Reader/Writer Tidbits -- July 31, 2010

Following up to yesterday's post, "Is It Time for Christian Fiction to Die? -- A Response", here's more food for thought from author Mike Duran.  (I've also got a post coming on Tuesday to deal with the issue of AA Christian fiction and CBA publishing.)

From Michael Hauge's Screenwriting newsletter: "Movie Reality vs. Real Reality".  How writers establish credibility in works of fiction.

I saw this article on SheWrites, "Countdown to Publication: Wanted: White Ambassadors to Help Me Cross Over", and knew I would include it in this week's tidbits.  Then Chicki Brown sent me the link to this article from author Susan Meyer,  "Reading Across the Racial Divide".  Bottomline, good story should be good story, no matter who it's about or who wrote it.  Sadly, it's not that way in publishing.

Mills & Boon (the sister to Harlequin in the UK) is sponsoring the New Voices contest to find "fresh writing talent".  Note, you don't have to live in or be from the UK to write for them.

Gina Holmes of Novel Journey and author of one of my favorite reads this year, Crossing Oceans, has launched an editorial service.

Art Informing Art:  What Photography Has to Say About Writing.  Love photos, love writing.  Put the two together...

There's probably tons more news, but I've been busy, as I said earlier in the week.  We won't talk about my blog reading backlog!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.  Off to grab my oldest from his Orlando basketball camp and I've got some serious writing to do this week in preparation for the conference before the other two return.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Is It Time for Christian Fiction to Die? -- A Response

Christian author Eric Wilson recently posted a missive entitled, "Is It Time for Christian Fiction to Die?"  In it, he questions what he perceives to be the narrowing of the guidelines within Christian publishing and perhaps what Christian readers find acceptable.  He wonders where is the relevant Christian fiction that deals with real people who have real issues and real struggles with their faith.

Good questions.

I am the most unlikely proponent of Christian publishing because I too have issues with much of what is published.  However, I have to say that I actually have found the opposite trend to be true.  Yes, the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) and seeming arbiter of all things Christian fiction is a very conservative group.  Thus, the publishers hold to very conservative publishing guidelines.  This is why many African-American Christian fiction authors--I said "many", not all--are published outside of the CBA, by mainstream publishers. 

Still, I can site example after example of books that blew my mind because (1) they dealt with real issues and (2) they were published by CBA publishers.  I've found this to be increasingly so in recent years.  Here are a few:

The Shades of Style series (Pink, Jade, Tangerine, and Turquoise) and more recently, the Rhythms of Grace series (Rhythms of Grace and Songs of Deliverance) by Marilynn Griffith (Revell) 

Anything by author Claudia Mair Burney, which is never for the faint of heart or spiritually timid, including my favorite Amanda Bell romantic suspense series (Murder, Mayhem and a Fine Man; Death, Deceit and Some Smooth Jazz; and Deadly Charm) and the Christy award finalist, Zora and Nicky.  The Bell series was published by Howard Books, a CBA publisher, which now belongs to Simon and Schuster.  (A number of CBA publishers have been gobbled up by mainstream publishers in the last few years.)

BTW, both Marilynn and Claudia are AA authors.


Walking on Broken Glass by Christa Allen (Abingdon Press), about recovering from alcoholism

Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos (Barna Books).  Imagine, well, imagining Jesus.  Everywhere.  And being chased by Him.  Literally...

 The Atonement Child or Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (Tyndale).  Rape, prostitution...does she know anything about safe Christianity? 

Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes (Tyndale).  Death and surviving children.  What will the dying mother do for her child?

The Six-Liter Club by Dr. Harry Kraus (Howard Books).  Interracial dating and domestic abuse.

Chasing Lilacs by Carla Stewart (Faithwords).  Mental illness and widowhood.

Back On Murder by J. Mark Bertrand (Bethany House)  Homicide.

The Bishop by Steven James (Revell).  Serial killers and single parenting.

I read most of these this year.  I could go and on.  What's not "real" about this stuff?

I'm not into speculative/fantasy fiction but there's a branch of that within Christian fiction.  I believe there have even been recent titles picking up on the paranormal trend and involving vampires.  Not quite what one expects from the CBA.

But let me not lead you to believe that I disagree with Eric wholeheartedly.  I don't.  On many levels, he's right.  The CBA guidelines are strict and largely conservative.  Writers conform or risk not being published by the CBA, but they understand that, and the CBA is certainly entitled to define the parameters of what they are willing to publish.

