TopA GOOD READ
Newsletter For Readers and Writers

June 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.

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NOTE: I've had some health problems since last time, so if you find mistakes in this newsletter please take them as love.

Jo HuddlestonThis month ...

In 
Guest Gab: An interview with Kaye Dacus, author of A Case for Love.

In
Writing Wisdom
: Tiffany Colter on gauging your progress. 

In What Am I Reading?: Announcement of the winner of last month's book and I  have another book you could win. I review Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah.

In Book Buzzings: Highlight of two recent novels, one by Margaret Daley and another by Martha Rogers.

Check Inspirational Insights to read my thoughts on habits.
 

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


It's never too late--in fiction or in life--to revise.

 -Nancy Thayer, novelist

BuzzingsBook Buzzings
Yours and Mine
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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Forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested in all things books.

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This month I highlight Love Lessons by Margaret Daley and also Morning for Dove by Martha Rogers. Below is information about these books.


DaleyTitle: Love Lessons: Book 1 in Helping Hands Homeschooling

Author: Margaret Daley

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Steeple Hill Love Inspired

Release date: April 2010

Margaret's website: http://www.margaretdaley.com

Available here


Alexa Michaels brings a breath of fresh air into Ian Ferguson's and his daughter's life, but is it enough to make Ian trust in love again?



 

DoveTitle: Morning for Dove

Author: Martha Rogers 

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Realms Fiction Division of Strang Communications

Release Date: May 2010

Martha's website: www.marthawrogers.com

Book is available on Amazon, Christian Books, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Lifeway


Luke Anderson and Dove Morris are in love, but her Cherokee heritage presents a barrier with his mother that is hard to break. Torn between the people he loves most in the world, Luke struggles with his feelings until Dove's life is in danger and he risks his own to save hers.


              

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 GuestGab Guest Gab
Interview with Kaye Dacus
Author of
A Case for Love

This month I'm talking with Kaye Dacus, author of A Case for Love. Kaye has graciously given me a copy of her book and I'll pass it on to the winner of my drawing this month.


JO: Please tell us a little about yourself.

 

DacusKAYE:  In 1996, I felt God calling me to move to Nashville, and I've been here--and loving it--for the last fourteen years. Before becoming self-employed in late 2008 (as a writer and freelance editor), I worked most of my adult life in the newspaper/advertising industry before moving into the book publishing industry as an editor. I'm a thirtysomething single and my household is comprised of just me, myself, and I--so I travel as often as possible to go visit the rest of my family: my parents, who have recently retired to my dad's hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and my grandmother and my sister and her family who live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

 

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

 

KAYE: In addition to writing, I'm also a freelance editor, so for me to get away from "work" means getting away from the written word. But because I love stories so much, I still want to experience them--which means I turn to TV and movies for that fiction-fix. I dabble with a little bit of science-fiction/fantasy (I'm a huge fan of the TV series LOST). Oh, and then there's that little Food Network addiction I have. When I can drag myself away from that stuff, I love traveling, getting together with friends for coffee or lunch, swimming, cooking, and meeting up with as many writers as I can, whether through Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, Music City Romance Writers, or other new groups of writers that are forming here in Nashville.

 

JO: Can you tell us any fun thing about you that might surprise our readers?

 

KAYE: I shared this on my blog once, so some people may know this, but it usually comes as a surprise to just about everyone. Back in the early 1990s when I lived in the Washington DC area, I attended three Star Trek conventions. Yep, I'm a Trekker (though less of one now than I was then).

 

JO: How did you get involved in writing?

 

KAYE: As an adolescent, I started to read voraciously. My fancy turned to romance novels and by the age of twelve, I was reading one or two historical romance novels a week--mostly YA (young adult), but some adult fiction in there, too. I wasn't content with a kiss and a happily-ever-after ending. I wanted to know what happened the next day, the next year, the next decade. So the first writing I ever did was around fourteen years old when I started writing "sequels" to my favorite books. This, then, inspired me to start putting some of those stories that were always running through my head down on paper. That experience--realizing I could put words down on paper and express the stories that I'd always had within me--opened a flood-gate; and for the last two decades, I've never stopped writing.

 

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

 

KAYE: Where I write depends on the time of day and what else I have going on. I do the bulk of my writing on my laptop--a very cute, 14", shiny purple Dell that I bought last fall--away from my desk and main desktop computer. This can be at a coffee shop or, more likely, sitting in the bed late at night. When I get stuck or feel like sitting out on the sunny porch, I pull out my trusty spiral notebook and pen and write longhand. Recently, one of my favorite places to write is in the car when I'm on a roadtrip. Windows 7 has a great built-in voice recognition software and, after a little training so it learned my voice and accent (sort of), I plug in a microphone headset and "write" as I'm cruising down the interstate.

 

JO: Please tell us about A Case for Love.

