I was given a reminder in church a few weeks ago. It isn’t my will, but God’s. We all know this to be true, but how hard is it to live by? As a writer, it is not easy to be patient and wait for the right timing or read through rejection letters. Not to mention that little panic when you wonder if you are meant to be published. I know I used to wonder if I was fulfilling my needs in writing and afraid that wasn’t God’s plan at all. Were my stories only for me? But why give me these great characters and setting if nobody else is supposed to read about them?
The publishing day and my dream came true. But, there were times I really lacked patience, as well as suffered from self-doubt, among other emotions, in waiting to get there. I will admit that I still struggle with what I perceive my needs to be instead of accepting what God wants for me. I don’t think I am alone. I believe we are all a bit like children, or teenagers, in accepting that Father does know best, especially when it is something we really want or think we need.
Do you struggle with patience or not content with where you writing career is? Do you wonder what God’s plan is for you as a writer? Or, could it be something else in your life where the teenager in you wants to argue with what Father knows is best?
On a side note, I am happy to report that my thoughts did not turn to my novel during the sermon. Okay, maybe it did for a small fraction second. The verse Ecclesiastes 7:20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sin, plays in so well with the verse that set me going a few weeks ago, Matthew 5:48. I jotted it down real quick so I didn’t forget to look it up again, and focused back on the sermon. I am making progress.
I was blessed once again to be able to pray for my fellow bloggers last week and I hope everyone received the answer from God they were hoping for and if not, that you were at least granted peace with the decision He made for you, as He does know what is best for you. I would like to continue praying and ask that you once again list your prayer requests. Thank you.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Winner of Nora's Soul
Margay picked the winner of Nora's Soul: DEB PAYTON.
Deb, send me your mailing address to amydetrempe@gmail.com and I will pass it on to Margay so she can send you the book. Congrats!!!!
Deb, send me your mailing address to amydetrempe@gmail.com and I will pass it on to Margay so she can send you the book. Congrats!!!!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Spotlight on: Margay Leah Justice
Author of: Nora's Soul
Publisher: Second Wind Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1935171218
Released: November 3, 2008
Genre: Romance (Paranormal)
Available from Second Wind Publishing and Amazon
When angels of light and dark collide on earth…
Once he held a favored position in the heavens. But one moment of weakness casts Dante out and now he is cursed to walk the earth, collecting the souls of vulnerable women to buy his way into hell.
All hell breaks loose…
But standing in his way is Peter, an angel of light. Peter is everything Dante is not. Pure, above reproach. And determined to prevent Dante from achieving his goals. Peter will stop at nothing to protect the souls in his charge, even if it means achieving the impossible – leading Dante back onto the right path.
And no one is safe from the fall-out.
Nora Kendall believed in angels. Once. But then she lost her brother to cancer despite all of her prayers – and she lost her faith in all things angelic. Now, she is a lost soul who wanders through life like a sleepwalker, playing it safe and leaving the risk-taking to others.
Kyle Cameron is one of those risks. Burned by a bad marriage, his only concern now is providing a stable life for his children, who are left motherless by the unexpected death of his wife. This means working overtime to grow his architectural firm into a viable business – and leaving the care of his children to the care of someone he trusts. Despite his past connection with Nora, Kyle isn’t certain that she’s the right person for the job. He also doesn’t want to reconnect with her and repeat history.
But fate – and the machinations of two angels – has other ideas.
Nora’s Soul, by Margay Leah Justice, available now at Amazon.com
http://margayleahjustice.com
http://www.amazon.com/Noras-Soul-Margay-Justice/dp/1935171216/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_3
AMY: Thank you for joining me. What else would you like to share with us regarding your book?
MARGAY: Thank you for having me! Nora's Soul is the first in a series set in the world of angels of light and dark. It was supposed to be a stand-alone book, but a certain character (Dante) chose to let me know that his story was not finished. Let me just tell you this: He has a lot to say!
AMY: Were there any surprises that came about while you were writing Nora's Soul, or did you story stick with the plan you had set?
MARGAY: Oh, there were many surprises! I think the biggest one was the revelation that Dante wasn't exactly who I thought he was in the beginning. At first, I thought he was a devil and I wrote him as such, but after I was done, he kept coming to me with more of his story and I soon realized that he wasn't a devil at all. So although the basic idea remained the same, several key aspects changed.
