Eileen Astels -- Writing Faithful Romances To Grow With

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

I wish all my American readers a very happy Thanksgiving weekend!!!

I've been taking a blog break recently and will continue to do so until Monday. I see many others are, too. May we all have a wonderful family time and also be productive in the writing end of things too.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

A Little Blog Hop for You with a Giveaway

2011-11-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

Writing is calling to me--actually, it's more like proof reading is calling to me, but I got hold of this great character interview and a giveaway opportunity for Deep Cover by Sandra Orchard on Noelle Marshand's blog that I thought I'd pass the link and opportunity on.

I hope you'll head over there and see just how interesting Ginny really is. For those who have read Sandra Orchard's Deep Cover, I'm curious, did you envision Ginny to look like the picture posted on Noelle's blog?

May your day be productive and good luck on any giveaways you've entered as of late!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Some Needed Muscle

2011-11-14T01:58:00.000-08:00

Have you ever worked through something that felt like drudgery?

Like losing those last five unwanted pounds.

Yup, that's me, and I feel like giving up. Why is it that I can force myself through hours, days, months of drudgery working on a wip, but being disciplined in the food intake department is too much of a challenge for this old bird?

But since this is supposed to be a Motivation Monday post, I did some research on how to fix my dilemma.

Since I can't cut calories anymore and continue to eat healthy, I've decided to go the exercise route. Did you know that for every pound of muscle you build it burns 35 to 50 calories a day. So if I can convert just 10 of my fat pounds into muscle, that'll burn an extra 350 to 500 calories per day. With Christmas around the corner, it'd sure be nice to be able to enjoy a few morsels of festive treats without packing on more weight.

Did you also know that there are many health bonuses to creating muscle? All the more reason to gain some of that lean muscle mass.

So who's going to join me in doing a little weight training and toning? I don't want to be alone. If you have some favorite exercises, I'd love to hear about them.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Remembrance Day

2011-11-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here in Canada we call Veteran's Day Remembrance Day. On and around November 11th we wear Poppies on our lapels and see memorial wreaths displayed in the foyers of stores and malls to remind us of those who fought and those who gave their lives to secure our freedom in this world.

I struggle with the concept of war, but they even existed in biblical times so I know God is overseeing them somehow. I would like to believe that something good comes out of every war. That God makes sure of that. But in the midst of all the bloodshed and loss, it's not easy to hold fast to that belief. But still, when we look at the bigger picture, I do see that freedom is worth fighting for. I just wish the fighting was of a more peaceful manner.

Do you ever wonder if when we get to heaven if there'll still be differences to fight for? As a fiction writer I'm forced to dream up conflicts and tension because that's what keeps the story interesting. Life would be pretty boring if we all saw things through the same perspective and agreed with each other 24/7. If heaven is full of peace, does that mean we'll be bored out of our skulls? Or will we have finally figured out how to debate and fight for what we believe in a peaceful way?

I wonder. I really do. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Okay, so on a less perplexing note, if you look closely you'll notice that the previous two pics posted this week are within this grand finale picture of my kitchen bay window. Everything I do is a work in progress and this window took the majority of the week to do. I think I'm finally satisfied with how this display looks. Washing dishes isn't near so boring now. What shall I decorate next? The mantel? The living room? Or perhaps the front porch?

Did you decorate anything this week? And may you take a moment today to lift those who have fought for us in prayer and for us to discover peaceful ways to fight for freedom and justice in this world.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Goals are Depressing

2011-11-09T07:05:00.000-08:00

Please forgive me, but for this Writer's Wednesday post I'm going to be a bit of a pessimist.

The only goals I seem to be able to achieve these days are outside of writing. I can start my writing day with my daily devotional from Our Daily Bread, which by the way is a wonderful way to start any day!! And I can even do a bit of decorating each day. But beyond that my goals seem to be geared around writing lately and I never seem to meet those goals.

Weeks ago I thought I'd be done the revisions I felt were necessary on my wip (work in progress). And it's not that I've been procrastinating, or dilly-dallying, either. Each day I put solid hours into this story and each day I come out a page or two ahead. A PAGE OR TWO.

And to top it off, just when I think I've gotten over the hump and will run right into a scene or two that shouldn't need revising at all, BAM, it's all crap again. Seriously, and I'm not being ridiculously hard on myself, either. I must have been living in dream land when I did my full read through and thought (in comparison to what I know now) that there was minimal work to be done to smooth it all out.

So I've given up on setting a goal date for this story to be fully polished. Instead, I'm switching my writing goal to putting a minimum of three solid hours in on this manuscript each day (which I've been doing so far) and let it be done when it's done. Not easy when I have new characters fighting for the stage right now and bless them, they want a Christmas setting for their romance. Maybe by the time the snow falls thick and heavy here I'll actually get to dig into their story, but until then, please Lord, help me revise, rewrite, smooth, go back and patch a little more, and finally polish to a gleaming shine this current wip I'm determined to finish. Amen.

What's the longest time you've ever taken to revise/polish a novel? Did you do it in the allotted time you had initially set for the task?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Balance, Anyone?

2011-11-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm in Christmas decorating mode. But I'm also still really busy with revisions, so I'm having to hold myself back. Anyone else suffering with me? Thinking of all you Nanowrimo contributors out there. Feeling your pain.

As my hubby often has to remind me, "Balance is important". It is, I know, and when hubby says this I know I'm too heavy on the writing and not enough on everything else that is important to me. So, since we have several Christmas parties planned for December at our house and I don't want to be rushed to decorate the day before the first event I'm committing a bit of time each day in November (which might only consist of 5 minutes on a given day, but at least it's something) to getting the house ready. To keep me on track, my post pictures from now until Christmas will be of my decorating ventures. Many will be totally unrelated to my blog topic, but hey, at least they'll be seasonally appropriate. And my prayer is that they help fill you with the Spirit of Christmas.

When I see beauty in the world I see Christ.

When I see twinkle lights, I see the Star of David.

I know many think that seasonal decorating is just commercialism. And Christmas decorations have nothing to do with the true meaning of Christmas, and I can certainly see their perspective. But to me, decorating in a festive way is how I recognize the importance of the season. It makes me Christ centered. So as I open up the boxes of stored trinkets and lights to celebrate Jesus' birth, I also fill shoe boxes and contribute to baskets for those less fortunate. I support the Angel trees in the malls. And I dream of one day getting myself over to a soup kitchen and volunteering there (that's the getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone challenge I have yet to achieve.)

What about you? How do you bring balance to your life in the midst of the Christmas or as some like to call it, the Holiday season?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

What Ever Happened to Christmas?

2011-11-04T04:16:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I were driving home from shopping for our daughter's birthday gift yesterday and as we were stopped at traffic lights, I noticed workers changing an advertising sign outside Home Depot. You know, the kind where they slide one letter in at a time?

Well, the words "Get a new kitchen before" had already been spelled out. As we sat at the light I anticipated seeing them spell "Christmas" next, but sadly "the h" got slid in just before we proceeded through the green light.

My heart sank as I realized they'd taken the politically correct route and chosen to refer to Christmas as "the holidays." When did "Christmas" become a word only used in Churches? And how did we let this happen?

Any suggestions on how we can bring "Christmas" back onto our streets?

P.S. Did you know there are only 51 days now until we celebrate the birth of our Saviour this year?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Taking the Plunge

2011-11-02T03:40:00.000-07:00

Dare I admit that I've sent out a submission?

Patting myself on my back here. I really did! Pinching myself now.

See, if you're like me and the whole self-confidence or lack thereof is an issue, it's not easy to share such a milestone. But there you have it, I've sent a partial out, and you betcha that I'm praying all over it, and praying for a healthy dose of toughness, too.

They say you're not a writer until you've received a hundred rejections. Well, maybe not a hundred, but you know what I mean. Now I've only received two rejections so far in this near nine-year writing journey of mine, and to be honest, one I sent in those very early years when I was way too naive so I don't consider it a serious submission. And I thank the Good Lord for it being rejected!

The other I sent in a rush because I heard this particular house was "hurting" for manuscripts. Now, that story I'd spent a good number of years working on, so the rejection that came did hurt, even if I suspected it would be the outcome despite the years of work I'd done on it. Deep inside I knew I still wasn't ready for publication nor was my writing at that time.

But this time, I feel like this story has real potential. I'm guarding my heart and running through a slew of reasons why a rejection might come back. Not near touching all of them here, but here's a small sampling:

Your getting there, but your writing just isn't strong enough yet.
Not a good fit for our readership. Your heroine's too sassy.
Your characters are two-dimensional.
Your plot is weak.
Sorry, already bought a similar one.

Need I go on?

So as I prepare myself for my next rejection, I'm also preparing myself for a miracle! I like to burn candles at both ends it would seem.

I continue to polish and re-polish this manuscript as I wait, and will move onto a new project soon--a sequel to this story. And I'm looking forward to taking Deborah Raney's ACFW Loop Course, The Business End of Writing.

If you're interested in joining me in taking this homework-free course, you can sign up by going to www.acfw.com and logging on. Click "Get Connected" on the top bar. Choose E-loops and subscribe to the ACFW Course Loop.

Hope to see you there!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T16:09:00.000-07:00

May your evening be spooktacularly terrific!

Surrendering to Him,
Eileen

Not Twelve Hours Ago . . .

2011-10-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

I knelt on the cold, sandy arena floor holding my baby.

Praising God that I can write this post today.

Hubby rarely does barn duty with me and the girls, but last night he did. There the two of us got chatting with other barn parents of horse-loving kids as our youngest daughter took Donner into the indoor arena to begin her ride.

We positioned ourselves outside the viewing window just before hubby blurted, "Oh no."

My eyes locked through the Plexiglas window on a child hanging sideways on a cantering horse.

Our child.

On our seventeen-hand horse acting nothing like himself.

As we bolted to the arena door we heard a sickening crash and thud. (Ten years as a horse mom has me hearing a lot of these, and every time my heart stops, then quickly reboots.)

First line of vision is our horse prancing toward the other end of the arena. His reins aren`t dangling. He`ll be okay.

The coach and hubby are at Cassandra`s side. I can see her legs flayed up against the side board. I zero in on her knees. Please God don`t let them have dislocated again.

They`re okay. Both knees of my near-crippled-child-of-late are safely positioned. Thank you, Lord!

I turn to retrieve our horse who is now in the thick of ponies with their mounted riders at the far end of the arena.

"Eileen!" Not hubby`s voice.

Panic sears me. That`s the coach`s, Laura`s, voice. She never asks for parents to come until the child is up and walking. Phil`s already breaking the cardinal rule of "stay away until she's up".

Her imploring glare has me buckle over.

". . . your daughter." I don`t know how, but now the coach is behind me and I`m kneeling over my baby girl.

I either thought she was dead or I took her seizure as a sign of no spinal injuries. I turned her contorted torso to hold her head in my lap. "Don`t move her," ricocheted off the side board from numerous people.

Stupid me. But there was no way I was going to let go of my baby now. All I could do was keep her as still as possible in the position I had her. Cradled in my lap and arms.

"She`s seizing." I cried. Her ashin face bold against the stark black helmet. Her eyes open, but not seeing.
Tremors worked her otherwise lifeless body.

People gathered. But I saw none of them.

I wrapped her soul more than her body in my arms for fear of injuring my girl more. "Dear Heavenly Father I ask you to heal my girl. Bring her back to us, Lord. Please God, heal my baby. In Jesus His precious name please God bring her back to us." It felt like minutes/hours that I prayed aloud over my baby.

The tremors ceased.

Praise God! He listened. He answered the way I wanted Him to! Praise God!

But Cassandra still didn`t come back to us.

"Cassandra, do you hear me?"

"Cassandra, Mommy's holding you, do you feel pain anywhere?"

"Cassie, do you feel your toes?"

Then her tears came.

Then sobbing. Precious, lovely sobbing. My girl could sob all day if she wanted to now. She was making her way back to us!

"Thank you, Lord!"

As I write this post, I'm tucked into our comfy round chair in our home and Cassandra is sitting on our curved couch across from me working on an assignment. Crayons rush rapidly over paper to colour a treasure box for a school project. She has a badly beaten tail bone, not broken. Praise God! She has a headache that prescribed Motrin is tackling. She's alive. She's all that she was before this incident, just a little worse for wear. And I'm still praising God!

We spent over four hours in ER last night. Of which near three of those hours Cassandra lay bruised and hurting secured to a board for fear of spinal injuries. Her butt hurt, and I loved hearing every complaint her sweet voice rang out while we waited. It's not every day a mother can say that!

The Doctor has assured us that her seizure was a response to her head injury. There is no reason to be concerned that she may have Epilepsy unless she experiences another seizure without obvious cause.
We are gifted with yet another day to raise our three precious daughters, and I'm PRAISING GOD!!

May we all see the beauty in every mundane complaint that our children and loved ones cry out. It is a gift. And after last night, I choose to praise God for it!!!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Is Wordiness a Part of Your Writer's Voice?

2011-10-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

Okay this picture has nothing to do with my question, but isn't Emma just so cute? She's forever finding tight nooks to curl up into and this time it's my Hawaii bag that I see has my missing pencil case in it. So that's where it's been hiding! Thanks, Emma!

Do you ever do brainstorming with a writing buddy? Well, I did that right after my devotional time this morning and this particular fabulous writer, who is the queen of tightness, had also suggested I send her something of mine to read.

Okay, I'm going to be completely honest here (not that I'm not always honest, I just usually choose carefully what honesty to disclose on-line, like I'm sure we all do for good reason) but I hummed and hawwed over whether or not to send those chapters because . . . well, I'm wordy, and she's JUST NOT! Now I love this writer's stories, so however she tightens her writing it works wonderfully for me, but when I try to tighten my stories like she does I feel like something gets lost along the way, and that's what made me ask myself "Can wordiness be a part of my writer's voice?"

I suggested in my email that she's busy (she is on deadline afterall), so to not critique but rather just point out any glaring issues she might discover along the way of reading my manuscript. I'm feeling especially weak today, I guess. Told my hubby I think I'm PMSing and he suggested he was having sympathy pangs of it, too, so there'll be no consoling hugs this week, I suspect. :(

Even as I write this I sit in trepidation suspecting that she's going to tear that baby to shreds. And if she does I know it will be a blessing, even if it leaves me scarred and with mega work ahead. Am I alone, or do others feel this same angst when they send their work off to writer's who are far superior to themselves, even after seven years of doing so and living through it? I wonder, does a writer ever get beyond that fear?

I know I have to keep pushing myself to get better. And putting our work out there to writer's below, at, and above our writing level is one of the best ways to learn and grow. But discerning how much tightening to do while protecting my own voice and style is something I grapple with on a daily basis.

So you tell me, when is wordiness just wordiness that needs to be addressed as a writer and when is it a part of your writer's voice and needs protecting?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

A Gift Unused is . . .

2011-10-24T05:29:00.000-07:00

God's grace denied.
A profound thought. At least for me it is.
Consider the following verse:
"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various form..." 1 Peter 4:10

I've always thought of God's grace as an amazing gift that I don't deserve, but so thankful to have. But never before did I really consider that I could be used as a vessel to deliver His grace to another person. According to Peter, though, we are to be faithful in administering God's grace through the gifts we are given.
We are instruments through which God extends His grace to others. Doesn't that make our responsibility to discover our gifts all the more important? It does to me.