On the other hand, writers who write Christian fiction outside the CBA guidelines are, at times, looked down upon with Christian circles.  Or, it seems so to me.

Subject matter and plot points that tend to be off limits within the CBA include divorce, dancing, gambling, smoking, cussing, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sex before marriage and so much more.  I get why they do this.  There is a large number of Christian readers who seek fiction that upholds their faith.  To the letter.

But there is also a large number who seek fiction that challenges them in their faith, that causes them to think differently about Christ and pushes them toward becoming a better Christian. I hate the term "edgy" which is often applied to this type of Christian fiction because it implies at the edge of or outside of the box.

I believe that Christianity has but one boundary--belief in Christ as the Savior--and that the space within that boundary is big enough for us all.  Give space to writers to use their God-given talent to shine a light on Him however He leads them to do so.

Do you read Christian fiction?  Have you read any that might be deemed "edgy" of late?  What do you think about CBA-published Christian fiction?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Conference Preparations and Other Writing Stuff

What's going on?  Tell me, what's going on...

I continue to be remiss here relative to talking about the writing side of the "readin' n writin'" and other things, but that's because I've been quite busy.  Writing.

A good blog post takes some time and effort, I think.

Anyway, here's a quick update:

Preparing for the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference in a couple of weeks.  I'm definitely going.  Just when I put together a plan to try to earn enough from freelancing to cover my travel costs (I won a scholarship for the registration), a financial blessing rained down on me.  Boo-yah!  My flight is booked and I'm nearly done paying for my room accommodations.  I'll be rooming with a fellow ACFW member, author  Leigh DeDozier.  We'll be meeting in person at the conference and I'm looking forward to a great time.

In the meantime, I've continued freelancing.  Small articles for DemandStudios but it all adds up.  (I promise a more detailed posting about writing for a content factory soon.)  I've also been jotting down article ideas for bigger publications.  Seems once I unlocked that portion of my thinking cap, I started seeing possibilities everywhere. That's good news, because I'm convinced my writing career will always be a mix of freelancing and novel writing.  The one helps me gain perspective and new energy for the other.

I've also written another craft article for the latest MBT Voices ezine, "Word Painting".  I hope you'll take a moment to enjoy the entire ezine.  The Voices work really hard on it, and there's a wealth of information.  The ezine homepage is here.

Still writing book reviews.  My most recent ones are listed in the right side bar.  I have an To-Be-Read spreadsheet going back to 2008 listing 406 titles I'd like to read.  Romance, women's fiction, Christian fiction, suspense.  Biography, memoir, non-fiction, writing craft, health.  Lots of good books being published!  This after I pruned the list to eliminate authors I managed to read even if I didn't pick up the specific title.  But I have cut back on the reviews to make more time for writing, and will probably cut back even more.

I've neglected my other blog too.  (You bet I update it today, though.  Don't want to you think I'm a complete slouch.) I'm thinking about merging them into a single blog--probably this one since this one has more followers--now that Blogger provides for multiple pages.  Eventually the entire lot will be moved to my own website, I guess.

Of course, on top of all that, there's the family.  The summer is winding down and the boys are getting their last summer fun in before school begins anew.  Spending time with Grandma and basketball camps.  With all three away, I've got a date scheduled with Hubby for tomorrow night, and I'm diligently applying myself to my second 30-day Exercise Challenge, fortified with helpful tips from my doctor about tightening up my eating regimen.  (No peanut butter or nuts.  What?!)

That sums up my life.  What's new with you?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Teaser Tuesdays: Wedding Cake Wishes

"She knew she'd lost the fight the moment he grinned and his dimples popped.  She was just trying to be there for his mother, she told herself, but the thought didn't ring true.  The truth was enough to send her racing back up Interstate 65 to Chicago." -- page 126, Wedding Cake Wishes by Dana Corbit

After all the suspense and women's fiction I've read recently, I needed something short and sweet, romantic and faith-filled.  Steeple Hill Love Inspired novels always fill the bill so I picked up this last in the Wedding Bell Blessings series.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
  
• Open to a random page
  
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page (in the comments or via link to your own blog)
  
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Reading anything interesting?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Reader/Writer Tidbits -- July 24, 2010

Forgot to post these before I took off on my weekend expedition, driving to ATL and back to drop boys off with Grandma.  14+ hrs on road in less than 36 hours.  I'm beat!  But hope you find something interesting in this weeks' tidbits:

What do they mean by enhanced reading experiences?  Food 52.  This cool connection of Smartphones to a cookbook to enhance the grocery shopping and cooking experience gives you an idea.