AMY: What inspired you to write this book or these particular characters?
MARGAY: I know it might sound trite, but it literally came to me in a dream - well, two dreams, to be precise, that I had back to back in the same night. One was a dream about a woman - we'll call her Nora - who was dancing the night away in a nightclub with this devilishly handsome man who, when she finally broke away from him, showed his true colors behind her back. The second dream was with the same woman moving into a garage apartment as she prepared to take care of twins. Separately, the dreams probably wouldn't have made an impression on me, but together like that, they made me wonder. Who was this woman and how could she go from being so wild and unfettered in the dance club to so prim and proper in the garage apartment? I had to know the answer and as I began to jot things down, the story just unfolded and practically wrote itself!
AMY: Tell the readers about your writing journey and how you ended up with your publisher.
MARGAY: I have gone the route of trying to get an agent, a big New York publisher, etc., but when it wasn't happening, I looked into contests as a way of getting my writing out there and came upon one sponsored by Gather.com. During the process, I became friends with a group of writers and we ended up forming a critique group so we could keep up with each other and continue to read what the others had written. Somewhere along the way, someone threw out the suggestion that we should form our own publishing company so we could publish all of our books. Well, one of the members took that idea and ran with it and Second Wind Publishing was born. The next thing I knew, Mike was sending me an email requesting my full manuscript. That is how I became published!
AMY: If there is one piece of advice you could give an unagented / unpublished author, what would it be?
MARGAY: You have to absolutely love what you are doing, love what you are writing, because you are going to be spending a lot of time with it from the point of conception until long after publishing it (there is all that promoting you have to do, after all). So my advice would be: First, make sure you are going into this for all the right reasons. If you're only writing to become a mega star or rich, you're doing it for the wrong reason. You should write because you can't imagine not doing it. Write for yourself first, then see if anyone else wants to read it. Second, instead of the old adage "Write what you know," I would say "Write what you want to read." Write the story that excites you and makes you want to get to the end - and then mourn the fact that you did. As for the what you know part, that's where research comes in. And third, if you're serious about taking this on, have confidence in yourself and persevere. Success doesn't come overnight and if you don't believe in yourself, who will?
AMY: Besides Nora's Soul, which we highlighted here, have you published other books or are there some that are yet to be released?
MARGAY: I don't have any others published yet, but I am waiting on word about some. I'd prefer not to say more until I get confirmations.
AMY: How can we find you on the internet (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, blog, website addresses)
MARGAY: The Jane Austen Society Pages: http://textnovel.com/stories_list_detail.php?story_id=1347
http://margayleahjustice.com/
http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/margay1122
http://twitter.com/Margay
http://www.facebook.com/MargayLeahJustice
http://secondwindpub.wordpress.com/
AMY: Is there anything you would like to ask the readers?
MARGAY: I would love to know what draws them to the books they choose to read.
AMY: Margay Leah Justice has been generous enough give away an autographed copy of Nora's Soul. I am sorry but this is limited to U.S. residents only, due to the cost of postage. If you would like a chance to win the book, simply comment and leave your e-mail address. A winner will be picked and announced Saturday night. Good luck.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
New Meaning to Black Friday
As I have mentioned, stories I write take place either during the American Revolution, French Revolution or Regency Period. Long before things like electricity or gas stoves. I always figured that had I lived back then I would have been a maid in household, or some middle to lower class person – no big deal. A friend once mention that had I lived in an even earlier time period I probably would have been a wench in a tavern. I am not quite sure what she meant by that, but she assumed she would be right there with me.
Well, the day after Thanksgiving I soon learned I would not like being a maid during the 1700s or early 1800s. You see, my water heater went out – giving a whole new meaning to “Black Friday” for me. This was also the day I decided to kick off my baking. As my husband had to work overtime, dinner was not an issue because he was going to bring something home during his 3 hour break in shifts. He knows what a pain it is to stop in the middle of baking cookies, bars and candies to cook dinner. (He really wanted to make sure I got the pecan bars done)
However, as soon as I went to wash to first set of measuring cups, mixing bowls, beaters and such I realized there was no hot water. Thus, I began heating water on the stove. This continued through the weekend whenever I needed to do the dishes or someone needed a bath. He tried to get the pilot light lit while he was home but it wasn’t happening. Given he was gone far more than he was home this weekend, I didn’t expect him to get to the water heater before Monday. I also learned that the whole hauling water thing is not me.
