Free Book Giveaway!!!!

Hi everyone,

 

My publisher, Buoy Up Press, and I have a special promotion that only lasts Friday, Feb 24th and Saturday, Feb 25th, 2012. That’s this weekend!

 

Rebekah Redeemed, a part of my Women Of the Bible series is FREE on Kindle. Download for FREE. If you don’t have it yet, this is your chance to get it at no cost to you. Don’t have a Kindle? You can download a free Kindle app onto your computer or laptop and then get your copy of Rebekah Redeemed. The download of the Kindle app only takes a few minutes.

 

Rebekah Redeemed url:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044KM0W8

 

Hope you’ll take advantage of it. Happy reading,

Dianne

For Everything There is A Season

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the beginning of a good year. I haven’t posted for a few weeks because my mother suffered a massive stroke and heart attack. She passed away after being in hospice for a week and went home on Christmas Eve afternoon. The family that was here took Christmas day to just remember our Lord and Savior and why he came. I’m trying to get things going for the new year, but am not going very fast.

I’ll be posting, but may be irregular for a few more weeks. I want to give my blog followers something of value and hope you will hang in there with me while I get back on my feet and writing and posting regularly. Keep on writing. Set some goals for yourself. My critique group met last night for the first time this year and we talked over our writing goals. My publisher wants three more New Testament Women books this year. One member plans to write a chapter a week on his novel in progress. Another has a similar goal of writing every week. One other member wants to polish her novel and pitch it to a publisher and complete a manuscript for another novel this year. Our fifth member wants to complete a business book he is writing and then continue with his novel in progress.

I encourage you to set goals and share them with me and those who read this blog. It is good to encourage each other to meet our goals and work through the writing process together.

Book Lover’s Holiday Giveaway

   Come and join the fun and enjoy all the great gifts. Keep them or give them to those on your Christmas shopping list.

Your Holiday Gift: a free copy of  Rebekah Redeemed or The Fisherman’s Wife

Three Winners Chosen from those who leave comments during the Giveaway Hop  Dec. 2 – 6

Winners Announced on this blog, December 7th, 2011 

Each participating blog is hosting their own giveaway and we’ve all linked up together so you can easily hop from one giveaway to the next.

The rules:
Must be 13 or older to enter
Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm EST, December 6, 2011
One entry per person
Contest open internationally
The winner will be notified by email
Winner will be determine by random number generator
It’s not necessary to follow me for this, but it sure is appreciated!

To keep it simple each site has a limit of entries per person.  To participate go to the list at I Am A Reader and scroll down a few paragraphs to the link list.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

FREE Writers Workshop from Writers on the Move

Title: Creating Great Characters
Presented by: Maggie Ball
Date: December 07, 2011 (Wednesday)
Time: 5:00 – 5:45 PM EST (U.S.)
Format: Live Webinar
Handout: Yes
Cost: Free

Workshop Description:

Think of amazing characters, such as Sherlock Holmes, Scarlett O’Hara (Gone with the Wind), Tarzan, Scout Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird), Peter Pan, Charlotte (Charlotte’s Web), T. S. Garp (The World According to Garp), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), Harry Potter, the list goes on and on.

Characters are at the heart of every great story and every fiction author needs to know how to create good ones. Think temperament, intelligence, appearance, physical characteristics, quirks, moods, mannerisms, and so on. Great characters need to be real, engaging, and motivating; they need to keep the reader reading. They need to touch something in the reader; they need to be remembered.

Join Maggie Ball as she discusses characterization.

To register for “Creating Great Characters” email Maggie Ball at:maggieball@compulsivereader.com

Details to attend the LIVE WEBINAR will be provided upon registration.

There will also be a bonus PDF workshop handout included and registered attendees will receive a recording of the live webinar.

 

For complete details go to:

http://www.writersonthemove.com/p/writers-on-move-workshop.html

 

 These are GREAT workshops by experienced and successful writers.

Tools and Tips: What Every Writer Needs to Know to Go “Pro” NOW AVAILABLE

I’m excited to let everyone know that the print version of my new book, Tools and Tips: What Every Writer Needs to Know to Go “Pro”, is now available on Amazon.com

What are people saying?

“Tools and Tips is full of very useful information. I’ve always been impressed with your organizational and get-the-job-done skills. You did a good job of sharing them. I especially like your do-it-yourself writer’s retreat idea! Congratulations! This is a great addition to your list and I’m sure it will lead to even more inspirational readers for your other works.”

– Patsy Rae Dawson - International marriage consultant, has mentored both husbands and wives for 40 years, award winning author, Certified Public Speaker, publisher, BlogTalk radio host,

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

Even though this year has been challenging for everyone economically, I think we still have many things to be thankful for including the friendships we have with other writers and readers. My hope for everyone is a blessed Christmas season and New Year. 2012 will be a year with more books coming out that I hope you’ll enjoy.

Free Online Writers Workshop

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.writersonthemove.com/p/writers-on-move-workshop.htmlTitle: Create and Sell an Informational Product

Presented by: Karen Cioffi

Date: November 18, 2011

Time: 7PM, EST (U.S. Time)

Workshop Format: Live Online Chat

Handout: Yes

Fee: Free

Workshop Description:

Surely, you’ve all hear by now about informational products. If not, it’s all about creating a product that provides needed or wanted information to others . . . information others will be willing to pay for.

And, it’s not difficult at all.

So, what might be an example of an informational product?

Simple, anything that, again, will provide people with information / knowledge they need or want. Information that will solve a person’s problem or will help them get where they want to be. It might be a report, an e-book, a workshop, you get the idea.

To help you get in the informational product game, Writers on the Move is hosting a workshop presented by Karen Cioffi that will give you the steps you need to get where you want to be: creating and selling informational products.

To register for “Create and Sell an Informational Product” email Karen Cioffi at:

karencioffi [at] ymail.

The workshop is free, but all registrants will be added to the Writers on the Move and the presenter’s mailing list.

Details to the LIVE CHAT will be provided upon registration.

We’ll be offering (at the discretion of the presenter) an After Workshop Package of this workshop for those who didn’t register and would like to purchase it. It’ll include the live chat transcript, the workshop handout, and possibly a podcast. Be sure to Get Yours when it’s available!

More from Pamela S. Meyers – Guest Author

Pam shared some great information about herself and her new book, Thyme for Love, on Thursday. Now she’s back to share a part of her writer’s journey with us.

Q. How do you get your story ideas?

A. There’s an old adage to write what you know. I might add to that, to always keep your eyes and ears open for a possible story line. That first novel I wrote was sparked by something someone said to me when she showed me a picture of my great-grandfather’s grave. My Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin story grew out of wanting to know the history behind the beautiful lakeshore recreational building that has become an icon of the area. Just today a newspaper article sparked an idea I’d like to develop into a proposal.

 

Q. What is your daily writing routine?

A. My best writing time is morning, but I’ve had to make myself work outside the box at times when that kind of schedule doesn’t work. Since I am a morning person, I find it best to set my alarm as if I’m going to work. I get up at 5:30 and spend at least an hour in my Quiet Time with God. Then I try to walk daily for exercise before settling down in my home office to write. I recently converted unused space in my dining are into an office and that has helped tremendously with getting the sense of “going to work.” This helps me stay on task. Too many years actually working Monday through Friday probably contributes to that. On days I have an obligation away from home in the morning, I have had to force myself to be creative in the afternoon and early evening. I think as I start working on deadlines more and more that’s going to be essential.

 

Q. What advice do you have for new authors?

A. Persevere, persevere, and persevere. I started out aspiring to be published in novel writing more than ten years ago. I had the raw ability and desire to write, but that skill had to be trained and honed, much like a young colt has to be trained. I have learned that writers need to develop what we jokingly refer to as rhino skin and also we need a positive teachable attitude. Join critique groups, take writing courses, attend writing conferences where great teaching occurs and you’ll have opportunities to meet with industry professionals and pitch to editors and agents. ACFW has a great yearly conference ever September that is for fiction writers only. I cannot tout ACFW enough. It is a must organization to join for anyone who writes fiction from a Christian point of view.

 

Q. When you aren’t writing, what fills your days?

A. I volunteer at my church in the multicultural ministry, helping Japanese women learn to speak English and lead a women’s small group Bible study. I’m also chapter president of my local ACFW chapter which meets monthly. Also, I enjoy reading (surprise, surprise) and movies. Love to cook and find new ways of making things. You’ll find an adaptation of a recipe someone gave me called Chicken George at the back of Thyme for Love. I loved having April prepare it in the novel, and look forward to experimenting with more recipes for the sequels.

Thanks for coming by this week, Pamela. I hope you’ll come back again when your next book comes out.

New online magazine articles

As an aftermath of the Museonline Writer’s Conference earlier this month, I’m now a member of goodreads.com.,  Shelfari.com, and publishing the first of a series of articles on ghostwriting for Free Fall magazine for writers, and a series of articles on Overcoming Abusive Relationships for Spoken Like A Queen magazine. I hope you’ll book mark these ezines. I’ll let everyone know when the issues are posted.

I’m making progress in the revision of my novel Escape and plan to have the manuscript to the publisher by early November. My Christian fiction novella Rebekah Redeemed manuscript goes to another publisher before the end of November. I also have some anthology stories I’m working on to submit before the end of the year.

Of course, ghostwriting continues. I have projects in various stages for clients in the United States and Canada. I’m enjoying working with them.

I’m also looking at a possible Legacy project by the first of 2009. It’s hectic and I love it.

NaNoWriMo and other things

I’m signed up for NaNoWriMo this year. With everything else I’m working on it may be interesting to try and make some progress on that as well. For those of you who are readers and not writers, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. It takes place each November. People sign up from all over the world and write the first draft of a 50,000 word novel. That comes out to about 1700 words per day if you write every day. It’s a great way to get one done and ready for editing and revisions to submit to a publisher or agent.

I’m also in a group of 29+ writers who are organizing a virtual book tour on our blogs to begin November 15th. These are fun to follow you learn about new writers and new books and we help each other promote everyone’s books. Cool huh? I think so.

I’m 50% finished with the rewrite of my novel Escape, and plan to get it to my publisher by the end of this month.

Election Day

Just when everyone thought election day would never come – it’s here.

Things are coming together for our Virtual Book Tour this month.

I am a hisotry buff and always reflect back on our history. Not that I want to get too political on a writer and reader blog, but this truly is an election for the ages. We’ve broken past barriers with women as major players in the presidential election. We’ve finally crossed racial lines and as of now, it looks like we’re looking at our first black President. I hope to draw on this in my writing.

Rebekah Redeemed

I’m focusing on the manuscript for Rebekah Redeemed for the rest of the week. As the first book in a series of novella’s about little known women in the New Testament, it sets the stage for a young woman to be not only redeemed by a kinsman, but redeemed by the Savior.

If you love to read books like this, then I can recommend Francine Rivers. Her novella’s about the five women God chose who are listed in Jesus’ lineage, first chapter of Matthew. Each of these women were faced with social and spiritual challenges. These books will keep you going until Rebekah Redeemed becomes available.

Good reading!

Reading and Writing

I’m just finishing reading James Patterson’s book The Jester. It is a historical fiction novel about a man who joins the Crusades to gain his family’s freedom. Nothing turns out the way he thought it would and when he returns home things are not how he left them. He becomes a jester so he has access to places a commoner or peasant would ordinarily never obtain. As usuall, Patterson has many twists and turns in the plot.

I sent the manuscript for my Christian fiction novella to the publisher last night. Now back to the revisions on my novel Escape and ghostwriting projects.

Book Contract in the Mail

I’m doing a happy dance today! The publisher who I sent my Christian fiction novella, Rebekah Redeemed, sent me an email today saying that he really like the book and is sending a contract. It will be on the shelves Spring 2009. I almost have whiplash it’s coming together so quickly.

This is the first book of a series called Touched by the Saviour.

Speaking of book contracts

I’m still working on my novel revision for another publisher. Then, we will be looking at a contract agreement for my suspense novel, Escape.

Also, if you want to know what I like to read, go to shelfari.com or goodreads.com

My first guest for our Virtual Book Tour

I want to introduce you to John F. Murray. You’ll be learning more about him and his book for the next several days. He has a great new book out Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game.

                                                          

Tennis Europe Feature

Front Page of the Boca Raton

News

BioFile by Scoop Malinowski

Detroit Free Press Profile

Sports Illustrated Feature

 

Sports psychology is a great source of inspiration, and I love helping people

improve, whether in a clinical situation calling for psychotherapy, stress

management or better life adjustment, or a performance situation where the

goal is to compete better and win more in business or sports. As far as

sports, I was lucky to grow up in South Florida in the early 70s, and my passion

intensified listening to Don Shula’s wisdom as legendary coach of the Miami

Dolphins. My dream at age 10 was to bat 4th for the Yankees and quarterback

the Miami Dolphins to a Super Bowl win. Dreams have become reality as I’ve

coached and played tennis worldwide, worked with many pro athletes and teams

as a sport performance psychologist, helped NFL quarterbacks overcome

slumps, coached tennis at major tournaments like the Australian Open, trained

athletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and developed a unique

system for including mental performance in the scoring of a football game – the

Mental Performance Index or MPI – that has almost perfectly estimated the

relative performance of teams in the past 6 Super Bowls. I’m absolutely

convinced that solid mental training is a necessary and huge key to success, and

an often-overlooked advantage. If you just want to cope better with life, a family

situation or a relationship, psychology can help too, and the performance

psychology focus is an extremely positive approach and quest for more success

that many enjoy.

 

Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game.

More about John F. Murray, PhD. and his new book

I recommend  Dr. John F. Murray’s new book:

 

Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game

 

(Smart Sport Series)

Media: Paperback Book, 272 pages

Publisher: Jossey-Bass (March 03, 1999)

Edition: 1

ISBN-10: 0787943800

ISBN-13: 9780787943806

Dimensions: 4.96 x 6.77 x 0.87 inches

Shipping Weight: 0.53 lbs

Available at major bookstores and online at Amazon.com and other stores.

 

Book Description

“The game with yourself is often tougher than the battle against any opponent.

Smart Tennis shows you how to win the inner match while having fun along the

way.”

–Lindsay Davenport, world’s #1 ranked player for 1998

 

Become a More Competent-and Confident-Tennis Player – Smart Tennis is the

secret weapon that tucks right into your tennis bag. Apply these proven

principles of sport psychology to your game and gain a winning advantage both

on and off the courts.

“Smart Tennis is a must for players at all levels-from beginners to Wimbledon

champions! An outstanding book for understanding and improving your mental

game.”

–Vic Braden, tennis telecaster and researcher

 

“If you ever want to use the title of this book to describe how you played your last

match, then Smart Tennis is for you.”

–David Higdon, senior writer, Tennis Magazine

 

“This is an excellent book of psychological skills that can be immediately applied

on the tennis court.”–E. Paul Roetert, Ph.D., Administration of Sports

Science, United States Tennis Association

 

 

 

 

My Guest Deborah Ramos

Welcome to my guest author, Deborah Ramos

Deborah Ramos enjoying a sunny day in Seattle

 

 

 

 

Thank you for being with me this week Deborah. You are a talented writer that offers good reading for children of all ages. Tell me a little about yourself.

 

I’m a mother, grandmother, teacher and animal lover – including a pet snake. I’ve always loved words and combinations of words.

 

What is your favorite word combination?

 

I love collective nouns. I think the most interesting one is an Escargatoire of Snails. I imagine a little snail party crawling in circles on a plate. I love a Pandemonium of Parrots; can’t you just hear them squawking in the trees? What an image that conjures up.

 

What got you started in writing about collective nouns?

 

I was writing a story about Africa, and in my research, I found a website that listed animals in alphabetical order, along with their group name. It sparked an interest, and I dug deeper. Group names can bring to mind such interesting images, such as a prickling of porcupines; you can almost FEEL those, pokey, prickly quills.

 

Do you have a lot of pets at home?

 

I’ve always had pets growing up. And I have quite a collection now. I have two cats, two noisy parakeets, a variety of tropical fish, and a ball python named Mercury. Mercury sheds his skin and donates it to my art projects.

 

 

Thanks for coming today, Deborah. I look forward to chatting with you on Wednesday about your works in progress and your upcoming release in 2009.

 

Thanks for having me.

More fun with Deborah Ramos

Deborah Ramos has a great imagination and finds inspiration many places. She doesn’t seem to suffer from the dreaded writer’s block. Just where do all those ideas come from?

 

I find inspiration in the usual places… my pets, my kids, my granddaughter, my students, nature, places I’ve been, places I want to visit.  Most of my stories begin with a true event, and then my imagination takes it from there.

 

Writers are usually readers as well. Have you always loved to read?

 

When I was growing up, Little Lulu comic books were my favorite stories. On rainy days, or when I was home sick from school, I’d get comfy under my blankets, and read my Little Lulu comics. The Secret Garden was my favorite book. My fifth grade teacher read it out loud to the class. She gave characters accents and read with such expression, that it left a lasting impression on me. As a teenager, I didn’t read much. I found the classics boring, but Edgar Allen Poe fascinated me. 

 

What are your current works in progress?

 

I have works in progress I need to finish and stories I need to polish up. I have new ideas that need to be put on paper before I forget. I’m also working on two poetry chapbooks.

 

 

One more question. Since you love collective nouns, using them, how would you describe your readers?

 

How about a Brigade of Bookworms.

 

Thank you so much for being with me this week Deborah. I look forward to hearing more from you. I’ll be checking in with your blog and website to see what’s new. I invite everyone to keep your eyes open for an upcoming book in 2009.

 

Thank you for having me, Dianne. You can find out more at me websites:

www.aarmoryofaardvarks.com

www.stormymoon.wordpress.com

Signed Book Contract

Well, the book contract for Rebekah Redeemed is signed and in the mail!! I can hardly wait for the release after the first of the year. I’m working away on my marketing plan fine points – planning to put it in the Virtual Book Tour and network, network, network.

I had a great Thanksgiving last week with most of our family and have been working away on my other writing projects and ghostwriting. Never a dull moment.

Christmas is Coming

This is my favorite time of year. I love the music, concerts, The Nutcracker, baking and sharing with our neighbors, and celebrating our Savior’s birth. I was in a pageant, 300-400 people involved performing, for a couple of years and it really made Christmas a wonderful experience. The pageant was free to anyone who wanted to come. On the night of the final dress rehearsal, we used to invite the homeless to come and watch so they didn’t have to have tickets. Tickets were free for the regular performances (six in all) but were distributed through the church and we were able to share it with the homeless that night for who ever was around and came.

It gave me an amazing feeling to know that we gave the pageant and the Christmas message of love and hope to those who wanted to come. Even though the pageant is no longer performed, now I need to try to share that same feeling with everyone around me and those in our community. I invite everyone to do something special for someone else anonymously just like others have done for me in the past and have probably done for you.

It’s only about two and a half weeks to Christmas. I wish you all a joyous season and the love of Christ in your lives.

Happy writing and reading to you all.

Reading and Writing

As a reader, I’m always looking for a new author and love to find a series where I can really follow characters. When I finish a series, it’s like leaving a friend behind and I miss them.

As a writer, I’m challenged to create characters that will do the same for my readers. I try to analyze characters from my favorite books and become aware of plotting as I read, but the best books just pull me in and I forget to analyze as I go. If anyone else has that challenge, then I think a good solution is for us to be a reader first and then go back through the book and figure out what it is that captivates us, keeps us turning pages, and fall in love with a character. I challenge other writers to do that with their next book and come back and let me know what you think.

Welcome to Shelagh Watkins

 

Thank you for reading this blog entry! This is the thirteenth post on the Forever Friends blog tour. If you are following the tour, you will find this post a little different to the previous twelve blog posts. If this is your first visit, welcome to the tour. Today’s post is a slight diversion from the rest of the tour because Dianne is the only blog host on the tour who is not a contributor to the anthology, Forever Friends. Dianne has asked some questions that are different from the previous questions asked by contributors to the book. 

Before I answer Dianne’s questions, I would like to give Dianne’s regular blog readers a chance to learn more about the anthology. The first review of Forever Friends was written by Linda Waterson for Apex Reviews:

“Love is only temporary…but friends are forever.” Kelly Wheeler

This quote, which opens the moving new anthology Forever Friends, is a perfect summation of the contents to which readers will be treated inside. Edited by Shelagh Watkins, administrator of PublishedAuthors.org, Forever Friends offers a poignant, profound – and oftentimes amusing – look into the various layers of friendship, as well as those who explore them. Featuring poems, short stories, and commentary from authors all over the globe, the anthology serves as a stark reminder that, though we may differ in our cultural approaches to relationships, the emotions with which we experience them are quite universal.

Compiled in various sections, ranging from “Family Friends” to “Lost Friends” to “False Friends” to “Spiritual Friends,” the literary offerings contained therein just as equally travel the full spectrum of friendship, covering all imaginable ground in-between. There is reminiscing over childhood heroes, protectors of the four-legged ilk, and gracious musings over friends who were – quite literally – lifesavers. There are also poems that wish for the spreading of global goodwill, as well as verses rendered in homage to friends that are gone, but not forgotten. For added contextual flavor, preceding each section is an insightful blurb helping to foster within the reader a greater understanding of what that particular facet of friendship is really all about. Consider, for example, this literary jewel that precedes the “False Friends” section:

“False friends are like our shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us the instant we cross into the shade.” Christian Nestell Bovee

Among its numerous virtues, perhaps the most salient aspect of Forever Friends is its ability to communicate universal truths about life, love, and the frailties of the human heart in such a realistic way that the reader does not have to have experienced the specific episodes recounted within its pages; the passion and inspired delivery of each contributing author provides the reader with the benefit of a vicarious ride through the depths of their seasoned souls. Such an ability does not come easily, and it speaks volumes of Editor Shelagh Watkins’ innate sense of discernment to have selected such an eclectic mix of talented authors with the skill to pull it off.

An engaging and appealing read, Forever Friends will surely move the hearts and minds of readers of all ages, guaranteeing that you’ll see the world around you – and even yourself – in a different light by the turning of the final page.
Official Apex Reviews Rating:

The review motivated me to write the posts for the blog tour with the added reassurance that I was right to say what a wonderful book this is and that anyone who bought the book would not be disappointed!

Now to Dianne’s questions!

What kind of writing do you do?

My first novel, The Power of Persuasion, is a work of literary fiction. I wrote the novel ten years ago but it remained unpublished until this year. I set up Mandinam Press in January to publish the novel, which is currently on the list for Wales Book of the Year. Mandinam Press also published the anthology, Forever Friends in October this year. I write poems and short stories, some of which have been published in anthologies and my first children’s book, Mr. Planemaker’s Flying Machine, was published in 2005. The novel is currently being considered for serialization by local radio but it is in the early stages of development.

What are your favorite genre to read?

I am very fond of classical literature, Jane Austen in particular but I read quite a range of books. I prefer fiction to non-fiction but I enjoy the occasional biography and books about science, space and discovery. One of my neighbours in Scotland asked me on numerous occasions to read books, which she had received as gifts or recommendations, before she did. She said that she knew I would read the books to the very end … and I always did!

If you could recommend one book to take on a desert island, what would it be?
It would have to be Forever Friends!

When you not writing or reading, what do you like to do?

I like computing, I have a diploma in Information Technology from the University of Glasgow. I enjoy using the computer to design things as well as using it as a writing tool. I like to paint and draw but I don’t seem to find much time these days for either … and then there’s the garden! Did I mention golf? Oh, I don’t have time to play golf these days … 

I would like to thank Dianne for inviting me to her blog and giving me the opportunity to talk about Forever Friends, which is available now from all major online stores,

including amazon.com: Forever Friends

and barnesandnoble.com: Forever Friends

Thanks again for reading this and best wishes for the holiday season!

Shelagh Watkins

Please follow the tour to learn more about the book.

Blog Tour

December 1 Chelle Cordero
December 2 Zada Connaway
December 3 Mary Muhammad
December 4 Helen Wisocki
December 5 Pam Robertson
December 6 Dick Stodghill
December 7 Philip Spires
December 8 Milena Gomez
December 9 L. Sue Durkin
December 10 A. Ahad
December 11 Malcolm R. Campbell
December 12 Lynn C. Johnston
December 13 Dianne Sagan
December 14 Donald James Parker
December 15 Karina Kantas
December 16 Grace Bridges
December 17 Tiziana Rinaldi Castro
December 18 Yvonne Oots
December 19 Dana Rettig

Welcome to my blog, Joyce Anthony

I’m glad to have you with me this week. Tell us a little about yourself, Joyce.

I live in Pennsylvania with my teenaged son and what she calls a mini-zoo. I’m a freelance writer and editor.

When you’re not writing or editing, what do you do? 

I’m a homeschooling mother, photographer, genealogist, animal advocate and psychologist.  I also answer questions as an “expert” on bipolar disorder at AllExperts.com. Along with that I’m currently working on two additional blogs–one for bipolar disorder and one for Asperger’s Syndrome.

Can you give us a taste of what your writing career is doing now that we’re looking at a new year in a few weeks?

I’m the author of Storm, a spiritual fantasy and two books to be released in 2009:  Spirit of the Stallion and Shattered Rainbow. She answers questions as an “expert” on bipolar disorder at AllExperts.com and is currently working on two additional blogs–one for bipolar disorder and one for Asperger’s Syndrome.

I hear that you have a book trailer for your book Storm. Are going to get to preview it this week?

Oh, yes. I’m looking forward to posting it here on your blog on Wednesday.

Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but that certainly wets my appetitie for see Joyce’s trailer on Wednesday and learning more about Storm. Thanks for being with me today, Joyce.
Blurb:

Who he is and why he’s here is a mystery even to Storm-a mystery that can only be answered within the whirling rainbow. His search puts him in touch with many of society’s forgotten people; he changes their lives and heals their souls. When he finds the answer to his identity, the world is changed forever.  You’ll aske yourself:  Is it only a fantasy–or is it real?

Christmas books

I’ve noticed more Christmas themed books in fiction over the past couple of years. Debbie Macomber and Janet Evanovich are two authors in particular I’ve read. What fun to write a book in part of a series that focuses on the Christmas season. I hope to join that group of authors who write with my favorite season in mind in 2009 along with my other books.

I’d love to hear from any of you about what books you’re reading this Christmas season.

Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

New Year Expectations

Hope everyone had a wonderful and joyous Christmas. I’m looking forward to the New Year 2009 with a new book coming out, Rebekah Redeemed, and other book deals in the near future.

I continue to ghostwrite and look forward to beginning projects with a new Legacy line of ghostwritten books open to clients. It isn’t your usual family scrapbook or memoir, it is a way to leave behind what you’d really like to pass on to your family and friends – what you’ve learned, your favorite experience, then and now, the things you love, business and personal, spiritual and temporal. Each one is a negotiated price for the ghostwritten book. You can find out more at my website Dianne Sagan – Writer.

I wish all you writers and readers a Happy and prosperous New Year.

Come back on January 2nd and meet another great writer. The Virtual Book Tour guests continue.

Happy New Year – 2009

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone has had a great holiday season and that 2009 will be a great year for all of you readers and writers alike.

Tomorrow I’ll have a new author guest. Come back and see who and what great reading you can include in your list of things to read for 2009.

Also, later this month, watch for release information for my Christian fiction novella, Rebekah Redeemed.

New Year’s Goals

In a discussion about New Year’s resolutions, I challenged people in one of my online groups to post goals for 2009.

1. Publish my novel by the end of the year, working title “Escape.”

2. Gain expert status on at least one article bank site.

3. Sell 20,000 copies of Rebekah Redeemed this year.

4. Continue ghostwriting and write at least two Legacy projects.

5. Expand speaking career for writer’s groups and presenter at writing conferences to at least five this year.

6. Write and publishe novella, “The Fisherman’s Life”

Welcome to my guest, Elysabeth Elderling

I’m happy to have author and world traveler, Elysabeth Elderling, visiting this week.

Thanks for having me.

How did you get interested in geography and traveling?

I was raised in a military family so we moved around. I think it was a great experience to be able to see different countries in the world.

Has it helped you in your writing?

Yes, I’ve put my experiences to work in the Junior Geography Detective Squad’s 50-state mystery trivia series.

I enjoy geography, too. Can you tell us more about this trivia series?

The series made its debut in summer 2008 with State of Wilderness. The Junior Geography Detective Squad will continue to put their mystery-solving talents to work in each state, challenging young readers on their knowledge of the nation’s geography and interesting facts about each state.

State of Wilderness, book 1 in the

Junior Geography Detective Squad, 50-state, mystery,

trivia series:

Title: State of Wilderness,

book 1 of 50 in the Junior Geography Detective Squad,

50-state, mystery, trivia series.

Author: Elysabeth Eldering

Illustrator: Aidana WillowRaven

Category: Middle grade readers

ISBN 10: 0-979751357

ISBN 13: 978-0979751356

Pub Date: July 2008

Price: $10.99

Pages: 100

Type: Paperback, perfect binding.

Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC

Language: English

Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces

Web site: http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com

I look forward to chatting with you again on Monday and can’t wait to hear more about your writing projects and books.

Thanks for having me, Dianne.

State of Wilderness by Elysabeth Eldering

I hope you will enjoy this great book review for Elysabeth Eldering’s great book. I just love geography, myself. This is a good book for my grandson or if you have kids or are a teacher.

BOOK REVIEW

STORIES FOR CHILDREN MAGAZINE

BOOK: State of Wilderness

AUTHOR: Elysabeth Eldering

ILLUSTRATOR: Aidana WillowRaven

PUBLISHER: 4RV Publishing LLC (2008)

ISBN-13: 978-0-9797513-5-6

ISBN-10: 0-9797513-5-7

READING LEVEL: Grades 5-6

RATING: 5 stars

REVIEWED BY: Wayne Walker

Geography was one of my favorite subjects in school. Even at home as a child, on a rainy day I could spend hours of delight with an atlas or a set of encyclopedias in which I could read about different places. I still enjoy learning about various countries, states, and other localities on earth. The study of geography can be dreary and boring when reduced to rote memorization of nations, capitals, and such information. However, it can also be fun, as this first book in the “Junior Geography Detective Squad 50 States Mystery Trivia Series” shows. This novel presentation of geographical facts about the United States is a fascinating way to reinforce geographical awareness, something that studies show is sorely lacking in our children’s education.