Lots of blogs from authors and agents, but not too many from publishing editors.  Editor Barbara Scott of Abingdon Press has launched a new blog, The Roving Editor, and offers another vantage point on what makes publishing go 'round.

Amazon reported that they now sell more Kindle versions than hardcovers, less than 3 years since the Kindle was introduced.  Is this the death knell for print?  DigitalBookWorld provides some perspective on this announcement.

And Amazon's not alone.  Sony is reporting a tripling of their Reader sales, while sales of the iPad have topped 3 million in just under three months.

Then, Lenovo is now promising the Android-powered LePad by year's end.

But if you're like me, and still not quite ready to invest in these ever-changing gadgets, try Kindle for PC.  Thanks to my friend Chicki Brown and her recent release, Have You Seen Her?, I downloaded the app and in mere seconds I was reading her novel.  (I haven't finished yet Chicki, but that's only because I am SWAMPED!)  I've since downloaded a couple of other books that were freebies, Candace Calvert's Critical Care and Paul Robertson's The Heir.  This is a cool way--Kindle for PC combined with free downloads--for me to read books I've heard about but probably won't purchase, usually the first book I'm reading by a particular author.  Once I'm hooked, I put my money where my eyes are!  

 Like I needed yet another TBR list...

Sometime its good to be reminded that there is so much more to reading and writing than pure entertainment.  Nikki Williams shares a poem from a creative writing workshop at a domestic violence shelter.

Think you have a lot of books?  Check out these photos from The Dallas Morning News book room (and catch the links to the Philadelphia Inquirer's room).  Any wonder you see fewer book reviews in the newspapers?

Nick Harrison, editor at Harvest House Publishers, has a new blog.  I found a recent post of his that I thought was definitely worth sharing, "Mannerisms in Fiction", all the gestures that, as an editor, he likes to eliminate.  How many of these show up in your writing?  A better question might be what mannerisms can we use that aren't quite so trite?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Featured Book: Destined by Patricia Haley

Destined by Patricia Haley is the second novel in the Chosen series, inspired by the popular biblical kings David and Solomon.

Don, the eldest son and rightful heir to the ministry, returns from South Africa after three years of self-imposed exile. With a renewed zeal to reclaim the leadership of his late father’s multi-million dollar ministry, his plans are short-lived when a stock transfer agreement goes wrong, rendering Don powerless. Don’s little brother Joel continues as CEO, careening down the path of personal, professional, and spiritual demise, as he drags the ministry down with him. The only hope to save their father’s legacy is Don’s intervention, and so clinging to his self-worth and faith, Don is torn between fighting for a company he wasn’t chosen to run and fleeing back to his South African refuge, a place where his peace, his growing relationship with Naledi, and his dignity aren’t in question. After much soul searching, Don comes to realize that his destiny is inescapable and that his future lies in his family’s legacy.

Combining spiritual themes with family tension, corporate intrigue, and romance, this series is an exciting addition to the faith-based fiction market.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PATRICIA HALEY is the trailblazing, #1 Essence bestselling author of seven faith-based, novels, including Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, No Regrets, and Chosen. She’s a project manager with degrees from Stanford University and the University of Chicago. She is a born again believer and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Patricia lives with her husband and daughter in Philadelphia.

Visit her on www.patriciahaley.com or become a fan of Author Patricia Haley on Facebook.


View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/DestinedBlogTour.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Teaser Tuesdays: When The Devil Whistles

"His expression made her feel like an insect.  The kind you squash with an old newspaper because you don't want it on your shoe.  She couldn't bear that look.  It was worse than anything he could have said." -- page 207, When The Devil Whistles by Rick Acker


(Note:  This comes from an Advanced Reader Copy and may not appear in the final copy exactly as quoted.)

I've been reading a lot of Christian suspense lately.  Not sure how that happened but I'm happy to say they've been some of the best books I've read this year.  Rick Acker's forthcoming novel (scheduled for October 2010 release) definitely holds it own in this genre.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
  
• Open to a random page
  
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page (in the comments or via link to your own blog)
  
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Reading anything interesting?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Reader/Writer Tidbits -- July 17, 2010

Got a great idea for a blog you know will make a bestselling book? Pamela Redmon Satran, who did just that with How Not To Act Old, gives us "10 Steps to Turning Your Blog Into a Bestseller".

