Touring the Charleston Tea Plantation

I had the distinct pleasure recently of touring the Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island in the heart of the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Having never visited a tea plantation, or South Carolina for that matter, I was quite curious about what to expect. The beauty of the plantation was no surprise. I’d already spent several days traveling sections of the state, so I knew there’d be lush forests, sparkling rivers, and an abundance of fragrant, colorful flowers.

What I didn’t expect were the playful breezes and serene hum of wildlife and insects in every corner of the plantation. I also didn’t expect to learn so much about growing and processing tea! On this particular plantation, leaves from the plant Camellia Sinensis are harvested by the Green Giant…a converted mechanical harvester that does the work of several hundred people. I found a short video of the Green Giant that shows you how it works:

Once the leaves are harvested, the tea processing can begin. This involves varying degrees and methods of drying and oxidation in order to determine the different categories, like black, green, oolong, and white. After processing, the leaves may be blended with different flavors to create the many delicious varieties that wind up in your cup. Peppermint and cinnamon spice are my favorites. What about you? Which flavor is your favorite?

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My Writing Journey

by Melanie Dobson

Howard Books, June 2015

Some people wake up one day with an idea and decide to write a book. They publish, sell thousands of copies, and then they’re done. They never feel compelled to write again. Some days I wish I could stop writing. Stroll through a museum or a park without etching every detail into my mind for reference. Enjoy a dinner out without eavesdropping on conversations for dialogue clips. Or savor a sunset or a river cruise without wondering how I’ll describe my experience later in paragraph form.

It’s annoying. Obsessive. I can’t stop though. Writing is integral to who I am.

I started writing when I was seven. I would journal about pizza nights, visiting Grandpa and Grandma, and what my best friends said at school. When I was nine, I wrote my autobiography. It was short and typed with splotches of Wite-Out smeared across each line.

When I was eleven, I started a novel—a mystery about an old house and some detective kids. About fifty handwritten pages into it, I quit because I didn’t have a clue where it was going. But I fell in love with the creative process, and I knew I wanted to write fiction.

In sixth grade, I wrote a weekly newsletter for my class. By high school, I was writing for the school newspaper and yearbook. And when I graduated, I wrote articles for my hometown newspaper to help pay for college—a journalism degree, of course.

After college, I pursued a career in public relations and wrote hundreds of press releases and nonfiction articles. Not long before my 30th birthday, God prompted my heart to begin writing fiction again, and so I began to write in small chunks. Ten minutes before breakfast. An hour at a coffee shop or while my girls napped. For as long as I could stay awake at night. Then I thought about my next idea as I ate lunch, pushed the stroller, and shopped at the grocery store.

I wrote three complete novels (and edited them multiple times) before my first novel was acted on by a publisher. Together for Good was inspired by the failed adoption of some of our best friends, even as we were struggling to finalize the adoption of our oldest daughter. It was my way of trying to make sense of how God could use a heart-wrenching situation like a failed adoption for His good.

It took seven years from the time I began writing fiction as an adult until my first novel was published. Then I was contracted to write Going for Broke about a woman addicted to gambling. Eventually, I began writing historical fiction as well.

Melanie Dobson

I’ve been writing 1-2 novels per year for more than ten years, and I am grateful to be able to share the stories that God has put into my heart. He gave me this passion, the desire, and the dream. But even if I never publish again, I’ll keep writing the journal entries and stories and articles like I did as a kid. I can’t help myself…

BIO: Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of 14 historical romance, suspense and contemporary novels. Dobson and her husband, Jon, enjoy living in the Pacific Northwest with their two daughters. When she isn't writing or playing with her family, Dobson enjoys exploring ghost towns, line dancing and reading historical fiction.

You can connect with Melanie at:
Facebook: Melanie-Dobson | Twitter: @MelBDobson | Web: www.melaniedobson.com

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The Brothers' Keepers by Author NLB Horton

I love the Protestant Reformation (keep reading because it gets better), partially for non-theological reasons.

My devotion exceeds Luther, Calvin, Knox, or Tyndale. I include da Vinci, Galileo, and Copernicus as well, men whose revolutionary ideas enriched a sixteenth-century world barreling from the restrictions of the Middle Ages into the light of the Renaissance. 

Courage and intellect created counter-cultural heroes then. And those traits define my protagonist, archaeologist Grace Madison, in the first two books of the Parched series: When Camels Fly (May 2014) and The Brothers’ Keepers (November 2014).

When I began percolating about The Brothers’ Keepers, Grace’s character, and the seminary backgrounds of the troupe of octogenarian theologians who assist her and her family, led my thoughts to the Reformation. I admit that I went willingly.

