Seize the Chance

Retiring this Blog

2011-07-26T07:51:00.002-05:00

As my handful of readers has noticed, I don't keep up with this any more. Mostly I post on Facebooks nowadays, and feel free to look for me there. I keep my profile relatively public so people can find me.

And I am announcing that I am retiring my Seize the Chance blog and brand. My name has become my brand and I've decided to keep it that way. In a few weeks, I will have a revamped web site and new blog set up. I will announce that on this blog and then put this to rest after five years of too sporadic posting and not enough focus.

The new blog will be my newsletter at least for the time being. I'm too graphically challenged to make a pretty newsletter to send one out, so will keep my readers apprized of my movements through my blog and Facebook accounts.

These next few weeks will be a little nuts, I do assure you. Stay tuned for the next installment. Meanwhile, do go to Amazon and check out my gorgeous new covers for my upcoming books. My Heartsongs are now all available, too, and all four will be in large print as of September of this year.

RIP to the Heartsong line.

Devaluing

2011-07-05T12:08:00.002-05:00

Most people draw attention to their blogs through give-aways. I've learned through an attendee at the recent RWA conference--sigh I didn't get to go to New York--that giving away your book devalues it. As I've said about my teaching and beginning to charge for it: People rarely appreciate that which is free.

Cliffhanger Extraordinaire

2011-06-11T09:31:00.002-05:00

raordinaireAuthor Naomi Musch said this about Lady in the Mist. Thank you Naomi for giving it one of your rare five star reviews.

http://www.naomimusch.com/apps/blog/show/7308658-cliff-hanger-extraordinaire-book-exam-of-lady-in-the-mist-by-laurie-alice-eakes

My Mom

2011-05-07T21:54:00.002-05:00

A truly special lady. Here we are together in Virginia in March when Carrie Pagels drove me across the state just so I could see my parents for the first time in over five years.

Survey Question

2011-04-10T04:08:00.001-05:00

For those of you who buy books rather then going to the library or waiting for freebies, what compels you to do so--go to a store or site to buy books?

Laurie Alice's Rules for Arguing

2011-04-08T14:27:00.002-05:00

Since I am opinionated and tend to open my mouth first and think later, I get iinto a few more verbal scrapes than is probably healthy, so I've developed a list of rules for arguing.

1: Remember that I don’t need to win.
2: Say how I feel in a loving and kind manner
3: Do not use “you”:
4: Do not insult, belittle, demean
5: Do not change the subject
6: Apologize for fighting at all
7: Be humble
8: Do not strive to humiliate
9: Listen
10: do not interrupt

Must Be the Worst Blogger

2011-04-04T07:48:00.003-05:00

Surely I deserve an award for being the worst blogger writer around. Facebook is a better place to find me, and I've neglected that a bit lately, too.

And I don't want to neglect those of you who have said such nice things about Lady in the Mist. Thank you. Although, the Lord willing, I will write better books in the future, this will always be special to me. Never did I think I would get published by a publisher like Revell, who has been so amazingly supportive and encouraging and just plain amazing to work with.

God is good indeed.

Next Book!

2011-03-15T14:47:00.003-05:00

Here is the cover for my next book, my first Regency in five years, A Necessary Deception. October, 2011. Baker/Revell.

Also, this week I am going to Virginia to give a workshop and have a booksigning in Yorktown and Hampton Roads respectively. Leaving the hubby behind.

Taking Risks

2011-03-11T07:32:00.001-05:00

That's the subject of my guest post today on

http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com

Encourage and Build

2011-03-07T09:06:00.001-05:00

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

A verse about which I got convicted about three years ago. Encourage… Build… Yet, too often, I have found that we do not do this. In particular it seems to be a problem in the writing community. Some people are quick to tear down other author’s books.

Yes, I’ve done it myself. Soandso is boring. This person is trite, that person just rips off secular plots… Mean, nasty and not at all building up the kingdom of God.

Most of us who rite Christian fiction consider it a ministry. So why do we publicly denounce the ministries of other writers? Does it enhance ours? I think on the contrary it does not.

If someone is preaching a false Gospel, yes, they should be called to answer for it. But just because someone writes a book in a style, theme, setting, etc. we don’t care for is no reason to publicly denounce that person’s ministry as awful. If you don’t like the way someone sets for the her message, then move on and find someone whose prose you do like. Tell a handful of friends if you must, and do not tear down the kingdom of God, let others see us as infighting and thus not a good witness for Christ, in a public forum

This is why I stopped writing reviews on this blog unless I really like the book.

Jersey Brides Has Released

2011-03-03T12:32:00.002-05:00

For some reason, The Heiress and The Newcomer, the follow-up books to The Glassblower, never got into Amazon or CBD.com They are, however, all three available for one low price on Amazon or your local Walmart and/or bookstore. Around $8.00 for three books in one. I'll try to upload the cover here. If I can't, go to my Web Site. it's there. Really lovely.

http://www.lauriealiceeakes.com

Risk Aversion

2011-02-28T06:33:00.002-05:00

Recently, after about five years since hearing Mark preach the sermons, I'm reading In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. It's a short book, and as dense as the fur in a lion's mane.

When I was a teen, a local pet store woner had a lion cub. When I met him, he weighed about 40 pounds. Since cats like me, I figured we would get along.

We did. We wrestled and played, and he knocked me downand grabbed my shoulder in his jaws.

I was wearing a heavy ski jacket and a sweater. Later that night, I had blood blisters on my shoulder from where he was playfully mawling me. That forty pound lion could have killed me. But I was sixteen and invinsible, of course, so it never occurred to me and that half hour, like my ride on an elephant as a very small child, are amongst some of my more interesting youthful memories. Animals are just awesome as far as I'm concerned.

When I was sixteen, I wasn't risk averse. I petted and played with a lion. As an adult, I would probably still play with a forty pound lion cub, though a bit more cautiously.

But would I have the courage, the insanity, to chase a lion, a full-grown lion, into a pit on any day, let alone a snowy one, and then kill him? Not on your life, mine, or the lion's. Yet Benaiah did. Beniah wanted that lion dead. We don't know why, and he was a determined man, wanting something so much he would risk death to go for what he wanted done.

He sounds nuts. So did Noah, so did David. So was Peter getting out of the boat and walking on water. Yet they followed God's calling and took that leap of faith.

That's what it comes down to--leaps, or sometimes for many of us--baby steps of faith.

Step off the curb.

Surrendering Our Will

2011-02-24T09:01:00.001-05:00

Lately, I’ve been thinking and attempting to put into practice, the power of surrender—surrendering to God. It’s not easy to say, let alone and mean, Your will be done, Lord. Yet that is what we’re exhorted to do. Jesus said to pray like this and used the Lord’s Prayer as a template.

Surrender our futures.
Surrender our loved ones.
Surrender our lives in every aspect.

This week, my beloved calico cat went missing. I cried and cried. Her littermate cried and cried, which made me cry harder. I and many others prayed for her safe return. Finally, last night, 3.5 days, I gave up. I accepted that God had His reason for my cat being gone and I let her go to God’s purpose.

She came home this morning.

We don’t always get what we want when we surrender things. I’d like to live somewhere else and am really quite at peace about it after much prayer about moving on and know it’s no for the next few months anyway. No, I’m not moving now, as I wish I could, and I have surrendered that desire to the purpose God has for bringing and keeping me here.

Have you surrendered your will to the Lord? What were the consequences/results?

Roles of Midwives in Society

2011-02-21T09:09:00.001-05:00

Today is the first of my four-part series on the role of midwives in society. A few people who have read Lady in the Mist seemed to be expecting a treatis on midwifery. Well, no. My speciality when working on my MS in history of Science and Technology at Virginia Tech was the role of midwives in society, not midwifery. The title of my paper I delivered at a history conference in 1999 was Women of Power.

These blog posts are redacted from that paper.

www.jordynredwood.com/.../qualities-of-good-midwife-part-1...

Well-Done Amateur Book Trailer

2011-02-17T05:01:00.002-05:00

A fan has made a book trailer for Lady in the Mist. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/RegencyMaid#p/a/u/1/X5J7yi4h7Kw

You may have to cut and paste the link.

Another Sale

2011-02-06T17:11:00.001-05:00

Yes, I have sold yet aone more novella. Over a Barrel--working title for now anyway--will appear in Colonial Courtships in May, 2012. This is two novellas sold in a month and makes this an extremely busy writing year for me, which is how I like things.

So if I am not around as much as I'd like, that's why.

Celebrate!!!

2011-02-01T07:27:00.001-05:00

Lady in the Mist releases today. It's been spotted in stores already, and today is the official launch day.

This book received four stars from Romantic Times.
"Readers will not be able to put this gem of a novel down."

The Awakening

2011-01-23T20:44:00.000-05:00

In March of 2009, I finished my writing of The /glassblower a month before deadline. Although I had another Heartsong to begin—I had to write three in a year plus make a cross-country move—I decided to create a proposal for the midwife story. I pulled out my notes from the brainstorming sessions and began to create using my modified version of the “Snowflake” method.

The original idea, the first idea, was to set the book in England with an American hero. The Christian publishing atmosphere, however, seemed to lean toward American books, so I flipped it around and decided on an American setting with an English hero. My favorite time period was early 1800s, so I picked 1809. I had a single heroine, a midwife who had learned from her mother, who had learned from her mother, who had learned from her mother…

I also picked this time period because midwives were still the most common form of healer and baby deliverer, especially in rural areas. It was changing with the advent of forceps in the medical field. Midwives weren’t allowed to use them, only physicians, so doctors were taking over delivery. See my post at

http://www.jordynredwood.com/2010/12/laurie-alice-eakes-midwife-vs-physician.html

I will be talking more about midwives from a medical history perspective on this same site throughout the month of February.

The first scene came to me clearly. Or should I say mistily? Unlike most of my books, I didn’t struggle over writing the first three chapters. This one flowed from my fingertips. The opening tragedy, the misty walk home, the unexpected encounter, the danger. All of it lay in my mind.

Next is the tale of the times, a bit of background on what was going on in the world into which I thrust my midwife.

The Decade Draws to a Close

2011-01-17T08:13:00.003-05:00

A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.
Raymond Chandler

Whether distilling, germinating, or just plain hibernating, the midwife idea never left me. Always, it lay in the back of my mind sticking out an ear, a paw, a twitching nose, testing the waters of my brain or publishing or something, then withdrawing to its cave for more subconscious work.

In other words, I wanted it to be special. I wanted the publishing ground to be right. I wanted something I didn't know I wanted.

Remember, I wanted to set the story in England; hwoever, the Christian book market was not open to English-set stories. In the middle of 2008, I was in a career crisis with my writing anyway. Nothing was selling. Discouraged and frustrated, I decided to submit another idea to Avalon Books, an idea I had had around a while about a lady doctor in the 1890s. Some of the research for this story came from my midwife story, and it reared its head, demanding that I let it out and write it.

So I submitted a query for When the Snow Flies, the lady doctor story, and then began to brainstorm ideas for the midwife story with myself and my critique partners. I made a folder for it, exchanged some e-mails with friends about where I was going. . .

And then the editor at Avalon wanted a full mansucript, so I put the midwife idea away again and wrote the full. Then I sold three books to Barbour Publishing for the Heartsong Presents line and had to get to work right away on those.

My midwife continued to sleep.

I'm in Crossings Book Club

2011-01-14T08:37:00.001-05:00

Well, my upcoming book, Lady in the Mist, is in Crossings Book Club. Very cool news.

The Idea Germinates

2011-01-14T08:36:00.000-05:00

Grad school, then some sad things in my life, and a cross-country move interrupted my writing plans. My job plans, too. I couldn’t find one. Sigh. I did, however, find the man I ended up marrying in a couple of years, which was a bright spot in a lot of darkness.

And I went back to school.

Yes, call me an academic junky. I love education. Teaching didn’t work out for me, though, so I tried something new. A friend I’d made in RWA encouraged me to apply for the Writing Popular Fiction program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. I did, was accepted, and started in June of 2001. By July, I had to have a proposal of three chapters and a synopsis.

Yeah, right. I didn’t have more than a vague idea. The midwife idea wasn’t even there in my head any more. Apparently it had gone into hibernation so deep it forgot about itself. By the time it emerged, it was going to be mighty skinny.

The other idea came, was approved, and I began to write it. I actually began to learn how to write it in a deep way. That is another post on this blog for the future. Suffice it to say, I threw out everything I knew about writing and started from scratch.

And graduated two years later.

By that time, I had been called to write Christian fiction. Yet another post. I had an agent. I didn’t have a manuscript worth submitting.

But I wrote them. I sold a few books, even won an award. And still the midwife story didn’t emerge. . .

Until I wrote When the Snow Flies.

This is my August, 2010 release from Avalon Books, a secular but sweet historical romance about a female doctor in the 1890s. For this story, I needed some of my old notes on midwives and an obscure note I’d found in an 1873 book written for midwives.