Matt Patterson is almost thirteen and likes to hang out with his friend Guy Lombard. They enjoy not only skateboarding and video games but also geography. Matt’s eleven year old sister Mary Beth also joins Matt and Guy. Matt’s mother has given him a new hand-held geography game that has both a screen and a voice. It gives a set of clues, going from obscure to more well-known, about one of the fifty states. As Matt, Guy, and Mary Beth ponder the clues and try to guess the state, the reader moves along with them and can try his own hand at determining which state is being described. As the “Junior Geography Detective Squad” passes through the fifty states of the series, there are also “bonus clues” about one of the five territories which are part of the United States.

People like me who enjoy geography and trivia buffs in general will really like this book. However, it should especially appeal to middle school aged students whose lives revolve around video games. Take a break from the computer or pod for a few minutes and read a book that will be both fun and educational. It is well written and the drawings by Aidana WillowRaven help the reader visualize what the “Junior Geography Detective Squad” is seeing. When I received my copy and began to look over it, I found it so interesting that I finished it in one sitting. I guessed the state by Clue #4, but if you cannot guess it by Clue #25, you need to brush up on your U. S. geography! And if you want to know what those clues are, you will need to get the book. I look forward to further volumes in the series.

Related website: http://4rvpublishingllc.com

http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com –

sign up for newsletter to be informed of the series and events going on around the different states

Rebekah Redeemed Release

Beginning January 16, 2009 you can purchase your copy of Rebekah Redeemed at AWOC.Com Publishing or on Amazon.com.

Can Rebekah forgive those who have abused and neglected her? Is there anyone who can redeem her from servitude? Can she be cleansed and change her life? Who is this Nazarene?

Check it out!!

For your reading pleasure you can now get your own copy of Rebekah Redeemed at the publisher awoc.com or on amazon.com.

My first book signing is Saturday, January 17th, 2009 in Denton, Texas, at The Hydrant Cafe, 208 W. Oak (just a block off the square). Everyone is invited if you’re in the area.

I have several people reading and reviewing the book for me as I write this and those reviews will be posted here, as well as amazon and other websites.

Book signings in Amarillo and the area will be sceduled soon. I’ll keep everyone informed about when and where.

What’s in this for the reader? A novella that is a quick read and keeps you going throughout the story. It is a story of overcoming your past and redemption that is there for all of us if we want it.  Get a copy and see what happens to Rebekah.

You’re Invited!!!

Book signing and Reading by the Author

Rebekah Redeemed

Dianne G. Sagan

When:  Saturday, Jan 17, 2009

1:00pm – 3:00pm

Where: The Hydrant Cafe

208 W. Oak

(one block off the square)

Denton, Texas

Ransom Nobel – Guest Author

I want to welcome Ransom Noble to my blog as a guest author. What a smart lady you are Ransom. I don’t know about other women (especially Baby Boomers, which I am) but I love to see women succeed in life and Ransom is one of those great women.

Tell us a little about yourself, Ransom.

I love reading and writing. I can’t remember when it began, but I’ve always loved the written word from both positions. . I know I started making up stories around 1 year old, because we got a TV around that time. Mom would catch me watching it (when it was off) and asked me what I was doing. Apparently I told her it was more fun to watch when it was off because I was making up my own shows. I also enjoy movies and playing games with my husband and our friends.

Is it true that you are an engineer?

Yes, I earned an engineering degree at University of Iowa in Iowa City.

I think that’s great. So much for the old adage that women aren’t good in sciences and engineering. You are a great example to other writers and women. Tell me about your books.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Anthology: Ruins Metropolis, by Hadley Rille books
Upcoming: The Art of Science, YA novel by 4RV Publishing, LLC.

I’ll be watching for your upcoming book. How do you find time to write?

When I got out of college, I took a couple correspondence courses because I wanted to learn more and give myself an excuse to write, but work often made me too tired to do it on my own. Still, I finished my first novel while working as well as several short stories and some unfinished novels. Now I write full-time, as well as being a stay at home soon to be mom.

Congratulations, Ransom. Can you tell us where to find more information about you?

You can find me at www.ransomnoble.wordpress.com

Thank you for coming over to my blog today.

I’d like to invite everyone back tomorrow for more insight into Ransom and her writing.
Thanks for being here, Ransom.

Thanks for having me, Dianne.

What a Week it has been!

My first book signing for Rebekah Redeemed went well. We learned a lot and had a great time. Not a big crowd, but several people came on a very busy day for many. I sold more books than some do at a first signing and was very happy.

My daughter made a fabulous book trailer that I’ll be loading soon for everyone to see. We have a couple of things to tweak, but it made me cry when she showed it to me. She really captured the essence of the story. Can’t wait to share it with everyone.

Rebekah Redeemed can be purchased from awoc.com directly from the publisher, from amazon.com or at Barnes & Nobel. I have a couple of reviews up on amazon. Hope you’ll stop by and see them and order a book.

My next novella is a story about Simon Peter’s wife and what it must have been like to be married to him. What affect would Jesus  calling  her husband as an apostle have on her? What was her life like before and after?

I’m also planning a story about the woman at the well and what happened to her after she met Jesus.

What do we know about John and James mother? We know she asked Jesus to elevate her sons, but what else do we know? what was her life like? Her husband Zebedee and her sons were fishermen. How did her life change?

Another story idea I had is about a fictitious Egyptian woman who helps Mary and Joseph when they flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath. What was it like for Mary raising her little boy, Jesus, for the years they lived in Egypt and how did they affect the people close to them? I love the ‘what if’ questions. That question keeps me full of new ideas.

I’m interested in your thoughts about these subjects. Feel free to leave comments on these and other women of the Bible we don’t know much about.

Have a great weekend everyone! Good writing. Good reading.

Please help me welcome Margaret Fieland, guest writer

I want to welcome Margaret Fieland to my blog this week. Her friends call her Peggy.

She is a native New Yorker who has lived around art and culture her whole life, not only because she lived in one of the greatest cities for art, music, writers, theater, and museums, but because of the influences in her life.

I guess you’ve always loved music?

My father was a musician and I’ve enjoyed playing the flute and piccolo for years.

That’s great. I played the flute myself through school, but have always admired talented people like you who are accomplished players. Tell us about what you’re currently doing.

I moved from New York and live in the suburbs of Boston, MA. I write poetry, articles, and stories. Some of them have appeared in journals and anthologies, including Main Channel Voices, Echolocation, and Twisted Tongue. I’m currently working on a book.

Do you write full-time?

No, I really enjoy the time I spend writing, but I’m a computer software engineer.

I’m so glad to have you this week. I look forward to sharing more about you and your writing tomorrow – Tuesday, February 3.

Thanks, Dianne. I’ll bring a sample from my book “The Ugly Little Boy”.

You can learn more about this talented lady at her website http://www.margaretfieland.com

Writing Conferences

This past weekend I attended an American Christian Writers Conference in Dallas, Texas. It was the best conference I think I’ve been to, to-date. The presenters were Chip MacGregor, Dennis Hensley, and Frank Ball. Each one of them had something of value for every writer in the room no matter if you were a beginner or a multi-published author. It was amazing.

I would recommend any ACW conference to writers who are Christian or secular to go to one of these in your area. It is focused on Christain writers and that market, which is growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years. I learned about the trends in the Christian market and attended an all day fiction writing workshop on the Friday with Dennis Hensley.

I write both nonfiction and fiction so it was a tough decision to decide, but Dennis gave us tips for making our fiction better and our characters more believable. I’ll be sharing some of the gems I picked up at the conference with my writing followers this next week. I hope you’ll come back.

Tips From the ACW conference

For many people, this week is Spring Break and they are off camping or to the beach or visiting family and friends. I on the other hand am focusing on ghostwriting, always reading a good book – Twelve Ordinary Men – and filing away my conference notes after reviewing them. I promised some tips and here they are:

1. Be healthy when you write. Use an ergonomic keyboard. It is the one where the keys are split down the middle and you can type in a much more natural position. It can keep you from getting carpal tunnel or other repetitive motion injuries. In addition, take a break at least for five minutes every hour away from the keyboard. Get a chair that helps you avoid back pain. There are ergonomic chairs available. Set your keyboard at a height that your elbows are at a 90% angle if at all possible. That puts less pressure on your neck and shoulders as well as your wrists and arms. Your screen needs to be set on a level so that you don’t have to hunch over or stretch to see clearly. You should be able to look straight ahead.

2. Treat your writing like a business. If you treat it like you do an office job downtown, then other people will too. Set work hours and don’t let people take up your time because they think you aren’t doing anything because you’re at home. If you don’t respect your time, then no one else will either. Sometimes the hardest part is getting your family to understand you are working.

3. Join writers organizations and attend conferences because you will meet other writers. You can learn from each other. Writing is a solitary endeavor and it helps to talk with other writers. Network with other writers. Join a critique group that can help you hone your writing skills.

4. Write what you know and what interests you. Write everyday and enjoy yourself.  If you don’t know what to write, then keep a notebook or computer file that is just for free-writing. Free-writing is taking a minimum of 10 minutes to write anything that crosses your mind. You can even write disconnected thoughts to start. It gets your brain working and gets you unstuck.

5. Most of all submit your writing. If you never submit anything, then you’ll never get published. Submit. Submit. Submit.

Have a great week and enjoy yourself!

Blizzards and Daffodils

In West Texas we had a blizzard last Friday and today the snow is long gone and my daffodils are getting ready to bloom. Ah, Spring!

Hope Spring brings to mind new books and stories to write or read. When the weather warms up, my favorite thing to do is take a book out on the swing in my back yard under a huge Mulberry tree.

You can now order Rebekah Redeemed directly from a link in the right hand column of this page.

I’m finishing up a final draft on a ghostwriting project this week. Then, focus turns to my next book. One in the works – first draft in progress. Another waiting to hear from the publisher. Two others in research.

I brought a lot of new books home with me from the Christian Book Expo in Dallas a week ago. What an awesome and fun experience. Now that I”ve rearranged my book shelves to accomodate them I need to decide which one to read first. I have autographed books from Max Lucado, Jerry Jenkins, Jennifer Rothschild, Elizabeth George and others.

Happy reading and writing!

Come back Wednesday for another guest author  – Carolyn Howard Johnson.

Welcome my guest – Carolyn Howard Johnson

I’m very excited to have Carolyn with me this week as a part of the virtual book tour.

For a taste of what Carolyn writes, check out this list of her books. The are awesome resources for any and all level of writers.

For: The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won’t
ISBN: 193299310X       Star Publish    Awards: Winner USA Book News, Irwin Award  $17.95 but discounted at:: http://www.amazon.com/Frugal-Book-Promoter-What-Publisher/dp/193299310X/

For only a few cents a day The Frugal Book Promoter assures your book the best possible start in life. Full of nitty – gritty how – tos for getting nearly-free publicity, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, an instructor for UCLA’s Writers’ Program, shares her professional experience as well as practical tips gleaned from the successes of her own book campaigns. She tells authors how to do what their publishers can’t or won’t and why authors can often do their own promotion better than a PR professional.

A recommendation from BarnesandNobel.com: Feather Schwartz Foster, an author, September 9, 2004,  

Packed With Wonderful Information!  For anyone who has written a book of any kind – this is a must-have, and must-keep guide! Every chapter is filled with insights and how-tos and a whole bunch of where to finds!
———

For: The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success
ISBN: 9780978515874.  Red Engine Press.  Awards: Winner USA Book News, Reader Views Literary Award, New Generation Marketing Award   $18.95        To Order:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870/ 

There are gremlins out there determined to keep your work from being published, your book from being promoted. They — resolved to embarrass you before the gatekeepers who can turn the key of success for you — lurk in your subconscious and the depths of your computer programs. Whether you are a new or experienced author, The Frugal Editor will help you present whistle-clean copy (whether it’s a one-page cover letter or your entire manuscript) to those who have the power to say “Yea” or “Nay.”

—-
For: The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less
ISBN: B000YG6O5U      Publisher, Amazon  $0.49 (or 49c!)  To Order:   www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YG6O5U/ref=cm_arms_pdp_dp  

The perfect learning experience for those who want to learn to wow an editor in no time flat and only 49 cents out-of-pocket!

Thanks for coming Carolyn. I hope everyone will come back on Friday to learn some more about you and your books.

Why you need to get Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s “Frugal” books

I want to welcome Carolyn back today, as well as our visitors. I hope you all will become followers so you can learn about other authors and great books to read. You never know who you might see featured on my blog.

Carolyn has made a difference for writers everywhere – all steps of the writing career. Her savy information is invaluable. Here are some people whose endorsements make you want to run out and buy all of Carolyn’s books if you don’t already have them.

“Fruga” is a Herculean accomplishment! There’s something here for everybody, and it’s essential for new authors. – Rolf Gompertz, former publicist for NBC, author and speaker.

” . . . about 12 months ago, I began to read about do-it-yourself book publicity. One of the best books I came across was The Frugal Book Promoter: How to do what your publisher won’t by Carolyn Howard-Johnson. If you’re looking for ‘nitty-gritty how-tos for getting nearly free publicity,’ this is the book for you. ” – Tim Bete, Director, Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, Dayton University

My success with promotion is all because of what I call the “Carolyn Factor.” What’s the “Carolyn Factor”, you ask? Well, whenever I have doubts about doing/writing/promoting/putting myself out there – I think about what you would say to me. You would show me how to do it and then, to borrow from Nike . . . you would say, “Just do it” . . . and then I do. – Leora G. Krygier, author.

It’s been great to have Carolyn Howard-Johnson with me this week.

Speaking at Inspirational Writers Alive

If anyone is in the area, then come on over to the monthly meeting of Inspirational Writers Alive. They meet on the second Thursday every month at Kingswood United Methodist Church, 4801 S. Austin, Amarillo, TX. The meeting starts at 7:oopm. It always includes time for reading and critiques for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry as well.

I’ll be the program speaker – Finding Balance: Time Management for the Productive Writer. Then, afterwards, I’ll be doing a book signing for my novella Rebekah Redeemed.

My Guest – Virginia S. Grenier – What a Talented Author and Editor

I am so delighted to have Virginia visiting my blog this week. She is a talented children’s author and the founder and editor-in-chief of Stories For Children Magazine (ezine). Her awards include: was voted one of the Top Ten Editors in the Preditors and Editors Reader Poll 2007 & 2008. Her works include the Best of Stories for Children Magazine Volume 1 anthology and over 30 short stories, articles, and crafts for children along with newsletter articles for writers. She also won second place for her article, “Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus” in the Preditors and Editors Reader Poll 2007 for Best Nonfiction of 2007 and won 7^th place for her article, “Dinosaurs Tracks in My Backyard” in the Preditors and Editors Reader Poll 2008 for Best Nonfiction of 2008.

Wow! That is great, Virginia. How can people contact you.

I can be reached at: VSGrenier@storiesforchildrenmagazine.org and invite people to visit my website, too, at Children and Teen Author http://vsgrenier.com.

Virginia you are involved in Musing our Children. Can you tell us what this is and a little about it?

 

Musing Our Children is about sharing what we care about in the way of ideas and values with children. After all, one idea can change the world if everyone chooses to stand behind it. One idea can make our world a better place and enhance the lives of children everywhere! The goals of Musing Our Children: to reach around the globe visiting schools and to offer free handouts and information to everyone who would like to be involved in helping children and parents understand the value of reading and writing.

Each year during Reading and Writing Appreciation Week, Writers and Illustrators will be setting appointments to read and/or talk to students about what it means to be a writer or illustrator from the elementary to high school levels. This year it will be May 4^th – 8^th, 2009.

Thanks for being with me today, and I look forward to visiting with you again next Monday, May 4^th.

More with Virginia S. Grenier

Virginia, glad to have you back with us today. I want to share your book with everyone.

 

      What great fun! I’ll bet that some of your readers are parents who enjoyed magazines specially for children with great stories like yours. It is a part of childhood that every child should enjoy.

Virginia shares a review of her book that will have everyone putting it on their list of books to get for their children or grandchildren. Even if you missed previous issues of the magazine, you’ll get the best in this book.

Best of Stories for Children volume 1 Review by Penny Ehrenkranz

The Best of Stories for Children Magazine, Volume 1, is a tribute to the quality of stories found on a monthly basis. Within these pages, readers will find a combination of thirty-two stories, poems, articles, and crafts by leading children’s authors.

The book is divided into two sections with stories culled from the past year’s issues. There are sixteen pieces taken from the spring and summer issues and an additional sixteen from the fall and winter. There is something from everyone from the early reader rebus, “Hungry Helper,” by Lisa Lowe Stauffer (artwork provided by Steve Cartwright) which starts off the book to informative non-fiction articles for older readers such as, “Magnificent Totem Poles,” by Randi Lynn Mrvos and “Sticks and Stones Won’t Break My Bones,” by Nidhi Kamra a story about calcium. Also included are colorfully illustrated poems such as “Topsy
Turvy Tour,” by Donna J. Shepard (illustrated by Kevin Scott Collier), and “Sail Away,” by Carol Crowley (artwork provided by Candace J. Hardy).

Holiday themes are touched on with stories about Halloween, “The Pumpkin Festival Mystery,” by, Mary LaFleur Langdon (illustrated by Steve Cartwright), Eid Al-Adha, “Anisah Celebrates EID AL-ADHA,” by Gayle Jacobson-Huset, (with Arabic language help from Dara Becker and illustrated by Candace J. Hardy), and Christmas, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!” by V.S. Grenier.

In Volume 1, you will find recipes for cornbread, chicken salad, “magic” reindeer food, and fun to make Christmas tree treats which are easily made from items such as Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (miniatures) Rolos and Hershey’s Kisses. Also included are directions for making non-toxic finger paint.

According to VS Grenier, founder and Editor-in-Chief, Best of Stories for Children Magazine, Volume 1, “titles picked for the anthology are based off new visits to the site page, so they are picked by the readers. We don’t look at repeat visits only the first time visits, and the page only logs it as a first visit if the reader is on the page for more then 2 minutes.” This guarantees the stories you will find are the ones most read by children and their parents.

You can purchase your copy at http://www.lulu.com/content/4892856for $26.95 as a paperback or download for $5.00.

Virginia, I wish you the best of luck with your magazine and your books. I’ll be getting one for my own grandchildren.

Book Signing at Mardel Christian & Educational Supply

It has been a demanding and crazy three weeks with my Dad’s stroke and short decline, funeral, and breaking my foot — however — the book signing is still on for this coming Saturday, May 23rd at Mardel in the Western Crossings shopping center at I-40 and Western, Amarillo, Texas. It is from 11am – 2pm. I hope you’ll be able to come. I’d greatly appreciate if you could also pass this on to any friends who might be interested.

Rebekah Redeemed book signing

Dianne G. Sagan

Mardel Christian & Education Supply

Western Crossings (I-40 & Western)

Saturday, May 23, 2009

11am – 2pm

It Doesn’t Get Any Better than This!

Just wanted to share my latest news! First, I met with a group of women that wrote a flash fiction book with me. I joined their fun and Janda Raker, one of our group, thought it would be a great idea to make our 100-word stories into a book and submit it to a publisher. Yesterday, we hit pay dirt with Joan and Steve Neubauer of WordWright.biz, Inc. publishing company in Alpine, Texas. They are going to publish one with an option of a second. Don’t know the title yet but we will be signing the contract with them in about a week or so. We are sooooo excited! It will be released just before Thanksgiving so we will hit the holiday season sales.

Second, Joan and Steve are the ones that I pitched my novel, Escape – working title. They were interested last year and I did a major rewrite for them cutting the book from approx. 95,000 words to 51,000 words. We discussed the changes and they offered me a book contract to publish it! Score! I would have gotten up and danced if I didn’t have a broken foot. I’ll be signing that contract in the next week or so, too. We are shooting for a release before Thanksgiving with this book as well.

My husband and I enjoyed Asti last night to celebrate. I’m not sure this is really sinking in yet. That means three books released in 2009!

Third, my novella, Rebekah Redeemed is now in all the Hastings stores in Amarillo as well as signed copies at the Mardel Christian & Education store in Amarillo at Western Crossings shopping center.

Busy Couple of Months

If you’re a regular follower of my blog, then you know I haven’t been here much for the past couple of months. Without getting into too much detail, I lost my Dad two months ago and have been helping my Mom a lot. We have six adult children and some of them are affected by the down turns in the recent economy over the past year or so and we are expecting a new grand child in September. I’m healing from a broken foot and wrenched back – finally doing much better and getting back to writing and blogging.

I hope you all are having a great summer. Let me know how you’re spending your time.

Talk with you soon!

Off to the Mountains of New Mexico

I’ll be leaving later this week for a Christian Women’s Retreat at El Porvenir, New Mexico. I love the Sangre de Cristo mountains. I’ve camped in them and visited there most of my life. In many ways, it’s like going home. We live about 4 hours from the mountains in the middle of the Texas Panhandle. I’ll be speaking in a workshop about overcoming our pasts so that we can live more joyfully.

There is a lot going on in our world these days and we often get caught up in economic problems, concerns about our environment and if we will be able to pay our bills and take care of our families. We dwell on past mistakes and carry around the baggage from those times in our “backpacks.” It’s like carrying rocks around. They weigh you down and don’t give you any benefits. I love to work with people and speak with them about ways to overcome those things in our past that only weigh us down and don’t benefit us.

Welcome to Chynna T. Laird

Squeezing Writing In Around Life:

My Writing Life While Raising Four Children

by Chynna Laird

One of the questions I get asked most often is, “Where on earth do you find the time for writing with four young children?” Believe me, there are days I wonder the very same thing. But I’ve come to realize that writing isn’t just something I love to do, it’s something I need to do. It helps keep me in touch with that part of myself that isn’t “Mama,” and that’s very important—for all of us. Allow me to explain.

I’m actually a late bloomer as far as getting into writing professionally. It’s not that I never had the time to write I was simply too nervous having my work out there for everyone to read. I mean, who the heck would have been interested in what I had to say? But as time went on, my courage increased with each story or article I’d let the world see until I’d made it almost a full-time gig. Then my Jaimie was born and writing had to stop temporarily.

I knew very early on that my miracle girl struggled with something. None of us knew what it was and she tried telling us in her own ways but we didn’t understand. After two years, we finally got someone—a fantastic OT named, Donna—to listen to our pleas. After a few hours with Jaimie she told us Jaimie had Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Now I’m the sort of person who can deal with anything as long as I have the information. I read every book available at that time, read articles, did online research and absorbed myself completely in understanding this mystery “SPD.”

You see there is much debate on whether SPD is a “real” disorder despite the fact that thousands of families are afflicted by it and tons of research backs it up. That made me angry. I lived with Jaimie each and every day watching how the tiniest things in her environment bothered her and caused her pain—things the rest of us take for granted—and yet it’s still considered “invisible.” That’s when I started writing again.

My passion to help my daughter by helping others understand her became my writing goal. Plus writing for me is therapeutic—it helps me re-focus on what’s important, calms me down when I’m not able to turn my mind off and gets rid of any of residue from the day’s stressors. Most importantly, it makes me feel like I’m doing something proactive in helping Jaimie since I can’t change the world so it doesn’t hurt her, cause her confusion or distress. I can, however, help that world accept her for who she is and see things through her eyes. And now you know how squeezing that writing time in is so important to everyone in my house.

            Hey! You can do it too. Really. I used to get frustrated when I wasn’t able to sit for a writing session for a specified amount of time until I realized I still could. I just needed to write around my life. I took my little Neo keyboard with me to Jaimie’s therapy sessions, typing madly in the waiting room. I stole bits of time during nap or snack times or when the kids were preoccupied with their one half-an hour show I let them watch. Then I stayed up later after they all (finally) fall asleep. When you give yourself those snippets of time throughout the day, it’s like having an expresso. It gives you extra brain energy until the next snippet you’re allowed to have. (Of course, if you’re writing a novel, you may want to wait until you get those larger blocks of time otherwise it will take forever!)

            The most important thing to do is be easy on yourself. Don’t get frustrated if you have a day where the kids need you more than usual and won’t let you escape for a little while—it happens to me all the time. I just remind myself that for every nonproductive day, I get a couple of really productive ones in where I get tons of time to make up the difference.

I look at it this way: God gave me this amazing gift. I may not be the best writer in the world but darn it, I’m right up there with some of the most passionate! My writing has taken on a very specific purpose now, which helps me make that time for writing each and every day—even if it’s just for a few minutes. When I think, “I just don’t have the time today!” I simply look down on Jaimie’s earnest little face and think about how brave she was just getting out of bed that morning to face what her environment had in store for her. And that gives me strength to forge ahead.

Keep writing, Mamas! It matters and it’s so important.

Meet Karen Cioffi

I am so glad to have Karen Cioffi as my guest today. She is a wonderful and dedicated lady. She is on of the two women in charge of our Virtual Book Tours – Writers on the Move each month. She shares the duties of keep all of us organized with Kathy Stemke. 

Karen Cioffi is a former accountant. Having to leave the accounting profession due to MS, she turned author and freelance writer.  Having to leave the accounting profession due to MS, she turned author and freelance writer.  She is the co-author of Day’s End Lullaby, a children bedtime picture book. Karen wrote the poem and music to the story over 30 years ago for her firstborn who didn’t like sleeping. 

 As a hardworking writer, Karen is on the team of DKV Writing 4 U which provides writing services, and she is the creator and manager of the Yahoo group Writers on the Move. This is a marketing group of authors who use a number of promotional strategies and tools to cross-promote. She is also the co- moderator of a children’s writing critique group. Along with this Karen is a member of SCBWI, Children’s Writing Coaching Club, The Muse Conference Board, Linkedin, JacketFlap, AuthorsDen, and Goodreads. And, she recently joined BookPleasures as a reviewer. 

Karen has a number of articles published through Ezinearticles.com and is currently revising a middle grade fantasy chapter book and working on a picture book along with writing articles for children’s magazines. Living in New York City all her life, Karen looks forward to one day moving to another state. She is married and has two grown daughters and two very young grandsons.  She spends much of each day writing, learning her craft, researching and reading, managing her groups, and following up on things.

Karen’s co-author, Robyn Feltman holds a master’s degree in Children’s Literature and Administration/Supervision. She is a fourth grade elementary public school teacher and is an initiator of environmental and humanitarian projects in her school; one of these projects is the Oambassador Program. Robyn continues to move forward in her academic career and recently completed her Superintendent certificate. She lives in New York City and has the cutest black cocker-spaniel, Luna. The authors have a number of projects in progress and ideas for many more. You can learn more about these authors at:

http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com
http://dkvwriting4u.com
http://vbt-writersonthemove.blogspot.com
http://www.childrensbooksbykarenandrobyn.com

					

				

More about Karen Cioffi’s book

                                                                                                                     

 

Bedtime is the most precious time between a loved one and a child.  Day’s End Lullaby will soothe any precious little one to sleep after a long day of play.  I look forward to sharing this book with my daughter every night and waiting for Mr. Sandman to kiss her thoughts to dreams.

Veronica DePaolo
Assistant Principal, The Abigail Adams School
Jamaica, New York

This book is an appealing addition to any collection of bedtime stories for preschoolers.  Colorful and attractive illustrations pair beautifully with the rhyming text.  Day’s End Lullaby provides the reassuring tone young children will love as part of their bedtime routine.

Kathleen Cavanagh
Librarian, Old South School
Ozone Park, New York

Here is order information for this great children’s book. It is on my list to get for our new grand daughter who is due in September.

Thanks for visiting this week with me, Karen.

Reading and Writing

Fall isn’t in the air yet, but schools are starting up soon. Teachers are going back to work in a few days and children are getting registered for the new school year 2009 – 2010. The stores have isle after isle filled with school supplies, backpacks, and other necessities. For those young people leaving for college, there are options for dorm decor in every shade of the rainbow and more stuff than you can probably fit into half of a dorm room.

When I was growing up, we always participated in the Summer Reading program at the public library. I did it with my children when they were growing up also. Many people get so busy with family, vacations, and sports during the summer that they put books aside until the school year begins again. I invite readers and writers to pick up a good book and read. It may not be below 100 degrees where you live yet, but cooler days are coming. There are a lot of wonderful books out there – newly delivered to your local book store or oldies but goodies. In a challenging economy, try visiting your local library. You can get books, audio books, and movies with your card at no cost. Enjoy! I hope that when you pick up a book you’ll include in your pile one of mine. Keep an eye out for news about my novel that will be released Fall 2009.

My Guest Author This Month is Crystalee Calderwood

I am delighted to have Crystalee Calderwood as my guest. She is another great, energized, busy, talented writer that I hope you’ll put on your list of favorites.

Crystalee, have you always wanted to be a writer? When did you get started?

I’ve been writing for almost as long as I can remember and reading for even longer. I remember writing some of my first short stories in first grade. I didn’t always want to be a writer; my career aspirations as a kid changed every five minutes. I didn’t really start thinking of writing as a feasible career until I was in grad school and started writing for children.

What is your favorite thing about writing?

That is a really hard question. I love almost everything about writing, from the moment when I come up with a cool concept, to making it come alive on the page, to revisiting it like visiting an old friend, for revisions. But my all time favorite thing about writing has to be that I know I’m creating worlds and characters that will someday come alive for the children who read my work.

What is the most challenging part of being a writer?

To me, the most challenging parts have to do with publishing: finding markets, sending out manuscripts, and then once your book is published, marketing and promoting it.
Who is your favorite author?

