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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Guest Blogger Mary Annslee Urban and Tapestry of Trust

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MARY ANNSLEE URBAN is an author of Inspirational Romance. Her goal is to write stories that stir the heart about love, honor and God's grace! Her debut book, Tapestry of Trust, White Rose Publishing, was released June 2012. Her second book with White Rose Publishing, She Came to See the Snow~A Colorado Christmas Romance, will be released Fall of 2012.

A Registered Nurse by trade, Mary has also been a freelance writer for newspapers in her area, has had articles published in magazines and online publications. A North Carolina resident, Mary and her husband have five children and 2 grandchildren and one on the way. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, traveling, long walks and anything chocolate!

TAPESTRY OF TRUST
by Mary Annslee Urban
Published by White Rose, a division of the Pelican Group

ABOUT THE BOOK

Surrendered Hearts. Interwoven Grace

Isabelle had always envisioned Charlie Hamilton as the hero depicted in the romantic tapestry hanging in the Hamilton home. Then Charlie abandoned her to make decisions no one should make alone. Now, six years later, Charlie's back, and despite Isabelle's best efforts, she can't ignore the longing his presence reignites. Charlie wants a second chance, but can Isabelle trust the man he's become? Can she surrender her threadbare heart long enough for God to weave Isabelle's own happily-ever-after tapestry?

Readers, buy your copy of Tapestry of Trust today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

Along the Journey by Mary Annslee Urban

Being an author of fiction is a wonderful and sometimes frustrating pursuit in life. On any given day emotions can swing from top of the world to the bottom of the heap and back again. After hours of tweaking a chapter you might sit back, tap your chin and think, “Wow, did I write that?” Only to find yourself moments later scratching your head and wondering how the next chapter’s dialogue came to sound like it was written by a tongue-tied chipmunk.

Humility and cringe-worthy moments are common pieces of my writing puzzle. But it’s the satisfaction after editing and re-editing a book that keeps me moving forward. The final version, the one that the editor accepts and loves.

I’ve written several books, 2 are published and I can honestly say writing is tough. Storylines often sway in unexpected directions and new character personality traits can pop up when you least expect. Heroines and heroes may turn into a villains and vice-versa. A plot can thicken or end up going nowhere. Like planting a seedling, a story sprouts, grows and produces a creation that is far more complex than where it started. Often very different than what we expected.

Like most writers, my stories are crafted out of passion, determination and love. I learned that I must put myself in the story. See the plot through my characters eyes. Feel their emotions, frustration and pain. Bring out their insecurities and show their faith. And mostly bring them to the brink of collapse before rescuing them.  I want the reader to sense what we actually live, feel and experience: chaos, absurdity, humility, sadness, beauty, love… If, as I read, I don’t bring tears to my own eyes, I haven’t done my job.

Life is about fiction. From folks rewriting their own memories to daydreaming about their hopes and dreams. Fiction gives a writer a way to rewrite mistakes and sorrows or find forever love. Threads of truth blended within a story of fiction. Although frustrating at times, the passion to write burns within a fiction writer’s soul. And like food for my soul, I can’t imagine not writing. :)

* * * * *

Thank you, Mary, for sharing with us today.

Reader Question: What is YOUR passion? What in your life drives you to the point where you cannot consider not doing it? 

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a free eBook copy of the book featured above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Guest Blogger Sarah Sundin and With Every Letter

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SARAH SUNDIN is the author of With Every Letter, as well as the Wings of Glory series—A Distant Melody, A Memory Between Us, and Blue Skies Tomorrow. She lives in northern California with her husband and three children, works on-call as a hospital pharmacist, and teaches Sunday school.

WITH EVERY LETTER
by Sarah Sundin
Published by Revell

ABOUT THE BOOK

As part of a morale-building program, World War II flight nurse Lt. Mellie Blake begins an anonymous correspondence with Army engineer Lt. Tom MacGilliver in North Africa. As their letters crisscross the Atlantic, they develop a deep friendship. But when they're both transferred to Algeria, will their future be held hostage by the past—or will they reveal their identities?

Readers, buy your copy of With Every Letter today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

The Power of a Hand-Written Letter

When was the last time you received a handwritten letter? Or sent one? How did it make you feel?

I love modern communication—texting and e-mail and Facebook messages. These are fast, effective, and efficient forms of communication. They’re also impermanent and impersonal.

My new novel, With Every Letter, centers on an anonymous correspondence between a flight nurse and an Army engineer in World War II. Already I’ve received lots of comments from readers about how they’re reminded of the special nature of a written letter. Some have even been inspired to write letters to loved ones.