 

Case for LoveKAYE: A Case for Love is the third book in the Brides of Bonneterre series. Forbes Guidry, the controlling older cousin/brother seen in Stand-In Groom and Menu for Romance (the first two books in this series), is back with his own story of romance and intrigue. In A Case for Love, Forbes is faced with a dilemma: the woman he's in love with wants him to help her sue his own parents' corporation to try to save her family's small businesses. TV social-scene reporter Alaine Delacroix isn't sure she fully trusts the disarmingly handsome and charming lawyer, but she can't deny she's falling for him. Can Alaine and Forbes stand on faith and work together to make a case for love?

 

I like writing characters who represent a growing segment of the population that seems to be increasingly left out in Christian circles: women in their late-twenties, thirties, and early-forties who have never been married and who want to be loved and accepted for who they are, not pigeon-holed into a category, labeled, or, as happens most often, shoved to the side and ignored/forgotten about by their churches, coworkers, or even friends and family. I'm writing for them (me, actually) so we can hang on to the hope of finding a well-adjusted, loving, marriage-minded Christian man out there somewhere and having a "happily ever after" ending with him (with the optimism that he may be closer than we realize).

 

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

 

KAYE: For me, one of the most important themes of A Case for Love is that "keeping up appearances" isn't what life is all about. Life is about getting past the outward appearance and truly getting down to the heart and soul of a person. That's something both Forbes and Alaine learn in this book, by facing the fact that their lives, which appear "perfect" or "charmed" on the outside are actually pretty dismal and lonely on the inside, because they've been trying to direct and control everything themselves. It isn't until they start letting go of that control and looking to God for direction that they begin to find a sense of purpose--as well as romance.


JO: Where did you get the idea for A Case for Love?

 

KAYE: When I first wrote Stand-In Groom, I needed a puppet-master character, one who knew the ins and outs of the secret identity of the groom and had the authority to grant--or not grant--George the right to reveal his true identity to Anne. That's when Anne's cousin, Forbes Guidry first came to me. When Alaine Delacroix walked onto the scene in Menu for Romance, it was in the role of the vixen--the woman who was going to deliberately set out to come between Meredith and Major. But the more scenes I put Alaine in, the more I realized that she was simply misunderstood--and that she was someone who could give Forbes lots of grief. So when Barbour (Publishing) asked for a proposal for the third book in the series, I realized that by choosing Alaine as the heroine of the book, and by coming up with a legal case that would involve both of them, I had the perfect setup for what would become A Case for Love.

 

JO: Did you do extensive research for this book?

 

KAYE: I got to do what has been, to date, my favorite research for a book thus far. After sending an e-mail request to interview the host of the midday show on Nashville's CBS affiliate (WTVF/NewsChannel 5), she invited me to visit the studio and shadow her and her team while they broadcast the show. I had a blast! And I was able to include so many little details in Alaine's work-life that I otherwise wouldn't have even known about. I'm also blessed to know several people who are lawyers who very generously answered my questions when I needed legal advice and couldn't find the answers online.

 

JO: When did you sell your first book?

 

KAYE: I started seriously studying the craft of writing with the intention of getting published in 2001 when I attended my first writers' conference--Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in North Carolina. I turned thirty that year, so I set a five-year goal for myself: that by the year I turned thirty-five (2006), I would be on the path to publication. In 2006, I completed my master's degree in Writing Popular Fiction, and my master's thesis, then entitled Happy Endings Inc., came in second place in the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Genesis contest. I submitted it to two agents. One rejected it, but Chip MacGregor signed me as a client a few months afterward--thus fulfilling that five-year goal! In December 2007, Barbour Publishing acquired the manuscript, which was renamed Stand-In Groom, and it released in January 2009.

 

JO: How do you find time to write?

 

KAYE: I have the unenviable blessing--though when a deadline is looming, it feels like a curse--of being a "full-time" writer. I have to put "full-time" in quotation marks, because even though I'm writing three books a year right now, I still have month-to-month bills that have to be paid, and not even signing contracts for nine books in eighteen months is enough to make ends meet. So I'm also a three-quarter-time freelance editor, working with several publishing houses. I usually do the editorial work during the day and write late at night--not only am I more creative after 10 p.m., but there are almost no distractions after that time, too.

 

JO: What are you working on now?

 

KAYE: I'm working on the pre-release marketing for the second book of The Ransome Trilogy, Ransome's Crossing, which released today (June 1). In March, I completed revisions on the first book in a new contemporary series, Love Remains--book 1 of The Matchmakers series, for Barbour (August 2010), so I'll be working on galley edits and marketing plans for that book soon. And I'm also writing the third book in The Ransome Trilogy, Ransome's Quest, which is due out next summer.