Another very hard question, since I rarely hate any authors and love different authors for different reasons. I rarely ever read adult novels, but I love picture book writers like Mo Willems, Karen Katz and Katherine Ayres (who I owe so much to). In YA novels, Lois Lowry, Jane Yolen and Sharon Flake come to mind.
What’s new that you’re working on right now?

I’m finishing up my very first full-length YA novel! (Hopefully, it will be finished by time your readers see this interview.) It is a modern YA novel set in Pittsburgh about a 17-year-old named Chelsea Anderson who must fulfill a volunteer requirement at school. She finds herself in the Hill District, a predominantly black area of Pittsburgh, tutoring kids at an after school program. The novel is about coming-of-age and breaking out of your comfort zone as much as it is about race. It is also based on some true events in my life, although my breaking out occurred when I was 24, not 17.
What are your goals for the rest of 2009?

Finish this YA novel! I also hope to revise the novel in verse I wrote for my thesis in grad school. And, of course, I’m still trying to get more things published: poetry, short stories, but especially picture books.

To find out more about Crystal and purchase her awesome book use these links:

The link to my blog is http://crystaleecalderwood.blogspot.com

You can buy my book Angeline Jellybean from Amazon.com or http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com/Store-Books.html

Welcome back, Crystalee

You are such a fun guest. I love having you with me. You are such a fun and talented writer. We’re learning more about your book and about your relationship with jellybeans today. Let’s get started.

1. Did you have a vice like jellybeans as a child? If so what was it?

Oh, I think I still have that vice! haha. Chocolate. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate. If it contains chocolate I will eat it!

2.    If you could be any color jellybean, what color would you be?

Red! No, I like the red ones too much. I don’t want to be eaten. Black. Yeah, those nasty black ones. No one eats those, right?

3.    Do you like the different flavored jellybeans, like jelly belly or the harry potter ones?

I am in love with Jelly Belly jellybeans! No others compare.

4.    What is your food guilty pleasure?

Chocolate or cheese, definitely.

5.    If you had to eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I would say chocolate except I think that would make me sick. So I’m going with cheese. A nice variety of hard and soft cheeses.

6.    If you were written about in the newspaper, on the front page, what would the headline say?

Why, can you get me a headline on the front page? “Local woman completes MFA, debuts first children’s book in same week.” On second thought, that’s not exciting enough.

7.    If Hollywood were to make a movie of your life, what actress/actresses would you want to play you?

Julianne Moore. I’ve been told twice now that I look like her. *shrugs*

8.    If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
Sara Adkins, What is with the Hard Questions? or It All Happened Because of Pittsburgh

9.    Do you remember your favorite children’s book when you were a child?

I had many. I read everything I could get my hands on. But for most of my life I read nothing but the Baby-sitter’s Club books by Ann M. Martin.

10.    Do you like to be read to aloud? Do you think different things can be gained from reading to yourself and being read to?

Yes, definitely. Listening to someone read a picture book aloud is a multi-sensory experience. Characters can really come to life when a reader adds the right inflection to his or her voice. A good storytime involves the children as much as possible, gets them thinking or moving or discussing. Of course, there is always a place and time for curling up in a chair with a good book too.

Thank you for interviewing me. It’s been fun.

Book Synopsis

Angeline wants to eat nothing but jellybeans.  Year round, from Easter to Christmas, she asks for her favorite treat.  But a strange event teaches Angeline that there's such thing as too much of a good thing!
With colorful, delightful illustrations by Stephen Macquignon, Angeline is sure to win over hearts of young picky eaters everywhere.

Where to buy:
http://www.amazon.com  Search by title or author
http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com/Store-Books.html 

Contact the author:
crystaleecalderwood@gmail.com
http://crystaleecalderwood.blogspot.com
http://crystaleecalderwood.bravehost.com

November Book Releases

Things are moving along at the publisher for my novel and the flash fiction anthology to be released in November just before Thanksgiving. We’re working on the covers and have a surprise known author who is multipublished and a sought after speaker at writer’s conferences for the novel foreword. I’ll keep you all informed with the progress.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with flash fiction, it is a complete story that is written in 1,500 words or less. In the anthology (five writers with 20 stories each) our stories are 100 words. It is great fun! It’s also a great way to get past writer’s block.

I’ll be presenting a workshop on flash fiction with fellow author Barbara Mary Gendusa-Yokum for the Panhandle Professional Writers on September 26, 2009 during the afternoon session.

Fall is Definitely in the Air

The temperatures at night are around 60 degrees in the Panhandle of Texas and we’ve been in the low to mid-80′s during the day. Football season and school are in full swing. No leaves turning for awhile yet, but it looks like it will be a busy time between now and the end of the year.

“Rebekah Redeemed”, my book released earlier this year may not be hitting the top ten yet, but those who read it are touched by it and I’m happy with the great book reviews on amazon.com or barnes&nobel.com. I’m working on the next book in the series “The Fisherman’s Wife” and hope to have it out in 2010. I’m also scheduling book signings, speaking engagements to both writing groups and women’s groups. I’ll put the dates on the blog as they get nearer.

Things are moving along for the flash fiction anthology and my novel for release later in the Fall 2009. It’s been a very exciting year and looks like next year will be even better. I also expect to pick up some more ghostwriting projects over the Fall and Winter season.

As we all move inside when the weather gets cold, I hope you all will be reading books like I plan to. Cold nights snuggled up with a cup of hot cider or hot chocolate and a good book are one of my ideas of contentment. I invite readers to leave a comment on what books they are reading or have on their list of ‘to read’ books.

Blog Tour and Squirrel Hunt

This is the week to visit around and see if you can win a $15 gift certificate to amazon.com. All you have to do is visit the listed blogs and search for the squirrel. Collect 10 and you can win! Report where you found the squirrels to Teresa Slack at the following link. (There are 15 out there so it shouldn’t  be too hard to be a winner.)

“Teresa Slack” <teresa@teresaslack.com>

The following links are sites of the tour for the week. Enjoy the tour and the squirrel hunt.

Sandi Rog: http://www.sandirog.blogspot.com

http://www.thebookdoctorbd.blogspot.com

Mid Stutsman   http://www.midsnovelidea.blogspot.com

http://www.midspointofview.blogspot.com

Elizabeth Bussey  http://www.ebussey.blogspot.com

http://www.wisdomwalk.wordpress.com

James Tate  http://www.Daneymoco.blogspot.com

Dianne Sagan  http://www.diannesagan.wordpress.com

Kat Crawford  http://www.lionheartedkat.com

http://www.sftlm.blogspot.com

Kelly Klepfer  http://kellyklepfer.blogspot.com

Marion Marchetto  http://www.marionmarchetto.com

Lisa Lickel  http://www.livingourfaithoutloud.blogspot.com

http://www.lisalickel.com/cgi-bin/blog

Tamera Kraft  http://www.wordsharpeners.wordpress.com

Penny McGinnis  http://www.encouragementjourney.blogspot.com

http://www.pennyspicks.blogspot.com

Molly Dawn Edwards http://www.buuklvr81.blogspot.com

Carla Gade     http://www.carlaspathways.wordpress.com

Sally Hanan  http://www.sallyhanan.wordpress.com

Elizabeth Byler Younts  http://www.byelizabeth.blogspot.com

Chawna Schroeder  http://www.chawnaschroeder.blogspot.com

Teresa Slack  http://www.youcanwriteanovel.blogspot.com

Karin Beery http://www.therehastobeabeginning.blogspot.com

Vicki Moss http://www.livingwaterfiction.com

Welcome this week my guest Harry Gilleland

I have such a good time with my guests each month and this month I want you to meet Harry Gilleland.

Harry  is a southerner by birth and by inclination. Born and raised in Macon, Georgia, he now resides in Shreveport, Louisiana with his wonderful wife, Linda. Harry, who retired after a career as a Professor of Microbiology at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, now devotes himself full-time to his writing. He is a writer of both poetry and prose. He has published a fantasy novella, Bob the Dragon Slayer, and a contemporary romance novel, White Lightning Road. He has now authored three books of poetry.

Poetic Musings of an Old, Fat Man is the third published collection of poetry written by poet Harry E. Gilleland, Jr. This new collection of 81 storoems and poems will engage its readers by making them think about life and leaving them pondering their emotions and beliefs. It will also bring smiles and maybe a tear or two. Contained within this collection are forty-seven rhyming poems and “storoems”, a format coined by Gilleland. A storoem is a hybrid between a story and a poem, i.e. a story told with poetic techniques. The collection also contains twenty-eight free-verse poems, four acrostic poems, and two limericks. These writings are poetry for the thinking person, be he/she someone who is a poetry lover or someone who normally does not read poetry. This poetry is easily readable and accessible to all — poetry for the poet and the common man alike. A wide variety of subjects are addressed, including everyday life events, observations of nature, tales of fantasy, expressions of love, and much more. This wonderful collection will surprise and delight all readers.

I hope you all will come back and visit on October 3rd. harry is a versatile writer able to write both prose and poetry and has developed this great cross between the two.

What a fun guest you are to have with me. Thanks for coming Harry.

You can contact Harry and learn more about him at hgilleland@gmail.com

Poetry by our guest Harry Gilleland

I’m very excited to share an example of Harry Gilleland’s poetry. Enjoy!

SAMPLE POETRY from PMOOFM

Rhyming Storoem:

Let Her Be A Weed

A husband and wife stood together

looking out at their fenced backyard. “Our

daughter picked one rose after another…

one day she’ll be a delicate flower.”

So spoke her father. The wife then said,

“I hope she is more weed than flower,

since flowers are frail and too soon dead.

They need constant care, lacking power.

“But a weed…weeds are tough and sturdy.

They meet all life’s challenges head-on.

Sidewalk cracks for weeds offer worthy

places to grow, as well as a mown lawn.

“First to burst forth in Spring, last to die

before Winter, persistent year ‘round,

weeds thrive when flowers won’t even try.

Weeds have the strongest will-to-live found.

“I want her to be self-sufficient,

able to deal with life on her own.”

The father agreed, “A competent

woman our daughter must be when grown.

“Let her be less flower and more weed,

tough and strong-willed — but still with brightly-

colored, pretty blossoms — to succeed

in life, with her roots grounded tightly.”

Free Verse Poem:

My Yesterdays

My yesterdays

stretch out behind me

in a winding path that

disappears over the horizon

beyond my memory.

Some yesterdays were

red-letter days of triumph

and personal joy, days of

some momentous occasion

in my life. Others were black

days of pain and suffering.

Most were merely plain,

unremarkable days

of no particular note.

All have melded together

forming the memories

marking the passage

of my existence on Earth.

I treasure all my yesterdays

since each day was a brick

that contributed to building

the mosaic of my life.

My yesterdays carried me

up the long hill to today,

where I stand looking wistfully

back at them, my yesterdays…

knowing now my yesterdays

outnumber my tomorrows.

I’ve learned I should endeavor

to make each today become

a shining, glorious yesterday,

for my yesterdays are

how my life was spent.

I admire poets. I can write fiction and nonfiction, but poetry is something I’ve never been able to do very well. I enjoy reading it and am glad that people like you, Harry, can write it for the rest of us.

The following links will give our readers and friends a place to purchase this great collection and your other work. Thank you for being my guest.

Lulu Publishing

Amazon.com

Barnes & Nobel

Giveaway and Goodies! – Second Wind Publishing

Date: October 07, 2009 01:14AM
Venue: this is a blog event and blogs are forever, so stop by when you can.
Location: The United States
Description:
We are the ones celebrating our new releases, but you are the ones who get the gifts!

They are giving away ebook samplers to everyone. They are also giving away an ebook edition of a new release to three lucky commenters.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

September 30 to October 7: Stop by to get your treats:
http://secondwindpub.wordpress.com/2009/…

October 1: Characters You Love to Hate by Mickey Hoffman, author of School of Lies. http://secondwindpub.wordpress.com
Can you spot a liar? Take Mickey’s quiz and find out! http://mickeyhoffman.com/quiz/saved/Scho…

October 2: With Gratitude by Deborah J Ledford. Deborah talks about what makes Second Wind Publishing so special. http://secondwindpub.wordpress.com

Hope to see at our celebration of new releases!

NaBloPoMo

Are you confused? No, I didn’t have my fingers on the wrong keys when I typed the title for this post. Let me translate, just in case you don’t know. It was new to me, too. It is National Blog Posting Month. The group’s challenge is for participants to blog every day for the month of October. As most of you know, I usually post a new blog or have a guest about once a week. This month I invite you to come back every day and see what’s new and just what it is that a ghostwriter does. Hope you’ll come as often as possible. If you want more information about participating in the challenge go to NaBloPoMo . Let me know if you sign up and I”ll come and visit.

First, I invite you to come and enjoy the poetry of Harry Gilleland tomorrow. His poems are a combination of poetry and stories. I love it! What fun.

Second, I’m wearing my ghostwriting hat and working on a project for an international client right now. I’ve written books as a ghostwriter and am now involved in a workbook. I wrote a script in collaboration with my client this summer. A new experience and I learned a ton.

The most important thing besides writing skills is developing and maintaining a good working relationship with your client/author. Remember that you’re not the author, your client is. Like in any relationship there is give and take on both sides. However, a ghostwriter has to remember that the final decision on content and message belongs to the client. Enjoy the process of writing with your client and focus on their needs.

Don’t forget … come back tomorrow and see what’s next.

Watch for the Spirit of Christmas Catalog

I know that some people may already have their Christmas or holiday shopping completed. I’m not one of those. When my children were small, I used to collect small gifts from the starting in August and accumulate them until it was time to wrap and put them under our Christmas tree. However, as they have gotten older (now all adults) I don’t do that any more.

I am excited to tell you about the Spirit of Christmas Catalog that is coming out to help all of you do some shopping from home. There will be books, videos, and music. There may also be other gift items. I’m excited to be included in it myself and at the same time anxious to see all the things that everyone else is submitting. My books Rebekah Redeemed will be included, as well as my novel that is coming out just in time for the holidays, Shelter from the Storm.

When I think about Christmas catalogs, I remember as a child being so excited when they would come in the mail. My brother and I would pour over them. It was all part of the excitement of the season. I’ll be getting the url for you as soon as it comes out. I know it’s early, but I can’t resist. Merry Christmas!

 

October is Awareness Month

October is probably best recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. When I went to the market today there were pink balloon, pink reusable shopping bags, pint flowers, and even a chance to win a pink scooter. With gas prices bouncing up and down, a scooter might not be a bad alternative to a car. We see people with pink ribbons and many companies put out special packaging with pink or pink ribbons during October. It is a very worthy cause. I am totally in favor of and support efforts to end all types of cancer.

However, it is also awareness month for some other causes as well. It is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a problem in our society and world wide that persists. If we all worked together, then it could be stopped. I’m a survivor of domestic violence. We need to help each other and not ignore when we hear something or see someone abusing another person. No one deserves to be treated that way. The National Hotline is 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) 1.800.787.3224 (TTY)
Anonymous & Confidential Help 24/7

Others are:  Niemann-Picks Disease Awareness (a disease that affect metabolism and that are caused by genetic mutations) find out more at Niemann-Picks

Head Start Awareness Month – find out more at Help Children

Energy Awareness Month – learn about it Energy

Disability Awareness Month

You can find all the other things that October is at What Health?

Just wanted to take this opportunity to share with you all the things I know I wasn’t aware of besides Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence Awareness.

On Being a Ghostwriter

I went to a party about a year ago and when a woman asked me what I do, I told her I was a freelance ghostwriter, author, and speaker. She nodded and then asked “Do you like scary stories?”

I had to explain to her that a ghostwriter doesn’t write stories about ghosts or necessarily scary stories. Anyone else who may be a little confused, let me clarify that ghostwriters are hired to work with a person who has a good idea, a message, or information that they want to write into a book. They either don’t have time to do it themselves or can’t write. So, ghostwriters like myself collaborate with them and assist them in writing their book.

In cases with high profile clients, a ghostwriter has to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Sometimes, the ghostwriter’s name is given with the author’s name. For example, Don Piper with Cecile Murphy (90 Minutes in Heaven). Most of us work annonymously and are paid a flat fee for our work. Then, we move on to another project. It can be a very lucrative career.

Hope you’ll come back tomorrow to find out more about this life as a ghostwriter.

More on Ghostwriting

Okay, for anyone who is keeping track, yes, I missed yesterday. However, I’m back today. A good friend passed away and I just didn’t make it to the computer yesterday. I’m really trying to do well with the posting daily challenge. I won’t let one day missed stop me. Now, lets look at ghostwriting.

The biggest challenge in being a ghostwriter is to always write in the author’s voice. Your client is the author. When doing a ghostwriting workshop, I include how to capture that person’s voice.

Some tips are:

Listen to the way they speak.

Ask yourself if there are certain terms or words they use a lot.

Watch for common phrases.

Listen to how they structure their sentences – spoken or written.

Talk with them in person and through emails enough to capture how they say things and how they feel about the subject matter.

Get them to tell you personal stories that will fit in with the theme or subject matter of the book. They will help you maintain their voice, as well as put more of them personally in the book.

Use a recorder if you can. If you’re working with them from half way around the world, talk often on the phone. There may be a video of them speaking that they can send you or one online.

Ask them for notes or any drafts they may have of the book. Those are helpful for sentence structure.

Then, start writing and do the polishing so that your author’s message flows.

Those are the tips for today. Tomorrow I’ll address how to get to know your client through interviews.

Successful Ghostwriting

The initial interview helps getting to know your client/author as well as what they want to cover in the project.  I begin by finding out about the client’s background and interests. How did they get to where they are? Visit with them regularly during the project.

Clarify the type of book they want to write and what the subject will cover. As a ghostwriter, part of your job is to help direct your client in narrowing a subject that is too broad. For example, relationships has many subtopics. Education has many aspects. It is best to focus in on one aspect or only a few related subtopics. People don’t realize it, but their first instinct is to cover everything in one book. It becomes a never ending book. Encourage your client to write more than one book about the topic.

Work through the basics of what they want to say in the book. Their personal stories help enrich the content and help the reader to associate with the writer and the subject matter. What people does the client admire? Do they have favorite quotes? Who is their market? Are they clear on what the overall message is?

Compile some questions that you want to ask your client about their book and put together specifics that help clarify what the book includes. Then, put together an outline. Submit the outline to your client and then collaborate until you get the outline that your client is satisfyed with.

Next, it’s time to begin writing. As in other writing, allow yourself to write the first draft imperfectly. No first draft is ready for publication. It is where we start.

Most of all, enjoy working and collaborating with your client. Give them your best and they will return for your services time and time again. They will also refer other people to you.

For additional information about becoming a ghostwriter, read my article at Writing for Dollars.

Sunday and What Happened to Fall?

I admit that my efforts for every day blogging for a month now has a couple of missed posts. However, I am going to keep going. Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I usually spend the moring involved with choir, Sunday school, and services and than have a quiet afternoon with family or friends. Sometimes, I read or take a nap. By evening, I start putting things together for the week.

This weekend we went from a few days of Fall weather, most of the leaves haven’t even turned yet – Winter arrived yesterday with a major cold front and we had our first freeze. Wow!

Tomorrow … more about ghostwriting.

Why be a Ghostwriter?

Sometimes people ask me why I would want to ghostwrite when I could spend the time writing under my own name or pen names.

For me, the answer is that ghostwriting provides a good income if you establish a good reputation with publishers, book packagers, and clients/authors. I’ve also become a better writer. After all, the more you write, the better you get if you are truly working on your craft and pushing yourself to always get better at it.

If you are a person that doesn’t like anonymity and it’s important that you are the one in the lime light, then ghostwriting isn’t for you. When the book does well, I’m still very excited about it, but my author is the one who is taking the bow. That is what I get paid for – to remain a ghost, in the background.

One of the books on leadership that I ghosted became an amazon best seller in Canada. I have a copy of it on the shelf with other books I’ve written and am very proud to have it there. However, it is important to remember that without the author’s ideas and message, I wouldn’t have written the book. The collaboration is a great experience, especially when you and the author really click together.

Ghostwriting has given me the opportunity to write about many different topics – nonfiction. I’ve written about overcoming fears, becoming more than you are, getting the best and most out of life, leadership in business, real estate, teaching children how to manage money, and finding your purpose.

Most ghostwriters get paid a flat fee for their work and then go on to the next project. Sometimes a ghostwriter is recognized. One of my clients recognized me in the acknowledgements of his book. Occassionally, a ghostwriter gets a small percentage of the profits/royalties on books sold.

Everybody’s talking about… Family Relationships

Today I’m participating in a mass blogging! WOW! Women On Writing has gathered a group of blogging buddies to write about family relationships. Why family relationships? We’re celebrating the release of Therese Walsh’s debut novel today. The Last Will of Moira Leahy, (Random House, October 13, 2009) is about a mysterious journey that helps a woman learn more about herself and her twin, whom she lost when they were teenagers. Visit The Muffin (http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.html) to read what Therese has to say about family relationships and view the list of all my blogging buddies. And make sure you visit Therese’s website (http://www.theresewalsh.com) to find out more about the author.”

Goodie Giveaways: Besides link-love, we have several goodies to give away (gift certificates, t-shirts, tote bags, books, subscriptions). We will hold random drawings for all bloggers who participate by putting all of your names in a hat. Good luck!  Go to , The Muffin

Blending Families

I have a blended family, like many other women. It has its challenges, but we have had some great times with all of the kids. When my husband Greg and I got married eleven years ago, he had three adult children from a previous marriage and I had three children – two teenagers nearing 18 and a 12 year old daughter. My two oldest left home before the wedding so that left my 12 year-old in a home with two parents. She wasn’t particularly happy about the changes at first. I had been a single mother for almost 10 years. She had always thought it would be just the two of us during her high school years. It was rough that first year or so, but we came out on the other side as a close knit family unit. Our daughter became more “ours” than just mine.

The peak of great times involving all six of our children was at a family wedding. Everyone came from around the country and we spent three days together. It was the first time we had all been in one place at the same time. We really enjoyed the time and watching our adult children interact as siblings.

I know that everyone hears the worst stories about blended families. Ours has been spiced with trials, tragedies, and heart wrenching times, but the good times have been like climbing to the top of the mountain and seeing the whole view. I wanted those of you with blended families who are in the trenches trying to build a family that there are good things that happen.

Now for my guest:

About the author, Therese Walsh:

Therese is the co-founder of Writer Unboxed, a blog for writers about the craft and business of genre fiction. Before turning to fiction, she was a researcher and writer for Prevention magazine, and then a freelance writer. She’s had hundreds of articles on nutrition and fitness published in consumer magazines and online.

She has a master’s degree in psychology.

Aside from writing, Therese’s favorite things include music, art, crab legs, Whose Line is it Anyway?, dark chocolate, photography, unique movies and novels, people watching, strong Irish tea, and spending time with her husband, two kids and their bouncy Jack Russell.

Therese’s website: http://theresewalsh.com
Therese’s blog: http://theresewalsh.com/blog.html
Writer Unboxed: http://www.writerunboxed.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ThereseWalsh
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/therese.walsh

About the book:

The Last Will of Moira Leahy

By Therese Walsh

A LOST SHADOW
Moira Leahy struggled growing up in her prodigious twin’s shadow; Maeve was always more talented, more daring, more fun. In the autumn of the girls’ sixteenth year, a secret love tempted Moira, allowing her to have her own taste of adventure, but it also damaged the intimate, intuitive relationship she’d always shared with her sister. Though Moira’s adolescent struggles came to a tragic end nearly a decade ago, her brief flirtation with independence will haunt her sister for years to come.

A LONE WOMAN
When Maeve Leahy lost her twin, she left home and buried her fun-loving spirit to become a workaholic professor of languages at a small college in upstate New York. She lives a solitary life now, controlling what she can and ignoring the rest–the recurring nightmares, hallucinations about a child with red hair, the unquiet sounds in her mind, her reflection in the mirror. It doesn’t help that her mother avoids her, her best friend questions her sanity, and her not-quite boyfriend has left the country. But at least her life is ordered. Exactly how she wants it.

A SHARED PAST
Until one night at an auction when Maeve wins a keris, a Javanese dagger that reminds her of her lost youth, and happier days playing pirates with Moira in their father’s boat. Days later, a book on weaponry is nailed to her office door, followed by anonymous notes, including one that invites her to Rome to learn more about the blade and its legendary properties. Opening her heart and mind to possibility, Maeve accepts the invitation, and with it, a window into her past. Ultimately she will revisit the tragic November night that shaped her and Moira’s destinies, and learn that nothing can be taken at face value, as one sister emerges whole and the other’s score is finally settled.

Note: To read reviews about The Last Will of Moira Leahy, please visit Therese’s website: http://theresewalsh.com/News_Reviews/news_reviews.html

Virtual Book Tours

Anyone who visits the blog regularly knows that once a month I have another author for my guest. We get to learn about them and at least one of the books they have written. I started a year ago to participate with a group that formed after attending the Museonline Writers Conference 2008. This free conference is one of the best conferences you could ever attend. It lasts a week and Lea Shivas and those who work with her to make this conference a success offer workshops and discussions with awesome, knowledgable presenters.

One of the workshops I participated in last year was concerned with promotions online. A few of us exchanged emails about starting a group that could do virtual book tours together on a rotation. The result was the VBT – Writers on the Move group.

Virtual book tours are a growing promotional tool and a great way to help other writers get the word out. It’s fun and can help bring people you might not otherwise get as random visitors to your blog.  You can put on your calendar that the 1st and 3rd of each month you’ll find another guest author here.

Lessons Learned from Ghostwriting

I’m sure there are many lessons that people learn when ghostwriting a book. These are a few of the things that I’ve learned in my own experiences.

Active listening during an entire interview or conversation. You can take notes while you talk or record the conversation if the client knows you’re using a recorder, but if you don’t have a recorder or don’t use it for phone calls you could miss some important details.

Most people love to talk about themselves and what they are interested in. A few questions may be all they need to give you the information you need.

If you are not clear on something, then repeat what you think they said and ask if that is right. You can also ask them to clear up some confusion over a topic or fact.

Ghostwriting can help you find your own voice by learning to write with someone else’s voice.

These are just a few. If you do some ghostwriting and have other things you’ve learned from the experience I’d love for you to leave a comment. Have a great day!

Welcome to Heidi M. Thomas to start Celebrating the VBT-Writers on the Move Anniversary Month

Welcome to the first day of a month long celebration for the one year anniversary of VBT – Writers on the Move. We are a cross promoting group of writers.

I’m really excited to have Heidi M. Thomas with me today. She is from Montana, the Big Sky Country but now lives in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Raised on a rach in isolated eastern Montana, Heidi Thomas had a love of reading and writing since she was a little girl.

Heidi, tell us a little about yourself.

A tidbit of family history, that her grandmother rode steers in rodeos during the 1920s, spurred Heidi to write a novel based on that grandmother’s life.
Cowgirl Dreams is the first in a series about strong, independent Montana Women.
Heidi is a member of Women Writing the West, Skagit Valley Writers League, Skagit Women in Business, and the Northwest Independent Editors Guild. She is an avid reader of all kinds of books, enjoys hiking the Pacific Northwest, where she writes, edits, and teaches memoir and fiction writing classes.

Married to Dave Thomas (not of Wendy’s fame), Heidi has no children, but as the “human” for two finicky felines, describes herself primarily as a “cat herder.”
www.heidimthomas.com

You have a great book that I know I’m anxious to read. Tell us about Cowgirl Dreams.

Defying family and social pressure, Nettie Brady bucks 1920s convention with her dream of becoming a rodeo star. That means competing with men, and cowgirls who ride the rodeo circuit are considered “loose women.” Addicted to the thrill of pitting her strength and wits against a half-ton steer in a rodeo, Nettie exchanges skirts for pants, rides with her brothers on their Montana ranch, and competes in neighborhood rodeos. 

Broken bones, killer influenza, flash floods, and family hardship team up to keep Nettie from her dreams. Then she meets a young neighbor cowboy who rides broncs and raises rodeo stock. Will this be Nettie’s ticket to freedom and happiness? Will her rodeo dreams come true?

Based on the life of the author’s grandmother, a real Montana cowgirl.
Cowgirl Dreams is available from the publisher, Treble Heart Books, Amazon.com or the author website. It is suitable for both adult and young adult readers.

Do you think we could share some of what people are saying about Cowgirl Dreams?

Here are some of the reviews I’ve received.

Svetlana Kovalkova-McKenna rated it: 5 of 5 stars

It is a wonderful YA (Young Adult) book! For the duration of the story you are completely immersed into the world of growing up in Montana in 1920s. Hard work on a family ranch, dreams that defy conventional wisdom, hard choices and, finally, success. Try becoming a rodeo star, when rodeo circuit is a man’s world and you are a teenage girl!
I appreciated author’s meticulous research. All the details of everyday life on a ranch, food, clothes, and people’s mindsets were so interesting…more It is a wonderful YA (Young Adult) book! For the duration of the story you are completely immersed into the world of growing up in Montana in 1920s. Hard work on a family ranch, dreams that defy conventional wisdom, hard choices and, finally, success. Try becoming a rodeo star, when rodeo circuit is a man’s world and you are a teenage girl!
I appreciated author’s meticulous research. All the details of everyday life on a ranch, food, clothes, and people’s mindsets were so interesting, true and well placed throughout the story; I could not help but admire it!
If you are a fan of “Little Women”, “Secret Garden”, “Little House on the Prairie” and “Ann of Green Gables”, take a note of this author, she is the one for you.
I would say the book is a great coming of age story with a lesson in history, lots of adventures, a touch of romance and a great lesson in perseverance. I am buying this one for my daughter.
***

From a male reader:

Heidi Thomas’s Cowgirl Dreams provided me with a delightfully engrossing pleasure: a “good read.” An added bonus was a bit of history detailing the hardships and delights of rural life in early twentieth century Montana and the expectations for women of the time. I approached the tale with a mixture of mild trepidation and hesitant curiosity, the twin themes not being typical fodder for my pleasure reading, and finished with the great satisfaction found in experiencing a well-told story. Nettie Brady’s adventure richly details a pair of transitions: a child growing into young adulthood and a women tackling roles previously claimed by the men of her times. This is a book for all ages, and I look forward to the possibility of reading further installments of Nettie’s life and times.

