TopA GOOD READ
Newsletter For Readers and Writers

February 2010

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Welcome and thank you for sharing your time with me. Those of you who signed up for my newsletter since last month, thank you for subscribing.

Jo HuddlestonThis month in Guest Gab I interview Kathleen Fuller, author of A Man of His Word. Our Writing Wisdom
tips come from Brian Jud about non-bookstore sales. In What Am I Reading?  I annouce the winner of last month's book and I  have two other books you could win. In Book Buzzings I highlight two new novels, one by Amber Stockton and another by Margaret Brownley. Check Inspirational Insights to read my thoughts on regret.
 
Share this newsletter with your friends and if you have any comments or suggestions about this newsletter, please email me.  
 
You can take a look at earlier newsletters by clicking the Archive button on my websiteAlways remember: I value your presence here and the time you share with me.


 
Quality Quote



"Stop letting your history control your destiny."

--Andy Andrews in The Noticer.


BuzzingsBook Buzzings
Yours and Mine
Did the list of your five favorite books change over the course of 2009? Share your five favorite books and their authors and I'll list them here. Use your first name or full name; whatever you prefer.

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Update
on my novel, Caney Creek: Nothing new.

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Forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested in all things books.

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This month I highlight Patterns and Progress by Amber Stockton and also A Lady Like Sarah by Margaret Brownley. Below is information about these books.


 

PatternsTitle: Patterns and Progress

Authors: Amber Stockton

Genre: Historical romance

Publisher: Barbour Publishing

Release Date: December 2009

Amber's website

Available here


Every time Shannon Delaney considers changing her stance on what other people called progress, something bad happens. Why can't things just stay the way they are? Jacob Berringer's got his work cut out for him, and when he puts his mind to something, he doesn't turn back. But will either of them look to God for direction?

 

Amber has a new historical romance coming out in March: Liberty's Promise



 


Lady SarahTitle: A Lady Like Sarah, Rocky Creek Romance Series
Author: Margaret Brownley

Genre: Inspirational historical romance
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: December 2009

Margaret's website

Available here


Preacher JUSTIN WELLS leaves Boston in disgrace, heading to Texas. He encounters a feisty redhead handcuffed to a dying U.S. Marshal. Wells promises the injured lawman to take his prisoner to Texas. The prisoner turns out to be SARAH PRESCOTT-sister of the notorious Prescott brothers--and she's determined to miss the hanging party waiting for her in Texas.


 

 


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 GuestGab Guest Gab
Interview with Kathleen Fuller
Author of A Man of His Word


FullerThis month I'm talking with Kathleen Fuller, author of the novel A Man of His Word, which takes place in an Ohio Amish settlement. She is the author of fourteen novels. You can visit with Kathleen at her website. She has given me a copy of this book; I'll draw a winner for it later this month and announce the name in the next newsletter. Welcome, Kathy, and thanks for spending time with us.

 

 

JO: Please tell us a little about yourself.

 

KATHY: I was born in New Orleans and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. After my husband James and I got married we moved to the Cleveland area. We have three children, Mathew, Sydney Marie, and Zoie. We used to subsistence farm and in the past have raised chickens, pigs, and Angus beef. Now we're down to three dogs and a cat.

 

JO:  What do you enjoying doing when you're not writing?

 

KATHY: Crafting--stamping, cross-stitch and crocheting. I also love to read, swim, and watch football.

 

JO: How did you get involved in writing?

 

KATHY: As I said I love to read, and I decided to try my hand at writing a book. It was terrible! I realized I didn't know anything about writing, so I took a correspondence course and checked out every book on writing I could find from the library. I also joined RWA (Romance Writers of America) and later ACRW, which is now ACFW (America Christian Fiction Writers). At the same time I started writing, I heard a sermon about stepping outside the comfort zone for Christ. Putting myself out there in writing and in person is very uncomfortable for me, but I felt God nudging me in that direction. Ten years and 14 books later, He's still nudging (although some days He has to give me a big old push!)

 

JO: Where do you write? Do you have a dedicated office or a corner or nook in a room?

 

KATHY: I write anywhere and everywhere, but most of the time in the recliner in the corner of my bedroom.

 

JO: Please tell us about your book, A Man of His Word,

 

Man/WordMoriah's heart will only be safe with a man of his word.

In just a few short months, Moriah Miller's perfect life unravels. Newly wed and newly pregnant, Moriah is abandoned by her husband, Levi. He's left her, his family, and their faith without a backward glance. The community, stunned, rushes to the young woman's aid.

But there is someone who feels more than just sympathy for Moriah. Gabriel Miller--Levi's twin--longs for an intimate commitment that might someday bind them to one another. Convinced of the impossibility of his dream, Gabriel settles for a mere friendship with the woman he loves.

Moriah bravely goes on with her life, adjusting to her new role in their tight knit Amish community and preparing for the birth of her child. She is unaware that her brief marriage--once idealized as the happiest time in her life--may have been merely a shadow of the kind of love God has created her for. A love that can mend the soul, renew her heart, and give her a future filled with hope...if only she'll let it.

 

A Man of His Word is book one in my Hearts of Middlefield Series. Book two, An Honest Love, is coming out in March, and book three, A Woman of Virtue, will be releasing sometime in 2010.

 

JO: What takeaway value do you hope readers receive after reading your novel?

KATHY: I want them to be entertained and to finish the book thinking it was worth their time.


JO: Where did you get the idea for A Man of His Word?