The Brothers’ Keepers is a tale of international suspense: theologically sound and scientifically correct. It is liberally sprinkled with Grace’s warped humor and slight sarcasm, and extolls contemporary family dynamics—in a family not unfamiliar with espionage and danger. 

It opens in Brussels, when Grace learns that her beloved daughter Maggie has disappeared in France, and that her son’s bride has been attacked in Switzerland. In a five-star review of When Camels Fly, one reader described Grace as a Mama Bear protecting her cubs. Her growl from Belgium in the opening chapter of The Brothers’ Keepers resonates around the globe, attracting family and friends to Paris to begin the search for Maggie. 

Grace inspires that kind of devotion as a vigorous, joyful woman trying to live fully in the image of Christ. 

Maggie inspires devotion of a different sort. As the object of affection from two very dissimilar young men, her professional success as a hydrologist balances her epic failure as a sweetheart. Will she accept the repeated proposals of the all-American who is as loyal as a drooling golden retriever? Or will the handsome sayan (helper) for Mossad break through her Herculean defense mechanisms to win her heart? And where in the world is she, anyway?

“The nut didn’t fall far from the tree,” Grace’s husband Mark says of the mother and daughter, and Grace has heart issues of her own. She and Mark are working to rebuild a thirty-year marriage after growing apart. The healing process complicates life-threatening situations in When Camels Fly and The Brothers Keepers, but reveals the devotion they still share.

Using clues Maggie has left at the American Church in Paris, where she was last seen, the Madisons pick up the trail of an ancient relic that they hope will save her life. The desperate journey crosses four centuries and three continents. Difficult choices endanger everyone the family and their friends love, and compromise nearly every belief they hold dear. 

And in the end, they discover that to save themselves, they must first rescue an old friend who deceived them.

If he’ll let them.

As with When Camels Fly before it, The Brothers Keepers is all about doing the right thing. Because sometimes, doing what’s right is all that’s left.

A member of the venerable Explorers Club, NLB Horton returned to writing fiction after an award-winning career in marketing and a graduate degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. She has surveyed archaeological digs under Syrian and Lebanese heavy artillery fire in Israel and Jordan, explored the Amazon River and Machu Picchu after training with an Incan shaman, and consumed tea on five continents—and while crossing the North Atlantic.

http://nlbhorton.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NLB-Horton/289059931145461

https://twitter.com/NLBHorton

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What's the Word by Author Yvonne Anderson

At my first writer’s conference (ACFW, Dallas, 2007), I met with Andy Meisenheimer, then acquisitions editor for Zondervan, to discuss a manuscript. The occasion held a number of personal firsts: among other things, my first conference, my first meeting with an editor, and my first foray into writing science fiction.  (Four years later, the book was published as The Story in the Stars, the first in the Gateway to Gannah series.)

By God’s grace, I wasn’t particularly nervous. Considering the experience an educational field trip, I felt no pressure to achieve any specific goal but to learn and enjoy myself. Since I had no expectations, I was surprised that when I explained my story’s premise to Andy, he showed real interest and asked pertinent questions, nodding at my answers as if intrigued. (Possibly he was just being nice, because he seems to be that kind of guy.) 

One of the questions had to do with the languages in my story world. “A lot of writers try creating a language, such as Tolkien did with the elvish language, for instance. But it usually doesn’t hold together logically like a real language does. Do your characters speak another language? And if they do, how did you create it?” When I told him the Gannahan language was ancient Hebrew, his eyes widened and he grinned. “Cool!”

When I first began to sketch out this new world, I thought about God creating our world, and how it all started with a garden. That inspired me to give the planet a garden-related name – but Eden was already taken. What about the word for “garden” itself? I got out my Strong’s Concordance and found the Hebrew word is gannah. Sounded like a good name for a planet. And so it began. 

Though the people of Gannah speak a language that’s very much like Hebrew, I don’t; the best I can do is name things based on Hebrew words I find in the concordance. For instance: the colorful forest in the opening scene, in which the foliage is blue, yellow, and red as well as green, is the Ayin Forest, based on the Hebrew word for color. The ruling family’s name is Atarah, which means crown; the Gannahan weapon of choice is called a lahab, meaning blade. But because my knowledge of the language is so limited, I use only a word here and there; I don’t put them together in sentences or write songs or poems, as Tolkien did with the elvish language.

How about the Karkar? (The which? The Karkar. They’re the people from a different planet, and ancient enemies of Gannah.) The Karkar words, what few of them I use, come purely from my warped imagination. And they’re fun. Listen while a character contemplates his job as a researcher on a medical starship: “The assignments were challenging but satisfying, and when he pillowed his head at dimlights, he felt as content as a luglit with a bellyful of well-aged zikzak.