Peter Olson
***

Some girls claim they were born as horses and only later grew up to be western women. Heidi Thomas gives us one of those passionate, persistent young women in Nettie Brady, and she s based this sparkling and enduring character on her own grandmother s story. Cowgirl Dreams is a heart-warming read for all ages and lets us all know why Ms. Thomas is not only a fine editor of other author s books but shines as a skilled and compassionate writer herself. Jane Kirkpatrick, Award Winning author of A Sweetness to the Soul (Wrangler Award, 1995) and A Tendering in the Storm, winner of a WILLA Literary Award, 2008.	

***
Heidi has truly captured the heart of the early days of Montana. She brings to life Nettie and her dreams for the rodeo despite the opposition of a woman in an exclusive man’s arena. As I read this authors first novel it was a sweet reminder of the Jan Karon Mitford series. I look forward to reading the sequel in what appears to be a Montana series in the making! 
Stephanie Hooper

These are wonderful. I’m sure that you will capture your readers and they will be fans for life, Heidi. Thank you so much for being with me. I know we all look forward to getting to know you and your writing better. How can people purchase your book?

Thank you for having me, Dianne.

Cowgirl Dreams is available at:

http://www.heidimthomas.com

Treble Heart Books

Amazon.com

VBT’s November Anniversary Tour Schedule

Well, it’s a YEAR! That’s right, we have been cross-promoting and helping one another for a year now.

To celebrate this accomplishment, we will have a SUPER-DUPER Anniversary Tour!

The number before the host’s name is the day in November that he/she will post in the tour.

1 Dianne Sagan is hosting Heidi Thomas
2 Harry Gilleland is hosting Karen Cioffi
3 Karen Cioffi is hosting Martha Swirzinki
4 Kathy Stemke is hosting Brigitte Thompson
5 Nancy Famolari is hosting Deborah Weed
6 Margaret Fieland is hosting Elysabeth Eldering
7 Crystalee Calderwood is hosting Harry Gilleland
8 Katie Hines is hosting Heather Paye
9 Helena Harper is hosting Steve Tremp
10 Liana Metal is hosting Crystalee Calderwood
11 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is hosting Marvin Wilson
12 Gayle Trent is hosting Dianne Sagan
13 Mayra Calvani is hosting Carolyn Howard-Johnson
14 Marvin Wilson is hosting Gayle Trent
15 Linda Asato is hosting Mayra Calvani
16 Heather Paye is hosting Katie Hines
17 Steve Tremp is hosting Helena Harper
18 Elysabeth Eldering is hosting Linda Asato
19 Darcia Helle is hosting Liana Metal
20 Deborah Weed is hosting Nancy Famolari
21 Brigitte Thompson is hosting Margaret Fieland
22 Martha Swirzinki is hosting Darcia Helle
23 Heidi Thomas is hosting Kathy Stemke

Each day there will be prizes offered. All you have to do is leave a comment on the host’s site on the day he/she is posting for their guest and you may be a WINNER!

The Winner will have a choice of ONE of 2 or 3 books of our members or other related gifts, OR a one day guest spot on THIS site!

Prizes being given away EVERY Day from November 1st through November 23rd!

OH! Wait a minute! That’s not all! We are still having our Mystery Site Giveaway and the SUPER-DUPER PRIZE is a $25 (US) GIFT CARD to either Amazon, Target, or an American Express Gift Card. I’ll know for sure by the end of this month.

Winners will be notified the day after each posting. The Mystery Site Winner will be notified Sunday, November 29th.

Come celebrate with us and have the chance of being one of the WINNERS of a great gift in the process.

Thanksgiving 2009

This was a great day for our family and hope it was for you and your’s as well. It has been a challenging year with the loss of dear friends and my Dad, financial circumstances for most of our children, but today — I am thankful for our health, our home, food to eat, a car to drive, and six wonderful children and four awesome grandchildren. It has been an amazing year for me as a writer with three books released during this year of 2009.

Great things are happening during this wonderful holiday and Christmas season. Come back and see the “Spirit of the Season” online catalog on December 1st.

“Shelter from the Storm”, my latest novel, is set for release that same day – December 1st, as well as “Flash Tales: An Adventure in Words”, an anthology that includes 20 very short stories I wrote. There are five contributors, including myself, in this fun little book.

I’ll be doing a book laugh autographing in the Seattle area in mid-December and will keep you’all posted for details. Please come back often and check out what’s coming up.

Radio Interview on The Christian Author Show

You can find my most recent radio interview at The Christian Author Show

It is running for the next 3 days – November 27, 28, and 29th. You can sit down and put your feet up to relax after shopping and listen to the interview with host, Don McCauley. We had a lot of fun the day we recorded it.

“Shelter from the Storm” and “Flash Tales” Book Launch Signings

The following Book Launch Signings are scheduled in Amarillo, Texas. I’ll be doing other books signings and keep you informed. If you live here are in the area, then I’d love for you to come.

««««««««««

Amarillo Senior

Citizens Association

12th and Polk St.

10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

OR

Saturday,

December 20

Hastings

2001 S. Georgia

2 to 4 p.m.

My Holiday guest is Lea Shivaz

Thanks so much for coming by for a visit, Lea,                               

I’m glad to be here, thanks for having me.

You are one of the busiest women I know. Lea is the founder of the MuseOnline Writers Conference and maintains the Museonline writers group, as well as numerous blogs and websites. And, she still has time to write and occassionally dog sit. Tell us about your book, Bubba & Giganto: Odds Against Them.

Bubba  hates it when his dad gets a contract for a new project. That means uprooting the family from one city and moving to another. Attending a new school is a major pet peeve of his. His smart alecky nature attracts the bullies in every school he’s attended.

 On the first day of school, Bubba bumps into this rather large student. Fearing a confrontation, he wears his tough guy attitude and waits for the punches to begin. Remarkably, the new student apologizes, and Bubba and David (aka Giganto as Bubba eventually nicknames him) become best friends.

 Bubba and Giganto try out for the high school soccer team, and that’s when trouble begins. Bubba knew eventually he’d meet the bullies of the school, and he was right.

 In the first initial weeks, Bubba learns about a death that occurred the previous year; faces the bullies on several occasions; helps Giganto practice soccer before tryouts; and challenges the bullies to a scrimmage.

 Little does Bubba know Giganto holds a secret – one that will place Giganto in a deadly situation.

Lea, this sounds like a great children’s book. Where can people get for a Christmas gift?

It’s available at these places:

 Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Bubba-Giganto-Odds-Against-Us/dp/0979751365/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219156292&sr=1-1

4RV Publishing

http://4rvpublishingllc.com/Store.html

Barnes & Noble

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bubba-and-Giganto/Lea-Schizas/e/9780979751363/?itm=1

The Reading Warehouse

http://www.thereadingwarehouse.com/book.php?ISBN=9780979751363

Thanks so much for visiting during this busy time of year, Lea.

I was glad to visit. Thanks for having me.

 

Upcoming Booksignings

For those of you in the Seattle, Washington area, there will be a book signing to benefit the Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County.

BOOK AUTOGRAPHING

“Shelter from the Storm”

Saturday, December 12, 2009

New and Again

3116 Rucker Avenue

Everett, WA

12:00 noon – 2:00 pm

Seattle Book Signing – Shelter from the Storm

I had a great book signing at New and Again in Everett, WA, on Saturday December 12. I had a great time.

The store supports the Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County.  I wanted to share some pictures from this book signing that is part of the book launch for Shelter from the Storm.

New and Again book signing

Shelter from the Storm is available on amazon.com and Barnes & Nobel as well as from my website.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All

This is Christmas week and my favorite time of the year. I love the music, the Christmas movies, and getting together with friends and family. Most of all I love celebrating the birth of Jesus and what that means to me and others.

Christmas Tree

2009 has been an amazing year of book releases under my own name – Rebekah Redeemed, Shelter from the Storm, and participating in the anthology Flash Tales: An Adventure in Words. One of the books I ghosted became a best seller in Canada.

I’m hoping that everyone will have a wonderful 2010.

Upcoming Virtual Book Tours

It’s been a great year of virtual book tours and guests.  This coming year of 2010 is going to be even better. Our Virtual Book Tours – Authors on the Move group is going to have ongoing tours that last through the month so you’ll have plenty of time to visit all the blogs and meet even more writers.

We are a group of children’s book authors, fiction and nonfiction who love sharing fellow authors with our readers. In January, the first post is January 2nd on this blog. I’ll have a schedule of the additional blog tour and dates available.

Welcome My Guest, Kevin McNamee

Kevin McNamee is a writer and poet living in Yonkers, NY.   He primarily writes for the children’s market.  His work has appeared in Beyond Centauri and he has several children’s picture books being published by Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.  His first book, “If I Could Be Anything” is available at www.amazon.com, or ask your local bookstore.  Look for other titles by Kevin including The Sister Exchange, The Soggy Town of Hilltop, Lightning Strikes, Papa’s Suns, and more.

Thanks for being my first guest of the New Year, Kevin. I’m sure everyone would like to know more about you and your life as a writer.

1. Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a “real” writer?

Somewhere along the way, I stopped doubting my ability.  A rejection of my manuscript ceased to be a rejection of myself.  A rejection letter became an opportunity to send my manuscript somewhere else.  Comments and criticism became opportunities to strengthen my story, revise something unworkable, or something to ignore altogether if it didn’t fit with my vision of the story.  I was able to refer to myself as a writer without feeling self conscious and … oh yeah, someone was willing to pay me for what I wrote.

Tell us about how you got started writing.

I first started writing in the second grade.  I wrote a poem that was displayed outside the classroom and I liked seeing my poem and my name in public like that.  I found that I took to writing naturally.  Growing up, I was a constant daydreamer and would construct stories in my head all the time.  Eventually, I started writing them down.  Throughout my teenage years and throughout adulthood I always felt compelled to write.  Although there were many, many times that I put creative writing on the back burner, I found that I was still writing at my day job; memos, procedures, proposals, requests, and I was receiving recognition for it.  I realized that writing had been a constant in my life, but I wasn’t writing what I wanted to write.  Now I make sure that I write what I want as well.

Tell us about your childrens book, If I Could be Anything.   

Print ISBN: 978-1-61633- 011-8; 1-61633-011- 2
eBook ISBN: 978-1-61633- 012-5; 1-61633-012- 0

If I could be anything, what would I be?

I think that eventually I would be me.

A boy pretends to be different animals in this warm, rhyming, picture book. In the end, he chooses to be exactly as he is. Love is the anchor that draws him home.

What are you currently working on?

Right now, I have several stories in various stages of completion, one story that has been finalized and critiqued and needs a final revision, and a few that are finished and have been sent out to various publishers.

This book is available from guardianangelpublishing.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, or ask your local bookstore.

We look forward to seeing more of your books. How can someone find out more about you and your books?

To find out more about me, please visit my website at www.kevinmcnamee.com or my blog at www.kevinmcnameechildrensauthor.blogspot.com I also have a new child-friendly site with games and activities at www.kevschildrensbooks.com

Vivian Zabel is my Talented Guest

I’m so happy to have Vivian Gilbert with me. She is one talented lady. I thought I’d share a little of her background with you.

Author, Publisher

Vivian Gilbert was born to Raymond and Dolly Gilbert, July 28, 1943, on Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. The base for years was outside the city of San Antonio, but now the city surrounds the base.

With a military father who was transferred around the world, Vivian often changed schools, in fact when she graduated from high school in Limestone, Maine, she had changed schools twenty-two times.

Wow Vivian, my dad was stationed at Randolph in 1945 and my husband’s father was career Air Force and stationed in Main when he was a little boy. We have a somewhat shared background.

After graduating from high school in 1961, Vivian returned to Oklahoma where she enrolled in Bethany Nazarene College (now Southern Nazarene University, in Bethany, Oklahoma). During the one semester she could afford to attend, Robert Zabel visited his sister, and Vivian and Robert met. They married February 18, 1962 and are still together.

During the next few years, Robert and Vivian had four children, three of whom lived. A story that shows the love and closeness between the couple is found in the short story “Romance Midst Tragedy,” published in Hidden Lies and Other Stories (http://tinyurl.com/8xrz2p).

That is wonderful that you would be willing to share your story with others. I know that losing a child is a very, very difficult thing to go through.

As she reared her children and was a stay-at-home-mother, with spells of working in the business world, Vivian wrote short stories, poetry, and articles, which were published.  Once her children were in school, Vivian returned to college and, in two and a half years, earned her BA with two majors (English and speech).

It’s always a challenge to find time to write while working and raising a family. I’m so glad that you were persistent with your goals as a writer.

Vivian attended workshops, clinics, conferences, and classes about writing during her twenty-seven years of teaching. The further education helped her better teach her students and helped her hone her own writing skills. Finally in 2001 she was able to write full time and write longer works, after she retired from teaching.

And now she is completely involved in writing and publishing.

At present, Vivian has six books to her credit, two co-authored. Her latest books are Prairie Dog Cowboy (written under the name V. Gilbert Zabel) and Midnight Hours (written under the name Vivian Gilbert Zabel).

Her interests besides writing include her family (husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren), reading, helping other people publish their books (through 4RV Publishing), and traveling (which she can’t do much any more).

Links:

4RV Publishing   http://4rvpublishingllc.com

Vivian Gilbert Zabel  http://viviangilbertzabel.com

Midnight Hours  http://midnight-hours.weebly.com

to order http://4rvpublsihingllc.com/Store_Books.html or Amazon.com

Prairie Dog Cowboy http://prairiedogcowboy.weebly.com

to order  http://4rvpublishingllc.com/Store_Books.html or Amazon. Com

Vivian’s books are wonderful. Below, she shares information about both of these treasures. I’m sure you’ll want to add them to your must read list.

Description of Midnight Hours by Vivian Gilbert Zabel

Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC

http://4rvpublishingllc.com

Genre: Mystery/suspense/thriller

ISBN-13: 978-0-9797513-3-2

ISBN-10: 0-9797513-3-0

Pages: 228

Starting Price:  $27.99

2^nd place in the OWFI unpublished manuscript competition, May 2008

Martin Rogers, a homicide lieutenant, positions his power chair at the end of the parallel bars in the therapy room. Over the past months, those bars have become an enemy that cannot be conquered, but which creates agony and despair.   He glares at his enemy as they silently wait to conquer him again.  An orderly in white stands beside the left side of the bars. Martin fights to overcome the damage caused by a bullet in his back.

After Martin returns from another “wasted” therapy session, the whish of the power chair’s wheels on the carpet and the low hum of the computer create the only sounds in the room as he positions himself at the desk.  He closes his eyes before laying his fingers on the keys to type in the code which would connect him to the refuge he so needed.  The Internet and the game room give him an escape from constant pain.  The woman he met and visits nightly adds to the ability to flee.

Midnight always appears around midnight each night.  She tantalizes him, giving him little information about herself; although, she finally tells him her name, Norma Fields.  After Martin threatens to cut off the months-long cyber relationship, she offers to send him a picture of herself.  She sends an email attachment: a picture of a beautiful woman.

Martin’s interest changes to one that’s professional.  An identical copy had been found, folded in the pocket of a paraplegic who had gone over the rail of a hotel room balcony.  As soon as he sees the picture, he calls his friends and fellow detectives, Kyle Stone and Frank Thomas.

The three men meet at Martin’s for breakfast and discuss the photo.  Kyle mentions that the woman looks familiar.  The men decide to find what information they can about the case and about Midnight, Norma Fields.

After Kyle and Frank return to Martin’s house after their shift, the doorbell rings.  Kyle answers the door and invites a young woman to join them.  Martin gasps as Midnight walks into the room.  Kyle introduces Assistant District Attorney Lisa Harris, telling the others, “I told you the picture reminded me of someone.”

Lisa studies the photo and agrees the head and face are hers but not the rest of the body.  She joins the investigation.

In the days that follow, the “Midnight team” discover that several men with large accidental death insurance policies, all with Norma Fields as the beneficiary, have “accidentally” died.  The search for Midnight intensifies.

Description of Prairie Dog Cowboy by V. Gilbert Zabel

Genre: middle grade/ young adult / historical fiction

Publisher: 4RV Publishing                                                     

http://4rvpublishingllc.com

Hardback, 180 pages

ISBN-13: 978-0-9797513-5-6

ISBN-10: 0-9797513-5-7

Time passes so quickly and history is getting rewritten all the time. So much of our heritage is lost with those changes.  It is refreshing to see a slice of reality portraying the daily life of 1899 Oklahoma in V. Gilbert Zabel’s latest literary work, “Prairie Dog Cowboy”.

Buddy Roberts is but a small boy at the start of the story. It isn’t clear right away why his mother is set against the child. Although he has an older brother, he’s tending to the cattle at the age of five, all alone with only his dog to keep him company. Buddy is a mindful child, doing what needs to be done, even at such a young age, hoping some day to grow up to be a cowboy. Instead of him and Patch doing the work on foot, he dreams of herding cattle on horseback someday.

Neighbor rancher Caleb Hyman is impressed with Buddy.  He wonders, too, why the child works hard while his older brother, Jake, is doted on and spoiled. But, Caleb can see the man that Buddy will become, encourages him, and teaches him to rope. Once Buddy can rope a prairie dog, Caleb promises he’ll give the boy a job on his ranch.  Not an easy thing to do, but Buddy works hard to reach his appointed goal.

Through the years, Buddy becomes a part of Caleb’s family, a friend of Caleb’s twin sons, and the unknowing object of affection for their younger sister, Katie. Life begins to take a turn for the better as he approaches manhood.   An ironic twist at the end brings the cycle of life in full circle.

Thanks to my guest, Vivian Zabel, for being with us.

Continue the Book Tour – Discover New Books & Authors

Yesterday was the first day of this month’s virtual book tour where you can meet authors, learn more about your favorites, and find new books for yourself and your family.

Our February 2010 Author and Book Tour:

1st Dianne Sagan is hosting Vivian Zabel
2nd Karen Cioffi is hosting Margaret Fieland
3rd Kathy Stemke is hosting Dana Donovan
4th Lea Schizas is hosting Heidi Thomas
5th Vivian Zabel is hosting Lea Schizas
6th Nancy Famolari is hosting Dianne Sagan
7th Margaret Fieland is hosting Carolyn Howard-Johnson
8th Elysabeth Eldering is hosting Stephen Tremp
9th Helena Harper is hosting Dallas Woodburn
10th Liana Metal is hosting Maggie Ball
11th Carolyn Howard-Johnson is hosting Nancy Famolari
12th Gayle Trent is hosting Mayra Calvani
13th Mayra Calvani is hosting Elysabeth Eldering
14th Marvin Wilson is hosting Heather Paye
15th Stephen Tremp is hosting Marvin Wilson
16th Darcia Helle is hosting Helena Harper
17th Martha Swirzinski is hosting Gayle Trent
18th Heidi Thomas is hosting Martha Swirzinski
19th Dana Donovan is hosting Liana Metal
20th Dallas Woodburn is hosting Debra Eckerling
21st Linda Suzane is hosting Janet Ann Collins
22nd Debra Eckerling is hosting Darcia Helle
23rd Heather Paye is hosting Karen Cioffi
24th Maggie Ball is hosting Kevin McNamee
25th Kevin McNamee is hosting Linda Suzane
26th Janet Ann Collins is hosting Kathy Stemke

Author Janet Ann Collins visits with us Today

            Janet Ann Collins used to write feature articles for a newspaper in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a columnist for the Antique Auction Explorer and her work has appeared in many other publications. She is the author of two fiction books for children. The Peril of the Sinister Scientist is about a middle school boy who thinks he was cloned from the blood on the Shroud of Turin because a scientist who had worked on that experiment is stalking him. Secret Service Saint is a picture book about Nicholas, who discovers the fun of doing secret good deeds and eventually becomes known as Santa Claus.

            Collins is a retired teacher, enjoys public speaking and often teaches workshops at conferences. With her husband she raised three deaf foster sons with special needs in addition to their birth daughter, and has one grandson. They live in the beautiful Sierra foothills of Northern California.

A wonderful welcome to Janet Ann Collins today. She is a versatile writer who wants to touch other people and make a difference in people’s lives. Her writing falls into many categories; adult’s, children’s, fiction and nonfiction, Christian and general market. Janet’s tagline, “Opening Eyes, Opening Hearts,” sums up what it all has in common.

 

I’m so glad to have you here today, Janet.

 

Thanks for having me, Dianne.

 

 

 

 

Janet, can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a “real” writer?

 

            Oh, yes.

 

            When I was in college I told my roommate I wanted to be a writer and she  asked me to show her my rejection slips. I had none, but finally submitted something unpublishable so I’d get one and showed it to her so she’d stop nagging. It was years later that I tried to get published commercially and my first story was accepted immediately. Then came the rejection slips. When I got the first one it reminded me of what my college roommate had said and I realized it did, indeed, show that I was a real writer.

 

Tell us about what’s going on with your writing?

 

            I have a book for young readers and I’m working on several things, including a middle grade fantasy about a girl who can communicate with animals by thought language. She and her Deaf brother travel to a foreign land trying to find and rescue their kidnapped mother. I’m also spending lots of time learning how to do marketing and publicity for my published books, write a column for the Antique Auction Explorer,  sometimes write articles for other periodicals, and have two blogs, http://onwordsblog.blogspot.com and http://janetanncollins.blogspot.com.

 

What are your future goals for your writing?

 

            I’d like to have more books published as well as more articles in periodicals.

 

Janet, would you describe for our readers a typical writing day for you?

 

            I reserve two days a week for writing and squeeze some in on other days if possible. After I check my e-mail I work on my current project for several hours. Often I’ll do the laundry the same day so when the drier buzzes I can get up and move around for a few minutes, then get back to work. If I’m on a roll I may write more in the afternoon. Otherwise I use that time for plotting, planning, sending out submissions, and working on publicity for my books. 

 

Why do you write?

 

            I guess because I want to repay some of what all the books I’ve read have given to me. I just can’t imagine not being a writer. Otherwise, what would I do with all the ideas begging to be released and shared?

 

 

Janet, where can we find more information about you and your books?

My website is http://www.janetanncollins.comand I have two blogs. One of them, http://onwordsblog.blogspot.com/ is about kids, books, and words and the other, http://janetanncollins.comis about special needs.

 

If a reader wants to contact you, where can they do that?

            They can reach me through the contact page on my website or e-mail me at janetanncollins (at) sbcglobal.net.

 

Janet, would you give us a list all your book titles so people can look for them?

 

The books that have been published so far are a middle grade  (or tweener) novel called The Peril of the Sinister Scientist and a picture book called Secret Service Saint.

****

The Peril of the Sinister Scientist by Janet Ann Collins is a tweener, or middle grade, novel about a boy who thinks he was cloned from the blood on the Shroud of Turin because a scientist who had worked on that experiment is stalking him. It is available to local bookstores and on many online sites, including Amazon where it can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/yge7ukeThe U.S. price is $7.95.

 

Here are some reviews of the book posted on Amazon:

 

Joshua Davidson, like any other kid, asks the eternal question. “Who am I?” But he has more reason than some to ask. He believes he was cloned from the scrapings of blood on the Shroud of Turin. With an active imagination he sets out to prove he is the clone of Christ. Or, is he the son of a criminal? That can pretty much be verified – in his mind. But in the end, whatever his genetics, he finds himself a hero. His travels to reach a satisfying conclusion take many twists.

Janet Ann Collins puts the reader in the reality of a young person’s world while she weaves the mystery of Joshua to a satisfying conclusion. Any Tween will relate to the trials of fitting in at school and the special world of the educational environment they live in. The setting rings true as does the peer pressure and personalities of the young characters in The Peril of the Sinister Scientist. The Peril of the Sinister Scientist is a fast paced, exciting, enjoyable read any young person should like.

 

Reviewed by: Mary Jean Kelso

It has been great having you visit with us, Janet. Thanks so much for coming today.

Your welcome, Dianne. I enjoyed being here.

I invite everyone to continue the fun and follow our virtual book tour every day in March. It’s a great way to add books to your must read list and enjoy getting to know authors and their work. You’ll get an insight into what makes your favorite writers tick. Join our March 2010 Author Tour. New and Famous writers and great content!

http://tinyurl.com/ykjvonn

 

Spring is here – What’s New

It is April, but the past few days seem more like wet, rainy winter. I’m looking forward to gardening when not writing, presenting at writer’s conferences, or spending time with family.

I’ve been MIA dealing with life stuff for the last month or so and finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s always busy with six adult children, grandchildren and pets.

Just sent my third book off to the publisher a week ago. The Fisherman’s Wife is the second novella in a series that started with Rebekah Redeemed. You’ll get a glimpse of what life may have been as Simon Peter’s wife. He is known as the leader of the disciples and Jesus called him Petros (in Greek) or Cephas (in Hebrew). He was call the rock that the early Christian church would look to as one of it’s leaders after Jesus ascended. These books are Christian fiction, but are written as historical novellas researched through historical  and cultural sources, as well as bibilcal sources. Each addresses current issues that we face today, but were faced in the first century by women as well.  This series is called Touched by the Savior.

The Fisherman’s Wife is scheduled for release summer 2010. Hope you’ll watch for it.

Finding New Books and Authors

I’m a member of Goodreads, a place where you can meet other people who love to read and there are a number of authors there, too. We can recommend books, post reviews and comments, and see what others are reading. We can collect a group of friends and participate in any of a large number of discussion groups. This is a site for all ages, depending on the groups you frequent.

I often try a new author from a book recommended to me. If I like the author’s work, then I tend to read through that author’s books. Series are fun because you can really get to know characters and you get to spend time with them in each book. They become like old friends. How do you find new books or authors to read? I’d love to hear from you all (okay, yes, I live in Texas and sometimes can’t resist “you all” or “ya’ll)

Here I am at Oklahoma Writers Federation Conference

I arrived in Oklahoma City for the OWFI 2010 conference yesterday with high winds on the road and friendly, welcoming faces at the conference. I met people that I’ve known online for a long time and have enjoyed getting to know participants and other presenters. We had a great barbque dinner to welcome all of us on the faculty for the conference. It was great to see Deborah LeBlanc again (her latest book, Water Witch). She is an inspiration to me and a friend. I love it that she wrote the cover blurb for Shelter from the Storm.

There are about 400 people here and it is a great facility and great opportunity. We had a great time in my “Life as a Ghost(writer)” workshop this morning. Everyone seemed to have a good time and told me that not only enjoyed it but it was a valuable experience. Tomorrow, Saturday, I facilitate the workshop on “How to Do a Virtual Book Tour.” It should be just as much fun.

This evening after the banquet we are holding buzz sessions either in the atrium or in our suites. Informal opportunities to chat and answer questions with participants.

Blog Jog Tomorrow!

COME JOG WITH ME!

May 9 is Blog Jog Day. Come to my site and see what’s new. Then click on the next Blog Jog Day link and see what other awesome sites are out there to explore. The list goes on and on; you don’t want to miss the fun!

Start by clicking on my site at http://diannesagan.wordpress.com

If you’re busy for Mother’s Day, the links will be in place through Monday so you could still jog then. Hope to hear from you there. Have fun!

Books by Dianne – Find out More

Find out more and browse the blog. Visit my website for glimpses into my books and links to purchase them for gifts or your own collection – Click on Dianne G Sagan – Writer, Speaker

Blog Jog Day is Here!

Thank you for stopping by my Blog! Please explore all this Blog has to offer, then jog on over to http://ReadingTeen.blogspot.com/.

Leave a comment and enter the drawing for a free copy of Shelter from the Storm. Winner to be announced  on  Wednesday, May 12, 2010.

If you would like to visit a different Blog in the jog, go to http://blogjogday.blogspot.com

Blog Jog Contest Results

I think all of us who participated in the Blog Jog had a good time meeting new people and finding new blogs that are great places to find new books and authors. I had a great time and lots of visitors.

The winner (after drawing names from a hat) of an autographed copy of  Shelter from the Storm is …… drum roll ……

LINDA HENDERSON!!!!

Congratulations, Linda. Contact me and I’ll get your mailing address privately. My email address is dgsagan@yahoo.com

Thanks to everyone for participating. Hope to see you all and some of your friends at the next Blog Jog.

Happy reading,

Dianne

Mid-Summer Reading

It’s mid-July and most of us are spending a lot of time outside and at the pool. Reading by the pool or on a swing in the backyard are great ways to pass a few hours and get away from it all. If it’s too hot outside for you, then stroll the isles of a local bookstore or visit your library. If you haven’t been to the library lately, you might try it.

With a tight economy, most of us are watching our budgets. Unfortunately, that might mean a decrease in the number of books that we purchase. (not something I like to think about as a writer) Have you read all of the books you own? Most of us have an ongoing list of books on the “to read” list. So many books, so little time. lol

I think there are many reasons to see what your library has to offer. Children reading programs for every age encourage them to read books instead of spend all their time playing computer games. My grandson loves computer games, but his mother limits his time each day. He plays outside with friends, goes to the pool with his parents, and loves to read. At ten years old, he is not afraid of tackling Harry Potter or any other book. We have taken him to the library since he was two years old for story time and read to him. Love of reading is something that I believe is a wonderful legacy to leave our children and grandchildren.

Other advantages at the library?

The New Book Shelf – watch for the latest releases

Looking for a popular book? Put a reserve on it so when it comes back you’re next in line to read the hottest new release by your favorite author.