P.S. I'm in need of this today, so I'm reposting from an October 2008 post. Hope this verse speaks to you today, too!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Goodbye's

2011-10-21T03:30:00.000-07:00

Life is rarely black and white and neither are goodbye's.

Goodbye's often come with mixed emotions.

Sadness for what is lost. Anticipation for the future and what opportunities it might afford. Perhaps a portion of hurt is blended in, too. Feeling let down, cast aside, unimportant enough to keep the person around. Loneliness. An unease that makes your insides feel brittle.

How do goodbyes speak to you?

Last Sunday we said goodbye to our pastor of five years. I will miss her sermons (I can honestly say that not one of her sermons lulled me to sleep, which is far more than I can say for a few of the speakers we have had in the past), and I'll miss the understanding we were gradually building of one another. I'm not the easiest person to get to know, so trust is an exercise in patience. There are times when I feel that this chapter at our church was cut much too short, though I saw the end coming quite a while ago.

I mourn what could have been.

See, time is the most precious of gifts, I think. Given enough time a deep, special report can be built between pastor and parishioner. A respect and meaningful understanding that can work wonders in the running of God's church can be formed. But that takes time. It takes conflicts and working through them, it takes growing side by side and learning how each other ticks and respecting each other's ways.

But now that time has come to an end and we must start all over, afresh, with whoever God sends our way.

Though I trust that God is in control and what is to come is healthier for everyone involved, I still question this detour put before us. But most of all, I pray that we continue to grow together as a congregation, being an instrument through which God works in our community and beyond.

Are you mourning a loss, today? May I lift it in prayer for you?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Fall Kitchens

2011-10-19T03:06:00.000-07:00

I know I've said it before that I love all seasons and that I'm always ready for the next by the time it rolls around. But one of my favourite parts of fall is the harvest. And so I have to share this recipe with you all, as it just tastes of fall to me.

As you work away at whatever you've got on your chore list this fall, I hope you'll brighten your day and scent your home with this baked Apple Torte. It's easy to put together, but looks and tastes like a well-practiced chef created it. Trust me, I'm not one of those, so if I can create this and my whole family love it, so can you!

Bavarian Apple Torte

Crust:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour

Filling:
1 pkg (250 g) Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 cups peeled sliced crisp apples
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Crust: Combine butter, sugar and vanilla. Blend in flour. Spread dough on bottom and 1-inch up sides of a 9-inch springform pan. I use a pie pan and that works well too! Note: If you haven't planned ahead to get things to room temperature, a few seconds in the microwave does wonders!

Filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended. This takes a bit, but make sure you get it good and smooth. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Spread evenly over the crust.

Topping: Combine sugar and cinnamon. Toss apples in sugar mixture. Place in pinwheel pattern over cream cheese layer. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 F and continue baking 25 minutes longer. Cool on wire rack. Chill 3 hours before serving.

Serves: 8 (or if you're watching your delicate figure, it could easily serve 16)
Preparation time: 20 minutes (do it while pondering a plot issue to multi-task)
Baking time: 35 minutes (and in this fall air, it nicely helps to heat your home and scent it all in one)

Enjoy!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Grueling work!

2011-10-17T03:06:00.000-07:00

There's a reason I've been absent from the blogosphere and social networking for a bit. I've been hiding behind my Kindle and as a direct result of that, I've been struggling to fix the broken pieces of my manuscript.
See, I can't, seriously CAN'T, not edit my stories when I read them on a computer or even when I print them out. But when I send it to my Kindle, I find I can just input quick notes on occasion and keep moving forward with the read. Sadly, with this one, I discovered some ill-ordered scenes, missing pieces . . . still, and areas that need a whole lot of tightening yet.
When I finished the read I felt overwhelmed once more. I had such hopes that it was near perfect when I mailed that baby to my Kindle address, only to discover that in my patch-work method of editing, I'd missed a lot. Thankfully, one of my wonderful writing buddies sent me notes on how to save a manuscript. (Thanks, Sandra!)
I'm at the storyboard stage and having fun with brightly coloured (yes, I am Canadian, so that's how I spell it) sticky notes lined up on an accordion of folded paper. I love working with 8 1/2 X 11 sheets of paper that I can tuck inside a clear sleeve within my story duo tang that holds my character sheets, this-and-that notes pertinent to my story creation, pictures, etc.
Some like to post a wall with stickies to create their storyboard. Other's use Excell and keep it all neat and tidy on their computer. Still, others make use of a whiteboard or some other surface of choice. Where you create this storyboard doesn't matter, as long it works for you.
The more I struggle through the grueling work of polishing this novel, the more I realize that I need to infuse some fun into it, and for me that means colourful stickies on a long transportable accordion of papers right now so that I can get this ordering of scenes right and fill in the missing blanks on the move.
What do you do to keep plugging along when nasty reality strikes you? Have you ever created a storyboard? Did it save you time in the long run

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Introducing Fit For Faith by Kimberley Payne

2011-10-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

Today marks the launch of Kimberley Payne's e-book Fit for Faith - 7 weeks to improved spiritual & physical health.

As a special promotion, today’s buyers will get free gifts for each copy of Fit for Faith that they purchase.

For details on the book, launch, and promotions please visit:
Kimberley Payne's site.

An Interview with Kimberley Payne

Author of Fit for Faith - 7 weeks to improved spiritual & physical health

Are you looking for balance in your life? Believing that prayer, Bible study and journal writing are to the spirit what exercise, healthy eating and stretching are to the body, this workbook unites spiritual health and physical health through a 7-week program to lose weight and develop a deeper relationship with God. This workbook is a motivational tool to empower women to improve their health to live balanced, whole and joyous lives that glorify God.

1. How was the idea for the book born?

Although I was born and raised within the church, it wasn't until I attended a Christian women's retreat that I realized how much I had compartmentalized my life: family in one corner, work in another; finances here, health there, faith over there. I began to see that my faith shouldn't be kept partitioned off from the rest of my life. Instead, it needed to be intertwined with all the parts of my life. If I was going to follow Him as my Lord, God wanted me to include Him in everything and that included my health and fitness.

2. What authority do you have to write this book?

I certified as a Weight Instructor through the YMCA, then went on to certify as an Aerobics Instructor through A.C.E., then went on to certify as a Personal Fitness through Can-Fit-Pro.

3. There are many fitness books on the market. How is Fit for Faith any different?

Fit for Faith makes no assumptions about the reader’s spiritual walk. All levels, whether a new Christian or a mature Christian, can benefit from this program. It is a program for a new Christian who wants to learn about prayer, journal writing and Bible study in the comfort of their own home, but a mature Christian can still be refreshed in their faith and re-commit to a daily relationship with God. It is motivating with inspiring reflections included each day and Christian truths set forth in a non-threatening manner.

Fit for Faith makes no assumptions about the activity level of the reader. All levels, whether a sedentary individual or a seasoned athlete, can benefit from this program. It emphasizes overall health, not just weight loss. Expertise and professionalism are provided throughout the program in easy-to-read “fit tips” and goal-planning assistance. The program includes strategies that empower people to make small changes in their daily routines to improve the quality of their life.

Fit for Faith is a well-rounded balanced program that follows the stages of change and so inspires confidence and builds esteem.

4. What is your purpose in writing this book?
The purpose in writing is to share knowledge from the health and fitness field and to demonstrate that partnership with God always leads to success, in every area of life. It is designed with the message of the gospel at its heart.

5. What is involved in the 7-week program?
The Fit for Faith program starts with developing an action plan that includes exploring benefits and success strategies of exercising, healthy eating, and stretching the body and the spirit. Then, the reader moves into implementing the plan through a daily program of prayer, Bible study and tracking of healthy habits. Each week is capped with a review that is a natural lead into the next week.

6. Can the book be used in a group setting?

Fit for Faith is a simple workbook to support a person through their day. It is designed for individuals to participate on their own at any hour, and anywhere. However, the workbook is extremely versatile and has proven success as a group program. Leader’s Notes are available to work within a group setting that can also be used as an outreach program within a church or workplace.

7. What are the benefits of the program?

It's like having your own personal trainer, without the cost. There is a ton of useful information that helps the reader wade through the myths and misconceptions that are out there.

It's an awareness program. The reader is accountable to record their activities, and this helps to recognize where their strengths are and what areas they need to improve.

It's a lifestyle change. Over the 7 weeks, the reader will gain habits that last a lifetime.

8. Do you offer workshops/presentations based on the book?
Yes, my main three presentations are:

Fit for Prayer
Learn how to fit prayer and physical activity into your daily routine
This workshop unites physical health and spiritual health to lose weight and develop a deeper relationship with God. In this highly interactive session, you will gain insight into how to incorporate prayer and fitness into your daily round.

Food for thought
Find out how to nourish your body and spirit through healthy eating and Bible study
Just as eating healthy foods nourishes your body, Bible study nourishes your spirit. You will learn practical suggestions and scriptural guidance to achieve your goals. Feel the joy of a healthier and more spiritually fit life.

Flex your Spirit
Discover a new way to express yourself with God through journal writing and stretching
Taking care of yourself physically is one way to honor God with your body. Your thoughts and emotions directly influence your physical health. Learn how to recharge your physical and emotional health through stretching activities for your body and spirit.

9. Where else can we find you on the Internet?
Website: www.kimberleypayne.com
Blog: www.fitforfaith.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/FitForFaith
Facebook: Kimberley Payne, author & speaker http://tinyurl.com/3fymrmp
YouTube: Fit4Faith channel http://tinyurl.com/3jnjpkp

Notes from Eileen:

I've just begun looking at Fit for Faith and so far I'm pumped to treat my body as the temple God intended it to be, in eating, fitness, and growing in spirituality. I hope you will be as encouraged by what Kimberley has to say in this e-book as I am.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Seeking, again.

2011-10-07T03:08:00.000-07:00

I just discovered today that we are seeking a new pastor for our church.

There's something hauntingly numbing about that. Perhaps it's because it's still sinking in, and that we only had her for five years.

That sixth sense of mine had me suspecting our pastor's resignation was on it's way, but still, I find myself anxious about the search that is about to ensue.

I'm curious, if your church has recently undergone a pastor search, what did you find helpful in seeking and narrowing down candidates? I'm not on the search committee, nor would I wish to be. But I'm wondering how other church's have included the mass parishioners in helping with the search so that the best fit for all is found.

Was a survey performed, perhaps? If so, what questions helped define the church's needs?

Please pray for our church as a whole as we traverse this pastor hunt once again, and also pray for our pastor who has made this difficult decision to resign. Many souls are affected when a pastor leaves. Strength and healing are just two of the things we need. In God's amazing grace we will get through this, though, I know.

May you all have a blessed weekend. For us in Canada, it's a long one--Thanksgiving Weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to all us Canadians!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

What a Difference . . .

2011-10-05T03:58:00.000-07:00

a new computer makes.

If there is one tangible tool a writer needs this day and age, it's a "working" computer.

I've worked with a slower-than-a-slug, crash happy, burn-your-thighs kind of laptop for quite some time now. So when it crashed this weekend with heat rising from it, I knew I had to go searching for a new one.

Now I'm in the midst of transferring data from the so-close-to-dead old one to my new speedy hp laptop while eagerly writing. Well, editing really, but since I'm not dealing with a chug-kerplunk-chug-along Sally any longer, I'm enjoying this editing journey more now.

I stretched my last laptop to work for me for near six years. I'm told that's amazing. I wonder how long I should expect this one to last?

When you got a new computer, did you notice a drastic change in your writing productivity? I sure hope you did, because this is one sweet gift I'm experiencing now! [Choosing to worry about the bill later. :)]

PS. Okay, so I've discovered one bug. I can't seem to publish blog post on my new laptop. I must be missing something on that computer. Lots and lots to learn.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Are You Working Hard?

2011-09-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm piggy backing on Jody Hedlund's blog post today. Jody says that there's no secret to gaining success as an author or on building a web presence.

It takes hard work to gain success.

And if anyone I know is the epitome of hard work, Jody sure is.

But saying it's hard work to me, is like reading a book with absolutely no setting, or vise versa, only setting, no dialogue, no internal monologue, no interaction between characters. It's too vague for me. It doesn't offer advice on what to do. I want to know what constitutes working hard?

This made me pause to consider if I'm working hard. But more importantly to me, if I'm working hard and smart. Let's face it, time is of the essence this day and age. It's hard to come by, and yet it still does exist. We still have twenty-four hours in a day, and we don't have to plow our own fields, hunt for our food, travel up hill to the outhouse, chop wood for the stove, or pump water from the well in that same time span today, but yet it just seems to disappear in a fog regardless. If we use our time wisely in this age of amenities though, God can do wonders with it . . . in His timing, I'm certain!

So, okay, I'm going to do a little analysis of how I believe a writer should use their time.

1) Write daily. Whether you're working on a first draft or editing, or creating a query or proposal, be sure to write with respect to your writing career daily. Am I not working hard if I take weekends off for my family's sake? That's debatable, as most things are. But for me, if I've destroyed my relationships with my loved ones in order to build my writing career, then I'm not okay in God's eyes or my own. But if I can etch out a half hour or more on those "family" days when my working isn't taking away from family, then I better make use of that time wisely, or I'm not working hard. Do you have a TBD (to be done) list? Make sure there are things on it writing related that can be done in small increments of time for when the family unexpectedly disappears during "family" time.

2) Never stop learning and apply that new knowledge every chance you get. If you don't have a novel you're "studying", you most definitely should have a how-to book on the craft of writing, or on social networking and marketing on the go. Life is a journey of learning and growing and there are all kinds of ways to nurture this. Find what works for you, and make sure it's available for a daily dose of L&L (Live and Learn). If you're creative, you can even do this while enjoying "family" time on occasion. Hint: Movies as homework --have a pad of paper at hand to jot down the structure, find the MOG (moment of grace), discover the moral premise (if there is one), or whatever else aids in your current study.

3) If you're a blogger, be consistent with posting. I'm failing in this lately. Good thing I'm doing this analysis after all!

4) FIGURE OUT the social networking sites you SHOULD be on, and learn how to use them wisely. I'm still working on this. How do we do this smart so that it doesn't eat up precious hours of our writing time? This is one journey that's a huge struggle for me. I've read Kristen Lamb's books and I'm still in a fog. Guess it's time to reread and find other sources of how-to's regarding this topic.

and to do all of the above leaves me with one more glaring analysis.

5) Divide the household chores. My kids would hate me if they read this. But it's true, somewhere along the way I've made the upkeep of our home my responsibility. And I'm sacrificing sanity/health for writing. Yes, you read that correctly. Since I can't do all those things "writerly" and keep up with the daily chores, I settle for dust and fur motes surrounding me as I write, which increases my blood pressure and has me mentally fighting with myself. Why am I not super woman? Why can't I keep up our house AND build a successful writing career? I just can't. At least not alone, I can't. So, girls, a new ship's about to sail (no, I would never use that cliche in a book, but since I need to get back to editing, I will here), and you're not a guest on it, you're a fully fledged member of the crew! (Check back with me in a week to see if I stuck to my plan. Lifting prayers now that I do.)

