Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Running for ACFW President

Yep, I made the decision. Not lightly, I might add. After much prayer and consideration. Why? Because this writing organization has helped me more than I ever imagined a group of writers could and I want to give back to the group. I see ACFW growing by leaps and bounds, and I want to help with the future vision of the group. Will I win? I don't know. It's all in God's hands. But I'm looking forward to just being on the ballot! :D

Friday, October 27, 2006

Houston, We Have A Title

Heard from my editor today and they selected a title from the list I sent them....drumroll please.....

BAYOU JUSTICE

Sounds cool, huh? I'm pretty tickled with it. Whatcha think?

I HAVE A PLOT!

LOL. Seriously, this is great news. I've been pounding my brain to work out a plot for book 2 in the Bayou series, and it kept unraveling. But YES, yesterday, it got worked out. I'll be focusing on a secondary character from the 1st book, and man, can I torment her! LOL

Thursday, October 26, 2006

I'm SOLD, now what? LOL

Thought it'd be interesting to share on the journey what comes AFTER the contract offer. So, as I find out new things, I'll share them here.

Heard from my editor. Can I tell you how exciting THAT is? Wow, I'm so happy to be working with her. Her reputation precedes her and I'm ready to learn from her experience. Anywhooya, I got my art fact sheet, which is basically what I fill out to give input into my book cover. EXCITING! Of course I had to include a short (200-300) synopsis which encapsulated the main plot points. Well, y'all know me, PANIC! So I did what any writer in my situation would do....I called Camy and whined. Bless her dearly, she got it done for me and so quick, too. So, the art fact sheet is sent in.

We'll be changing the title of the story. We'll keep Bayou in it, but the burning really didn't pull in the hook/draw of the book. So, I came up with some alternate title suggestions and sent to my editor. Hopefully, one of them will work for her.

So that's it so far. Except I should be working on book two except my plot keeps falling apart on me. SIGH. Guess my excitement is carrying over into my brain cells. I'll just keep brainstorming it until something hits and I know that's "it".

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

RV There Yet....Diann Hunt


This book is laugh out loud funny! I had such a blast going along with these girlfriends on their trip, and it was so refreshing to read about friendships--with the ups and downs. If you want a good book that will make you chuckle, get this one! I highly recommend it! And the author's a cool woman, too! Here's a picture of me with Diann at the recent ACFW conference in Dallas! She's such a sweetheart!

Recommended Reading: BAD IDEA

Griffin Smith’s parents are divorced. His mother is now married to a mediocre novelist,
his dad has the cliché..er..fiance that’s 18 years his junior. Griffin Smith, though, is ok. He’s perfectly all right
with the goings-on in his family, as evidenced by his involvement with church youth group and his acceptance to a
college in California—a college he’ll get to via a road trip with his dad, the cliché, his best friend, and his little
brother.
But, as with thousands of teenagers whose parents are divorced, Griffin Smith is not
ok. He’s certain his parents care enough to provide him with boundaries and punishment
when he strays—it’s just that they’re too busy dealing with their own pain. So
he does it for them, burning himself in punishment when he secretly gets drunk or
takes a handful of painkillers, even preemptively scorching his skin if he knows he’s
headed to a party.
Griffin’s secret life, however, will be hard to conduct on a week-long road trip to California.
Close quarters and long hours may be just enough of a breeze for Griffin’s
house of cards to come tumbling down.
Called, “The Catcher in the Rye for the new generation—only funnier
and with a point,” brothers Todd and Jedd Hafer have perfectly captured
the satiric humor and dry wit of a teenager caught in a world not of his making, yet
desperate to exert control.
Jedd’s work with severely troubled teens at Children’s ARK for the past twelve years
gave him the material and voice needed to write a book hurting teens won’t put
down. The average kid at Children’s ARK has been kicked out of five places for bad
behavior. He has broken up gang fights, saved kids from dying of overdoses and
prayed all night with kids who were suicidal. He understands the driving forces and
the pain behind young people's behavior so well that he is in high demand as a
trainer and presenter on crisis intervention and de-escalating angry, aggresive youth.
Todd Hafer is a veteran writer with over 30 books to his credit. He recently worked
on Battlefield of the Mind for Teens with Joyce Meyer which is currently on the best-seller list. Todd is an editorial
director at Hallmark and has overseen many of Hallmark's most successful projects.

