This week I'm stepping out of my comfort zone. Actually, I'm taking a giant leap.

When I purposed to become a published author, I began to attend writers conferences. Well, I've decided to pursue another goal, to become a more effective speaker. I've been delighted to be able to speak to women's groups and moms' groups, and I want to reward their confidence in me with the best presentation I can give them.

Since attending writers conferences seems to have worked out as hoped, I've decided to attend a workshop to learn how to present my ideas better.

I'll be in Asheville, NC this week at a Dynamic Communicators Workshop. Gulp. I'm going to give a speech every day, and they're going to tape me! Oh, be still my heart.

I'll give you a report after I survive the experience. Okay, that was said tongue in cheek. I don't think it will be a torturous experience, just a new one.

Have a blessed week, friends.

The joy of deadlines

Sooner or later, as a writer you’ll be under the gun of a deadline.

You can look on the bright side and see deadlines from an optimist’s point of view:

“Goals are dreams with deadlines.”

~Diane Scharf Hunt

That’s a good quote. If you’re a new writer you can appreciate Ms. Hunt’s quote. I remember hammering away on my novel, trying to complete it by my deadline, which was the 2006 ACFW conference. If I hadn’t set that deadline for myself, I probably wouldn’t be published today because it was at that conference that I met my acquisitions editor. (One of the first questions she asked me was, “Is the manuscript complete?”)

Deadlines. Some writers hate them, some embrace them, and others learn to live with them. Sooner or later, as a writer you’ll be under the gun of a deadline.

Do you fall into the I-hate-deadlines-but-understand-they’re-necessary category? If so, you’ll appreciate this quote:

“One forges one’s style on the terrible anvil of daily deadlines.”

~Emile Zola

A daily deadline is a form of encouragement for me. I know what’s expected, but I also know that with work, I can accomplish my deadline. When I was a young woman, my first job out of college was as a radio reporter. I had to broadcast a three-minute newscast ever hour. Five days a week, I had six hourly deadlines to meet. And I always did.

Here’s another great quote:

“A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it’s better than no inspiration at all.”

~Rita Mae Brown

Yes, have you ever had a writing assignment with a deadline? Boy howdy, you’re inspired while working under that deadline. At least if you’re professional you are.

I don’t think there are many writers who’ve never heard of this quote:

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make when they fly by.”

~Douglas Adams

Uhh, yea. Take that attitude and you may never have to worry about another deadline again. Editors expect that when you’re given a deadline you’ll meet it. Blow their confidence in you, and you may never get the opportunity to be under deadline again.

Have you ever heard of Dr. Wicked.com? It’s an online site that allows you to write under a time constraint.

The application is called, “Write or Die: Putting the Prod in Productivity.”

To participate, you input your word goal, your time goal (anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours), select the grace period (forgiving, strict, or evil), and select the mode (gentle, normal, kamikaze, or electric shock).

It’s amazing how much you can do when you know the clock’s ticking. I sampled the site on kamikaze mode, and the border around the space where you type glows red if stop typing for too long. And then, believe it or not, your words start to disappear, letter by letter, until you start typing again. That consequence got my fingers flying over the keyboard.

Give it a try, and have fun! Write or Die: Dr. Wicked’s Writing Lab

Ahh spring!

I hope we didn't jump the gun by putting out our patio furniture today. I've been looking forward to warm weather with a vengeance this year.

My summer office is my patio, usually from some time in May until October. I. Just. Can't. Wait!!

See the chaise lounge to the right of the door? That spot is shady 100% of the time, and that's where I write, weather permitting. That photo was taken last year. Colorado is not quite that green and blooming--yet.

We did a bit of yard work today. We tore up a big honeysuckle. An aspen tree volunteered to grow next to it, and the honeysuckle was overpowering the tender shoot.

I've been aggravated with that honeysuckle for about five years or so now anyway. It had no fragrance. Can you believe that? Isn't that half the reason for planting honeysuckle? The previous one used to scent the entire yard with it's fragrance, but this one was fragrance free.

I'm starting out this week with a prayer and a praise, how about you?

Author Voice

A lot of time is spent in writing circles discussing author voice. What is it? How do you perfect it?

Let’s look at some passages from books by two authors and “listen” to a few different voices and hear what they say to us. Keep reading -->


In other news: I spoke to a fabulous moms' group this morning about the power of words. Had a blast. I even got to hold a little one. My only regret is that I forgot to bring my camera. Rats.

A star in the making

This was Bayle's second agility training class. Darling daughter # 1 was putting her through the paces.

Purchase Sara Mills' books

I met Sara Mills last September at the ACFW Conference in Minneapolis. We happened to find ourselves sitting next to each other at the annual chocolate party.

Last week, Sara was widowed when her 40-year-old husband died of a heart attack.

Sara was just gearing up to promote her new book, Miss Match, about a female private detective, set in NYC in 1947. The authors of American Christian Fiction Writers are showing their support of Sara by getting out word about her novels.

The following is a previously published interview with Sara about her novels:

Tell us how you got the idea for Allie and these books...