Most libraries have online catalogs that you can use at home. Search for what you want and make a list, reserve them and go pick them up at your convenience.

Your library may have book clubs, programs, and author events that you could attend for free.

Our library has movie nights, reading festivals with authors appearing for Q&A as well as reading from their latest book.

The Friends of the Library probably have a used book sale in your area. I’ve picked up books for as little as $5.00 a bag (grocery bag). The proceeds go back to the library for new books and reading programs.

Read all the books in a series.

Borrow movies or books on CD. I listen to books on CD in the car.

As a writer, one of my best friends is a reference librarian. They can help you with any kind of research you’re doing. They know sources you may never think of and are diligent in their search.

Many libraries provide book downloads and audio book downloads through their websites.

The best thing? It is all free (in most places) and all you need is a Library card.

Enjoy your summer!

Stop by the VBT – Writers on the Move website to find authors and books. It’s a great place to go!

Summer Coming to an End

Hope everyone had a great summer. It’s been busy and challenging in some ways, but great in others. Teachers are going back to work and in our area kids return August 23rd. Even though it’s still hot, pre-season football has begun and colleges will be starting classes soon.

Another sign of Fall? The return of the monthly Virtual Book Tours and Guests. September 1st begins the first Fall tour. I’ll be giving you the schedule in a few days. My guest will be visiting on September 5th.

I’ll also be adding some new subjects for discussion, new features for readers and writers, and a newsletter this Fall.

Virtual Book Tour Returns September 1st!

Here is the schedule for the Virtual Book Tour. We’re all excited to be back and know you’ll be looking for new fall reading and authors. Mark your calendar for the tour.

Here’s our September 2010 Author Tour Schedule:

1st Karen Cioffi is featuring Donna McDine
2nd Kathy Stemke is featuring Virginia Grenier
3rd Nancy Famolari is featuring Robert Medak
4th Margaret Fieland is featuring Jane Sutton
5th Dianne Sagan is featuring Marietta Taylor
6th Elysabeth Eldering is featuring Janet Ann Collins
7th Helena Harper is featuring Debra Eckerling
8th Carolyn Howard-Johnson is featuring Helena Harper
9th Heather Paye is featuring Dianne Sagan
10th Marvin Wilson is featuring Kari Wolfe
11th Stephen Tremp is featuring Nancy Famolari
12th Darcia Helle is featuring Dallas Woodburn
13th Martha Swirzinski is featuring Stephen Tremp
14th Debra Eckerling is featuring Maggie Ball
15th Heidi Thomas is featuring Heather Paye
16th Dallas Woodburn is featuring Gary Murning
17th Maggie Ball is featuring Brigitte Thompson
18th Virginia Grenier is featuring Karen Cioffi
19th Janet Ann Collins is featuring Margaret Fieland
20th Katie Hines is featuring Martha Swirzinski
21st Brigitte Thompson is featuring Kevin McNamee
22nd Marietta Taylor is featuring Darcia Helle
23rd Kari Wolfe is featuring Marvin Wilson
24th Jane Sutton is featuring Jessica Kennedy
25th Gary Murning is featuring Katie Hines
26th Jessica Kennedy is featuring Elysabeth Eldering
27th Robert Medak is featuring Carolyn Howard-Johnson
28th Kevin McNamee is featuring Heidi Thomas
29th Kim Rapier is featuring Kathy Stemke
30th Donna McDine is featuring Kim Rapier

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to my Guest, Marietta Taylor

I am so glad to have Marietta Taylor as my guest. She is a great author and has a great book out that I’m sure all you women will enjoy, and you guys can learn from, too.

I want to share a little about Marietta with you so you can get to know her along with me.

Marietta (Mari) Taylor resides in Raleigh, NC with her husband of seventeen years and her two teenage daughters. The move from Chicago, IL to Raleigh proved a breeding ground for dusting off her dream of writing. Mari is the author of  Surviving Unemployment Devotions to Go, released March 2010 and Girlfriends On…Surviving Unemployment, also scheduled to be released in 2010. Mari was also published in Penned From The Heart VOL XV, a devotional anthology. Her column, Frugal Elegance, appears in Girlfriend 2 Girlfriend, an online magazine published by Extreme Diva Media.

Mari strives to show women how to manage the critical aspects of their lives elegantly, frugally and cohesively. Now if she could just get her two high maintenance daughters and one high maintenance husband on board. That ultimately will be the true test of her skill!

Marietta Taylor’s book, “Surviving Unemployment Devotions to Go,” is a devotional that reads like an e-mail from a friend. She is candid, smart, and funny. She reveals to you the things that most people wouldn’t, just so you can learn from her experiences. Each chapter has a scriptural reference and a prayer focus that condition you to hold on to the Lord’s promises and obey His Word, even as the storm of circumstances make you a little unsteady.

“Surviving Unemployment Devotions to Go,” offers tips on thankfulness (Taylor’s family challenged themselves to find a ‘silver lining’ during the worst days), frugality and money-making (She never shopped without a coupon and sold to consignment shops for extra cash), and keeping a consistent relationship with God (She says that prayer is like anti-itch cream…re-apply as needed.)

The emotions and obstacles brought about by unemployment are some that many of us face each day in different situations. There is debt, marital discord, and the tough job of trying to meet the needs of everyone in the family. I would recommend this devotional to any woman who manages a household.

Taylor shows us that we can live, love, and laugh through our issues, and make the best possible decisions, while we trust God to lead us out of them.

Read an excerpt of “Surviving Unemployment Devotions to Go” at www.mariettataylor.net. Get your copy at www.edmbookstore.com.

Book Review by Adrienne Adams
President
The Write Vision Group
www.wtvmin.com

This review first appeared in Breathe Again Magazine

http://breatheagainmagazine.org/book-reviews/surviving-unemployment-devotions-to-go/

Contact information for Marietta and more about her books and writing career are at:

Personal Blog: www.marismorningroom.blogspot.com

My personal blog is a hodge podge of book reviews, inspirationsl posts, family and personal news nad whatever else I might think of on a given day

Website: www.mariettataylor.net

My website explains more about my life philospohy of “frugal elegance”. You can also find book release information and links to follow me on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter: www.twitter.com/raleighgirl

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Marietta-Taylor-Author/345681080001

Great Time – Great Weekend

It was such fun having Marietta Taylor with me yesterday and all the visitors.

Labor Day weekend is always the official end of summer. School has been going for two weeks already and my grandson is loving it this year with a great teacher. I’ll be doing book signings for The Fisherman’s Wife this Thursday, September 9, 2010 at the Amarillo Public Library, Central branch from 4:30 to 6:00 right before a Friends of the Library book sale. I hope that if you’re close you can come and see me. It should be fun.

Of course, I’m always working on at least one book at a time with others on the back burner. I love the writing and I love the people I meet through that writing. I’m also enjoying speaking to groups, whether civic or writers groups.

I love to read, as well. Some of my favorite authors are, of course, those fellow writers in the VBT – Writers on the Move group. Look below a couple of posts for the rest of the September tour schedule. I hope you’ll follow along.  I read a lot of different authors and genre. I’d have to say that suspense, mysteries, historical fiction, and Christian fiction are probably what I read most. What do you read?

Excerpt from The Fisherman’s Wife

An Excerpt from The Fisherman’s Wife

Available for purchase at: Buoy Up Press

(Note: This work of fiction set in the first century Palestine portrays the life of Simon Peter’s wife, as I see it may have happened.)

Time blurred one day into the next. Johanna mechanically went through her daily chores. Her pregnancy kept her exhausted all the time. Finally, her time arrived and she went into labor. Leah and the midwife helped her. It lasted for hours. Johanna had to be supported on the birthing bricks. She couldn’t hold herself up anymore. With one last push, the baby boy slid into the midwife’s hands. Johanna collapsed.

Leah and Esther exchanged looks with the midwife. She shook her head and covered the little boy with a cloth. Johanna, barely coherent whispered, “Why do I not hear my baby cry?”

Leah enfolded her daughter in her arms. Johanna keened into her mother’s shoulder. She had failed again.

When Simon came to inquire of his wife and child, Esther and Caleb took him to the shoreline now empty of fishermen and boats. Simon sat down and buried his head in his hands. Then, after awhile, he rose, composed and aloof.

Simon and Johanna’s home seemed permanently silent. No children played in the court yard or splashed in the water’s edge when the boats came in from fishing. The months passed and Johanna lost hope of bearing a live child. Finally, Simon stopped coming to her at all. …

Johanna fell on her face and prayed for death or a child. “Oh God, like our mother Rachael, fill my womb with a child that I may redeem myself before my husband and my people.”

Kids love The Wild Soccer Bunch – Yours will, too!

I found a wonderful children’s book with some real time lessons for our kids. With so many kids and parents involved in soccer these days, I thought some of you might love this book. It’s The Wild Soccer Bunch, a brand new, fun and exciting kids’ adventure book starring the only girl on a boys’ soccer team.   It has been endorsed by the great Landon Donovan, star starof the LA Galaxy and US Soccer MVP in the World Cup. This book has already sold 9 million copies world-wide, and we want you to be apart of this best-selling phenomenon.

Kids around the world love The Wild Soccer Bunch! The book motivates kids to get involved in team sports and supports values such asdiversity, sportsmanship, teamwork, leadership and self-acceptance. The book exudes passionate storytelling and an equal passion for the game kids love:  soccer.  Kids who love The Wild Soccer Bunch will be inspired to play the game. You can find the book at  www.wildsoccerbunch.com/launch and I wanted to share it with all of you (since we all know a kid somehow).

“The Fisherman’s Wife” Latest Reviews

First, a thank you to those who have reviewed my book so far.

The Fisherman’s Wife – Book Review

By Camille Bradstreet

Step back into first century Palestine with Johanna, the wife of a moderately successful fisherman named Simon. Dianne Sagan does a wonderful job of weaving her story about this typical Jewish girl who grows into a woman during the time of religious renewal in this area of the world. Enjoy the sights, sounds, images and hardships described as Johanna evolves from young bride to adult woman in an age of difficult times and oppression.

Appealing to young adult and anyone interested in the lifestyle of Jesus’ contemporaries, Sagan uses her imagination, scripture and tradition in The Fisherman’s Wife to bring these characters to life and tie them to events Christians recognize from scripture.

Johanna’s character as well as those around her deal with real, timeless issues of our day and hers.

What if Simon Peter had a wife and child? August 30, 2010

By Wyn (Canada)

This review is from: The Fisherman’s Wife (Paperback)

What if the disciples had families? Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that Jesus healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, therefore; he had a wife. Church history tells us that Peter and his wife were crucified together in Rome. Ms. Sagan has taken these passages and histories to fashion a woman called Johanna as the wife of Simon. Johanna has grown up with Simon and is ecstatic when their fathers come to an agreement on a bridal contract. At first the marriage is wonderful but then troubles develop which cause bitterness and withdrawal. Soon Simon starts to follow Jesus leaving the fishing business to be managed by his partner. Johanna’s bitterness grows as she feels left out and partially abandoned by Simon. Her interactions with Jesus help her to come to terms with God. Ms. Sagan has portrayed 1st Century Capernaum in a detailed and believable manner as she did in “Rebecca Redeemed”. This second book about women in the time of Jesus shows an eternal century-crossing side of women. Like women today Johanna has joys and troubles and when in trouble, she needs proof that the solutions will work. She is also stubborn and needs proof that her beliefs will support her in the long run. Although she supports her husband, she wants to know that he still loves her, honors her, and will take care of her as well as the family. This novella has many facets that make it enjoyable as well as thoughtful.

The book can be purchased at Buoy Up Press

Meet Debra Eckerling

I am delighted to have Debra Eckerling with me today. You are quit a busy lady. How long you’ve been writing?

Thanks for having me, Dianne.  I’ve had a passion for writing since childhood. I believe that people don’t choose to be writers. Writing chooses you.

You are the founder of Write On!  Tell us about it.

Write On! Is a virtual writers support group for writers of all abilities, mediums, and specialties where they can take their project to the next level. The community also has a Facebook page where participants can post goals and share information with each other.

That sounds like a great place for all of us writers to be a part of.

The website also has Author Q&As a couple of times a week, Writing Contests, Expert Columns, and a monthly drawing for a Free iScript just for posting your goals.

You also do coaching and conduct workshops. How did you get started?

I’ve spent about 10 years getting writer’s groups started and doing workshops. I was a Community Events Coordinator at Barnes & Noble and a Production Editor at Publications International, Ltd. Our groups began meeting at B&N, and after 8 1/2 years in Santa Monica, CA, we now meet online on Blog Talk Radio. We have a great group of people—all ages, all specialties, all genres, and all levels of experience—with a lot of wonderful energy.

Our Next Meeting:
Wednesday, October 13, 8 pm PDT/11 pm EDT
Blog Talk Radio

I’d love to see you all there.

What is the October challenge on your website?

The October Write On! Challenge is a Tweeting Contest: Describe your blog in 140 characters or less. OnTwitter it is essential to get the most information out in the least amount of words. This challenge will help you hone that skill.

Thanks for dropping by today, Deb, How can we find out more about you and what writers can do to get more involved in Write On!

My links are:

http://writeononline.com/

http://www.facebook.com/writeononline

Continue your October travels with VBT – Writers on the Move and visit tomorrow, October 6^th, with Mari Taylor at Elizabeth Elderling’s blog http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com

Upcoming Workshop

Learn how to craft your story, characters and your novel with author Dianne Sagan. Get involved in one of the nation’s great celebrations of the written word, National Novel Writing Month.

National Novel Writing Month

Writing Groups

Tuesdays in November

6:30 pm

East Branch Library

2232 E 27th

To Reserve Your Spot Call

Jenna Hodges at (806) 376-7021 or

CyndieWynia at (806) 342-1589.

 

 

 

 

 

 

November is NaNoWriMo

If you don’t know what NaNoWriMo, then you are where I was until a few years ago. It is National Novel Writing Month. Every November since about 1999, participants have engaged in writing abandon by writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. At first, I thought that was impossible, but learned it can indeed be done.

This November 2010 I’m signed up and ready to go on a sequel to Shelter from the Storm. I’ll also be facilitating a Basic Novel Writing class during November on Tuesday evenings where I live in Amarillo, Texas. The class is at the East Branch Library on 26th near Sam’s Club on Ross-Osage. We start this coming Tuesday at 6:30 for an hour and a half of writing fun.

You can sign up to participate in NaNoWriMo from home or where ever you are. Sign up at NaNoWriMo. Even if you only get part way through and don’t finish within the 30 days, it is an exciting experience and you’ll probably surprise yourself with how much you can accomplish and how your way of looking at writing can change. Most of all have fun.

Here’s a few words from the staff at NaNoWriMo:

When you registered for your account, you had the opportunity to affiliate with a NaNoWriMo region. You can affiliate with more than one NaNoWriMo region, and choose one region to make your Home Region. Many towns have Municipal Liaisons (MLs) to organize NaNo write-ins and get-togethers in October and November, and affiliating with a region will automatically add you to the regional email list for updates about local events. Every region has a special message board called a Regional Lounge that becomes visible to affiliates of that region on the Forums page.

To affiliate with any region, just sign in to the site and click the My Regions link in the left-hand menu on your profile page. When you click that, you’ll see three tabs. The Regions tab lets you affiliate with any of NaNoWriMo regions around the world. Once you’ve affiliated with the region (or regions—you can pick a bunch if you like), you should pick one of them to be your Home Region on that beautiful Home Region tab.”

Before you head off to begin training those typing fingers, we wanted to offer a few bits of advice. You’ll find many great tips in the forums, and we’ll be sending pep talks directly to your inbox during November. But for now, here’s a quick overview of the three-and-a-half things we wish we had known for our first NaNoWriMo.

1) It’s okay to not know what you’re doing. Really. You’ve read a lot of novels, so you’re completely up to the challenge of writing one. If you feel more comfortable outlining your story ahead of time, do so. But it’s also fine to just wing it. Write every day, and a book-worthy story will appear, even if you’re not sure what that story might be right now.

2) Do not edit as you go. Editing is for December. Think of November as an experiment in pure output. Even if it’s hard at first, leave ugly prose and poorly written passages on the page to be cleaned up later. Your inner editor will be very grumpy about this, but your inner editor is a nitpicky jerk who foolishly believes that it is possible to write a brilliant first draft if you write it slowly enough. It isn’t. Every book you’ve ever loved started out as a beautifully flawed first draft. In November, embrace imperfection and see where it takes you.

3) Tell everyone you know that you’re writing a novel in November. This will pay big dividends in Week Two, when the only thing keeping you from quitting is the fear of looking pathetic in front of all the people who’ve had to hear about your novel for the past month. Seriously. Email them now about your awesome new book. The looming specter of personal humiliation is a very reliable muse.

3.5) There will be times you’ll want to quit during November. This is okay. Everyone who wins NaNoWriMo wanted to quit at some point in November. Stick it out. See it through. Week Two can be hard. Week Three is much better. Week Four will make you want to yodel.

And we’re talking the good kind of yodeling here.

A final word before you head off! NaNoWriMo is a grassroots nonprofit, funded almost entirely by participant donations. If you get something out of NaNoWriMo, we ask that you come by our secure online Donation Station and Store and make a small donation to help keep the program going strong. Even $10 makes a world of difference! http://store.lettersandlight.org

With great well wishes on the noveling month ahead,

The NaNoWriMo Team

Please Welcome My Guest, Robert Medak

Robert Medak is a freelance writer, editor, book reviewer, aspiring marketer, and aspiring author. He spent 37 years in Telecommunications, upon retiring he decided to follow his dream of being a writer. Robert has written or ghost written over 350 articles and 80 book reviews.

Hi Robert, glad to have you here today during National Novel Writing Month.

Thanks for having me, Dianne.   

What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

This is a hard one to answer, because the process is different, at different times. I have been on the way to work and something will trigger a thought and out comes a poem. I was taking out the trash one day and a sight started me thinking, out came a poem. I was recently tagged to write a Christmas story, while laying in bed, I was thinking and had most of the story created in my mind before falling asleep. I woke up the next day and wrote the short story in less than an hour. Reading a good deal also helps your writing. I try to read and write something every day.

Since this month is NaNoWriMo and some of our visitors may be participating  writing tips are always appreciated. What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story?

Good writing.

There are many ingredients that make a story.

1. Plot
2. Believable Characters
3. Realistic Dialogue
4. Setting
5. Pace
6. POV
7. beginnings, Middle, and Endings that make sense
8. Consistency of theme

What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours?

Someone the reader can identify with. Someone with the same characteristics that the reader may know personally. A person that you love, hate or causes a reaction or emotion in the reader.

By being open, and observing real people in real situations and their response to it.

A writer should always carry a notebook, pad of something to write down items they observe in daily interactions with people, animals, or just the place they live. These are all ingredients to creating a living breathing character in stories.

Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust?

Yes. I run most of my writing past my wife, and avid reader. Also, critique groups and others whose opinion I trust.

What are you working on now?

I have a children’s book, a YA-Adult, Adult, eBooks.

The YA-Adult is Science Fiction, the adult is about alternative lifestyle, the eBook I am currently working on is to answer some questions I have been asked in regards to freelance writing. I will be offering an eBook about freelance writing to writers that sign up for a specific online writers conference in 2009 where I plan on being a presenter for a freelance writing course I will be creating. I created a course for writers at Writers’ Village University that I facilitate; I have also facilitated other courses.

Where can we learn more about you?

Writing & More is my business: http://stormywriter.com

My WordPress blog about freelance writing: http://rjmedak.wordpress.com/

My WordPress blog for kids and about animals: http://kidsandanimals.wordpress.com/

My Blog about writing: http://rjmedak.blogspot.com/

My Book review blog: http://rjmbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Thanks for being such a great guest, Robert.

Thank you for having me.

I hope everyone will continue this month’s great tour tomorrow with Debra Eckerling who is the guest at Janet Ann Collins blog.

Vivian Zabel is my Guest with her new novel, “Stolen”

Hot off the Press:

Edmond, Oklahoma – 4RV Publishing announces the novel Stolen by Vivian Gilbert Zabel will be officially released November 1. ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) were sent to reviewers the past two months, and the book’s debut will be in time for Christmas shopping.

The emotion, frustration, and helplessness she felt when two grandchildren were taken by their father led Zabel to write Stolen. She said, “I took the overpowering feelings that were drowning me and gave them to the main character in the book.” She added that the emotions remained, but they became manageable.

Zabel also stated that it took ten years for the novel to see print. “It took three years to write, four more to proof and edit (with six editors going over and through it time after time), and the last three to prepare for publication.” Most books take considerably less time, but according to the author, this one simply wouldn’t “finish” until after her grandchildren rejoined the family, twelve years after they were taken.

The novel will be available through any bookstore, the 4RV Publishing website book store, plus other online book providers such as Amazon. Pre-sales are open on the publishing website now.

http://4rvpublishingllc.com/Novels.html

Zabel has won several awards with her writing, including first place with her mystery/suspense Midnight Hours. She taught English and writing for nearly 30 years and edited newspapers, yearbooks, and literary magazines sporadically for 45. She had poetry, short stories, and articles published over the years, but while raising her family and teaching, she didn’t have time to write longer works. After retirement, she produced a collection of short stories with Holly Jahangiri, Hidden Lies and Other Stories;  a collection of poetry with seven other poets located in the United States and Canada, Walking the Earth: Life’s Perspectives in Poetry; three young adult books, The Base Stealers, Case of the Missing Coach, Prairie Dog Cowboy;  and two novels including Stolen.

A wife for nearly 49 years, the mother of three living children, grandmother of ten grandchildren, and great-grandmother of five, Zabel believes family and faith are most important, and that belief finds its way in most of her writing. Her characters come from people she observes or reads about mixed with her imagination. Plots take a gain of an idea and combine with a massive dosage of “what if.”

Vivian Zabel appears at book festivals and other book events around her home state of Oklahoma. Her most recent, October 30 at Tahlequah’s Author Fest, will be a pre-debut of Stolen.

 

Fifteen Days Until Christmas

Do you have all of your Christmas shopping done or are there still a few things to get? Tired of the Mall and the crowds? I have a shopping solution for you that can be done in your bunny slippers and jammies.

I wanted to tell you about this amazing holiday catalog with products you have never seen before.  It’s called the Spirit of the Seasons Catalog, a transformational way of gift giving.  www.spiritoftheseasoncatalog.com. Now, if you subscribe to the mailing list, you’ll get a free gift – 11 Inexpensive Holidays Gifts You Can Make – it’s a perfect way to take care of those last minute gifts.  Many of the other gifts can be downloaded and emailed and are wonderful items your friends and family will enjoy.  Others must be shipped, but there’s still time.  So if you’re sick of the mall and just want to shop from home for something unique, check it out - the special gifts in the Spirit of the Season Catalog are just what you need.

 

Take a look at http://www.spiritoftheseasoncatalog.com.

 

You’ll find gifts in the Spirit of the Seasons Catalog in the following categories: art, inspirational, motivational, business opps, success & wealth building, health and energy healing, Law of Attraction workshops, intuitive healing, all genres of fiction and a variety of non-fiction to empowering products that will light anyone’s life and many more too numerous to mention.

It’s the catalog that keeps on giving throughout the season(s). Please share it with your friends, family and contacts!  Thanks so much.

http://www.spiritoftheseasoncatalog.com

Best Wishes for a Happy Holiday Season.

 

‘Tis the Season

Like many others, this is my favorite time of year. Challenging  times economically all over the country have people thinking about cutting back and making things simpler. The truth is that we’ve all seemed to get caught up in more activities and the season of Peace on Earth and the birth of Christ get lost in our celebration with more and more stuff.

My husband and I live in a relatively small house and over the past year have shared it with adult children and their family. I like to tell people that we have 5 adults, 1 child, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and a partridge in a pear tree. We do actually have a pear tree in our yard although I think it probably has a shivering sparrow rather than a partridge. Our family includes six children so when we all get together we make our own crowd.

I’m finding that health challenges and economic challenges for much of our family make me think more about what really matters. We still have our decorations up. My grandson and I decorated the tree with fewer decorations and utilized natural things. Our crowded living room turned office allowed a small area in one corner for the tree. We could only decorate 1/3 of the tree that peeks out around the book shelves and file cabinets. But, somehow it is one of the prettiest trees we’ve ever had.

At church this past Sunday, our minister spoke about making this the best Christmas ever. He gave the points I’d like to share with you. (1)Don’t over schedule  (2) Don’t over spend  (3) Don’t over expect it can lead to disappointment  (4) Don’t over look the whole point of the season – the birth of Jesus.

I wish you a blessed season and New Year. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

 

Children’s Christmas Books

Over the past several years many publishers released Christmas themed books written by our favorite authors. Some of my favorite children’s books are:

The Christmas Story ,Jane Werner Watson

The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg

Mistletoe Madness, Miriam Hees

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Seuss

The Night Before Christmas

Humphrey’s First Christmas, Carol Heyer

 

 

Christmas Holiday Reading

My favorite is in the book of Luke 2: 1 – 7. Contemporary books I’d recommend for a great read. Put up your feet, snuggle in with your favorite snacks and hot spiced cider and enjoy.

Debbie Macomber’s Angelic Intervention books: (partial list)

A Season of Angels

The Trouble With Angels

Touched By Angels

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy

****

Norman Rockwell’s Christmas

Skipping Christmas, John Grisham

One Incredible Moment, Max Lucado

The Max Lucado Christmas Collection

Christmas for Writers

Have you seen how many Christmas books there are in the book stores or on eBooks? I think it’s an exciting idea to build in to your plans for next year. While we’re enjoying this blessed season, I’m sure most of you are like me. We’re reflecting on this year’s writing and looking forward to projects for next year. One way to get started is collect family stories about Christmases past. It also makes a wonderful gift to family members and grandchildren so they can learn about their family.

Merry Christmas to you all and happy writing in the coming New Year.

Merry Christmas to All

 

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,

The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.

The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,

The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,

But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.

I love thee, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky,

And stay by my side until morning is nigh.

Be near me Lord Jesus

I ask thee to stay.

Close by me forever,

And love my I pray.

Bless all the dear children,

In thy tender care.

And take them to heaven,

To be with thee there.

Happy New Year

Carved wooden salmon @ Ivar's Restaurant, Everett, WA

I just had to share this picture with all of you. I know it’s random, but I hope it brings a smile to your face to start this new year. Yes, that is Santa on top. I can’t figure out if the salmon is saving Santa or trying to have him for lunch.  I took it last year while visiting with my nieces Helen and Rachael and their families. We had a great time!

We ate a wonderful lunch at Ivar’s before taking a ferry ride. Hadn’t been there in many years so it was a delight.  For me, there is nothing better than Alaskan halibut and a bucket of butter clams. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

I wish you a wonderful New Year in 2011. BTW – you know those resolutions everyone either makes or tries to ignore? I decided several years ago that if I didn’t accomplish it all this year that I could just keep it on the list for the next year. Being a list maker for my whole life – at least since I knew how to write – is part of who I am and I make looonnnggg lists and then think I can accomplish them in a fairly limited amount of time. My husband, Greg, has spent years teaching me to be kind to myself. I am a work in progress and so are all the things on that list. I’m learning to celebrate accomplishments and look forward to experiences. Maybe I’m just getting older, but it’s beginning to sink in.

If you’re a writer, then I hope you’ll write in 2011. We can stretch ourselves together and keep working on being the best writers we can be.

If you’re a reader, then enjoy yourself – the stories, the turn of a phrase, the characters you’ll meet, and the places you’ll go without ever leaving home.

 

New Year’s Goals

Just thought I’d share a few of my goals for 2011. I’m also inviting you to please leave a comment and share some of your goals. This is my year to equally divide my writing time between Ebooks and print books. (Okay, that is a vague and unmeasurable statement, but I have some specific goals.)

I will submit an article, story, or manuscript for publication on the 3rd Friday of each month during 2011.

I will participate in 6 book festivals and signing events in 2011.

I will finish editing Shadows, a sequal novel to Shelter from the Storm, that I wrote during NaNoWritMo this past November. It will be ready for submission by the 3rd Friday in February.

I will launch an every other month newsletter before January 25.

These are a few of my goals. Can’t wait to see what some of your goals are. Have a great year!

Flash Fiction & How It Helps Writers

The fun about writing flash fiction is that it doesn’t take all that long. There are some great lessons that I’ve learned in writing flash fiction that may be of help to you, too.

BTW – for those who are readers – these short stories range from 55 words to 1000 words. They are quick to read on that busy schedule you have.

The challenge for the writer is to include setting, plot, characters, conflict, and resolution in a short number of words. Most writers actually find it easier to write 200 pages than a short story.

The number one lesson: use words economically.

Earnest Hemingway once took the challenge of writing a complete story in six words! Known for his brevity that sounds like quit a challenge even for Hemingway. His story:

“For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”

 

45 Days After NaNoWriMo

I know that a lot of you participated in NaNoWritMo this past November. National Novel Writing Month is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel (first draft) during the month of November. Over 300,000 people participated, world-wide in 2010. Some succeeded and reached their goal of at least 50,000 words, others only made it part way. Hurray for everyone that participated.

Some participants say “I couldn’t believe that I could do it, at first. Then, I knew I couldn’t just stop along the way. I had to finish it and the best thing is that you learn you can do it.” Once you do it you can do it again.

I’m working on a sequel to Shelter from the Storm edits.

If you’re like a lot of us, we’re working our way through editing and re-writes so we can submit the manuscript and get it published. I’m working on a sequel to Shelter from the Storm editing. Good luck with your books.  Please join me in a discussion on how we’re all doing.

Tuesday Writing Tips

Don’t forget to check out the Adventures in Words Newsletter first issue.