And an idea no more substantial than mist began to slip from the deep recesses of my mind nearly ten years after the original idea tried to form.

Playing Hooky

2011-01-09T19:14:00.001-05:00

In the middle of that first semester of grad school, my brain just froze on academia. I honestly couldn’t think, couldn’t sleep, but couldn’t stay awake either. Reading about 1,500 pages a week—ok, skimming much of that—and writing papers was getting to me.

So I played hooky. I simply checked out for four days. I didn’t go to class, didn’t answer the phone, didn’t get on-line. Bad me. But I needed to read nonacademic books—pulled out some favorite historical romances—watch a couple of movies, and sleep. It was a braincation.

And while I let my mind rest, an idea began to form. I took one of the most interesting jobs of a midwife—I should, in true business speak fashion call this one element of the job of a midwife—and started the what-if game.

Let me add here and say I had been playing with writing for years, had even joined RWA and been to some conferences. I hadn’t gotten past a couple of chapters of any one story yet, but I’d even won a couple of contests with those chapters, so I was hopeful of writing seriously in the future.

And here was surely the sprouting seed of an idea. A midwife heroine required, in the face of illegitimacy, to find out the name of a child’s father before she could help deliver that child. Hmm. What if. . .? What if. . .? What if. . .?

And the hero would be?

At that time, I was everything English, totally into the Regency. But I like the contrast, so I thought perhaps an American hero come to England to claim an inheritance. . . Let me also note here that I was writing secular stuff then. My call to write Christian fiction had not yet come. That was nearly three years in the future.

I wrote down these fleeting thoughts long-hand, then resumed my regularly scheduled semester, finished my midwife paper with an A+ grade, and moved on and on and on to other things, but the midwife idea did not leave me.

The Planting of the Seed

2011-01-05T19:43:00.000-05:00

While working on the Midwife project, which was an on-line lesson in the history of medicine, I found so many fascinating resources like a book written for midwives in the seventeenth century, I decided that I shouldn’t reinvent the wheel. Why write one project one subject and another project on another? Hey, I was a lazy college student after all. Or maybe just an overworked one reading about three long books a week and writing papers and…

So midwives became my focus. The more I read about them, the more I knew what my research paper would be about—not what they did, but who they were. Everyone knows what a midwife does. She delivers babies. When necessary, she deals with other medical issues, as she had to have some knowledge of healing. Pregnant women did get ill and need care, and her midwife would be the first person she’d call upon for help.

So who were midwives? The conclusion I reached from reading obituaries, diaries, newspaper articles, laws, and those ancient books, not to mention a bunch of secondary sources by Mary Beth Norton and Kathleen brown, to name a couple. . .

They were women of power.

These women moved freely during the day or night expecting not to be molested. These women earned their own income, and often these incomes were substantial. One midwife in the West Country of England died with 3,000 pounds to her name in the eighteenth century. I’m not sure how that translates without a calculator. But it’s not small change.

Midwives testified in court, mainly for paternity suits, and few women were even allowed in court, let alone called upon to testify and their word taken as the final one. They were feared and respected and had high standards amongst themselves.

I’ll talk more about that later, things about the consequences of their high standards.

I could go on and on, but won’t here, not yet. Suffice it to say, these women held a special place in society, and the more I read about them and individuals, the more I felt these women coming alive in my mind.

The Birth of a Novel

2011-01-02T17:21:00.001-05:00

Over the next few weeks, on Mondays and Thursdays, I will be discussing Lady in the Mist, which releases on February 1, 2011 (trade paperback, Revell Books). Please leave a meaningful comment, as I will have a gift for the first 50 commentrs. (Note: No free books this time.)

One question I get asked most often as a novelist is: Where do you get your ideas. This is an answer for at least one of them.

The whole thing started thirteen years ago. I was in graduate school studying history with the duel purpose of wanting to write more serious historical fiction, so wanting more knowledge, and possibly teaching history. I do both now, but not as I expected. But that’s a different story.

My first semester, I took two classes—Research Methods and The History of Medicine. In the former, I had to write a long research paper. In the other, I had to create a project, a lesson plan for an on-line course in the history of medicine.

For the research class, I thought about something on the Huguenots. I’d found a diary of a Huguenot in an antique bookstore a couple years earlier and was fascinated enough to write two papers on them for undergrad history courses. For the history of medicine class, I’d come across a copy of Laurel Ulrich’s interpretation of Martha Ballard’s Diary, A Midwife's Tale and decided to do a midwife project.

Not a bit of a connect between, yet these two diverse topics led me to the seed which would need germination and the right climate, and nourishment to sprout into an idea, let alone a novel.

Thursday, I will discuss how the actual idea for a novel poked its head above the frost to announce its intention of coming to life.

Renaissance

2010-12-27T13:31:00.003-05:00

Beginning January 3, 2011, I will be reviving this blog and beginning a series called "Birth of a Novel" to lead up to the release of Lady in the Mist, Book 1 in The MIdwives series from Revell Books, February 1, 2011.

Match, Making Pudding: A Christmas Story

2010-12-23T16:52:00.000-05:00

MATCH, MAKING PUDDING
By
Laurie Alice Eakes

(Note: To the English, “pudding” is not the custard-like substance Americans call “pudding.” English pudding is more like a cake, though it Is boiled, not baked, and plum pudding does not necessarily contain plums.)

The Devere family entered the kitchen once a year. From Lord Devere, to his wife ; from Rebecca, the youngest of their nine children, to Sarah, the eldest , the family gathered around the worktable on Christmas Eve morning to take turns stirring the plum pudding. According to tradition begun a century earlier when the Stewarts sat on the throne, each person made a wish as he stirred. But since the previous Christmas Eve, the Deveres had heard the preaching of George Whitfield, and, now that they accepted a personal relationship with the Lord, they knew to pray, not wish, for what they wanted.
"Let us say a special prayer for the new year," suggested Belinda, the middle daughter.
Everyone agreed—except for Sarah. Christmas might now have more meaning to her heart , but to her, what went into and came out of the pudding needed a helping human hand, not divine intervention.
She intended to control the disbursement of the charms, those tiny trinkets that made each slice of the pudding an adventure. When the family gathered with friends and neighbors to partake of the pudding, Sarah would ensure that each person received the charm that she thought befitted their needs. Belinda would receive the thimble, reminding her to be thrifty with her pin money. Rebecca would receive the wishbone because she, being so small, needed all the blessings she could get during the next year. Their father would find the anchor in his slice of pudding, for he was such a stronghold for all of them he needed a safe harbor himself. The crown would go to fifteen-year-old Geoffrey because he would enjoy directing the festivities as “king” and wouldn’t be mean about his revels. Finally, to Lance would go the ring. Although he was only four and twenty, he was the heir and should wed sweet-natured Eliza. They’d loved one another since infancy.
Sarah frowned as she stirred the pudding with one hand and fingered the trinkets in her pocket with the other. “And, Lord, don’t bring Alexander calling again.”
Eliza’s older brother Alexander Featherstone had begun to court her, Just because I'm the only female in ten counties who hasn't thrown her cap over the windmill for him.
Not that she was impervious to his looks, charm and intellect. She could love him. . .if he came around too often. She feared she already did love him; thus, she wanted him to stay away from her rather than add her to his quiver of fawning females.
“Tharie,” Rebecca cried, tugging on the skirt of Sarah’s saque gown, “you’re taking all the turnth."
Sarah released the spoon and stooped to lift her baby sister high enough to grasp the wooden spoon. Once on the floor again, Rebecca looked up with a seraphic smile. “I athked Jethuth for a huthband for Tharie."
Sarah grimaced. “You’re better off praying for a wife for Lance. That won’t take a miracle.”
Belinda giggled. “Oh, I don’t think it’ll take a miracle—for either of you.
Blushing himself, yet smiling, too, Lance grasped the spoon from Belinda. “I pray that Eliza accepts my offer.”
“We’d like excellent matches for both of you,” their father said. “Who has the charms?"
“I do.” Sarah gave the trinkets to the cook to drop into the batter as she poured it into the bag for boiling.
Except the cook wouldn't drop them in. Sarah had persuaded her and the butler to press the charms into the pudding slices of the right people. The cook's nod assured Sarah she would carry on the game, and Sarah followed the family upstairs to rest before church.
At the service, Alex and Eliza joined the Deveres at the church. Somehow, Alex ended up sitting beside Sarah in the box pew. When they stood, he slipped his large, warm hand beneath her lace-clad elbow. When they prayed, he took her hand in his, and she couldn’t pull it away without drawing attention to them. When they departed, he draped her cloak over her shoulders and allowed his fingertips to brush the side of her neck. Those were courting gestures, and she didn’t know why he teased her so.
Nor why God had ignored her prayer to keep Alexander away.
Disturbed, she tried to climb into the carriage with her parents and younger siblings, but they declared the vehicle overcrowded and insisted she go with the Featherstones. But that carriage was also full, so Sarah and Alex strolled the half mile from village to Devere estate over ground white and hard with frost, through air that turned white with each breath, beneath a sky that resembled candle flames frozen in black glass. Cold, Sarah didn’t object when Alex tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow, then covered her fingers with his.
At least she said she didn’t object because of the cold. In truth, she felt warm all the way through, and that made her uncomfortable, unsure of herself.
Sarah hated being unsure of herself. She never was unsure of herself—except around Alex lately.
Lord, I don't want to be another foolish female with a broken heart over him. But she feared she already was, for she'd seen him courting many girls in the decade she'd known him noticing females.
The Lord seemed to be ignoring her. Alex sat beside her at the table as the butler carried in the pudding and began to serve. Smiling, she watched everyone take their first bite of pudding, anticipating the moment when each found his charm.
But no one did.
Family member after guest savored the rich sweet until half of everyone’s slice vanished—except for Sarah’s, as she hadn’t taken so much as a nibble of hers. Everyone glanced around the table, curious, puzzled.
“Who’th got a charm?” sleepy-eyed Rebecca asked. “I wanted the crown.”
Everyone shook their heads.
Lord Devere looked at Sarah. “You gave Cook the charms, didn't you?”
“Yes, Father.” Sarah glanced at the butler, who gave her a twinkling glance, and her stomach knotted, her heart pounded.
Alex touched her arm. “You haven’t touched your pudding.”
Sarah read laughter in his gaze, and had to steel herself against running from the table.
“Here, have a bite.” He seized her fork and cut off a generous mouthful of pudding, then held it up for her.
Face heating, Sarah sprang to her feet. "I don't want pudding. I want to see everyone finding the charms I made certain they'd receive."
Everyone looked shocked that anyone dared interfere with the discovery of plum pudding charms—everyone except for Alex and Geoffrey. They started laughing so hard the bite of pudding slid off the fork in Alex’s hand and plopped onto the white linen tablecloth. The pudding fell apart to reveal the tiny silver ring.
“Hurray!” Rebecca clapped her hands. “God anthwered my prayer. Tharie will get married this year.”
Alex turned serious. “I certainly hope so.”
“Oh, you!” Sarah spun on her heel and fled to a cacophony of laughter and exclamations.
She barely reached the nearest refuge, the winter parlor, before she heard footfalls behind her and felt a hand drop onto her shoulder, stopping her. “Wait,” Alex said.
She faced him, shaking. “Why? So you can make more of a fool of me?”
Alex met her glare with a challenging gaze. “More of a fool than what you’ve been making of me for the past three years?”
“What?”
“Sarah, everyone in the county knows I love you except for you.” He clasped her hands between his. “You treat me like I’m poison.”
“You are as dangerous as poison if anyone gets too close." When he kept gazing at her in silence, she plunged. "You love every female so much you don't love any of us. My Christmas prayer was for god to keep you away tonight."
"But God has other plans for us." He took her hands in his. "What better time than Christmas to remember that He knows what we need more than we do?"
Sarah frowned. "And you claim God believes I need you?"
Alex grinned. "You wouldn't care if I were here if you didn't love me."
"Oh—"
He kissed her before she could say more.
She still said nothing because he'd stolen her breath.
"And I went through a great deal of trouble to ensure you got the ring." His eyes pleaded with her. "Doesn't that count toward you believing I love you?"
"It's cheating—" Blushing, she began to laugh. "If I'm the only lady you'd do that for..."
"The only one. A match made in"—he grinned—"pudding."

Suspending Blog

2010-08-20T15:07:00.003-05:00

Today, I decided that I will not be blogging. It's time-consuming, and I have a lot more fun and interaction on Facebook. You can find me there under my full name Laurie Alice eakes. I'm the only one.

I am updating my web site, and will make that announcement here when it's ready.

One day, I will either come back here or start another blog with other authors.

My life right now is really busy with writing and promo and just living, and isn't that interesting. LOL

So check back on the first Monday of every month for any updates or find me on Facebook.

Face-Lift

2010-07-23T13:28:00.003-05:00

oming along soon. My site is way out of date and I've neglected the blog while trying to figure out what I'm going to do with it.

For now, I'm helping out a fellow Revell author and posting information about her new courses online.