I got the idea for Miss Fortune in the middle of the night, when all good ideas come to me:

One sleepless night I was watching The Maltese Falcon and I started to wonder how different the story would be if Sam Spade had been a woman. She'd never have fallen for Miss Wunderly's charms and lies. She'd have been smart and tough and she would have solved the case in half the time it took Sam because she wouldn't spend all of her time smoking cigarettes and calling her secretary Precious.

The thought of a hard-boiled female detective got my mind whirling.

I paused the movie and sat in my darkened living room thinking about how much fun a female Sam Spade could be. Intrigued but not yet ready to dash to my computer, I changed disks and put on Casablanca (my all time favorite movie ever). The sweeping love story, a tale full of hard choices and sacrifice was what finally made the whole idea click in my mind. If I could just combine the P.I. detective story of the Maltese Falcon with the love story from Casablanca, and make Sam Spade more of a Samantha, I could have the best of all worlds.

These books are so good, I wish I'd written them. How did you set the stage to capture that gritty PI feel without being dark?

I find that a lot of PI stories are gritty and dark, focusing on the worst of the humanity, and while I wanted the Allie Fortune mysteries to be exciting and tension-filled I didn’t want them to be stark and hopeless.

One of the things I tried to do to counteract the darkness was to give Allie a multi-layered life. She has cases, relationships, friends and family, all of which I hope combine to make the stories textured, rich and full of life.

Allie is a character I'd love to have coffee with. What did she teach you while you wrote these books?

Allie was a great character to write. One of the things I learned from her was that human relationships (man/woman, mother/daughter, friends) are complicated and full of unspoken rules and expectations. Allie is a rule-breaker at heart and it complicates her life on a regular basis. One of the storylines I loved most is Allie’s relationship with her mother and how it grows and changes and how it’s shaped her.

Another dimension of Allie’s character that really taught me a lot was her willingness to do whatever was needed to help those she loves. There is no price on that kind of friendship and it’s a characteristic I’d like to see more of in myself. Okay I admit it, I’ve got a bit of a friend-crush on Allie. LOL.

One last question: If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would that be and who would you take with you?

If I could go anywhere right now I’d head to Monterey, California (I’m writing a book set there right now) and I’d plant myself on the beach with a notebook, writing my story as the waves crashed. Sounds like my idea of heaven on earth. There’s something about the wind-shaped Cypress trees and the crash of the surf in Monterey that calls to me. I don’t know why, it just is.

Miss Fortune, Allie Fortune Mystery Series #1

By Sara Mills / Moody Publishers

In 1947 Allie Fortune is the only female private investigator in New York City, but she's kept awake at night by a mystery of her own: her fianci disappeared in the war and no one knows if he's still alive. Until Allie finds out, she will have no peace. When there's a knock on her office door at four in the morning, Allie suspects trouble as usual, and Mary Gordon is no exception. Mary claims someone is following her, that her apartment has been ransacked, and that she's been shot at, but she has no idea why any of this is happening. Allie takes the case, and in the process discovers an international mystery that puts her own life in danger.
Meanwhile, the FBI is working the case as well, and she is partnered up with an attractive, single agent who would be perfect for her under other circumstances-if only she knew whether her fianci was still alive.


Miss Match, Allie Fortune Mystery Series #2

By Sara Mills / Moody Publishers


FBI agent Jack O'Connor receives a letter from Maggie, a woman he used to love, saying she's in trouble in Berlin. The FBI refuses to get involved, so Jack asks Allie Fortune to help him investigate. Allie and Jack pose as a missionary couple who want to bring orphans back to the United States.
A child finds important documents that everyone in the city - Soviets and allies alike - want for themselves. Maggie refuses to tell Jack what the documents are, saying if things go wrong, they are better off not knowing. Through the course of the search, Allie's past is brought back to her, half a world away from home.

Sad but true

Maybe I should start bringing Bayle to my book signings. Ha!

It's conference season!

Have you considered attending a writers conference this year? If not, perhaps you should. I’m a proponent of conferences because I believe...

Keep reading-->

In other news . . .  It's official. I'm a bona fide dog nerd. I've enrolled my Jack Russell Terrier, Bayle, in agility training. Our first class is on Friday afternoon. Since I've written Bayle into my wip, do you suppose I can claim this expense as research? 

Do I really look that dumb?

I was accosted by one of those product snipers that lurk at the kiosks in the mall this past week. She seemed innocent enough, "May I share some hand lotion with you, ma'am?"

The lotion was lovely, but then before I knew it, she was dabbing me with two layers of eye creams. Apparently they must work together for the desired result. A moment after she finished dabbing the second eye, she pulled out a mirror. "Oh, see that? See the difference? All those fine lines have disappeared!"

Really? Hmm. I didn't see anything.

She further explained. "They activate the muscles in your skin immediately."

Really? I didn't have the heart to tell this eager sniper that skin does not have muscles. So, how much do you think this stuff costs?

Hold onto your hat.

A 4 oz. vial is $160! Yes, that's right. To purchase both 4 oz. vials would cost you a whopping $320!!