So what did I miss? What more do we have to do to work hard and smart as novelists?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Recap in Pictures

2011-09-28T03:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to St. Louis.

We stayed downtown within walking distance of restaurants, Busch Stadium, a park, and this historical courthouse which happens to be a museum. On Sunday, Sandra Orchard and I were able to tour inside the courthouse. Beautiful. It was absolutely beautiful, but I discovered I can't handle heights as we climbed up winding staircase after winding staircase.

If you know me at all, you'll know why I just had to take a picture of this horse drawn carriage. Such gentle animals, and so great to see them every time we stepped outside.

Here I am with my fabulous roomie, Susan Mason, and my wonderful flight buddy, Sandra Orchard.

Some blogging buddies and a surprise trespasser!

I wasn't that great at pulling out my camera this time, so I didn't get near as many pictures as I should have. But between the courses and the socializing, 2011's ACFW's conference delivered big time. I'm always amazed at how positive and encouraging every one is at an ACFW conference. Competition doesn't exist there. It's replaced with the wonder of prayer. Such a blessing indeed.

If you were in attendance this year, what was the highlight of the conference for you? Or were you like me, everything about it fed your soul?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

The Aftermath

2011-09-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

Hi, All:

I'm back home from conference, but woke with a terribly itchy, achy throat. Been sucking on Zinc lozenges and Fisherman Friends all day. And I'm plum worn out. Frustrated too, because my USB cord is missing for my camera so I can't get my pictures downloaded to share with you all. Hoping to rectify that by Wednesday's post.

But, if you haven't heard yet, the 2011 ACFW Conference in St. Louis was wonderful. I send a huge thank you to all who worked so hard to put on such a positive conference. We are truly blessed by the dedication and selflessness that so many offer to make this such a successful conference every year!

This year's conference, once again, was full of great learning experiences and awesome friend finding and making. I have discovered though, that as I gain more knowledge in the craft of writing, each conference seems to refresh and build on previously learned writing tools. Which is very cool because I'm finally starting to believe that I've got the basics down. Yay for me!! Seriously, I never thought I'd be able say that. Now I have a whole lot of learning still to go (learning should never end in my opinion), but to finally have the foundation of the craft down to build on feels awesome. The skies the limit now.

If you weren't at conference, did you watch the live feed of the Gala Saturday night? If you were at conference and I didn't get to chat with you, where were you hiding? I'm so sorry I missed you!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Au Revoir . . .

2011-09-19T03:42:00.000-07:00

for now. It's ACFW's conference week!

And things are a little nuts around the household so I'm signing off blogging for the week.

I hope to see many of you in St. Louis! For those who can't make it there, I lift a prayer for your needs to be met this week.

Blessings and safe journeying prayed for everyone.

See you again Monday, Sept. 26th.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

The Newest: NetBooks?

2011-09-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

You know, like Netflix. Only with books. That's what they're suggesting for the future of e-books. Pay a monthly fee and get access to a wide range of e-books.

I'm not sure what I think of this concept. If they stick with how Netflix only offers older releases, then this might be an interesting offer for forgotten previously released e-books. But if they're considering putting newly released e-books into the lineup for a monthly fee, then I have issues.

I just heard about this concept yesterday, so still mulling through the ramifications of it. What do you think? Yay, or nay for a book version of Netflix?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Remembering 911

2011-09-12T04:57:00.000-07:00

Most days I don't remember one day from the next. But I distinctly remember ten years ago yesterday. I suspect I'm not alone.

The girls were off to their new school of all of one week and hubby was preparing for a flight out west. We received a call from his office saying that all travel had been banned by the president due to the attacks on U.S. soil.

What?

We'd been rushing around getting hubby organized and packed for his trip and hadn't had radio or T.V. on so we were oblivious to what the world was seeing. We immediately turned on the news channel. As soon as we saw what was happening we both had this NEED to have our family near. I can't describe it any other way than that a longing to gather our girls into our arms struck us full force. I called our girls' new school, where no one knew me yet, because in our system they don't get volunteers in during the first couple weeks until the students are well settled, and informed that we were coming to pick our girls up.

The secretary sounded shocked on the phone, so I proceeded to give an explanation. It was obvious she had been sheltered from the world's events that morning, too. Granted it was still relatively early in the morning in this part of the world. We gathered our flock and spent the day playing games while praying for all who were injured, all who had lost their lives, and all who were left with a gaping hole from losing loved ones in this senseless hatred-induced catastrophe.

God never said that life would be easy or fair, but He did promise to be with us. When I think of 911 I question how God could let such evil happen, but then that's why I'm not God . . .

Our understanding is minuscule compared to God's, and quite frankly, I don't think we'd be able to handle even a little of what He knows.

May we find our strength through Him who knows all, and Who can draw good from even the worst of evils!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Seize those Opportunities

2011-09-09T03:50:00.000-07:00

On the inside of my daughter's Ariat riding belt, the following is engraved: "Opportunities multiply as they are seized."

Sabrina's eyes lit up when she noticed those words. It was like whipped cream on top of a delicious piece of cake for her. You see, the leather belt is embossed with flowers on the front and has blingy silver eyelets running across the top and bottom, so it's quite beautiful for all to see. To discover such encouragement hidden inside, for just the wearer to know, made her day. Imagine if the maker of this never seized the opportunity to engrave such encouragement inside, would my daughter still have purchased the belt? Probably, because she loved the look of it, but she'd not be near as optomistic as she is now when she wears it.

Let us seize opportunities to write, so that we may seize opportunities to edit, so that we may seize opportunities to seek agents, so that agents may seize opportunities to seek publishers for our books, so that publishers may seize opportunities to share our stories with the world.

See, it really does work.

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized."

May your weekend be enlightening and may angels guide opportunities your way!

P.S. I'm trying to reach that golden number of 25 "likes" on my Facebook Writer's Page. If you wouldn't mind popping over, please "like" it and I'll go searching for yours to "like" too.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Lululemon Makes You Think

2011-09-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

After church on Sunday, I took a drive to London for my girls to get their Lululemon fix for the start of school. My girls have enjoyed the quality and look of Lululemon fitness wear for several years, but because we don't have one near by, it's a real treat to go there. One can only afford an item or two at a time, even that often breaks the bank, but the quality is what keeps us coming back.

Guess what mom loves the most about Lululemon?

Yes, it's the bag! Not only is it free with purchase, reusable, and even attractive, but also . . .

IT MAKES YOU THINK!!

Have you ever taken the time to really ponder all that is written on their bags?

"Life is full of setbacks. Success is determined by how you handle setbacks." If my editing goes at a snail's pace when I'm rushing for conference, do I just give up on it? Do I keep trudging along, knowing that I'm not going to have this piece fully polished by then? Yes, but I also work on one-sheets, elevator pitches, etc. to discuss the story's merits with editors and agents, in hopes of sending off a proposal in a month or so when it is ready, and by then it will also have any suggested changes incorporated in it too.

"The world is changing at such a rapid rate that waiting to implement changes will leave you 2 steps behind. DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW!" Just write already--create that new mythical adventure that seems way too out there and write it. It may be the beginning of a new craze like vampires and warlocks. You'll never know unless you do it now!

"Do one thing a day that scares YOU." Imagine if we had our characters do this? When my youngest remarked on this one, I commented that I think the word "scares" should be replaced with "challenges". Totally less scary to me! Heehee.

What about you, are you a Lululemon fan? For the bag, or the attire?

P.S. I have a Facebook Writer's fan page up now, but having trouble getting people to "Like" me. Does anyone know how to install that tiny "like" button on your blog? I'm embarrassed that I can't figure this out on my own.

Have a blessed week, everyone!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

It's moving day...

2011-09-02T03:30:00.000-07:00

not for me, but for our eldest daughter, Alisha. Hubby and I are moving our all of seventeen-year-old girl into her dorm room today on the University of Guelph's campus. She begins studying within the Animal Sciences program next week. Sometimes I just have to blink myself through acknowledging that. Where have the years gone?

I've been asked so many times from friends and family if she' ready for this. They're not asking from Alisha's perspective, they're asking from a mother's over-protective nature if I think this is a good thing, or if it's doomed for failure. Is she mature enough to handle the rigors of post-secondary education while gaining all that independence in one fell swoop?

I honestly think Alisha is ready.

She's spent the last two summers as a councilor at an overnight horse camp for girls, so she knows what it's like to be away from home, and she knows what responsibility is. In fact, she's always been the responsible type. Sadly for her, she also inherited her mother's more serious, quiet, dependable nature. I'm thinking she's not going to be the party girl type at all. I'm hoping I'm wrong on this and that she does allow herself to have a bit of fun (not the kind that will get her into trouble mind you).

As far as separating from us? Well, let's just say she's been doing that for several years now. Hence why my own needed mental leap from writer to publication has taken so long to come. I'm finally breathing in non-pins-and-needles air around here. Hallelujah!

Oh, I'll worry as all mothers do, but I'm at peace with this transition. I've lifted my little girl into the Lord's hands, and I'm ready to see her soar. If she should ever take a bit of a nose dive, we'll be right here for her to perch on. She can rest a while, regain her strength and direction, then take off again. I know we're only meant to have our babes under our wings for a short time, then it's their turn to fly free.

I also know how children hate to hear words of wisdom from their parents, especially teen children, but as I put together a laundry basket of care filled with all things odd and wonderful to make her dorm room uniquely hers, I just had to tuck a card inside. Leaving all praise and encouragement within didn't seem quite enough, though. I just had to add: Success is often altered in hind site, and changing direction doesn't imply failure.

If there is one thing I want my daughters to know, it's that the roads we travel won't always be straight or how we initially planned them to be. And that's okay. Life is a journey, not of successes and failures, but rather, of discovering our purpose. We might get lucky and discover a fairly straight path, but then again, that might not be the path for us.

As my daughter begins her venture in discovering her purpose in this world, let us all be reminded that our journey's are ongoing, too. We, too, have more life to live and may our Good Lord continue to guide and protect us all on our journey.

Have you ever experienced a twist that felt like a failure, only to discover its great purpose later? And what about your leaving home experience? What things did your parents do that made the transition more fun or easier?

I pray we all have a wonderful weekend filled with much love and fellowship!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Transition from Writer to Author

2011-08-31T03:30:00.000-07:00

A week ago I linked over to Michael Hyatt's cyber home and watched a wonderful video interview he did with Rachelle Gardner. Lots of great information was given during that informative interview, but one message in particular that Rachelle addressed really hit home for me.

Rachelle noted that one of the most common mistakes is "failing to make that mental leap between writer and published author." She went on to explain that the desire and passion that many writers have isn't enough to enter into the business of publishing. I knew that long ago, but as one watches writer friend/acquaintance after writer friend/acquaintance see their dream of getting an agent and then publication arrive, one wonders what is wrong with themselves, personally, for not "feeling" ready to seriously venture into submitting.

For some of us, that mental leap is a longer process than it is for others. Some grasp the skills of writing at lightening speed, while breathing in all they need to know about the publishing industry, too. Others, like me, take the slow but steady approach. Some, like me, take advantage of not being ready, and even take breaks when family matters call. Gasp. I know, we're not supposed to admit to that if we want to be taken seriously as writers. Right?

Personally, I don't agree with that mentality. Now's the time (before you plunge head-first into shopping your stories) to take breaks when needed to keep life sane, because once you are agented and then published, if you take your career seriously, long breaks from writing won't be an option. Now's the time to take those breaks and see if the desire ever becomes strong enough for you to return to the job of writing and getting published. Because then you'll be that much more confident in knowing that this is the job for you!

Stages of life have a way of dictating how fast you'll reach that ready-for-publication crest, and as a wife and mom of teens now, I'm starting to understand why my path has been so drawn out. And I wouldn't wish it any other way. As my oldest daughter heads to university this coming weekend, I'm seeing a shift in my mental processing of this dream I've had for so long.

I'm feeling very close to being ready. Maybe not for publication yet. Only the powers that be can discern that. But I'm ready to take charge. To claim a career out of this writer's journey I've been traversing for eight years. As hubby would say, "It's time to take the bull by the horns, honey, and go for it."

So off I go with Mary E. DeMuth's tutorial of Write a Powerful Fiction Proposal. Wish me luck, please, and if you'd throw in a prayer or two as well, that'd be awesome!

For all those still with me in the before-agented/published stage please know that you're not alone. God has a plan for us, too, let us do the work He asks, and leave the timing to Him. I hope you'll click on the links in this post and that they help guide you where God is leading. And I'd love to hear how long you've been on this writing journey with me.

For those who are living the agented/publication dream now, any words to the wise you want to share with us still venturing along?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

A Gift Unused...

2011-08-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry, we had a family emergency in the midst of creating my blog posts for this week (our youngest dislocated her knee at camp and the stubborn thing wouldn't go back in without a hospital visit). As such, I find myself recycling an old post for today. It's one I like to remind myself of often, so I thought I'd reshare.

A Gift Unused is God's Grace Denied.

A profound thought. At least for me it is.

Consider the following verse:

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various form..." 1 Peter 4:10

I've always thought of God's grace as an amazing gift that I don't deserve, but so thankful to have. But never before did I really consider that I could be used as a vessel to deliver His grace to another person. According to Peter, though, we are to be faithful in administering God's grace through the gifts we are given.

We are instruments through which God extends His grace to others. Doesn't that make our responsibility to discover our gifts and use them all the more important? It does to me.

What gifts are you sharing to spread God's grace to others?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Takeaway Friday & Winner

2011-08-26T05:18:00.000-07:00

Before I announce the winner of Sandra Orchard's LIS debut novel, Deep Cover, I just want to thank Sandra for all her time here at Faithful Romances this week and all that she shared with us. Sandra is a blessing to me, I hope her posts blessed you as well and that if you haven't already, you'll pop by her cyber homes, both website and blog, to get to know her better and start building a friendship!

I see many blogs host a Friday Five, so today I'm going to list five takeaways I got from Sandra's posts here this week. For the record, I've garnered lots more than these five, but here's a taste of them.

Perseverance is key to success. And in my personal experience, God uses writing to test this!

I'm not as much a pantser writer as I thought I was. Yeah, I'm on my way to conversion! October will most certainly test this as I prepare for NANOWRIMO 2011.

I need to share my brainstorming of stories with non-writing friends who are willing to play. Not only will it be fun and informative no doubt, but it could also be therapeutic and a blessing.

I seriously need to somehow bring my office into the light of upstairs--white board and post-its in the very least. Since creating my lovely office downstairs, I've discovered it's just too secluded to work comfortably in. I need to be upstairs with my pets and natural lighting. And I need the use of that huge white board to plot, plot, plot!! Fearing my living room may become my new office. What do you think? How weird would it look to have the first room you see as you enter being a writer's office (and our house IS open concept, so foyer is only separated from the sunken living room by an oak railing?)