So, while being the lord or lady, or even the middle class, back in 1810 may seem romantic, it was far from that for the maid. I am so glad I lived in 2009.
If you had been born in a different era, what do you think you would have been - Poor, middle class, lord or lady? If you were of the servant class what job would you have really disliked more than you do now? And, if you could pick era(with the exception of now) when would you have lived?
Well, the day after Thanksgiving I soon learned I would not like being a maid during the 1700s or early 1800s. You see, my water heater went out – giving a whole new meaning to “Black Friday” for me. This was also the day I decided to kick off my baking. As my husband had to work overtime, dinner was not an issue because he was going to bring something home during his 3 hour break in shifts. He knows what a pain it is to stop in the middle of baking cookies, bars and candies to cook dinner. (He really wanted to make sure I got the pecan bars done)
However, as soon as I went to wash to first set of measuring cups, mixing bowls, beaters and such I realized there was no hot water. Thus, I began heating water on the stove. This continued through the weekend whenever I needed to do the dishes or someone needed a bath. He tried to get the pilot light lit while he was home but it wasn’t happening. Given he was gone far more than he was home this weekend, I didn’t expect him to get to the water heater before Monday. I also learned that the whole hauling water thing is not me.
So, while being the lord or lady, or even the middle class, back in 1810 may seem romantic, it was far from that for the maid. I am so glad I lived in 2009.
If you had been born in a different era, what do you think you would have been - Poor, middle class, lord or lady? If you were of the servant class what job would you have really disliked more than you do now? And, if you could pick era(with the exception of now) when would you have lived?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Powerful Prayful Monday 11/30
Can you believe that tomorrow is the first day of December? Where did the year go? While December is the most festive time of the year with all kinds of parties and food, it is also one of the most stressful months. My prayer is that all that read this blog remain stress free and able to enjoy the celebrations of our Savior’s birth.
If you have a prayer request, please list it below. There were less last week and I hope that means there were fewer needs. But, it could have also been because the crunch of the Thanksgiving week kept readers away from blogs. I know I didn’t get to read many last week or over the weekend.
Have a wonderful Monday and great week. I look forward to praying for anyone who leaves a request.
If you have a prayer request, please list it below. There were less last week and I hope that means there were fewer needs. But, it could have also been because the crunch of the Thanksgiving week kept readers away from blogs. I know I didn’t get to read many last week or over the weekend.
Have a wonderful Monday and great week. I look forward to praying for anyone who leaves a request.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Spotlight on: Mike Simpson, owner of Second Wind Publishing
This is going to be my second of many Spotlights. Starting off this series is Mike Simpson, owner and founder of Second Wind Publishing. If there are any authors reading this that are looking for a new publishing home, now is the chance to find out more about my publisher.
More information can be found at the website: www.secondwindpublishing.com. Second Wind also has a blog that most of the authors take part in, www.secondwindpub.blogspot.com. And, finally, don’t forget Facebook. Just do a search for Second Wind Publishing LLC until Entertainment & Arts: Books & Literature. My link wasn’t copying and pasting correctly, but that should get you there. They have great discussions almost every day.
Now, onto the Spotlight Interview.
AMY: Mike, I am so glad you agreed to this interview. As an author, I know I always wanted to find out every possible detail about a potential publisher. I am thrilled to give authors and readers the opportunity to learn more about Second Wind Publishing. First off, tell us, how did Second Wind Publishing come about?
MIKE: Second Wind actually started as a dare. I had become acquainted with a number of outstanding writers of several distinct genres who were participating in on-line writing contests. Clearly the quality of their work was exceptional—they were as good as most best selling authors whose titles you might pick up in a bookstore. Only, even though many of them were doing quite well in the contests, they weren’t getting their work even considered by the major publishing houses. I kept voicing my disgust at the unfairness of this and finally one of the authors dared me to start my own company and publish these authors. After all my broken bones and bruises as a kid, you’d think I would’ve learned not to take a dare.
AMY: Second Wind is little over a year old. When did it celebrate its first Birthday? In that time, how many individual authors have you signed and how many books have been published.