Author Larry Brooks posits "The Rule of 24", a way to improve your writing overnight.

Agent Nathan Bransford offers one-page critiques on his blog every week.  The original text is posted on Monday, giving bloggers a chance to weigh in.  Then his critique and suggested revisions are posted on Tuesday.

Is your lizard brain giving you writers' block? (No, I'm not calling you names, but...) Author Becky Blanton tell us how to get the lizard brain (yes, you have one) under control.

Sometimes writers and other publishing types just need a good laugh. SlushPile Hell gives me one every day. About that writer with the Ford Econoline van...

"Writing a Strong Story: Tips from the Pros" is an article in this month's WOW! Women on Writing ezine. The "pros" include cozy mystery writer Cricket McRae, Jodi Picoult, Jonathan Kellerman, and Kathryn Cushman.

Did you know there are some costs associated with publishing a book that the author is responsible for? (I'm talking traditional publishing here.) Thanks to agent Rachelle Gardner for enlightening us. Now, go delete all those song lyrics...

"But Jane Austen Never Had to Worry About Her Pores." Do you? If not, I guess you have yet to use SKYPE for meeting with bookclubs, or other writers, or anyone.

Heard of BookSwim?  It's a Netflix-type deal for books.

Here's something you can have fun with. I Write Like... is a new online tool that will tell you which of the writing masters your writing most resembles. I pasted in a several paragraphs of last year's wip and it came back with H. P. Lovecraft. Who? Looked him up and found out he was the author of "weird fiction". Wow. Not quite what I expected. Tried a longer passage from a different wip and it said, "Dan Brown". Tried a whole scene from a romance wip and it said, "Stephen King". ROFL! Don't know what to make of it, but it's cute. Wonder whether any authors of color are included in the answer set?

Last, if Ms. Evanovich is bringing that type of money into the publisher's fold, then hey, maybe she should get a $50 million dollar advance.  Obviously, not everyone in publishing is crying broke.

Enjoy the weekend!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Featured Book: Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand

This week, the



Christian Fiction Blog Alliance



is introducing



Back On Murder Bethany House (July 1, 2010)



by  J. Mark Betrand


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.

Mark has been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, was the foreman of a hung jury in Houston, and after relocating served on the jury that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead. Besides his personal website, visit his Crime Genre website at http://www.crimegenre.com/.

The next book in this series, Pattern Of Wounds will come out in the summer of 2011.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Det. Roland March is a homicide cop on his way out.

A missing girl. A corrupt investigation. They thought they could get away with it, but they forgot one thing:

Roland March is BACK ON MURDER...

Houston homicide detective Roland March was once one of the best. Now he's disillusioned, cynical, and on his way out. His superiors farm him out on a variety of punishment details.  But when he's the only one at a crime scene to find evidence of a missing female victim, he's given one last chance to prove himself. Before he can crack the case, he's transferred to a new one that has grabbed the spotlight--the disappearance of a famous Houston evangelist's teen daughter.

 All he has to do? Find the missing teenage daughter of a Houston evangelist that every cop in town is already looking for. But March has an inside track, a multiple murder nobody else thinks is connected. With the help of a youth pastor with a guilty conscience who navigates the world of church and faith, March is determined to find the missing girls while proving he's still one of Houston's best detectives.

Battling a new partner, an old nemesis, and the demons of his past, getting to the truth could cost March everything. Even his life.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Back On Murder, go HERE.

REVIEW

If you liked Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent, then you'll like J. Mark Bertrand's Back On Murder.  The first was about a lawyer and this one about a police detective, but the style of writing and the way the mystery unfolds made me think about them in the same way.  In both stories, there's a constantly taut mystery that keeps unfolding with small, discrete ways.  Midway through, it gets a bit frustrating for the reader, not because the story begins to wane or the pace to fail, but because by then, the reader is so wrapped up in the story and wanting to know so badly how it's all going to turn out.  Yet, this is not one of those books where you flip ahead to the end.  Oh no.  Every word, every detail, every small clue matters.

The author guest blogged about writing this novel over at Brandilyn Collins' blog, an interesting piece on writing in in first person, present tense.

I'll be looking for more from J. Mark Bertrand and Det. Roland March.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Reader/Writer Tidbits -- July 10, 2010

Open your story with action.  Isn't that what everyone recommends?  Not quite, says author Theresa Frohock.  She recommends opening with urgency vs. action.

An argument for publishing advances--not something you see too much of anymore--from Eric at Pimp My Novel.