Now I'm wondering why she chose to snare me and dupe me into shelling out that much money on eye cream. After all, I have many other parts that can use work beside my eyes. If I started there, who knows where this beautification project would end up.

You know, it would be like the lady who decides to purchase new sofa cushions, and then she has to buy new curtains, new carpets, paint the room, and then of course the sofa's got to be replaced because it no longer "goes" with the room.

So, you want to be a writer?

Have you ever dreamed of being a writer? In those quiet moments when daydreams struggle against the confines of reality, have you ever thought, “Yeah, I want to write, and I think I can.”

 Let me tell you, if I had $10 for every person who’s told me that they want to write a book/can write a book/have the perfect story for a book, then I could pay off my mortgage.

Friends, if you want to write a book or  read more . . .

Denver Christian Fiction Examiner: Novel set in Denver area

The delightful and well-read Kay Day as recently become Denver's newest Examiner on Examiner.com. Her title is Denver Christian Fiction Examiner. Yippi.

I'm honored that her first article was about me and Searching for Spice. Thanks, Kay!

Denver Christian Fiction Examiner: Novel set in Denver area

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Writers and Readers

If you're a writer, a wanna-be writer, or a reader you should also be a supporter of writers. I know, if you buy books you support writers, true. But it's a crazy industry, and a note of encouragement or a show of support goes a lo-o-o-n-g way. Trust me. My heart is touched by readers who take time out of their busy lives to drop me a note to say they enjoyed my books. 

Even before I came out of the closet and admitted I wanted to be a novelist I loved to meet authors and find out how they think, where they get their inspiration, and what their life is like. Book signings are a great opportunity to find out about writers, and most writers love to connect with their readers. 

To illustrated my point I'm going to drive to Loveland, Colorado tomorrow morning to hear author Tina Forkner speak and support her while she signs books at Barnes & Noble in Centerra tomorrow. 

I met Tina while traveling to an ACFW conference about three years ago, and we've been friends since. I'm looking forward to learning something about the craft of writing from her.

She speaks at 10:00 a.m., with the book signing to follow at noon.

Tina's the author of Ruby Among Us, a delightful tale of a girl uncovering the truths about her family and her deceased mother. The Rose House, the sequel to RAU, releases in May.

I'm an Examiner!

Have you ever heard of Examiner.com?

Examiner.com is one of the top 200 sites on the Internet today, it's a destination for news and information of all types.

I'm one of the newest Denver Examiners, and I'd be thrilled to have you check out my Examiner page. My title is Denver Writing Examiner, and I write articles on, duh, writing. :) I'll write articles 3 - 5 times a week.

If you want to stay updated on my articles, you can subscribe to my email notification. The link is to the right of my photo. I've been an Examiner for less than a week, and I'm having a blast.

Examiner has editions in many different cities in the US. To find your city's page, go to the drop-down menu under the Examiner logo.

Take a breath

I'm busy. We're all busy, right?

I had a moment last week when an appointment that should have been recorded somehow missed being input into my iCal (Mac's online calendar). In my frenzy, I shrieked, "Well, it's not on my iCal!"

Fortunately only about three seconds passed before I realized I sounded like an idiot. In my mind, if it wasn't on my iCal, then it couldn't possibly exist. Ha! The mad cat photo captures my emotions at the time.

For just a moment, I became unglued. Ever had that happen to you? Come on, be honest.

Anyway, I'm glad my tizzy mode was brief. It was a great reality check. I took a moment, sat in the sun flooding into my living room, closed my eyes and gave myself permission to have failed. What? You didn't know I wasn't perfect? (I just said that with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek.)

Sometimes it good to screw up. (Did I just say that?) It makes you reevaluate your priorities. That day I had too much on my plate, a mistake to begin with, and it was inevitable that my day would not run smoothly.

As a spiritual woman, my thoughts turned to God. Let me share a great verse that helps me to put my day into perspective. (The Message) Ps. 90:17 "And let the love of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!"

'Nuff said. Have a blessed weekend.

Christian Fiction Survey

Do you read Christian novels? Do you buy Christian novels?

Glass Road Public Relations is conducting a research study and wants to know more about you! If you would like to participate, go to Christian Fiction Buying Research to take an anonymous survey about buying Christian fiction.

At the end of the survey, you can enter to win a library of TEN Christian novels.

I took the survey, it wasn't long. I hope GRPR shares the results.

Breast Friend's Day

Yes, you read that correctly. It's not a typo. Today was Breast Friend's Day.

On a day (St. Patrick's Day) when nearly 50% of the population was wearing green, my girlfriends and I wore pink.

First we met for our Words For The Journey meeting. Danica Favorite-MacDonald spoke about tax issues for writers. I learned so much, and I'm r-e-a-l-l-y thankful that we have an accountant who figures all that out for us. See Michele in the center of the photo? Don't tell anyone, but I think she was probably twittering.

After WFTJ I went to lunch with Jan and Karen. We ate outside. In March. In Colorado. :)

Then we went to the Invision/Sally Jobe imaging center. Wow. They moved their suite since last year, and it looks like a spa, resort-like.

Here's a photo of Jan and Karen at the Keureg machine, they were about to brew their coffee.