Which brings me to another kind of word I had to create: names for inventions and concepts that don’t currently exist in our world, or are so different as to be unrecognizable. These names, I tried to make self-explanatory. Dimlights in that last example, for instance, refers to the fact that on a starship, there is no night and day, so the lights are dimmed during the hours that would be night if they were on a planet. Instead of a refrigerator, they have a chill cabinet, and rather than a microwave, they warm food in a quickheater. What we might call a snowmobile, Gannahans call a motorsled. On the space station, you’ll find no bellboys to carry your luggage to your room, but a baggage bot. (“Bot” being short for robot.) My favorite gadget is the floor bot. As you might guess, that’s the one that scrubs your floors to a cheery shine while you’re out having fun on your motorsled.

If you’d like to learn more, come visit Gannah; even people who usually avoid space travel enjoy their time there. You might even find a souvenir to bring home.

The first two of the four books in the series are currently available in both print and e-book versions. Book #1, The Story in the Stars (2012 ACFW Carol Award Finalist in Speculative Fiction) on Amazon and Barnes & Noble; Book #2, Words in the Wind on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

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The Big Red Do-Over Button by Author Christine Lindsay

Sadly, God did not issue us with a Do Over Button, but don’t you just wish He had? A nice big one like a giant red Smartie on your desk that you could slam, and it would whip you back several years when you were deciding what to write.

In all the writing related blogs and instructive courses, we are told to study the market, see what publishers are selling, what readers are buying, etc. Good advice—advice I heartily recommend.

However, I started writing the first book in my historical series before I ever heard that advice. I was born in Great Britain, so I grew up on novels written about the flamboyant exploits of British Colonialism. Think dashing British Cavalry officers on glorious steeds and rescuing the courageous woman who went out to far flung colonies to be with the brave men they loved. Or soldiers from WW1 and WW2 in tropical uniform. Ah adventure and romance...doesn’t it just make your toes curl?

I grew up reading the blockbuster novels, Far Pavilions and Shadow of the Moon, written by the famous MM Kaye that big New York agents like Donald Maass and writers like Stephen King still drool over today. 

You can’t beat quality. I wanted to write novels like MM Kaye set in British Colonial India but from a Christian viewpoint. However, I didn’t know that the setting of India would turn some readers off even before they cracked the book open. This even surprised me after my first book Shadowed in Silk won the ACFW Genesis and continued to win awards. This lack of interest in my chosen setting continued to amaze me even after Book 2 Captured by Moonlight won a few awards.

Ah, the setting. It actually hampers sales. Did I choose the wrong setting? Do I wish I had a big red Do Over Button on my desk? 

After my first book Shadowed in Silk won the Genesis, The Grace Award, and was a finalist for Readers’ Favorite, I considered writing for the market. At that point I could have set aside my ideas on the 3-book series and started something with a more lucrative setting. But the artistic passion to finish what I started would not let go. To satisfy myself as a Christian writer, I simply had to finish that series to the best quality that I could. I had to write the kind of book I love to read.

Besides, I felt the encouragement from God to finish what I started. 

Book 3 Veiled at Midnight is releasing this Oct. 15. As this third baby from this series is about to be released I can say with all honesty I’m glad I Don’t have a Do Over Button on my desk. I’m so thrilled that I stuck to my artistic integrity in spite of what the marketing gurus say. I feel good about the quality of these three novels. 

Yes, it’s true my name isn’t as big as some of my contemporaries. YET!!! My sales numbers aren’t as high. YET!!! 

So does this mean I am unsuccessful?

I don’t feel unsuccessful. In fact, I feel a deep satisfaction in my soul. I also believe in the steady build, the slow burn. I believe in longevity. Maybe the slow burn will burn bright in the long run.

So, yes, study the market. If you are passionate about a story that is popular with the market right now—Go for it.

Write the passion on your heart. It will show on the page, and that is what will make the readers heart go pitter-patter too. 

VEILED AT MIDNIGHT-- The British empire draws to an end...

but the turmoil has only just begun.

Christine Lindsay was born in Ireland, and is proud of the fact that she was once patted on the head by Prince Philip when she was a baby. Her great grandfather, and her grandfather—yes father and son—were both riveters on the building of the Titanic. Tongue in cheek, Christine states that as a family they accept no responsibility for the sinking of that infamous ship. Londonderry Dreaming is Christine’s first contemporary romance set in N. Ireland. 

CONNECT WITH CHRISTINE:

Please drop by Christine’s website http://www.christinelindsay.com/ or follow her on Twitter and be her friend on Pinterest , and  Goodreads

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Platforms! Niches! Genres! Oh My! by Author Holly Michael

After years of working in diverse areas as a nonfiction writer—journalist, ghostwriter, newspaper features writer, editor—I dove into fiction writing without a platform. Gasp! Without a platform! 

I just thought I could write a book. Wrong! The books on how to write books spoke of platforms, niches, genres. 