Thinking about a co-authorship?  Consider these points from publishing attorney Lloyd Jassin before you do.

Considering Kindle publishing?  Author L. J. Sellers clarifies some more of the details, including that 70% royalty rate.

A 15-year-old writer garners more than 6.5 million readers (yes, you read that correctly) on the Internet.

The National Black Arts Festival will be held July 14-18th in Atlanta.  This annual event celebrates dance, theatre, film, music, visual arts, and of course, literary arts.   Although the official start isn't for a few days, check the schedule for some pre-festival gallery showings and other activities.

If you missed the teleseminar, "I Don't Have Time to Promote" offered by LaShaunda Hoffman of SORMAG online magazine, you can catch the encore on July 15th.  Other teleseminars offered this month include "Building Your Online Presence", "Freelancing for an Online Magazine", and "Starting Your Own Online Magazine".  Costs vary.  Contact LaShaunda at sormag@yahoo.com for more information.

Announcing the INSPYS, the Bloggers’ Award for Excellent Faith-Driven Lit.  These new book awards for excellence in Christian fiction will be handed out in December.  The committee is also looking for judges.

Buy books from independent bookstores--and get your unpublished manuscript considered by a publisher or get a book donated to the school or library of your choice?   This move is not without controversy, at least not for Tin House Books. What do you think about "Buy in order to submit?"

Agent Donald Maass provides a different take on what it means to ramp up the conflict in a story.  "It's Not the Cougar!"

For those of you who have been blogging a while, like myself, how fresh is your blog?  Christina Katz gives us a "Blog Update & 15 Things That Might Need Your Attention".

I thought Randy Ingermanson's take on e-publishing was brilliant too, but Michelle posted it to her blog before I could.  So, I'm linking to "Randy's incredibly brilliant and well thought out assessment of e-publishing."  If you're not reading it already, consider subscribing to Randy's Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine.

Another warm (and hopefully, dry) weekend ahead.  Enjoy!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

I'm Conference-Bound!

This has been an interesting year as far as writing goes.

First, I began with a whole lot of personal stress that was muddying up my ability to think clearly, much less write.  Still working through it all, but I'm in a much better place mentally and physically.  I even lost 16 lbs!

But, when it came to writing, I kept feeling like like I was in the middle of the ocean without a paddle.  In the boat, but sitting still.  Not moving.  (Okay, it's a current-less ocean.  A river, maybe?) Surrounded--by all the great information I've collected and continue to be exposed to but not quite able to apply to my writing.

I decided to back away from writing fiction and focus on freelancing.

Truthfully, I felt like I'd learned too much about technique and craft--not that I'm expert at any of it and there's always more to learn--but all those "rules" were getting in my way.  I needed the break freelancing afforded me (and the money).

Then funny things started to happen...

I took on a freelance editing job for a friend's novel.  Loved doing it so I'm definitely planning to do more of this.  Got me thinking about my own novel.

I was reminded that not all freelancing is traditional non-fiction.  I started out writing for confessions magazines, which is all "based on a true story", but is very much about using fiction techniques to tell a story.  So now I'm factoring a couple of these a month into my freelance plan.

After a couple of months of totally not thinking about novel-writing, a story I'd been working on last year started popping into my head with new ideas.  This was totally unexpected.  Now that my head is clear, I've come up with ways to fix some of the character and plot issues I'd been dwelling over.  When I started my "sabbatical", I thought I'd return to fiction in no less than six months, maybe a year or more.  Still not ready to write yet, but I've jotted down all my thoughts and feel better about the story than I ever did.

Then, the biggest surprise of all occurred yesterday.  I was informed that I'd won a scholarship to the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer's Conference, Write His Answer, next month.

Talk about floored.

Humbled.

Grateful.

And desperately in need of a plan!  I've already checked flights.  I'll register today.  I've figured out how much extra freelancing I need to do to cover my costs. (Among other things, I write for a content factory, which is quick, easy money).  I've connected with several fellow ACFW members who will also be in attendance.

The nice thing about this conference is that I can take a selection of workshops targeting fiction and nonfiction writers.  I plan to use my continuing ed track to focus solely on fiction.

I won't be pitching anything.  I just plan to soak up the knowledge and atmosphere, put faces to the many names I've come to know over the years, make new connections, and enjoy this opportunity.

I'm soooo excited!  Wondering what other blessings 2010 will bring.  (Thanks, Cec and Marlene!)

