LoraLee Evans, Author

2012-01-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while, a book comes along, that sticks in your mind, and doesn't leave because of how refreshing and fun it is. Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame is one of those books for me. I can see why it's a classic, and has been as popular as it has been for so long.
It's the story of four friends, Bardger, Mole, Rat, and Toad. Toad is by far, the most colorful of the friends, getting into all sorts of trouble, and causing constant headaches for his long suffering friends. He's always getting into mischief, and hardly thinking about the consequences of his silly choices. (I thought he was particularly rude to the poor barge woman.) But his friends finally help him turn around in the end. (He even makes restitution to the barge woman, which I was hoping he would.)
It's a really cute, fun book, and I think all ages would enjoy it.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

2011-08-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

I recently finished an incredibly long, yet incredibly good book titled The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. In it, we follow the life of Kaladin, an honorable young man who has been unfairly betrayed time and again, yet somehow finds the courage, with the help of his little pal Syl, to continue to help people, especially the men on his bridge crew.

The reader also follows Dalinar, one of the leaders of this society, who, searching his heart as well as the teachings of a book entitled The Way of Kings, comes to understand that the best kind of leader is one who supports and sincerely cares for those he leads.

We also get to know Shallan, a young woman whose first goal to steal something important from her mistress changes as she learns to care for the lady as a friend and not just as a teacher, and also as she learns unexpected truths about her world that changes the way she looks at things.

The Way of Kings is the first book of what is intended to be a long series, and not everything is resolved, as can be expected. Much though, is satisfyingly resolved with enough left over to keep the reader interested in what is coming next.

The book, despite its length, was a great story, and toward the middle, I was actually glad it was so long. Mr. Sanderson paced it just right, with the story flowing exactly as it needed to in the right parts. I really enjoyed it, and recommend it for anyone who enjoys fantasy.

2011-05-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Candy Shop War was a great story. It tells of the adventures of friends, Nate, Pigeon, Summer, and Trevor and the "secret candy" made my Mrs. White, the owner of "The Sweet Tooth Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe" the local candy shop that's recently opened in town. At first, everything seems like a fun, harmless adventure, until the kids start to realize they're getting in over their heads, and Mrs. White might not be the kindly, harmless friend they think she is.

I don't want to give much more away, but I will say that it was a fun story to get involved in, and adults and children alike, who enjoy a fun adventure involving magical powers and tasty candy, will love this book.

Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami

2011-03-11T08:31:00.000-08:00

Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami

As many are aware, a massive 8.9 earthquake hit the northeast of Japan on Friday, March 11, 2011.

Here is an excerpt from a news article on yahoo:

TOKYO – A ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the largest earthquakes on record slammed Japan's eastern coast Friday, killing hundreds of people as it swept away ships, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control.

Hours later, the tsunami hit Hawaii but did not cause major damage. Warnings blanketed the Pacific, putting areas on alert as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West coast. In northeastern Japan, the area around a nuclear power plant was evacuated after the reactor's cooling system failed.

Police said 200 to 300 bodies were found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai, the city in Miyagi prefecture, or state, closest to the epicenter. Another 137 were confirmed killed, with 531 people missing. Police also said 627 people were injured.

I served a mission in Sapporo, Japan in the early 90s, and Sapporo is on Hokkaido, not far from the epicenter of the quake.

The hardest thing for me, is not knowing what is going on there, and if my friends on Hokkaido are alright. Even though I haven't had contact with them in a long time, I still think about them, and I hope they're okay.

Alma by Heather Moore

2011-01-20T18:46:00.000-08:00

On the way to and from work, a commute of 40 minutes, I listen to books on CD, and over the past few years, I've listened to some great books, including Wind in the Willows, The Hobbit, White Fang, and others.

I recently finished a story that I was very impressed with. Alma, by Heather Moore, was a wonderful story based on events from the Book of Mormon. Ms. Moore did a fantastic job researching ancient American life, and bringing well known characters, and others from the Book of Mormon to life, and showing the kinds of people they may have been. It also introduced some characters that are not mentioned by name in the Book of Mormon, but were no doubt a big part of all the goings on, like Alma's wife, Maia, and others.

One thing that really impressed me, is how Ms. Moore handled her bad guys, chiefly her main bad guy, Amulon. She was able to show Amulon's motives and his reasons for doing things very believably without turning him into a stereotypical villain.