As a hybrid—Fiction and Nonfiction—author, I didn’t have a niche. And worse, Crooked Lines didn’t fit into any genre. I had the general market in mind, but after publishing Crooked Lines, I’ve had reviewers on Amazon call it: Literary Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance, and even “a book that can’t be assigned to any genre.” 

So….was I doomed? 

Hope not! 

Backing up….While writing Crooked Lines, I decided to at least try to get a platform going by starting a blog. But what kind of a blog? Everyone was doing writing blogs. Without a defined genre, I wasn’t sure what to do.  

I ended up naming my blog Holly Michael’s Writing Straight @ www.writingstraight.com Writing Straight is from the maxim: God Writes Straight with Crooked lines. Crooked Lines, of course, being the title of my first novel. Through life’s crooked lines and learning curves, people are the dots that connect. I wanted to create a website to connect people and to inspire and share about life and writing. 

Sometimes I blog about family, sometimes faith, sometimes my books, sometimes travel, and sometimes football. Yes, football. So, I have a blog, but it’s not really a platform. BUT…..maybe it is. See, here’s how I tied it all together (at least in my mind)… 

Faith, Family, Travel, Football: I have a traditionally published devotional coming out in 2015 co-authored with my son, an NFL player who is also a type 1 diabetic. My fiction is spiritually themed. My husband is an Anglican Bishop. We travel a lot and the locations we travel to become settings in my books. 

So, my point in this article is that you just need to write what you want. I understand the plusses of having a platform, niche, and genre, but if you don’t, it’s okay. The writing police won’t arrest you. First, write what you love and write it well. If you find you can write to a niche and genre, all the better. Your platform is ready made. Get your blog going, and blog away. But if you’re like me, an ADD hybrid author who’s all over the place, it’ll all work out fine. So far, it’s working for me.

I’m a kaleidoscope, twisted and turned by the hand of God through a beautiful life of writing, traveling, and other incredible opportunities. I’m the wife of Rt. Rev. Leo Michael, an Anglican Bishop in the Holy Catholic Church-Anglican Rite. Mom to three great kids: Sweet Betsy and my two #81’s: Jake Byrne (San Diego Chargers) and Nick Byrne (Ragin Cajuns). I’ve been blessed to be able to travel extensively across the United States and internationally to India, England, Scotland, and Canada.


Make sure to stop by Friday for a chance to win a free copy of Holly's novel Crooked Lines!

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How I Stay Inspired and Motivated by Author Deborah Raney

Everybody seems to have a Top 5, Top 10, or Top 20 list these days, so I came up with a few lists of things this writer loves.  

I’ve learned that one of the best ways to spark creativity, break writer’s block, and most importantly, avoid carpal tunnel, back issues, and other writer’s woes, is to not confine myself to my desk. In fact, I rarely sit at my desk to write. Instead, these are some of my favorite writing spots:

  

DEB’S TOP 5 FAVORITE PLACES TO WRITE

1. The table on my back deck under an umbrella
2. Mead’s Corner, a favorite coffee shop
3. My cozy office chair beside my Keurig
4. The living room sofa in front of the fire
5. In the passenger seat on a road trip to visit grandkids

Music is another great way to tap into new levels of creativity, and to capture the mood of the scene I’m working on. Movie soundtracks provide the perfect music to write by because they’ve been designed to set a mood, yet they are mostly nonintrusive. Some of my favorites are:

DEB’S TOP 5 MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS TO WRITE BY

1. Band of Brothers  
2. Braveheart
3. Charlotte Gray
4. Finding Neverland
5. The Tourist 

One of a writer’s biggest downfalls is the fact that it’s a very sedentary lifestyle. And the temptation to eat while we ponder the next scene is great. I try to use my writing snacks as a reward for reaching certain goals. For instance, for every 500 words I write, I might allow myself 5 M&Ms. Oh, the games we play to keep our seats in the seat till the book is complete. Here are my favorite snacks to write with:

DEB’S TOP 5 SNACKS TO EAT WHILE WRITING

1. Gobstoppers (mini jawbreakers)
2. Coffee Nips
3. Peanut M&Ms
4. Pistachios 
5. Potato Chips (I didn’t say the 5 healthiest!)

How about you (as a reader or writer)? What are some of your favorites to read and write by?

Deborah Raney accomplished something very few authors are able to do with their first book. Her debut novel, A Vow to Cherish (originally published in 1996), inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched her writing career after 20 happy years as a stay-at-home mom. Since then, her books have won numerous awards including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. 

Raney’s newest novel, Home to Chicory Lane, releases in August as the first book in the Chicory Inn Novels series for Abingdon Press Fiction.  