I'm sure I knew this before, but it had slipped my mind obviously--Sandra and I share a math background. I graduated with a BMath degree from the University of Waterloo...many moons ago. Sandra's living proof that a mathie can become a romance writer...and do it WELL!! There IS hope!

And now for the winner of Deep Cover.

Congratulations, Robyn Campbell!!

Send me your snail mail address so I can mail you this awesome book!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Marketing in Today's World & Book Giveaway

2011-08-25T03:04:00.000-07:00

We're finishing off our week with Sandra Orchard here on Faithful Romances. It's been a pleasure having Sandra enlightening us this week, and today's topic is Marketing a novel in today's world. I've asked Sandra to highlight what her marketing plan is.

Marketing. The word alone is enough to send icy chills down my spine. Promoting oneself just feels…wrong.

But the days of publishers marketing our books is long gone. (Although with Harlequin, it’s still pretty good.) Readers expect to be able to find and interact with authors online. So at the insistence of my agency’s publicist, I started a Facebook page.

Figuring out how it all worked was a huge learning curve for me, but I have to admit, I’m enjoying it. I still get a thrill every time an email pops up to let me know someone “likes” me. Not sure how pathetic that is to admit. But there you go.

I always click on the person’s profile and learn a little about them. Because ultimately, I’m not there to promote my book, but build relationships with my readers. It’s fun. It’s addictive. It can quickly swallow my time.

For that reason, among many, I had avoided social media like the plague in the past. I didn’t want to spend any more time online than I already was. I wanted to write. When I interact with friends, I prefer one-on-one emails. I’m a fairly private person, and the idea of posting generalized comments for the world to read (or even just my “friends”) was uncomfortable to say the least.

I still feel embarrassed to announce the latest stop on my blog tour, or my latest personal blog post on my FB page. After all, how many times do my friends and fans want to read an interview or review on my new release?

Yet, I want to promote the blogs of the wonderful bloggers like Eileen who invite me to share my story with their readers. Generally, I try to post items that give value to readers, such as the latest free Ebook offerings etc., or share some humorous or newsy items about what’s going on in my life. I’m still searching for a happy balance.

I also started a blog, Conversations About Characters http://SandraOrchard.blogspot.com, and am thoroughly enjoying writing it. I didn’t think I could possibly think of enough things to say in a blog, and am surprised by the ideas that keep coming. I’ve designed it to be interactive, and am very grateful for the comments of my faithful readers. I’ve already made some wonderful new friends.

But to be honest, I’m finding it difficult to find time to actually write my novels!

Since Love Inspired books are only in stores for one month, I decided a blog tour would be the best means to get the word out to potential readers. I was blessed to receive dozens of invitations, and as a result, I have been very busy answering interviews and writing guest posts. I know this is just a season, and once I get caught up, I’ll find my rhythm again.

And hopefully, people who follow several of the blogs that are hosting me, won’t be so sick of hearing about my book that they’ll run the other way at the mere mention of my name!

I haven’t looked into Twitter or the gazillion other marketing opportunities out there. I don’t want to market myself. I want to build relationships with people. So I need to find a pace that works for me. The one thing I’ve committed to do without fail is to personally respond to every reader who emails me. I am sincerely touched when someone takes the time to send me a note.

This is an exciting time to be an author. The opportunities to reach people around the world are truly amazing. Just last week, an editor of a German romance magazine emailed me to ask for an interview for their September issue. I was thunderstruck. I mean, how cool is that?

The best piece of advice I’ve received on marketing came from fellow Canadian author Anne K. Albert. Her editor told her, "Self-promotion is not a sprint, it's a marathon." Now, whenever I feel overwhelmed by the long list of things that publicists suggest I do from press releases to book signings to bookmarks to blogging, I remind myself to pace myself. It doesn’t have to all be done today, or this week, or even for this book’s release. If I do a little each day, that’s good.

Ultimately, the best way to keep readers happy is to write fabulous books and keep them coming.

Sandra, It's been a real pleasure having you visit and share this week. Thank you so much! I wish you all the best with your writing and sure look forward to all your books to come!!

Last Day to Get in on Deep Cover Giveaway:

Leave a comment on this post or any of the posts here this week and you'll be entered to win a copy of Sandra Orchard's debut novel, Deep Cover.

Good Luck everyone!

Surrendering to Him,
Eileen

The Art of Plotting & Book Giveaway

2011-08-24T03:42:00.000-07:00

I asked author Sandra Orchard if she'd be willing to share how she plots. As a panster I could use all the help I can get, and after reading Sandra's notes I realized I'm not totally a panster anymore after all. There is hope for me, I guess! Anyway, without further ado, let's hear what Sandra has to say:

Eileen has asked me to share how I plot my stories. I'm not sure I'll convert her from being a pantser. Except to observe, that many self-proclaimed pantsers are really longhand plotters. That is they figure out the story as they write the first draft, but unless they have a really good "feel" for the essential elements of a story, it can take many more drafts to work those elements in.

That said, even as a plotter who had thought through the GMCs of my characters and the main turning points before beginning the first draft of Deep Cover, since I didn't have a solid grasp of essential story elements at that point, the final story evolved over many, many drafts.

In contrast, I submitted the sequel with only minor revisions to the first draft. I wrote a second draft at the request of my editor to add more elements of the heroine in danger and to heighten romantic tension, which I’d polished with the help of my wonderful critique partners, so final line edits were minimal.

All that to say, pre-plotting is only as effective as our understanding of story. The more we write and read and revise, the stronger that becomes. And sometimes it's the story that causes troubles. Some stories seem to write themselves, whereas others, especially if they make us dig into places we don't really want to go, become excruciatingly painful to write.

Enough preamble…

I start with a story idea. It may be a character, an occupation, a crime. For example, while visiting a writing friend who is dying of cancer, her handsome male nurse came to check on her. I remarked that he'd make a great hero for my next book. So… after he left, we brainstormed his story. That was over a month ago, and it's still stewing in the back of my mind as I work on revisions for my third book, and write blog posts etc.

We came up with an inciting incident, a heroine, her complete backstory and GMC (ie goal, motivation, conflict), and several main points of the suspense plot. What I have yet to figure out is the hero's GMC, the romantic conflict, and what needs to change in him before he can be with the heroine. I have lots of ideas, but nothing has gelled yet. And to be honest, I haven't had time to give it much thought.

The important thing to keep in mind at this stage is that the more interrelatedness you can create between each of the hero and heroine's internal conflicts, the external conflict, and the romantic conflict, the better.

From the outset, I find it useful to frame the concept of the story as a "what if?" question. The answer leads to further "what if?" questions, and the answers become the structure of your story. The theme of your story (i.e. what your story is illuminating about real life) often becomes clear in this process. I have one critique partner who is particularly adept at spotting it. Understanding this somewhat ethereal thing is useful, because then you can be more purposeful in the events you bring into the story.

For example, my "what if?" question for Deep Cover was: what if an undercover cop finds the perfect woman, but can’t tell her who he really is or what he does for a living? The theme that evolved was twofold. Does the end justify the means? Or more personally, is it possible to be a man of honor and live a life of lies?

If you're planning on attending the early bird session at ACFW this year, you'll be learning about premise. I find it useful to frame the premise of my story as early as possible, because then I'm always looking for how it can be illustrated in a scene. The premise of Deep Cover is simply that truth overcomes betrayal.

Okay, is your head spinning?

Mine still does when I try to wrap my mind around all these ideas. But that's the fun, and power, of brainstorming. You start to see threads that work together, that share a common theme. As we write, we often intuitively include elements that enrich the theme, even when we haven't consciously figured out what that theme is!

Once I have a general idea of the main plot points of the suspense and romantic plots, and a decent grasp of my hero and heroine's internal, external and romantic conflicts (and it would take many more blogs to detail how I do that), I start writing. I usually write the first three chapters and then email them to my critique partners for feedback.

Writing a few chapters gives me a better feel for the voice of my characters and how well the plotting will work. At this point, I'll make adjustments to my framework as necessary, and then write the synopsis.

I must admit that I hate writing synopses. Pantsers biggest complaint is that all this pre-plotting takes away from the joy of discovering the story and the momentum of writing. Plotting doesn't do that to me. It energizes me, fills me with an overflowing well of ideas to draw upon. However, writing a detailed synopsis does. I prefer to plot the main turning points, black moment and epiphany, and then as I write the story, draw on the other ideas to fill in the gaps.

Clear as mud?

**It is to me now! Thanks Sandra for sharing this wealth of story planning! Since I do use the GMC model, I guess I'm not a total panster. I just need to delve into it a little deeper now to get the full benefit out of it. I'm thinking NANOWRIMO now, must put in my October calendar to do the PLOTTING first!!

Book Giveaway:

Remember, for every comment entered this week up until Thursday night your name will be entered to win a copy of Sandra Orchard's debut novel, Deep Cover. A great read!!

Good luck to everyone!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Meet Debut Author Sandra Orchard & Book Giveaway

2011-08-23T03:44:00.000-07:00

I'd like to welcome Sandra Orchard to my cyber home today! It's such a treat to have you visiting, Sandra!

Sandra and I met years back at a writer's conference in Guelph. I remember the first time I saw her, she of course, was volunteering. Standing outside the main building, she helped anyone and everyone who came across her sight line with a puzzled look on their face. I was one of the people she took under her wing.

Later we met in an intense Romance workshop led by Carolyne Aarsen, and since then have kept in contact, and I'm so excited that Sandra lives in pubbed land now! Her debut novel, Deep Cover, is released in September through LIS. Leave a comment on any of the posts this week up until Thursday and you'll be entered to win a copy of Deep Cover. I'll announce the winner on Friday.

Sandra was kind enough to be interviewed by me, so without further ado, here we go.

Q1: Many of us unpubbed writers question how long it's going to take to write a publishable novel. How many novels did you write and prime before selling? What number was Deep Cover?

Deep Cover was my fourth manuscript, although I’d completely rewritten it (and manuscript number three) so many times it felt more like manuscript ten! By the time it sold, I’d written six novels. Deep Cover evolved over several years through many different drafts as I learned about the essential elements of a publishable romantic suspense. In contrast, by the time I wrote its sequel (my sixth manuscript), I finished the first two drafts in less than four months, and once it was contracted I completed the requested revisions in three months.

Q2: I know you've gone to several Writer's Conferences, both here in Canada and abroad over the years. Do you attribute any success to signing a contract from attending these Writer's Conferences?

I have learned so much through conference workshops, and have met many, many writers through them. I highly recommend the investment. For this particular story, I paid for a critique from Margaret Daley at the 2008 ACFW conference. She was very enthusiastic about it, and kept urging me to submit it to LIS. However, it was another year and a half before I did, because I was getting requests at those same conferences from other editors who wanted to see it, and LI doesn’t allow simultaneous submissions. I’m so glad I waited, because at the 2009 ACFW conference, I connected with fellow Daphne DuMaurier finalist Wenda Dottridge. We became critique partners in the months that followed. She had a really good sense of what the editors wanted and helped me edit the manuscript to better suit the line. In that interim year, Margaret (a special needs teacher) had also helped me fine tune the mentally-challenged sister character. As a result, I had minimal revisions to do once the manuscript was contracted, and…I already had the first draft of the sequel ready to submit.

Q3: You've made it to pub land. Congratulations, Sandra! Now, aspiring authors want to know, what do you believe is the single most important attribute a writer must have to succeed in getting that first contract?

Perseverance.

Q4: Are you a Pantster or a Plotter? Which do you like best, first drafts or the editing phase? Can you explain in 200 words or less how you go about doing each?

Oh, no!!! Word count limit—the bane of writers! I’m a plotter. I majored in math at university, very logical thinker, which is probably why I gravitate to mystery/suspense so I can plot out lots of twists and turns. Explaining how I plot is a blog in itself…let’s save that for tomorrow. For now, I’ll just say that I love brainstorming and plotting the best. The actual writing is hard slogging for me no matter what draft it is. Although, on some magical days the words do seem to flow effortlessly.

I do prefer the editing phase over the first draft, because that’s where I have fun layering in details and emotions that make the story breathe. My first drafts are about getting the suspense plot down and the skeleton of the romance and character arcs in place. The pacing is usually atrocious. I love to see the story come alive on subsequent passes. Thankfully, now that I have a better understanding of the elements and how to pace them, it takes me fewer passes to get everything in its place.

Q5: Your contract is with LIS. If you're bestest friend was trying to get a contract with them, what would you recommend he/she do to get noticed there and out of the slush pile?

Write an amazing story that meets the expectations of LIS readers. How do you figure out what those expectations are? Read debut authors. No, I’m not just trying to promote my book.

Established authors can get away with things that untested authors can’t. By reading debut authors, you’ll see what editors are looking for in books for their line.

The basics for LIS are: heroine in danger throughout the story, start in the action/danger (or at least hint at it) from the first line, first paragraph, first page. Introduce both the hero and heroine in the first chapter. They don’t have to meet, but it’s preferred. These aren’t hard and fast rules, but following them will help your chances. Writing in third person pov is mandatory. Keep the romantic tension high. Ensure there is a clear romantic conflict. Why could these two never be together? Craft a story in which they must work together to solve the mystery and/or avoid danger. Meeting editors at conferences, pitching your story idea and working out potential bugs with them ahead of submission will also give you a foot up.

Q6: In writing, there's no instant gratification, no magic wand to cast a spell of "greatness" on our writing, so what words of wisdom can you offer to help us survive the years of just-keep-writing-and-learning-even-though-the-road-seems-never-ending?

First of all, recognize that writing Christian fiction is a ministry. If you have dreams of making lots of money, you should know that most writers don’t. If you still can’t imagine yourself not writing, keep at it and don’t give up.

The coolest thing to me over the past six years was seeing how God used the fact I was a writer to connect me to other aspiring writers who I otherwise would probably have never met, or who would never have read a page of Christian fiction. They’ve become dear friends and I’ve had the privilege of sharing Christ’s love with them in ways I’d never imagined.

I also treasure the online and at-conference friendships I’ve cultivated with fellow Christian writers (both aspiring and published). We share each other’s triumphs and defeats, and carry each other in prayer. Writing can be a lonely business, but in today’s plugged-in world, it needn’t be. So my best advice is to have realistic expectations and enjoy the journey!

Thanks Sandra, for sharing these inspiring answers! If you have any questions, any at all, for Sandra, drop them in the comments as Sandra will be stopping by periodically today.

Tomorrow Sandra will take us into her world of plotting here. Since I'm a frustrated pantster myself, I'm really looking forward to learning about Sandra's method. Praying she can convert me! :)

Remember I'm hosting a GIVEAWAY of Deep Cover this week. Leave a comment with an email addy or link to it to be entered. Good luck everyone!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Introducing Deep Cover with a Giveaway

2011-08-22T03:51:00.000-07:00

DEEP COVER by Sandra Orchard
Book One in Undercover Cops Series

Is it possible to be a man of honor and live a life of lies?

Rick Gray hopes so, because as an undercover cop, he’s had to make too many sacrifices, including a future with Ginny Bryson, the woman he loves.

But when she finds herself in the center of an arsonist’s line of fire, Rick’s lies just might be what they both need to save their lives – and the lives of those they love.