From Janice Thompson

2010-07-23T13:19:00.002-05:00

Talented author Janice thompson has embarked on a new venture of offering online courses to authors. Here is her information. Do give Janice a look in. She's an excellent teacher.

FICTION COURSE INTERVIEW
Janice Thompson: booksbyjanice@aol.com

Janice, I understand you’re about to debut a new fiction course online. Why fiction? What is your background, as it relates to fiction writing?
Every writer hopes to one day write “The Great American Novel.” I started writing novels as a child, so the desire to craft “story” has always been inside of me. In the mid ‘90s I started writing with the desire to be published. After years of trial and error, my first novel hit the shelves in 2000. Since then, I’ve published over forty novels—everything from inspirational romance to cozy mysteries to Y.A. (young adult) to romantic comedies. It’s been a great run! I’ve noticed a trend in recent years. “Young” writers approach me, one after the other, asking the same questions and struggling with the same problems. I’ve worn myself out giving the same answers! (There are only so many times and ways you can say, “You’re head-hopping, honey!”) Because of that, I decided it would be easier to compile the information into a fiction course, will debut mid-June at www.freelancewritingcourses.com. I can’t wait to see what novelists think of this exciting new course!
You’ve started with a lesson on understanding the genres. Why is that?
As mentioned above, I’ve been published in multiple genres. My first book was a suspense-thriller. I’ve since written historicals, contemporaries, children’s, young adult, romances, mysteries and much, much more. Because I’ve been able to successfully cross genre lines, I feel qualified to teach on the subject. Before writers can establish themselves as novelists, they must develop an understanding of the fiction genres/categories. Choosing the best genre (or genres) is critical to your success. But with so many categories to choose from, how do you know which is your best fit? This lesson will give writers a thorough introduction to genre writing and will provide them with the necessary information to choose the one(s) best suited to their literary style and voice.
I see you’ve included a lesson on plotting. Is this based on your “Plot Shots” teaching, which you’ve offered at conferences?
Yes! I’m so tickled to finally be able to offer this teaching in a course format. I’ve become known as “that Plot Shots lady.” That’s okay. I can live with that! I’m a firm believer in laying out a great plotline. Why? Because every story needs a beginning, middle and end. Careful plotting will lead the reader on a satisfactory, realistic journey through each of those stages, creatively weaving in and out, up and down. The "Plot Shots" method gives writers the tools they need to plot their novel in twelve easy snapshots. It’s a fun and easy approach to plotting that won’t confuse or complicate the story.
Characterization is such an important component of fiction writing. Can you tell us more about your characterization lesson?
Years ago I developed a teaching that I call “Pandora’s Box.” It’s a layered approach to characterization, which uses the illustration of multiple boxes, one inside the other. In this lesson, I lay out the need for great characterization, then present the Pandora’s Box method. After presenting the method, I take the student through the process four times, using four fictional characters as a foundation. (Each character has a different personality, so the student learns how to apply the technique to the various personalities.)

So many writers struggle with P.O.V. (point of view). Is that why you included a lesson on that very tough subject?
Point of View (P.O.V.) is a critical fiction component. Employing to your best advantage is tough! Most of the young writers I know struggle in this area. The head-hop. Oh, they don’t mean to. . .but they do! My detailed lesson on Point of View offers students a thorough teaching on the various P.O.V.s (omniscient, third person, second person, first person), and gives specific examples and tips so that writers can become P.O.V. purists.

What is passive writing? Why have you included a lesson about it?
Many of the manuscripts I edit are written in passive voice. They’re loaded with passive verbs and include huge sections of “telling.” The author “information dumps,” which stops the flow of the story. Knowing the difference between active voice and passive voice is key to writing a great novel. Conquering the art of "showing" instead of "telling" will give writers an added advantage. This detailed lesson--filled with nuggets of wisdom from published authors--will give writers the tools they need to strengthen their stories and pull them into active voice.

Ack! Backstory! It’s so tough to add to our novels. Is that why you included a lesson on the subject?
Backstory. We all struggle with it, don’t we? In so many ways, it's critical to our story. After all, the reader needs to know where our primary character has come from--what she's been through--why she acts like she does. So, do you add the backstory or not? If so, can you do so without resorting to author intrusion? And where will you place it? At the beginning of the story? Elsewhere? Will it come out in lumps or snippets? This lesson offers students an intense look at backstory and includes tips for interjecting it without stopping the action.

Many writers struggle with finding their “voice.” Can you tell us more about that?
A writer’s “voice” is her/her “stamp.” It’s the author’s “personality on the page.” And many young writers haven’t “found their voice” yet. This lesson delves into the topic, in detail, giving perspective on this very personal issue. The lesson (titled “Themes, Style and Voice”) also covers the various themes found in popular books, as well as style components.

Can you tell us some of the top fiction mistakes?
Sure! After editing hundreds of manuscripts, I can point out some of the “top” fiction mistakes: Lack of a good hook. P.O.V. issues. Passive writing. Weak characterization. Poor plotting (no “belly of the whale” scene). Overuse of adverbs. On and on the list goes. Many writers simply don’t realize they’re making these mistakes until someone points them out. They wonder why the book keeps getting rejected. This lesson offers writers a thorough list, detailing the top twenty mistakes novelists make.

Why did you decide to add a lesson on humor writing?
I’ve been writing comedies for years and have learned so much along the way. Humor writing is tough stuff! Some writers are born with an overactive funny bone. Others have to work hard to be funny. (Ironic, isn't it?!) If you're interested in adding a little har-de-har-har-har to your novel, then you've come to the right place. In this light-hearted lesson on humor writing, I share my top ten tips for adding humor to your writing. The bonus feature contains another twenty tummy-tickling techniques, so hang on for the ride!

Putting together a book proposal is tough! What have you learned over the years?
Book deals are won or lost based on the proposal. If you've got a completed manuscript and you're ready to pitch it to an agent or editor, then this exciting lesson on query letters and book proposals will point you in the right direction, giving you all the confidence you need to submit, submit, submit! Students who use the information provided in this lesson can compose polished query letters and dazzling book proposals, sure to impress both editors and agents, alike.

Thanks so much for joining us, Janice. Where can people learn more about your courses? And where else can they find you on the web?
They can learn more at www.freelancewritingcourses.com. On that site, they will also find my “Becoming a Successful Freelance Writer” course, which many students have already taken. Folks can learn more about that one by clicking on this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-5IZSNaZFU. I offered a free webinar on the subject about six weeks ago, and it can be found here: http://www.freelancewritingcourses.com/?s=webinar. We’ll be adding to the course list every couple of months, so stay tuned for more announcements!
Other places to find me on the web:
My website: www.janiceathompson.com
My blog: http://janiceathompson.com/blog/?cat=1
My facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/jhannathompson

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2010-06-28T12:27:00.002-05:00

where has time gone? I was in DC for a few days to get my husband's sister married off in style and see some friends. No internet access, or no time to get to it.

And I'm editing, starting my next book, working on promotion for books coming out--The newcomer and When the Snow Flies in August and Lady in the Mist in February of next year.

Hey, if you go to the Revell web site www.revellbooks.com you can type in Lady in the Mist and my books' page is there. It's also on Amazon. I'll get the cover up here soon, too, and on Facebook.

Yes, I'm there so much I feel that this blog is superfluous at times. But I mustn't neglect the blog now.

Back to editing.

After Four Years

2010-06-17T04:20:00.002-05:00

aptia for this blog comment. I used to have it off because it was difficult for those who can't read the captia; however, Google has a usable audible captia, so this is no longer an issue. I think I have also excluded annonymous commentors.

The reason for this inconvenience? Too many SPAM messages. I am thoroughly sick of the icky roboposts that get left on my blog. So I am inconveniencing everyone else for the sake of making life more convenient for me.

I just went in and had to reject over 120 of these posts, some of which are really disgusting.

But, since I don't get a lot of comments anyway, what does it matter, eh?

New Cover

2010-06-16T18:00:00.003-05:00

Got the new cover for The newcomer, my next heartsong and the third book in the NJ historical series.

Her Abundant Joy--Guest Lyn Cote

2010-06-10T09:18:00.003-05:00

Although this blog trends toward the East Coast and English settings, I jumped at the chance to have Lyn Cote as my special guest because... Well, I think she's a terrific author and this book is special to me in that I am now a resident of Texas and daily witness the type of culture clashes she wrote about happening a hundred and fifty plus years ago, and I love her perspective on writing about society's differences in a previous century, drawing the balance between portraying this and not offending 21st century readers--or can we?

Here's Lyn:

Q & A for Her Abundant Joy by Lyn Cote
1-What caused you to choose early Texas as the setting for your "Texas Star of Destiny" series?
I enjoy writing about locales and periods where several groups come together for a sharp culture clash. Conflict is the essence of a good story and many different people trying to get along or not get along sets up a story rife with natural conflict.
Starting in 1821 Stephen Austin brought in Anglo-Americans to settle Spanish and the Mexican-held Texas. Eastern Texas became the setting where Native Americans, mainly Comanche, Mexicans, and blacks (slaves and runaways), and Anglos clashed over who would be in control of the land. Part of my brand, "Strong Women Brave Stories" is that I like to write a multicultural cast. In this third and final book in the series, I stir German immigrants into the mix.
2-How do you handle the 19th century political incorrectness?
I resist the pressure to sanitize history. If I portray the 19th century as it really was, it is difficult not to offend the 21st century reader. Yet I still endeavor to portray the low status of women and racial prejudice of the 19th century. I had a reader say in a review that my stories had 21st century values. That's not really correct. My stories have characters who are at odds with their times, another characteristic common to my historicals. My heroines are usually crusaders far ahead of their times who won't cave in to the pressure to conform (another source of conflict). I don't like historical novels that don't even try to show how society was different in the past.
3-What was the most interesting fact you didn't know about Texas BEFORE you started writing this series?
I hadn't realized that over 30,000 Germans immigrated to Texas in the mid-1840's. The area around New Braunfels, Texas, still celebrates this German heritage with some original stone houses, German food and polka bands—really!
4-What do you hope your readers will take away after reading this book and the first two in the series?
Her Abundant Joy features a German widow Mariel Wolffe. She is a heroine who will tug at a reader's heart (I hope!) And her hero, Carson Quinn, the son of the hero and heroine in the first book, is a man that should melt hearts. He's not just a handsome face. He has faced frontier life and learned to survive with honor, no small accomplishment.
They find themselves--just as we do today in the face of terrorism--in the middle of a war. Their personal desires and plans must give way to the winds of war. But God is still there with them. I gave my editor a choice of two titles taken from Psalm 37 (all 3 titles are). She chose Her Abundant Joy. The other was Her Man of Peace. I think that this reflects the theme of the book. Carson longs for peace but is forced into war.
The humble shall inherit the earth; and
shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace....
Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright:
for the end of that man is peace. Psalm 37: 11, 37

When Lyn Cote became a mother, she gave up teaching, and while raising a son and a daughter, she began working on her first novel. Long years of rejection followed. Finally in 1997, Lyn got "the call." Her first book, Never Alone, was chosen by Steeple Hill for the new Love Inspired romance line. Since then, Lyn has had over twenty-five novels published. In 2006 Lyn's book, Chloe, was a finalist for the RITA, one of the highest awards in the romance genre. Lyn’s brand “Strong Women, Brave Stories,” always includes three elements: a strong heroine who is a passionate participant in her times, authentic historical detail and a multicultural cast of characters. Lyn also features stories of strong women both from real life and true to life fiction on her blog http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com Lyn also can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. Drop by and "friend or follow" her. Now living her dream of writing books at her lake cottage in northern Wisconsin, Lyn hopes her books show the power of divine as well as human love.
Her latest release is Her Abundant Joy, the final book in her Texas Star of Destiny series, to purchase drop by her website or blog http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com.

Done!

2010-05-31T07:21:00.001-05:00

I finished Once Widowed, Twice Shy, the working title of my first Regency for Revell. That turned in, I now have galleys to read for my last Heartsong, The Newcomer.

And I have a terrible cold. So please forgive nothing creative here.

Ode to My Cat and Dog

2010-05-27T16:24:00.001-05:00

Written while one is on my lap and the other's head is on my lap.

I love my dog
I love my cat.
One is skinny
One is fat.
One is an angel.
One is a brat.

Was Supposed to

2010-05-24T10:44:00.002-05:00

be a guest blogger on two different blogs today. I haven't gotten the notifications yet, so can't post the links. Will when I get them.

Catching Up

2010-05-20T08:22:00.003-05:00

What a week!

I've been plowing to the end of what is currently titled Once Widowed, Twice Shy, my first Regency and second book for Baker/Revell out next year. This was a difficult book to write. Painful even. Not sure why. Maybe because I kept getting interrupted and losing my momentum--editing other books, visit from mother-in-law, galleys, promotions, marketing data to collect, my mom needing surgery...

Now all is done but the editing. I have until June 1 to do that.

Today, I'm going to take a break, though, and write an article on a special lady for Afictionato, the ACFW monthly ezine. I'll post when it's on-line.