This was a great book that I enjoyed listening to, and I recommend it very strongly to anyone who enjoys well written, historical fiction!

2010-09-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith is the third book in the Number One Ladies' Detective Agency, a series about the continued adventures of lady detective, Precious Ramotswe.

This book, and the books before and after, are fantastically charming to me. Mma Ramotswe is a compelling and believable character, as is her friend and assistant, Mma Makutse, and her handsome fiance Mr. J. L. B. Matekone.

In this installment of her several adventures, Mma Ramotswe must investigate the allegations of an important "Government Man" who believes a certain person is trying to poison his brother.

She is also faced with the strange appearance of a little boy who has wandered in from the wilderness, alone, naked, and smelling of... lions?

These as well as the other trials Mma Ramotswe faces in this book with her wit and candor, make the book a fun and refreshing read, with a healthy dose of suspense to keep me enthralled until the very last word. Mr. Smith is a gifted writer, and I adore this book as well as the others in the series!

Summer 2010

2010-08-03T00:13:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that it is August already, and school is just around the corner once more. I have been reading a very good book this summer, entitled The Battle for Middle Earth by Fleming Rutledge.

In the book, among many enlightening ideas that Ms. Rutledge puts forth, is the idea that "It is human nature to want to divide up the world into Good and Evil, always with ourselves and our own group on the Good side." And, by extention, putting those who are not like "us", on the Bad side. It is easy to believe oneself to be comfortably justified. Doing so, allows a person not to have to think very deeply, or to examine himself, and his own inner workings, or to admit faults and realize that change is required, or to go through the pain of that needed change, or to understand that his first impulse may not be the best thing to do, or require himself to comprehend that others have worth, ideas, opinions and preferences that are at least as worthy as his own.

It requires work, and often pain, to look at oneself, and admit need for improvement. But it is always worthwhile to do so.

From the book, but quoting Mr. Viggo Mortensen, "The most enlightened beings in Middle-Earth are conscious of the ubiquity of good and evil in neighbors, strangers, adversaries, and most important, themselves. There can be little future in adopting a permanent policy of 'an eye for an eye.' If we were all regularly to put into effect such an inflexible approach, we would all soon be blind, as Gandhi pointed out."

Ms. Rutledge went on to say: "Victor Havel of the Czech Republic, hero of the Velvet Revolution, wrote that during the period of Communist rule it was often impossible to distinguish between those who had collaborated and those who had not; the line, he said, 'did not run clearly between "them" and "us", but through each person.'"

It is futile on many levels, to ruminate on the poor choices, or perceived poor choices of others. For one, no one but God can fully understand and fully judge a person. It's fine, in fact it's necessary to take steps to protect oneself, and if necessary, to avoid people one knows to have made dangerous choices, but it is not our place to condemn and certainly not our place to gloat. We simply do not know enough, and must leave it to God. And gloating, or being either overtly or secretly pleased with someone's shortcoming, or perceived shortcoming, makes the gloater into the monster he wants his enemy to be. For another reason, a person, thinking to set himself up as judge may be making his decisions based on on a faulty premise. In other words, one something that isn't even true. And finally, the only person that any one person has absolute and complete control over, is himself. That is especially true of attitudes and beliefs. While a person may have influence over others, in the end of all things, the only person he can change, is his own self.

One of the main themes of Tolkien's work, according to Ms. Rutledge, was that "...it is about the universal propensity of human beings (and angels) to fall into evil unless they are aided by..." (And I believe -choose to accept the aid of-) "...power from that 'unseen but ever-present Person."

One of the last things Ms. Rutledge said in the introduction of her book, was "One hallmark of responsible hope is honoring those "Numenoreans" among us, those people in our world who, in spite of their imperfection and - yes - sin, nevertheless, like Tutu and Nelson Mandela, embody the noblest and higest among us. In the presence of such people, the 'finger of God' has intruded into History."

It seems to me, from my experience, that the greatest, (truly greatest) people in the world, people like Mother Teresa, William Wilberforce, Harriet Tubman, the individuals mentioned in the previous paragraph, and others achieved greatness because they were too busy doing good to worry about looking good, or to justify themselves by busily putting themselves (in their own minds) in the "Good" camp while putting opponents in the "Bad". They were just too busy simply doing what was right.