I'm so excited to introduce Sandra Orchard and her debut book, a Love Inspired Suspense novel, Deep Cover. Sandra is a fellow Canadian, living in southern Ontario, too! I met her years ago at a Write! Canada conference and this year we'll be flight buddies for the ACFW conference coming up. I look forward to introducing Sandra more on my post tomorrow.

Today we'll be looking at the book, Deep Cover.

Since Deep Cover doesn't release until September 1 (but is available on Amazon for pre-purchase now), Sandra Orchard kindly sent a draft of Deep Cover to my Kindle a couple months back. In fact, Deep Cover christened my shiny new Kindle, and now I just know I'm destined to experience only awesome reads on it. Deep Cover sure set the bar high, though.

I have a confession to make, I've not been a huge fan of the LIS line in the past, unlike I am of the LI line, and for one main reason. Up until reading Sandra Orchard's Deep Cover , I always felt the mystery thread overpowered, leaving little room for relationship growth in the LIS stories. In Deep Cover however, Orchard created a wonderful balance that had me teetering on the edge of my bed not only to discover who kept sabotaging the group home development, but how in the world would Ginny and Rick overcome the lies and hurt they'd caused each other. Deep Cover is a page turner from beginning to end. Even for slow readers like me, you'll finish it in one sitting!

Without giving away too much of the story, I have to mention supporting cast here, too. Ginny's relapsing mother and handicapped sister, Lori, play an integral role in revealing who Ginny and Rick are to the core in Deep Cover. These interesting characters don't outshine Rick and Ginny in the least, but their challenges sure make for telling scenes. There are no empty characters in this book, and no empty scenes, Orchard has mastered it all. I'll be watching for the release of her future novels. They won't come soon enough for me!

Now, if you're like me, an impatient soul, you can order for immediate delivery of Deep Cover from eHarlequin using Sandra Orchard's site. Well, you can that is, if your address happens to be in their database. I'd love to hear if yours is, cause I'm still waiting for them to update it with mine. Insert pouting face here.

Deep Cover Giveaway:

Leave a comment on any of my posts this week from Monday to Thursday with an email link and you'll be entered to win a copy. Each comment you leave = 1 ballot.

Drawing will take place early Friday morning. I'll announce the winner on Friday's post and I'll mail it out as soon as I receive my copies.

Tomorrow, I'm interviewing Sandra Orchard here. Stop by to get to know this debut author and feel free to leave questions.

May your day be filled with interesting stories that make you a better person.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Oh, the Possibilities!

2011-08-19T02:55:00.000-07:00

Over at Inkwell Inspirations earlier this week brands and taglines caught my attention. Anita Mae Draper took it a step further with creating a visual icon or logo to represent her writing. How cool is that?

I'm no where near ready to delve into creating a logo yet, but that post sure had me thinking about my writing tagline. For the longest time I had Faithful Romances Worth Pondering stamped on this blog. But lately I've been switching it up, trying new arrangements--all starting with Faithful Romances, because that part I'm quite set on with the dual meaning of Faithful. Faithful as in Christian, and faithful as in true to the happily ever after scenario that romance novels offer.

If you look up, you'll notice I'm currently trying out Faithful Romances To Grow With in my blog header. What do you all think? I'm not big on ending with the word "with", but at a loss as to what else to use. You see, I consider Grow to have a double meaning here, too, just like Faithful does to me. Grow to me means that my writing is appropriate for even the youngest of romance readers, but it also implies that what I write inspires change, internal and spiritual, in the reader of any age.

Our names are our brand, but have you ever considered taglines that describes the type of stories you write? If so, please share. What are your thoughts on Faithful Romances to Grow With?

Next week I have a special guest dropping in and a giveaway. I hope you'll stop by to get in on the action.

May your weekend be fruitful and inspired, and if you haven't already committed to a tagline, may the perfect one come to you!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Within A Conference

2011-08-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

Writer's conferences are invaluable to writers/authors not only for the education aspect, socializing and mingling with like minded people, and meeting editors and agents, but most writer's conferences also offer photography sessions.

At the upcoming ACFW Writer's Conference they will be offering 20-min. sessions with a professional photographer. For $40.00 U.S. you can get a set of six individual head shots and you'll receive them on a CD to take home with you. An amazing value, and even better is the convenience!

Okay, I'm going to humble myself here. I fully admit that I'm NOT photogenic in the least. So when I attended the ACFW conference in 2009 in Denver, I hesitated to take advantage of a similar photo op. offered. After a little chat with myself and a major pep talk, I finally booked my photo shoot in hopes that this professional stranger could do miracles with the likes of me. I was totally amazed with the twelve shots she managed to get of me. The fact that I didn't look hideous stunned me. (Well, I may look hideous to some, but at least I didn't look hideous to myself this time.)

Here's the humbling part. Looking to the right, that's me (picture courtesy of another horse mom who just had to photo creep me last weekend. Thanks, JM!) And, yup, that's how pics of me always turn out. Definitely not like the one above and trust me, JM takes beautiful pictures of every one and every thing...just not antigenic me. To prove it and to help you get this awful pic out of your mind, here's another creep photo she caught in the same session. (Yes, I'm boasting here, that's Charlie horse and our Donner horse encouraging each other before they head in to show. Chloe, and my Sabrina were quite proud of their horse's good sportsmanship manners!)

So, do you need an updated author pic for social networking, the back cover of your book, and what about that one-sheet you're working on? Check out this link for what one proven agent suggests you pack for conference. Great samples of one-sheets there, too. If you're attending a Writer's Conference, do seriously consider the offered photography session. This link takes you to the one ACFW is offering this fall. I've booked mine. Have you?

Are you happy with your writer/author pic? Did you get it done professionally? What do you thinks makes for a great author photo?

May your smile brighten some one's day today, and I do hope that awful shades pic of me didn't scare you too much! (I get sun stroke easily and have a two-hour drive home on show days, so protect myself, I do.)

Surrendering to Him,
Eileen

Fighting Overwhelmed

2011-08-15T04:15:00.000-07:00

When the jitters, rushing heart rate, sinking gut, or maybe it comes in the form of shortness of breath to you, hits, does it spell OVERWHELMED?

Think last minute wedding glitches in the midst of everything else, preparing for arrival of baby in the midst of everything else, career milestone on the verge of success or failure in the midst of everything else. When I recall any of those incidents my stomach immediately aches and feels like it's dropped with a big ol' ugly thud to the pit of despair.

Is there any way out?

You betcha!

You can take comfort in recalling all those previous pits of despair and realizing that feeling didn't last forever. You survived. You found focus. By chopping and whittling away at everything crashing in, you cut them down to achievable increments. One little task at a time, you moved forward. And if you acknowledged each mini accomplishment along the way, instead of the bundle of unimaginable to-do's stealing your good senses, you got through it with only short panic attacks seeping in.

Just remember, the most important thing is to achieve the goal. How long it takes you to get to that goal is...well, it's really irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. The world will not end if the bride is a few minutes late. The world will not end if your project has to be implemented in stages--give 'em something new and that will placate them for the next big release. Think about where the baby's coming from--all they really need is You.

And if you're walking the overwhelming road of trying to prepare for a writer's conference now, like me, do your best at what you can accomplish before taking flight. Get that one-sheet done. Get the initial chapters polished like a shiny new engine. But don't stress if your whole series isn't polished. Don't even stress if you haven't got one novel fully primed and ready to your liking (in my experience, since writer's are always learning, there's always room for improvement, anyway), because conference is a time to learn and learn more, to socialize and network, and even if you did have all those novels ready and waiting for representation, there's no guarantee you'll find an editor or agent there that's looking for exactly what you're offering.

In fact, I've not heard of one writer who acquired their agent or sold their book at conference alone (even the special announcement sale at conference came as a result of their book being in the hands of the editor long before then). Writer's make contacts at conference, yes. But they don't sell on site. So stop stressing. Do what you can. Work hard and work smart and plan for conference to be a time of getting questions answered, feeling out prospective agents and editors, and letting them assess you, in return. Don't waste time worrying what you HAVEN'T got time to get done. Just do what you can!

Have you ever felt overwhelmed only to get through it and realize the stress was a big waste of time? Does stress hinder or boost your productivity? Is there such a thing as a healthy dose of stress? Or is it determination and self-discipline that keeps you motivated?

May we all work smarter and healthier this week onward!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

*image courtesy of Google.

Filling the Gaps?

2011-08-12T04:15:00.000-07:00

Is that what we do when we read fiction or watch a movie? Are we subconsciously trying to fulfill a desire, or need that reality isn't offering? Or are we seeking a snapshot of life that eliminates the mundane, or puts the ugly on someone else's shoulders for just a little while?

Or is it even more...perhaps we're searching for answers in disguise. Building up a storehouse of possibilities to get us through the next storm or learn how to open our eyes to see the gifts that truly do exist around us.

Just maybe we're example driven people. We need to see how others might handle a similar situation so that we can shift our response the next time something comes our way, beit humbling or gracious. And be proud of ourselves for doing so.

Fiction is a powerful tool to build character. Writers create characters and story out their imagination, but even more importantly, writers can influence who their readers become through the characters and story they create.

What stories do you yearn to read? What stories do you wish to write?

May the weekend bring you fiction that speaks to your soul and makes you a better person from that moment forward.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

*image found on Google.

Writers, Social Media, & Smartphones...

2011-08-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

do they go together?

If social media is the way to build our platform, then perhaps owning a Smartphone is a key component. Hey, wondering if you could claim it as a business expense? Of course, that would require an income as a writer. One day...please Lord.

Anyway, it occurred to me as I stood in line at the grocery store, followed by waiting in line to fill up my gas tank, that those chunks of time were the perfect length to take in a blog or two. Or interact with Twitter or Facebook friends.

I was always taught "waste not, want not". And time is one thing writers don't have to waste.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to Facebook, Twitter, and Blog hop on the fly? Oh, the possibilities. Instead of being limited to reading or writing in long hand (which is really time consuming) while waiting at the barn I could actually be connecting with writing pals, and family, too.

The thought of devoting my writing time solely to writing, while getting my networking in on the fly seems very appealing. Especially since I'm not on Internet at home unless I'm writing. My days go like this: I have to time my writing spells then click over to the networking sites, then back to a writing stint before reconnecting online again. On and on this goes while my computer chugs away.

What about you, do you have a smart phone? Do you utilize it to improve your networking and writing time? If you don't have one, do you wish you did?

May networking take you to knew friends this week, and may you be the answer to some prayers, too!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Social Media 101

2011-08-08T04:07:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share what's on my nightstand this week. I'm currently working through Kristen Lamb's Are You There Blog? and finding it very motivational and informative in a general sense. There's not a lot of detailed how-to's in this book so far, but it certainly helps you see marketing strategies within the bigger picture.

Next, I'll be heading into We Are Not Alone to get into the nitty-gritty of how to implement what I learned in Are You There Blog?. These are both available in book format and Kindle Edition. A great savings for the Kindle version, I might add.

If you've read one or both of Kristen's books or her blog, I'd love to hear what you learned and if they were valuable in your marketing strategies. Time will tell for me as I work through them.

And, hey, does Blogger have tags? If so, how do you utilize them? Would they happen to be called Labels in Blogger?

May this week bring you blessings in abundance, and may your marketing skills multiply!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Web Design ?

2011-08-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

My Website is in dire need of an overhaul. I understand (I think) that there is a way to use blogger to create your website. I'm wondering if I can just overhaul my current site using blogger?

Currently, I host my domain with GoDaddy and used it to create that dull, boring site that exists today. What I really want is to have my website match this blog. Pinks and colorful books just look so romantic to me. If I could splash a touch of rural life into it, I would, as my stories are mostly set in the country.

Can anyone guide me on how to do this, or to a service that could do this for a reasonable fee? Would appreciate all and any suggestions out there!

May the creativity wind drop by your doorstop today and may God bless it with His own special touch!

Till next time, may your weekend shine!

Surrendering to Him,
Eileen

Managing Blogging

2011-08-03T04:12:00.000-07:00

I love blog hopping, but with me it's a problem. Once I get started, there's an inner force that refuses to let me stop. And that force can eat up precious hours that ought to be shared with novel writing. Anyone else have this issue?

I imagine I'm not alone.

So, since writing is a responsibility I take seriously, and blogging is something I can't totally give up (I miss you all immensely), I'm drafting me up some guidelines, errrr, rules (even though rules are meant to be broken in my non-conforming world).

1. Novel writing comes first before I even dare to hop on over to any one's blog, including my own.

2. Keep my own blog posts as short as possible. I've long admired Jessica Nelson for her short and telling posts--so want to be like her! :)

and
3. Don't hate myself if I can't get back to my faithful commenters within 24 hours. I will get back to you either through a follow-up comment, or email, or visit to your blog, it just may take me a while, on occassion.

Does anyone have any other guidelines or rules that they follow to help them fit it all in? Would love to hear them, if so.

I hope everyone planning to attend the ACFW Conference in September is doing all they can to polish their chosen story(ies). The crunch is on. May the Good Lord guide each of us to write to His glory! And I'm so looking forward to visiting with you all in St. Louis!

Blessings prayed for you all and I do hope your humidex isn't as high as ours!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Romance Writer's Inspiration = Summer Love

2011-08-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

Have you looked around lately?

Recently I've witnessed:

A young man twirling his girl in the air.

A couple working through their differences over a "quiet" meal in a pub.

Leisurely strolls hand-in-hand.

A man coming out of the local grocers with a batch of flowers held high and a smile on his face.

An icecream cone for two.

There's more, I know, but they elude me as I enter this post. It occurred to me as these flashbacks danced in my mind that I have absolutely no reason to feel that writing romance is inferior to writing any other genre. Romance & Love seriously does keep the world ticking.

Yes, there is much more to this world we live in than romance and love, but hey, without those two how big would the world's population really be? How much would everything else really matter?

As romance writers we have the wonderful task of revealing how lasting love is sought and also how it often requires guarding. And right now, I'm thinking that's a pretty noble job to have. (This coming from a writer who is in the ongoing dreaded editing phase.)

If you're a writer, may God inspire you with a story to craft, and if you're a reader, may God touch you with a story obediently written.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Preparing for Conference

2011-06-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

It's starting to feel a lot like Conference...

And I'm getting excited with it being just over three months away now. Seriously, when you get to be my age, three months gets swept up like a feather in a tornado.

So now I'm tackling the "what to do" list to prepare for the auspicious ACFW Writer's Conference to be held in St. Louis this year. (The pic here is me and blogging buddings at the 2009 ACFW Writer's Conference in Denver, Colorado during the awards ceremony night.) It's such a great time to meet up with people in person that you normally only interact with in cyber land. There's nothing like it for socializing and learning with like-minded friends. I'm booked. Are you?

To prepare, I'm working on:

Putting the shine on "chosen" story for this year's conference. (Which is being a real pill to do for some reason. Prayers are always welcome!)

Checking my business card stock. (You'll want to pass these out to all the wonderful people you meet that you'll want to keep in touch with thereafter.)

Creating a one-sheet for said "chosen" story.

