Monday, April 24, 2006

I'm Alive

Contrary to rumors, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet. Just been BUSY. I've completed my cozy and had the editor request the full....woo hoo! She said she'd be in touch within a couple of weeks! Talk about sitting on pins and needles! Yikes! But I REALLY want this. I had so much fun writing the cozy and want to write these girls' stories. So, we'll see. I also found out I finaled in the Romantic Suspense category in the Genesis contest! Another WOO HOO. So, all in all, it's been a busy couple of weeks lately, but all good.

And how are YOU doing?

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Blog Tour Guest....COLLEEN COBLE




Today I'm blessed to have my mentor and friend, Colleen Coble, drop by on her blog tour to promote her new Women of Faith release, ALASKA TWILIGHT.

Welcome, Colleen, and thanks so much for joining us today! :)

Your characters seem so "true to life" and flawed, then redeemed. What method do you employ to make them jump off the pages and into the readers' lives?

I'm flawed so it's easy to write flawed characters. LOL No really, have you ever met a person who seem sooo perfect? You just know they can't be all that. When I'm writing my characters, I figure out where they need to grow. Sometimes it's the same places I need to grow, or areas I've worked on in the past. I always give my characters some areas of strength too. I can't relate to wimpy women. LOL

Do you have any plans to "cross over" from the CBA market to the ABA market?

I'd love for more ABA readers to discover my books, but I have no plans to leave WestBow Press for the ABA. I love my publishing family. They believe in me and help me grow. More and more women browse the Christian fiction aisle as they learn that they can find a good story without bad language and graphic sex there.

Alaska Twilight is a Women of Faith book--can you explain exactly what that means?

Women of Faith is a Thomas Nelson imprint. These books are targeted towards the women who attend the Women of Faith conferences and they are about women who are overcomers in some areas of their lives. Haley in my story overcame her past and her missing leg to emerge a victorious young woman who loved the Lord.

We've learned you enjoy interacting with your fans, fellow writers, and others in the writing community...if you had to pick only ONE aspect of the writing life aside from writing and rewriting as your favorite, what would it be and why?

Mentoring other writers. I remember what it was like to know NO ONE who wrote and to have no one to answer questions. I think every writer needs to give out and not just take in. We can all share a little of what we know.

Tell us something about yourself that you believe has made you a better writer.

While no trials are fun to go through, they're a writer's best fodder. Losing my grandmother and brother were the trials that affected me the most. Walking through those valleys taught me a lot about life.

Can you remember the first time you received "the call"? Can you elaborate?

It was an exciting day when I found out Becky Germany was buying my first book! There was no one in the house but the cat. I screamed and ran around the house. Boots hid under the bed and wouldn't come out for hours. I left a message on the answering machine at church and Pastor had no idea who had even called or what had happened because I was babbling. LOL

In your writing life, what makes you the happiest?

Hearing from my editors. Love, love, love the editing process and the struggle to get better.


Visit Colleen's website for more about her and Alaska Twilight!