How the NOW is What We Have – A Tribute to My Brother
Radio interview on BlogTalk Radio with Jeanie Brosius King describes my thoughts about the death of my younger brother.
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Memoir Reviewed by Acclaimed Idaho Author
My memoir Frozen Dinners is available on Amazon for pre-order. Brown Books Publishing has announced a release date for November 2018 to secure holiday promotion and purchases. Watch for the local premiere party, complete with TV dinners!
I appreciate this review from Kim Barnes, author of the Pulitzer Prize Finalist Memoir: In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country
“Full of luscious details, clear-eyed compassion, and enduring joy, Ambrose’s memoir gives us an insider’s view of one family’s rocky pursuit of the American Dream. Even when she is relating personal stories of conflict, loss, and grief, Ambrose does so with a survivor’s voice made strong by experience, stubbornness, humor, and love.”
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I worked on the manuscript for 20 years. My mother’s death in 2014, followed last year by the death of my younger brother George, convinced me to complete the book. The memoir tells the story of my father Neal Ambrose, born in Wendell, Idaho, as he climbed out of poverty and created an extensive fortune through trucking and farming enterprises. In the early 1950s, he established one of the first trucking companies in the country to haul frozen TV dinners, and during the 1960s, his farming operations introduced the first pivot sprinklers in southern Idaho. The pivots allow sprinkler pipes to rotate around a center pump to water crops.
However, the family lived in a state of emotional paralysis, and after my father’s death, everything was destroyed as the assets were squandered, the companies closed, and hundreds of employees lost their jobs. A chapter titled “Judgement Day” describes a brutal courtroom scene where a ruthless Boise attorney badgered my 77-year-old mother until she wet her pants. Another chapter devoted to her is titled “The Book of Leona.” The memoir concludes with my half-century journey to find warmth beyond the contaminated legacy of frozen dinners.
While ripping open the scars to write the book, I covered the wounds with healing humor and wrote Menopause Sucks, Midlife Cabernet, and Midlife Happy Hour. I’m eager to return to writing humor.
Click this link for pre-ordering details about the hard cover edition: Frozen Dinners
“Gators & Taters” Wins National Writing Award for Children’s Fiction
“Potatoes are tasty,” Clyde said with a sigh.
“I like them much better than blueberry pie.”
Gators & Taters – A Week of Bedtime Stories is the winner of the 2018 Distinguished Favorite Award for Children’s Fiction from the Independent Press Awards. Thousands of books were submitted for the honor, but apparently the judges couldn’t resist the narrative rhythm of the imaginative stories. The Independent Press Award recognizes and honors independent publishers and authors and assists them gain more attention and to better purvey their content to a larger audience.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released guidelines that advise parents to start reading to your child from infancy. Gators & Taters features seven stories, four in prose and three in metered, rhyming poetry similar to the writings of Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss. The stories are designed to be read aloud to children to continue the tradition of oral storytelling and inspire them to wonder about characters, places, and adventures. No batteries are required.
During the early 1950s, Mom raised her children, babysat other kids, and worked at home at night typing reports for Bradshaw’s Honey Plant in Wendell, Idaho. My dad was a truck driver and was gone during the week, so she had to earn money to pay for groceries. She saved enough to spend $5 a month for a set of Childcraft books. She read to me every night, and I developed a passion for reading. Every two weeks, she took me to the library and my first books were about the adventures of the Bobbsey Twins and the mysteries of Nancy Drew. When I was 10 and read Little Women, I identified with Jo, the tomboy, sassy girl, and I started to write short stories.
Gators & Taters features 36 original, colorful illustrations by Idaho artist Patrick Bochnak. Meet some of the characters and stories in the book:
“Gators & Taters” features two alligators named Cleo and Clyde. They go for a ride with a truck driver named Wendell O’Doodle and escape to play in an Idaho potato field.
“The Birthday Boy” offers the poignant story from a mother’s perspective as she watches her son Adam grow up and celebrate milestone birthdays.
“Hootenflute Flies the Coop” tells the delight tale of two little ladies who lost their pet owl. The story introduces creative words, such as flamdoogle tea, crawdad bogs, and corncob cakes.
“The Secret Reading Room” describes how a girl named Amber escapes to her grandmother’s attic to read travel magazines and adventure books. In this author profile, the girl decides to travel the world.
“Mama, I’ve Had a Bad Day” tells the true story of a family in various stages of crisis and chaos. Each family member has a bad day until Mama opens the scrapbook and reminds them of happier times.
“How to Feed a Hungry Giant” portrays the tall tale of Tater McCall who discovers and feeds a lonely Giant named George. The Giant eats 50 fish, 50 loaves of bread, and a bathtub of vegetable soup.
