TopA GOOD READ
Newsletter For Readers and Writers

October 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: An interview with Sandra D. Bricker, author of new releases Love Finds You in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California and Always the Baker, Never the Bride.

In
Writing Wisdom: Randy Ingermanson asks is your writing brilliant or hopeless.

In What Am I Reading?: Announcement of the winner of last month's book and more books you could win. Review of A Woman Called Sage by DiAnn Mills.

In Book Buzzings: Highlight of two recent novels, one by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. and another by Ava Pennington.

Check Inspirational Insights to read my thoughts on false faces.
 

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

"Truth is the only safe ground to stand upon."

--Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American suffragette (1815-1902)


BuzzingsBook Buzzings
Yours and Mine

Let me know your five favorite books and their authors and I'll include them here. Last name is optional.


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Last month I listed Randall Murphree's five favorite fiction books and promised I'd include his other lists in future newsletters. Below, then, are his five favorite nonfiction books and their authors. If you'd like to follow Randall's reasoning of separating  your five favorite books by fiction and nonfiction, you're welcome to do so. Thanks, Randall.


The Grace and Truth Paradox by Randy Alcorn

Moses Was a Basket Case by J.J. Jasper

Simply Jesus by Joseph Stowell

Dancing Under the Red Star (bio) by Karl Tobien

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom


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This month I highlight Medical Error by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. and also One Year Alone With God: 366 Devotions on the Names of God by Ava Pennington. Below is information about these books.


Med ErrorTitle: Medical Error
Author: Richard L. Mabry, M.D.
Genre: Romantic Medical Suspense
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Release date: September 2010
Available here
Richard's website

Dr. Anna McIntyre's life was going along just fine until someone else started living it. Her patient died because of an identity mix-up, her medical career is in jeopardy because of forged prescriptions, and her credit is in ruins. She thought things couldn't get worse, but that was before she opened the envelope.



one yearTitle: One Year Alone with God: 366 Devotions on the Names of God
Author: Ava Pennington
Genre: Devotional
Publisher: Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group
Release date: October 2010
Available
here
Ava's
website

This insightful guide to the names and attributes of God provides 366 life-changing, personal devotions for new Christians and long-time believers. As readers explore 122 names and attributes of God from three perspectives, they will discover who God is, who they are, and how they relate to others. Includes a Scripture and name index. (Note: Kay Arthur endorsed this book.)


     

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 GuestGab Guest Gab
Interview with Sandra D. Bricker
Author of Love Finds You in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California and Always the Baker, Never the Bride


This month I'm interviewing Sandra D. Bricker. She has given me copies of her new September and October releases and two of you subscribers will win them in this month's drawing.


JO: Please tell us a little about yourself.

SandieSANDIE: I am the proud adopted mommie to a 4-year-old strawberry blonde collie named Sophie. I grew up in Cincinnati, lived most of my adult life in Los Angeles, and now I live in Tampa with Sophie at my side.

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

 

SANDIE: Lately, there hasn't been too much time when I'm not writing. I work 40+ hours per week on a day job, so those hours belong to someone else. Then I write on the weekends, and do promotional stuff in the evenings during the week. But I'm not complaining! I've waited my whole life for writing deadlines and book contracts.

 

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

SANDIE: I'm not sure I have too many surprises left! LOL. Let me think ... Oh! I kissed Pierce Brosnan once.

JO: How did you get involved in writing?

SANDIE: I think I always knew I was going to be a writer. From a very young age, I journaled; then I worked on the staff of my high school newspaper; and my first article was published in The Cincinnati Enquirer before I even graduated.

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

SANDIE: I do have a dedicated office, a very homey little place in soothing blues and browns. I love that room! But lately it seems like I'm only in there long enough to pay bills and answer emails. Oddly enough, I tend to do my best work on the laptop, either on the living room sofa or propped up in bed with a bunch of pillows and a cup of tea.

JO: Do you know the title before you write a book or after you finish it?

SANDIE: You know what? That's a question no one has ever asked me before! I usually DO know my titles first. In fact, it's usually the very first thing I know about my story, aside from a general idea about the hero and/or heroine.