During World War II, if you were overseas, letters were the only way to communicate with friends and family back home. While researching With Every Letter, I was sent copies of letters written from an Army engineer serving in the Mediterranean, to his little daughter back home. Not only did the letters give me wonderful, colorful details to add to my story, but they brought home the poignancy of the war years. Little Jane did not see her father for three years, ages seven to ten. Her father missed those delightful years with his daughter. Her mother raised her daughter alone. Wartime worries and dangers deepened the pain of separation.

However, letters between father and daughter allowed them to stay connected. In July 1944, he wrote from Italy:

Jane,

Your letter that you wrote me on “Dad’s Day” came yesterday. It’s very sweet of you to write and send me a picture too.

So you’re in fourth grade now. Next fall, you will be studying some pretty important subjects. Because you passed, and because I’m very proud and fond of you anyway, I am sending you a money order for ten dollars. Like last year, I would like to have you save five dollars of it for Mother’s Christmas present, and spend the five dollars for something you want yourself, including maybe a few war stamps.

It’s very warm here now, and there’s no place handy to go swimming, to show off the new bathing trunks that Mother sent me. But I’ll be able to use them before the summer is over, I’m sure. I hope you have lots of fun this summer, and get good and tanned and strong.

Love, Dad

Not only did this letter certainly warm Jane’s heart in 1944, it warms ours now. Because it was written in his own handwriting, on a piece of paper, so it could be saved for sixty-eight years and more.

When my husband and I were dating, even though we saw each other almost daily, we had a tradition of writing letters to each other. Every week I labored over my letter, recalling my favorite memories and focusing on what I loved about this man. And with every letter he wrote, he stole more and more of my heart. We’ve saved these letters, and occasionally I’ll read them, remembering the joy of falling in love with my husband and relishing how our love has deepened and matured in the twenty-five years we’ve known each other. Someday, when we pass away, our children and grandchildren may read the letters. They’ll laugh hysterically, they’ll be astounded, and maybe they’ll cry.

So yes, use e-mail and Skype and Facebook and text messaging. But consider occasionally putting your thoughts to paper in your own hand. You’ll create a more touching message for today and a legacy for tomorrow.

* * * * *

Thank you, Sarah, for sharing with us today.

Reader Question: My question for you…from the beginning of the post: When was the last time you received a handwritten letter? Or sent one? How did it make you feel?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a free autographed copy of the book featured above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

Fiction and Freedom Need to Be Preserved

This might be a first on this blog, but I'm passionate about the country where I live, and I don't like seeing it being trampled by those who would seek to destroy everything upon which this wonderful country was founded. There is an attempt for more central government control and less control placed in the hands of the people. I for one will not sit by and let that happen without voicing my protest and opinion.
The last I checked, we still live in a free country where the freedom of speech is protected.

If things continue the way they're going though, that might not be true in the future. So, I'm here to share about the man the president-nominated Mitt Romney has chosen to run alongside him in this race for the White House.

Unlike our current president, Gov. Romney *does* pledge his allegiance to everything on/for which our American flag stands. He has a tremendous amount of pride in this great nation and wishes to see the nation prosper, not fail. He believes in the strength and resilience of the American people and doesn't wish to trample them under his foot or take away their freedoms.

This is evident in Governor Romney's choice for his running mate.

Congressman Paul Ryan, Republican from Wisconsim

We learned that Congressman Paul Ryan, Republican from Wisconsin, is Mitt Romney's pick for the next Vice President of The United States.

What are we to think of this selection? He's not a graduate of Columbia University . He's not a graduate of Harvard. He wasn't selected as the President of the Harvard Law Review. He didn't get a special free quota scholarship ride to any prestigious university and, instead, had to work his way through Miami University of Ohio. For God's sake the man drove the Oscar Mayer Wiener Truck one summer and waited tables another!

One morning when Paul Ryan was sixteen years old he went in to wake his father up and found him dead of a heart attack. He didn't write two books about that experience. Instead, he assumed the role of adult at an early age, never having the luxury to pursue youthful drug use and the art of socialist revolution.

Instead, Paul Ryan and his mother took his grandmother, suffering from Alzheimer’s, into the household and served as the primary care provider for his grandma. His grandma wasn't the Vice President of the Bank of Hawaii so she could offer nothing in return, except the element of "need".

Once Paul Ryan got his BA in Economics from Miami University of Ohio he was hired as a staff economist in Wisconsin Senator Kastin's office. The job must have not paid well because young Ryan moonlighted as a waiter and fitness trainer. No one offered him a "token honor" position at the University of Chicago and a $200,000 dollar a year salary.