For more information about Raney and her books, visit her online home at deborahraney.com, become a fan on Facebook (deborah.raney) or follow her on Twitter (@authordebraney).  

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The Long and Short of Writing Novellas by Author Margaret Brownley

My husband is a bottom line kind of guy. Whenever my daughter came home from a date he would ask if she had a good time.  That's it. That's all he wanted to know.  Not me. I wanted all the juicy details.  Everything.

So writing long historical novels was right up my alley. Eighty-five thousand words?  No problem.  A twenty-thousand word novella?  Now that was a horse of a different color.

So how does a long-winded writer learn to write short?  I'm embarrassed to admit this, but when I wrote my first novella I actually wrote something like fifty thousand words and then cut like crazy.  Now I know better, but novellas still pose a challenge.  Skimp on story or characterization and readers will feel cheated.

Still, there are some advantages to writing short.  Novellas are popular with readers and they keep your name out there between books.  They also make you concentrate on your writing strengths and weaknesses. 

Of course if you're the type of writer whose strengths include writing long narratives and intricate descriptions this might not work for you.  There simply is no room in a novella to go into great detail.  Every word has to count and then some. Lucky you if writing strengths include action scenes and dialogue—the crux of a well-paced novella.

I also found that the sooner the narrative question can be worked into the story the better. This creates tension and keeps the reader interested. 

For COURTING TROUBLE, my story in Four Weddings and a Kiss, I got started on the wrong track.  I opened the scene in the heroine's point of view and wasted valuable verbiage describing her arrest for the murder of her husband.  My friend solved the problem. "Dump the first chapter," she said. 

Taking her advice I started the story with the second chapter.  Not only did this save nine hundred words, it pulled the reader in quicker. We immediately understand the hero's dilemma.  The woman on trial for murder has the worst possible reputation.  He has no desire to defend her, but how can he say no to her young son's plea for help? And what if fails to win the case? Putting these emotional and narrative questions up front quickly grabs a reader's attention and that's what it's all about. 

Wait. There's more:

Keep Character Goals Clear and the Time Period Short
My heroine's goal was simple.  She wanted the jury to find her innocent. This is something that can happen (or not) in a few short days.  Goals that take years to accomplish don't work in a novella.  The challenge I had was keeping the time short—and the romance long, if you know what I mean.  I didn't want the relationship to feel rushed.  

Don't Skimp on Characterization
Readers want to know what makes your characters tick and why they do the things they do.  Goals and motivations must be clear. 

Keep the Story Moving
Save the introspection and flashbacks for your novels. 

Forget the Crowds
The fewer characters in a novella, the better.  Everyone has to pull his or her weight and then some.   

Limit Subplots and Viewpoints
Stick to the main story as much as possible. Subplots should be short and easily resolved. Some people say you should tell your story from a single viewpoint, but I write romance and like to go back and forth between the hero and heroine.  Two viewpoints are probably the most you can get away with. 

Finally:
 Remember, big ideas don't need a lot of words—they just need the right words.  And that's the long and the short of it.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR MARGARET BROWNLEY has penned more than thirty historical and contemporary novels. Her books have won numerous awards, including Readers' Choice and Award of Excellence. She's a former Romance Writers of American RITA^® finalist and has written for a TV soap.  She is currently working on a new series.  Not bad for someone who flunked eighth grade.  Just don't ask her to diagram a sentence.  

Find Margaret:
Website: margaret-brownley.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MargaretBrownleyAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/margaretbrownly

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/brownley1/

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A Mother's Secret by Author Amy Clipston

I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce my new book, A Mother’s Secret, on the Borrowed Book Blog.  This book is the second in my Hearts of Lancaster Grand Hotel series and is set to release June 3. A Mother’s Secret releases one year after book one, which was A Hopeful Heart. 

In book one, Hannah Glick, a recent widow, finds herself stuck at a crossroad in her life. Her community offers her love and support, but a new friend offers her the chance of a new life after unexpectedly losing her husband. Wealthy businessman Trey Peterson is surprised at his attraction for the gentle Amish woman who works as a housekeeper in the Lancaster Grand hotel where he is staying. They share a common bond of loss and are able to offer each other comfort and support as they journey through their grief. Joshua Glick wants nothing more than to offer his friendship and love to Hannah and her family. Not only is he her husband's brother and business partner in their shared horse business, he has always been in love with Hannah. Are they destined to be only business partners or will Joshua be able to convince her that they belong together for life?

The Hearts of the Lancaster Grand Hotel series was inspired during the Amish Country Holiday Book Tour in November 2011. During the tour, Vannetta Chapman, Shelley Shepard Gray, and I stayed at the Berlin Grand Hotel. Alicia Mey, Senior Marketing Director for Zondervan, was impressed with the hotel, and she pitched the idea of using a fictional hotel in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as the setting for my new series. She suggested I create a series about Amish women who work in at fictional upscale hotel. She was intrigued with the idea of the Amish and "English" (non-Amish) clashing in such a unique environment. Her idea turned into the series, and I'm so thankful for Alicia's idea that I dedicated A Hopeful Heart to her.