MIKE: Wow, Amy! That first anniversary went by in a blur. We celebrated it in August, 2009, which was actually the first anniversary of our having a book in print. By the time we were a year old, we had twenty-six books in print by seventeen different authors. In the six months that have followed, we have more than doubled that number and now have forty books either available or soon to be printed by thirty authors.
AMY: What genres are you currently publishing?
MIKE: We started with various types of romances: general, regency, suspense, paranormal and supernatural. At the same time we moved into crime/mystery titles: hardboiled police procedurals, thrillers, pure mysteries and apocalyptic crime stories. We’ve also published and are moving strongly into the general fiction area. We have some action/adventure novels and are publishing a couple non-fiction titles.
AMY: Do you anticipate moving into other genres?
MIKE: Early in 2010 we expect to begin publishing children/young adult books. I didn’t think we’d move in that direction as quickly as we have, but honestly I received too many good submissions to let them go. I also anticipate we’ll have a sci-fi/paranormal imprint in the next year as well.
AMY: The motto for Second Wind is “The Best Authors You Haven’t Read, Yet”. Does this mean you will only consider unpublished authors?
MIKE: Not at all. We are glad to consider any author’s work. One of the greatest compliments we’ve had at Second Wind has been when a couple published authors submitted their unpublished manuscripts to us because they like the way we go about things.
AMY: Do you prefer your authors to be agented or not?
MIKE: We are glad to work with agents. I’d really like to be clear, however, that having an agent does not make it more or less likely that Second Wind will offer a contract to an author. Just a little side note here: when we turn down a manuscript, we explain why it doesn’t work for us; no author ever gets that, “We’re sorry but your manuscript does not meet our editorial needs” dither from us.
AMY: If an author wanted to submit to Second Wind, what do they need to do?
MIKE: Send an email to mike@secondwindpublishing.com with contact information, a synopsis of the manuscript, the first chapter or 30 pages of the book as an attachment and the total word count.
AMY: What is the process, from your end, when a submission is received?
MIKE: When we receive the initial submission, one of several editors gives an initial review and then passes the submission on to another for confirmation. If two or three editors decide against a manuscript, we go back to the author as quickly as possible and explain why. If a manuscript is interesting, we ask for the entire manuscript as an email attachment and send it around to several of our editors for their thoughts. This is the difficult part for us because there are many “near misses.” We take our time and consider these manuscripts fully, and we try to discuss with the author why we are turning it down. When we decide that we want a manuscript, we ask the author to check us out. We do things a little differently than other publishers and we want to make sure that writers understand and accept our processes. We send several introductory documents and a sample contract. So far no author has said “no” to us (although a couple got snatched away by other publishers at the last minute).
AMY: If you sign an author/book, what is the process of getting it published. And, how long does it usually take to see the title in print?
MIKE: Once Second Wind and an author agree to work together it is a completely collaborative effort: we send the author’s book to a chosen editor. We work with the author to select the cover art. Once the interior of the book is ready, we send the file via email to the author to review closely. Once the author completes that, we order an actual print proof and have the author review that for any mistakes. If necessary a second proof is ordered. Once we have an acceptable proof, we make the book available in our various sales outlets and send six complimentary copies to the writer. It’s typically three to four months from the time we contract with an author until the book is available for sale.
AMY: What would you say are the advantages to being published with Second Wind? In other words, what makes Second Wind special and stand out against the other publishers?
MIKE: There are several unique aspects of being published by Second Wind our authors find attractive. First is the hands-on interaction between authors and the publishing staff. All our authors and editors become a sort of extended family. Second, the company is expanding exponentially in a variety of ways. Any writer who wants to stay on the cutting edge of the publishing industry in regard to sales venues and technology would be well-served by Second Wind. One other thing that I’m particularly excited about is our own brick-and-mortar bookstore, hopefully opening in within the next three or four months in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It will give us the opportunity to hand-sell the books of our Second Wind authors and as well as a leg up on distribution to other book outlets.
AMY: What are the future plans for Second Wind Publishing?
MIKE: We intend to continuing adding authors and books to our catalogue, probably on the order of ten new authors a year and up to twenty books. We also intend to continue innovating in the way we produce books and the venues in which they are marketed and sold. We have some really cool ideas we are implementing in just about every aspect of our business.
AMY: Is there anything else you thing the readers would like to know?