“Biking to the Moon” is an enchanting story about Emily, a girl who magically rides her bike to the moon and meets people trapped under a curse from a nasty troll. She breaks the spell and returns home to meet a special new friend.
The book concludes with discussion subjects and questions for parents, caregivers, and teachers to share with children after reading the stories aloud. Gators & Taters is available in paperback, eBook, and Audiobook read by the author.
The Independent Press Award follows other honors. The book was chosen as one of 50 children’s books selected by Bowker’s National Recommended Reading List, selected for the Idaho Public Television “First Book” Program with statewide distribution to underprivileged children, selected for the State of Idaho “Read Out Loud Crowd” Program, selected for the Summer Reading List for the Log Cabin Literary Center in Boise, and chosen for the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program in Boise.
Feel a Mother’s Day Special with Angel Bumps
For the perfect Mother’s Day gift, with discounts up to 50%, share a copy of Angel Bumps – Hello from Heaven.
Angel Bumps is a collection of tender stories from 50 writers who share their humorous, inspirational, and emotional experiences with personal signs from beyond. Signs could be a feather, a certain song, a coin, or a sudden aroma. Our Angel Bumps bring us joy, comfort, and peace. Just like Mom.
From May 5 through May 12, the eBook will be discounted 50% to $1.99.
The paperback debuted at #1 in its category on Amazon and will be discounted 20% to $11.95.
Email Anne Bardsley to order signed, personalized copies of the paperback:
Communicate with Anne about number of copies, personalized notes in the book, autographs, and postage.
Or, order online at: Angel Bumps
These personal Angel Bumps end on May 12.
Mill Park Publishing Closes Final Chapter
Released May 2, 2018 by Mill Park Publishing, Eagle, Idaho
Mill Park Publishing of Eagle will sponsor the reception for the Idaho Writers Guild Conference on Friday, May 4. The event will be the final official event for the business. After 10 years, 16 books, 15 writing retreats, multiple national and local awards, and thousands of dollars donated to local charities, owner Elaine Ambrose says she’s ready for another chapter in her life.
Ambrose created the publishing company as a way to survive the winter when she lived in the mountain town of McCall. She named the company after Mill Park, a community park in front of her home on the lake. She moved the company to Eagle in 2008.
The Books
A list of books issued by Mill Park Publishing and can be found online and on Ambrose’s author page. For information about books by other authors published by the company, click on the links. Gretchen Anderson, Anne Bardsley, Patti Murphy, Liza Long, and Judith McConnell Steele. Three award-winning anthologies enabled almost 100 women – and a few men – to become published writers.
In 2008, Ambrose offered the first writing retreat at her cabin in Garden Valley. New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Basye Sander spoke about the publishing world. Subsequent speakers at the retreats included Pulitzer Prize Winner Anthony Doerr, Whiting Award winner Alan Heathcock, New York Times bestselling author AK Turner, and acclaimed writer and filmmaker Ken Rodgers. Other speakers included social media expert Christy Hovey, wellness coach Emily Nielsen, and international marketing executive Stephanie Worrell.
Ambrose also produced and funded a musical CD for student Andrew Coba and hired him to perform at several events at her home.
Mill Park Publishing created a fun writing experience with cowboy poet and performer Ernie Sites. The company produced four live comedy shows titled “Life Sucks Laugh Hard” and included funny women AK Turner, Jen Mann, Laurie Notaro, and Stacy Dymalski.
Charitable Contributions
Mill Park Publishing donated proceeds from book sales to various local charities and civic organizations, including $2,000 to the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights so 200 area school students would see the documentary He Named Me Malala.
Other donations were awarded to the Women’s & Children’s Alliance, the Cabin’s Writers in the School Program, and Dress for Success. Last New Year’s Eve, Mill Park Publishing created a writing challenge and gave cash awards for students in conjunction with the Idaho Potato Drop.
Ambrose has been a keynote speaker at several national conferences and often shares her publishing knowledge. At the prestigious Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, she spoke about how writers can turn their blogs into books.
Though Mill Park Publishing is closing, Ambrose will continue to sell the remaining books through online and local sources. For future plans, Ambrose will focus on her new charity, Cycling Without Age, develop the Ambrose Storytelling Endowment at the University of Idaho, and prepare promotional events for her memoir, Frozen Dinners, to be released in the fall by Brown Books Publishing. She can be found playing with her delightful grandkids, traveling on creative adventures, and romping with her sweetheart Studley.
Laughing with Erma Bombeck and Friends
(Note: This is my 600th blog post, and it’s dedicated to Erma Bombeck.)
