christmas Miracle describe it as: electrifying, vivid, captivating, engaging, and wholesome." - quote from blog post. 

Meaning : My family members read it and answered a survey I created where they circled these words I had listed to describe the book. 

[mango_fandango]

1 hour ago, Jingerale said:

How is this NOT a Moody book? Anyone?

She said in the post that she brought the Moodys back in but aged them so they’re 12-21. 

[HereticHick]

46 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

She said in the post that she brought the Moodys back in but aged them so they’re 12-21. 

Is the 21 year old a SAHD waiting on her Prince Charming, or a young man saving up to buy a home no more than 1 mile from his parents?

[anjulibai]

55 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

She said in the post that she brought the Moodys back in but aged them so they’re 12-21. 

Right, but originally she said she was going to right about all new characters in an all new setting. She was doing all sorts of "research" for it. I think it was going to be a totally new series. 

This is just a cop-out because she could not think of anything else. It's kind of sad, really. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 hours ago, Jingerale said:

How is this NOT a Moody book? Anyone?

Because there's a cat on cover! 

I want a story about Ellie and Arnold and their shenanigans. 

[albanuadh_1]

I wonder if the Coke ( not Pepsi) display is going to be a 'fireplace'. And you know who comes down a fireplace!!

[Eternalbluepearl]

17 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

Right, but originally she said she was going to right about all new characters in an all new setting. She was doing all sorts of "research" for it. I think it was going to be a totally new series.

Yes, she got coffee in a small town for research and there was a party for the end of the Moody series I believe. I guess Sarah is sticking with what she knows. The world's most boring family. 

[Dandruff]

Let's see what they consider a "miracle" to be in this electrifying tale.  Mr. Gibson finally allows a power cord to cross a corner of his property so that a Christmas tree can be lit up?  Ideas abound.

[browngrl]

Mary's post about face painting has bugged me since it went up. I'm not a professional makeup artist and I have only done face painting on my nieces and nephews but makeup and fundies are two of my main hobbies and voila here they are combined in one post. 

1. Mary has no cleaning supplies other than some baby wipes. Babywipes are not the best tool for cleaning off makeup but they are better than nothing and nothing is what she seems to do to clean up between "clients". Every professional makeup artist I've ever used was meticulous about sanitation - as I would expect them to be. What will the Maxwell's do if Mary turns out to be a sort of "typhoid"Mary and spreads MRSA skin infections left right and centre. Praying does not cure flesh eating disease Steve. Not one bit. 

2. She says her father showed her how to clean her brushes properly. Makeup has pigment as does paint but it is not paint. Where did Steve get all this experience in cleaning makeup brushes? I belong to a forum on Reddit where all sorts of men who are transitioning come for advice. Lots of these men say they are from areas where they would be ostracized for their makeup and have no where else to turn for help. Is Steve on of these men? If you are Steve - please ask me how I'd do your makeup. Please. 

3. She is using art brushes that cost on the order of $10. Why not use proper makeup brushes? ELF (the black handled ones) and Wet and Wild produce a nice line of makeup brushes that are pretty much all less than $5.00 - many are only $1 or $2 dollars. They will hold pigment better (Taklon fibres have little rough areas to mimic real hair and pick up pigment much better than art brushes which are designed for another sort of medium). On second thought, Steve probably would not want his daughter to hold a product with a wicked fantasy name like "ELF" or have a wicked name like "Wet and Wild". 

edited a few spelling mistakes - probably missed a bunch though - I blame the Devil and my new keyboard cover for this

[usmcmom]

2 hours ago, Odd1Out said:

"Those who’ve previewed Sunflower’s Christmas Miracle describe it as: electrifying, vivid, captivating, engaging, and wholesome." - quote from blog post. 

Meaning : My family members read it and answered a survey I created where they circled these words I had listed to describe the book. 

But...but...who defined those big fancy words for them? 

*Mary raises hand* "Father, Lord Steven? What does that word mean?*

"No need to worry about the meanings; they are all a little too worldly for you. Just circle the ones I've pointed to." 

[usedbicycle]

Can "Electrifying, Vivid, Captivating (Not)" be the next post count title? 

[Tatar-tot]

1 hour ago, browngrl said:

Mary's post about face painting has bugged me since it went up. I'm not a professional makeup artist and I have only done face painting on my nieces and nephews but makeup and fundies are two of my main hobbies and voila here they are combined in one post. 

1. Mary has no cleaning supplies other than some baby wipes. Babywipes are not the best tool for cleaning off makeup but they are better than nothing and nothing is what she seems to do to clean up between "clients". Every professional makeup artist I've ever used was meticulous about sanitation - as I would expect them to be. What will the Maxwell's do if Mary turns out to be a sort of "typhoid"Mary and spreads MRSA skin infections left right and centre. Praying does not cure flesh eating disease Steve. Not one bit. 

2. She says her father showed her how to clean her brushes properly. Makeup has pigment as does paint but it is not paint. Where did Steve get all this experience in cleaning makeup brushes? I belong to a forum on Reddit where all sorts of men who are transitioning come for advice. Lots of these men say they are from areas where they would be ostracized for their makeup and have no where else to turn for help. Is Steve on of these men? If you are Steve - please ask me how I'd do your makeup. Please. 

3. She is using art brushes that cost on the order of $10. Why not use proper makeup brushes? ELF (the black handled ones) and Wet and Wild produce a nice line of makeup brushes that are pretty much all less than $5.00 - many are only $1 or $2 dollars. They will hold pigment better (Taklon fibres have little rough areas to mimic real hair and pick up pigment much better than art brushes which are designed for another sort of medium). On second thought, Steve probably would not want his daughter to hold a product with a wicked fantasy name like "ELF" or have a wicked name like "Wet and Wild". 

edited a few spelling mistakes - probably missed a bunch though - I blame the Devil and my new keyboard cover for this

My son had a horrible reaction from face paints. The Dr thinks a kid before him had poison ivy which spread via the brushes.  His face swelled up to the point his eyes were just slits.  Since then we have said NO to face paints.  It s positively the most unsanitary thing ever.