BIA Officer, Joshua Yazzie: "One of those good people."

2010-06-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

I am very sad to write this, but I wanted to, to pay in my small, stumbling way, tribute to a very good, honorable man.

BIA Officer, Joshua Yazzie, someone I didn't know very well, but did cross paths with a few times during the past year, was killed in the line of duty when his car lost control and rolled down a steep embankment while he was responding to a call to assist an ambulance crew with an intoxicated person who had grown violent.

The following is part of an article published in the Vernal Express:

(http://www.vernal.com/detail/326951.html)

'Curtis Cesspooch, chairman of the Ute Tribe's Business Committee, said he knew Yazzie well enough to know he was a good man with a young family.

"Things that happen in life can be so unexpected, at anytime we can lose good people. Josh was one of those good people," said Cesspooch….

...Ute Tribe emergency management director Misty Bruns called Yazzie "one of the nicest people you would ever meet." He was always fair and professional, and he treated others with respect, she said.

"He was always one of the first people to show up when help was needed," Bruns said...

He is survived by his wife, Jessica; two children, Jaxsen and MaCee; parents Robert and Joan Yazzie; five siblings and many other relatives.'

His obituary can be found here: www.hullingermortuary.com/obituaries.html

Officer Yazzie was a good man, and it is sad to see such a person who has done so much good, taken from the earth. There is a shortage of honorable men in this world, and Officer Yazzie was an honorable man. May he rest in peace.

True Love.

2010-05-08T14:02:00.000-07:00

Most people are familiar with the scene in The Princess Bride where the priest gives a speech before he *attempts* to marry Buttercup and Prince Humperdink. The topic of his speech is "Wuv. Twu wuv." (translated, "Love. True love.") Which causes me to wonder. What exactly is "True love," anyway, and how does one recognize it? Both in her/himself and in others? I'm still trying to figure that out. But I think I have some better ideas than I have before.

Some (not all) earmarks of true love are below. This applies to all sorts of relationships, not just romantic.

* The person respects him/herself.
*The person does not feel a NEED to be with another in order to feel of worth.
*The person is honorable, in that s/he obeys laws, and is honest, etc.
*Along with that, the person does not pretend to have values/standards that are different than what her/his true values/standards are.
*The person does not feel a need to change the essence of who s/he is.
*If change in behavior or attitude is necessary to become a better person, however, the person is willing to make those changes.
*These changes are not made to conform to what another wants, but because they are the right thing to do.
* The person's interest in the other person is not for his/her own selfish gain.

*The person doesn't want others to fail or look bad, and does not feel pleasure when others fail or look bad.

*The person understands that every human being is a son or daughter of God, and has infinite worth.
*The person does not feel a need to tear others down, or to assume the worst about others in order to feel of worth her/himself.
*The person does not tolerate being treated abusively in any way by anyone, and avoids relationships with abusive people as much as possible.

As I wrote before, these indicators are by no means the only ones that show whether true love is present or not. But I think the bottom line is, in order to truly love others, one must first respect herself or himself.

In my books I have tried hard to portray healthy relationships in which real love would be present if the people existed in real life. I hope I have done that.

Far World: Land Keep by J. Scott Savage

2010-02-03T20:21:00.001-08:00

The fantastic story that was started with Water Keep continues with Land Keep, with Kyja and Marcus seeking the help of the Land Elementals. Along the way, they meet some new folks, and have some, shall I say, rather educational experiences that help them grow and progress, and become a tighter team than ever.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I could barely put it down. My students have read it as part of their reading, and they enjoyed it, too. They were sad to see the story come to an end, and keep asking me when the third book will come out.

I look forward to the third and fourth books with great anticipation!

Metacognition

2009-11-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

As an educator who is striving to help my students with their learning, I have great interest in helping my students develop what's called Metacognition. Metacognition has been defined as "having knowledge (cognition) and having understanding, control over, and appropriate use of that knowledge" (Tei and Stewart, 1985). In other words, Metacognition is knowing, and knowing that you know. It is one thing to be smart, and another thing altogether to known how to wisely apply that smartness.
Something for us all to strive to be consciously aware of, is not only to gain intelligence, but to use our intelligence wisely. I am striving for that in my own life; to gain learning, and also to wisely use that learning . And I hope that I am helping my students learn the same skill.