Today's Special Guest: Mrs. Montana Angela Breidenbach

2010-05-13T05:41:00.003-05:00

Drum Roll please!!!

Today marks the 500th post on this blog and that means, yes, everyone who posts a comment wins a prize.

For this special day, I have invited Angela Breidenbach, who will stop in to talk about her cookbook, Creative Cooking for Colitis, a book worth having regardless. I've only had time to make one of these recipes, which is posted below, and if it is a sample of what else is included, it's well worth the book--simple, nutricious, delicious. Leave a comment and a copy of the cookbook is one of the prizes being given away today along with copies of my new release, The Heiress, other ooks from Heartsong authors, a book on cats, and autographed cover flats and bookmarks. I will stop accepting comments for prizes at the end of May.

About Angie
Angela Breidenbach is Mrs. Montana International 2009, author of Creative Cooking for Colitis, works with Hope’s Promise Orphan Ministries, the American Heart Association, and the Jadyn Fred Foundation. Angela also teaches online classes and coaches one-on-one in courageous confidence, personal growth, and powerful living. She’s certified in mentor/peer counseling as a Stephen Minister and Assisting Minister. She serves as the American Christian Fiction Writer's Publicity Officer and is a multi-award winning inspirational speaker and author. Not only did she walk the hard line of deciding to donate her mom's brain, but she is also on the brain donation list at the Brain Bank-Harvard McLean Hospital. She is married, has a combined family of six grown children, one grandson.

Find Angela Breidenbach online:

http://www.MyGemofWisdom.com

http://www.AngelaBreidenbach.com

http://GodUsesBrokenVessels.blogspot.com

http://ColitisCooking.blogspot.com

http://twitter.com/AngBreidenbach

http://www.facebook.com/AngelaBreidenbach

http://WritingByFaith.blogspot.com on Wednesdays each week.

Spanish Tortilla
This is actually a tasty, mild egg and potato heavy omelet or some might call it a frittata. There is no flour and this is not bread like Mexican tortillas. I learned this traditional Spanish tapas recipe from Maite’ Pressler when I lived in Spain. Tapas are small snacks served in pubs around Spain. It’s modified for simplicity and easy digestion and a bonus is that you can add ingredients as you build your list of foods. The trick is 2 eggs for every potato in case you want to expand the recipe size. The recipe has a simple cook version tip I’ll include at the end.
2 large potatoes, washed, peeled, and cut into small bite-size squares
4 eggs or the equivalent in egg substitute
1 tsp. water
½ tsp. salt
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped Garlic
Optional additions as you add foods to your diet. Each addition makes this dish more complex and more nutritional. But the colors make it beautiful and a highly sought after meal.
¼ Cup chopped onion
2 Tablespoons Sun-dried tomatoes, julienne or chopped
4-5 large mushrooms, sliced
Chives to taste
4 thinly cut slices of ham
1 thinly sliced fresh tomato
1 cup grated medium cheddar*
Additional sharp cheddar, grated for garnish
In a heavy, large frying pan coated with olive oil, sauté potatoes over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. If you are able to tolerate onion, it should be cooked with the potatoes. Lower heat to low and cover potatoes. Allow them to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until soft. Test for doneness. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees and begin eggs.
Whisk all eggs, salt, and the teaspoon of water. (The water fluffs the eggs when cooking.) Oil or spray a round pie glass-baking dish. I prefer not to use non-stick or dark pans to avoid overdone edges and tough bottom. The actual shape doesn’t matter as much as the depth. This recipe will puff quite a bit. The traditional shape though is round. I sometimes make this for a rather large family gathering of 10-12. Then I use my largest glass baking pan and multiply the ingredients by three.
Add the mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic to the potatoes and sauté for one minute. Pour vegetable mixture into the glass-baking dish. Pour the whisked eggs over the vegetables. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. The goal is to set the eggs hard without turning them overly brown. If I notice the eggs setting well on the bottom, but still too much liquid on the top, I’ll turn on the broiler at the end to finish them off.
Top the tortilla with grated cheese. Spread the ham to cover the round tortilla, and place the sliced tomatoes around the top. Return to the oven. Broil for 2-3 minutes to heat the toppers and melt the cheese. Sprinkle with chives for garnish.
Serve warm or cold. We eat it fresh out of the oven for a dinner and then eat it cold the next day for lunch or breakfast.
Tip: Medium cheddar is important for flavor and melting ability. Sharp is fantastic, but doesn’t melt well. Mild cheddar is too bland when paired with potato and egg. So you might put the sharp on last for decorative visual appeal as an option if you like even more flavor.
Time Saver Tip: Microwaved potatoes speed up this recipe by almost half the preparation time. I microwave washed potatoes the night before. Then it’s easy to slip off the skin and chunk into bite-sized cubes. This saves at least 20-30 minutes of prep time, possibly more. You’ll still sauté in the olive oil for a few minutes for the flavor and the oil is an important part of the recipe.

The Heiress

2010-05-11T13:07:00.002-05:00

You can read an excerpt from it today on the Heartsong Authors blog

http://www.heartsong-authors.blogspot.com

This week, various items regarding my New Jersey historical series will be up on the blog.

And this is post 499. Come back Thursday for a special presentation on post 500, where everyone is a winner.

Highland Blessings by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

2010-05-06T07:08:00.003-05:00

When I first read Jennifer's work, I knew it was when, not if, she would be published. That Abingdon Press snatched up Highland Blessings didn't in the least surprise me. Wehn I started reading it, I was not only transported back to fifteenth century Scotland, I was also transported back to the historical romances I grew up on, the ones that made me fall in love with the genre, the era where romance and story in a fascinating historical setting counted more than how much the writer could titilate the author. It's a time when men were men in all their lovely flaws and strengths and loved with the same fierceness with which they fought. If authors like Laura Black and Laurie McBain had written stories set in the fifteenth century, this is the sort of book they would have produced, only with the twist of a Christian world view, where God matters in daily decisions and character convictions.

From Amazon:
Highland Blessings is the story of a highland warrior who kidnaps the daughter of his greatest enemy and clan chief to honor a promise he made to his dying father. Bryce MacPhearson, a highland warrior, kidnaps Akira MacKenzie on her wedding day to honor a promise he made to his dying father. While Akira s strength in the Lord becomes a witness to Bryce, she struggles to overcome her anger and resentment when he forces her to wed him, hoping to end a half-century-old feud between their clans. While Akira begins to forgive, and Bryce learns to trust, a series of murders leaves a trail of unanswered questions, confusion, and a legacy of hate that once again rises between their families. Clearly, a traitor is in their midst. Now the one man Akira loves no longer trusts her, and her own life is in danger. Can Bryce look beyond his pain and seek the truth? Will Akira discover the threat against her before it s too late? How will God turn a simple promise into bountiful Highland blessings?

You can read more about the author at:
http://www.jenniferhudsontaylor.com/

My War Against "It was"

2010-05-03T14:38:00.001-05:00

It was is weakness. It muddies the impact. I’d like to see it banished from the English language.

It was Sally who ran the car into the side of the barn.

Sally ran the car into the side of the barn.

It was rain that fell rather than snow.

Rain fell rather than snow.

It was noon when we caught sight of the devastation.

At noon, we caught sight of the devastation. Or We caught our first sight of the devastation at noon.

People whine on and on about not using ing words, and then turn around and use it was like it’s the main character’s first name. You can write an entire novel without a single it was, except in dialogue because we all talk sloppily. I know one can do it. I’ve written several without it.

There was is just as bad and another part of the rant. For now, remember post 500. It’s coming up fast, as this is post 497.

Time Travel and a Christian Novel--Deb Kinnard

2010-04-29T04:19:00.003-05:00

Seasons in the Mist.

Today I have the privilege of a mini discussion with Deb Kinnard, whom I rank amongst some of my favorite people. I’m not sure, and I believe that our love for Cornwall, the Winston Graham wonderful Poldark series, and other things Celtic-based drew us together. Whatever the origin, I was thrilled to learn she sold Seasons in the Mist, a time-travel set in Cornwall—a favorite setting and favorite genre. And the book did not disappoint. I told he I would read 100 pages and skim the rest, as I was horribly busy when she needed a quote from me, and ended up reading 200 pages instead until I really had to stop.

So I’ve asked her a couple of questions here I’d like you all to think about and chime in on with your thoughts, too.

Q: So tell us why you wrote a time travel.

A: The story came to me while I was wandering around in Cornwall, some years ago. I had scoped out some places mentioned in Winston Graham's superb "Poldark" books, and stumbled upon a disused well with the ruins of a stone wall nearby. I asked the locals about the place that night, and was told the well had once had a building near it, but nobody knew now, what it had been. My imagination morphed the building into a tiny chapel, and the well into a holy place. Then, of course, two lovers popped into the scene and he was offering the well a tiny belonging of hers, to bind him to her and to the spot. The time-travel aspect came along later, but I knew from the get-go that it would be a romance.

Q: How do you reconcile time travel with Christian doctrine?

A: I cannot wrap my brain around God. He is too big for me. If ever I understand anything about Him, I suspect it's His gracious gift and not my spiritual smarts. He is the author of time, He is also bigger than time itself, and Master over it. That said, I didn't want to try to "explain" time travel in a Christian mindset. Instead, my characters consider the problem in the book, and come up with their own explanation as to why God allows so bizarre a happening. It's left to the reader to decide if their conclusions make sense!
You can read more about Deb and her books at:

http://www.debkinnard.com

Courage

2010-04-26T13:30:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, i appeared as a guest blogger at:

http://www.christinelindsay.com

My essay is on courage--having the courage to not be perfect and admit it.

And Christine's blog is worth reading in its own right.

(this is post 495)

NaNoWriMo Results in A Publication

2010-04-22T04:53:00.003-05:00

Today, I have a guest blogger, KDawn Bird, telling us about her experience with NaNoWriMo and getting that project published.

I wrote Queen of Hearts in November. It was my project for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month.) NaNoWriMo occurs every November and challenges writers to write 50,000 in a month. This was my first NaNo experience and won't be my last. 50,000 words seems like a huge challenge, but broken down into 1,667 words per day, it's a little easier to manage. My personal goal was 2,000 words per day. This placed me slightly ahead of schedule, which allowed me to take a day off here and there.

I'd just finished two romantic suspense novels when I started NaNo and wanted to try something a little different. I love the WWII era and wanted to write a historical. I e-mailed the CEO of Desert Breeze Publishing to ask if she had a need for a historical (I'd already signed a contract for an August release.) She held an April spot for Queen of Hearts. It was a lot of pressure. Luckily for me, she liked it. Here's my publisher's blurg:

Daphne Dean is proud to be serving her country stateside during WWII as a reporter and an Office of Strategic Services operative. When the photograph she takes of the crowd at a murder scene places her on the mob's hit list, she's forced into hiding in a vacant mental asylum in the middle of nowhere with terrifying secrets of its own.

Daphne believed herself to still be in love with her ex-fiancée, Kenneth, until she spends several days locked away in the asylum with Vito, the mob boss' son. Can she put the terrifying events that occurred there behind her and allow herself to pursue a relationship with Vito? Or, will she return to Kenneth who has turned his back on his country by becoming a draft dodger and a black market racketeer? One thing's for sure, it won't matter if she can't escape the mental institution alive.

K.Dawn Byrd, Author
Queen of Hearts- AVAILABLE NOW
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-70/Queen-of-Hearts/Detail.bok
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/kdawnbyrd#p/a/u/0/grqPjGvfRa0
AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Queen-of-Hearts-ebook/dp/B003EV5T3K/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1270208277&sr=8-8
BLOG: http://kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com

Perfection

2010-04-19T02:45:00.002-05:00

this week, several things have come to me reminding me I don't have to be perfect. Moses, Aaron, David, Peter... Familiar names from Scripture. Deeplyflawed and imperfect. Aaron tried to worship a false god. Moses killed a man. David killed many and committed adultery. Peter denied Christ and was generally obnoxious at times.

Me? I'm just me, with my impatience, my pride, my very perfectionism a flaw. Yet God says that doesn't matter. He uses us if we let Him. Above all, He forgives us.