Maybe I'll write a page or two of the second draft of that novel...

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Featured Book: Holy Rollers by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

Looking for Love . . .

Lifelong friends Coco, Nita, and Audra have spent years looking for love in the arms of flashy pro athletes, hoping to land a baller but ending up with a stream of failed relationships. The beautiful and demure Coco has endured years of physical abuse from her boyfriend, Sonny, while Audra, a single mother, has dated her fair share of cheaters and yearns for a stable companion who will be a father figure to her son. And feisty, seductive Nita is tired of being the million-dollar mistress and wants to settle down—if she can find someone worth coming home to.

Changing the Game . . .

Now that the women are approaching thirty, they’re finding it harder than ever to compete with the pro groupies. Determined to change the game and find some worthwhile men, Audra hatches an outrageous plan. Soon the trio is "holy rolling," masquerading as God-fearing churchgoers at a local conference for young ministers in the hopes of snagging a prominent pastor. But will their big gamble pay off? Men of the cloth are still just men, after all. As the three friends meet their potential life partners, they will have to decide how far they want to take their holy rollers scheme—each risking heartbreak while taking a chance on finding a reliable, responsible man to love and cherish, flaws and all.

REVIEW

ReShonda Tate Billingsley's stories provide an intersection between faith and humor.  She never fails to shine a light of a slightly different hue on long-held Christian beliefs and practices in a way that makes the reader laugh while thinking.  In Holy Rollers, Billingsley sticks to her bread and butter with realistic panache.  Scenes that might seem a little over the top don't in light of today's eye-opening headlines.  The reader always has a sense that, like the parables of old, there's a purpose to the story.  After all, who hasn't known (or been) a woman like Nita, CoCo, or Audra, at least once?  If a story like Holy Rollers, one that might be picked up by non-believers and believers alike, gets one woman to think more carefully about her self-worth and her choices when it comes to men and relationships, Billingsley has gone above and beyond her job, which ultimately is to entertain, a job that she does very well.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ReShonda Tate Billingsley is a national bestselling author of 19 books, all published by Simon and Schuster/Pocket Books. In 2000, after numerous rejections from publishers, ReShonda stepped out on faith, established her own publishing company, and self published her debut novel, My Brother’s Keeper. The book caught the attention of one of the country’s top literary agents, who secured a deal for ReShonda with megahouse publisher, Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books.
The rest, as they say, is history.

ReShonda went on to sign one deal after another with Simon & Schuster and to date, is considered one of the country’s top inspirational authors. Her sophomore novel, Let the Church Say Amen, is being made into a movie of which she is Executive Producer and actress Regina King is the director. ReShonda’s literary career is such a success that in 2007, she was able to leave her job as a reporter with Fox 26 News in Houston to write full time.

ReShonda has appeared on the Essence Bestseller’s list more than 20 times, as well as The Washington Post, Dallas Morning News and Ebony Magazine Bestseller’s lists. Her books include The Devil is a Lie, Can I Get a Witness, The Pastor’s Wife, Let the Church Say Amen, Everybody Say Amen, I Know I’ve Been Changed and My Brother’s Keeper. Her inspirational teen novels include Nothing But Drama, Blessings in Disguise,With Friends Like These, Getting Even, Fairweather Friends, Friends ‘Til the End, and Caught up in the Drama. She has one non-fiction title, Help! I’ve Turned into my Mother. ReShonda has won numerous awards for her journalism, fiction and poetry writing skills. She is a five-time winner of the National Association of Black Journalists Spirit in the Words competition, one of Rolling Out Magazine’s Top 25 Women in Houston and H-Texas Magazine’s Top Professional.

ReShonda’s upcoming projects include Holy Rollers (July 2010), Say Amen, Again (July, 2011), the teen novel Drama Queens (Fall 2010), and two travel suspense novels. The Houston native also serves as a freelance editorial and marketing consultant. She has ghostwritten four fiction projects and five non-fiction projects. She is married with three small children and does not hide her addiction to Reality TV and Facebook.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Featured Book: Tomorrow We Die by Shawn Grady

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Tomorrow We Die Bethany House (July 1, 2010)


by Shawn Grady

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shawn Grady signed with Bethany House Publishers in 2008.  He was named “Most Promising New Writer” at the 39th Annual Mount Hermon Writers Conference. He is the author of the novels Through the Fire & Tomorrow We Die.