I enjoyed writing A Hopeful Heart and juxtaposing the Amish and English life through the hotel. Throughout the series, the women who are the main characters work in the fictional hotel. I have to admit that A Mother’s Secret is my favorite book in the series. Carolyn Lapp, the heroine of the book, is different from the other Amish women I’ve featured in my previous books. Due to her painful past, she’s more outspoken and less traditional than any other Amish character I have created. I also enjoyed giving Joshua Glick his own story since he had his heart broken in A Hopeful Heart.

In A Mother's Secret, Carolyn Lapp dreams of marrying for love. But will the errors of her past destroy this dream forever? Carolyn Lapp longs to have a traditional Amish family. But she lives on her brother's farm with her parents and her 15-year old son, Benjamin. Carolyn has never revealed the identity of Benjamin's father and lives daily with the guilt and shame of her youthful indiscretion. Her brother simply will not forgive her. His answer is to arrange a practical marriage for Carolyn to Saul, a widower with a little girl. But Carolyn isn't convinced that Saul really loves her and believes he is simply looking for someone to help raise his daughter. When Benjamin causes trouble at a local horse auction, horse breeder Joshua Glick decides that he must be taught a lesson. Carolyn and Joshua are unmistakably drawn to each other, but Joshua mistakenly assumes that Benjamin is Carolyn's brother. Carolyn fears that if he discovers the truth, her past will destroy their budding romance. After years of shame and loneliness, Carolyn suddenly has two men vying for her attention. But which of them will give her the family---and the unconditional love---she's longed for?

A Mother's Secret was inspired while I was writing A Hopeful Heart. I felt Joshua Glick needed his own story after he had his heart broken in the first book. I really like Joshua’s character, and I enjoyed telling his story. This book is dedicated to my amazing editor and dear friend, Becky Philpott. She’s been a tremendous support to me with my books. I’m grateful for her friendship and her guidance with my books.

I hope readers enjoy A Mother’s Secret. Book three in the series, A Dream of Home, will follow in December and will feature Madeleine Miller, another housekeeper who works at the Lancaster Grand Hotel.

Amy Clipston is the award-winning and best-selling author of the Kauffman Amish Bakery series. Her novels have hit multiple best-seller lists including CBD, CBA, and ECPA. Amy holds a degree in communication from Virginia Wesleyan College and works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC. She is a member of the Authors Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America. Amy lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, and four spoiled rotten cats. Visit her online at www.amyclipston.com Facebook: AmyClipstonBooks Twitter: @AmyClipston

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My Writing Alter-Ego by Author Lynette Sowell

I don’t keep it a secret, but besides writing fiction, I also write about things that aren’t make-believe stories about the imaginary characters in my head. 

I write about living, breathing characters. I’m a freelance reporter for my city newspaper and I’ve been doing it for over four years now. What began as answering a simple ad in the paper looking for writers has opened a door, window, or what have you to a local world I didn’t even know about. 

Or, care much about until I knew more. 

Two years into reporting, the newspaper publishers asked if I’d write a weekly column. 

“What does it have to be about?” I asked. 

“Anything you want,” was the reply. And so, in May 2012, “My Front Porch” began. That’s when I get to give my opinion, something I can’t insert into a news story, no matter how much I’d like to sometimes.

One thing I’ve learned in being a reporter is that someone, somewhere cares about the person or event I’m writing about. In any given week, I can be reporting about the city council, the school board, interviewing an interesting local person for a feature article, showing up at an accident or crime scene, or covering a school program or a bake sale. 

Among my favorite interviews was interviewing a Pearl Harbor survivor who lives in our city, and getting his firsthand perspective on something that’s followed him since he was a 20-year-old soldier stationed in Hawaii.

Another interview special to me was listening to my mayor, who watched our central Texas community grow from a population of 300 when he graduated high school—to over 30,000 residents—more than 100 times the size he once knew.

I’ve interviewed politicians (who always like to talk), met the governor of Texas, rubbed elbows with Congressmen, crashed an Election night after-party, and I’ve interviewed not one, but two NFL players. The limelight is indeed bright and intoxicating if you stand long enough in its glow, and sometimes it’s tempting to name-drop.

My heart broke when I followed the story of a 10-year-old girl who learned she had terminal cancer. I covered her story from fundraisers, to her final arrangements and the family’s efforts to pay for her burial.  

I interviewed a woman in our city who finished a mere three minutes before the bombs exploded at the 2013 Boston 

Marathon; it brought the tragedy even closer to home. 