MIKE: The bottom line in publishing is that people always want to read a good story, well told. Every Second Wind book is a quality piece of literature. I feel so privileged to be working with these outstanding authors. They are really the story of Second Wind.
AMY: Mike, thanks for the interview. Even though I’ve been with Second Wind for almost a year, I learned a few things as well.
More information can be found at the website: www.secondwindpublishing.com. Second Wind also has a blog that most of the authors take part in, www.secondwindpub.blogspot.com. And, finally, don’t forget Facebook. Just do a search for Second Wind Publishing LLC until Entertainment & Arts: Books & Literature. My link wasn’t copying and pasting correctly, but that should get you there. They have great discussions almost every day.
Now, onto the Spotlight Interview.
AMY: Mike, I am so glad you agreed to this interview. As an author, I know I always wanted to find out every possible detail about a potential publisher. I am thrilled to give authors and readers the opportunity to learn more about Second Wind Publishing. First off, tell us, how did Second Wind Publishing come about?
MIKE: Second Wind actually started as a dare. I had become acquainted with a number of outstanding writers of several distinct genres who were participating in on-line writing contests. Clearly the quality of their work was exceptional—they were as good as most best selling authors whose titles you might pick up in a bookstore. Only, even though many of them were doing quite well in the contests, they weren’t getting their work even considered by the major publishing houses. I kept voicing my disgust at the unfairness of this and finally one of the authors dared me to start my own company and publish these authors. After all my broken bones and bruises as a kid, you’d think I would’ve learned not to take a dare.
AMY: Second Wind is little over a year old. When did it celebrate its first Birthday? In that time, how many individual authors have you signed and how many books have been published.
MIKE: Wow, Amy! That first anniversary went by in a blur. We celebrated it in August, 2009, which was actually the first anniversary of our having a book in print. By the time we were a year old, we had twenty-six books in print by seventeen different authors. In the six months that have followed, we have more than doubled that number and now have forty books either available or soon to be printed by thirty authors.
AMY: What genres are you currently publishing?
MIKE: We started with various types of romances: general, regency, suspense, paranormal and supernatural. At the same time we moved into crime/mystery titles: hardboiled police procedurals, thrillers, pure mysteries and apocalyptic crime stories. We’ve also published and are moving strongly into the general fiction area. We have some action/adventure novels and are publishing a couple non-fiction titles.
AMY: Do you anticipate moving into other genres?
MIKE: Early in 2010 we expect to begin publishing children/young adult books. I didn’t think we’d move in that direction as quickly as we have, but honestly I received too many good submissions to let them go. I also anticipate we’ll have a sci-fi/paranormal imprint in the next year as well.
AMY: The motto for Second Wind is “The Best Authors You Haven’t Read, Yet”. Does this mean you will only consider unpublished authors?
MIKE: Not at all. We are glad to consider any author’s work. One of the greatest compliments we’ve had at Second Wind has been when a couple published authors submitted their unpublished manuscripts to us because they like the way we go about things.
AMY: Do you prefer your authors to be agented or not?
MIKE: We are glad to work with agents. I’d really like to be clear, however, that having an agent does not make it more or less likely that Second Wind will offer a contract to an author. Just a little side note here: when we turn down a manuscript, we explain why it doesn’t work for us; no author ever gets that, “We’re sorry but your manuscript does not meet our editorial needs” dither from us.
AMY: If an author wanted to submit to Second Wind, what do they need to do?
MIKE: Send an email to mike@secondwindpublishing.com with contact information, a synopsis of the manuscript, the first chapter or 30 pages of the book as an attachment and the total word count.
AMY: What is the process, from your end, when a submission is received?
MIKE: When we receive the initial submission, one of several editors gives an initial review and then passes the submission on to another for confirmation. If two or three editors decide against a manuscript, we go back to the author as quickly as possible and explain why. If a manuscript is interesting, we ask for the entire manuscript as an email attachment and send it around to several of our editors for their thoughts. This is the difficult part for us because there are many “near misses.” We take our time and consider these manuscripts fully, and we try to discuss with the author why we are turning it down. When we decide that we want a manuscript, we ask the author to check us out. We do things a little differently than other publishers and we want to make sure that writers understand and accept our processes. We send several introductory documents and a sample contract. So far no author has said “no” to us (although a couple got snatched away by other publishers at the last minute).