Do you struggle with remembering all those punctuation rules you learned back in high school? Get a copy of the MLA Style book or Strunk & White’s book, The Elements of Style . They are excellent resources to keep in your home library. Another book I’d recommend that is entertaining to read and is a great source about punctuation in Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.

Do everything you can as you’re re-writing and polishing your writing to use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. These books are great tools. Grammar check and spell check have a place in the process, but they don’t replace taking the time and diligence to read carefully through your writing and making the changes. Then, get a good editor to go through your manuscript, short story, or article. An editor catches things you’ll miss.

It saves a lot of time in the long run and should make the trip from manuscript to publishing smoother and faster. If you are self-publishing in print or Ebooks, then getting a good, experienced editor to go through your work first will save you some embarrassment later. We all want our very best work in front of readers.

It can be a tedious process and re-writes are not nearly as fun as that first draft as it floods out onto the screen. But, if we want to be authors, then that’s part of the road we travel. The last details are the hardest to get through, but it’s worth it.

Good luck on your writing over the next week. Please come back for Tuesday Tips next week. I also welcome comments and tips from all of you.

Flight to Heaven

I just have to share this book with you. I finished reading it and have been telling all my friends about it. Flight to Heaven: A Pilot’s True Story, by Capt. Dale Black.

This little book tells Black’s story of surviving a plane crash, where he went, and his life after he returned. I believe it had to be a God thing for him to have even survived and that God has worked through him in this book. Black had to literally rebuild his young life and on the way found a relationship with God and a love for others that is an example to all of us. If you liked 90 Minutes in Heaven, then you’ll love Flight to Heaven. It is a quick read for those with busy schedules who find it hard to make time for books.

Flight to Heaven

Published by Bethany House

ISBN#: 978-1-61664-484-0

How to Learn Writing from Reading

Sometimes writers read books on the craft of writing, but other times read for pure entertainment. Do you ever find yourself sliding into edit mode while reading? At a recent Panhandle Professional Writers meeting here in Amarillo, I discussed this with another author. We find typos and minor mistakes in books that we would have never noticed before. It takes many pairs of eyes on a manuscript throughout the whole process from first draft to final copy on it’s way to the printer. Get other writers and critique groups to assist you in the process. It’s even better if you can get a professional editor to go through your manuscript before it goes to the publisher or turned into an e-book.

I don’t recall who it was, but a well-known author suggested in an article that writers should pick up a used copy of one of their favorite author’s books. I went to a thrift store. Then, as you read the book, mark sentence structure, elements of the conflict, character development, and study how the dialog is written. Read the classics and read contemporary fiction. If you are a nonfiction writer, then apply the analysis to a book on your favorite subject. It’s a great way to learn from other writers.

As you read, make notes in the margins or in a notebook. You can find spiral notebooks or small journals most places, even the inexpensive  chain stores have them for as little as a dollar. Date your notes. Be sure to include the title and author of the book. I even include the publishing company and copyright year.

The publishing world is changing around us on a daily basis. More electronic readers like Kindle and Nook are put on the market each week. E-books are exploding onto the market. In my opinion, whether you write traditional books or e-books, it’s still important for us to develop our craft and produce the best possible writing for our readers. Keep on writing and reading!

Mark Twain Celebration and Editorial Writing Workshop

Some of you may know that my husband, Greg Sagan, is an editorial writer who has hundreds of opinion pieces to his credit and has a weekly column on Tuesdays in the Amarillo Globe News both paper and online. If you’re going to be in the area during February, then you’ll want to note his class on writing editorials and opinion pieces in conjunction with a look at Mark Twain’s writing.

Sponsored by the Amarillo YMCA and Amarillo Public Library, this free class will meet each Tuesday night in February at the East Branch Library, 6:30 – 8:00. Greg is a professional business consultant and group facilitator with years of experience. His approach is interactive, motivating, and fun.

Tips on Entering Contests

This post is from the OWFI online group, but I wanted to share it with you all. Writers Conferences provide many benefits, including contests. Some of these contests require you to attend the event, but others do not. Check on the guidelines and pick the categories that you want to enter your work. Here are some tips:

On Wed Jan 19, Maria Veres said:

Here are a few things to watch for when you’re cranking out those
last-minute contest entries….

Be sure your name doesn’t appear in headers or anywhere else. Nonfiction
writers, also check the text of your manuscript to make sure you haven’t
referenced a blog or Web site that includes your name.

Include the proper information in the header–category name and number,
plus word/line/page count. Check each specific category for exact
guidelines.

Double space all manuscripts except poetry and book synopses/outlines.

Include a self-addressed envelope, 9×12 (preferred) or larger. For
unpublished manuscripts, the envelope can’t be any smaller than 9×12.
The manuscript has to fit without folding.

Double-check that you’re sending your entry to the right category chair.

Kindle and E-books

Anyone involved in writing or the publishing industry is well aware of the rise in E-books sold. If you don’t get the Publishers Weekly free newsletters, then I’d recommend them to you. Over 13 million iPads were sold in the last half of 2010 and E-book sales are up 158% according to some sources I’ve read recently.

If we’re not on board, then the train is going to pass us by. One of my goals for this year is to become a part of that change to a greater extent. My publisher, Buoy Up Press, editor Dan Case put Rebekah Redeemed and The Fisherman’s Wife on Kindle and Nook for the Christmas shopping season.

Joan and Steve Neubauer of WordWright.biz, Inc. Publishing, are getting my women’s fiction book, Shelter from the Storm, ready for re-release in the early Spring on Kindle.

Amazon has directions available for authors who want to go directly to publishing their works on Kindle. Read discussions in online writing groups for experiences of others and their tips. I know that Amazon converts your document from html to their formating software much better than if you try sending it in MSWord or PDF.

Check our the upcoming free online conference for free and upgraded members of savvywriters.com . In February, they’re offering this online conference focused on E-books, publishing them successfully, and changes in the publishing world. Even if you don’t write romance, I think the information about changing from only print books to a combination of both electronic readers and print books is valuable to any writer. (Note: This site is for 18 years and older because some of the books have adult content.) Watch for other conferences or webinars that can help us with the transitioning to electronic books. I’ll pass on links as I come across them. I’d love to hear about conferences or webinars from you. Feel free to post them in a comment.

I’m also reading and learning as much as I can about preparing manuscripts for E-books so they can be on Kindle, Nook, and other readers or downloaded from my own website Dianne G Sagan – Author . Right now, I’m working toward’s having Free downloadable discussions for book clubs or groups to use for Rebekah Redeemed and The Fisherman’s Wife.

Snow Storms and Subzero Temperatures

Cold weather, hot chocolate, and curled up with a good book (or Kindle, Nook, iPad to mention only a few).

How’s everyone doing out there? Hope you’re all keeping warm. I have stayed hunkered down with the wind howling outside and wind chills 20 below. Now I realize that many of you have it much worse than we do here in the Panhandle of Texas, but this is way colder that usual and just a dusting of snow. We are really dry here and could sure use some of the moisture others are getting. Our weather patterns have gone nuts in the past few years. Okay, I  know you don’t need another report on weather conditions.

Has anyone been writing while their stuck inside? I’d love to hear what you’re working on. My new schedule for three posts a week is off because I was ill, but am feeling much better and really hungry today.

I’ve been reading – of course. Next up on my list is Stephen King’s book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I don’t usually read horror and his books are a bit much for me, but several members of my family love his books. I recognize him as an excellent writer. This book on his experiences as a writer and about the craft of writing is said to be a must read for those of us who write. I expect it would also be a great read for those of you who love his books. It will give you a glimpse into Stephen King himself – the man behind the stories. At any rate, I’m looking forward to it.

Book Clubs

How many of you are in a book club or have participated in one? I’d love to hear about your experiences and how you choose which books to read. Some groups take suggestions from members and then vote. If you read books from Oprah’s Book Club, then you read her choices – many of which are wonderful reads.

Book clubs can be a group of friends, neighbors, or an online group like at Katrina Wampler’s blog. We’re just getting started on the first book of the year, Cedar Woman, byDebra Shiveley Welch.

Lena Cedar Woman Young Bear, a daughter of the Lakota Sioux, opens the first high-end Native American restaurant in Central Ohio.

This is her story.

Born in May Hill, Ohio, Lena Cedar Woman travels to Columbus at age 12 after tragedy befalls her family. Here, in the capital city, a chance encounter leads her to her destiny.

Walk with her as she changes the lives and fortunes of those she loves.      

Follow her to powwow where she meets her half-side.

Rejoice with her at the grand opening of her restaurant.

Cedar Woman allows the reader to learn the ways, and some of the language of The People, while also offering romance and discovery.

This might be the book you and your friends want to read next.

Tips on Starting a Book Club

Tuesday’s post talked about book clubs a bit and I made a suggestion. If you’re not a part of a book club and want to be in one, then ask around, look in your community newspaper for announcements or at your public library. The alternative to that is start your own with some friends and neighbors.

You’ll need to make some decisions on how large you want your group to get. You may want to limit it to a certain number like 6 – 10. Sometimes a larger group can be harder to manage with busy schedules.

Find a place for your meetings. Most libraries have a room you can use for a minimal refundable deposit. They love having groups meet and read. Your group may want to take turns meeting at each others homes. Dinner and a discussion in a restaurant that provides a private room may be your choice. Coffee shops are everywhere and can be a great place. Many book stores have a coffee shop in the store or near by.

Decide what types of books you want to read – fiction, nonfiction, genre. Vote as a group to decide. You could read a combination of different types of books and then compare them.

Set your meeting day and time. How often do you want to meet? How long is your time together?

Set the amount of time to read the book – 4 weeks, 6 weeks – be specific on what date member need to complete reading the book . That way no one gets confused.

Decide on a book to read together with suggestions from the group or a reading list that you all agree on.

Discussions should be focused on the book, it’s subject, the author, elements of the story, social issues, etc. If one person disagrees with another about the book or some point of view, then it should not become personal. It is an objective discussion about what the author wrote. You may not always like the book as much as others, but there is always something to be gained by reading and discussing the book afterwards.

Most of all enjoy yourselves. Your book club doesn’t have to read serious nonfiction that addresses the world and society. You can read humorous books or only one genre. You may want to focus on one author only. I know there are Jane Austin Clubs. It’s all up to you and your friends. Books take us places we may never go otherwise. Enjoy!

Printed Books, Audio Books, and E-Books

Do you have a favorite? Some of us grew up going to libraries and reading. Others only read what they are assigned at school or at work. For me, I’ve always loved books. My mom read to us as we grew up. I love the smell of a library. About half of the books that sit on the shelves in my home came from Friends of the Library sales and second hand stores. The other half are brand new books and you can hear it in the binding when you open them for the first time. In case you didn’t know, I’m a tactile and visual person.

Publishing and the way we get access to books is changing, as you all are well aware. I treasure holding a book in my hands and turning the pages. Then, after hours on the computer five days a week, my eyes got tired and I wanted to read at night but my eyes bothered me. I’d heard of audio books but had never listened to one. After a trip to the Amarillo Public Library branch closest to me, the world of audio books opened up. A whole section of classics and new releases sat on the shelves and I’d never noticed. Audio books go on road trips, flights, and act as bed time stories. They are even in the yard with me sometimes while I get the garden ready for planting in the Spring. My mother-in-law lost her sight in the last few years of her life and she listened to audio books. She’d been a voracious reader all her life.

Enter E-books in all their forms. At first, many thought it wouldn’t be much more than a flash in the pan. However, it is revolutionizing the publishing world for all of us and opens up options for authors.

Now, I realize none of this is news to any of you, but as the industry has diversified, so must we. Keep a finger in all the pies. Versify your writing and use all the wonderful ways to get your writing out to others. I’ve learned this lesson over the past year and a half and am working on just how to get it all implemented. That’s where time management comes. The next post will address some time management tips for the busy writer.

Finding Balance through Time Management

In your busy lives it’s a challenge to keep track of everything and get it all done. Life reminds me of seeing the man spinning plates on top of sticks and trying to keep them all going without breaking any ( on the Ed Sullivan Show). Most of you probably are too young to remember the show. Our society is busier than ever and bombarded by 24/7 information. I’d like to share tips and get some in return from you for how you keep things in balance.

Tip #1: Get organized. I know this can be drudgery at first, but once it’s done then all you have to do is maintain a little at a time. We find all types of organizational tools and systems available in the stores. Some people make a living organizing offices, etc. for people.

Tip#2: Keep a calendar. May I suggest color coding for different activities or for members of the staff or your family. Helps keep track of who is where. Now we have access to electronic calendars that are hand held and can go everywhere with you. Personally, I’m just old fashioned enough to have one on my PC, laptop, and a printed copy for back up.

Tip#3: Save your MSWord documents in folders by subject or Title so you don’t waste time looking for documents.

Tip #4: Save back up files on a flash drive at the same time you save documents on your computer. Also save a back up for your bookmarks and contact lists so you don’t loose them if your computer crashes. It takes a lot of time to reconstruct those files if you loose them.

More Time Management Tips

I remember a story about a woman with a family, husband, job, and many varied interests. She tried getting everything managed but always seem to drop the ball somewhere. After reading an article about managing your time, she realized that if she got up 15 minutes earlier, then she’d have the time she needed. Delighted she continued to add 15 minutes periodically to her daily schedule until … one day she realized that she had to get up 15 minutes before she went to bed.

Do you ever feel like that? Learning how to set priorities and saying ‘no’ to some things can be a challenge to some of us. How many hours per day do you already have committed to job, family, church, or other activities? How much sleep do you require to stay healthy? Here are a few suggestions on how to use those little pieces of time:

1. With Kindle, Nook, iPad, and cell phones that give you access to internet and many apps, you can take care of reading emails or books or paying your bills on line while waiting to pick up your children or another family member. DO NOT do these tasks while your car is moving unless you are not the driver, please!

2. If your job requires travel, then you probably spend time in airports or on planes. Use that time.

3. Do you have a deadline to meet for a project at work or to submit an article? Move that to the front of your priority tasks.

4. Let your list of things to do act as a guide. The most important things rise to the top like cream. Take care of those first. Everything on the list will move up in priority in it’s own time.

5. When there is a conflict between two responsibilities, then delegate one of them to someone else.

Hope these help you with your juggling act. BTW – don’t forget to take some time for yourself. If you don’t charge your own battery, then you won’t have the energy when you need it.

 

Multi-Tasking vs Delegating

Why is it that multi-tasking is what everyone does but most don’t like delegating? I’d love to hear your opinion.

Let’s share some pros and cons for each.

Multi – Tasking

Pros:  You can get more than one thing done at the same time and it doesn’t take as long. For example, instead of reading a book you could listen to the audio edition while filing or doing chores.

Do one task that multiplies itself. For example, when you post on your blog, set it up to also post on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks. You save time by posting once.

Cons: You may not be as focused if you’re doing more than one thing at a time. I met another writer who said she read one book while listening to another at the same time and got twice as many books read. I guess it worked for her, but my brain can only focus so much in one direction for best results.

Doing two or things at the same time can cost you in results. Is it your best work? Are these tasks things that can be done together and still accomplish your goal?

Delegating

Pros: You reach your goals and complete projects more quickly if you can delegate at least part of the work to another person.

When developing a new idea or plot line, two heads can be better than one.

Cons: It takes trust in someone else to do a task. Sometimes we don’t trust other people to do as well at the task as we think we can, so we don’t delegate and are crunched for time.

The person you delegated the work to didn’t do it in a timely fashion. You have to be clear when the deadline is for the delegated work.

Most of us do a combination of multi-tasking and delegating. Let me know what you think.

Book Recommendations for Writers

A few of my favorites:

Get Known before the Book Deal [Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform], Christina Katz. I came by this wonderful resource through a friend who recommended it. Having a platform as an author has become very important in the publishing world. We have lots of competition out there and a changing industry. One of the things that will make a difference is if you have a platform. It takes you step-by-step through the process. Even if you already have published, Katz shares valuable advise and how-to information that will help you sell more books.

The Lineup: The World’s Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives, edited by Otto Penzler. This book is such fun. You’ll get the inside scoop from the authors themselves. Whether you read or write mysteries, I think it’s a great addition to any writer’s library. Find out where these characters came from and how they developed. Read it one at a time or spend a long weekend curled up with the book. Prepare to be entertained.

 

 

March 1st, 2011

It’s been quite a winter for most of us. Ours has been very dry in the Panhandle of Texas. Winds between 50 mph and 70mph fanned fires in the area on Sunday that burned an estimated 30,000 acres and 53 homes were lost. We are praying for rain but the high plains is a tinder box. High wind warnings again today again. Hopefully, no fires. For me, we live in Amarillo, but have many friends in the surrounding area at risk, I pray for their safety and that of others.

The old saying is if March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb. I’m definitely looking forward to some weather that could be considered a lamb.

If you’ve spent a lot of time inside because of weather over the winter months, then let me know what you’ve been reading or writing. We’d love to hear from you. It helps keep our list of books to read growing.

Upcoming Writer Workshops

The following is a partial schedule of upcoming writers’ workshops or conferences I have on my schedule so far. If you’re book club or writers group would be interested in booking me, then leave a comment with your email address or url where I can get back to you.

Scheduled presentations and workshops:

Developing Plot & Character Arcs

Basic Editing of Your Own Manuscript – Friona Public Library – April 16, 2011

10:00 – 3:00

All day session: Arcs workshop in the morning

Editing in the afternoon

For Friona area writers group

Friona, TX

Frontiers in Writing Conference – Amarillo, TX – June 24 – 25, 2011

Finding Balance: Time Management for Prolific Writers workshop

Also, Preliminary Judge for Memoir contest

Basic Novel Writing Class – Amarillo, TX – November 2011

Sponsored by the Amarillo Public Library and YMCA

5 week class covering basic novel writing skills

Participants encouraged to participate simultaneously in National Novel Writing Month

If you have upcoming book releases or presentations, then let me know and I’d be glad to post an interview with you and help promote your efforts.

Constructive Criticism vs. Feedback

If you are not a part of a writers critique group, then I’d recommend finding one. There some on line though yahoo groups that are for writers. Local or area writers organizations in Panhandle Professional Writers or Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc., to name a couple are good places to connect with other writers and form a critique group. This way you can put eyes on your manuscript that can look at it from a different perspective.

These critique groups usually have some loose rules or guidelines. For example, they focus on fiction, nonfiction or a specific genre. Critiques focus on the writing and not the person. Comments should be restricted to constructive criticism and focus on how to make the piece better.

However, what do we usually think of when we hear the term constructive criticism? We have a negative reaction. No one wants to be criticized. Writers put a piece of themselves out there for anyone to see. Sometimes we get defensive. Sometimes the comments are cutting and harsh, not purposely, but they can be interpreted that way. I’ve seen new writers devastated by someone else’s comment and they never want to write another word. I know it is difficult to have someone else show you everything that is wrong with your writing. You just spent hours writing and feel pretty good about it and then … Unfortunately, our brains interpret any kind of criticism. even if it is called constructive, as a personal attack. It feels like we are personally rejected and criticized.

Feedback is different, and I’m not just redefining a term or giving it a new face for the same old thing. Feedback is consistent and ongoing. It’s like a coach teaching your child how to play baseball and become a consistent, good hitter. You hear the coach say things like, “spread your feet apart a little more”; “keep you eye on the ball”; “see yourself hitting the ball in your mind”. Other coaches may work with a child learning to catch the ball. It can be as simple as keep your eye on the ball. Each time they throw the ball the coach says, “catch” or “miss”. With practice, the child hears more “catch” than “miss” and gains confidence.

I believe that the best we can do for each other in critique groups is to give honest feedback without any energy or emotion attached. If we think there is a disconnect in the character, then tell the writer that you experience a disconnect. Suggest changes. Share your own learning experiences dealing with the same type of challenge. Ask more experienced writers to come and visit with your group. I’m not saying give fake compliments and praise or patronizing comments. Be honest, but focus on the manuscript, not the person.

Personal Writing Retreats

Most of the writers I know personally don’t have the budget to travel to writing retreats around the country or the world. I Googled the topic ‘writing retreats’ and found them located in many states as well as other countries. Since I live in the United States I look for any close to my part of the country (Texas) and pour over the websites for those that look wonderful. Since I needed a break from my regular schedule and wanted to go to a writers retreat, I decided to look for alternatives.

Some businesses and organizations give personal days or mental health days to their employees. Since I’m an author and my other job is consulting. My husband and I own a business consulting firm with a partner. Since I’m a boss so to speak, I gave myself a writers retreat day – okay I did it on a Saturday – but it was like a retreat. A friend and member of a critique group spent all day last Saturday away from home, locally at her office. We had the quiet and the focus we needed. We chatted but worked on computer program tools that can help us edit manuscripts. We covered four chapters in both of our works in progress. It was great! We took salads for lunch and then met our husbands for dinner at a local Chinese food restaurant. We felt refreshed and energized – like when you come back from a retreat or conference.

Try setting up your own retreat day. It’s worth it.

Writers Retreats List

On Tuesday, I suggested that writers take retreat days to focus on their manuscript away from home without spending a lot of money. The following list gives you some professional retreats available:

“A Dream of Our Own: Women Writing New, Women Writing True” – 2011 Writers’ Retreat

August 8—14, 2011
Ghost Ranch, NM

The Guide to Writers’ Conferences & Workshops

Professional Writing Retreat

July 21 – 24, 2011

Cedarbrook Lodge
Seattle, Washington

 

 

 

Reader Retreats

If writers can have retreats, then readers should have them, too. It can be as simple as spending a day at the coffee shop reading your favorite author or curling up in a chair at home – alone. The following are a few other choices available:

Sedona Soul Retreats

Readers Retreat

These are just a couple of urls to get you started. As the weather warms up, you may want to spend to the day reading at a favorite park. No matter how you take your reader retreat, enjoy yourself.

How to Develop an Article Calendar

Some of you may already to this, but others may not realize what a great tool it can be when you’re trying to set up an article writing schedule. You can even use it to plan for releasing a new print book or E-book. Think seasonal. Think about how much lead time you need. Most magazines want a 4 to 6 month lead time. Some are only 60 days.

The following are a place to start. It’s already the end of March for this year, so we’ll start with April dubmissions.

April
Look ahead to November.

• Lung cancer awareness month
• Colder weather
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• American Diabetes month
• Holiday tips
• National Alzheimer’s disease month
• Surviving the holidays
• Decorations

May
Think about December.

• Hanukah
• Last minute shopping ideas
• Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
• Holiday meals
• Kwanzaa begins
• Cold weather/winter fun

June

Now’s the time for January ideas to keep your calendar going.

• New Year’s Day
• Goals and resolutions
• Celebration of Life month
• Lose holiday pounds
• Start a fitness program
• Martin Luther King Day
• Travel in winter conditions
• International creativity month

July
It’s hot now but look to February.

• Valentine’s Day
• Romantic dates
• Black History month
• President’s Day
• American heart month

Come back Thursday for the rest of the article calendar ideas.

Developing an Article Calendar

On Tuesday, we shared ideas to keep you on track for seasonal and event articles or books. Today you’ll receive some ideas to be prepared for beginning in August.

August
With the end of summer think about March.

• St. Patrick’s Day
• Spring begins
• Easter celebrations
• National Women’s History month
• Gardening plans/preparations
• Spring Cleaning
• 
  
• 
  
• September

Although September 21st is Stephen King’s birthday, try to focus on April ideas.

• Last minute tax tips
• Earth Day
• Passover
• Gardening tips

October
Fall routine is in full swing, think about the month of May.

• Mother’s Day
• Gifts/celebrate Mom
• Graduation
• Memorial Day
• Plan summer vacation
• Summer camp plans

November
The holiday season is here, but look at summer and June.

• Father’s Day
• School’s out
• Summer activities
• Weddings

December
Take a little time out from festivities and remember July ideas.

• Independence day
• Fireworks safety
• Summer camp
• National hot dog month
• Water fun and safety

On Saturday, we’ll finish the planning calendar.

 

Develop an Article Calendar – Part 3

This is the third part of your article calendar ideas. I invite you to look for other reasons or occasions to write about. Look for new angles on old subjects or new special days or holidays to write about.

January
Start thinking the hot days of August, even if you’re shivering.

• Back to school
• End of summer
• School supplies
• Women’s Small Business month
• Away to college
• National Immunization month
• New, affordable school clothes
• Happiness month

February
This is a short month, so get started on these September ideas.

• Labor Day party
• Patriot’s Day [9-11-07]
• Cooler weather
• Gardening tips on winterizing
• New school
• First bus ride/separation anxiety
• Grandparents Day
• Update your resume month
• Autumn begins
• Baby safety month
• College savings month
• Library card sign-up month

March
Plan for October ideas:

• Columbus Day
• Weatherize your yard
• National Bosses Day
• Halloween costumes
• National breast cancer awareness month
• National domestic violence awareness month

Pick the subjects that most interest you or you have experience with. Write in support of a cause that you believe in. This week’s posts have given us some ideas to start with and can help keep you on track and keep you writing. You won’t have to have get stuck for ideas. Have fun finding new ideas to go with these.

 

Basic Media Kits for Writers

If you’re an author with a PR expert who can handle publicity for your books, then you won’t need this post. However, if you’re just getting started, then you may not be able to afford paying a consultant to do your PR for you. Writers need a media kit to help promote our books. The basic things you need to put into a media kit are:

- Fact sheet on your book including the title, author, publication date,
ISBN, number of pages, retail availability

- Testimonials about your book

- Book  cover photo (full scale, color, print-ready, jpeg file)

- Author photo(jpeg)

- An author bio

- Reviews, testimonials or endorsements

- Press release

- Eight to ten interview questions and answers prepared by the author

- Book excerpt

You can assemble it in a folder or make it available on your website as a pdf file.

Writing for Newspapers

How to Write for Newspapers

 

Local newspaper can be a great first step to publication credits and writing success. Focus on the Section that most fits your interest.  Become familiar with the section read articles regularly.  Reading others articles helps you learn what subjects they prefer.  Reading article titles in each section can familiarize you with the style. Keep informed about local and area issues.  What one of these issues pushes a hot button or gets an emotional reaction, write down some thoughts.  Take a positions on the hot issue, clearly present points in support of that position of the event covered.

 

Editorials:

The opinion page is a good place to start.  Find out what the newspaper politics are by contacting their website, or call the editorial staff and ask request their guidelines.  Find out how often they accept guest writer’s opinion pieces, word limits and submissions deadlines. For example, the Amarillo Globe-news (website) owned by Morris Communications, has a guest editorial policy of one article per quarter, 600-800 words, due three workings days before publication. Others will have different guidelines.

 

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor in response to a column are a great way to begin when the competition is stiff to get an op-ed column accepted.  After an editorial page accepts several letters, they will be more likely to print the writer’s editorials.  The editorial staff will feel more confident that it knows the piece will meet their standards, and most editorial pages prefer to print newcomers because it chooses a wider relationship.

 

Hone Your Writing Skills:

Talk to other writers.  Take a writing (link to on-line course site) class online or at a local college.  Call, or write a letter to local columnists who appear in the newspaper. Most are happy to help an aspiring writer.  Always have someone else read through work before submitting.  It’s easy for a writer to miss typos or mistakes, even with spell-check and grammar check features on word-processing programs.  Another set of eyes can easily spot holes in argument.

 

Human Interest and Events:

News stories are generally written by professional journalist working for the newspaper publisher.  Consider other sections of the paper for possible contribution, such as Around Town, Community Activities, the Religion section, recipes, home and Garden, or other unique sections that are in a local news paper.  Do these sections have reader letters?  Do they take interviews or articles from local guest writers?  These sections are great options to get work published.  They supply a variety of subjects with a broad range of styles to explore.

If local schools, churches, or community organizations are having an event, offer to cover the event for the newspaper as a freelancer.  Keep informed with a community calendar, Don’t Give Up, keep submitting and stay in a “willing to learn” mind-set.  Expand the search to areas or regional newspapers.  Don’t ignore the news paper because it’s too obvious try writing something for it anyway.  It could become a base for a lucrative writing career.

 

Audio Books

Audio books have been around for quit a while. There is a section at most book stores where you can find them and of course you can purchase them online through various websites like Amazon and Barnes & Nobel. I’ve borrowed many of them from the public library. I’m always reading more than one book at once and spend hours on the computer writing or reading so much that my eyes get tired. Listening to a book lets me enjoy reading even when my eyes are too tired to read from a  printed book.

Audio books remind me of bed time stories. Sometimes I listen to them while I’m cleaning house or working in the yard and garden. Audio books can be downloaded from some libraries and many books that are classics can be down loaded for free to computers or MP3 players.  One of the sites I use is Free Classic AudioBooks. They are great to keep you company and awake on road trips if you’re traveling alone or your companion is asleep during the drive. They are enjoyable and are a great way for people with vision problems or who have lost their sight to continue reading.

I’d love to hear how you feel about audio books. Leave a comment.

Debunking Ghostwriting

A question I often hear: Don’t you think that ghostwriting is dishonest? After all someone else takes credit for your writing.

My answer: The publishing world has always printed books, articles, and essays written by someone other than the person named in the byline. Ghostwriters, like myself, supply a service to someone who is either too busy to write a book but has a message or someone who has a valuable message or story that needs to be told and they don’t know how to write.

Ghostwriters don’t mind staying in the background. We collect a fee for our services and when finished move on to the next project. Yes, sometimes you’re recognized on the cover after the authors name “with . . .”  It depends on your client and your contract. For most of us, we like moving on to the next project.

I’ll warn you – if you think it’s more important to have your name on the cover than to write a book that people read, then you’re probably not the right fit for ghostwriting. Your job as a ghostwriter is collaboration, direction, and expertise. You must get to know your client and his or her message through an ongoing conversation over weeks or months. You learn how to write in their voice and express their views, not your own. It can be challenging, but I’ve found great satisfaction in writing books for others. When you give them the manuscript and they ask “how did you get into my thoughts and express them so well,” then you know you’ve succeeded in meeting their expectations.