Working on my elevator pitch.

Doing self-confidence building as I tend to lack in this area.

Lots of praying for conference to be all God wants it to be for all attendees.

Reviewing pics from last conference so I don't take all the same clothes again this year.

Battling those added pounds so I can afford to go to conference. Conference, accommodation, and flight is expensive enough, a new wardrobe for it isn't in the budget and I can't live in sweats while there! :( I've really come to appreciate elastic waste bands the last while, sadly!)

So that's my list so far. Did I forget anything? If so, please share so I'm not rushing last minute to get it done.

I sure hope to see many of you in St. Louis in September. It truly is an amazing conference for writers to grow in their craft and interact with like-minded people. If you're teetering about whether or not to attend, spend time in prayer and ask previous attendees questions to help you decide. I hope it turns out to be your year to attend!

Till next time, may writing flow smoothly for you, and may decision making come easy!

Surrendering to Him,
Eileen

Blogger ?

2011-06-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

My frustration is mounting with Blogger. As a former Systems Analyst I can understand a week or so of the same problem happening. Some of those pesky bugs hide really well. But this seems to be going on for weeks and weeks now. Why hasn't it been fixed?

Am I the only one who has trouble leaving comments on random blogs anymore? It seems one out of every two of the blogs I get around to visit won't let me leave a comment even as an anonymous author. It just keeps sending me in a loop to sign into Google/Blogger.

So I'm sorry if I've not appeared to be visiting. I have been around, minimally compared to what I was doing, but I am still checking into many blogs and trying hard to leave comments on them too, but sadly to no avail for many. And the worst part is the time it takes to try and leave a comment that won't be accepted as I'd rather be moving on to read the next wonderful blog in my short time allotments these days.

Anyway, know that I am sorry if my presence hasn't been felt, but I am trying to keep in touch. If you leave a comment here and I can't leave one on yours it'd be great if you had comment reply active so that I can at least email you my comments to your posts some times.

May the sun be shining in your corner of the world, and may Blogger get this issue fixed! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

POSSIBLE FIX UPDATE: This just in thanks to Wendy Paine Miller: "Heather S. cracked the code for me. I can't leave comments if the comments are embedded UNDER the post. I switched mine to pop out and things seem to have improved."

Hope you all try this and that it works for you and me! :) Thanks Wendy for passing the info along!

Surrendering to Him,
Eileen

A Writing Tool Just A Click Away

2011-06-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining, the humidex is climbing, the story is flat lining, the horse is wonderful, and the weeds are a pain. Yes, that sums up my life as of late. Missing you all. Lifting you up in prayer as I chauffeur daughters here and there, weed a lot, take care of Donner, and procrastinate from figuring out impossible story fixes.

But this post isn't about me, just thought I'd give you all an update, though. :)

I have something far more wonderful to share today. Many of you have probably already been blessed by knowing Jeannie Campbell, aka, The Character Therapist, but if you haven't, you're in for a real treat. She is a living breathing writing tool with a wonderful blog filled with character therapist reference info that's invaluable in creating three-dimensional, realistic characters. If your character has baggage, or even if he/she doesn't have a sordid past, the first place to go is Jeannie's blog to see how you can make he/she ring true to life.

Here's a short Bio on Jeannie Campbell:

Jeannie Campbell is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California. She is Head of Clinical Services for a large non-profit and enjoys working mainly with children and couples. She has a Masters of Divinity in Psychology and Counseling and bachelors degrees in both psychology and journalism. Two of Jeannie’s “therapeutic romance” manuscripts have garnered the high praise of being finalists in the Genesis Contest for unpublished writers, sponsored by the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), of which she is an active member. She writes a popular monthly column for Christian Fiction Online Magazine and has been featured in many other e-zines, newspapers, and blogs.

I hope you will all head over to Jeannie's new website and blog to find a writing tool worth bookmarking for good! Charactertherapist.com

May your characters draw your readers into their world, and may they help your readers grow too! Till next time, may life be a swell of sunshine and happiness to you and yours.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Home Remedies & Other Stuff

2011-05-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

Ear ache, anyone?

I learned a new little home remedy I thought I'd share. If you catch the ache early, tilt your head to the side and drop a few drops of hydrogen peroxide inside your ear to enter the ear drum. Hold your head to the side for up to five minutes while the peroxide gurgles and sizzles inside your ear, then do the other ear. Only do once a day while signs remain.

Seriously, it's working. My throat and ear started aching yesterday and a barn friend let me in on this secret. The soreness is much less today. I'm taking Zinc lozenges for my throat, too.

Anyway, I had a great photo to put on this post but for some reason Blogger won't let me upload it. So plain old words greet you here instead.

I'm a busy beaver these days, so my postings are few and far between it seems. Sorry. And, I'm even sorrier that I haven't been able to get around to many blogs at all lately. I'm turning comments off on these new posts until I get back into full force here. Talk to you over at your blog as I get there.

Also, regarding writing Incidents instead of scenes. Just wanted to touch on this as some questions where left in the comments of the last post. Smith doesn't really give a different definition for Incident than scene writing, he just prefers to think of scenes as incidents. When you think of it, an incident has one telling thing or action to it that generally has fall outs or causes a change, and so I think that's why he likes to think of scenes as incidents. If we make sure each scene is around an incident that shifts things one way or another than we won't write flat scenes. Hope that makes sense.

Till next time, may the spring/summer flowers greet you with a smile, and may good health be with you!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Incidents Revisited

2011-05-20T05:56:00.000-07:00

In the last post we discussed the concept of writing incidents rather than scenes. To expand a little on this, here is how James V. Smith, Jr. suggests structuring your incidents in his book, You Can Write A Novel.

Smith suggests that you have:

An opening incident that hooks the reader and it should come as close to the beginning of the story as possible. So, if we consider our story as a series of incidents labelled say, A to Z. Let's make incident 'A' the opening, and so it will be of great importance to hook the reader.

Further, your story needs a point-of-no-return incident. This incident can lie anywhere, even at A in your continuum of incidents. For the purposes of the chart to come, I'll call it 'F'.

And the last incident of great importance, the greatest of importance actually, is the climax with will include the resolution and/or close of the novel. So it's the 'Z' in the continuum.

For those who like a visual to see how the incidents compare in importance, take a look at this blue print structure.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUWXYZ

So, what do you think? If you sat down and worked out your 'A', 'F', and 'Z' incidents, those being the most importance incidents in your story, can you see it being helpful to structure your novel as a whole? It's reminding me a bit of the snowflake method as I work through reading this book.

I'm off to another horse show this weekend. Busy, Busy, Busy!!

I pray everyone has a wonderful, safe, and healthy weekend with lots of joy to keep you smiling!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Are you writing Scenes or Incidents?

2011-05-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I went on a Chapters date on Saturday and as a result I find myself studying You Can Write A Novel by James V. Smith, JR. So far I'm finding what Smith has to say quite interesting.

He suggests that we write Incidents rather than scenes. That's a new concept to me, but I like his suggestion. Don't Incidents sound snappier than scenes? When I consider novels that I've really had a hard time putting down, I must admit, they read more like connected incidents making up the story. Each incident delivers a punch that draws me in further and further to the story world and characters. Scenes just sounds so drawn out now to me.

What do you think? What do you see as the difference between writing Scenes or Incidents? If any?

Personal Note:
Donner did amazing on the weekend for my girls. He went around the course like an old pro and it was pouring rain the whole day, too. Not exactly a good way to introduce him to showing, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Hurray!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Spare Time Any One?

2011-05-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me as I watched my girls settle into yet another show season that I'm not all that familiar with what my blog buddies do in their spare time from Writing? Do you all work outside the home? Are you raising wee ones that I know requires an amazing amount of time? Do you sew regularly?

What's the first thing that comes to mind that you enjoy doing when you're not putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to write? I added the "enjoy" qualifier because I'm not looking for laundry or toilet scrubbing duties here. I want to know what else feeds your soul other than writing.

I'll go first.

Right now, the first thing that pops into my mind is that I'm a horse mom. What does that mean? It means I spend countless hours at a stable watching my three girls ride all year long, every week. During show season, which in our area begins this week and doesn't end until October, I spend countless hours on the road following our horse tucked safely in a trailer to get to the show destination. Then I spend the days roaming the show grounds, toting Gatorade or waters for my girls, and just plain helping wherever needed to minimize the stress battling to overcome the riders in this competitive sport.

And, yes, I love it! I'm a huge animal lover, and feel so blessed that God has allowed us to own a big beautiful horse with as kind a heart as any I've met in these past ten years of being a horse mom.

The pics are of our Donner (show name: Donnerell) during our schooling day yesterday at Palgrave. Alisha, my oldest daughter, is the one riding him. Donner just turned six on April 25th and this will be his first year of showing. When we took him up to the show rings yesterday we had no idea how he'd be. If he'd spook? Refuse to listen to commands? Or be scared out of his mind? Our coach had warned us for months that he may not be ready to show until much later in the season if at all this year. It all depends on the horse's temperament and how they respond to the show rings.

Well, Donner amazed us all, including the coach. Alisha said he was the easiest he's ever been to canter (keeping him in control) and he didn't spook at a single jump in the ring either, even with them all spiffed up to look pretty and show worthy. So, this Sunday we'll be witnessing Donner in his first show. How he'll compare to all the other horses and riders I have no idea, and honestly to me it's quite irrelevent. I just wanted him to make it this far for my girls to get to show again because I know they love it.

I'm just so proud of my girls for all their hard work with Donner. And I'm proud of our Donner for being so good for my girls. Together, they've built a trust in each other that I know will go a long way in making this show season a positive, fun experience for all.

So now that I've done my bragging, I want to hear you brag on. Other than writing, what do you do that fills your spirit with joy? I hope you'll share!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

And This Is How I Know...

2011-05-09T03:12:00.000-07:00

that I am a writer at heart.

I HATE critiquing my own work.

I HATE editing my work endlessly, seeing only baby steps of improvement with each pass through.

And, yet, I tug, prod, and coerce myself to keep working through it. It may seem like I'm going at a snail's pace, regardless I keep going. Frustrated. Lost. Tired. Judgemental. Ever grasping for that failing spark of Hope that will lead me to Bliss Road.

I'm being reminded of myself daily now of years gone by. When I was a systems analyst each time I coded a new program I felt the same way as I am now. STRUGGLING to muddle through the test runs. The initial writing was always a breeze, it was getting it to run clean that was the challenge.

Each run of my code would bomb out a few lines lower. Each read of my manuscript has me nodding off a scene later. Fine tuning isn't fun. It's painstaking. It's giving down and dirty service to a masterpiece waiting to emerge.

Oh, how I hope and pray that my manuscript turns out like each and every coded program that I struggled to write all those years ago. Clean. Efficient. And Deliverable.

What about you? Are first drafts your biggest challenge, or is it polishing rounds that dip into your reserves?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Heartache Falls by Emily March Review

2011-05-06T05:41:00.001-07:00

The third installment of Emily March's Eternity Springs series is Heartache Falls. And my oh my, is it a telling read. Especially for all us 40-something wives who have been married in the 20-year range and are on the verge, or in the midst, of experiencing empty nesting. Two words come to mind when I think of this scenario, which I happen to be in the early throws of right now, Emotional Upheaval, with capital letters intended. Some might use middle age crisis. Whichever you go with, Emily March's Heartache Falls (which is a romance) is a book that helps put so much of our ongoing upheaval into wonderful perspective with a huge dose of HOPE thrown in.

My thanks is lifted to Emily March for writing this novel, this series. I've enjoyed every book in The Eternity Springs series so far and look forward to all the ones to come. But Heartache Falls, I have a feeling, will not be surpassed in its ability to resonate with me. My marriage is strong (lifting a prayer that God continues to bless us with this), so I don't share that main issue with Ali Timberlake (the heroine in this novel) but so much of what goes on beneath the surface of Ali, I can relate to, and I have a feeling many women can. Whether you are in, nearing, or not even close to this stage of life, I highly recommend you read Heartache Falls for the dose of reality it offers in such an entertaining, exemplary, and soul-searching way.

Back Cover Blurb: Married for more than twenty years, and with her children out of the nest, Ali Timberlake has come to Eternity Springs alone. She's looking for answers to heartbreaking questions and searching for something that's missing deep within herself. Taking a lease on the Bristlecone Cafe in pursuit of a lifelong dream, Ali feels revitalized as she becomes part of this charming mountain town. But a big piece of her is still back in Denver with her husband, Mac, a successful judge--and a man who isn't going to let the woman he loves leave without a fight.

When Mac shows up in Eternity Springs--sexy, seductive, and determined to win his wife back--he experiences the wonder of the place that has given Ali such feelings of happiness and belonging. He wants that for her, but even more, he wants that with her. Ali has found a special place for her heart. But is there enough room left in that heart for him?

Surrendering to Him

Eileen

Self-Critiquing Vs. Editing Your Own Work

2011-05-02T02:00:00.000-07:00

In the past I've always taken the approach of editing my own work. You know, altering my documents with each read through and when I think I've got it as clean as I can possibly manage on my own, it's then that I send it off to fabulous critique partners who find so much more wrong with it. :) They wouldn't be doing their job if they didn't, right!

But since it's been a long while since I looked at my first draft of The Unlikely One (actually, I've never read this one through it's entirety as I wrote it in full during NANOWRIMO a couple years ago and then set it aside), so I decided I might be distanced enough from it now to actually critique it as is before starting in on the extensive edits it's sure to need. I feared if I delved right into editing it I'd, 1)feel overwhelmed, and 2)do needless editing on pieces that will have to be massively altered or even deleted once I get the full picture of the novel again. A critique seemed like the way to go at this stage, but I realized I'd never critiqued my own work before.

I'm finding this critiquing strategy quite invigorating, actually. By putting comments and tracker on and sticking to using them to note areas of trouble, I can review my work through much more impartial eyes than I ever could when in editing mode. I know that when I'm done this self-critique, and subsequent required editing, I'll still get lots of suggestions and comments from my critique partners during their go at it. But I have a feeling I'll be much more capable to discern which suggestions to follow and which won't work for me or my story as a result of this first self-critique.

Have you ever critiqued your own novel(s)? If so, did you find it beneficial in the long run, or just a wasted step?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

What Step Are You On?

2011-04-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

I'm hovering between step two and three myself.

By Monday, May 2nd, I hope to begin my journey of bouncing from step three to step four until I earn a firm standing on the prestigious top step.

Goal setting is not new to me, but by laying all of it out here, having all you dear writing buddies witness this, and thus giving you the ability to call me on it is terrifying. I'm thinking I'm more vested in this goal planning now than I've ever been before or I wouldn't be so scared.

Okay, so while inhaling a load of earth thaw and horse waste outside the stable this week as my girls rode, I created a pros and cons list to make a wise and informed decision on which story I should really be tackling first. Turns out it isn't the one I've been working on since returning from my sabbatical. Hence the change in the meter on the side bar.

So, I'm truly starting from scratch for my May goals.