JO: Please tell us about Love Finds You in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

CarmelSANDIE: Carmel took a lot of twisty paths to publication. It started out as a novel-in-progress titled A Jill in Sheep's Clothing, and the thread running through it was a grade school paper the heroine had written comparing people to sheep. When it was complete, I pitched it to Summerside (Press) for their Love Finds You line and set it in Shepherd, Montana. They contracted it, but came back to me a couple of months later after the owner returned from a golf vacation in Carmel, California. He was so enamored with the place that he wanted something very special to be set there, and he asked if I would consider revising my book. I was not particularly enthused about that, but in the spirit of being a team player, I started the research. Being from California myself, it was probably pretty easy to predict that I would fall in love with the place as well. My sheep theme evolved into a thread of classic film, a natural progression since Carmel is an artsy little village raised up in the arts community perspective. When I finished that revision, I was so proud of what it had become. It was a brand new book, far better than the original. So I guess I have Carlton Garborg and his passion for golf to thank for what became one of the best writing experiences I've had.

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

SANDIE: Annie Gray is all about finding the spectacular things in life, but what she learns is that just because something is spectacular, you can't just assume it's for you. Following God's lead in all things, from love to employment to your friends, is a very important detail in finding your own happy ending.

JO: Did you need to do any research for this book?

 

SANDIE: Well, I was already a Californian with a background in Hollywood and a driving passion for classic film. So that helped! I did visit Carmel, and I talked to about half a dozen people who know the place well.


JO: You had a release last month titled Always the Baker, Never the Bride. Please tell us a little about that book; are the books similar or quite different?


BakerSANDIE: The books are very different! Baker is very Southern, and it's a much broader comedy than Carmel, with a fairly huge cast of characters. It revolves around Emma Rae, a pastry chef with a challenge: She's diabetic, and she can't indulge in her own creations. Emma crosses paths with Jackson, the owner of a wedding destination hotel who is an escapee from Corporate America living out someone else's dream and, consequently, floundering on his journey.

 

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

SANDIE: Writing: Forever. Selling: I was an aspiring screenwriter living in Hollywood when an opportunity came my way in the early 90s to write one of the What Would You Do? novels that Group Books was producing for Christian teens. The experience was addictive! After that, I started seeking out more work-for-hire opportunities like it, and eventually something started itching at the back of my brain. I was an avid fan of romantic fiction back then and, with the help of a very pushy friend, I sat down and wrote my first romance. And it was DREADFUL. Then I wrote two more that were nearly as bad. I started taking workshops and reading the good stuff until I wrote unWANTED: Husband and sold it to Avalon Books. There was no stopping me from there. I was hooked.

JO: How do you find time to write?

SANDIE: That's the question of the year! I've been called "maniacally organized" ... so that helps. I schedule my time like a very strict budget in order to balance it with my day job. I always strive to block out time so that the writing responsibilities don't spill over into the ones to Corporate America, and vice versa. It's a very delicate balancing act, but I do look forward to the day when I can retire from the day job. I'll wake up in the morning, brew my tea, plop my hair into a ponytail and ... just write. Ahhhhh, what a feeling that would be! ... Oh sorry. I got carried away. What was the question??

JO: What are you working on now?

SANDIE: I'm currently penning one of two sequels to January's release, The Big 5-OH! The heroine's sisters are the focus of the next two, The Big 4-OH! and The Big 3-OH!, but all the original characters come back as well. In addition, I'm just finishing up a labor of love I'm co-authoring with Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, Debby Mayne, and Trish Perry. It's a devotional called Delight Yourself in the Lord...Even on Bad Hair Days, and it's due out next spring from Summerside Press. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (www.ocrf.org). Diann Hunt and I are both survivors, and OCRF is a wonderful organization working to find effective diagnostics as well as an eventual cure for ovarian cancer.

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

 

SANDIE: My advice to new writers is always followed by a deep groan, but it's really solid guidance: FINISH SOMETHING. Many new writers exist on proposals, a synopsis and three chapters. When The Call finally comes, you're going to be expected to turn in a clean FULL MANUSCRIPT. I've seen more writers flail at that point because they're not practiced in completing something. So I tell them, if they want to invest in their future, park their butts in the chair and write a full book. Then start a new one, and finish that one, too. Eventually, selling on proposal is great, but in the beginning ... Hone your craft and exercise those professional writing muscles. Finish what you start!