And then our turns came. And, no. We didn't go in for the mammogram together.

After I completed the necessary paperwork (in a semi-private cubicle), I was instructed to go through the double doors.

I went through the doors and was greeted by a delightful, happy woman who smiled and said, "Hello, darling!" She was like a female Wal-Mart greeter on both estrogen and steroids. What a delight! She gave me a quick tour of the exam suite and then gave me a heated robe. Ahhh.

The, ahem, procedure lasted only a few minutes. Their digital machines are fast and painless.

Now, of course you can make an appointment and get a mammogram by yourself, but why should you when you can make an event of it with friends? Jan always brings chocolate to share with everyone. One of the staff referred to her as the "Chocolate Lady." Isn't that cute?

We shared smiles and laughter with some of the other ladies there today. We called it a celebration of health.

Having a mammogram usually isn't at the top of most women's list of things they want to do, but it's something that we should do for our loved ones.

It's our responsibility to guard our health, and it can even be a pleasure. Like on days like today.

Writer's Block, Anyone?

Consider yourself the luckiest writer in the universe if you’ve never experienced a moment of writer’s block. If you've never experienced a moment of where do I go now? If you've never thought, how can I tie up this loose end? Aaargh!

The most important thing to consider when faced with the dreaded writer’s block is to realize that that this is probably not the last time you’ll be stuck. Personally, I think it’s part of the writing life. Everyone gets writer’s block, even if it’s an episode that lasts only 15 minutes.

The cure? Push through.

I’m sorry if you were expecting a more brilliant answer. There are several strategies that you can use to get your creative abilities firing again.

1. Pray.

• Keep yourself spiritually charged. Remember Who your writing partner is. He who has called you . . .

2. Keep a writer’s journal.

• A journal may include memories, jokes, story ideas, writing tricks, dreams, and descriptions of people, places or situations.

• A writer’s journal may be as simple as a little notebook you carry in your purse or it could be a word document on your computer.

• Don’t get stressed about when or if you should use a writer’s journal. The idea is for the journal to help you, not make you more stressed.

• If you use an item/idea from your journal in your work, be sure to either delete it or make a note as to when/where it was used.

• Train yourself to be alert for fresh ideas when they occur, and write them down.

3. Visit a bookstore.

• Is there a writer alive who doesn’t get jazzed walking through the aisles of a bookstore?

• Pull out the books that catch your attention. Read the back cover copy. Read the first few lines.

• Think to yourself, “I can do this!”

• Go home and write.

4. Sit down and write 250 crummy words.

• Sometimes just getting started gets you in the groove.

• Don’t worry if the words aren’t pretty. You can always go back and pretty them up.

5. Invest in your health.

• Go for a walk, hop on a treadmill—just get moving. Your imagination won’t work a maximum capacity if your brain is sluggish.

6. Work on another project for a while.

• If you can, switch gears to another project you have in the works or make notes on a subsequent project you’ve been thinking about. You may return to your “blocked” project with fresh eyes after a little time away from it.

7. Read a great book.

• Sometimes reading great writing gives you the itch to write yourself.

8. Try to write out of your genre

• Write non-fiction if you’re a fiction writer. It could be just a simple letter to a friend or a short article on craft that you can share with writing buddies. • Write a poem.

• If you write non-fiction, practice fiction techniques to use in your n-f writing.

9. Try freewriting.

• Give yourself a time limit of 10-15 minutes and let your fingers fly over the keyboard. Even if you’re writing crazy nonsense, you may spark a thought or idea that will springboard you back to work.

10. Take a creative field trip.

• Visit a museum, listen to soul-stirring music, go to the movies.

• Sometimes spending time in other creative environments, spurs the desire to be creative in your own work.

11. Take some photographs.

• Grab your camera and take a field trip to a local park, busy shopping area, town square. Let yourself focus on whatever catches your fancy. You may look back at your images and see a spark of an idea in a situation, location or face of people being alone or interacting with each other. *Just don’t appear to be a stalker. This is what zoom lenses are for.

12. Take care of business.

• There are other tasks you can do that are writing related.

• Revise a manuscript

• Send out queries

• Research the market

13. Relax and smile. This is not the end of the world.

• Remember, “This, too, shall pass.”

• The more you worry, the harder it is to think clearly.

14. Vent your frustrations to someone you trust.

15. Take a break from writing.

• If the thought of having to write makes you feel ill or anxious, take a break. This is not the same as quitting. There’s nothing wrong will allowing yourself a brief sabbatical. Give your sabbatical a definite time frame. (Unfortunately this is not really an option if you're on deadline--keep working!)
  

16. Talk to other writers.

• An understanding friend can soothe your troubled mind.

17. Try to write in a different place

• Sometimes a small change of scenery can help you overcome a block

• Leave your laptop at home and write with a pen and notebook

• Grease Monkey--yes, I've had a very productive writing session while waiting for my car to be serviced.
  

18. Do some cluster writing

• Choose key words and ideas, then write associated ideas and words in clusters around them. This process may help you form new ideas.

19. Follow a routine to get into the writing mood.

• Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee

• Listen to CDs (or try out pandora.com!)
  