Excerpt From My new Release, The Heiress

2010-04-17T06:40:00.001-05:00

Daire Grassick paced back and forth on the sidewalk in front of the pawnshop. He possessed only one valuable object, and the dealer didn’t want to buy it.
“I’ve got to get home, Lord. Please.” The murmured prayer sounded strange to his ears. Weeks, perhaps months, had passed since he last spoke to the Lord. He relied on his own wit and strength—and failed.
Head bowed in shame, he plodded on one more circuit of the pavement, hoping, trying to pray further, that the pawnbroker would change his mind and step outside to hail Daire back into the shop. Doors along the street opened at regular intervals, disgorging or admitting men, women, and children. They talked and laughed and skirted Daire, as though they didn’t want to touch him. He supposed he did look a bit odd, a young man in fine, if somewhat rumpled clothes, striding to and fro in front of a door that remained closed, its toys and trinkets obscured behind dusty glass. His own bauble shimmered in his hands, golden glass as delicate as mist, as detailed as a snowflake, too fragile for him to carry about unprotected.
With one last hope that the secondhand shop dealer would see the ornament and step out of his store, Daire leaned against the front window and pulled the cotton wool wrapping from a bag flung over his shoulder. The scent of lilacs rose from the batting, a hint of the perfume his mother kept in the blown glass bottle shaped like a goldfinch, until she gave it to him, as his father’s mother had given it to him.
“For your future wife.”
The wife he’d been so certain he could win if only he left the farm in Salem County and headed for the city.
Another shudder of shame washed through him, and he shoved a strip of fabric around the bird.
“Don’t break it.” Two small hands in gray kid gloves curved around the sides of the goldfinch bottle. “It’s beautiful.”
Daire glanced up at the soft-voiced speaker and caught his breath. The bottle wasn’t the only beautiful creation on the sidewalk. Eyes, the purplish blue of the flowers growing by Grandmother’s summerhouse, gazed back at him from an oval face with skin so fine it resembled rare porcelain.
“May I look at it?” Without waiting for his reply, she lifted the goldfinch bottle from his hold and held it up to the sunlight. “Oh. The detail is perfect, but you can’t see through it.”
“Light ruins perfume. That’s why it’s opaque.”
“I didn’t know that.” She turned and tilted the bottle, drawing out the beak that formed the stopper. Her nostrils flared at the strength of lilac scent rising above the odor of pavement dust and horses. “Is it empty?”
“Momma stopped using this for a perfume bottle a few years ago.” Daire shifted. People were staring at them, and he thought their interaction looked unseemly. Yet if he had any chance that this young lady wished to purchase the goldfinch, he mustn’t send her away.
“Is it cracked?” Her questions and gazing at the object persisted.
“No. I wouldn’t try to sell a cracked perfume bottle.” His tone turned indignant, and he took a deep breath to calm himself. “Momma simply chose to use the bottle for an ornament on the mantel in the parlor until she gave it to me for—” He stopped. The young lady didn’t need to know about his disastrous betrothal.
“It would surely brighten up our parlor,” the young lady murmured. She smiled up at him. “Where did it come from?”
“My grandfather made it.” Daire couldn’t keep the pride from his voice. “It’s nearly fifty years old and the only one like it. It was part of the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London in ’51.”
“That’s truly amazing.” She sounded awed. “You shouldn’t sell it, or be standing about with it in the middle of all these people.” She held the bauble out to him. “It might get broken.”
“I was hoping it would get purchased.” Daire glanced at the shop. “But the broker said it’s useless. I’m afraid he’s right.”
“Nothing that beautiful is useless, especially not if your grandfather made it.” Wistfulness added smoke to the purple blue of her eyes. “If I owned something so precious, I’d keep it safe.”
“Do you want to own it?” If he didn’t need the money so desperately, Daire would have given the young lady the ornament right then and there, without knowing her name, without her being his future bride. Stomach knotted like a sail line, he held the goldfinch up to the sunshine as she had. “You can have it for twenty dollars.”
“Twenty—” She laughed. “No wonder the broker wouldn’t buy it if that’s what you expected.”
The trill of her mirth made Daire chuckle. “You can’t blame a man for trying.”
“No, but I can blame a man for dishonesty.” She took a step backward. “Good day.”
“Wait.” Daire shot out one hand and touched the sleeve of her dress. “Why are you saying I’m dishonest?”
She tossed her head, sending maple syrup-colored curls bobbing against her cheeks. “You ask twenty dollars for a piece of glass? However pretty it is, it’s not worth that much, so you really have no intention of selling.”
“But I do.” Daire’s cheeks heated despite the coolness of the spring day. “I—need the money to get home. This is all I have other than the clothes on my back.”

this is post 492. Come back to find out more about The Heiress and why the post number is so important on this blog.

Numbers

2010-04-12T08:40:00.002-05:00

Yes, the Book of. Difficult reading. Not exactly exciting for the most part. But today I read the famous passage about Moses striking the rock.

How many times when God tells us to do something do we "strike the rock" out of anger,out of not trusting God's promise. I know I'm guilty.

It's a passage I think one needs to read more often.

Another point in this chapter is that the Israelites would rather have comfort in bondage than suffer a little in freedom. This thought alone is so loaded I'm going to be careful and say far less than I'm thinking.

Another conviction point, though, on a spiritual level. We bond outselves to the pleasure and comfrots of the world, bonding ourselves to the world, rather than rough it a bit to do the Lord's will and have freedom from sin and the things of the earth that lead to spiritual death.

And I just realized I created a spiritual metaphor in Lady of the Mist (Revell, 2011) without consciously realizing it. My hero is a bondsman. More about that in the future.

My Writing Testimony is posted Today at

2010-04-09T08:16:00.001-05:00

http://hartlineliteraryagency.blogspot.com

this is post 490. remember, everyones's a winner at post 500.

Forgiveness

2010-04-05T05:41:00.002-05:00

Lately I've been thinking a great deal about forgiveness. Not being forgiven, but doing the forgiving. Unforgiveness is a burden we cannot carry. It harms us more than the person we need to forgive.

From yesterday's reading for the year-long Bible reading plan

If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
John 20:23

Those are simple and strong words. Jesus rather lays it on the line, doesn't He?

Good Friday Reflection

2010-04-02T05:51:00.002-05:00

Today, my special guest is Roseanna M. White, with her reflections on Good Friday, which ties in with her debut release A Stray Drop of Blood.

Jesus’ head flew back, his eyes turning to heaven and his mouth opening as if to speak.

The action broke open one of his wounds, and his crimson life dripped onto the ground. He was pulled to his feet, and his head was once again jarred. A stray drop of blood arched through the air and landed on the round of Abigail’s stomach.

Immediately, she felt a burning on the flesh beneath her garment. It was so quick, so debilitating that she could not even respond. A fire spread through her, devouring her, leaving in its wake a relief that brought tears to her eyes. She looked down at the stain on her clothes in disbelief. It was so small, so insignificant. One little drop of red, a perfect starburst against the faded blue of her woolen tunic.

One little drop to soil her garment.

One little drop to cleanse her soul.

~*~

I have long been intrigued by the power of Jesus' blood, perhaps because the favorite hymn of my home church was (wanna take a wild guess on this?) “Power in the Blood.” As a modern person, I understood that it was the price for my sin. As an academic, I saw the historical significance. But it wasn't until I put myself into the shoes of a Hebrew of Jesus' day that it really hit home for me.

Blood—so often, it's a symbol of guilt. Pilate's claim of “His blood will not be on my hands,” is a perfect example, right? He was saying, “I'm not taking the guilt for this one.” So when the crowd replied, “Let his blood be on us and our children!” . . . wow. The heroine in my book, the “she” in the snippet above, heard that and knew dismay. She thinks (paraphrasing myself), “Don't hold me accountable for this! I don't want this guy dead, I don't even know him. And why in the world would you wish it on our children?”

But as Abigail and I traveled the hill to Golgotha, watched Jesus dragged by, crucified, and saw him die, it all began to make sense. This man forgave his tormentors. Even as he accepted the punishment for sins he never committed, he forgave those who put him there. He never condemned. He never blamed.

He cleansed. He cleanses still today. His blood doesn't bring guilt, but rather purification. Justification. Forgiveness. Abigail realized this as she watched him die, as she felt the fire of his blood upon her. She knew then that having his blood cover her and her children was one of God's unforeseen, unbelievable blessings—the ultimate gift she could be given. How strange that it was one she had first thought a curse!

We are already guilty. But if we accept the wash of his blood, we are condemned no longer. We are free. Because there is “power, power, wonder-working power” in that blood. And I pray we all feel its fire today.

That was my ultimate Easter Season realization. Has God ever shown a profound Truth to you during this time of year?

A Stray Drop of Blood

Beautiful is a dangerous thing to be when one is unprotected.

For seven years, Abigail has been a slave in the Visibullis house. With a Hebrew mistress and a Roman master, she has always been more family than servant . . . until their son returns to Jerusalem after his years in Rome.
Within a few months Jason has taken her to his bed and turned her world upsidedown. Maybe, given time, she can come to love him as he says he loves her. But how does she open her heart to the man who ruined her?

Israel's unrest finds a home in her bosom, but their rebellion tears apart her world. Death descends with Barabbas's sword, and Abigail is determined to be there when the criminal is punished. But when she ventures to the trial, Barabbas is not the one the crowd calls to crucify. Instead, it is the teacher her master and Jason had begun to follow, the man from Nazareth that some call the Son of God . . .

Born free, made a slave, married out of her bonds, Abigail never knows freedom until she feels the fire of a stray drop of blood from a Jewish carpenter. Disowned by Israel, despised by Rome, desired by all, she never knows love until she receives the smile of a stoic Roman noble.

Chicken or Egg

2010-03-30T08:58:00.002-05:00

Becaue I can't see well enough to read the questionnaire for the census form, I called the helpline. "I can't see well enough to fill out this form. Will someone help me."

After the run-around, in which we figured out that a Braille copy only gives data on languages in which the form is offered and some basic questions, after I assured them several times that the onlysighted beings in my household are the dogs and cats, who don't speak English well enough to read, they agree to fill out the form.

"Now read the ID number on the form."

"Excuse me, sir, I can't see well enough to read the form to fill out the form, show do you think I can read the ID number?"

"Then we can't help you because you can't read the ID."

"Wait, isn't that violating the laws of reasonable accommodation?"

"If you can't read the ID, we cna't help you fill it out."

"But if I could read the ID, I could read the form and wouldn't need help filling it out..."

"Ve are sorry," she says in what sounds like a fake accent, "ve cannot help you fill this out if you cannot read the ID number."

I am currently on hold with my congressman's office.

Home Invasion

2010-03-29T08:03:00.002-05:00

Yes, it happened to me.

I was going about my morning routine of packing lunches, feeding animals, making breakfast.

When I noticed that my female cat was running around hissing. Her hiss is gentle and not very serious, but was odd.

I stopped and listened. Something was off. Two cats ate out of the bowls on the wide kitchen windowsill, but Cheyenne was running around hissing and meowing.

I trotted over to the window. Yes, indeed, we had been invaded. The femline we have been calling Origicat since she moved into our yard in October, was happily munching out of Cheyenne's bowl.

I picked her up and carried her to my husband. She nestled in my arms and purred.

I took her outside and showed her outside cat food.

For months we tried to coax her near us. It's taken nearly six. I'd say she's gotten over her fear of humans.

And she is so very tiny.

But that's not the end of it. I heard a cat meowing still. Not either of my cats. No. It was another cat,a nd the meows rang from the garage.

Which was closed. Which had been closed since yesterday afternoon.

I open the door and find a different cat trapped in their. She'd been there a while, dining on dog food stored out there and... Well, I need to clean out one of the boxes she thought worked well for litter.

Nose wrinkles.

This is nuts. These cats are feral. They are supposed to fear humans. Our cats are supposed to be angry about intruders. I declare Cody invites them in. They did grow up in foster care with lots of cats. Maybe a herd--a pride?--is natural to them.

What do I do with these sweeties. I can't take them to the shelter and see them die, but neither can I keep them. No, no one around here wants a cat. Believe me.

Second-Hand Tweats

2010-03-27T06:47:00.002-05:00

Are like second-hand smoke--annoying.

Recently, I have begun to unfriend people from Faceboo, who do nothing but retweat other people's tweats. I want to get to know my author and reader friends; I don't want to hear the tweats of other people.

On the otherhand, I don't want to read every thought they have during the day.

altough I've read articles on the value of Twitter ffor writers, I'm not convinced.

Twitter is immediate and frequent. Authors dont do immediate and frequent things. Some of us have multiple books out in a year, but they aren't out daily or even monthly. We have booksignings and conference speaking engagements, and, again, it's not anything that needs to be updated several times a day.

Facebook and blogs are more than enough of a marketing tool for getting this kind of information out into the ether for readers to grasp. Constantly commenting on one's posture, praying, or just repeating the thoughts of others have diminishing returns value. when one sees a name too much, it's like rubbing a nerve-ending. Eventually, it just goes numb.

My next rant will be on authors who boast.

I'm a Guest today

2010-03-26T07:38:00.003-05:00

http://www.roseannawhite.blogspot.com

Here is where you'll find my latest interview and some precious comments from Roseanna, who will be a guest here on Good Friday and probably the 486th post--or higher, depending on hos the spirit strikes me. Can't make this too easy for my readers, can I? then you just wouldn't come back until the crucial day.

Featuring Linore Rose Burkard

2010-03-25T04:16:00.005-05:00

Linore writes old-fashioned Regency romances that are written in a style sure to charm lovers of Jane Austen. Her latest book is The Country House Courtship.

Real or Surreal?