Friday, October 20, 2006

My Blurb

Since so many have emailed me asking what the book that sold is about, here's the blurb to Bayou Burning, as it stands right now:

Deep in the “boot” of Louisiana, Cajun country, an alligator environmentalist, CoCo LeBlanc, finds a body in the bayou. A body which just happens to be the grandfather of her ex-boyfriend, Luc Trahan. When she and her family are prime suspects in the murder, CoCo pushes aside her personal problems with Luc to find the real killer. Among multiple suspects, voodoo, and a long-standing family vendetta, CoCo and Luc must work together to prove their innocence. . .before the real murderer reveals himself and becomes a threat to them.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

THE CALL

Here I am, been sitting here working on one of my books and been whiney all week. Don't believe me? Ask Colleen. That woman deserves HUGE snaps for putting up with my pity party this week. Anyway, so I break away to go get the 6 yr old from school. We get back and I'm back to work. I call my bud Heather, who tells me to call her back in about 10 mins. I hang up and realize, I've gotta work--she won't talk to me and distract me. SIGH. Back to the words.

My phone rings.

I snatch it up, sure it's Heather calling me back. But no, it's my agent, Kelly Mortimer. So we gab for a few minutes and then she tells me that Krista Stroever at Steeple Hill has offered a contract on Bayou Burning!

Oh, PRAISE GOD!

Details? Um....don't remember much. I'll have to change my penname because the spelling is so odd. DONE! LOL I'll let y'all know what I decide on when I get down off the ceiling and can think coherently again. I know it's for the LI Suspense line. I know the amount of time I'll have to do revisions. Pretty much, that's all I can recall. LOL

So I hang up with my awesome agent and bawl like a baby. I call my husband, who goes beyond thrilled for me and we praise God together for this amazing blessing. I hang up and call Colleen, who squeals and rejoices with me. She gives me 15 minutes to call my buds and tell them before she posts to the ACFW loop! :) Of course, I make calls like crazy. Squealing, crying, laughing....oh my!

Colleen posts to the loop....and I get SO MANY wonderful emails of congratulations. My crit buds call back to squeal some more with me. I call my family and long-time friends. The crying, laughing, and squealing continue.

All I can say is that I feel blessed. He's given me the desires of my heart--the dream I've held close since the first time I picked up a pencil.

God is good, and He's good all the time!

Thank you all for celebrating with me!

I'm SOLD!

Wow, the dream of being able to post that becoming a reality is well...there aren't even the words. All I can say is Praise God! He is good, and He's good ALL the time!

I'm still in shock, but my romantic suspense, Bayou Burning, has been contracted by Steeple Hill.

More details to follow! Just wanted to share!

Friday, October 13, 2006

FIRE DANCER by Colleen Coble



Okay, I'll admit it, I'm a huge fan of Colleen Coble--have been since the Rock Harbor series. But her latest, FIRE DANCER is my absolute favorite. Her characters, Tess and Chase, leap off the page and come to life. I felt like I was in Arizona, personally deep into the plot. An arsonist takes things to a personal level for Tess, and her family's ranch. Tess and her longtime rival, Chase, must work together to unsmoke the villain, and save not only the ranch, but the forests from the Fire Dancer. Get the book....you'll be in for quite the ride. I give it my highest rating!

Here's Colleen, the awesome author, at the recent ACFW conference with all of her awards!

Friday, October 06, 2006

Finding Faith, by Denise Hunter



Okay, I'm normally not a fan of women's fiction...not enough dead bodies for me!...but this book was AWESOME! The deep characters, the intricate plot, the emotions....all I can say is I'm blown away. I highly recommend this book, even if you don't read women's fiction. This is good writing, plain and simple. It's rare for a book to invoke my emotions so strongly, but Denise managed to do that by pulling me into the characters and their deep emotions. Get the book...you won't be disappointed.

On a personal note, I was blessed to have gotten to spend a little time with Denise on my recent trip to Indiana. This woman is beautiful, inside and out. Then again, I have to envy her a little bit--she has three sons and has still got a figure to die for--the woman shouldn't be so beautiful. I mean, if she were ugly on the inside, maybe I could resent her, but no....God made her with a pure heart. So, I'll just feel blessed by knowing her. Here's a picture of her, Diann Hunt and Colleen Coble in Indiana. These ladies so rock! If only Kris had been there...maybe next time! :)