• Light a scented candle

20. Write out of sequence.

• If you’re having trouble with a transition paragraph, put a marker where you are and write the next section.

• If you have a scene or section idea, write it now, and insert it at a later date when your project “catches up” to the scene. I love to do this. When it comes time to insert it into the story it's like being given a bonus scene.
  

Eliminate "writer's block" from your vocabulary. Best-selling author Angie Hunt once told me, "You never heard of a plumber having plumber's block, did you?" Uh, no. So maybe the best thing to do is to press on and not even accept the term writer's blog.

* For more articles on writer's topics, visit my Denver Writing Examiner page.

Book Report

Occasionally I'll do a book report at my Tuesday morning Words For The Journey meeting. I love telling my writer friends about books I've enjoyed.

This past Tuesday I did a book report on Stealing Home by Allison Pittman. The book doesn't release until May, but I had the good fortune to read it for endorsement.

Stealing Home is a lovely tale set in a small town in Missouri in 1905. The story focuses on Ellie Jane, a clerk for the railroad, Duke Dennison, a Chicago Cubs player who is visiting Picksville to sober up in anonymity, Ned Clovis, a deaf shopkeeper who's had a long-time crush on Ellie Jane, and Morris, a 12 year old African American boy who dreams of escaping the confines of his small town.

Allison created a lovely story depicting small town life at its very worst and also at its shining best.

As a writer/reader I was intrigued by the device Allison used to bring Morris to life. The book is written in 3rd person, past tense EXCEPT for the parts narrated by Morris in 1st person, present tense. I really enjoyed this technique. You observed life in Picksville, and then Morris would interpret the goings on through the filter of his experience.

I wish Allison the best and hope she sells lots of books.

Are you listening? Do you see?

This morning when I opened my back door to let my dog out I was greeted with happy, carefree birdsong. It was beautiful.

As a writer, I try to be as observant as possible about the ordinary things in life because that’s what bonds us most as people. We all can experience the joy of listening to beautiful birdsong, we all can appreciate the nodding wildflowers alongside the road, we can all inhale the sweet fragrance of freshly cut grass (and if you’re not allergic, enjoy the aroma).

I was thrilled a few weeks ago when another writer said I was the Queen of show don’t tell. BTW, show don’t tell is big in writing. It draws the readers into your world through their senses.

So? Are you listening? Do you see? Can you get a whiff of that fragrant grass?

I love to scrutinize what I see, hear, smell. In January I stayed at a luxury hotel for a weekend. In the foyer was a large table with a huge floral arrangement, all done in different types of white flowers. It was lovely, and actually looked so perfect it appeared to be silk flowers. But it wasn’t. I walked over and touched the velvet soft petals and inhaled the mix of floral fragrances. It was a wonderful sensory moment.

Who knows, perhaps some day in my writing I’ll be able to use that moment when I paused to appreciate the work someone put into arranging those lovely flowers.

And that, my friend, is one way to connect with your readers: reference common experiences in your writing. Use the ordinary in life as your word palette.

In other news, I apparently didn’t dry Bayle well enough after her bath on Saturday.

Hooray for Book Lovers!

This past Wednesday I had the pleasure of enjoying dinner and conversation with the Newday Christian Book Club.

We had a great discussion about Searching for Spice, and then they let me draw names out of a big seashell to determine the great Christian fiction they would read for the next few months. They've got good tastes, they're next book is The Novelist by Angela Hunt.

In case you're wondering what I'm holding, they overwhelmed me with kindness and (delicious) calories by giving me a beautiful gift basket with chocolate, tea, cookies, and cocoa -- all items mentioned in Searching for Spice.


See the shiny wrapping? That's homemade, fudgy brownies. I saw one of the girls carry that in before dinner and was looking forward to eating it for dessert. You can imagine my surprise when dessert was served, and it wasn't brownies. Now I realize she brought them for the gift basket. :) And see the tin box with the swirly design? Inside there are homemade chocolate chip cookies.

That was two days ago, and I'm still munching my way through those goodies.

Like Mother Like Daughter

I wish I could say that one of my children wants to be a writer and has started going to writing groups and conferences with me, but that's not what this is about.** My oldest daughter is following in my footsteps as far as my water consumption goes.

I am one of the most well hydrated women in America. I drink a mini-jug of water daily, and I put a coral calcium bag (like a tea bag) into my water for my calcium supplement. This way I get the H2O and the calcium needed in one shebang.

Anyway, like mother like daughter. Daughter # 1 recently got her own mini-jug and drinks her daily H2O intake that way too.

Don't our water jugs look cute together?

**Yea, I'm always a bit jealous when I see other writer's with their offspring together at conferences. Oh, well. Maybe my children just haven't discovered their writing passion/talent -- yet! A mother can still hope. :)

Book Club Visit

This Tuesday I was honored to be a guest at the Winddrift Book Club. Don't you love that name? (Maybe I should get these ladies to help me title my next book!)
We had a lively discussion and some good laughs. More importantly, I got to spend some time with some bright and fun women who love books: Tina, Jan, Bev, Janet, Susan, and Jennifer. It doesn't get any better than that.