2009-08-20T14:04:00.001-07:00

As I haven't entered a new blog post since back in April, I thought it would be a good time to update. As I have been teaching full time, and, this past summer, been teaching summer school as well, I have not had as much time to write, my time being taken up by things higher on my priority list, like my students, and my family. And I have not had anything published since 2006. Quite a while back! However, I have been writing when I can, and hopefully will have something ready to send off to my publisher in the near future. Wish me luck!

The 13th Reality by James Dashner

2009-04-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

I have recently read the second book in The 13th Reality series by James Dashner entitled, The Hunt for Dark Infinity. I thought it was a great book! It kept me on the edge of my seat with all the twists and turns the characters went on, and all the surprises it threw at me! One of my favorite characters is Sally. I thought Sally was one of the most entertaining folks I'd met in a long time.

The target audience of this book is youth/young adult, but I would heartily recommend this book to anybody.

Far World: Water Keep by J. Scott Savage

2009-02-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

I have recently finished a very enjoyable and entertaining book by J. Scott Savage called Far World Water Keep the first book in the Far World series.

It is about a young man, Marcus, who is disabled. He needs a wheelchair to get around, but he doesn't let that slow him down. In spite of his challenges, he and his friends Kyja and Riph Raph meet and overcome many trials that come at them, thanks to a chap by the name of Bonesplinter. No matter how hard they try, or what they do, Bonesplinter (yeah, lovely name) and his colleagues seem ready to stop them at every turn. But on the other hand, no matter how Bonesplinter tries, the kids manage to keep one step ahead, until-

Well, I don't want to give much more away, but I will say that the book was a great read, and I highly recommend it to everyone. My seventh graders particularly liked the parts I read to them, and the ones who have read it, loved it as much as I did.

Christmas

2008-12-31T14:29:00.001-08:00

My kids and I had a great Christmas. I think it's one of my favorite holidays, and not just because of the presents. I'm thankful for the birth of Christ, and what his life and atonement mean to me. I can only try every day to be more like him, and treat other people the way He would have me treat them.

2008-09-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Oh my, what a busy past couple of months. School's in full swing now, with the first quarter over half way over! This year, I'm teaching English to 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th graders, as well as a Creative Writing class for Juniors and Seniors.

Here is a link to the trailer for Passage to Zarahemla. (The movie's better, though)

http://www.mormonwebtv.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=178&Itemid=30

Passage to Zarahemla

2008-07-07T11:24:00.000-07:00

My kids and I recently watched a new movie called Passage to Zarahemla based on the novel by Chris Heimerdinger. Oh, boy! What a great movie. All of us highly recommend it. It's a story about a young woman and her brother (Kerra and Brock) who have been recently orphaned. The State wants to split them up, but they're not going to have any of that, I tell you what! Instead, they take off to some relatives they haven't seen in nearly twelve years who live in the little town of Leeds, Utah. Near their cousins' home is an area that's always been believed to have supernatural powers associated with it. Strange noises and flickering shadows in the brush have given the area a reputation for being "haunted". I don't want to give much more away but I will say that the folks Kerra finds when she goes into the woods are anything but ghosts! Although some of them are pretty unfriendly. I highly recommend this movie. It was great to watch, and had a very sweet ending!

2008-06-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

Ahh! It's summer! At least I think so.

I find it a bit odd that it's nearly the middle of June, and I still have to wear a jacket when I go outside. Anyway, now that school's over, I'm getting a bit more writing done than before, which is very very nice, but not as much sleep, strangely. Knowing I had to get up at 5:00 am was good motivation to get to bed on time, but now that I'm staying up all hours of the night to write, and then have to get up at 8:00 or 9:00 to take care of my kiddos, it's starting to be a little tiring. But it's so nice to be able to write uninterrupted. And I'm getting close to having my next book finished!!

2008-05-10T21:50:00.001-07:00

Is it May already? There are only two weeks left of school before Summer Vacation. I don't know whether to be sad or excited about that. Hopefully, I'll be able to work a bit more on my writing this summer. I have loved teaching this year. These kids are really great.

Congrats to my friend, Janet Jensen!