 

JO: Please tell our readers where they can get your books.

 

SANDIE: Amazon (www.amazon.com) is always a great outlet, or Christian Book Distributors (www.cbd,com). They're also on bookstore shelves, like Barnes & Noble. I think Walmart has picked them both up as well.


JO: Where can our readers find you?

SANDIE:

Web site:www.SandraDBricker.com

Blog: http://SandraDBricker.blogspot.com

JO: Sandie, thank you for sharing time with our readers in this interesting interview and for the copies of your books, which two of my subscribers will win in a drawing.  ...Pierce Brosnan, huh?


 

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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!!

If you're a winner, the rules are simple: email me your mailing address by the 25th of the month in which you're a winner; if you don't, I'll draw another winner. You can win only once in a calendar year.

The winner of a signed copy of Rooms by James L. Rubart is Nancy (nbord...@...). Congratulations! Please email me your mailing address by September 25 and I'll get the book to you.

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

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This month on September 25, I'll draw two winners from all current subscribers for a copy of Love Finds You in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California and also a copy of Always the Baker, Never the Bride both by Sandra D. Bricker.

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SageI recently read
A Woman Called Sage by DiAnn Mills, Zondervan, 2010, 303 pp. In the late 1800s Sage has everything--a husband, a child on the way, and a beautiful ranch in Colorado. Then she has nothing--a band of lawbreakers shoot and kill her husband and wound her, causing her baby to be stillborn. Half Ute Indian, Sage becomes a bounty hunter in the Rocky Mountains, especially looking for the men who killed her husband. They find her first, kidnap two children and force her and Marshall Timmons to come after them. Her hardened exterior guards the heart of a woman, a heart she feels warming while she's around Marshall Timmons. Mills gives us a story of murder mystery, kidnapping, romance and strengthened faith. The first few pages will grab you and not let you go till you read the last page. Great characterization of a strong woman with a heart capable of love. A Good Read. (I interviewed DiAnn Mills in my April 2010 newsletter, which you can read by going to my website home page and clicking Archives.)

 

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WritingWisdomWriting Wisdom

Is You Writing Brilliant or Hopeless?

From "Writing Fiction When It's All Been Done Before"
by Randy Ingermanson
(from his September 9, 2010 blog post)

Randy IngermansonHave any of you ever felt . . . like you were so savagely brilliant that the world just might not be able to contain the heat of your genius? Writers, keep to the middle of the road. Don't get your brain fixated on the idea that you're hopeless or brilliant. Leave that kind of judgment to editors and agents and other people who are more objective than you. (Mortal and inferior though they be.)

For the record, when I started writing, I was pretty sure that fame and fortune would be mine within weeks. That was about 22 years ago. Still waiting, but it's only a matter of hours now, I'd guess.

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Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 22,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

 

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Clean Chuckle

birdOne day I was walking down the beach with some friends when someone shouted....

"Look at that dead bird!"

Someone looked up at the sky and said...

"Where???"
 


InspThoughtsInspirational Insight
False Faces
by Jo Huddleston

Another month with a holiday: Halloween. A time when people don disguises and go trick or treating, especially the children. Even adults have parties where they wear elaborate costumes and most times masks, which some people call false faces.

Do you sometimes wonder if you deal with a false face instead of the real person in front of you. When people pretend to be something they aren't, some refer to them as a "put-on." I hope you are not a put-on. Trustworthiness can only thrive in the absence of deception. There can be no honor in one's word if there's dishonesty in that word. How can a good reputation be built on anything less than sincerity?

From individuals to bureaucracies, integrity can pave the way for principled morality. And if all relationships are raised in such a freedom from deceit, honest dealings could result. Wouldn't it be great to replace all fraud with uprightness? To swap suspicions for trust?

Let's leave the costumes and face covering for the children to enjoy. Deception only brings the need to deceive again and again to maintain the false face. It's simpler to live in accord with what is right. Let's get out from behind those false faces and walk in honesty with all persons.



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