Erma Bombeck was the original Mommy Blogger – without all the alcohol and swear words. I thought I was doing great with 600 blog posts, but that pales in comparison to her 4,000 newspaper columns. Also, she got a regular paycheck for her humor and earned $1 million a year. I eagerly publish free essays on my website and hope someone likes them enough to consider paying $17 for my latest book. I’m just like Erma, but different.
Erma Bombeck’s columns were read twice a week by 30 million readers of 900 newspapers throughout the country. I don’t have quite that many followers, but I did achieve a few viral syndicated posts that attracted readers around the world. The esteemed subjects were about farting, my mother’s casket getting lost, and why politicians resemble braying animals. I think Erma would have liked them.
I try to emulate the famous wit and wisdom she used to transform ordinary family life into hilarious scenarios. My target audience is middle-age women, but that’s now a shameless exaggeration unless I live past 132. I’ve passed the expiration date for midlife and am stumbling beyond the precarious matron category into full-blown senior citizen status. But, I continue to write because she would want me to do that. Her light on earth was cut short at age 69, and I’m in my sixties, so there is no time to waste. I daily grease my wrinkled fingers, squint through my high-intensity eyeglasses, hunch over my large-type document, and focus on adding one more paragraph. “What would Erma do?” is my mantra.
The Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop
The Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop in Dayton, Ohio, created in 2,000 at the University of Dayton, is the largest national workshop for humor writers. It endures because the world is too crabby, and people want to laugh again and be with funny, positive friends. Attendees hope to belong to that unique club designated for readers and writers of humor. Laughter is the best medicine, and we come on a sacred pilgrimage for the healing power of another belly laugh.
I attended my first EBWW in 2014. I didn’t know anyone and resembled the proverbial goofball in a world of Elite Comedic Thespians. But, they allowed me into their playhouse and we laughed until we cried. I was chosen to perform in the Stand-Up Comic Night show, and I loved the experience. I gained numerous friends, and even the cool kids talked to me.
For the 2016 Workshop, I was honored to present two workshops: “How to Turn Your Blog into a Book” and “How to Write Funny.” The importance of the opportunity became almost too much for this shy farm girl from Idaho, but I plugged in my Power Point and took the stage as if I knew what I was doing. I imagined Erma in the front row. I think she laughed at some of my jokes.
I recently returned from the 2018 Conference, and my body is still sore from all the laughter and bear hugs. The schedule was packed with excellent sessions, enlightening presenters, and some of the best speakers I’ve ever heard. The main conference started on Thursday, April 5 with a dinner at the Marriott. Keynote speaker Liza Donnelly, award-winning cartoonist with The New Yorker magazine, delighted the audience with humorous cartoons and clever comments. She introduced a world of humor writing many of us hadn’t considered.
On Friday morning, I learned advice from bestselling authors through Jessica Strawser’s excellent session. The next workshop featured my friends Anne Parris and Tracy Beckerman as they discussed website productivity. Even for an old crone, I was able to learn new and productive ideas for my site.
Faye Griffin provided the highlight for Friday afternoon with her inspirational session about writing with humor and heart. I want to be BFFs with her. Friday evening I was delighted to participate in a book signing as an author in the new book, Laugh Out Loud – 40 Women Humorists Celebrate Then and Now…Before We Forget. I sat beside Michelle Poston Combs and considered adopting her.
Saturday’s workshops included the memoir writing session and an excellent presentation about branding from Cindy Ratzlaff. I participated in the Pitchapalooza and received encouraging advice from publishing expert Jane Friedman.
In my opinion, the keynote speakers were the highlight of the Conference. Liza Donnelly, Rita Davenport, Karen Walrond, John Grogan, and Monica Piper provided a lineup that will be difficult to equal. Davenport and Piper had me gasping for breath between punchlines. I also appreciate the participation of Erma Bombeck’s sons, Matt and Andy. Unfortunately, Anne Bardsley and I couldn’t convince them to travel on a comedy tour with us.
I have pages of notes to read, links to follow, and action items to complete, but the EBWW 2018 has renewed and energized my determination to write and finish a few more projects. It’s my goal to balance negative complaints with some cheerful chuckles. My mentor Erma encourages me to keep writing and not have a single bit of talent left at the end of my life. So, that’s what I’ll do.
One of the best compliments I’ve received for my writing is from Foreword Reviews: “Elaine Ambrose’s Midlife Cabernet: Life, Love & Laughter after Fifty is an Erma Bombeck-esque tribute to women who are over fifty and ready to explore life on new terms.”
I don’t want to be -esque to anyone else, ever.