 

KATHY: A random question popped into my head: what if identical twin brothers fell in love with the same woman? The plot evolved from there.

 

JO: How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?

 

KATHY: I've been writing since 2000. I sold my first book, a novella, in 2001, it released in 2003. So I had a quick break-in period, but during those ten years I've experienced plenty of rejection.

 

JO: How do you find time to write?

 

KATHY: I make time to write. I park myself in the chair and do it. I've also learned to delegate, which was hard for me.

 

JO: What are you working on now?

 

KATHY: I'm working on the third book in the Middlefield series, and a novella that's coming out next year.

 

JO: What advice would you give to writers just starting out?

 

KATHY: Be willing to learn. Also be willing to take criticism and not take it personally. Above all, persevere. Never give up. You'll never be published if you give up.

 

JO: Please tell our readers where they can get A Man of His Word.

 

KATHY: I've been blessed with wonderful distribution for this book. It's available at all bookstores, Wal Mart, and online bookstores.

 

JO: Where can our readers find you?

 

KATHY: At these two websites: www.kathleenfuller.com and www.amishhearts.com

 

JO: Kathy, thank you for spending time with us and for this enjoyable interview.

 

 

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WhatReadingWhat Am I Reading?

Let me know what you've read that really impressed you, tell why in about 100 words and I'll include it here. Giving your name is optional.

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It's easy to forward this newsletter to your friends: at the end of this email click "Forward Email."

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PostcardsThe winner of last month's copy of Postcards From Heaven by Claire Cloninger is sjewe...@... Congratulations! I'll email you for your mailing address so I can get the book to you right away.
 

If you didn't win this month, see below for news about two other book giveaways.

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This month on February 25th I'll draw a winner from all current subscribers for a copy of A Man of His Word by Kathleen Fuller . . . and I'll also draw a winner of a signed copy of Groom in Training by Gail Gaymer Martin, which I review below.

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Gail MartinI've just read Groom in Training by Gail Gaymer Martin, Steeple Hill Books, 2010, 214 pages. Steph is a widow, Nick has had a broken engagement. Her Border Collie, Fred, is enchanted with her neighbor's pedigreed Bouvier. Trying to calm Fred down and get him away from the chain link fence separating the two yards, Steph meets Nick. Their attraction is instant but neither of them admits it to anyone. She has no intention of dating, neither has Nick; they're both wary after the outcome of their past relationships. Steph asks Nick to be her "date" for a wedding she must attend and he agrees. Each of them tries to hide their emotions for one another. This is a delightful story of two bruised hearts discovering where they belong. Martin's characters come across as real people in the real world. The story is believable and well told. A good read.



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WritingWisdomWriting Wisdom
Non-bookstore Sales
by Brian Judd

This month's writing wisdom comes from Brian Jud, Book Marketing Newsletter, Book Marketing Works, November 2, 2009.



treeHow many faces do you see in this illustration? Do you see ten faces, or do you just see a tree? Things are not always as they appear to be at first glance. Sometimes you have to look more closely to see what is really there. Some publishers look only to bookstores for selling their books. Yet, there is an enormous opportunity in the hidden market for non-bookstore sales.
 
For example, you may say you want to sell to libraries. But if you look more closely, libraries represent a target market of 117,378 locations, divided into many sub-segments. In addition to the 9,207 public libraries, there are libraries in colleges, as well as public and private schools. Libraries serve governmental agencies (i.e., prisons) and the armed forces personnel. And there are special libraries including corporate, medical, law, hospital and religious libraries.
 
Special-sales marketing is not a separate way of doing business. It is not even a new way of doing business. It is an integral part of overall marketing strategy, an extension of what you are probably already doing. Where else could you sell your books?





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Clean Chuckle


A man is walking in a graveyard when he hears the Third Symphony played backward. When it's over, the Second Symphony starts playing, also backward, and then the First.


"What's going on?" he asks a cemetery worker.


"It's Beethoven," says the worker. "He's decomposing."




InspThoughtsInspirational Insight
What About Regret?
by Jo Huddleston

 

Now that we're into the new year, have you looked back on last year? Sometimes when making future plans, folks look at their calendar from the previous year to give them direction. Looking  back with positive purpose is good. But many look back and spend time on past negative decisions and actions, which can lead to regret.


From Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online:

regret: sorrow aroused by circumstances beyond one's control or power to repair.

 

Regret is not productive; it doesn't fix anything, it doesn't change anything. What it does is put our mind in a negative mode. And negative thinking has no good purpose. When we look back with regret to that guy or gal we wish we'd married but didn't, does it change anything? No. When we look back with regret to a time when we were at a forks in the road and now we think we took a wrong turn, does it change anything? No. We could go on and on looking back and wishing something from the past were different.

But regretting and wishing don't make it so. Let's don't spend much time or either of them. We'll just be taking time away from something good that is in store for us in the present. I've used this quotation before but here it is again. Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that's why they call it the present." Yesterday. Don't we know that today is yesterday's future and yesterday is no more?

I read an excellent little book recently by Andy Andrews: The Noticer. Whether you're young or not-so-young, male or female, despondent or happy, this book is for you. Its underlying theme is looking at things with perspective. Andrews writes in the book that "sometimes all a person needs is a little perspective" and situations look a lot different, better. He writes about perspective in relation to regret. 

Here's hoping we can shake off all that regret about something in our history and go forward to better things.








© 2010 Jo Huddleston. All rights reserved.


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