AMY: If you sign an author/book, what is the process of getting it published. And, how long does it usually take to see the title in print?
MIKE: Once Second Wind and an author agree to work together it is a completely collaborative effort: we send the author’s book to a chosen editor. We work with the author to select the cover art. Once the interior of the book is ready, we send the file via email to the author to review closely. Once the author completes that, we order an actual print proof and have the author review that for any mistakes. If necessary a second proof is ordered. Once we have an acceptable proof, we make the book available in our various sales outlets and send six complimentary copies to the writer. It’s typically three to four months from the time we contract with an author until the book is available for sale.
AMY: What would you say are the advantages to being published with Second Wind? In other words, what makes Second Wind special and stand out against the other publishers?
MIKE: There are several unique aspects of being published by Second Wind our authors find attractive. First is the hands-on interaction between authors and the publishing staff. All our authors and editors become a sort of extended family. Second, the company is expanding exponentially in a variety of ways. Any writer who wants to stay on the cutting edge of the publishing industry in regard to sales venues and technology would be well-served by Second Wind. One other thing that I’m particularly excited about is our own brick-and-mortar bookstore, hopefully opening in within the next three or four months in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It will give us the opportunity to hand-sell the books of our Second Wind authors and as well as a leg up on distribution to other book outlets.
AMY: What are the future plans for Second Wind Publishing?
MIKE: We intend to continuing adding authors and books to our catalogue, probably on the order of ten new authors a year and up to twenty books. We also intend to continue innovating in the way we produce books and the venues in which they are marketed and sold. We have some really cool ideas we are implementing in just about every aspect of our business.
AMY: Is there anything else you thing the readers would like to know?
MIKE: The bottom line in publishing is that people always want to read a good story, well told. Every Second Wind book is a quality piece of literature. I feel so privileged to be working with these outstanding authors. They are really the story of Second Wind.
AMY: Mike, thanks for the interview. Even though I’ve been with Second Wind for almost a year, I learned a few things as well.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Away from my Blog
I am blogging at my publisher today, secondwindpub.wordpress.com. Stop by and tell me what Thanksgiving means to you. I hope your day is full of blessings. Happy Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Research, Research and More Research
I write inspirational and/or sweet historical romance. My stories have taken place during the American Revolution, French Revolution and the Regency Period. Even though my time frame spans roughly only 45 years, a LOT happened. So, I spend a lot of time researching. A few of the things I needed to recently look up were 1) at what age could a man become a vicar, and 2) what would the parishioners have been singing, by way of a hymn, in 1811. I have no clue to either of those answers. I am sure my favorite songs were not part of their hymnal since I am partial to contemporary Christian music.
As for the vicar, luckily one of my critique partners (thank you Heather) had a biography and the man became a vicar at the age of 22. So, I am safe on that one since my hero is older than that. I had to go to the internet for the music, however. It appears that in England, most of the hymns were Psalms. But I am sure there were hymns other than Psalms then. Or, perhaps they were written but not sang in church. I think I am going to play it safe and simply call it a Psalm. Okay, maybe that is cheating or lazy and I probably should look into it further and put the name of an actual song in the story. Any suggestions?
What do you write? Have you chosen a topic or era that requires a lot of research? What are some of your favorite research sites?
As for the vicar, luckily one of my critique partners (thank you Heather) had a biography and the man became a vicar at the age of 22. So, I am safe on that one since my hero is older than that. I had to go to the internet for the music, however. It appears that in England, most of the hymns were Psalms. But I am sure there were hymns other than Psalms then. Or, perhaps they were written but not sang in church. I think I am going to play it safe and simply call it a Psalm. Okay, maybe that is cheating or lazy and I probably should look into it further and put the name of an actual song in the story. Any suggestions?
What do you write? Have you chosen a topic or era that requires a lot of research? What are some of your favorite research sites?
Monday, November 23, 2009
Another Powerful Prayerful Monday 11/23/09
Sorry for the late post. I slept later than usual this morning so I wasn't able to post prior to my rush to get ready for work and out the door. Maybe I need prayers to get my sleep schedule back in order. Somehow I've gotten turned around and I am unable to sleep until late and I end up hitting the snooze in the morning. Ugh! I will get turned back around eventually (I hope). Of course, with the holidays, who knows what will happen.