 

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

 

KAYE: I always give beginning authors the same advice I was given when I first started on the path toward publication: above all else, GET YOUR FIRST DRAFT FINISHED. With each manuscript we write, we're learning important lessons about the craft of writing. With each manuscript we finish, we're learning more about ourselves and what we can accomplish. And never, ever, ever forget that the most important thing is your story. Don't let the pursuit of the "craft of writing" become more important than your storytelling ability. Write from the heart; don't worry about craft when you're composing. That's what the revision process is for. Be true to your story and don't write it thinking about possible publication. Write it for you, first and foremost.

 

JO: Please tell our readers where they can get A Case for Love.

 

KAYE: A Case for Love is available at all major booksellers--LifeWay, ChristianBook.com, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Family Christian Stores, Books-A-Million, etc.--as well as many local Christian booksellers. And if they don't have it in stock, they can order it for you.

 

JO: Where can our readers find you?

 

KAYE: I love connecting with readers! You can find me online at http://kayedacus.com, http://www.facebook.com/kayedacus, and http://twitter.com/kayedacus.

 

 

Kaye, thank you taking time from your busy schedule to talk with us for this interesting  interview. And thank you for the copy of A Case for Love that I will share with one of my readers.

 

 



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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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Someone asked how I select winners in my drawings. I use a computer program that randomly selects the winners. No pulling names out of a hat!!

The winner of last month's copy of Scattered Petals by Amanda Cabot is Reagan (reaganm...@...).Congratulations! Please email me your mailing address by June 25 and I'll get the book to you.

The winner of April's copy of A Woman Called Sage by DiAnn Mills did not email me with a mailing address so I've selected another winner who is is Lynn (lynns...@...).Congratulations! Please email me your mailing address by June 25 so I can get your book to you right away.

If you didn't win this month, see below for news about another book giveaway.

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This month on June 25th I'll draw a winner from all current subscribers for a copy of A Case for Love by Kaye Dacus.

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Magic HourI've recently read Magic Hour
by Kristin Hannah, Ballentine Books,  2006, 391 pp. A powerful story about the love between a woman and a young girl who appears in a small town, lost and uncommunicative. The Chief of Police summons her sister, a psychiatrist, to help unravel the mystery. The little girl needs the psychiatrist and the psychiatrist needs this case to prop up her questioned professional reputation. The small town's doctor, the psychiatrist and the girl each are running from their past. The story holds you in its grip until the last page. A Good Read.




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WritingWisdomWriting Wisdom
Gauging Your Progress
by Tiffany Colter

One thing business owners understand is the need to periodically stop and Coltergauge their progress. Whether they do it every day by balancing down the cash drawer or they do it quarterly with their taxes, there is a period of accounting.

The same holds true in a writing business. The difference is success isn't measured in dollars and cents. It's measured in word count, contracts and rejection letters. The growth of your writing business is limited to what you're willing to put in to it.

What about in your writing and your business goals? Are you trudging along with the assumption that you aren't getting anywhere? Are you defining success by a single contract? The amount of your cash advance? The number of books/units sold? or attendance at your last speaking event?

Why not instead take a moment to look at the process that gets you to the result.

* How many words have you written?
* How many queries have you sent out?
* How many books on craft have you read?
* What have you done to develop your platform?
* What networking opportunities have you taken advantage of?

Evaluate your performance in terms of what you're doing rather than what you did. You might have to re-evaluate, but those of you who are discouraged may realize that you're closer to the goal than you realized.

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Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at www.writingcareercoach.com.


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Clean Chuckle


dog chairAn airline customer service agent got a call from a woman who wanted to know if she could take her dog on board.

He told her the dog would be welcome, as long as she paid a $50 charge and provided her own kennel. He also explained that the kennel needed to be large enough for the dog to stand up, sit down, turn around and roll over.

"I'll never be able to teach him all that by tomorrow," she said and hung up.


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Reprinted from "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive

by email the handy cheat sheet "89 Reasons to Send a Press Release."

 

 



InspThoughtsInspirational Insight
Habits
by Jo Huddleston

 

Scientific studies have found it takes 21 days to establish a habit, whether it's good or bad. So, since a bad habit and a good habit require the same amount of time to set up, why not put that effort toward something good instead of the opposite?

 

Habits become an integral part of our personality. Our habits flavor our daily behavior and sometimes speak volumes about us. We're often known by our habits. Is there possibly some bad behavior we could exchange for good behavior? After all, we could have a good habit going in just three weeks.

 

How about replacing impatience with patience? How about more kindness instead of violence? A smile instead of a frown?

 

And we could do without anger and dishonesty and gossip and greed and jealousy and  pessimism and pride and rebellion and revenge and worry. The list could go on and on.

 

But this isn't a perfect world. We all sometimes display undesirable habits and behavior. But just think of what redirecting our efforts could accomplish if we tried to make a more positive impact on our own life and on those around us.

 

Someone once said, "Anything done twice becomes easier to do." We can form good habits or bad habits. It's our choice.




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� 2010 Jo Huddleston. All rights reserved.


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