Another thing I’ve learned in being a reporter is no town is too small to have real news, that all of us have an important story to share. When we stop caring about stories—well, I couldn’t imagine anyone not caring about stories anymore, the real news unfolding in our communities, country and world, or the stories some of us make up because we can’t help NOT making up stories. 

So even if you live somewhere you think is quite ordinary, I hope you’ll take a moment and look around you. Get to know your city, really know it. Not just your church and your favorite restaurant and local market. You might be surprised at the treasure trove you find, and if you’re a writer, you’ll find even more characters start clamoring for your attention in your imagination. 

Lynette Sowell is the award-winning novelist of more than fifteen titles. When she’s not writing fiction, Lynette works covering local news for the Copperas Cove Leader-Press, where she also writes a weekly column called My Front Porch. She enjoys reading, cooking, watching movies and is always up for a Texas road trip. Lynette was born in Massachusetts, raised on the eastern shore of Maryland, but makes her home in Copperas Cove, Texas, with her husband, along with a spoiled Texas heeler and a pair of cats who have them all well-trained.

Keep up with Lynette Sowell via her blog (lynettesowell.blogspot.com), Facebook page (Lynette Sowell, Author) or Twitter (@LynetteSowell). 

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Plotter vs Pantster: The Writing Process by Author Dianna Benson

Everyone is different, and every writer is no exception. When I started writing my first book in 1993, I heard about writing voice and writing process, not really understanding what either meant. By the time I completed my fifth book and signed with my first agent in 2007, I not only knew exactly what writing voice is, but I’d found mine and it was well developed; plus, I’d learned various types of writing processes from countless authors through the years. While those authors explained details on their writing process, I knew it wasn’t the only way to write fiction, even though it often sounded that’s what those authors were saying. Many things about the publishing industry and writing fiction can confuse new and inexperienced writers.   

Even the plotter vs. panster techniques can be misleading, suggesting a writer is either one or the other. I’m definitely a panster (write by the seat of my pants), but that doesn’t mean I’m never a plotter, and that’s okay – I allow my muse to work the way it wants when it wants. No restricting rules; my muse is in control.

POV is one of the biggest topics I’ve found writers debate with strong conviction, suggesting there’s only one way to correctly write POV. I’ve read excellent books by successful authors who are: 1) POV purists 2) POV non-purists 3) POV head hoppers, and 4) Everything in between. Some authors’ method of writing POV can differ from book to book, making each new book of theirs unpredictable and fresh. Obviously, there’s multiple ways to write POV. What works for one writer, doesn’t work for all writers. Similarly, what doesn’t work for one writer doesn’t make it the incorrect way to write it. As a reader, I want an enthralling story with fascinating characters within a well written book that I don’t want to put down, even at two o’clock in the morning. The details on how it’s written, including POV, are up to the author’s unique imagination and individual style. I’m a POV non-purist; meaning, regardless if it’s at the end of a chapter/ scene or smack in the middle of one, if it’s best for the characterization/scene/story, etc. to change the POV, then I change the POV exactly where it’s best to do so. However, I focus on writing that change with clarity and an easy flow transition.            

So, in 2007 after years of learning varied types of writing processes, reading countless novels, and writing my first five books, I developed my own writing process – the one that works for me based on trial and error.    

My writing process: 

On a daily basis, and without any effort or cognizant thought on my part, opening scene ideas simply pop into my brain. These “situations” (always suspense in nature) play out in my head as naturally as my respiratory system inhales and exhales. However, I jot down the ideas for future use since I’m always writing my next book, working on copy edits and galleys on my upcoming release or marketing my current release. Sure, story ideas are plentiful for me, but not all of them are strong enough for a 400-page suspense novel, and some of them I forget before I even have the change to write them down (at times I’m out doing something adventurous and not able to jot it down).

When it’s time to turn one of those jotted down “situation ideas” into a book, I allow my writer brain free-rein to write that first scene then the rest of the book. I write and write, focusing mostly on action and dialogue (think: screenplay), until I have a full rough draft. After I’ve completed that full first draft, I decide the GMCs (Goal, Motivation and Conflicts of all main characters) and the plot points, then I integrate those into the manuscript via deep revisions. Also via deep revisions, I flesh out characterization, add description and research. Then I read the entire manuscript and improve on everything that needs revising. I let it sit for several weeks, allowing the story and characters to ferment in my mind for further revisions. After I revise again, I send it to all my critique partners and beta readers. Once I receive it, I read through the insightful input all my critique partners and beta readers supplied me. I heavily revise. Finally, I polish: I print out the entire manuscript, read every word on every page and revise anything necessary.  