2010-03-23T02:39:00.001-05:00

Along the speeding highway, he bus pulled up in front of a line of low-rise condos. A winding path took me past palm trees and lawn andplants to the front door of what could have been someone’s home. After all, a dog—at least I thought it was a dog—barked behind the building somewhere.

The door was locked and a neighbor informed me the office didn’t open until 2:00. So I sat on a little bench in the sunshine and checked my e-mail, enjoyed the perfect weather of mid seventy temperatures and low humidity, and listened to the yips and occasional howl of the dog reacting to my dog—or me.

At a couple of minutes past 2:00 a little—literally—old lady opened the door. I expected her to offer me tea and cookies. Instead, she took my medical history and talked about my dog. She also chatted about her dog.

No, it wasn’t her dog. It was her wolf.

Her what? No, nothing was wrong with my hearing. She said wolf. Behind the office that is also her home, this itsy and elderly doctor has a pet wolf.

When mydog was a little excited and wouldn’t lie down and stay, I slipped his gentleleader over his head. “I use one of those, too,” the doctor tells me. “Wolves are difficult to train and that keeps her calm.”

She walks a wolf?

She’s had her since she was a puppy, one of ten in her litter. A lawyer apparently owns the parents.

Why does this not surprise me.

We go back to the consulting room. Yes, through the window, one can occasionally catch glimpses of the wolf.

And a cat.

George decided he wasn’t terribly afraid of my dog, so kept peeking aroumd the corner of the door. When I checked out, He lounged on the counter purring and insisting I rub his belly, this chubby black and white feline—

With a wolf sister.

New Photo of Me

2010-03-22T05:16:00.002-05:00

The one hre is way too old. I'll get it changed permanently soon.

In cae anyone cares, This is post 481

Embracing Her Odballmess--Guest Louise M. Gouge

2010-03-17T20:42:00.002-05:00

Like all artists, writers are sometimes viewed as oddballs. I’m a writer and would not disagree with that. I’m quite an oddball and always have been.

Ever since I was a small child, I’ve lived two lives, one external and one internal. In my internal “other” world, I traveled the world and the galaxies on adventures of all sorts. My mind never stopped coming up with new stories, most of them sparked by the most mundane things: a woman in the grocery store teaching her daughter how to choose the best fruit, a man tossing a football with a boy most likely his son, a dog limping down the street with purpose in its stride. I was always casting my classmates as stars of my stories, but I never told them.

This imaginary world kept me occupied when my real life was boring. I mean, all sorts of adventures can be imagined if a person just, well, imagines! As a teenager, I once asked my pastor if my internal life was wrong. He said he didn’t think so. In fact, at the time he was writing a novel about the life of the apostle Paul, so he certainly had no problem with fiction. He did advise me to write my stories down so I would have a healthy mental and spiritual outlet for it, so I began doing that. I would ask my teachers if I could write a short story for a paper due in class, and they often gave permission, as long as I used the subject matter in the process. That was great fun and usually earned me an A. Now that I’m a college English instructor, I understand how refreshing it is to read a truly imaginative paper, so I let certain students use fiction to convey their knowledge of the subject.

But long before I moved to the front of the classroom, long before I even earned my college degree in my forties, I was chatting with a friend and risked our friendship by telling her about my latest imaginary trip. Bless her heart, just like that pastor, she said, “You go home and write that story!” And I did! That story grew into an entire book, and then its sequel. That led to my returning to college and getting my creative writing degree. The fun part was that once again I had professors who let me write my papers in story form. Not just for the creative writing classes but for literature, science, philosophy, and history. That even carried on into graduate school. Was I blessed or what? In fact, one of my college papers became my first publishing credit, which led to an editor becoming interested in the very book that sent me back to college, which led to that book being published, which led to. . .here I am, still writing. And still having fun.

And still being an oddball. It’s just that now I embrace my oddball-ness, and I set my imagination free to go where it will. And I even get paid for it! Now who can complain about that?

Louise's latest creation is a March, 2010 releae from Love Inspired Historical, Entitled The Captain's Lady

Torn between love and duty, American Patriot James Templeton must deny his heart to help win his country's freedom. Templeton's orders from General Washington are clear. His target: Lord Bennington, a member of George III's Privy Council. The assignment: find Bennington's war plans. The risks: the future of the East Florida Colony, Jamie's life...and his heart. In spite of the dangers of their hopeless situation, he's fallen in love with Lady Marianne Moberly, Lord Bennington's daughter. Desperate to protect his country, Jamie carries out his orders with a heavy heart. But Marianne's persistence is a challenge he never expected. With love and faith, they must navigate troubled waters to win their future together.

This is post 480..

People Confuzzle Me

2010-03-16T12:24:00.002-05:00

Lately, I haven't been very opinionated here. Of course I still have my opinions. LOL But what I haven't been doing is expressing them as much. for one thing, I keep my political views to myself now. We're all entitled to them. The rest of you are allowed to be wrong.

Joke.

But what I'm talking about today is the confusing way of people thaat puzzles me--confuzzles me.

One expalins to someone that a certain fact is... fact. A law is a law, for example. Theyw ant, for whatever reason, to believe you're wrong, so send you e-mails that say, "Of course you're entitled to your opinion..."

Well, yes, I am and so are they.

to what they are not entitled is to change the law. Well, they can go through the steps to get that law changed, or try to, but they can't change what it says now.

sorry, bloggers, if the law says it's a game of chance to have readers have to comment to win a chance at a book, that's not my opinion; that's the law in many states and countries. disobeying it, having this game of chance on a blog, is not legal. Doing it anyway is breaking the law. Not my opinion--fact.

That's why, when I do a give-away, as I intend to do on my 500th post here, which is coming up and I'll let you know when... I think... everyone wins something.

Reading Books

2010-03-13T17:17:00.002-05:00

I need to talk more about what I'm reading. These aren't necessarily reviews, merely a glimpse into what I do when I'm not writing.

You see, I am dedicated to audio books because I don't have to sit still to read them. I can read while doing housework, waiting for the bus, cooking dinner.

I sit still enough while writing.

That does often limit my choice, but one can find a lot of gems out there. Right now, I'm reading Over the Moon at the Big Lizzard Diner. Wow, is Lisa Wingate ever a fabulous author. It's my fourth book of hers I've read, and she's pretty amazing, the kind of author who makes me throw my hands in the air and say, "Why do I try?"

I'm really glad she writes contemporary, not historical.

If you like romance and self-discovery, humor and depth, all in a Texas setting, you won't go astray on this one.

Opinion Please: Series

2010-03-11T08:17:00.001-05:00

When reading a book in a series, do you need all of the ends tied up neatly, or are you comfortable with a few loose ends leading to the next book.

Remember the 500th Post Everyone's a Winner

2010-03-10T12:50:00.003-05:00

Today, I have a special guest blogging on the creation of her just concluded Trilogy. As part of the 500th post every commentor on that day is a winner treat, Marylu is giving away a copy of both The Raven saint and the Blue Enchan

Many other books and guests are coming your way, too, so stop in and comment, since you wont know when it's the 500th post until it's posted, which means it could be today or not.

Blogger gives the numbers of posts on my dashboard, so I ca't fudge this one. If this is successful, I'll repeat it in the future.

The Making of a Spiritual Trilogy

2010-03-10T12:47:00.004-05:00

By Marylu Tyndall, AKA M.L. Tyndall

The Makings of a Spiritual Trilogy by M.L. Tyndall

Where most authors may have plot-driven or character-driven stories, I think my books tend to be more spiritually-driven stories. My latest trilogy, The Charles Towne Belles’ series is based on the parable of the seed and the sower found in Matthew 13. Familiar to most Christians, it is the story Jesus tells of a farmer who sows seed (the Gospel message) for a harvest. Some of the seed falls on the road and is immediately taken away by birds that represent Satan. Some of it falls among the rocks where it does not take root and the sun, which represents tribulations and problems, scorches it and it does not grow and produce fruit. In Book 1, The Red Siren, this happens to my heroine, Faith, who turns to piracy to solve her problems!

Some seed falls among the thorns, which represent the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and pleasures, and these thorns rise to choke out the new seedling so it cannot become fruitful. In Book 2, The Blue Enchantress, my heroine Hope is lured away from God by men who promise to love her, but who are in fact only using her.

Lastly some seed falls on good soil where it grows and produces much fruit. Grace Westcott in my latest release, The Raven Saint, represents this last seed. Grace is such a perfect example of many Christians today. She loves the Lord and she’s busy about His work. The problem is, she’s so busy doing what she thinks He wants her to do, that she’s lost sight of who He really is. In other words, she has become entangled in good works and has forsaken her first Love. Because she measures her own worthiness on her good works, she measures others on theirs, and when she finds them lacking, she judges them. My hope through Grace’s story is that people will stop and take a good long look at their own hearts and ask themselves if perhaps they have fallen into the same trap as Grace. Do they have a heart like Jesus had, that loves everyone and doesn’t judge those who come to Him with open hearts? Or do they avoid and even snub those whose sins are out in the open? Jesus was able to separate the sin from the sinner and see the root cause of it in a person’s life. We can do that too, by getting to know someone and loving them, regardless of their sin. In reality, Grace’s sin of a judgmental heart was far worse in God’s eyes than the sins of those she judged. Don’t believe me? Just read what Jesus had to say to the Pharisees of his day.

2010-03-10T12:47:00.001-05:00

Everyone's a winner

2010-03-08T17:20:00.003-05:00

On my 500th post on this blog, I will give away a prize to everyone who posts a comment on that day. Since you don't know when that day will be, do stop bby often to make sure you don't miss out on:

books from various authors
postcards
bookmarks
something I have hand-knitted
cover flats for my books
And quite possibly more

Sorry, open to U.S. residents only.

My Awful Cover

2010-03-08T15:13:00.002-05:00

I guess I shouldn't talk that way about my own book, but the Heiress doesn't ahve a great cover. After The Glassblower, this is a blow.

Not Just Another Book Set in Texas

2010-03-05T06:24:00.004-05:00

The book-buying public has always enjoyed an abundance of romances, contemporary and historical, set in Texas. In truth a few people I know shake their heads and say "Not another book set in Texas".

I don't happen to be one of these. I enjoy books set in Texas, did even before I moved here. So, knowing the source, I was happy to review a copy of Scattered Petals by Amanda Cabot. After the first chapter, I knew I could fairly add a word to the naysayers about Texas books: "Not JUST another book set in Texas."

Since no one is paying me to say this and, in fact, I didn't even get a copy of the book to keep, as my version was electronic and I destroyed it, as requested by the publisher, believe me when I say that I resented the interruptions that kept me from just reading this book straight through. Is it exciting? Yes. Is it emotional? Yes. Does it have all the elements of romance, adventure, grief, and spiritual healing? Most definitely and in abundance. What's better, Cabot weaves these elements together with the skill of her talent and creates characters and story you won't forget when you close the book.

From the Book Jacket:

Longing for adventure, Priscilla Morton leaves Boston and heads for Texas, never dreaming that the adventure she seeks will leave her badly injured and her parents dead. Priscilla is determined to rebuild her life and make a home for herself in the beautiful Hill Country, but the bandits who took her parents’ lives also destroyed her hope for the future.

Ranch foreman Zachary Webster knows what the future holds for him, and it’s not a woman like Priscilla. She deserves a cultured East Coast gentleman, not a cowboy who's haunted by memories of his mistakes. The best thing he can do is leave her alone.

When necessity draws them together, Priscilla and Zach begin to forge a life that, like the scattered petals of her childhood, is filled with promise. But then the past intrudes.

this is the second book in the Texas Dreams trilogy, but is a stand-alone that won't confuse the reader who didn't have the privilege of reading the first book, Paper Roses.

Featuring Authors

2010-03-01T14:24:00.003-05:00

Occasionally, I like to stop talking about myself and feature an author. Well, several great books are coming out or have been released recently, and I'm going to feature these authors with somethings from them and some things fro me. Never the same to keep things interesting.

Today, though, I have interviewed Jean C. Gordon at the Avalon Authors blog

http://www.avalonauthors.blogspot.com

When the Snow Flies

2010-02-19T08:34:00.002-05:00

Here is the cover to my August release from Avalon Books, When the Snow Flies. this is my lady doctor story. I'll be posting more about it in weeks to come.

Better than Gold

2010-02-11T12:39:00.002-05:00

I just learned that my first Heartsong Presents from Barbour Publishing, will be out in May in large print. At frist, I thought it was going to be published in a single volume under the wild Prairie Roses imprint with Lena Dooley's and Lisa Harris's books in the same series, but, no, it's coming out as an individual title with the other two released in March and April ahead of it, as they come ahead of it in the series.

Feeling Silly

2010-02-08T13:11:00.002-05:00

Friday, I got my edits for Bride of the Mist. It's the second book coming out from Revell in 2011, but I sold it first and got it written first...

Anyway, the edits aren't terrible. In fact, they are so mild that I'm embarrassed I didn't catch them first. Ugh. I guess that' why we have editors.

BTw, I went to see Edge of Darkness with my husband over the weekend. Lots of violence and language, so not for the squeamish, and great acting and noir storytelling. We enjoyed it.