May's Writing Goals:

1. Assess merits of GMC of my first draft of The Unlikely One. (I'm a SOTP writer, need I say more?)

To do this, I need to:

Read first draft--it's been well over a year since I looked at this novel

Create road map of story as it stands

Note weaknesses and highlight desired fixes in road map

2. Rewrite The Unlikely One reflecting new story road map

May's Writing Related Goals

Post on Blog minimum of 2x/week

Keep up with critique submissions

Research agents and editors attending the 2011 ACFW conference to figure out who I would like to try and meet with there

May's Reading List:

Emily March's Heartache Falls

Catherine West's Yesterday's Tomorrow

Laura Frantz's Courting Morrow Little

May's Personal Goals (I have lots, but I'm only sharing a few here)

Exercise 5 days a week (walking or working out--minimum 30 minutes/day)

Intake minimum 4 cups of water per day

Stay away from processed foods

So that's my goals for May. Now, how can I help you stay accountable to your goals? I'll be lifting us all in prayer with a special emphasize on God sending us Angels to help us "stick to it".

As the May flowers bloom may our writing sprout in leaps and bounds as well!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

A New Month Approaches

2011-04-27T04:00:00.001-07:00

And with it comes goal setting.

For May, I want to put a little more effort and planning into my list of to-do's. I've become incredibly fearful that I will never meet the requirements of becoming a published author. And I'm not just referring to being able to write a compelling, flowing novel with characters that really do seem to breath and talk and muddle through life with a sense a purpose or lack thereof only to discover a valuable one.

I'm concerned I don't have it in me to create worthwhile faithful romances in a timely fashion as editors would require of a budding author who tends to write novels in the 60k range. Am I alone? Or do others find this concept of writing publishable novels on a quarterly or semi-annual basis daunting?

Regardless of whether I'm alone on this or not, I'm trying to place myself in the writer's seat of a published author for LI's (Love Inspired). And I'm goal setting with that in mind to see if I've got what it takes to be one of their authors.

Have you ever tested the literary waters of tasks and deadlines that a published author might face? If you're game to try this out with me (at least we don't have to incorporate marketing in our tasks yet), please join me by creating an aggressive May Goals list and lets see how we measure up. I'll post my goals on Friday. I hope you'll join me in creating your own goals for then, too.

And for those published authors reading this, with all your wisdom, is there anything you feel the need to warn me about? I'm all ears!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Man Help Needed Please!

2011-04-25T11:20:00.001-07:00

And, no, I don't mean I need help in getting a man. Got one of those and I'm quite blessed with him, too, thank you!

What I need is help in writing in the male POV. I had a very exhausted male doctor lean against the cement wall outside the next case room door he was to enter, and was told that that was a very effeminate move for a hero to do.

I write romance. I'm thinking writing a hero with effeminate gestures isn't in any one's best interests, least of all this ladies-man type hero I have.

So I asked my dear sweet hubby, who is very manly, what he would do if he was exhausted and had to wake himself up fast. I'm still in disbelief with his answer.

"I'd tickle the roof of my mouth with my tongue."

That was his answer.

He'd tickle the roof of his mouth with his tongue? Okay, I'm thinking this judge might just really slam it to me if I had my hero doing that, when leaning against a cold cement wall isn't considered masculine in the least.

Any one have a truly manly suggestion for me? He's in a hospital in this scene. Rushing from one delivery room to another. Knowing he's about to enter a room where an unviable baby is about to be born. He's frustrated with the situation, feels compassion and sadness for the mom-to-be, and he's exhausted, being it's near the end of his 24-hour shift.

What would you have your hero do before entering the room?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

I love the life and freedom I feel inside on Easter Sunday morning. What a change from the grief and sorrow I experience on Good Friday.

May this Easter Sunday be the start of life renewed for you and me, and may we walk in the path that the Lord has graciously painted for us! Be still. Listen for His direction in the songs of nature. Hear His guiding. Honour His will!

HAPPY EASTER!!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Blessed Good Friday

2011-04-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

May the gravity of this day not weigh you down, but rather offer opportunity to release the weight of your sins, knowing the price for forgiveness has been long ago paid.

May the gift of our Heavenly Father and the sacrifice of the Holy Son, Jesus, be accepted and glorified through you as you do His will.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Kindle Any One?

2011-04-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

My husband purchased a Kindle a month or so back. He can't say enough good things about it, and I must say after being a die hard could-never-see-me-reading-from-one-of-those-things I'm changing my mind.

The highlighting feature, which basically takes the pieces you highlight and copies them into a separate document for easy access, is one of the main reasons for my change of heart. Just imagine what you could do with a document filled with "new" words for you to use in your own writing, or samples of wonderful transitions to study for replicating the style in your own work. The list can go on of wonderful uses for this feature. Thankfully Mother's Day is coming up and I'm leaving hints for hubby and the girls! :)

I'm not saying I'm giving up on purchasing traditional books. Can't see myself ever fully doing that, but if a novel I'm aching to get is available in Kindle version, I'd probably choose it first.

If I'm being honest, though, if I discovered I loved the read on Kindle, I'd likely buy it in traditional form, too. So, maybe this e-publishing isn't all that bad after all?

Oh, and the free sample chapters is an awesome feature too, and the fact that you can get your book sent instantaneously to you is another. Now I really can't wait for Mother's Day!

What about you? Have you got a Kindle? If so, how are you liking it? If not, what's holding you back?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Simple Friday

2011-04-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

It's Friday!

So, are you writing in your pj's today or in your day clothes?

What's your usual writing attire?

As for me, most days I'm clothed as I do an early morning walk, but today I'm starting out in my pj's in hopes of getting a good run on words before household chores start clammering for attention.

What do you find, are you more successful in a day's writing when you've gotten dressed for the day, or when you delve right into your novel?

Till next time, may you write on...

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

When Questioning Doesn't Stop

2011-04-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, you're obsessed with questioning yourself. Two of the most repetitive questions I ask myself are: Is writing truly what God calls me to do? and, How much time and effort does God want me to put into it at this time in my life?

I was thinking about this the other day, wondering how to find answers to these questions when God clearly didn't have the desire to whisper His answers in my ear. I know this because these questions have been with me for years, and here I am still asking them of Him because I've yet to receive His divine responses.

But then a strange thing happened. This following phrase flowed through my mind with no hesitation and no internal editing either.

It's in the doing that the knowing comes.

When tapping into my internal editor and writing tight, my rewrite of this becomes:

It's in doing that knowing comes.

Anyone heard of this before? It's got to be from somewhere and my subconscious just retrieved it from its depth of hiding because it's way too brilliant to be original to me.

We cannot know if writing is for us if we do not write.

We cannot figure out how much time and effort God calls us to write without first allotting time and effort to it.

As we write, are we being fulfilled? Do we feel a sense of peace in the challenge?

Is balance in our lives? ie. Are we being pulled from writing to fulfill another honourable desire of our heart? If so, then it's time to listen to that inner pull. Don't quit, but rather cut back until balance is achieved, until that sense of peace returns.

It's in doing that knowing comes.

With prayer we can confidently stop worrying about whether or not writing is for us by simply doing it. If it's not for us there will be no fulfillment in the doing.

With prayer we can confidently discern how much time God wants us to devote to writing. If we're driven to do more and peace is present then we need to build on our time until we feel that pull. We'll feel the pull when family needs aren't met, or when our spiritual life is weakening, when peace fades. Adjust your writing accordingly. Rediscover fulfillment, balance, and peace.

Our time allotment for writing according to God's desire may well very from day to day, especially for those with young families, or crisis in their lives. But remember, just because He's saying no one day, it doesn't mean He's going to say no the next.

Pray, write, honestly discern on a daily basis using the peace meter, and you'll be writing to God's will every day of your life.

So, what's God calling of you today?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Mixed Emotions

2011-04-11T05:54:00.000-07:00

Have you ever attempted to show a character with mixed emotions in your work?

I'm envisioning how to do it now.

"This is amazing, honey. I actually know a few of the semi-finalists and I'm so excited for them."

"Have you read any of their writing?"

An energetic nod escapes me. "They deserve this. They've persevered, polished and polished, and this proves it." But I have too, other than this recent time off, I've pushed myself. I've improved. Apparently not enough, though.

"Are they any better than you?" Hubby just had to ask this.

I can't get down on myself. Not when I'm just getting back into my writing. "Obviously the pieces they submitted resonated with the judges, so yes, those pieces were written better than mine was for this contest."

Worry worked through hubby's ivory flecked eyebrows.

"I'm going to celebrate, not get discouraged. Promise. And I'm going to keep working at my craft while helping others polish theirs."

I've come a long way these past eight years. I'm now good enough to help even the semi-finalists polish for the next round. Breathing in deeply, my lungs fill with a fresh, bold new energy. I'm on my way to achieving my dream!

Could you feel the excitement, disappointment, and then exhilaration in that piece?

That was me yesterday afternoon.

I returned home from a weekend away at a Christian Women's Retreat (Awesome time. Tiring, but a great experience. This, too, explains why my post is late getting up today). I signed on to the family computer to discover that a few great writing buddies that I know made it as Semi-Finalists in the 2011 ACFW Genesis Contest. I was and am still thrilled for their success, but me not making the top 20% of the entries was disappointing, I'm not going to lie.

But it's not the end of the world, nor is it the end of my writing. In fact, it's yet another beginning. When I receive my judged entry back I hope to be blessed with some direction from the judges and from that I'll grow as a writer once more. I'm on my way to achieving my dream, just like every one of the semi-finalists are. Every writer's journey is unique, and designed just right for them!

Embrace your journey, celebrate your friends' journeys, and write on...

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

When Words Won't Mesh...

2011-04-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

What do you do?

I experienced a day like this on Tuesday. Not Fun!

If you're like me, eventually you give up on trying to get your words to resemble some sense of worthiness, and pull out that elusive procrastination tool. Normally I'd say that's a bad thing, but in this instance it saved me.

I did some blog hopping (I'm so enjoying visiting everyone again). Did some dishes (ticked off that chore on my list). Rolled up clean polos for our Donner boy. Wiped the counter down (two more chores ticked off). Did some more blog hopping and this time discovered a gift post. Ever come across one of those?

A blog post that cured your woes? Wiped the slate clean? Got you back in your groove?

Well, this one did it for me this week. I read it, resonated with it, then opened up my document once more and voila, the words tumbled onto the keypad in all their glory, thus improving a scene. An opening scene no less. Life is good. My thanks goes out to the many bloggers out there. You may not realize your post gave a writer a needed kick start or the tool to fix something, but more often than not it does!

The moral of this story is that sometimes a diversion is the very best thing when a writer hits a word block. It doesn't mean you're giving up, it's an opportunity to put procrastination to work for you.

Q4U: What other methods do you use other than procrastination to regain your writer's touch?

Till next time, may your weekend be a treasure, and may you write on...

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Anyone for a Useless Dialogue Beat?

2011-04-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when an itty-bitty beat that does no more than tell the reader who is speaking is the right way to go.

He said. John said. She said. Vivian said.

But, then there are those other times when the opportunity to use a beat to REVEAL something wonderful really should be considered. Say you have a long string of dialogue happening. If you stick with the boring he said, she said beats, the reader may be at risk of nodding off, at the very least, they may not see anything, but rather only hear faceless dialogue.

An example of using the useless beat method:

“I’m so sick of getting asked to do it all.” Trish said.

“Give it a rest, Trish.” Mom said.

“You never get on Miss Princess’ case to do chores.”

“She did it last time.”

“ She never does.”

“I did so, Trish, you’re such a liar.” Miss Princess said.

“Stop it! I’m so sick of you kids believing you have no responsibilities in this house. Your dad has even had enough of it so I’m not being unrealistic. That’s it. Cancel the sleepover. ”

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it.”

“Too late.”

“You can’t be serious. I said I’d do it.”

“You’ve got one hour to let me cool down. Use it wisely, and I’ll give you my answer then.”

(Names have been altered to protect the accused.)

Now let’s use the exact same dialogue but with some REVEALING beats and see the outcome.

Trish stomped into her mother’s room. “I’m so sick of getting asked to do it all.”

Her mother looked up from her laptop, feet propped on the worn black ottoman. Just great. She’s back to writing.

With arched eyebrows, her mother responded. “Give it a rest, Trish.”

“You never get on Miss Princess’ case to do chores.”

“She did it last time.”

“ She never does.”

Stomping down the hallway warned Trish that Miss Princess was going to get nasty.

“I did so, Trish. You’re such a liar.” If her sister didn’t have the dog in her arms, she might have stuck her foot out to trip the little princess in her quake.

“Stop it! I’m so sick of you kids believing you have no responsibilities in this house. Your dad has even had enough of it so I’m not being unrealistic. That’s it. Cancel the sleepover. ”

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it.” Trish watched Miss Princess slip out the door. Probably smiling.

“Too late.” Her mother’s nostrils flared. This was bad.

“You can’t be serious. I said I’d do it.”

“You’ve got one hour to let me cool down. Use it wisely, and I’ll give you my answer then.”

Do you see a positive difference? Does it ground you in the scene any better than the first version? Does it reveal the characters more so than what we can gather from the first try? Lots more can be done with this dialogue piece, but for the purposes of this post, I hope it shows how you can improve dialogue by putting even a little effort into creating unique beats.

Question for you: When are revealing beats distracting?

Until next time, may your beats enhance your dialogue, and write on…

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

2011 Genesis Entrants, What Are You Doing Now?

2011-04-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

Are you making use of your CP’s (critique partners) now, or at least dusting that entry off yourself and working further on it?

You know, if you’re a first round finalist, you will have ONLY two days to polish that baby before a few prominent literary specialists (aka editors and agents) lay their eyes on it. Now, if you’re the type to know that what you submitted is your absolute best, good for you. I think that way too. I mean, who pays to enter what they consider to be a mediocre piece at best? It’s always the best you can do, at the time of doing it, right?

And that’s the key. Time has moved on. Learning has continued. Further reading’s been done. Each day brings new experiences and thus new perspectives. YOU’VE GROWN! So it stands to reason that you have something more to offer that prized piece you submitted over a month ago. Right?

Don’t delay, dust off that entry (or those entries for those who sent in multiples) and see what new light you and/or your CP’s can bring to it/them. If you are blessed to be a finalist, you’ll be well on your way to re-submitting a new polished piece. You’ll still have those two days to review the first-round judges suggestions and opinions and apply what you feel needs to be done; but in all likely hood, you’ll probably discover that you’ve done a few, if not all, of them in the interim. Which would be most beneficial should those two allotted days of spoofing-up-time coincide with an exceptionally busy schedule of yours.

I’m just saying…there’s no time like the present to do some revisiting!

Until next time may your editing hat surprise you, and write on…

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

And She's Off and Running...

2011-04-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Wow! Who would of thunk it?

Not even a full week has passed and I've already linked up with an old CP (who I sadly left hanging when the sabbatical need hit me) and two new perspective CP's. A new chapter in my writing has begun!

I'm sending a huge thank you to all who lifted this in your prayers. God is listening...and He's providing. And I'm one very happy writer right now!