My writing process isn’t that rigid, and I revise more than I stated above, but you get the general idea. Every writer is so different. If you’re a writer, what process works for you? If for whatever reason your process isn’t working and you’re struggling, try other methods until you find what does work for you. If you never give up trying, you eventually will find your unique and individual writing process. 

For details on what led me to write that first book in 1993, visit my WRITING page on my website: www.diannatbenson.com   

             

After majoring in communications and a ten-year career as a travel agent, Dianna left the travel industry to earn her EMS degree. An EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative since 2005, she loves the adrenaline rush of responding toA medical emergencies and helping people in need. 

Dianna lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three children. Final Trimester is her second release. 

Website: www.diannatbenson.com

Her releases are available wherever books are sold. Below are the links to Final Trimester at the three largest booksellers: 

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble

Books-A-Million

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Dream a Little Dream by Author Cynthia Rutchi

A few weeks ago, another author asked me if I had a story to tell about the role dreaming plays in a writer’s career. Do we keep pursuing a writing dream no matter what? Is dreaming for dreamers only, or is it part of a writer’s toolbox? 

Like many aspiring writers, I had a dream agency and a dream agent in mind years ago. I’d watched the way the agent conducted herself at conferences, in business settings, and in social settings. Her responses to questions on agent panels were always from a perspective that positively dripped with wisdom and grace. But her client list was full—the bane of many an excellent agent. I waited…and watched other agents. But the dream for that particular agent and working within the highly desirable community of that agency wouldn’t go away. 

For our 35th wedding anniversary trip, my husband chose Alaska. I wanted to vacation in the tropics. When I discovered a writers’ conference connected with an Alaskan cruise, it seemed to symbolize 35 years of marital compromise! I didn’t know at the time we registered that my dream agent was celebrating her 35th anniversary on that same cruise.

The agent and her husband were not onboard for the conference. They were true tourists. But she graciously agreed to take a handful of appointments one afternoon. She listened to my pitch and said something like, “Interesting. Now, let’s see if you can write.” Her client list was still full, but she invited me to submit a proposal.

A year later (2008) she still had no openings. I prepared to attend the annual ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) conference, wondering if it was time to give up my dream agent. Was God asking me to pursue another path? I wondered if He was even asking me to lay down the idea of writing fiction at all. I’d been working at it seriously for six years with no book to show for it. I told Him, as sincerely as I could, “Lord, if this pursuit isn’t from You, I will set it aside.” 

It seemed a moot point if I was about to turn away from fiction to other writing interests, but I emailed my dream agent and said, “I need to know if there’s any hope of signing with you so I know how to direct my energies at the conference.”

Her response? She called me to say, “I don’t know what to do with you.” It’s not exactly what I hoped to hear, but it wasn’t “No.”

She may not remember the conversation, but I recall every word. “You’re a good writer, but I promised myself I wouldn’t take on any more unpublished novelists. Go to the conference and look for another agent. If no one snatches you up”—I chuckled at that line, too—”call me after the first of January and we’ll see if I’ve had any client slots free up.”

I knew I had to be obedient to God and do due diligence. So I requested an agent appointment and an editor appointment at the conference. The agent appointment went so horribly, I was certain God was directing me to give up fiction forever. But I danced out of that appointment because I knew I’d just been shown who I shouldn’t work with as my agent. 

The editor appointment went shockingly well. Goosebump well. I had a request for the proposal. The dream stirred. What if God didn’t want me to lay aside the dream of fiction writing, but plunge deeper in? 

I sent the proposal (still wondering if I was days away from walking away from fiction), and within two hours received a response from the editor who asked for the whole manuscript. Within a month, the editor was taking the project to committee.

It seemed appropriate to call my dream agent and inform her about the development. Her words? “We’d better get you signed up then!”

My dream agent has become a dream friend and invaluable partner in this amazing journey. Days away from surrendering fiction, I signed my first contract. In May of 2014, my eighth book releases—All My Belongings, which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly—with three more novels contracted. “So far,” she said, dreamily.

Where do dreams fit in the life of a writer? For me, it seems God won’t let me pick it up and run with it unless I’m first willing to lay it down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cynthia Ruchti tells stories of Hope-that-glows-in-the-dark through her novels, novellas, devotions, nonfiction, and through speaking events for women and writers. Her novels have been recognized with honors from RT Reviewers’ Choice, Retailers’ Choice, Family Fiction Readers’ Choice, and others. Her debut novel was a 2010 Carol Award finalist. All My Belongings is her newest release, the story of a young woman who discovers a new life and new identity can’t protect her from a past that refuses to go away.  

Learn more about Cynthia Ruchti and her books at www.cynthiaruchti.com. Readers can also become a fan on Facebook (cynthiaruchtireaderpage) or follow her on Twitter (@cynthiaruchti).  

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