 

Writer’s Workshop

If you live in the Panhandle of Texas, then you may want to reserve Saturday, April 16, 2011, for a road trip to Friona, TX. The Friona Public Library and local writers group invited me to do a workshop for them. You’re all invited. Lunch between sessions is pot luck so bring something yummy along to share.

Workshop Schedule

Saturday, April 16, 2011

at the Friona Public Library

Morning session 10:00 – 12:00 – Plot and Character Arcs

Lunch

Afternoon session 1:00 – 3:00 – How to edit your manuscript

Book Signing during lunch and from 3:00-3:30

Rebekah Redeemed Excerpt

Available in print, Kindle, and Nook.

Purchase at “Rebekah Redeemed”

 

Benjamin sized up the little girl. A flicker of recognition in the older man’s eyes quickly turned to ice. Stepping closer he reached down to the child and she pulled away. “Look at me, child,” he commanded with a little less animosity in his voice.

Rebekah lifted her chin and looked into her uncle’s brown, lined face. He pushed the shawl off her stringy brown hair, and for a moment the lines in his face softened and his eyes showed compassion. “You look like your mother,” he mumbled to himself. Then he stood back, cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes once more.

“You want me to take her in, is that it?”

“Yes. We have little and cannot take her as our own.”

“What is in it for my wife and me?”

“She is strong and a good worker. She is good with lambs. She can help with cooking and drawing water. I know she looks small, but she is strong and obedient. She could be a useful addition to your household. A daughter is not like having a son, but they can work.” Caleb tried to sell the idea to the shopkeeper.

“Well,” he sized up the child and scratched his bearded chin. “She could help my wife.” He stood in silence, strolled out into the street, and looked up and down at his friends and neighbors. Then, turning on his heel, he walked back to Caleb and said without emotion, “You asked around the village for me? Others know of the child?”

“We asked people so we could find you.”

With one more glance up and down the street, Benjamin saw the rabbi walking toward them. “The Torah does say that we are to care for orphans and widows. She is my dead sister’s child, no matter what else happened between us. I will take her in, but not as a member of my family.”

“Shalom. May you…”

Benjamin reached for the girl. He interrupted Caleb, “I will not pay you for her. Go back where you came from. I take her because it is my duty under the Law of Moses.”

Caleb turned to go. Benjamin pushed Rebekah toward the back of the shop. She looked over her shoulder at her father’s friend for the last time.

“Come. You must meet your mistress. You have taken up enough time. I have a business to run and customers to serve.” He spoke as if he were an important man.

Rebekah stepped through the door into a small courtyard and into a new life. She prayed silently that it would get no worse.

 

The Fisherman’s Wife Excerpt

Available in print, Kindle, and Nook.

Available for purchase at: The Fisherman’s Wife

(Note: This work of fiction set in the first century Palestine portrays the life of Simon Peter’s wife, as I see it may have happened.)

Time blurred one day into the next. Johanna mechanically went through her daily chores. Her pregnancy kept her exhausted all the time. Finally, her time arrived and she went into labor. Leah and the midwife helped her. It lasted for hours. Johanna had to be supported on the birthing bricks. She couldn’t hold herself up anymore. With one last push, the baby boy slid into the midwife’s hands. Johanna collapsed.

Leah and Esther exchanged looks with the midwife. She shook her head and covered the little boy with a cloth. Johanna, barely coherent whispered, “Why do I not hear my baby cry?”

Leah enfolded her daughter in her arms. Johanna keened into her mother’s shoulder. She had failed again.

When Simon came to inquire of his wife and child, Esther and Caleb took him to the shoreline now empty of fishermen and boats. Simon sat down and buried his head in his hands. Then, after awhile, he rose, composed and aloof.

Simon and Johanna’s home seemed permanently silent. No children played in the court yard or splashed in the water’s edge when the boats came in from fishing. The months passed and Johanna lost hope of bearing a live child. Finally, Simon stopped coming to her at all. …

Johanna fell on her face and prayed for death or a child. “Oh God, like our mother Rachael, fill my womb with a child that I may redeem myself before my husband and my people.”

 

Happy Easter

The sleepy colors of winter
Fade fast in the dawn of
Spring.
The joy of Easter’s promise,
Delivers sweet reason to
Sing

 

Refreshed from her snowy
Slumber,
Mother Earth exalts her
Worth.
In a colorful burst of glory,
She blazons her wondrous
Rebirth

Renew your spirit, refresh
Your soul,
Rejoice with all humankind.
Celebrate life everlasting.
Peace and wonder are
Yours to find.>

The blessing of the Lord
be upon you…
Psalms 129:8

 

Books for Spring

With the weather warming up in at least some parts of the country, Spring is in the air. The old saying is that “a young man’s fancy turns to love.” I always wondered what the girl’s minds turn to. Now I feel like I have the answer – gardening books.

If you live in an apartment and think you have a black thumb, then put silk flowers in pots on your balcony or patio area. Put soil in the pots and then put the stems into the ground. They don’t care if you water them or not and stay pretty all summer. You can put them away for the winter. They can be cleaned by gently spraying them with water, shake them out, and let them air dry.

However, for those of you who want to make the effort to work in your yard there are always new books each spring. For example, Gardening All-in-One for Dummies, Vegetable Gardening for Dummies, Organic Gardening for Dummies, and the list goes on. There are plenty of books available that are not a part of the “Dummies” series. You can find books about gardening specifically for your area and climate. If your budget is tight this year like some are, Kindle is less expensive, but you can also go to the public library. You may have a garden club with free classes to help you learn more about gardening.

For those of you who have no interest in gardening, then check out “A Turn in the Road” or “Hannah’s List” by Debbie Macomber – released this month! Jodi Thomas has a new book out this month, “Texas Blue.” These can get you started. Happy reading.

Ghostwriting Workshop Coming in May

Life as a Ghost (writer) — Ghostwriting Workshop

Meet: Tuesday evenings in May, 6:30 – 8:00 at Amarillo Public Library East Branch.

An informative and interactive workshop for writers who are interested in becoming a ghostwriter or those who would like to know more about it. A key to ghostwriting is learning how to use voice. Even if you don’t think you’ll try ghostwriting, this workshop helps fiction writers learn methods to give their characters individual voices. I’ve ghostwritten books for international clients and one of her books was on the Amazon Best Seller List in Canada. Participants will come away with an overall grasp on what it takes to be a successful ghostwriter, how to find you client’s voice, and the opportunity to experiment with writing in someone else’s voice.

I’d love to see any of you in the area attend. In my previous workshops, we’ve had a good time – at least I’ve had a good time and the evaluations reflect the attendees also had a good time. It’s always a busy month but come when you can if five weeks commitment is too much for May.

Infinite Space, Infinite God II Anthology

 

This anthology of 12 science fiction stories features a wide range of science fiction stories–from time and space travel to virtual reality, alien abduction and interplanetary politics.  Tying the stories together is the Catholic faith of the characters, but this is not a religious book.  Rather, the stories explore how faith gives people strength, and how an extablished religion (in this case, Catholicism) will adapt to the changes of the future–from dealing with aliens cultures to handling the challenges of a virtual world where anything goes.

When Rob and I sent out the call for stories, we asked for three things:

1. Great science fiction
2. Accurate and positive portrayal of the Catholic faith
3. Science and faith working together rather than in opposition.

The variety of stories is a testimony to the talent and imagination of the writers:

• The Ghosts of Kourion by Andrew Seddon: A grieving professor escapes back in time to live among a doomed people.
• Antivenin by Karina Fabian: Rescue Sister Rita takes on a ship full of venomous snakes in order to save a friend.
• An Exercise in Logic by Barton Paul Levenson: How do you convince an infuriatingly logical race to stop an asteroid?
• Cathedral by Tamara Wilhite: A genetically engineered human spends the last of her tortured days righting her wrongs.
• Otherworld by Karina Fabian: Does sin really count when it’s virtual?
• The Battle of the Narthex by Alex Lobdell: An alien battle in a most unusual setting–tickles the funny bone and touches the heart!
• Tenniel by Colleen Drippe’: The battle for souls becomes a battle to the death.
• Tin Servants by J Sherer: In order to serve his people, Paul becomes an android–but can he really care for them as a tin servant?
• Basilica by John Rundle: Caprizo battles machines and thwarts an enemy armada to keep a doomsday weapon from their hands.
• Cloned to Kill by D. Mak: How can a man of peace protect a clone designed to kill?
• Frankie Phones Home by Karina Fabian: A sixteen-year-old alien abductee calls her family on the way back for official First Contact.
• Dyads, Ken Pick and Alan Loewen: Enter the fascinating culture of the Thalendri in a story of intrigue, terrorism and religious tolerance.

We compiled Infinite Space, Infinite God II at the request of Lida Quillen, publisher of Twilight Times Books, because we enjoy reading science fiction that does not ignore the soul just because the technology is so exciting.  We feel this book adds something to the genre–and that the stories are great reads.  I’ll be sending you another e-mail with more information, but if you like what you’ve read here, please purchase it now by clicking the button below.  Please feel free to forward this to a friend!

 

Happy Mother’s Day

This is the time we remember our mothers every year. I always told my children you can’t have enough “Moms”. We have our own and are blessed with step-children and friends of our children who seem like our own. Every mother deserves to be Mother of the Year.

Mother of the Year is an occasion
On which all mothers can receive their due.
The chosen one becomes a celebration,
Happily, of what we always knew.
Each generation finds its way to love,
Returning to the home within the heart,
Offering the next a model of
Fierce passion to be whole by being part.
To you, then, go the laurels of the day,
Hard earned through many hours of sacrifice,
Each danced with all the wisdom of the way
Yet known to those who do not ask the price.
Even in the ardent grip of grace,
Alive with love, you know the odds you face,
Reaching through your joys towards paradise.

 – unknown

Writing Contests 2011

Looking for writing contests? The following is a partial list that I think are worth your time. Always check into the organizations who host contests. As far as I know, these are good resources. today the list is for contests in May. Come back on Thursday for June contests. Saturday’s list is for July.

May 2011 Contests:

• DEADLINE MAY 20, 2011:

The Writer’s Digest Annual Competition

 Prize: $3000

• DEADLINE May 25, 2011:
  The Compassion Movement Arts Competition Prize: $50

• DEADLINE MAY 31, 2011:
  Glimmer Train Short Story Award for New Writers Award Prize: $1200

June 2011 Writing Contests

This is the next edition of upcoming writer’s contests.

1. DEADLINE JUNE 1, 2011:
   Tony Hillerman Mystery Novel Competition Prize: $10,000 Advance and Publication with St. Martin’s Press
2. DEADLINE JUNE 11, 2011:
   Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction Prize: $2,000
3. DEADLINE JUNE 17, 2011:
   New Millenium Fiction/Short Fiction Prize Prize: $1000

Spring Reading

We’re all spending more time outside with spring and summer activities. Gardening. Baseball. Picnics and time at the park with our children or grandchildren.

Some of the great new reads include:

Mystery & Thrillers -

I’ll Walk Alone, Mary Higgins Clark

The 6th Man, David Baldacci

10th Anniversary, James Patterson

Romance:

Southern Comfort, Fern Michaels

Smokin’ Seventeen, Janet Evanovich

Texas Blue, Jodie Thomas

Learn more about Publishing Ebooks

If you’re in the Amarillo area, then this Saturday, May 21, 2011, the Panhandle Professional Writers meets from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Church, 4600 S. Western, Amarillo, TX. 79109. Whether you’re a member or not, come and visit and get the low down on publishing ebooks and changes in marketing your books using the internet. It’ll be well worth your time. Hope to see you there.

Meet Author Linda K. Hubalek

Linda Hubalek’s sixth grade teacher assigned her to write the traditional paper on what she wanted to be when she grew up, but Linda had an untraditional answer. She didn’t want to be a nurse, teacher, or mom. She wanted to be a farmer! Her dream came true when she graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Agriculture/Horticulture, and went on to spend years doing agronomy research, and eventually started her own business, Prairie Flower Creations.

Much like her own ancestors who headed West, Linda found herself in California tending a cement garden and longing for the fields of Kansas. Lind “visited” her beloved Kansas by writing the Trail of Thread series about Kansas pioneer women.

Although Linda is back in Kansas (growing bison this time, not prairie flowers), she’s still writing about Kansas women. Her fourth series, the Kansas Quilterseries, will be released later this year.

Find out more about Linda by visiting her websites:

Author website: www.LindaHubalek.com 

Facebook:www.facebook.com/lindahubalekbooks

Blog: www.LindaHubalek.com/feed/rss

3 Book Series: Trail of Thread, Thimble of Soil, and Stitch of Courage

By Linda K. Hubalek

The Trail of Thread series includes three books based on the lives of the author’s ancestors. Each book, told from the viewpoint of a pioneer woman through letters she writes to those “back home,” tells the tale of a family moving from the settled East to the wilds of the newly opened territory of Kansas in the mid 1850s.

The first book, Trail of Thread, tells of life on the trail West as a family makes the cross country journey from Kentucky to Kansas. The second book, Thimble of Soil, is the story of a widow and her children traveling from Ohio to Kansas and trying to establish a home amidst the skirmishes that riddled Kansas, as the slave state and free state supporters battled over the fate of the Kansas territory. The last book, Stitch ofCourage, takes place during the Civil War 

Cleveland Tulip Quilt

years and tells of the marriage between the two families portrayed in books one and two and how the war was fought in the West.

These books are written in letter form, covering the years 1854 to 1865. Twelve quilt patterns are featured in each book of this series.

The books are available as eBooks for Amazon’s Kindle,Barnes & Noble’s Nook, or for Kobobook’s Kobo.

More Writers Contests for Summer 2011

July 2011 brings more contest  deadlines for you writers. Check these out and enter. It helps build your writer’s resume.

1. DEADLINE JULY 1, 2011:
   Goldenberg Prize for Fiction Prize: $1000
2. DEADLINE JULY 4, 2011:
   This Magazine Short Story Competition for New and Emerging Writers Prize: $750
3. DEADLINE JULY 8, 2011:
   On the Same Page Literary Festival Writer’s Competition Prize: $250

        4.  DEADLINE JULY 31, 2011:

              Fulton Prize for Short Fiction Prize: $400

         5.  DEADLINE JULY 15, 2011:

                Room Magazine’s Annual Fiction Contest Prize: $500

          6.  DEADLINE JULY 31, 2011:

                 Glimmer Train Standard Fiction Award Prize: $700

Have fun with your writing. Whether you receive an award or not, you can get great feedback on your entries from most contest judges. I recommend you go to the links and see which ones you want to participate in. Best of Luck!

Learning from other Authors

One of the best ideas I’ve picked up from articles online and from writer’s magazines is to study other people’s writing. You’ve heard it before, but we can learn from the classics and from the New York Times Best Sellers. Most of you probably won’t want to mark up your fiction books. The answer is to purchase paperbacks at thrift stores or garage sales. Use them to analyze the writing. You can make notes in the margins and circle or underline. My favorite is a combination of notes in margins and color coding what I mark. If it sounds daunting to do that through a whole novel, then do it with the first chapter and select a few others that include the last chapter.

When I’m reading one of my favorite authors, I get involved in the story. For any analysis, I have to go back and read it from a writer’s point of view. I keep in mind character development, what hooks me as a reader, how an author develops suspense, voice, point of view, and how to write plot elements. These will get you started, but there are more you’ll probably think about. I use a different colored pencil for each aspect I’m studying. Try it and I’d love to hear back from you what you think of the method or share how you learn writing skills from other fiction books.

Reading Challenge

In our area the school 2010 – 2011 year is over next Friday. My grandson is ready for a break as are his teacher parents. Let me invite you and your children or grandchildren to check your local libraries for story hours, movies, activities, and reading clubs. Children earn prizes for reading and it keeps them involved in books through the summer break. It keeps their skills sharp for the next school year.

If you don’t have children or grandchildren around, then here is a challenge. Read at least two books a month during June, July, and August. Keep a list of your books and then come and share what you read on this blog. The three readers with the most books read and who post comments about them for this challenge will each win an autographed copy of one of my books. If you plan to participate, then please leave a comment. You can start at any time beginning June 1st and continue through August 30th.

How to Give Characters Different Voices

Developing voice is one of those skills that every writer needs. First, we learn our own voice. Then, we learn how to give each of our characters an individual voice. All of us as inexperienced writers tend to give all of our characters our voice at first. The readers experience confusion over exactly who is speaking if every dialog line doesn’t have a tag — “he said” or “she said” with that character’s name.

One way of learning different voices is to listen to people around you. Ease drop on people in a restaurant the next time you go out to eat. Listen to others in a super market line. Compare characters in movies or your favorite television show. What exactly are you looking for? Vocabulary,  commonly used phrases, regional accents, colloquial words or phrases. Make a list for each character as you develop them. An exercise that I found useful is from the “Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook” by Maas. He has a chart with a list of commonly used words. Three columns are labeled A, B, and C. Each column represents the vocabulary used by a different character. For example, sofa – couch - divan - love seat. Work on giving your characters their own voice and personality. It will make your fiction better and get you closer to publication. Your readers will fall in love with your characters as they get to know them.

Comedian and Author Anita Renfroe

Anita Renfroe is a well-known comedian who appears on the program for Women of Faith conferences. If you’ve never seen her or heard her she is hilarious. I found one of her books at the local library and checked it out. Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You: Kids, Carbs, and the Coming Hormonal Apocalypse. She is famous for the “Mom Song” which can be found on YouTube. Renfroe sings all the things a mom says to her kids in one day set to the tune of the “William Tell Overture.”

Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You will keep you laughing as she goes through experiences women go through including weddings, child birth, and mammograms. I recommend this one for some light reading. It will make you chuckle and make you laugh out loud. Enjoy!

Marketing Plan Worshop

Hey, guys,

Karina Fabian is holding a Build Your Marketing Plan workshop at Savvy Authors June 6-19. As you can see, she’s stretching it out over several weeks so that folks have a chance to actually develop their plan. Marketing plans are great not only for preparing to sell your book to the public, but also for proposing a new book to a publisher. Many publishers are asking for marketing plans as part of your book proposal–even in fiction.

She is a very talented and knowledgeable woman whom I’ve known online for several years. I’m sure you would get great value out of her workshop. I’ve taken online seminars with her in the past as a part of the Muse Online Writers Conference, which takes place every October for a week.

The cost is $25 for the class. You can get more information or register at http://t.co/ GJvztS8.

 

 

 

 

Happy Dork Day via Publishers Weekly

I thought this would bring a smile to your faces.

My grandson loves the Diaries of a Wimpy Kid and this looks like some fun reading for a summers day – for kids of all ages.

The Five Senses in Your Writing

Using the five senses makes your writing come alive. When reading a story or novel, I believe that the reader should be drawn into the actions and relationships. Most readers fall in love with characters who they can relate to and feel what they are feeling. The scene your character acts out needs to play like a movie in the readers mind. Include what they see, smell, sounds, hear, and taste. If your character enjoys a meal, then make the reader’s mouth water and their stomach growl. Bring smells and sounds to life. A character’s touch felt by the protagonist brings a sense of exactly what it feels like to the reader. Using the senses makes the difference between flat, mechanical writing and a book that people will want to read again and again. I challenge you to include the senses in your own writing. I’ve heard it said that if the writer feels it, then the reader does too. Enjoy your summer writing. Sit down with a glass of iced tea and make your work live.

June is Audio Book Month

If you’ve never listened to a book, then I recommend you try one. I listen when I travel in the car or even on a plane. You can download books onto your MP3 or iPod. Most of you probably don’t have a CD walkman any more, but books on CD are still on the market and in book stores. It is great when your eyes are tired from all day on a computer. Actually, it can be like when you were a child and your mother or father read to you when you went to be.

I want to share the following announcement with you:

Audiobook Month just keeps getting better and better.  Check this out: Our friends over at Macmillan Audio are running a sweepstakes as part ofJune Is Audiobook Month — and the lucky prize winner gets a year’s supply of free audiobooks.  To enter — and, let’s be honest, you’d be a fool not to try — CLICK HERE.

Have a great weekend!

 

Christian Writers Article Bank

I know there are a lot of article banks that you’re probably familiar. Many writers publish on them frequently. They are great resources in many cases.

http://www.christian-article-bank.com/index.php

 

You’ll find a great selection of articles to read and be sure to read the submission guidelines. Best of luck!

North Texas Christian Writers Conference

Attention all writers, aspiring authors, closet novelists and hopeful Pulitzer prize winners. This September 16-17, the Keller Campus of Cross Timbers Community Church hosts the 8th annual North Texas Christian Writers Conference.

This is a two-day, intensive teaching conference that focuses on the improvement of writing skills. All sessions are 75 minutes long, with a 15-minute break in between.

“We get the best Christian speakers in the arena of writing that are available in the country,” said Frank Ball, director of the conference since its inception in 2004. This year, the conference includes 35-elective workshops, private consultations, writing contests, networking opportunities, and special classes on Friday designed specifically for high school students.

The conference is for everyone. Unpublished writers, published writers, aspirating writers…there’s a lot of people who want to write a book, or even just write their personal memoirs for their family.

For registration, the schedule and all the scoop go to NTCW Conference.

Mystery Writers Conferences

Many of you enjoy a good mystery. I know I do. I found out about these opportunities and wanted to share them with you.

Mystery writers & fans:

The SW chapter of Mystery Writers of America is sponsoring a wonderful workshop with top writers as instructors.

MWA University – New Orleans – Saturday, October 1, 2011

Location: Hotel Monteleone
Vieux Carre Room
214 Royal St
New Orleans, LA 70130

Class/Instructor: After the Idea – Jess Lourey
Dramatic Structure & Plot – Hallie Ephron
Setting & Description – David Morrell
Character & Dialogue – Julie Smith
Writing as Re-Writing – Reed Farrel Coleman
The Writing Life – Hank Phillippi Ryan

A rate of $159/per night at the hotel (includes a continental breakfast). The rate will cover the following date range: September 29 – October 2, 2011. Reservations must be made by September 23, 2011. Details and registration forms - http://www.mysterywriters.org/?q=MWA-University

 

For information about other events and workshops around the country go to  Mystery Writers . If one of these is near you, then mark your calendar and enjoy.

Why use a Pen Name?

I recently read an article on Huffington Post about several famous writers and why they used pseudonyms or pen names. They included Mark Twain, Lewis Carol, and others. Some of them used a pen name to cover up their past or to maintain anonymity.

More authors than we realize write under at least two names, if not more. They choose names for different genre or for the distinction between their nonfiction and fiction books. It can assist readers by not thinking the author only writes one kind of book. For instance, someone who writes business and leadership books may use their real name for those books. They also write romance novels and use a pen name for those.

I’ve ghostwritten quite a few books and of course those came out under the clients name. When you contemplate whether or not you want to use a pen name, consider your reasons. Are they personal? Your picture may not appear on book jackets, if that matters to you. Do you want to remain one of the crowd or do you want name recognition? In some cases you can enjoy anonymity and name recognition all at the same time like the business writer with a great reputation in the professional sector who writes romance without anyone know who he or she really is.

Your choice could be as simple as not liking your own name or thinking it doesn’t sound literary. Think about it. How do you invent another name? Do you wish your first name was something else? You could use your middle name for your first name and pick a last name from your family tree or someone you admire. Have fun with it.

New Book Releases

In Texas it’s too hot to spend much time outside. This is the hottest summer I can remember. So many days in a row with temperatures 100 or more make me want to sit in the air conditioning, drink iced tea, and read a good book. Here are some new ones you may not have heard about yet or eagerly anticipated:

Smokin’ Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel, Janet Evanovich

V is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone Myster), Sue Grafton

Learning (Bailey Flanigan Series), Karen Kingsbury

Cart Blanche (latest James Bond), Jeffery Deaver

Sisterhood Everlasting: A Novel (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), Ann Brashares

Summer Writing Conferences

These are from the Writer’s Digest newsletter:

5 SUMMER WRITING CONFERENCES

WritersMarket.com lists hundreds of writing conferences for writers. Here are five scheduled for the summer months (which begins on June 21):

 

Harriette Austin Writers Conference takes place July 22-23. In addition to WD’s Chuck Sambuchino, this conference will feature agents, editors and writers in Athens, Georgia.

 

July 26-August 7, The University of the South will hold the Sewanee Writers’ Conference in Sewanee, Tennessee. Many agents, editors, and writers will be present at this event as well.

 

The Taos Summer Writers Conference will be in Taos, New Mexico, July 10-17. This week-long conference offers workshops, classes and publishing consultations.

 

Green Mountain Writers Conference will be in Tinmouth, Vermont, August 1-5. This week-long event is more of a writers conference for writers by writers—focusing especially on craft.

 

Willamette Writers Conference, August 5-7, will be in Portland, Oregon (near the airport). This conference includes a dizzying number of panels throughout the conference.

 

Summer Reading for Writers

You can start or add to your private library of writing books. These are great choices. I’ve purchased many books through Writer’s Digest Books over the years and find them a great resource.  Here are four great summer reads from Writer’s Digest Books:

 

Write Like the Masters: Emulating the Best of Hemingway, Faulkner, Salinger, and Others, by William Cane. This book analyzes the writing styles of 21 great novelists and then provides practical advice on how to imitate to help writers improve their own writing style.

 

102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1,500 Words or Less, by I.J. Schecter. Schecter is one of my personal favorite freelancers, and he’s always a wealth of freelancing information that writers can put into use immediately.

 

Showing & Telling: Learn How to Show & When to Tell for Powerful and Balanced Writing, by Laurie Alberts. Maybe one of the most difficult tightropes to walk in fiction and narrative nonfiction is balancing between telling readers what happened and showing them.

 

Writing & Selling Your Memoir, by Paula Balzer. Do you have an amazing story to tell? If so, your first step is to write it. Then, you need to sell the manuscript. Balzer explains how to do both.

Guest Post by Karen Cioffi

The following is a reposting of Karen’s guest blog on 4RV Publishing’s blog. Great advise.

SEO and Marketing: Basic Tips and Definitions

In its simplest form, promotion is a tool or strategy under the marketing umbrella. The marketing umbrella covers the creation or manufacturing of a product or service, R&D, distribution, and any other elements needed to get a product from creation to the consumer. Promotion creates visibility.

Utilizing online promotion means you will be using the internet, search engines, and SEO. SEO is the process of getting the search engines to find and rank your content. You obviously want a high ranking so when a searcher (potential customer) types in a search term (keyword) your site may be one of those on that first SERP.

Marketing and especially SEO can be confusing and seem like a daunting task to undertake, but once you understand the basics it becomes less intimidating.

SEO and Marketing Definitions

1. SEO – search engine optimization: “the process of creating and adjusting website content with the goal of improving search engine rankings.” (according to Compendium.com)

2. SERP – search engine results page – the page results from a search query.

3. Keyword – “any word or phrase a searcher might use to describe or identify a desired resource on the Internet.” When using keyword in your title, it’s important to use the keyword in the beginning of the title. Rather than use “How-to-Guide for SEO,” opt for “SEO: A How-to-Guide.” (according to Compendium.com)

4. Organic Traffic or Marketing – free strategies, such as Twitter, blogging, article marketing, etc.

5. Paid Traffic or Marketing – utilizing paid/sponsored ads, such as Google adwords, etc.

6. Ranking – your position (how high up) on the SERP: the higher the better. In other words, you want to be on the first SERP, or at least within the first few pages.

7. Anchor text – linking to other websites and/or pages directly from text within your content. This strategy should be used to bring the reader to your products, to other related articles you’ve written, to another site that has useful information pertinent to your post, and/or to link to a site you’re mentioning.

Providing readily accessible information and links through anchor text will give your readers more “bang-for-the-buck.” It will give the reader a broader reading experience, and she will definitely appreciate it – this builds a relationship . . . and trust.

Using anchor text links will also help search engines, such as Google and Bing, relate your content to other relevant content, and create a target for searchers to hit.

One last note about SEO, keep your keywords simple and concise. And, often it’s of greater benefit to use long-tail keywords. These keywords may not get as many search hits, but they do get a much more targeted audience; this leaves you with less competition.

An example of a keyword might be, “allergy relief.” Allergy relief is a very generic and heavily used keyword. In order to make it more specific and hone in on a narrower audience/searcher, you might use, “allergy air cleaners,” or maybe, “remedies for allergies,” or, “allergy sinus medications.” You want to narrow the playing field.

There are free tools to test out and analyze keywords; here are three of them you might try: 

http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html 
http://www.wordstream.com/keywords/ 

 

Karen Cioffi is an author, ghostwriter, and freelance writer. For writing and marketing information visithttp://karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com

Agents

With the changing publishing industry and so many opportunities to self-publish electronically, it seems more writers are striking out on their own. I don’t know about you, but I find myself asking the question: Do I need an agent?

At the recent Frontiers in Writing Conference, I was on the faculty with Hilary Sayers, former fiction acquisitions editor for Kennsington Publishing Company. She has been in the industry for many years and is a wealth of information about the industry. I asked her “Do i need an agent?”

Her answer: In spite of the fact that I have books published with small publishers and have plans to release some self-published books using Nook and Kindle to broaden my availability to reach my market, Hilary said I still need an agent. The advantages of getting an agent include their connections in the industry and ability to get your book in front of editors in the big publishing houses. Most of the big houses cannot be penetrated without an agent. In addition, an agent knows all the ins and outs of the business. They are professionals at negotiating contracts and can get the best terms available for their clients. Getting an agent to represent you is still very much a part of the process to full success in publishing.

July 2011 Christian Marketplace Bestsellers

This information is from Publishers Weekly free newsletter. I think it’s a pretty good reading list. You may have already read as least some of them, but just in case you’re looking for what to read next take a minute to check these books out.

