WIND OVER MARSHDALE a 'Grace Awards' winner!

I am honored that my book WIND OVER MARSHDALE won a 'Grace Award' this year in the 'Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller category. I was actually surprised when the winners were announced this past Monday.

Check out the other winners in six categories.

The 'Grace Awards are 'the most democratic awards in Christian fiction'. Here is an explanation from the Grace Awards website on the voting and judging process.

"Readers nominated (via email) the finalists in six categories. An individual who is not an author and who doesn’t sit on the Board counted the nominations. Finaling titles were then given to our judging teams. From that point on there was no contact between the judging teams and the Chair of the Board, except for administrative issues. The teams independently picked winners. Each step in the process was removed and separated from the next step, to insure impartiality."
                                                                       -Grace Awards Website

Sage Advice

Here are five great quotes from some master writers. Apply liberally!



“I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.”
—Harper Lee, WD


“To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.”
—Allen Ginsberg, WD


“Making people believe the unbelievable is no trick; it’s work. … Belief and reader absorption come in the details: An overturned tricycle in the gutter of an abandoned neighborhood can stand for everything.”
—Stephen King, WD


“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.”
—Elmore Leonard


“Beware of advice—even this.”
—Carl Sandburg, WD

Paved Paradise etc...

I've written my usual post at 'Inscribe Writer's Online' today. (I post on the 15th of each month.) I thought I'd double-dip today, so to speak.

You Don't Know What You've Got Till It's Gone

Joni Mitchell is singing those lyrics in my head right now. It’s a common saying and one that rings true.

I just got my cast off a few days ago after having broken my ankle over seven weeks ago. Believe me, it was one thing I was very glad to lose! I had only been in my basement three times in the whole seven weeks. I have now decided to set up ‘shop’ down there (so to speak) just because I can. I’ve got my laptop, a comfy chair, and a bathroom close by. What more could I want?

Losing one’s mobility can be a challenge. The simplest tasks suddenly become impossible. (Like carrying your coffee to your favorite armchair…) It’s made me stop and think about how fortunate I am in light of what other people have to go through, sometimes for a lifetime.

I am reminded about an ordeal I faced back in 2008. I had eye surgery that had me off work for five months, and left me blind for two. I learned to do a lot of things differently, (like knit by feel) and actually appreciated the slower pace that I was forced to adopt. I had more time for prayer and reflection and I think I grew as a Christian because of it.

When my sight started to return, a friend helped me set up my computer using the ‘accessibility options’ for the visually impaired. I had missed writing so much and really wanted to figure out a way to get back to it. (I had continued journaling, but believe me, it is interesting trying to read what I wrote!) I started off with just a half hour at a time since the light bothered my eyes. The letters were so large that there were no more than twenty words on the screen at a time. Still, I persevered, and finished the last few chapters of a manuscript that I had been working on previous to the surgery. That manuscript became AND THE BEAT GOES ON, the first novel I contracted with a publisher a few months later.

When I look back at that time, I wonder at how I managed. Sometimes we don’t know the depth of our own tenacity until put to the test. I believe that God gives each of us supernatural strength beyond our own whenever we are asked to face situations that are too hard for us. It’s easy to forget those lessons when life goes back to normal, and to forget the One who pulled us through. It is my prayer that we will not take life for granted, but erect a memorial of remembrance to God for each of the times that he has been with us through difficult circumstances.

Three Part Saga by Naomi Musch

I just finished reading Books 2 & 3 of Naomi Musch's Empire In Pine Series. I had read book one a few summers ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would highly recommend the entire series. Here are my reviews of the last two books. For a review of Book One - The Green Veil, link here.

THE RED FURY - Empire in Pine Series

The Red Fury, Book Two in Naomi Musch’s Empire in Pine Series, is bursting with rich imagery. Every sight, sound and smell is vividly described as this historical story of romance and bravery unfolds. Lainey Kade has been irreparably hurt and seeks a new life away from her family. Labeled ‘un-marriable’ by some unfeeling community members, she leaves her home in the woods of Wisconsin to carve out a new life for herself as a single woman. She meets up with the Beaumont brothers, ‘drifters’ who are emotionally scarred after the civil war. They become fast friends and cohorts as they seek adventure, all the while trying to make sense of their shattered lives. The story unfolds at a gentle yet steady pace as both Beaumont brothers discover they have feelings for Lainey. The sensitive character development, largely facilitated by the three way point of view, forces the reader to feel invested in each person. This is a superb continuation of the saga started in Book One - The Green Veil. Some of the scenes were so real and when I read the credits at the end, I discovered that such events as the burning of a logging town, plus other details from the period, were meticulously researched and included. No wonder the book rings with authenticity! I probably enjoyed book two even more than book one, if that is possible, and I highly recommend the entire series.    

THE BLACK ROSE - Empire In Pine Series 

 

The saga continues in The Black Rose, Book Three in the Empire In Pine Series by Naomi Musch. A serious rift comes between identical twin sisters Corianne and Jesilyn Beaumont which causes Jesilyn to run away from home in shame. But Wisconsin’s economy has fallen on tough times and with no way to make a living, Jesilyn becomes desperate enough to sink to depths that even she had not imagined. In her darkest hour, idealistic young preacher Paul Winters steps in to help, but he might be getting himself in for more than he bargained for. Meanwhile, Corianne’s bitterness and unwillingness to forgive threaten to jeopardize her chances at finding true love. This turn of the century historical novel is an excellent end to the saga, with tender romance and a compelling story line. Ultimately, it testifies to the fact that God can take imperfect people, along with all their baggage and mistakes, and make something beautiful. I highly recommend the entire series. 

You Know You're a Writer When

I can relate to each and every one of these. Can you? 



“I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me.”

—Ray Bradbury, WD


 “When I say work I only mean writing. Everything else is just odd jobs.”
—Margaret Laurence


“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
—George Orwell


“For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word.”
—Catherine Drinker Bowen


“I think all writing is a disease. You can’t stop it.”
—William Carlos Williams