Elaine Ambrose

Bestselling Author, Ventriloquist, & Humorist

You are here: Home / Archives for blog

blog

How to Communicate in 20 Seconds

By

Letter writing is a lost art.

Do you write letters? Two generations ago, letters were written using elegant calligraphy on delicate parchment paper, carefully addressed, stamped, sealed with a personalized wax stamp, and mailed. Letters were delivered weeks or months later to the intended recipients.

One generation ago, AOL introduced the popularity of emails with the automated voice in “You’ve Got Mail.” Now, we can type a few abbreviated words into a smart phone and send an instant text to anyone almost anywhere. There is no need for pen, paper, post office, or proof of personality.

In an effort to unite brevity with substance, I’m writing a 200-word post to offer a suggestion for effective communication through quick texting. (Recorded sales calls are blocked from this idea.)

It takes less than 20 seconds to tweet one of these phrases:

“I love you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you for your kindness.”
“How are you?”
“You are so talented.”
“Do you want to meet for stories and laughter?”

These short, grammatically correct comments could bring happiness to the recipient. A 20-second text also could lead to a personal meeting where people actually look at each other and talk in complete sentences. Can you imagine?

Mother at the Door

By

Mom at the door of the house in Wendell

Today would have been my mother’s 92nd birthday. She died in 2014, lost in dementia and crippled with physical and mental pain. As she was dying, I played Tennessee Ernie Ford singing about “Peace in the Valley,” and I wept for the loss.

Starting when I was in high school, she always stood at the front door whenever I left. She would wave until I was out of sight. This continued for several decades until she was confined to a wheelchair. Then she would roll her chair to the window and watch for me to come. After she was no longer mobile, she would hold onto my hand and beg me to stay longer. I should have stayed.


We had opposite personalities and aspirations. She was shy and insecure. I was noisy and confident. She was subservient to my father and assumed her status without complaint. I didn’t want to take that role, so I didn’t. She was so unsure of herself in public, she had trouble ordering from a menu and usually got what I ordered. After dad’s death, she gave money to her children and charities until there was nothing left to give. I have learned the hard way to say no to those who take and ask for more. I did continue her tradition of standing at the door for my children. I waved and flashed the lights until they were out of sight.

Even though Mom and I were not alike, we still loved and respected each other. She would attend my speeches and performances and sit near the front. I organized birthday parties for her and wrote her Christmas letters. In the final years of her life, I drove her to doctor’s appointments and wrangled her wheelchair, helped make her the guest of honor at family celebrations, and moved her several times after various stays in rehabilitation facilities. I wrote our names on family photographs as she began to forget us. At the end, as I sang to her, she slipped into a coma and stopped holding my hand.


No one stands at the door anymore, and I usually drive away and don’t look back. But I often have a fleeting image of my mother, smiling and walking in peace through a valley. She’s waving at me.

Mom loved Doris Day. Here’s an excerpt of me playing “Que Será, Será.” Happy Birthday, Mom.

Author Wins Global Writing Awards in Three Genres in Three Years

By

On May 9, 2019, the Independent Press Award recognized Frozen Dinners – A Memoir of a Fractured Family by Idaho Author Elaine Ambrose as the winner of a 2019 Distinguished Favorite in the memoir category. This is the third consecutive win for the author in three different genres: humor, children’s books, and memoir. The author’s books won the 2019 award for memoir, the 2018 award for children’s books, and two awards in 2017 for humor.
The Independent Press Award competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Selected award Winners and Distinguished Favorites are based on overall excellence.


Frozen Dinners – A Memoir of a Fractured Family was released in November by Brown Books Publishing Group and remains a national bestseller. The book is available from local bookstores and online in hardcover and eBook, and the publisher recently sold the audio rights for the author to read the manuscript for an audio version to be released this summer. The memoir describes the author’s childhood on an isolated farm outside the village of Wendell, Idaho. Her father, an intense entrepreneur, made a fortune hauling frozen food throughout the Northwest. After his early death, the family and fortune were destroyed, and the author spent half a century seeking warmth and freedom.

For the 2019 competition, the INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD had entries from across the globe. Worldwide participation included books submitted from cities such as London to Madrid; Dallas to Philadelphia; Calgary to Melbourne, Chicago to San Francisco, and many different countries such as Australia, Africa, Canada, Egypt, India, Japan and Scotland as well as others.

“We are overjoyed to announce the winners and distinguished favorites in our annual 2019 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD. Independent publishing is prospering in every corner of the earth, and we are thrilled to be highlighting key titles representing global independent publishing.” said awards sponsor Gabrielle Olczak.

Books by Ambrose have won multiple international writing awards in the past five years.

In 2017, Midlife Happy Hour – Our Reward for Surviving Careers, Kids, and Chaos
* Finalist for INDIES Book of the Year Award for Humor
* Independent Press Award – Distinguished Favorite – Humor
* Independent Press Award – Winner – Midlife
* 5-Star Review from Foreword Reviews

In 2018, Gators & Taters – A Week of Bedtime Stories
• 2018 “Distinguished Favorite” for Children’s Literature from the Independent Press Awards
• One of 50 Children’s Books Selected for Bowker’s National Recommended Reading List


Also in 2018, The Magic Potato – La Papa Mágica
•2018 Silver Medal Winner from the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards for Children’s Literature
Adopted by the Idaho State Board of Education for the statewide curriculum.