Hardcover

1. Jesus Calling.

Sarah Young. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

2. Through My Eyes.

Tim Tebow. HarperCollins Publishers.

3. Jesus Calling–Deluxe Edition.

Sarah Young. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

4. Throw It Down.

Jud Wilhite. Zondervan.

5. Becoming a Man of Unwavering Faith.

Joel Osteen. FaithWords,  a Division of Hachette Book Group.

6. One Thousand Gifts.

Ann Voskamp. Zondervan.

7. Bonhoeffer.

Eric Metaxas. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

8. Grace for the Moment Morning and Evening Edition.

Max Lucado. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

9. Love and Respect.

Emerson Eggerichs. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

10. Max on Life.

Max Lucado. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Paperback

1. Heaven Is for Real.

Todd Burpo/Lynn Vincent. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

2. Crazy Love.

Francis Chan. David C. Cook.

3. Radical.

David Platt. Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing Group.

4. Inverted.

Tom Ellsworth. Standard Publishing.

5. Made to Crave,

Lysa TerKeurst. Zondervan.

6. Battlefield of the Mind.

Joyce Meyer. FaithWords, a Division of Hachette Book Group.

7. Leaving–Bailey Flanigan Series #1.

Karen Kingsbury. Zondervan.

8. The Five Love Languages.

Gary Chapman. Moody Publishers.

9. Forgotten God.

Francis Chan. David C. Cook.

10. Radical Together.

David Platt. Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing Group.

Can a Writer Quit Their Day Job?

Most of us have a day job that pays the bills and then we write as our second job. All of us have the dream – our book makes the New York Times Bestseller list and we make tons of money and quit that day job. There are actually very few authors who can do that. If all you depend on is a best seller to make your dream come true, then you may want to rethink your plan. Since most of us won’t realize millions from a breakout book, we need to develop multiple sources for income that are related to our writing.

Consider developing some of the following:

1. magazine articles – online or print

2. write articles for Article Banks – top 10 on some lists are:

www.amazines.com
www.articlealley.com
www.articlecity.com
www.articledashboard.com
www.articledepot.co.uk
www.articlefinders.com
www.certificate.net
www.ezinearticles.com
www.freesticky.com

3. Participate in anthologies

4. Books

5. eBooks

6. Speaking and presenting to writers groups and conferences

7. Teaching writing classes

8. Blogs

9. Newsletters

10. Websites

You don’t have to do all of them at once, but you can decide which ones are your priority and add others over time. Then, you can plan to quit your day job one of these days. Be persistent and keep on working at your craft. I’m sure there are additional resources for income not listed here but this will get you started.

 

Online Writer’s Conferences

Most writers work on a tiny budget and have to save up to attend conferences and retreats. I do that myself. In the past few years or so, I’ve found more free online writer’s conferences. In previous posts I’ve mentioned the Muse Online Conference which is always in October and is a great way to attend and stay home or get great information around your work schedule and connect with other writers. The past couple of years this conference has included opportunities for feedback on manuscripts from experts and pitches to publishers and agents.

This week I’m plugged into the Book Marketing Conference Online. Four workshops are held each day Monday through Thursday. You can call in or get in through a computer link to listen to each session. Free memberships give you access to workshops and great handouts. Paid registrations give you additional access to listen at any time to previous workshops, transcripts of sessions, and other things.

The marketing with video presentation was very informative and gave several resources for video presentation and book trailers. Book trailers are like a one time promotion that continues to work for you. Put it up on YouTube and then put links to it throughout your social network, on your blog, and your website.

Find online conferences through online writer’s groups, yahoo, google, and Facebook or Twitter. They are a great of attending without traveling. You can spend the time in your comfy clothes with a tall glass of iced tea.

Teleseminars

Most of you have probably attended or listened to a teleseminar or webinar. Last evening while listening to another session of the online Book Marketing conference, I realized that this is something I could do. It sounds and feels intimidating but it is doable. It focused on using Instant Teleseminar. There are probably other website who offer the same type of services. This post isn’t necessarily a recommendation or testimonial on their behalf, I just found it very interesting and seems user friendly. They offer a 21-day trial period for $1.00 and then have several choices of packages depending on how many people would be calling in or listening in to your webinar. There is a monthly charge after the trial period ends.

You can use power point slides and then record commentary to go with it. They refer you to transcription services if you want a copy of the seminar in a document for clients later. You can set up a practice interview call with a colleague or fellow writer, and then embed the video or audio on your blog or website. The tool bar seems pretty user friendly. I’m seriously thinking about doing one with the free trial to see how it works and what the results are. Since webinars are becoming more popular and people are using them to teach classes on writing or hold book discussions, I think it is something to add to our tool box. You set it up and record it once and then can re-use it for as long as you want. Short term time investment for long term results. Win-win for everyone.

Book Trailers

If you’re a writer or a reader, then you probably know about book trailers. For those of you not familiar with them, they are similar to the movie trailers we see on television that get us to go to the movies. Book trailers give the reader a taste of the story and get some of the plot elements. This way of promoting your books is one of the ways we can take a couple of hours or so to create a book trailer with Windows Movie Maker or the program of your choice. They have a new edition that you can download online for free. You can acquire music from various websites or if you’re lucky and have someone in your family who writes and plays music you might be able to use theirs for a listing in the credits. You may have to get a free membership at the site or some offer free memberships and low prices. Be sure to check the Terms before you use them.

If you’ve never done it, then I recommend you give it a try. There is a learning curve, but after the first one the next will be much easier. You can purchase pictures from sites like bigstockphoto.com for minimal amounts or scan your own photos or download them from your digital camera. You can even select your photos and then have the program arrange the photos and when you upload the music it will make the music fit if you tell it too.

You do the work once and post it on your website, blog, and media networks. Then, 24/7 your book trailer lets people know about your book.

I just finished the book trailer for my last book that came out last year, The Fisherman’s Wife. If you’d like to see it, then go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgyT_aSf0OM

August – Writing Goals

I always think of August as a transitional month. This month in Texas is always hot, but 2011 has been a year like no other that I can remember and I’ve been here a long time. My mom doesn’t remember one like this either and she’s been here a lot longer than I have. We’ve only had about 1.5 inches of rain in the Panhandle of Texas all year. The thermometer reads 100+ more days than not. Thank you God for air conditioning.

August is the month everyone purchases school supplies and new clothes – Back to School season. Teachers go back to work in preparation of the first day of school, which for us is August 22. College students head for campus, purchase dorm stuff, text books, and pay tuition for the coming Fall Semester. Working moms look forward to fewer calls during the day from her children asking if they can go to the pool or reporting on a sibling’s behavior.

Most people seem to settle into a routine that follows the school year. If you’re a stay at home mom or dad, then you have more time during the day to set aside for writing. For more mature writers, for me at least, there is a sense of change and schedules. People are back from summer vacations or taking their last trip before school.

Our thoughts, as writers and readers change. There were some great summer reads, but excitement for new releases in the fall and all those great holiday releases will expand the pile of books by your favorite chair or expand your files on your Kindle or Nook.

Writers are setting goals to accomplish before the end of the year. We have  five months left – almost half of the year before us. Make your goals reachable but challenging. Myself, I can get overly ambitious sometimes and then as the writing process takes place I shift my self-made deadlines with an eye on reality.  One goal I encourage writers to prepare for is to participate in National Novel Writing Month, November. The challenge is to write a novel draft in 30 days – 50,000 words. The NaNoWriMo website gives you sign up and tells how to officially participate. Even if you don’t reach 50,000 words in 30 days, think about how far you will have progressed during that time and just keep on writing. It comes out to about 1,600 words per day and you can take Sundays off.

Editing

How important is editing before you send a manuscript to an editor or agent? How important is editing if you self-publish on Kindle, Smashwords or for any e-book forum?

It’s the difference between having your best work published or just what ever you wrote down as you thought about it. I’m not criticizing or putting anyone down for their writing, but it’s important that authors maintain quality, not just quantity. The process of writing takes a dedication to learning the craft and working to improve your that writing. I believe that we should never stop learning.

The editing process begins with self-editing your work. It’s best to just write your story and get it out. Then, go back and start editing for content, flow, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Develop and expand the weak places in your story. Be willing to take parts out that do not advance the plot. Use grammar check to help locate passive voice and replace it with strong active verbs.

This is where you start. Take the time to edit and realize that many writers take five to ten drafts to get to the final manuscript that actually goes to print. Participate in critique groups. They will help you in the process. Get a good editor to review your work before submitting it.

 

 

Historical Fiction

Beginning this year, it is the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. There are some excellent historical fiction books on library shelves. John Jakes is one of the most celebrated historical fiction writers.  Jakes wrote several books about the old South and the Civil War. Probably his best known are the North and South Trilogy that was made into a miniseries for television.

More recently released fiction and nonfiction:

1861: The Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart (Apr 5, 2011)

The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865 by Leander Stillwell (Jul 18, 2011)

Where the Mockingbird Sang: A novel of the Civil War by David Wilson Atwood (May 20, 2010)

Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia by Jessica James (Jan 19, 2008)

Try these and others. Enjoy!

Blog Jog Day!

Welcome to Blog Jog Day! Please enjoy my site then click over to http://RyanJCauthor.blogspot.com to see what the next Blog has to offer! Lost in the links? You can always go back to the main Blog Jog Day Blog at http://blogjogday.blogspot.com and find a new link to jog from. Thank you for stopping by my site!

This is a fun tour of blogs – meeting new people and finding out about what others are doing, writing, and reading. I’ve participated before and I enjoyed hosting as well as visiting. Leave a comment and you’ll be in a drawing for my book The Fisherman’s Wife. 

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, August 9th, 2011. Stop back and see if you’re the winner.

September Writing Contests

WritersMarket.com lists hundreds of writing contests for writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children, journalism, and more. Here are three with September deadlines:

Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest is offered to high school seniors, college undergraduates or grad students who write an 800-1,600-word essay on Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged. First place wins $10,000, but there are more than 40 other prizes as well. Deadline: September 17.

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest is a contest offered for the best science fiction or fantasy short story written by a new writer. The deadline is September 30, and the contest offers a $1,000 quarterly first prize and $5,000 annual grand prize.

Pudding House Chapbook Competition is an annual contest for poetry chapbooks of 10-36 pages. The deadline for submissions is September 30, and the grand prize is publication and $1,000.

 

Predators & Editors

Most of you probably already know that Predators & Editors provides a wonderful resource to writers. P&E gives lists of attorneys, publishers, agents and contests, as well as other publishing industry concerns. They do not represent or support any entity but share warnings and information about many of those you come in contact with on your writer’s journey. I keep the site bookmarked in my “Tools” bookmark folder. Before using a service you can look them up on P&E. I also recommend that you Google search the name of the person or organization plus “complaints.”

I recommend adding this link to your tool box and using it frequently. P&E also provides a place for you to post warnings from your own experiences.

Twitter

If you’re like I am, it took you a while to get involved in social media and I’m still learning about how to use it for book marketing. One of my goals for marketing: Use Twitter to develop relationships with my possible readers.

Taking advantage of Twitter: (my personal goals)

•             Schedule posts in advance
•             Put a share button on your blog so it can be ReTweeted
•             Most people spend time on Twitter between 10:00am and 2:00pm. (I calculate the time span for the United States, but in truth it is between     those hours somewhere in the world.
•             You can repeat announcements for seminars, webinars, conferences, and book releases periodically as long as you don’t harass your        followers.

These are only a few suggestions. Adding one thing  at a time makes it easier. Good luck with your book promotions!

Learning from Movies

Almost everyone loves movies. We grew up seeing them and now we can access movie channels, Netflix, and other resources 24/7.  Just as writers can learn from reading books by successful authors, we can also learn about plot, character development, pacing and dialogue.

A well-known author and writers’ conference presenter told me that studying script writing and movies is a great way to develop fiction writing.

One of my favorite blogs examines movies. It is a great resource for changing your viewpoint on learning from movies, not just watching them. Visit Cinema Toast. Writer, Kimberly Black provides a fresh look at the cinema and the movies we love.

Blog Tours

Blog Tours are a great way to get your name and your work in front of people who may not know about you yet. The tours can take place while you are comfortable in your jammies with a glass of iced tea.

I’m excited to announce a special MG/YA Blog-A-Thon beginning September 1 thru the 30th. You’ll meet new Muse authors, be introduced to new books and be elgible to win lots of great prizes,..

You don’t want to miss this one. Get the schedule and tour through September. Schedule and complete information at:

MG/YA Blog-A-Thon

Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day holiday. Pray for those on the East Coast who are beginning the clean up and recovery from Hurricane Irene.

September Writing Classes

The location for the Memoir class in September has been changed from the East Branch Library to the Amarillo YMCA South at 4101 S. Hillside, Amarillo, TX. Call ahead and reserve a spot 367-8047. We meet every Tuesday evening from 6:30 – 8:00pm. Each month has a different subject.

Hope to see some of you there.

Also, don’t forget the Write In Retreat on September 23 – 24th. See coming events for details. If you can’t come Friday afternoon come for Saturday at the lower rate. Both days – $75 which includes snacks, handouts, a yoga class, lunch on Saturday, and personal writing time when you can ask specific questions about your manuscript.

 

Memoir Class starts

 

How to Use an RSS Feed

I don’t know about you but I’m still challenged with some of the tools available to us. I found a great article that explains RSS feeds.  If you’re like me the basics begin with a definition – Really Simple Syndication .

When you sign up for an RSS feed from another website, you receive a summary and link to the full article or post. You need a “reader” that can be put on your laptop or desk top computer that enables you to read the message. There are several formats available so you can get what you need.

For those of you who need more than an article, like me, you can go to a video - try it and I hope it helps.

October Writing Contests

The following contests are worth checking into.

4 OCTOBER WRITING CONTESTS

WritersMarket.com lists hundreds of writing contests for writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children, journalism, and more. Here are four with October deadlines:

 

The Sherwood Anderson Fiction Contest is offered by Mid-American Review for a short story (up to 6,000 words). First place wins $1,000, plus publication. Deadline: October 1.

 

Fall Chapbook Contest offered by White Eagle Coffee Store Press is offered for a chapbook manuscript of 20-24 pages. Winner receives $500, publication and 25 copies. Deadline: October 31.

 

Hybrid Essay Contest searches out the best unpublished essay of up to 10,000 words. Prize is $1,000, plus publication in DIAGRAM. Deadline: October 31.

 

Mid-American Review also offers the James Wright Poetry Award for best unpublished poem. First place wins $1,000, plus publication. Deadline: October 1.

Memoir Writing

As you probably already know, I’m teaching a memoir class this month. I’d like to share some of the information from that class with youl

We are focusing on creating a theme for your memoir. Not all memoirs have themes, but many that are published to have one.

Your stories are like pearls and the theme provides the string that holds them together. One option that people use when writing memoir is to structure the content around a theme.

Theme provides: development of an idea, conceptual coherence, a guide for what to include in your story and what to leave out.

The biggest problem in writing a memoir is that you know every detail of your life – what happened to you, around you, how you felt or reacted, things you’ve accomplished, where you’ve failed and where you’ve triumphed. You know what you’ve overcome and what challenges you’re still working on. The greatest challenge is that you know too much. You make the decision about what to include and what to leave out.

Life sorting: This is a little like recycling, you need two containers. Have you ever seen the television shows where they go into someone’s home and rejuvenate a room that is filled to the ceiling with junk? They have bins for sorting: Keep – Give Away – Throw Away.

I propose that we use these categories as columns for sorting the stories and the details in those stories.

Keep	Give Away	Throw Away

 

Keep = details that you want to include in your memoir

Give Away = stories or details you want to put aside for now and use later in another story or chapter

Throw Away = details or stories that you consider best left out

These are flexible categories and you can change them from one category to another, but only after you’ve written your basic story.

Just a Note

I know that the posts have been a little sporadic and unpredictable over the past couple of weeks. I apologize and am back on schedule for this new week for the regular Tues – Thurs – Saturday posts. Family challenges and the loss of a dear friend have had their impact on things.

I hope all is going well and each of you are writing. I hope you’ll participate in National Novel Writing Month this year. Go to NaNoWriMo

10 Favorite Christian Authors

As you all know, I love to read. The following list of authors give their readers great stories and characters that you’ll never forget. If you haven’t read any of their books or maybe haven’t read one of their books in a long time. I recommend that you give their new books a read. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

1. Beverly Lewis

2. Francine Rivers

3. Terri Blackstock

4. Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall

5. Angela Hunt

6. Bodie and Brock Thoene

7. Davis Bunn and Janette Oke

8. Karen Kingsbury

9. Jerry B. Jenkins

10. Randy Alcorn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Discussion Guides

I’ve noticed that there are more books available in the last couple of years that include a discussion guide at the back of the book. If you’ve published fiction or nonfiction and don’t have a list of questions at the back, then you haven’t missed the boat.

I suggest that you develop a group of discussion questions that are available to readers. Book clubs or discussion groups can have access to the guides and download them for free. Post the documents on your website, put a link on your blog, or make them available on Goodreads.

Did you know that you can have an author page on Goodreads? It’s a great place to let readers know about your books and Discussion Guides.

Let people in your network know that the guides are available. Tweet about them. Talk about them on Facebook and in your online groups.

Examples can be found at Discussion Guides. These are my own new guides. Give it a try. You’re giving added value to your readers and making your books more appealing to Book Clubs and Discussion groups.

Fall Writer Conferences

5 AUTUMN CONFERENCES

WritersMarket.com lists hundreds of writing conferences for writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writing for children, journalism, and more. Here are five coming up in autumn:

 

Austin Film Festival & Conference will be happening in Austin, Texas, October 20-27. The conference portion of it will last October 20-23.

 

The James River Writers Conference will be taking place in Richmond, Virginia, from October 6-8 at the Library of Virginia.

 

From October 21-23, the South Carolina Writers Workshop will be hosted at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort.

 

On November 12, Towson University will host the Baltimore Writers’ Conference from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Steve Almond is slated as the keynote speaker.

 

Flathead River Writers Conference takes place October 1-2 at Flathead Valley Community College in Montana.

What to Write About

We’re nearing the end of September and Fall is definitely in the air. If you’re planning on taking part in National Novel Writing Month in November then you may need to make a decision about just what subject you plan on writing about.

As you all know, I’m a history buff and love historical novels – writing as well as reading them. One answer to the question “What should I write about?” is to look for historical anniversaries. We are currently at the beginning of the American Civil War Sesquicentennial. We are also approaching the Centennial of World War I.

April of 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

May 2012 is the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.

These can get you started.

Professionalism in Writing

Professional writers are those who are paid for their work. An amateur is someone who writes but doesn’t get paid for it. Hobbyists spend some spare time doing what they enjoy. In this case, we’re talking about writing. Most writers don’t make enough money on their book sales to do nothing but write. However, it doesn’t mean that we don’t write professionally.

What does it take to operate at a professional level? First, learn as much as you can about the writing craft. Second, treat your writing as a profession. Third, use a good editor and take the time to draft and re-draft your manuscripts.

The most difficult part of writing professionally is the tedious process of polishing your writing before publication. It’s not my favorite part of the process. I’ve realized that it’s okay not to like the last little detail polishing but it isn’t okay not to do it. This is one of the main things that separates the professional and the amateur.

Marilyn Celeste Morris’ New Release – The Unexplored Heart

NOW AVAILABLE!!!

THE UNEXPLORED HEART

A romance set in Victorian England.

By: Marilyn Celeste Morris

http://www.vanillah eartbooksandauth ors.com/Marilyn_ Morris.html

Amazon buy link:

http://www.amazon. com/s/ref= nb_sb_noss? url=search- alias%3Dstripboo ks&field- keywords= The+Unexplored+ Heart&x=19& y=11

The Unexplored Heart by Marilyn Celeste Morris

Impoverished but proud Vanessa Danforth is forced from her mother’s home by her
new stepfather’s treachery in 1860s England. After graduating from
stenographer’s school, she accepts a position at the estate of famed world
explorer, Harrison Courtland. Made a widower by his wife’s tragic death in the
Himalayas, Courtland has retreated into his work while Vanni forges friendships
with his daughter Katrin and the handsome physician from the neighboring
estate.

As Vanni encourages Courtland to unearth the ancient ruins at the edge of his
property she discovers not only a stunning secret and a hidden treasure, but
also her own heart’s desire.

Updated “The Frugal Book Promoter” Released!

Hi everyone,

I have two of Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s books in my resource library and they are wonderful sources of information. She’s been working on an update to “The Frugal Book Promoter.”

Now, here’s the book you writers have been looking for!

The second edition of The Frugal Book Promoter is an updated version of
the multi award – winning first edition. It has been expanded to include
simple ways to promote books using newer technology -  – always
considering promotion and marketing techniques that are easy on the
pocketbook and frugal of time. It also includes a multitude of ways for
authors and publishers to promote the so – called hard – to – promote
genres. The award – winning author of poetry and fiction draws on a
lifetime of experience in journalism, public relations, retailing,
marketing, and the marketing of her own books to give authors the basics
they need for do – it – yourself promotion and fun, effective approaches
that haven’t been stirred and warmed over, techniques that will help
rocket their books to bestselling lists. You’ll also l earn to write media
releases, query letters and a knock ‘em dead media kit -  – all tools that
help an author find a publisher and sell their book once it’s in print.
When you buy the book today, you’ll receive more than a dozen great
bonuses for writers1
Click here to Buy the Book!  http://frugalbookpromoter.homestead.com/

You won’t want to miss this one,

Dianne

NaNoWriMo Preparation

It’s already October 18th and only 13 days left in this month. Then ….. NaNoWriMo begins. You can start writing at one minute past midnight on November 1st if you want to. Are you wondering how to get ready for this crazy rush to write the first draft of a novel – 50,000 words or more in 30 days?

Answer: 1620.9 words a day will get you there!

How to get ready?

Go online to the National Novel Writing Month website and sign up for free. I’ve you’ve participated before then just go in and put your new information for this year.

You can find people in your area who are also participating and each area has a volunteer coordinator. Some of the participants get together for a kickoff party and then meet periodically to have a “write in” and work on their manuscripts as a group.

Decide on the subject. Write a basic outline for the book. Decide on a working title. Do some character development charts for the major characters.

Don’t be intimidated by the number of words required. Even if you don’t make it within the 30 day challenge continue writing until you’re finished. Look at it this way. How far along will you be on your novel if you don’t give it a try? I’ve participated off and on for the past several years and made it all the way to my goal of 50,000 words for the first time last year. I promise that it is an exhilarating feeling when you type “The End.” I hope you’ll join me this year. Let me know if you sign up.

Story Elements

Whether you’re going to join in with us in NaNoWriMo or you’re working on a short story you need to include the basic story elements in your work.

1. Setting: Include the place, time of day or night, what country, season, inside or outside, year or decade. These can be stated if they are important or weave it in your opening scene. For example, suspense novels sometimes have a date stamp at the beginning of each chapter (12:15 am, January 13th). Another way to indicate when your story takes place could be” Jane’s calf length suit skirt caught on her leg as she ran to a phone booth. Her white gloved fingers jammed a dime into the pay phone and she looked over her shoulder.

  2. Plot: If nothing is happening to your protagonist then you don’t have a story. In the first few paragraphs you have to grab your reader’s attention or they won’t purchase your book. Something has to happen or  be in motion to get things rolling.

3. Conflict: Without some type of conflict and challenge, the character has nothing to react to or to solve. The conflict can be internal or external. It can be a combination of both. An internal conflict could be a crisis of conscience or beliefs. External conflicts come from outside the protagonist. External circumstances or actions can be man versus man, man versus circumstances beyond the character’s control, and man versus society or social issue.

4. Characters: Your key characters are the protagonist (hero or heroin) and an antagonist. Also, develop the secondary and incidental characters who are included in the story. Leave out any character who does not have a reason for appearing in the story or furthers the action. Give your characters a personality, background, physical features, and quirks. Remember that even your antagonist needs at least one redeeming quality.

5. Point of View: Decide which character’s point of view the story represents. Either write it in 1st person or 3rd person.

I like to add a 6th element: Theme: This is the main idea or central insight behind the story. It helps you stay focused on the direction and meaning you want to give the reader.

 

Virtual Book Tours

Online promotion is an important part of getting our names, services, and books in front of readers and customers for our services. I was one of the original members of a yahoo group called VBT – Writers on the Move. We helped each other promote and participated in virtual tours on our blogs. I sat out for almost a year, but have rejoined this talented group and would love to share with you.

Put your writing career in motion with the yahoo marketing group
VBT – Writers on the Move. Promote your platform, yourself and
your books! We utilize ONGOING tours; Viewpoint segments; mystery
site give aways; blog radio spots; and much more to increase
visibility and readership.
To learn more contact Karen at: karenrcfv@yahoo.com.
Please put VBT-(your initials) in the subject box.

Visit the group blog: http://vbt-writersonthemove.blogspot.com There are always great posts on the group blog from experienced, successful writers.

Count Down – Three Days to NaNoWriMo 2011

It’s like holding back a wave and then the dam breaks – the story starts pouring out of my thoughts and through my fingers. The story unfolds on the screen in front of me. Over 200 participants live in my area for 2011. Well over 300,000 world wide took part in this blitz to write 50,000 words in 30 days. My outline is in place and my thoughts keep going back to the story I want to write. Research files sit ready on my book shelf.

Our Amarillo area kick-off is tomorrow (Sunday, October 30, 2011) to get everyone to the starting line. Lots of free and discounted things are available to participants. If you’re not signed up yet, you still have time. It only takes a few minutes and even if you don’t write the full 50,000 words you are eligible for surprises just for signing up.

I do hope you’ll come and join us on this journey. If you want to attend the kick-off then here is the information:

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Amarillo Northwest Branch Library (on west 9th across from the V.A.hospital and just to the east, next door, to Amarillo College West Campus.

2:00pm – 4:00pm

Have a great weekend and great NaNoWriMo!

Pamela S. Meyers – Guest Author

I’m glad to have Pamela Meyers as my guest today. She has a new book out Thyme for Love.

Q: Give us a little preview of Thyme for Love.

A:  April Love has always dreamed of being a chef. When her Aunt Kitty hears of a in-house chef position for a non-profit organization housed in a lakeshore mansion next door, April returns to Canoga Lake, Wisconsin, where she’d spent many summers growing up, to apply for the job. When she discovers her former fiancé Marc Thorne working there, she wonders if this position was really God’s intention for her. After all, Marc all but left her standing at the altar to chase his own dreams in California. It doesn’t take long to realize Marc is hiding secrets and despite returning feelings for the man, April determines she will not make the same mistake as she did eight years earlier. But when their boss is found dead and Marc is framed for his murder, April has no choice but to turn sleuth to keep Marc from being accused of a murder he didn’t commit.

 

Q: What made you want to write this book?

A:  I’ve always loved romance and mysteries, and decided to write a story that married the two elements together. I grew up in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and have always been fascinated by the many 20^th Century mansions that dot the lake’s shoreline. I toyed with the idea of setting the story in one of those homes, but decided to create a smaller lake and village just to the east of Lake Geneva to gain more freedom with some of the details of the story and its characters. I loved having the area located close enough to Lake Geneva that April and Marc could go there for a meal at one of the actual restaurants there. I also gave them backgrounds that involve working on Geneva Lake as many college students do during the summer months.

Q: Have you written other novels besides Thyme for Love?

Oh yes. My first novel which I would classify as a women’s fiction languishes in my computer at the moment. Authors very seldom publish their first written work as that often turns out to be a practice project. The storyline still resonates with me and I’d love to one day pull it out and rework it. There are a couple other stories that will probably never see the light of day. I’m very excited to have a novel set in my hometown of Lake Geneva, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, coming out in June 2012 from Summerside Press. It’s a 1933 historical romance, and I had a blast researching for the story.

 

Q. Do you have any plans for a sequel to Thyme for Love?

A. I’m so glad you asked. Thyme for Love is part of a three-book series called “On the Road to Love.” Books 2 and 3 involved April and Marc, and both are set in Canoga Lake. In Book 2, Love Will Find a Way, April moves into an old Victorian home with plans to turn it into a restaurant and catering business. It isn’t long before a discovery made while they are renovating the home threatens to hijack plans for the grand opening. In Book three, Love’s Reward, April and Marc’s wedding plans are in full swing, until it becomes apparent there is someone who doesn’t want them to marry.

15 Days until Christmas

‘Tis the season for shopping, hitting the stores and malls with a list that rivals Santa himself. Do any of us remember a simpler time for the holidays? As children we didn’t realize all the preparation and work that the adults around us participated in so that it seemed like magic. This past Thursday evening my husband and I attended the 58th Annual Singing Christmas Tree at a nearby middle school. Two of my children participated in the choir there for this great traditional event. Now, my 11-year-old grandson is in that program. We were charmed and impressed with the performance and the abilities that these children showed through out the event. They performed 13 pieces of music that ranged from “Christmas Time is Here” – remember “Charlie Brown’s Christmas” – to some traditional songs. Some were little known with difficult chords and harmony but the children sounded literally like an angel’s choir. One of the 8th grade boys did an amazing job singing “O Holy Night.”

The songs and the clarity of the young voices struck at the heart of the Christmas season. The audience was invited to sing a verse of several well known and loved Christmas carols ending with the classic “Silent Night.” The concert was a loving gift to those who attended. Coming home afterwards my heart felt full and I thought about the birth of Jesus over 2,000 years ago. A simple setting and God’s love for all of mankind all wrapped up in a tiny baby. What an amazing gift to us all!

Merry Christmas to all of you and a blessed New Year.

Holiday Giveaway Hop

This is the last day for the Hop. I hope you had a good time and you’ll visit some more blogs on the list and good luck.

To keep it simple each site has a limit of entries per person.  To participate go to the list at I Am A Reader and scroll down a few paragraphs to the link list.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!