When I left, Tina gave me these lovely tulips. Aren't they beautiful? I've been working all week being able to gaze at their promise that spring will come to Colorado.

Novel's of Hope Contest

There's still time to enter author Tina Forkner's great Novels of Hope contest. It's an interesting contest, and you can choose your own level of participation.

I felt that a sense of hope is permeated throughout the novel Ruby Among Us. It showed us that it's never too late to revisit the past so that you can move through your present and look forward to the future. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, so you're going to have to pick up a copy of RAU to read for yourself.

Here's my review:
Tina Forkner’s debut novel Ruby Among Us is beautifully written and transports you to the lush, rich Sonoma Valley. Ruby’s daughter, Lucy, struggles to put the pieces together to discover the story of her deceased mother. Her efforts bring into focus not only Ruby’s story but that of Kitty, the grandmother who raised her, and the story of Lucy herself.

Ruby Among Us is a tale of generational love and finding redemption from the past by dealing with the present. I loved the story of Ruby, Kitty, and Lucy and fell in love with the beautiful language and moving prose penned by Forkner.

The Plot Thickens

Have you ever been to The Plot Thickens site? It's a wonderful blog hosted by author Deb Raney, and it's devoted to novelists and their gardens.

The Plot Thickens is an invitation to join your favorite novelists in their garden spaces. I'm honored to be included in the fun.

This site is like a passport into the secret world of wonderful, creative authors. So, if you've never visited, do yourself a favor and check it out. Some of the writers' gardens and workspaces are incredible: foreign countries, secluded gardens, romantic gazebos, and beautiful, inspirational places.

Those wonderful gardens are enough to give you fantastic ideas for plotting. Ooh, I was just struck with some inspiration--gotta go . . .

In other news: All this talk about gardens is making me antsy to get outside to my summer office. See the chaise to the right of the door? It's got my MacBook open and ready to go. That's where I work from about May until early October. And boy, I can't wait!

Searching for Spice Book Trailer Review

Have you had the good fortune to hear about Linda Lou's Book Trailer Park? It's a site that rates book trailers, based on a one-to-five-mullet rating. Ha!

This week the Searching for Spice trailer was rated and received an impressive 4 1/2 mullets.

Here's Linda's review:
Searching for Spice is a fabulous book accompanied by an effective and entertaining book trailer.

This I liked! The timing was right at just over 30 seconds. Not too much of a good thing, nor too little. The male voice-over presented a slightly off-balance comedic twist that really worked well. It reflects the humor of the book perfectly. On a selfish note however, I would have liked a few more graphics--more glimpses into that spicy world.

You should really check out Linda Lou's Book Trailer Park. Hostess Linda Kozar has done a great job, and it's fun to read through her rating explanations and see the other trailers that have been reviewed.

Great Review for OOHH!

It's always exciting to get a book review, and I found out yesterday that Faithful Reader, a wonderful website for book lovers, posted a great review of Out of Her Hands:

Linda Revere is the quintessential controlling, worrying, "Why didn't you call me last night?" mother. She keeps Nick, her 22-year-old son who is living at home while finishing up college, on an incredibly short leash considering his age. Daughter Emma is a bit less of a problem; as a high school senior, she pretty much toes the line out of habit and an understanding that she doesn't have much of a choice. Meanwhile, husband Jerry represents the voice of reason whenever Linda's worrying starts to get out of hand --- which it often does.

Things start to heat up when Nick is spotted around town with a mysterious young woman, a girl named Amber who he's never mentioned to his parents or his sister. Eventually, Nick comes clean with his family. Yes, he has a girlfriend. Yes, that's who he's been with on all those nights when he came home so late --- or didn't come home at all. And no, she's not a Christian. Trouble in the Revere household for sure.

Oh, and Keith, the husband of Linda's best friend, lands a job 2,000 miles away, meaning Linda is about to lose Debbie, her closest confidant.

Add to this all the complications involving Linda's job at Dream Photography at the height of the photo-taking season --- right before Thanksgiving, when all those Christmas card photos need to be taken --- and Linda is fit to be tied. To make matters worse, her recently widowed father-in-law has taken up with a new woman. "Recently widowed," in this case, is 11 months prior; at 75, Ross is having difficulty navigating life without the woman he spent all his adult life with, just as Doris is learning to live without her deceased husband.

Linda, though, must face her first Thanksgiving without her beloved mother-in-law --- and with Doris, her "replacement," and Amber, Nick's totally unacceptable excuse for a girlfriend. (In Linda's defense, Amber's later description of the Revere kitchen as a "culinary Siberia" doesn't do all that much to endear readers to her, and those same readers may even find themselves rooting for Linda at that point.)

Not unexpectedly, and despite Linda's attempts to make the best of a number of awkward and uncomfortable situations, things start to go downhill fast. Anger, hurt and disappointment bubble to the surface and at times erupt into distressing public scenes. Just when Linda thinks things can't get any worse, they do.