When a still young Paul Ryan returned to Wisconsin to run for Congress he didn't demonize his opponent and dig up dirt to shovel against him. He waited until the standing Congressman vacated the office before seeking the office. In Janesville , Wisconsin they don't have a big political machine to promote you, to criminalize your opponent; instead Paul Ryan had to go door to door and sit at kitchen tables and listen to his future constituents.

After getting elected to Congress Paul Ryan didn't triumphantly march into Washington , buy himself a Georgetown townhouse and proceed over to K Street to rub elbows with lobbyists. He bunked in his Congressional office and used the house gym for showers and a fresh change of clothes.

Paul Ryan then married and took his bride back to Janesville . He lives on the same street he lived on as a kid and shares the neighborhood with eight other members of the Ryan clan. He hunts with the local Janesville hunt club and attends PTA meetings and other civic functions.

For those who can't make those public functions, Paul Ryan bought an old bread truck, converted it into a "mobile constituent office" and drives around to meet with those who need his help and attention.

No, I don't know if we can vote for a guy like this. He doesn't have a regal pedigree; he's Irish for goodness sake! No one awarded him a Nobel Peace Prize two months after getting elected. No one threw flowers or got "chills down their leg" as a he took his seat in Congress.

What is most despicable about Paul Ryan is that he has had the nerve to write the House Budget for three years in a row. He's is brazen and heartless in advocating in that budget for a $5 trillion dollar reduction in federal spending over the next ten years! The House passed his budget three years in a row and three years in a row the Democratically controlled Senate has let it die in the upper house, without ever proposing a budget of their own. What is wrong with this guy? If Congress were to cut $5 trillion dollars from the budget where would the President get the money to give $500 million dollars to a bankrupt Solyndra? Or $200 million dollars for bankrupt Energy 1? Or $11 billion dollars to illegal aliens filing INIT, non-resident tax returns to claim $11 billion big ones in child tax credits, even for their children living in Mexico ?

I don't know. Paul Ryan seems heartless to me. He keeps wanting to cut government waste, he keeps wanting to put a halt to those big GSA conventions in Vegas and, worse, he keeps trying to make people look at that $16.7 trillion dollar deficit! The guy's no fun at all!

Who wants a numbers cruncher? Who wants someone spoiling the party by showing folks the bill? Nothing will spoil a party quicker than sending the host the bill before the party's over.

Party hearty, folks! At least until November.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Christian Writer's Conferences around the country

A frequent question from writers and authors is where to find a list of Christian conferences around the US each year. Others have compiled lists, and I'm going to do the same, then anchor tag this post for ease of access in the sidebar on the blog. A comprehensive resource can also be found here.

If you know of one that's not listed, leave a comment with the details, and I'll get it added.

FEBRUARY

Writing for the Soul (Christian Writers Guild)
February–Colorado Springs, Colorado

Florida Christian Writers Conference
February/March–Bradenton, Florida

MARCH/APRIL

Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference
March/April–Mount Hermon, California

MAY

Colorado Christian Writers Conference
May–Estes Park, Colorado

Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference
May–Ridgecrest, North Carolina

JUNE

ACW CONFERENCE
http://www.acwriters.com
Charlotte NC, Columbus OH, Grand Rapids MI

SANTA BARBARA CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE
Westmont College CA
http://www.sbwritersconference.com

TRANSFORM YOUR WRITING SKILLS
Fort Worth TX
http://www.ntchristianwriters.com/

WRITERS WORKSHOP AT GLEN EYRIE
Colorado Springs CO
http://www.gleneyrie.org/writers

CEDAR FALLS CHRISTIAN WRITERS WORKSHOP
Colorado Springs CO
http://www.shellybeachonline.com/conferences.php

ST. DAVID'S CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE
Grove City PA
http://stdavidswriters.com/

CATHOLIC MEDIA CONVENTION
Indianapolis IN
http://www.catholicpress.org/

WRITE! CANADA
Guelph Ontario Canada
http://www.writecanada.org/

KENTUCKY CHRISTIANS WRITERS CONFERENCE
Elizabethtown KY
http://www.kychristianwriters.com/kychristianwriters.com/

THE CLASSeminar
Raleigh NC
http://www.classeminars.org/

Write-to-Publish Writers Conference
Wheaton, Illinois

JULY

THE CLASSeminar
Albuquerque NM
http://www.classeminars.org

ACW CONFERENCE
http://www.acwriters.com
Orlando FL
Atlanta GA
Grand Rapids MI

Oregon Christian Writers Conference
Portland, Oregon
SHE SPEAKS! Concord NC
http://shespeaksconference.com/