In 2014, Midlife Cabernet – Life, Love, and Laughter After Fifty
• “Laugh-out-Loud Funny”- Publishers Weekly
• “Erma Bombeck” – Foreword Reviews
• Silver Medal for Humor from the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY)

Find more information about the author’s books and blog at ElaineAmbrose.

U of I Hosts Ambrose Storytelling Workshop

By

Elaine Ambrose speaks at the U of I Storytelling Workshop

MOSCOW, Idaho — April 24, 2019 — Storytelling through film is the focus of the University of Idaho’s second annual Ambrose Storytelling Workshop, to be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, in the Idaho Commons Whitewater Room.

The free community workshop will introduce participants to visual storytelling and demonstrate how filmmakers can use tools at their disposal to make high-quality films.

“This year’s Ambrose Storytelling Workshop will be a fun event highlighting the power of story through film. Participants will learn directly from award-winning filmmakers and go home with usable skills,” said Benjamin James, a clinical assistant professor who teaches screenwriting in U of I’s Department of English. James is the recipient of the inaugural Ambrose Storytelling Endowment faculty research award.

James will be joined at the workshop by Palouse filmmakers Martin McGreevy and Jace Wrigley.

Following the workshop, participants will have 48 hours to submit their own short film utilizing the skills and techniques taught in the workshop. U of I seniors taking part in the workshop will compete for the Ambrose Senior Award and $1,500 prize.

The Ambrose Storytelling Workshop was started in 2018 thanks to a donation by bestselling author and U of I College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences alumna Elaine Ambrose. She created the Ambrose Storytelling Endowment to share her gift of storytelling and to honor her late brother George, a U of I alumnus.

“My entire career has been writing and telling stories,” Ambrose said. “I wanted to give back to the university to encourage more storytelling. We live in an age of sentences through Twitter and instant messaging that don’t quite communicate a story the same way a rich paragraph or dialogue does.”

More information on the workshop, including registration information, is available at uidaho.edu/ambrose.

—

Media Contact
Benjamin James
Clinical Assistant Professor
Department of English
[email protected]

Free Workshop: How to Write a Children’s Book

By

The Hungry Giant stars in one story in “Gators & Taters”

Free Workshop Thursday, April 18

Do you have a splendid idea for a children’s book but don’t know how to write and publish a book? Bestselling author Elaine Ambrose will present a free workshop Thursday, April 18 at Collister Library from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. She will discuss the tools you need to create the book. Topics will include story, characters, illustrations, cover design, and publication. Free Workshop Thursday, April 18

Ambrose has written ten books, including two award-winning children’s books featuring her home state of Idaho. Gators & Taters – A Week of Bedtime Stories won a writing award from the Independent Press Award Program. The stories are designed to be read aloud to children. Illustrations for both books were created by Boise artist Patrick Bochnak.

The Magic Potato – La Papa Mágica is a storybook written in English and Spanish and features a fun story of children flying around Idaho of a potato. The text includes key words, phrases, colors, numbers, days of the week, and locations in English and Spanish. The book has won several awards, including the 2018 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for children’s literature. The State Board of Education adopted the book for the Idaho statewide curriculum.

Read more about Ambrose’s books, blogs, and events at www.ElaineAmbrose.com.

Sample page in “The Magic Potato” written in English and Spanish.

Writers as Instruments of Peace

By

Can a group of Idaho writers help bring respect and civility to a country polluted by vitriol and criticism? Yes, they can. We proved it over the weekend.

During the past 12 years, I have organized more than 20 writer’s retreats and workshops. Our recent workshop focused on “Your Journey is Your Story,” and the participants were prompted to share personal experiences that could shape a future blog or memoir. The workshop included a “Music as Muse” exercise as I played different songs and gave writing prompts.

The last music played was Peacemaker by Irish singer Máire (Moya) Brennan. The song included the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi with the singer’s young son providing words in Irish Gaelic. The words in the original prayer include the phrase “make me an instrument of your peace.” After the music exercise, participants read their works aloud to the group.


The first writer read her story about being thrilled to take her daughters to an event to hear former First Lady Michelle Obama. The writer is scheduled to travel to Seattle in May to hear Hillary Clinton.

Another writer spoke about praying and seeing the face of Jesus.

Other writers included a former Republican state representative who read about patriotism, a mother who spoke and sang about her love for her children, a woman escaping sexual abuse, a student who wrote about surviving after World War III, a humorous memory of a departed relative, and a kind grandmother who shared the pain of being estranged by an adult son. Every speaker was respected and appreciated. There was no drama, no criticism, and no insults.

If ten people from various backgrounds and from ages 12 to 72 can come together to a writing workshop in Meridian, Idaho and value opposite opinions, others can do it, too.

Over the past two years, I’ve winced at the hateful, bitter comments written by associates on social media. These continuing assaults have changed nothing nor have they improved the public discourse. I appreciate spirited debate and have posted several satirical memes about politics, but I’ve never personally attacked anyone. In my opinion, the atmosphere is more polluted with hostile verbal garbage than with plastic bags.

I’m traveling to Las Vegas soon to present a similar writing workshop using music as motivation and inspiration. It’s my goal to inspire attendees, ten people at a time, to use their words, laptops, and pens as instruments of peace.