Shawn has served for over a decade as a firefighter and paramedic in northern Nevada. From fire engines and ambulances to tillered ladder trucks and helicopters, Shawn’s work environment has always been dynamic. The line of duty has carried him to a variety of locale, from high-rise fires in the city to the burning heavy timber of the eastern Sierras.


Shawn attended Point Loma Nazarene University as a Theology undergrad before shifting direction to acquire an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology as well as Paramedic licensure through Truckee Meadows Community College.


Shawn currently lives in Reno, Nevada, just outside of Lake Tahoe. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife, three children and yellow Labrador.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Chase the Angel of Death and You Might Catch Him

Jonathan Trestle is a paramedic who's spent the week a few steps behind the angel of death. When he responds to a call about a man sprawled on a downtown sidewalk, Trestle isn't about to lose another victim. CPR revives the man long enough for him to hand Trestle a crumpled piece of paper and say, "Give this to Martin," before being taken to the hospital.


The note is a series of dashes and haphazard scribbles. Trestle tries to follow up with the patient later, but at the ICU he learns the man awoke, pulled out his IVs, and vanished, leaving only a single key behind.  With the simple decision to honor a dying man's last wish, Jonathan tracks the key to a nearby motel where he finds the man again--this time not just dead but murdered. Unwilling to just let it drop, Jonathan is plunged into a mystery that soon threatens not only his dreams for the future but maybe even his life. He must race for the truth before the Angel of Death comes calling for him.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Tomorrow We Die, go to HERE.

 

REVIEW

I read a lot of romance and women's fiction, most of it penned by women, so when I read something authored by a man, I'm always struck by the differences in style of prose.  Grady uses his words sparingly yet moves the plot and conveys as much emotion as any author.  Adding to this sense of tight and sparse verbiage is that every scene is from a single character's point of view, that of Jonathan Trestle, the ambulance paramedic protagonist.  Although this is very much a tale of suspense, there is a romantic thread, again completely from Jonathan's lean vantage point.  We know what his romantic obstacle is and why but he doesn't spend a whole lot of time musing over it.  No, he's focused on getting to the bottom of the mystery, driven by a desire to do the right thing even when, at least at first, it seems as though there's no payoff for himself.

The thinnest thread of all, it may seem, is the faith thread, but that would be a surface observation.  Rather, Jonathan's battle-scarred faith is very much a part of him and what he does.  Again, he just doesn't need a whole lot of words to talk about it.  Nicely, Grady allows much of this thread to shine through via Jonathan's conversations with his mentor.  In the end, Tomorrow We Die was a pleasant read.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Debut Author: Have You Seen Her? by Chicki Brown

Hopefully the rain has held and I'm somewhere on a beach on this Monday off in celebration of Independence Day.  (If not, I'm probably in a bowling alley.)

My dear friend who I've come to know via the online writing community these past four years, Chicki Brown, has taken the independent publishing plunge.  Her debut release, a Kindle title, is Have You Seen Her? and is available now.

ABOUT THE BOOK

If she’d stayed any longer, her husband would have killed her.

Frantic to escape his drug-induced brutality, socialite Marcia Hadley escapes Santa Barbara and flees to Atlantic City. She’s sold everything she owns, rents a seedy inner city apartment and attempts to disappear as Dani Reynolds, cocktail waitress at Frenzy, a neighborhood nightclub.

Taylor Villanova, the club’s sexy multi-racial bouncer recognizes her naiveté and volunteers to teach her about surviving in the “hood.” Fearful and suspicious of men, Dani is at first repelled by his violent profession yet drawn to the compassionate nature that contradicts Taylor’s macho persona. But when her well-laid plans go awry, and Dani discovers someone is following her, she must put her complete trust in Taylor. Her time is running out.

BOOK TRAILER 

I haven't read Have You Seen Her? yet, but, thanks to Chicki, I have now officially joined the Kindle club, downloading the free Kindle for PC app and buying my first Kindle title.  (Let me get past a couple of books I need to review, and I'll get right to it, Chicki!)

More authors are taking their publishing destinies into their own hands, releasing titles through Kindle and other independent publishing programs.  These authors need support as much as those published by traditional publishing companies.  I hope you'll make a small investment ($2.99) and support Chicki.  She writes multicultural romance/women's fiction, and is definitely an author to watch.

For authors wanting to know more about how this process works, Chicki blogged about her experience here.