Love Finds You In Bridal Veil, Oregon

2010-02-04T08:57:00.003-05:00

by Miralee Ferrell

In the thriving 1902 lumber mill community of Bridal Veil,
accidents happened.
But nobody expected murder.

Sixteen-year-old Margaret Garvey promised her heart to Nathaniel Cooper the night he disappeared from town. Four years later, just as she’s opening her heart to Andrew, a handsome logger, a devastating secret is revealed and the local skidder boss is murdered. While grappling with the betrayal of those she trusted most, Margaret, now a schoolteacher, takes in two runaways, risking her reputation and position…especially if they’re somehow involved in the murder. When Nathaniel suddenly returns, with earthshaking news of his own, and further disaster strikes, Margaret will be faced with the most important choice of her life.

From the romance, to love between siblings, to parental love, to God’s love, Miralee gives us a love story with surprises that will keep you reading to the end.

About the Author

Miralee was born and raised in Lyle, WA., not far from Bridal Veil, Or.). She and her husband, Allen have lived in Alaska, Ore., Wa.,, Idaho, and Ca., but spent most of their marriage in WA state in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. They have a married daughter who lives nearby and a married son in Portland. Allen & Miralee enjoy gardening and sailing together and hope to take off in the future on their sailboat for some extended offshore cruising. She’s active in their church ministering to women.

(Disclaimer: I was given an electronic copy of this book by the publisher, and destroyed it after finishing the reading.)

A Reader'sReaction to The Glassblower

2010-02-01T06:08:00.001-05:00

I don't know who you are, Julie J., but thank you for the kind words.

"This is my first read by Laurie Alice Eakes and hopefully not my last. This made for enjoyable Sunday reading while stranded several hours from home awaiting a way back home."

Found at
http://molcotw.blogspot.com/2010/01/glassblower-by-laurie-alice-eakes.html

The Glassblower

2010-01-28T06:15:00.003-05:00

Barbour did a great job on the cover. It's really lovely. I'm reposting it. One thing, though, I'm not entirely happy with the cover blurb. Apologies to whoever wrote it, and I don't think it captures the essence of the story, focuses on the wrong things. So I've written my own summary. Mind you, I'm not terribly good at these, and I'm posting this one anyway.

Meg Jordan knows she’s blessed with an indulgent father. He gives her almost everything she wants, so when he forbids her to even speak with the attractive and intriguing new glassblower in the glassworks, Meg suspects her father has hidden reasons for discouraging the courtship, reasons that could ruin Meg’s life.

Colin Grassick moves from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Salem County, New Jersey to take a position of master glassblower in a new glassworks. He hopes to build a better future for himself and his family and assuage his guilt for abandoning them in the past. Falling in love is not in his plans. Falling in love with his boss’s daughter could ruin his plans and maybe even cost him his life.

Embracing Your Freedom by Susie Larson

2010-01-25T14:42:00.001-05:00

I haven’t yet read this book, and watching the video on the following link tells me that it sounds like something I and many of my friends—and more—should read. Susie’s compassion and passion shine through in this clip. She obviously cares and believes, and what a lesson is in the video alone. The book is surely so much more in depth and valuable.

http://www.voogvideos.com/videos/SUSIE-FINAL.mp4

Pros and Cons

2010-01-25T08:32:00.002-05:00

After six months and a little, I can better evaluate where I live. It's in south texas, is winter, and yet I could bathe the dogs outside on Saturday without any of us getting cold. A definite pro.

I can have my windows open most of the time. Another pro.

My life has little to no spontaneity. I love spontaneity, yet when one can't decide to go out to dinner at the last minute, go toa movieon a Sunday afternoon, or just pop out for a Starbucks and sit in the sun to enjoy it, that is a definite con.

I am not yet convinced the pros outweigh the cons when I consider that weather in the upper seventies in January means weather in the low 100s in the summer.

Cool News

2010-01-19T09:05:00.002-05:00

I found out on Friday that Wild Prairie roses, the collection in which my first inspirational novel, Better than gold Appears, is being published in large print by Thorndyke Press. so this will be the third format for this little book that was my second book and first book with a Christian message.

thorndyke books are special to me. My grandmother was a voracious reader and in the last years of her life, the large print books from the library were all she could truly enjoy.

Exciting Things

2010-01-11T14:16:00.002-05:00

Are happening around here. I am preparing to put something special in the mail and I am getting down to work on my next novel.

Once Widowed, Twice Shy is a Regency set in 1812 London and is an adventure/romantic a la Patricia Veryan style, though more emphasis on the heroine than her books usually had.

This, now, will be the first book of mine released by Baker/Revell in 2011.

I'm reading some good books right now, too. Soon, I will post a review of and have a gues blog post by, Amanda Cabbot, for her wonderful book Scattered Petals from her Texas Dreams series. Nearly done with it. I also want to put up a review of Miralee Ferrell's wonderful book Love Finds you in Bridal Veil, Oregon, The Raven Saint by ML Tyndall, and The Country House Courtship by Linore Rose Burkart.

So if you think I've been a poor and uncreative blogger of late, this may give you an idea why.

Besides taht, I tend to hang out on Facebook too much.

Web Site

2010-01-06T21:43:00.002-05:00

Mine is woefully out of date, so I want some feedback. What should I put on mine? What do you like to see on an author's web site?

Yet One More Reader Review for The Glassblower

2009-12-30T09:55:00.002-05:00

This is from Roseanna White on her personal blog, not the Christian Review of Books blog:

http://roseannamwhite.blogspot.com/2009/12/story-time-glassblower-by-laurie-alice.html

Another Review of The Glassblower

2009-12-29T01:51:00.000-05:00

Thank you Kathy:

http://kathleenlmaher.blogspot.com/2009/12/glassblower-by-laurie-alice-eakes.html#comment-form

Back to the Ole Grind

2009-12-28T12:59:00.002-05:00

It's the Monday after Christmas and I am home after a week away with family. Good to get away, good to get home.

We were greeted by a chorus of meows. I haven't written much about the cats. It started with one lonely little kitten in our backyard. He cried pitifully and sounded terribly young. Our cats made friends with him through the window, and we started to feed him (or her). But we never actually saw him. He simply talked to us through the living room windows.

Then, after a few weeks, we hard another cat. She meowed so loudly and so often, we called her Insisticat and the other one Origicat. Then we started hearing other meows, higher-pitched, gentler. One has such a squeaky meow we call her Itsicat.

It's a family. Momma has found a good gig here for her children. I can't help but feed them. They will eat out of my husband's hand. Insisticat lets me pet her, even asks me to pet her, and will eat out of my hand. They're rather sweet and grateful. We put a towel on a patio chair to get them some warmth on chilly and damp nights.

Yes, it's expensive to feed five cats, seven when one includes our own, but, frankly, for what the animal shelter would charge to turn them in and then kill the sweet things, it's a small price to pay in the long-run.

I'm not a crazy animal rights activist. I have a pure bred golden retriever and black labrador, who are working dogs and love it. But my indoor cats are rescue babies and that's a great way to go.

Sometimes I feel like I'm in a sit. com. I open the front door in the morning and am greeted with a chorus of meows in different pitches. I close the door and the sound stops. I open it again and get the same chorus. I wish I had the equipment to record it and share. It's just too funny.

Since Eden, God has given us dominion over, which I also take as responsibility for, the animals. So taking care of some homeless kittens is just a little bit to make up for our failure as sinners in God's plan for man.

Match, Making Pudding

2009-12-20T17:27:00.001-05:00

(Note: To the English, “pudding” is not the custard-like substance Americans call “pudding.” English pudding is more like a cake, though it Is boiled, not baked, and plum pudding does not necessarily contain plums.)

The Devere family entered the kitchen once a year. From Lord Devere, to his wife ; from Rebecca, the youngest of their nine children, to Sarah, the eldest , the family gathered around the worktable on Christmas Eve morning to take turns stirring the plum pudding. According to tradition begun a century earlier when the Stewarts sat on the throne, each person made a wish as he stirred. But since the previous Christmas Eve, the Deveres had heard the preaching of George Whitfield, and, now that they accepted a personal relationship with the Lord, they knew to pray, not wish, for what they wanted.
"Let us say a special prayer for the new year," suggested Belinda, the middle daughter.
Everyone agreed—except for Sarah. Christmas might now have more meaning to her heart , but to her, what went into and came out of the pudding needed a helping human hand, not divine intervention.
She intended to control the disbursement of the charms, those tiny trinkets that made each slice of the pudding an adventure. When the family gathered with friends and neighbors to partake of the pudding, Sarah would ensure that each person received the charm that she thought befitted their needs. Belinda would receive the thimble, reminding her to be thrifty with her pin money. Rebecca would receive the wishbone because she, being so small, needed all the blessings she could get during the next year. Their father would find the anchor in his slice of pudding, for he was such a stronghold for all of them he needed a safe harbor himself. The crown would go to fifteen-year-old Geoffrey because he would enjoy directing the festivities as “king” and wouldn’t be mean about his revels. Finally, to Lance would go the ring. Although he was only four and twenty, he was the heir and should wed sweet-natured Eliza. They’d loved one another since infancy.
Sarah frowned as she stirred the pudding with one hand and fingered the trinkets in her pocket with the other. “And, Lord, don’t bring Alexander calling again.”
Eliza’s older brother Alexander Featherstone had begun to court her, Just because I'm the only female in ten counties who hasn't thrown her cap over the windmill for him.
Not that she was impervious to his looks, charm and intellect. She could love him. . .if he came around too often. She feared she already did love him; thus, she wanted him to stay away from her rather than add her to his quiver of fawning females.
“Tharie,” Rebecca cried, tugging on the skirt of Sarah’s saque gown, “you’re taking all the turnth."
Sarah released the spoon and stooped to lift her baby sister high enough to grasp the wooden spoon. Once on the floor again, Rebecca looked up with a seraphic smile. “I athked Jethuth for a huthband for Tharie."
Sarah grimaced. “You’re better off praying for a wife for Lance. That won’t take a miracle.”
Belinda giggled. “Oh, I don’t think it’ll take a miracle—for either of you.
Blushing himself, yet smiling, too, Lance grasped the spoon from Belinda. “I pray that Eliza accepts my offer.”
“We’d like excellent matches for both of you,” their father said. “Who has the charms?"
“I do.” Sarah gave the trinkets to the cook to drop into the batter as she poured it into the bag for boiling.
Except the cook wouldn't drop them in. Sarah had persuaded her and the butler to press the charms into the pudding slices of the right people. The cook's nod assured Sarah she would carry on the game, and Sarah followed the family upstairs to rest before church.
At the service, Alex and Eliza joined the Deveres at the church. Somehow, Alex ended up sitting beside Sarah in the box pew. When they stood, he slipped his large, warm hand beneath her lace-clad elbow. When they prayed, he took her hand in his, and she couldn’t pull it away without drawing attention to them. When they departed, he draped her cloak over her shoulders and allowed his fingertips to brush the side of her neck. Those were courting gestures, and she didn’t know why he teased her so.
Nor why God had ignored her prayer to keep Alexander away.
Disturbed, she tried to climb into the carriage with her parents and younger siblings, but they declared the vehicle overcrowded and insisted she go with the Featherstones. But that carriage was also full, so Sarah and Alex strolled the half mile from village to Devere estate over ground white and hard with frost, through air that turned white with each breath, beneath a sky that resembled candle flames frozen in black glass. Cold, Sarah didn’t object when Alex tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow, then covered her fingers with his.
At least she said she didn’t object because of the cold. In truth, she felt warm all the way through, and that made her uncomfortable, unsure of herself.
Sarah hated being unsure of herself. She never was unsure of herself—except around Alex lately.
Lord, I don't want to be another foolish female with a broken heart over him. But she feared she already was, for she'd seen him courting many girls in the decade she'd known him noticing females.
The Lord seemed to be ignoring her. Alex sat beside her at the table as the butler carried in the pudding and began to serve. Smiling, she watched everyone take their first bite of pudding, anticipating the moment when each found his charm.
But no one did.
Family member after guest savored the rich sweet until half of everyone’s slice vanished—except for Sarah’s, as she hadn’t taken so much as a nibble of hers. Everyone glanced around the table, curious, puzzled.
“Who’th got a charm?” sleepy-eyed Rebecca asked. “I wanted the crown.”
Everyone shook their heads.
Lord Devere looked at Sarah. “You gave Cook the charms, didn't you?”
“Yes, Father.” Sarah glanced at the butler, who gave her a twinkling glance, and her stomach knotted, her heart pounded.
Alex touched her arm. “You haven’t touched your pudding.”
Sarah read laughter in his gaze, and had to steel herself against running from the table.
“Here, have a bite.” He seized her fork and cut off a generous mouthful of pudding, then held it up for her.
Face heating, Sarah sprang to her feet. "I don't want pudding. I want to see everyone finding the charms I made certain they'd receive."
Everyone looked shocked that anyone dared interfere with the discovery of plum pudding charms—everyone except for Alex and Geoffrey. They started laughing so hard the bite of pudding slid off the fork in Alex’s hand and plopped onto the white linen tablecloth. The pudding fell apart to reveal the tiny silver ring.
“Hurray!” Rebecca clapped her hands. “God anthwered my prayer. Tharie will get married this year.”
Alex turned serious. “I certainly hope so.”
“Oh, you!” Sarah spun on her heel and fled to a cacophony of laughter and exclamations.
She barely reached the nearest refuge, the winter parlor, before she heard footfalls behind her and felt a hand drop onto her shoulder, stopping her. “Wait,” Alex said.
She faced him, shaking. “Why? So you can make more of a fool of me?”
Alex met her glare with a challenging gaze. “More of a fool than what you’ve been making of me for the past three years?”
“What?”
“Sarah, everyone in the county knows I love you except for you.” He clasped her hands between his. “You treat me like I’m poison.”
“You are as dangerous as poison if anyone gets too close." When he kept gazing at her in silence, she plunged. "You love every female so much you don't love any of us. My Christmas prayer was for god to keep you away tonight."
"But God has other plans for us." He took her hands in his. "What better time than Christmas to remember that He knows what we need more than we do?"
Sarah frowned. "And you claim God believes I need you?"
Alex grinned. "You wouldn't care if I were here if you didn't love me."
"Oh—"
He kissed her before she could say more.
She still said nothing because he'd stolen her breath.
"And I went through a great deal of trouble to ensure you got the ring." His eyes pleaded with her. "Doesn't that count toward you believing I love you?"
"It's cheating—" Blushing, she began to laugh. "If I'm the only lady you'd do that for..."
"The only one. A match made in"—he grinned—"pudding."

