Books by Lorie Ann Grover

Books by Lorie Ann Grover
Kirkus Starred Review, Firstborn: "A fantasy that reads like a lost history tome and deftly examines issues of gender...An engrossing story with welcome depths."

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Family Fiction: The idea for FIRSTBORN

Your Source for Christian Fiction

So happy to share the interview about Firstborn that Family Fiction ran through the month of December. The questions were awesome. Here's just one, otherwise follow the link...

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA?
Firstborn sprang from a news article I read concerning gendercide. I was horrified to learn that over 37 million girls are missing in China alone, due to the One Child Policy enacted in 1980. The work of All Girls Allowed and the Global Gendercide Advocacy and Alliance Group provided further chilling information regarding the killing of females at birth. My anger brought my novel to form. I wanted to write a fiction work to bring light to gendercide while declaring the value of our daughters. The dedication of my book is: To firstborn females, may they all be allowed to live.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Poetry Friday: Flight


Flight

On the edge of the
caldera, we take flight on
 our laughter and love.

Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, December 20, 2013

Poetry Friday: Cemented Stones

 
 
Cemented stones knob
like knuckle bones beneath skin;
fists beneath my feet.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Monday, December 16, 2013

FIRSTBORN Trailer, released by Hypable

Hypable
The trailer for FIRSTBORN was just released at Hypable!!! On the front page. And it's looking awesome! Blink did an amazing job, don't you think? I'm so happy!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

FIRSTBORN E-book: Special PRE-SALE!



Following the fab star review from Kirkus Reviews, Blink is offering a pre-sale of FIRSTBORN right now. Which is pretty cool. Check the different sites if you like. I saw $3.79 at Amazon.

And here's the full review! Yay! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

KIRKUS REVIEW


A fantasy that reads like a lost history tome and deftly examines issues of gender.
Tiadone is the first declared male in his R’tan village, though he was born female: Tiadone’s father declared him male to save him from abandonment and certain death on the Scree, as is the fate for all firstborn R’tan females, as dictated by the oppressive rule of the Madronians. Soon, Tiadone, along with his best friend, Ratho, and their “twined” rapions (birds of prey bonded to R’tan companions), travels to the Perimeter. During their mandatory year of service in Perimeter Defense, they will protect their people from invaders, desert cats and sandstorms. Once there, Tiadone chronicles the ways he must cope with the scorn of the other boys, the cruelty of the Madronians in power and his own changing body and blossoming sexuality—all as he struggles with his feelings surrounding being a declared male. Over the course of the year, Tiadone comes to recognize and deconstruct the carefully crafted lies that his life has been founded on and eventually finds a strength, peace and freedom he never dared hope for. Through the beautifully drawn Tiadone—whom readers will come to care for and relate to—Grover questions both gender norms and gender conformity in an honest, light-handed manner.
An engrossing story with welcome depths. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

Friday, November 22, 2013

Poetry Friday: Santorini Sunset (2)

 
 
Santorini Sunset (2)
 
Marbled footfalls and
languages weave a pattern
in nightfall's whisper. 
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, November 15, 2013

Poetry Friday: Snaking Passage

 
Snaking Passage
 
Twisting concrete drags
smooth underbelly below 
scaled, cold casement.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013 


Friday, November 8, 2013

Poetry Friday: Santorini Sunset

 
Santorini Sunset
 
On this curve, we stop
to watch the sun wink in night,
clapping starlight free.



Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, October 11, 2013

Poetry Friday: Hidden


Hidden

I'm wondering what
might be slipping under your
still aqua waters.
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Poetry Friday: Nob Falls


Nob Falls

The thrum of the pound
of the falls, beats on my bones
until joy smacks free.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, September 27, 2013

Poetry Friday: Sea Skip

Sea Skip
Over the curve and
roll of the wave, my joy and
the sky's skip sea foam.


Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, September 20, 2013

Poetry Friday: Mamma Duck


Mamma Duck

My orange shoes will quack
flip, flap me wherever I
may want to waddle.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
 


Friday, September 13, 2013

Poetry Friday: Grown Children

Grown Children

Fathers contemplate
how the dance ended before
they realized it.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, September 6, 2013

Poetry Friday: Retreat


Retreat
 
My escape pod is
sealed, impervious to your
incessant questions. 
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Poetry Friday: Buoyant Hope

Buoyant Hope
 
Stretched thin and drifting,
hope is lightly buoyant; we
only need look up.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, August 23, 2013

Poetry Friday: The Reception


 The Reception

We negotiate
this dance of joy and loss. We
cut the rug of life!
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013


Friday, August 16, 2013

Poetry Friday: Sister of the Bride


Sister of the Bride
 
Years of dress-up from
the costume box, swish and swirl
in her wedding dress.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
 
 

Friday, August 9, 2013

Poetry Friday: Parents of the Bride


Parents of the Bride
 
Joy curves around the
hollowed empty space of her
leaving us behind.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, August 2, 2013

Poetry Friday: Mother of the Bride



Mother of the Bride

Seated behind her,
rising from the chair to dance
into her future.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
 
My lupus flared the night before the wedding. Arriving in a wheelchair, I was blessed to stand and walk down the aisle for the ceremony and then to dance at the reception. Joy! 

Friday, July 26, 2013

Poetry Friday: Father of the Bride


Father of the Bride
 
Caught in the rearview
is your childhood, fluttering
in my gasping heart.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Happily Ever After, George and Elle Fricks!



It's so good to be back! I've been a bit busy with my daughter's wedding. Here's a peek from our dear friend, Pam Villanueva. And here's to living happily ever after, George and Elle Fricks! Congratulations!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Poetry Friday: Lit Passage


Lit Passage

Like molten glass, light
spills, pours, gleams in the corners.
Steps illuminate. 


Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, June 14, 2013

Poetry Friday: Whispered Through Steam

 
Whispered Through Steam
 
How many stories
were whispered through steam as cups
clinked women's secrets?
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, June 7, 2013

Poetry Friday: Blue Branches

 
Blue Branches

Like arthritic bones,
blue branches twist and stretch,
clicking to the sky.
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
 
This grove of trees stands in downtown Seattle. I've only ever seen them from the car in passing. 

Friday, May 31, 2013

Poetry Friday: Daily Catch


Daily Catch
 
tumble and rattle
gold fish swim through memories
chubby fisted smiles
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, May 24, 2013

Poetry Friday: Wedding White




Wedding White
 
White light glances in
and illuminates love in
women's precision.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
 
We are busy with preparations for the upcoming wedding! 


Friday, May 17, 2013

Poetry Friday: A Glimpse of My Crinoline


A Glimpse of My Crinoline 

Turquoise, aqua tulle,
a sea foam dance swishing and
swirling in my wake. 


Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Friday, May 10, 2013

Poetry Friday: Lupus Laughter

 
Lupus Laughter
 
It's a sunglasses-
party-hat kind of cheer to
laugh away lupus.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013


Friday, May 3, 2013

Poetry Friday: Triangle Dresses


Women stand on strong
legs, on the warm earth, in their
triangle dresses.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
 
I ran across this adorable image marking the women's bathroom in Mexico. 

Monday, April 29, 2013

Living with Lupus: After One Hundred Days


Logo from this blog.


One hundred days for this lupus flare came and went, and I decided not to count any longer. This is my new normal.

The second round of prednisone wasn't effective, but I escaped through the withdrawals and compromised immune system without losing any teeth this time! Yay!

A few weeks back, my husband loaded me into the car at dusk and drove me through the neighborhood to see spring had sprung. It was glorious!

With more research, I discovered I need sunscreen at all times, UV clothing doesn't hurt, and to not trust shade as rays bounce. Here's what I've learned regarding the sun triggering lupus:

UV causes skin cells to express proteins, which attract antibodies, which attract white blood cells, which attack skin cells, which leads to inflammation in skin and internal organs.

That's the gist. I read that often lupus patients flare from October to April. That seems pretty close to what I experienced with a little head start in September. 

I am happy to say the symptoms are still continuing to lessen at a snail's pace. A week or so ago I tried an outing alone and ended up crying in Home Improvement on a couch because I was too sick to get through the checkout line. Today I drove myself to the doctor and back home again without difficulty!

Hopefully, this will be the last lupus update for awhile at On Pointe. Thanks for all your prayers and support. They've meant so much!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Poetry Friday: The Best Medicine



The Best Medicine

By moon and stars, ears
and smiles, they lift me to laugh
above my illness. 


Lorie Ann Grover, 2013

Many thanks to all who have made me laugh during this lupus flare. 

Friday, April 19, 2013

Poetry Friday: Bobbing


Bobbing in bubbles,
warm, soft water buoying
curved rubber smiles.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

#rockthedrop tomorrow!



April 18, 2013, rgz are celebrating Support Teen Literature Day! In addition to dropping YA titles for readers to discover, consider a book donation to 826NYC to help grow their library. Team with Figment, I Heart Daily, Soho Teen, and 826NYC to celebrate YA lit.

 Follow @readergirlz on twitter and tweet #rockthedrop
 
Print out the below bookplate (designed by the super-talented Lindsay Frantz) and drop books in your area on Support Teen Literature Day:

 
Donate books to 826NYC: 
826NYC
attn: Joan Kim
c/o: readergirlz Rock the Drop
372 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
 
Post pics at our facebook of any books you drop or find! That's the skinny. Now get ready to drop!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Poetry Friday: Blink

 
 
Within the orb of
my eye, pulse living stories,
caught between each blink.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
 
Many congratulations to Zondervan for the launch of their new imprint, Blink! I'm thrilled to be onboard!

Monday, April 8, 2013

Living with Lupus: How Very Vampiric


Aha! A quick post to share that I've learned the sun can nab me in the shade and through windows. Artificial light is also a culprit. That said, sunscreen is my new friend, outdoors and indoors, around the clock.

Short trips out at night have been the most successful. How very vampiric, right? You can still see spring in the moonlight. 

Approaching 100 days, I'm finding a normal in the slow climb out of the hole. Strangely, as the lupus gradually loses strength, the rheumatoid increases. I find it easier to function with bone pain in a limited way rather than to be knocked completely flat by my entire body. So, I am encouraged.

With difficulty chewing the jaw specialist recommended:



Pretty clever, huh? He also said this is my new normal. Thankfully, much scrumptious food is soft. Just think of giant marshmallows... Anyway, I've been adapting since October 2012, so this isn't new news. And now I have a cookbook to consult.

Hm. Maybe this not chewing is also vampiric. Just staying in style. Here's hoping I bypass the zombie craze. For sure.

I have a few drug potentials in the arsenal, but having had cancer already once, I'm hoping to avoid them. We'll see what must be done. In the meantime, I'm off to simmer soup, sunscreened.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Poetry Friday: 28 Years


 
28 Years
 
Calendar pages
collected and stored, our
memories, our life.
 
 
Lorie Ann Grover, 2013
 
Reading Viktor Frankl's, Man's Search for Meaning, I was struck by an illustration he offered. Think of your life as a calendar wherein you tear off a page each day. You have the choice to look at the little that is left of the calendar in your hand or you can store each page in a drawer and dwell on those treasured memories. Lovely, yes?
 
Here's to 28 years of marriage memories!