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I've got a bunch of new book reviews posted on FreshFiction.com.  Links to the reviewed titles can be found in the righthand sidebar.  There were some real gems, like Uptown by Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant, If You Were My Man by Francis Ray, and Just Like Me, Only Better by Carol Snow, not to mention some pleasant surprises like Red Hats by comedian Damon Wayans and The Narrow Path by Gail Sattler.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Reader/Writer Tidbits -- July 3, 2010

From the Writer's Magazine, author Henry Rachlin offers "50 Simple Rules for Making It as a Writer". Seems like a whole lot of rules, but hey, they're simple, right?

For Kindle owners, now and future, Amazon now offers multimedia in the Kindle software.  Listen to your books as well as read them.

Then, a collective of libraries will be offering over a million ebooks in an effort to remain current in this growing digital age.

 And looks like the iPad might be getting some competition.  Cisco announced the Cius which will employ Google's Android technology, but it doesn't exactly look like an iPad competitor to me.  What do you think?

Speaking of Google, have you heard about Google voice?  Kind of like Skype but given the Google treatment.  (Is there any service that the folks at Google don't  provide?)

Some book awards were given out in the last week:  the prestigious Christy Awards for best Christian fiction and the Virginia Romance Writers' Holt Medallion awards.  Congratulations to all the winners!

Funny how different writing now is vs. when you were coming up in school, isn't it?  Amy Hendrickson catalogs the differences in "20 Writing Secrets My English Teachers Never Told Me".

Author Erica Vetsch on performing a "Manuscript Triage".  Wish I'd had this when I was totally overwhelmed by the prospect of revising a story a couple of years back.  I've got it bookmarked now (because that story keeps bouncing around in my head, and I've learned a few things since then).

The American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) will honor a Christian fiction pioneer, Carol Johnson, by renaming the ACFW Book of the Year.  The award henceforth will be the Carol Award.


Happy 4th of July!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Featured Book: Refuge on Crescent Hill by Melanie Dobson

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Refuge on Crescent Hill


Kregel Publications (March 11, 2010)


by


Melanie Dobson



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of The Black Cloister; Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana; and Together for Good.


Prior to launching Dobson Media Group in 1999, Melanie was the corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family where she was responsible for the publicity of events, products, films, and TV specials. Melanie received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Liberty University and her master's degree in communication from Regent University. She has worked in the fields of publicity and journalism for fifteen years including two years as a publicist for The Family Channel.


Melanie and her husband, Jon, met in Colorado Springs in 1997 at Vanguard Church. Jon works in the field of computer animation. Since they've been married, the Dobsons have relocated numerous times including stints in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado, Berlin, and Southern California. These days they are enjoying their new home in the Pacific Northwest.


Jon and Melanie have adopted their two daughters —Karly (6) and Kinzel (5). When Melanie isn't writing or entertaining their girls, she enjoys exploring ghost towns and dusty back roads, traveling, hiking, line dancing, and reading inspirational fiction.


ABOUT THE BOOK

THE HOMECOMING WASN’T WHAT SHE EXPECTED…

Jobless, homeless, and broke, Camden Bristow decides to visit the grandmother she hasn’t seen in years. But when Camden arrives in Etherton, Ohio, she discovers that her grandmother has passed away, leaving her the 150-year-old mansion on Crescent Hill. The site of her happiest summers as a child, the run-down mansion is now her only refuge.


When Camden finds evidence that she may not be the mansion’s only occupant, memories of Grandma Rosalie’s bedtime stories about secret passageways and runaway slaves fuel her imagination. What really happened at Crescent Hill? Who can she turn to for answers in this town full of strangers? And what motivates the handsome local Alex Yates to offer his help? As she works to uncover the past and present mysteries harbored in her home, Camdem uncovers deep family secrets within the mansion’s walls that could change her life─and the entire town─forever.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Refuge on Crescent Hill, go HERE.

REVIEW

History afictionados as well as contemporary fans will enjoy Melanie Dobson's Refuge on Crescent Hill.  This book is big on suspense, with two intertwined plots occurring at once and coming together with a big bang at the end.  Ms. Dobson manages to incorporate historical facts and tidbits from the pre-American Revolution era up through the post-Civil War period yet keep this contemporary read very much in the now.

In Refuge on Crescent Hill, things are not what they seem, not to the characters in the story nor to the reader.  There are plot twists and red herrings that keep one guessing almost to the very satisfying conclusion.  I loved that nearly every chapter ended with a cliffhanger. I found myself getting frustrated when I had to put the book down for things like work or sleep or anything else that interrupted my finding out what was going to happen next.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.