MONTROSE CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE
Montrose PA
http://www.montrosebible.org/writers.htm

MIDWEST CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE
Muncie IN
http://www.midwestwriters.org/

AUGUST


GREATER PHILADELPHIA CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE
Langhorne PA
http://writehisanswer.com/philadelphia/

THE CLASSeminar White Cloud MN
http://www.classeminars.org/

CLASSeminar Master CLASS
White Cloud MN
http://www.classeminars.org/

FAITHWRITERS CONFERENCE
Livonia MI
http://www.faithwriters.com/conference.php

OREGON CHRISTIAN WRITERS SUMMER COACHING CONFERENCE
Turner OR
http://oregonchristianwriters.org/

GREEN LAKE CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE
Wausau WI
http://www.glcc.org/

CATCH THE WAVE WRITERS CONFERENCE
Norcross GA
http://www.christianauthorsguild.org

SEPTEMBER

MY BOOK THERAPY THE SCRIMMAGE: PITCH AND PROMOTION SEMINAR
Dallas TX
http://www.mybooktherapy.com/book-therapy-retreats/

AMERICAN CHRISTIAN FICTION WRITERS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Dallas TX
http://www.acfw.com/conference

WRITERS WRITE FOR HIS GLORY CONFERENCE
Hesperus CO
http://www.southwestchristianwriters.org/

MARANATHA CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE
Muskegon MI
http://www.writewithpurpose.org

ACW CONFERENCE
http://www.acwriters.com

AD LIB CHRISTIAN ARTS RETREAT
Fort Collins CO
http://www.adlibchristianarts.org/retreat_2011.shtml

INSCRIBE CHRISTIAN WRITERS FELLOWSHIP FALL CONFERENCE
Wetaskiwin AB Canada
http://www.inscribe.org


Sandy Cove Christian Communicators’ Experience
September/October
Sandy Cove, MD


OCTOBER

PEN TO PAPER LITERARY SYMPOSIUM
Dayton OH
http://penofthewriter.com/

SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY WRITERS WORKSHOP
Lewisburg PA
http://www.marshahubler.com/workshop.html

BLUE RIDGE "AUTUMN IN THE MOUNTAINS" CHRISTIAN NOVELIST RETREAT
Ridgecrest NC
http://ridgecrestconferencecenter.org/event/novelist

MY BOOK THERAPY STORYCRAFTERS RETREAT
Minneapolis MN
http://www.mybooktherapy.com/book-therapy-retreats/

SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN WRITERS GUILD FALL CONFERENCE
San Diego CA
http://www.sandiegocwg.org/

EAST TEXAS CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENC
 Marshall TX
http://www.etbu.edu/news/cwc

CLASS CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE
Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM
http://www.classeminars.org/

SIERRA FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE
Auburn CA
http://sierrafoothillsconference.com

NOVEMEBER

ACW CONFERENCE Phoenix AZ
http://www.acwriters.com

ACW CARIBBEAN CRUISE CONFERENCE
http://www.acwriters.com

HEART OF AMERICA CHRISTIAN WRITERS ANNUAL FALL CONFERENCE Overland Park KS
http://www.hacwn.org/HACWN/Conference.html

DECEMBER

CHRISTIAN WRITERS LITERARY FESTIVAL Baltimore MD
http://christianwritersliteraryfestival.blogspot.com/

September 2012 New Releases in Christian Fiction

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.

Love Reunited by Renee Andrews — A soldier returns home to find the love of his life is single again, but he also learns that she’s blind…and that his confession of love may have cost her a marriage and her sight. (Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired).

Avenir Eclectia, Volume 1 by Grace Bridges, Pauline Creeden, Kat Heckenbach, Keven Newsome, H.A. Titus, Fred Warren and more — A human colony in the constellation of the Whale struggles to survive on an aging orbital station peopled with bureaucrats, wizards, beggars and cyborgs, and a violently unstable planet overrun with giant bugs and telepathic sea creatures. (Speculative Fiction from Splashdown Books).

Christmas Roses by Amanda Cabot — Can an itinerant carpenter searching for his father and a young widow who seeks only her daughter’s well-being find happiness in a small Wyoming mining town in the fall of 1882? (Historical Romance from Revell).

To Write a Wrong by Robin Caroll — In Angola State Penitentiary, a man is serving time for a crime he didn’t commit. Riley Baxter is an eager reporter desperate for a story to make a name for herself. When she stumbles upon the daughter of the incarcerated man, Riley sees a little too much of herself in the teen, and vows to help prove her father’s innocence. At the same time, Hayden Simpson has his hands full with keeping his little sister in line, worrying about his job as Police Commissioner, and dealing with his past emotional baggage. The last thing he needs is someone blowing the lid off his emotional bucket. (Romantic Suspense from B & H Publishing).