What makes OUT OF HER HANDS such a fulfilling read is the way Linda responds to the worst of the many bad situations that plague her life all at once. She rises to the occasion when circumstances are so severe that she simply needs to stop worrying, begin finding solutions to major problems and start turning the reins over to the people who should have held them all along. Also satisfying is the way the story ends --- not in perfection but in the not-so-perfect reality of everyday life.

Fans of DiMaria's previous books will likely find this one to be equally enjoyable, while newcomers to her novels won't be disappointed. Readers of contemporary "Mom Lit" should also find a lot to like here.

New Christian Women's Magazine

Have you heard of Shine? It’s a new Christian women’s magazine published in the Denver area by Word of Life Christian Center in Lone Tree.

I’ve got to tell you, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Being a girl who loves pretty things, my first reaction to seeing Shine was to sit down and investigate inside. That’s when I discovered that this substantial glossy has content as well as style.

The topics covered in the current issue are encouragement, fashion, food/entertainment, health/wellness, home décor, legal issues, life and abundant living, marriage, parenting, prayer, and the workplace. It also has a devotional calendar and book and media section.

The magazine’s publisher is Gayla Bagwell. She’s the classy lady on the cover of the current issue. Gayla’s the senior pastor’s wife of Word of Life Christian Center, and she’s been ministering alongside her husband for 33 years. She’s also launched a new website in conjunction with Shine that’s another outlet for her women’s ministry.

I have to be careful when it comes to magazines because I love them. If I had the time and money, I’m sure I could be a magazine junkie. But after finding Shine, I think I’ll give into my weakness and subscribe to just one more magazine.

Author Friends and Social Media

There was a song I learned (YEARS ago) as a Brownie that went like this, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold."

That's certainly true. One of the greatest blessing of my writing journey is meeting wonderful, talented writers, both published and yet-to-be published.

I recently "met" Julie Carobini on Twitter, and we've become friends. We traded novels, and I can't wait to read hers. I've heard wonderful things about her talent, and I'm excited to dive into what looks like an absolutely delicious book.

I've joined all the "latest" social media when the buzz urged me. I'm happy to report it's been an unexpected pleasure. I've connected with so many folks and have reconnected with friends from the past. One gal I had been wondering about for 32 years was a college friend. I found her on Facebook! She lives in Houston and is a photographer. Now, anyone who knows me knows how discriminating I am about portrait photographers, so I was delighted to check out Mary's site and see that Click Photography looks like a great studio. If any of my author friends in the Houston area need to get a headhot, check out Mary & Tom Scheible's studio.

How about you? What unexpected pleasures have you discovered lately?

Advice for Writers

Today it was my turn to blog on the Words For The Journey blog, and I want to share this post with my readers too. The following is wisdom and encouragement for writers and would-be writers.

Question: From where does our writing ability come? Is it inborn? Learned?

Answer: As Mother Teresa said, "We are all pencils in the hand of God."

Question: When is the best time to begin a writing career"

Answer: "Today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way." ~Dr. Seuss

Question: Is it difficult to learn the craft of writing?

Answer: "Yes, it's hard to write, but it's harder not to."

~Carl Van Doren

And here's more advice on writing from other authors:

"Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go."

~ E.L. Doctorow

"Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer."

~Barbara Kingsolver

Question: How much time should a writer commit to his/her craft?

Answer: "The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything."

~John Irving

And as author Ray Bradbury said, "Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed."

Another thought to ponder is, "Either marry your work - take it seriously and do it every day - or date it - write only when you feel like it - but know which you are doing and the repercussions of both."

~Anonymous

Question: Is writing all about sitting at a computer and pounding out a story?

Answer: Not necessarily so. As Victor Hugo said, “A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is visible labour and there is invisible labour.”

Question: What about word count? Is there any advice on pacing yourself?

Answer: "The faster I write, the better my output. If I'm going slow, I'm in trouble. It means I"m pushing the words instead of being pulled by them."

~Raymond Chandler

Also, "If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster."

~Isaac Asimov

Question: Must you have all the answers when you sit down to write your story?

Answer: "Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

~E. L. Doctorow

Question: How do you know you've reached a level of success?

Answer: "Success comes to a writer, as a rule, so gradually that it is always something of a shock to him to look back and realize the heights to which he has climbed."

~P.G. Wodehouse

Question: Is there a secret to becoming a successful author?

Answer: "The secret of becoming a writer is to write, write, and keep on writing."

~Ken MacLeod

And I leave you with a final thought: " May I never grow too old to treasure 'once upon a time.'"

~Anonymous

By the way, if you haven't checked out the WFTJ blog, you're really missing out. It's a great site for writers.

New Interview!

I had the pleasure of speaking with Judith Norman of the Virtue Radio Network for an interview on the Words of Faith program. During the 12-minute interview we talked about Out of Her Hands, food (this seems to be a theme with me!), parenting, and faith.

Words of Faith, a Christian Book Show, is a fantastic program (and no, I'm not saying that because I was a guest!). I had a blast listening to the author interviews in previous episodes.

The Virtue Radio Network is an Internet community for Christian women. If you haven't checked it out, do yourself a favor and hurry over there!