2008-04-23T18:04:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, a fellow writer, Janet Jensen, has written a book entitled "Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys" a book about a young woman escaping fundamental polygamists to marry a mainstream Mormon. Her book is being advertised in a major Australian online paper, Australia.to. If you are interested in a link to it, here you go. http://www.australia.to/ Janet is a great writer, and I'm very excited for her!

The Whitney Awards Winners

2008-03-25T21:32:00.001-07:00

The Whitney Awards Gala was held this last Saturday to end a wonderful weekend at the LDStorymakers Writer's Conference. It was a wonderful event! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Whitney Awards, they are awards given to LDS authors who excel in the creation of quality literature. An award is given for several different genres, and I was excited for the winners. Some of my most favorite people won! I'm very excited to post the winners here.

The Best Novel of the Year for 2007, was

On The Road To Heaven by Coke Newell

The Winner for Best Novel by a New Author was

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

The Winner for Best Romance/Women's Fiction was

Counting Stars by Michele Paige Holmes

The Winner for Best Mystery/Suspense was

Sheep's Clothing by Josi Kilpack

The Winner for Best Young Adult/Children's was

Fablehaven 2: Rise Of The Evening Star by Brandon Mull

The Winner for Best Speculative was

Book Of A Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

The Winner for Best Historical was

Out Of Jerusalem: Land of Inheritance by Heather Moore

And the Lifetime Achievement Winners who were honored at the Gala were

Jennie Hansen, Dean Hughes, and Anita Stansfield

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2008-03-10T20:06:00.001-07:00

Wow! It's March, already. Spring is on the way, and Summer is just around the corner. We're reading Holes by Louis Sacher, and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien in the English Classes I'm teaching. Golly, Holes is a great book. If you haven't read it or seen the movie, I highly recommend that you do. The story has a great message about acceptance and tolerance without getting preachy, and I love that!

2008-02-12T17:29:00.000-08:00

Well, it's February, and spring, (hopefully!) is just around the corner. I'm working on a third book when I can, off and on. But it's coming along steadily. I hope my publisher likes it!

2007-12-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas is over, the presents unwrapped, and the torn wrapping paper (mostly) cleaned up. It was a lovely Christmas altogether, especially the surprise bag of presents my family and I found by our door on Christmas Eve after we'd been out. It was very heartwarming to find it there, and we're very grateful, though we're not sure who to be grateful to. So perhaps we should just make an extra effort to be nice to everyone, since anyone could have done it.

A neighbor introduced me to a new tradition that I would like to try out with my family in Christmases to come. It's called The White Stocking. And here's how it goes:

THE WHITE STOCKING

It wasn't that anyone had really been forgotten,
no child had been slighted or made unhappy
and no adult had been left unremembered.
The presents had all been distributed and
all the stockings were beautifully filled--all
that is except one; one stocking that had never
even been hung. It was the stocking intended for the
Child of Bethlehem.

Of all the people belonging at that Christmas
gathering, only He had been forgotten.
Only he had been left out of the festivities.
This didn't seem quite right, inasmuch as it
was His birthday that was being celebrated.
Since then, the little white stocking has been hung
in a special place in our home. On Christmas Eve
after our special dinner, we gather in the living room
and have a program. During this time we reach
into the stocking and pass out the papers
that were placed in the stocking the year before.
Each person then writes a new gift for
Jesus to be placed in the stocking.
Your gift could include: personal goals, ways you will
be of service to others in the coming year, or
relationships you wish to improve.
Wishing You A Special Holiday Season.

The Hobbit!!

2007-12-18T21:32:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me personally, know I am a huge fan of Tolkien and his stories. So it gives me great pleasure to express my joy at the official announcement that Peter Jackson is teaming up with MGM and New Line Cinema to produce The Hobbit in two parts. Principal photography is tentatively set to begin in 2009, and the release of The Hobbit set for 2010 with its sequel in 2011.

I can't adequately express how ecstatic I am about this! I think Peter Jackson did a phenomenal job with translating The Lord of the Rings trilogy into movies while staying true to the story line and the spirit that Tolkien created in his books. A tough job, I have no doubt, but I think he did it splendidly.

I look forward to the magic he will create with The Hobbit!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

Since Thanksgiving is almost here, I want to mention the things I am grateful for. For one, and most importantly, my children. I am also thankful for good friends, for my health, my job, my cute little house, and for my parents. I don't know where I would be without them.