Once again I was blessed with opportunity to pray for so many last week and would like to continue to do the same this week. Please list your prayer requests in the comments. Also, given that this is the week of Thanksgiving, I would like to hear what blessings each of us are thankful for. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were sending more praises than requests this week.
In truth, I believe we all have a lot to be thankful for, but when an illness happens, whether it is us, a family member or friend, or unemployement, or tragedy, or any other negative in our lives, it tends to completely overshadow everything we should be thankful for. I know when my child was seriously injured years ago, I prayed for her health and healing and it was weeks later before it occurred to me to thank God that I had medical insurance and that we lived close to a trauma hospital that was affiliated with a children's hospital so that she could get the best of care, as well as the doctors, nurses, etc.
I hope everyone will join me in praying for those who list a request as well as praising and thanking God of his bountiful blessings.
Once again I was blessed with opportunity to pray for so many last week and would like to continue to do the same this week. Please list your prayer requests in the comments. Also, given that this is the week of Thanksgiving, I would like to hear what blessings each of us are thankful for. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were sending more praises than requests this week.
In truth, I believe we all have a lot to be thankful for, but when an illness happens, whether it is us, a family member or friend, or unemployement, or tragedy, or any other negative in our lives, it tends to completely overshadow everything we should be thankful for. I know when my child was seriously injured years ago, I prayed for her health and healing and it was weeks later before it occurred to me to thank God that I had medical insurance and that we lived close to a trauma hospital that was affiliated with a children's hospital so that she could get the best of care, as well as the doctors, nurses, etc.
I hope everyone will join me in praying for those who list a request as well as praising and thanking God of his bountiful blessings.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Critique Group Anyone?
I love my critique group, which I have said several times now. We all write historical romance, which is a benefit. As I am sure you know, there can be a huge difference between contemporary and historical and we found it was easier to stick with historical than explain some of the oddities found in regency romances.
I’ve learned more than I thought possible from my group and they have helped me grow as an author in several directions. And, we are a successful group. When we first started, only one had a publishing contract. Now, four more of us do and others have gone on to win several contests, had requests for full and partial manuscripts, and are for the most part more secure in their writing than ever before. This alone is proof of why a good critique group is essential to any serious writer. At least in my opinion.
There is only one drawback to my group, if you can call it that. I am the only one not writing for the secular market. I have written a few sweet novels, but have yet to pursue publication of these. The two books that are contracted I consider inspirational. Yet, I am not comfortable with this because I need to learn much more about the inspirational market. Mainly I am afraid I’ve broken some of the rules of the Christian market.
Though I would never dream of leaving my current critique group, I am toying with the idea of starting a second one. This critique group would be for the Sweet and Inspirational Romance author, only. Before I embark on forming such a group I would like to know if anyone else would be interested in joining such a group. I know I could learn from each of you and hope that you could learn as much from me. If you are interested, please contact me privately at amydetrempe@gmail.com and I will be happy to send you more information on how the group would work. I will pattern it after my current group since it seems to work so well for everyone involved.
I am curious. How many of you belong to a critique group, or have in the past. Have you had good experiences?
I’ve learned more than I thought possible from my group and they have helped me grow as an author in several directions. And, we are a successful group. When we first started, only one had a publishing contract. Now, four more of us do and others have gone on to win several contests, had requests for full and partial manuscripts, and are for the most part more secure in their writing than ever before. This alone is proof of why a good critique group is essential to any serious writer. At least in my opinion.
There is only one drawback to my group, if you can call it that. I am the only one not writing for the secular market. I have written a few sweet novels, but have yet to pursue publication of these. The two books that are contracted I consider inspirational. Yet, I am not comfortable with this because I need to learn much more about the inspirational market. Mainly I am afraid I’ve broken some of the rules of the Christian market.
Though I would never dream of leaving my current critique group, I am toying with the idea of starting a second one. This critique group would be for the Sweet and Inspirational Romance author, only. Before I embark on forming such a group I would like to know if anyone else would be interested in joining such a group. I know I could learn from each of you and hope that you could learn as much from me. If you are interested, please contact me privately at amydetrempe@gmail.com and I will be happy to send you more information on how the group would work. I will pattern it after my current group since it seems to work so well for everyone involved.
I am curious. How many of you belong to a critique group, or have in the past. Have you had good experiences?
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