Live interview on Friday

On Friday I was a guest on Church Insider Talk Radio. The interview was live (yikes!) from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It couldn't have gone better.

Host Shamielle Alston is wonderful. She put me right at ease, and led us in a lively discussion.
I've you're interested, my interview is archived on the left side of the webpage. Click here to access the show.

1st or 3rd Person?

I need your thoughts.

I'm playing around with my wip, writing some chapters 1st person present tense, 1st person past tense, and 3rd person past tense.

Which do you prefer?

1st person past tense:
I saw a ghost in my kitchen this morning, and now I can’t stop crying.
He appeared out of the ether, full of life and love. If I could have touched him, I bet he’d be warm.
The sight caught me unaware, and I sat at the breakfast table with my cup of coffee poised before my face while I gazed through the fragrant steam. He stood with his eyes closed, head tilted back, and ticked off the beats to an old Louis Armstrong classic with his big, bony shoulders moving up and down, one at a time.

3rd person past tense:
Libby saw a ghost in her kitchen this morning, and now she can’t stop crying.
He appeared out of the ether, full of life and love. If she could have touched him, she’s bet he’d be warm.
The sight caught her unaware, and she sat at the breakfast table with her cup of coffee poised before her face while she gazed through the fragrant steam. He stood with his eyes closed, head tilted back, and ticked off the beats to an old Louis Armstrong classic with his big, bony shoulders moving up and down, one at a time.

Well, which one draws you in more?

In other news: The photo below is so darned cute, but it's unacceptable to have my (sweet) puppy on my sofa cushion. Bayle thinks she's a princess. She's spoiled enough, see the toy basket on the right? She plays with each toy on a daily basis.


I took Bayle's photo and then scooted her off.

Sunshine, Tea, and Plotting

I tried to keep my nose to the grindstone today, but the temperature in Colorado rose to 63 degrees where I live.

Jan twisted my arm to join her for tea at Starbucks. Yes, tea. They've got some kind of new tea specialty. It was okay.Anyway, we took the opportunity to bounce around plot/scene ideas for our novels. The people nearby were only nervous when we talked about killing our characters.

My New Writing Partner

Writing is a solitary business. You’re in your head (and the head’s of your characters) so much of the time that you can lose track of reality.

I always had my old dog, Belle, to keep me in the moment. She was such a part of my writing life that she appeared in both of my novels. I like that she’s always going to live in my books, now that she’s not with us any more.

Well, I’ve got a new writing partner now. Bayle hangs by me when I write. Today I’m working at my dining room table, and she’s right beneath me. Sweet little thing, we take a breather together every couple of hours and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.

I’m working on another novel, and I’ve come to the conclusion that Libby’s husband will have to get her a Jack Russell Terrier puppy. And she’s going to name her Bayle.

Congratulations Us!

If it’s Saturday, then my sweetheart and I are away for the weekend celebrating our anniversary. Our 30th Anniversary!
I hate to sound like an old person, but where have all the years gone? Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It’s been an amazing three decades. So wonderful!

The actual date of our anniversary is Tuesday. We’ll celebrate by taking our three children out to dinner. A few years ago we decided that our solid marriage is a part of their heritage, and they should celebrate as well.

Thank God for marriage. Ahhh . . .

Defining Moments

I’ve been thinking about defining moments lately. As an author, they populate my books. As a human being, they have shaped my character and my choices.

I’ve often heard good fiction characterized as real life without the boring parts. That’s very true, and both fiction and real life have defining moments.

Defining moments can be good as well as bad. The good -- the day you know you've found "the one," or the birth of a child. Some defining moments are obvious, like the death of a parent or when a loved one gets in a car accident. But there are some defining moments that come to you quietly in a crystallized realization while you're simply taking a walk or else they can seep into your bones when you overhear a conversation not intended for your ears.

The funny thing about defining moments is that they may not be honest interpretations. What if someone perceives a situation differently than it is? What if a misunderstanding causes someone to have a defining moment? It’s easy to see that happening in a child’s life: I didn’t pick up my room, so mommy and daddy are divorcing. That kind of thing.

A friend told me of a defining moment that occurred at the birth of her first child: “Oh, my goodness. I can’t die for at least 20 years.” The realization that flooded her brain shocked her, but then she knew it was because her dad died while she was a very young woman.

Libby, my character in my current wip (work in progress), is about to experience a defining moment. I’m having fun playing with the way she reacts to it. After all, fiction is real life without the boring parts.

Happy New Year

I hope you're starting the New Year off well.

I did. I spent last night with loved ones, and we prayed for the coming year at midnight.

Earlier in the evening we went out to dinner, downtown in our little town. If you've read my books, we ate at the restaurant called the Gray Pony Inn (AKA The Warhorse).

What a cool place we live (literally at times). The downtown merchants sponsored ice sculptures on Mainstreet. The pink one was outside the Warhorse, and the blue one was across the street at the wine bar and bistro.

The town park across the street from the Warhorse looked lovely.


Above is the gazebo where my characters in Out of Her Hands had some important discussions.

This is one of the big trees in the park, strung with lights.

Happy New Year! Have a blessed 2009!