2007-10-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

Here's some news about the Whitney Awards!

PROVO, UT—OCTOBER 23, 2007FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWHITNEY AWARDS COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES LARGE CASH AWARDS

The Whitney Awards Committee announced today that they will beoffering seven large cash awards to be presented at the upcomingWhitney Awards banquet in March 2008. These cash prizes are due tothe generosity of the Whitney Awards' marquis sponsor,ExclusivelyLDS.com.Founded earlier this year, the Whitney Awards program is a non-profitorganization dedicated to rewarding excellence among LDS authors.With the new sponsorship of ExclusivelyLDS.com, winning authors willreceive up to $1000 along with their trophy.The Whitneys offer a total of seven awards. The five genre awards(Best Romance/Women's Fiction, Best Mystery/Suspense, BestYA/Children's, Best Speculative Fiction, Best Historical) will eachbe accompanied by a $500 cash prize. The two overall winners, BestNovel by a New Author and Best Novel of the Year, will each receive$1000."We're very excited about the sponsorship with ExclusivelyLDS.com,"Robison Wells, president of the Whitney Awards Committee,explains. "There is enormous talent among LDS authors, and everyyear seems to produce better and better novels. This is an excitingtime to be part of the LDS fiction industry. Our hope is that theseawards will raise awareness about the high quality fiction availablefrom LDS authors, and to draw in new readers."Over a hundred years ago, Latter-Day Saint Apostle Orson F. Whitneydeclared "We shall yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of ourown. . . . In God's name and by His help we will build up aliterature whose tops will touch the heaven, though its foundationmay now be low on the earth."Anyone can nominate a novel published during the previous calendaryear in any of seven categories, and a final academy of industryprofessionals will vote on the final ballot. Nominations are beingtaken for books published in 2007 by LDS authors at the WhitneyAwards website: www.whitneyawards.com

2007-10-04T20:56:00.001-07:00

Well, it's October and Halloween is just around the corner. We've been reading some great books in my English classes. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of them, and I love that story for the way it sheds light on human nature, the great good, and the great evil that we bipeds are so capable of. I think Atticus Finch is one of the greatest heroes in Literature that I know of. I am thoroughly in awe at the wisdom and bravery of his character. And it gives me hope that just maybe there are real humans very much like him.

September!

2007-09-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

Goodness! I'm amazed that it's September already. School is great, and I love teaching English. I'm glad to have the examples of so many classic authors to read, and to discuss with my students. I'm blown away by the talents of people like O. Henry, and Flannery O'Connor. Those people had fantastically brilliant minds to create the stories they did!

Harry Potter (No Spoilers)

2007-07-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I wasn't in line at the bookstores Friday at Midnight, but I did get Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows on Saturday. There were a few things that I expected, a few things that I didn't, and through it all, Rowling's writing was fantastic! She has definitely improved as a writer. I have enjoyed every book, and have seen her get better with each one. She is a fantastic storyteller, and manages to pack every page with action. The book is 759 pages, but it doesn't feel like it.

I enjoyed the story and she ended it in a way that was very satisfying. I can't wait for the next two movies.

2007-07-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! Harry Potter number 7 comes out tomorrow! I can hardly wait to find out if Harry lives or dies, (or something in between) and if Snape is truly good or evil, and lots of other things. There might even be some surprise twist that no one is expecting. I'm looking forward to getting my own copy as soon as I can. *big grin*

2007-07-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

It's already the middle of July, and I'm getting ready to start teaching school at the end of August. I'm really excited and nervous, but mostly excited. I'll be teaching English, my most favorite subject.

2007-07-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

July is here already, my goodness! Feel free to check out my website at www.loraleeevans.com. Oh boy, the end of August will be here before we know it.

2007-06-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is going by fast for me. And it's busy! I'm not able to write as often as I'd like, but I've got some pretty promising ideas for my next writing project. Since my books, The Birthright and The King's Heir are interconnected, I was thinking the third book, when I have the time to write it, would also be connected to the other two somehow.

Hello!

2007-06-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hello! My name is LoraLee Evans, and this is the first time I'm posting to my blog. I'm an author, and have published two books, The Birthright, and The King's Heir. My publisher for these two books is Cedar Fort Inc. You can read about my books on my website, www.loraleeevans.com. Look for updates from me, in the future!