Material Witness (A Shipshewana Amish Mystery) by Vannetta Chapman — Masked identities, antique quilts with hidden messages, an Amish boy whose handicap makes him stronger, one brave dog, and a possible hidden treasure. This time it’s nonstop action, danger, and a dash of romance. (Cozy Mystery from Zondervan).

A Mom’s New Start by Margaret Daley — Single mom, Maggie Sommerfield, is having trouble with her son and turns to Cody Weston, a counselor, but although he brings comfort and support to her, he has a few secrets of his own. (Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired).

A Cascade Christmas by Mary Davis, Mildred Colvin, Debby Lee, and Gina Welborn — While Artisan Sela Fox runs her gift shop, she creates rare and beautiful guitars from redwood burl just as her husband had until his death. When land developer Evan Black shows up on her doorstep, using his humor and good looks to try and persuade her to sell the small slice of heaven she owns, she refuses to give up the only reminder she has left of her husband. But Evan is even more stubborn than the lovely Sela, and he has plans of his own. When he shares his talent for classical guitar using one of Sela’s creations, he’d not intended to woo her, but she responds to his serenade. (Romance Novella from Barbour).

Mother of Pearl by Kellie Coates Gilbert — The football coach went too far with her daughter . . . now this mother will risk everything she holds dear to bring him to justice. (General Contemporary from Abingdon Press).

The Road to Mercy by Kathy Harris — Josh Harrison, a contemporary Christian singer, and his wife Bethany face a difficult decision that also tests their faith. A rupture in Beth’s carotid artery leaves her on the brink of death even as she’s pregnant with their first child. While Dr. Ben Abrams urges her to terminate the pregnancy to save her own life, she and Josh step out on faith and decide to carry the baby to full term. During the next few months, Josh struggles with his faith, Beth hides a secret that may destroy their marriage. She also discovers a decades-old connection to Dr. Abrams that could change his life forever. (General Contemporary from Abingdon Press).

Seeking Unseen by Kat Heckenbach — It may be Angel’s wish…but it’s Melinda’s journey. Angel’s foster brother Zack needs help, but on the way she runs into her old friend Melinda, who demands to go along for the return to Toch Island. Melinda is more of an outsider than ever. A secret world surrounds her where even the bugs have magic. So when ex-con Doran Ashe offers her powers of her own, Melinda follows him despite – or maybe because of – everyone’s warnings. (Speculative Contemporary Fantasy from Splashdown Books).

Healing Love by Laura V. Hilton — What happens when an Amish midwife falls in love with an Englisch vet? (Contemporary Romance from Whitaker House).

Survive the Night by Vicki Hinze — Veteran and now Private Investigator Della Jackson is mourning the loss of her child and subsequent breakup of her marriage and now a stalker is determined to kill her, but she teams up with Paul Mason, the head of Florida Vet Net, to reclaim her life and discovers redemption and forgiveness and finally love. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired).

Trinity: Military War Dog by Ronie Kendig — With his military war dog, a former Green Beret embarks on the greatest mission of his life-but will it also be his last? (Romantic Suspense from Barbour).

Cedar Creek Seasons by Eileen Key, Becky Melby, Rachael Phillips, and Cynthia Ruchti — Romantic in every season of the calendar, charming, touristy Cedarburg, Wisconsin, with its last standing original Wisconsin covered bridge, works its magic on everyone. . .From a driven young twenty-something to a recently retired woman, each finds love when she least expects it. (Romance Novella from Barbour).

Sandwich, with a Side of Romance by Krista Phillips — She moved to Sandwich, Illinois, in search of a new life, but ended up in a giant pickle. (General Contemporary from Abingdon Press).

Stealing Hearts by Amber Stockton — Grace Baxton struggles to forgive a thief who took precious family heirlooms, yet threatens to steal her heart. (Contemporary Romance from Barbour).

With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin — World War II flight nurse Lt. Mellie Blake begins an anonymous correspondence with Army engineer Lt. Tom MacGilliver – when they’re both transferred to North Africa, will their future be held hostage by the past, or will they reveal their identities? (Historical Romance from Revell).

The Reunion by Dan WalshThe Reunion is an emotionally charged story about a forgotten war hero who discovers that the love he lost can be restored. (General Contemporary from Revell).

The Shadow on the Quilt by Stephanie Grace Whitson — Juliana Sutton’s life looks perfect-from the outside. Until her husband’s untimely death reveals a devastating truth. (Contemporary Romance from Barbour).