A Reader Review for The Glassblower

2009-12-19T12:53:00.000-05:00

This was emailed to me by a reader:

I just finished THE GLASSBLOWER what a delightful story. The story is well written with depth. The characters are delightful, caring, full of faith, and strength.It is fast paced and a quick read. I loved this story. I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this story. I hope to read more of your works.
GREAT JOB!
Again, thank you

Crunch Time

2009-12-09T05:36:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm on a deadline that is really tighter than it should be. Starting a novel is always difficult for me. I agonize over the first three or five chapters and write slower than a turtle crawling up hill. It takes me weeks to get those first chapters down. So now I have only a month to write the rest of the book. Well, I am more than halfway through, which would be just fine, except that Christmas is coming. We are having company and taking a trip during all the craziness, and somehow I still have to write.

So if my creativity here is poor, I do apologize. I'll try better than I've been doing. I do have a story about cats to tell you all.

First Review of The Glassblower

2009-12-03T08:49:00.001-05:00

Dina Sleiman writes:

I must admit, I wasn’t sure what I would think of a Heartsong Presents novel. It takes a lot of skill to fit all the elements of a strong story into such a short format, but Laurie Alice meets the task and then some.

Read the rest at:

http://awesomeinspirationals.blogspot.com/2009/12/glassblower-by-laurie-alice-eakes.html

What I learned of Faith from Deep Space Nine

2009-12-02T08:42:00.002-05:00

I am the guest blogger.
http://www.inkwellinspirations.blogspot.com

Seeking Edna

2009-12-01T15:37:00.001-05:00

Ms. Edna, I need you to contact me and resend me your address. I owe you a copy of The Glassblower, and your address isn't in my database, though I know it should be.

Five Weeks and Counting

2009-11-30T16:10:00.002-05:00

If I am scarce here, it's because I am on a deadline in writing a novel that is going waaaaaay too slowly. I don't know why, but it's just not there in my head despite my outline and plans and flashes of vivid, sun-splashed scenes along the Jersey shore, with ladies in fluttery dresses instead of bathing suits, since this is 1899, not 2009.

And I'm guest blogging a lot this month. I'll keep you posted on all of the above. First guest blog post for December is:

www.inkwellinspirations.blogspot.com

Where I am talking about...

Well, come back wednesday and I'll tell you, or go straight to the Inkwell. You'll enjoy that blog. Lots of lively and insiteful ladies there.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T20:53:00.003-05:00

Today, I was going to write a lovely post on my thankfulness. This has been an insane year and I think mostly I'm just thankful to have a home and work and some stability. But now I'll save the year stuff for New Year's. Right now, I just want to sleep. Thus far, I've been away from my computer either baking or out to some people's hosue for dinner, or just hangin gout with hubby listening to XM, where we stumbled on an interview with Arlo Guthrie. LOL. A rather different version of Alice's Restaurant and the story behind it.

Anyway, hubby is on the phone with his family, so I'm taking a few minutes to post and say hello.

Also, I am a bit behind on everything due to a terribler allergic reaction to. . .something. Clueless what. I didn't eat anything strange. Maybe a bug bite. I have never experienced swelling and itching that extensive that it hurt like my hands and the soles of my feet. Lots of Benedril later, I'm doing all right, though starting to feel the need of another dose. None all day so I wasn't woozy at dinner.

Anyway, more later.

After All that Whining

2009-11-23T17:47:00.002-05:00

My author copies came today. It will take a week or so for me to get them into the mail with the holiday and all.

But they are here with my cat sitting atop the box asking me to open it. I wont' so it doesn't get full of cat hair. But she loves boxes.

Books

2009-11-23T09:36:00.003-05:00

I love them. The smell, the texture, the words on the pages.

And I'm whiny because mine still haven't gotten to me.

My agent got hers last Thursday. I'm just sure they'll come when I'm not home.

And I have so many to mail to people. Readers, I haven't forgotten you. If I promised you a book, you'll get it.

Someday.

In Memory of Patricia Veryan

2009-11-20T08:41:00.000-05:00

Many of you know how I love Patricia Veryan books. Though she is secular, her Georgian and Regency romances are amongst some of the best books in the historical romance genre. They were squeaky clean, full of dangerous men and adventurous women, and full of swashbuckling fun, suspense, and angst. In one of her series, she developed a character through the first five books until he had gone from villain to hero. It was amazingly well done. She wrote books I reread again and again.

In her personal life, she married an American military man at the end of World War II and didn’t get her first book published until she was something like sixty-two. That was around 1980, so she lived a very long life.

She stopped writing a few years ago when her daughter died of cancer, but her books will live on forever.

When I am asked in interviews what authors influence my writing, Veryan is pretty much always mentioned. I was considering dedicating Once Widowed, Twice Shy, my May 2011 Regency from Revell, to her. I think now it’s a must.

Cover for The Glassblower

2009-11-16T13:32:00.002-05:00

This is for my upcoming release.

Kissing

2009-11-16T08:32:00.002-05:00

Yes, I confess it. I like kissing. Something about the connection of lips sets my little heart to pitterpattering.

So I love the scene of kissing in a book. that first kiss is so important I don't want it wasted or squandered or too soon. No, I want the hero and heroine to build up to that point. If it's too soon, the hero and heroine aren't ready for it. their And that first kiss to express affection and love is a moment of sweetness not to be wasted.

Following is the first kiss from my upcoming release, The Glassblower. Read and enjoy and then share a favorite first kiss. Please make sure that you have the copyright to anything you post. Posting one from someone else's work is a violation of copyright. Feel free, however, to mention the work inw hich your favorite first kiss resides.

Colin’s chest rose and fell in a silent sigh. “You should go back inside before you catch a chill.” He brushed snow from her hair then let his fingertips linger against her cheek.

She didn’t move. She feared even a breath would dislodge his hand from her face, would send her skittering across the snowy grass in an opposite direction to his. If she remained motionless, the moment would last as long as she wanted it to. There in the night, a gauzy curtain of snow sheltered them from the music and laughter in the house, where half a hundred people celebrated someone else’s wedding.

“I can’t go in there.” Meg clasped his hand against her face. “I can’t go back there and pretend I’m happy. I want to stay out here with you, where I don’t have to pretend.”

“Aye, lass, the pretending lies in thinking we don’t have to say good-bye.” He curved his other hand beneath her chin. “Or that I have a right to this.”
He touched his lips to hers. His kiss was warm and gentle and far too brief. Before her heart remembered to beat, before she thought to respond, he drew his hands away from her face, turned his back on her, and vanished behind the swirling mantle of snow.

Talking about American Christian Fiction Writers

2009-11-11T08:40:00.002-05:00

ACFW is nearing 2,000 members. When I joined, I think it had 200+ members. That was seven years ago, and I want to share how it has changed my life.

Yes, a writers' organization can change one's life.

1: It taught me about Christian fiction and got me writing away from the secular market that is too often not edifying to the human spirit.

2: It got me my agent. You can learn more about this right now at http://www.jessicanelson7590.blogspot.com

3: ACFW got me connections in the Christian fiction industry that has led to my sale of thirteen books plus one compilation in whcih one of my books is reprinted.

4: Through speakers at an ACFW conference, Liz Curtis Higgs to be exact, I have deepened my relationship withthe Lord and learned so much more about myself and even just having a relationship with God.

5: Through ACFW, I have friends. I mean deep, abiding, and supportive friendships that transend distance.

These are the things that come together in my head as to the most important benefits of belonging to a Christian writers' organization. If you want to write Christian fiction, I highly recommend you check this one out:

http://www.acfw.com

And may God bless your work.

Worse than No Agent

2009-11-09T08:50:00.002-05:00

Today, I am a guest blogger at

http://www.jessicanelson7590.blogspot.com

where I am discussing how a bad agent can be worse than no agent at all. this is a two-part post. On Wednesday, I am discussing how one can have a positive experience with an agent and what one should look for.

I try not to make this blog focused on writer issues. Too many excellent blogs are out there geared toward writers like all the agency bloggs and places like Seekerville. this blog is more focused on me as an author, is more personal. Occasionally, however, I do target writers, since they, too, are my readers.

Waht Happened to the Week?

2009-11-06T15:06:00.002-05:00

I try to be regular about posting on Mondays and Thursdays minimally, and something happened this week. Not N1H1, but both hubby and me definitely under the weather, since the weather is gorgeous.

I promise to do better next week.

The Power of Blogging--A Guest Post

2009-11-01T21:22:00.002-05:00

Today, I have a special guest, Linda Fulkerson, who has started a blog on how to blog well. Linda has great advice, and I'm honored to host her today.

Bio

Linda Fulkerson is a wife, mom, author, hobby farmer, photographer, blog coach/online marketing advisor, and self-proclaimed blogaholic. She’s been blogging for nearly six years, and while some not-quite-six-year-olds are barely out of pull-ups, in the bloggy years, that puts her among the blue-hairs. You can learn more about Linda by visiting http://lindafulkerson.com. Linda recently launched an instructional blog, On Blogging Well: Tips to Take Your Blog from Stagnant to Stunning.

The Power of Blogging

First of all, I’d like to thank Laurie Alice for hosting me today! I’m excited not only about the blog launch, but about how blogging can affect lives. Almost every day, newscasts tout some blog that made a difference, whether it was a breaking story, some benevolent act, or the latest snippet of celebrity gossip. The thing that makes blogging such a journalistic force is that blogs are written by real people,

Blogs have personality.

Because blogs are written by regular folks, they have individual personalities. Whether it be snarky, geek-speak, plain Jane, or stuffed-shirt, a blog takes on the personality of the blogger. In writer-world, this is often referred to as “voice.” The blog’s voice enables regular readers get to “know” the blogger. Relationships are forged through forums and comments, forming a community. Those communities are referred to as a blogger’s “tribe,” indicating the influence bloggers can wield over their audiences.

Blogs have purpose.

If they don’t, they won’t last long! This purpose is the force that fuels the blogger to keep at it. Blogging can be hard work, but most blogs begin because the author has a strong message to deliver. Purposes include everything from politics to parenting to poker tips. Some bloggers begin with an eclectic collection of ramblings and rants. Those blogs often fall by the wayside. It’s hard for a reader (or a search engine, for that matter) to focus on what the blog is about, so the blogger struggles to build a loyal community and often gives up.

Blogs have passion.

Effective bloggers select a blog topic they love, and that desire to discuss and share hopes, dreams, fears, and plans about your blog’s topic of choice can give a blog an almost life-like aura. The blog becomes an online personification of the blogger in many cases. I read a lot of blogs regularly and feel as though I “know” the blogger. Why? Because they are so passionate about their purpose, their personality shines through in each post. This passion is the glue that holds the blog together.

What about you?

Have you begun blogging? If not, On Blogging Well offers step-by-step instructions on how to get started. If you have a blog but it’s not all that you’d hoped for, we also offer tips to take your blog from stagnant to stunning. I hope you’ll stop by and become one of our regulars!

Happy Blogging!
Linda Fulkerson

Wednesday Words of Encouragement

2009-10-28T08:40:00.001-05:00

Today, I am the guest on Theresa Slack's blog for her weekly words of encouragement. You can find the post at:

http://teresaslack.blogspot.com/2009/10/welcome-regency-author-laurie-alice.html