My Book Therapy got a face lift…
Check it out!
CFBA has a new on-line magazine. It ROCKS…chock full of HELPFUL and interesting articles. They really have done a wonderful job pulling from all facets of the Christian publishing industry. Way to go guys.
Oh…and I was lucky enough to be in the PREMIERE issue.
Craft Tips and Techniques from Today’s Blockbusters
If you haven’t seen August Rush,
Ask a Writer Anything: What Is A Happy Ending?
Melissa asked: Why does every book have to have a happy ending? Don’t get me wrong, I like the happy ending, but at the same time there are a few books that I have read that totally threw me by not having the expected happy ending, the guy didn’t get the girl, and they didn’t live happily ever after with 2.5 kids and a dog.
Ask a Writer Anything: What's Your Secret
Hannah asked: I always wondered how a author can write so many books and still have such good endings and plots etc. So what’s your secret to writing? Lol!
Oh, thank you for those kind words! I love to write, and I’m always on the hunt for a great story! I’m actually very dangerous to have around – just last week I was sitting in a restaurant and accidentally overheard a person talk on their cell phone (have you ever noticed how loud people are on their cell phones?).
Ask a Writer Anything: Getting Noticed
Tawni asked: How do you go about getting your story noticed by a publisher? My daughter is 15 and loves to write.
Getting noticed in today’s market – whether you’re published, or not, it always a challenge. There is always another great book out there, always a story that is similar to your own.
Ask a Writer Anything: Who Impacted Me Most
Sarah asked: The one author who has impacted me the most?
I know I’ve answered my favorite writers, (Dee Henderson, my buddy Rachel Hauck, and many others) but as for the one that impacted me the most, it must have been Francine Rivers. When I read her Mark of the Lion series,
Ask a Writer Anything: Creating the footsteps of Heaven
Denise asked: Did you base your coffee/bookstore/reading room in Happily Ever After on a real coffee/bookstore/reading room in MN or somwhere else? Your description of this place – you can almost smell the coffee brewing and imagine what book you could be reading while sipping your favorite coffee.
The Footstep of Heaven Bookstore and Coffee Shop lived in my imagination long long before it ever made it onto the pages of Happily Ever After.
First You Must Live!
Writers can’t live in a vacuum. Those stories of people who are hermits that live in seclusion and write these amazing literary novels? Okay, Really? Because I only have a select amount of ideas in my brain, and after I use those up, I gotta go somewhere for inspiration. Somewhere besides my messy office, or living room sofa.
Ask and Author Anything: Deciding Names of Characters
Jackie W asked: How do you decide on what names to give your characters? And has any of your characters names turned out to cause problems for you afterwards?
A: I love naming my characters! It’s like having a child again, except I get to see what they’re like fully grown.
Ask a Writer Anything: The Children Contribute
Crystal asked: Do your children ever give you ideas for story lines?
A: Oh, all the time! We are watching something together and they might ask a question – mom, what would happen if….and there I go with a story idea from the scenario they’ve asked. Not only that,