On another wonderful note: I've started re-reading the New Testament this week, one chapter a night. I've discovered I have new eyes, or perhaps it's a new mind, for it. In Matthew, chapter one, a genealogical account of Jesus is written. Call me a woman libber if you want (which I'm pretty sure I'm not) but since Jesus is the result of an immaculate conception with the only biological human parent being Mary, his mother, why does Matthew give the account of Joseph's lineage back to Abraham when I'm pretty sure there is/was none of Joseph's blood running through our Savior?

Hmmm...

Is it a mark of the times? Only males mattered in such ways back then.

Or is it perhaps the first written adoption story and God wants us to see that worldly influence (ie. family upbringing) is equally, if not more so, important in the raising of any of His children (after all, we are all His children, though Jesus is His only Savior child).

Thought I'd leave you with that food for thought on my first Friday back at regularly blogging. Would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Until next time, may your family shine in your heart, and may you write on...

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Less Thinking, More Doing Required

2011-03-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

It's hard to rebuild old habits.

For over seven years straight I faithfully put fingers to keyboard on a regular basis, then with this past year of "other commitments" that wonderful habit was destroyed. Oh, on occasion I'd wander back into my dream world of writing, editing, planning, even going so far as to believe that I was back in the game, but inevitably the next big thing on the Family List of to-do's sucked me away again. I guess there's something to be said for reaching that empty pocket mode--no money to spend=more time to write.

My problem now, however, is that during this past year while my fingers couldn't be tapping, I got very used to "dreaming" or "thinking fiction" to fulfill that creative need in me. Now I have to re-train myself to once again multitask while being creative. I need to get those thoughts into a document now.

After much deliberation of what writerly thing to work on first, I decided to edit one of my favorite stories. I wrote this story during Nanowrimo in 2009. And although I remember a synopsis version of the story, I can't remember it scene by scene. My challenge to myself this week is to create a scene-by-scene run-down of this story to spot weaknesses in the plot, characters, and story telling.

For each scene I'm logging the following:

POV Character

One-line title for the scene

What is introduced in this scene (ie. any new characters, new setting)

What is revealed in this scene (ie. required backstory, new plot element)

The Goal (whether it's a scene goal or story goal)

What is the setting

What is the conflict

Movement --Can I see this scene acted out as I read, or can it be caught in a snapshot, perhaps of someone thinking like the cartoon above depicts?

Character--What does this scene reveal about the character(s)?

Senses--Which are missing? Sight, Smell, Sound, Touch, Taste, Feel (I add this sixth one as a way of keeping track of elements of spirituality and emotions being present--internal feelings)

The point of all this is to refamiliarize myself with the story as well as pointing out my next steps with respect to editing it?

Question for you: Would you add anything else to this list?

Till next time, may blessings surround you, and write on...

Surrendering to Him,
Eileen

Time to Start Over!

2011-03-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

Soul searching has led me here. I gave writing a rest for the most part this past year in order to accomplish: 1) House renovations.

2) To find Donner (Donner is our 1400 lb equine friend, sports partner to my girls, and family member now. He arrived on Dec. 18, 2010 after five long months of searching!)

and 3)Plan, implement, and thoroughly enjoy a family vacation of a lifetime in Maui.

With those all accomplished, it's now time to lift my writing to its once again rightful place on my priority list. That being a true third in command without so many extra time-consuming sub-priorities under Family anymore. God first, Family second, Writing third. As such, I find myself in need once more of a critique group.

Not only are critique partners wonderful with helping you improve your writing, but they help you keep on track with your writing goals, too. So, anyone know of someone who writes inspirational romances, is in want of a critique partner, serious about learning the writing craft, and is willing to do a trial time with me to see if we're a good fit? If so, please do let me know.

I'm praying over this post!

Till next time, may blessings wrap around you, and write on...

Surrendering to Him, Eileen

Hawaii Introduced Me To A New Series--But it's not CBA.

2011-03-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

First, a little trip down memory lane. We recently returned from a family vacation in Maui.

The plumeria flower is so beautiful, I just had to take a close-up of it. Every time I look at this picture I see my girls as they were in Maui. Each wearing a plumeria clip proudly in their hair, smiling more often than I have ever seen them do, and even giggling more too. I want to go back!

Notice those hair clips on our girls?

Wouldn't it have been marvelous if one of the many humpback whales that play so often in this water would have breached just as the photo was taken? If you look carefully though, dead center in the background, just before the next island comes into view, you can see a spot of spray from one. We loved to sit out on our lanai each morning and watch them show their stuff. It was literally a humpback whales playground out in this part of the ocean while we were there. Such a gift to see!

Okay, these are just palm trees, BUT, these are special ones! At least to me they are. These are fuzzy ones! Notice how full they are? They had far more layers of spikes than the average palm did. Can anyone familiar with palm trees tell me what variety these are, or are they just young ones? How I wish I could grow a garden beneath these magnificent palms in my own back yard. And now I look out and see the foot of snow covering our ground and know that will never be. All the more reason to get myself back to Hawaii then, right! Oh, please!

Okay, back to reality time. Now onto the real reason why I'm posting today--I want to share news about a book series that I really love. Now if you're the type to only read CBA material, then you might want to skip the rest of this post, because Emily March's new Eternity Springs series isn't technically CBA, but it sure does have Christian faith parts within it, and that's one of the reasons I'm so drawn to it.

On our last day in Hawaii we stopped into a book store and I discovered Angel's Rest sitting lonely on a cardboard stand with books from a totally different genre. Someone had obviously taken a peak, then dropped it on their tracks to the exit, and I'm so very glad they did! Their loss is my wonderful gain.

Since reading Angel's Rest I snagged the second novel, Hummingbird Lake, in the series a day before the actual release date at Chapters and have finished it, too. Can't wait for April's release of the third installment in the series, Heartache Falls. Which, from the excerpt in the back of Hummingbird Lake I suspect will be the most meaningful for me as the empty nest syndrome draws near. With our oldest heading for University in the fall, and our youngest jumping into high school as our never-meant-to-be-lost-in-the-middle daughter begins her eleventh grade I'm sure I'll be able to relate to Ali Timberlake in many ways. I'm really excited about reading this next one. Maybe it'll help me prepare for what's ahead and build more romance into my marriage too!

So, here's the link to Amazon.com for a peak at this series.

Use the click to look inside option to see if you like Emily March's writing as much as I do!

Till next time, keep healthy, be happy, and write on...

Surrendering to Him,
Eileen

ACFW Genesis Contest Anyone?

2011-02-09T07:12:00.000-08:00

Hello, All:

It's been awhile since hanging out in blogosphere. How you regulars continue so faithfully boggles my mind, but I'm so glad many of you do find the time and energy for it still!

I've been diligently working on spiffing up my entry for the Genesis contest this year. Since joining ACFW, I think that was about seven years ago, last year was the first year that I can remember sitting out. I don't want that to become a trend, so I'm definitely entering one this year. And I'm praying for some very helpful critiques to come to me from the wonderful judges ACFW attracts.

I too will be a judge, I hope, this year. At least I sent my reply in as to which categories I would be willing to work on this year. Sadly, I had to opt out of my most favourite category of all, Contemporary Romance, since I'll be entering a piece into it. But I'm sure that I'll be enjoying the reads of whatever category entries come my way in March, as I did last year, too. ACFW has an amazing group of talented writers and I so look forward to being a fair, and hopefully helpful judge once more.

So, how many of you are entering, or have entered already this year? What would you consider to be the most helpful information to receive from a first round judge on your entries?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Struggles?

2010-11-10T08:04:00.000-08:00

They never seem to cease.

Time management. Family cooperation. Laundry piles. Dust bunnies coming out to play waaaay too often. Toilets clogging. Homework mounting that I have no idea how to help my kids with due to time management issues or just plain lack of know-how. Meal planning (let's not get boring now, we need to provide variety and healthy eating, right?!). Write or not to write.

These are just a few of my struggles, but one of the biggest struggles of all that I deal with daily is searching for the answer to this question: What is it that Jesus calls me to do for Him today?

Seriously, is what I choose to do out of the multitude of to-do's on my list and even beyond remotely close to what Jesus is looking for from me? How do we fit it all in? How do we keep life rolling along for our families, friends, work, and fit in that special time to do something that's specifically designed for us to do for Him, and Him alone, not for society to keep on keeping on? I'm not talking breaking open our Bibles, or reading our daily devotional, or giving God quiet time of prayer each day, but rather, what effort have I extended today to do that one unique thing that God has kept me alive on this earth for today?

Ahhh, perhaps it is for one of those well-knowns on our common to-do list, but perhaps there's something else too. I can't help but think that if there is a longing for something more within us, either we aren't doing what we're doing right yet, or He has something more in mind for us to fit into our schedules.

I want to know what that something more is! Or how I'm to do what I'm doing RIGHT!

Am I alone?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

P.S. Making no promises here to keep up on a regular basis in blog land, but felt the call to dust off this cyber friend once again and also to print off one of my previously written stories to percolate over. Hmmm, do you think God is telling me that "something more" is to return to my writing? ...Oh, how I wish self-doubt didn't exist. Living for Him would be soooo much easier if it didn't!

I'm Looking Forward To...

2010-03-24T01:22:00.000-07:00

Hi, All:

As the ACFW Genesis writing contest draws near to deadline, I'm getting excited about being a first-round judge this year. I was so pleased to receive an invitation to help out in this way a couple months back, and now that it's coming closer to fulfilling the job, my anticipation is building.

I've started praying already for this endeavor ahead. I'm praying that I'll pace the entries out, leaving enough time to take a second look before sending back. I'm praying that I'll be like one of those judges that I appreciated so much for commenting so freely and offering craft references where applicable.

Through the three years that I submitted I had my share of dud judges who just wrote scores down and made no comments within the document and just one-liners in the comment section for the sake of not sending back a blank comment page--not fun! Useless, really! So I know I don't want to be like them, time crunched and feeling like the whole process is a burden, rather than an opportunity to share what I've learned through the years about this awesome craft of fiction writing.

I want to be helpful to those who submitted, not lazy and disinterested. I want to offer praise for wonderful prose, constructive criticism where something falls flat, guidance and suggestions where they may be needed. I want to be one of those crazy wonderful commenter type judges who takes the time of day to pass along what little I've learned.

So, I think I need to prime myself for this task ahead. Starting tonight I'm digging open some of my favorite craft books for another absorption...not only for the entrants, but for me too. May the learning begin all over again!

If I have time, I'll blog on what strikes me this time around in study mode. Fun, fun, fun!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

(P.S. Comments are off during my intermittent time of blogging. I'm visiting a few blogs each day, not always commenting, but loving the reads! Thanks for keeping me informed through your cyber pad, and blessings prayed for you all.)

Wanted: An End to this Madness!

2010-03-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

Who knew renovations took so long to even get started? I sure didn't.

I suppose OPTIONS is a good thing, but it sure doesn't speed the process up. There are just so many different contractors, cabinet makers, etc. and they all offer different levels of service and lots of different advice. My head is spinning. I am so glad that God put the breaks on my writing for now as I work through this kitchen redo. He sure knows my limitations, and although I always considered myself a good multitasker, this is one job that wouldn't mix with writing for me.

But I am getting antsy to get back to story writing. The itch is here. I watched New Moon this past weekend and so desired to get creating again (not in Meyers' vampire way, but in my own earthy way). I hope to be able to bring writing back on board in another month or so, once the contractors are lined up and the design is finalized. If you're the praying type, I'd love a prayer for this: That I'll be attune to God's guidance and timing and trust in Him fully with all I do.

Blessings and peace prayed for you all!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

(P.S. Comments are off during my intermittent time of blogging. I'm visiting a few blogs each day, not always commenting, but loving the reads! Thanks for keeping me informed through your cyber pad, and blessings prayed for you all.)

Should Church "Stuff" Make You Sad

2010-03-12T06:13:00.000-08:00

...like when you're embarrassed and disheartened by leaders' actions?

In my case, I'm thinking it's causing a mix of emotions in me.

It's sad knowing how much pain certain leaders caused an individual volunteer in our Church, whether they realize it or not. But it's also very revealing. I learned something well worth learning.

Defensiveness is ugly, and while I can see instances where it may be a result of standing up for what you believe is right, it is far more likely to be a result of standing up for what you want.

Two very different things.

So, the next time I feel defensiveness rearing it's ugly head in me, I pray that I'll be able to take a deep "Prayer" breath. Seek council from God above, and stand up for what He has laid on my heart in a self-controlled, non-degrading, non-alienating way to others.

Truth breeds respect and healthy debate. Want too often breeds ugliness.

I have a feeling God is using my Church to teach me that strength in me should only come through Him. And His strength doesn't gang up, but calmly reveals truth.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

(P.S. Comments are off during my intermittent time of blogging. I'm visiting a few blogs each day, not always commenting, but loving the reads! Thanks for keeping me informed through your cyber pad, and blessings prayed for you all.)

On Again, Off Again...

2010-03-01T07:25:00.000-08:00

That's me lately.

My intermittent attendance here in cyber world is due partly to my massive house clean-out in prep for renovations, horsey life, and as a result of those two, my sabbatical from down-and-dirty writing. I have no idea how long this will go on for, so I'll pop myself into cyber world whenever I get a chance (like when I'm actually forcing myself to use the treadmill as I should be doing daily, and am doing now), but since I know it won't be as often as I'd like I've decided to turn off comments on my blog during this on again, off again time.

If you're like me, you often feel obligated to leave a comment when reading a fellow blogger's posts, so by turning that option off, I'm hoping to save you all time to be doing what you desperately would like to be doing--WRITING! My email address is available in my profile if you really want to get hold of me and don't already have it in your contacts list. I'd love to hear from you all from time to time. And I do plan to keep in touch via your blogs as the opportunity arises. I won't always leave a comment, but definitely will sometimes as I keep up on your life and writing (if writing is what you blog about).

So until my down-and-dirty writing sabbatical is over, I hope you'll enjoy the diverse posts I come with when I come up with them, and I hope you all write like crazy so that great books will be published soon for me to devour!

Blessings prayed for you all, and I look forward to visiting your blogs as I walk off the winter pounds I've gained.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Writing Pyramid

2010-02-17T00:32:00.000-08:00

Last month I had the privilege of attending an author event at our Church. Author Sigmund Brouwer spoke on how to encourage our children to write. What stuck with me the most from his talk was his warning to not edit our children's work, but rather encouragement creativity and not let the editing start until they are in middle school, well after creativity is fixed in their soul. I love this advice.

Brouwer went on to state what we hear all the time. Story trumps all. With that thought, doesn't it make sense to just let our children run with their creativity, not stifle it by imposing grammar rules. I think even as adults some of us need to go with this method to truly create stories that stick.

I really liked how Brouwer divided writing into a three-tier pyramid. The base, the largest part, is story. Without the story, a writer has nothing to work with. The second most important element for a writer is word choice. So once we have the best story down, then a writer's job is to manipulate the words to create the best word choices to polish the story. And at the very top of the pyramid is grammar. Only after we've created a winning story and chosen our words carefully to create just the right ebb and flow do we venture into the mundane task of making it grammatically correct. And, thankfully for those of us like me who are horrible with grammar, there are professional editors out there to polish our work with grammar as their main focus.

With this in mind, when next your little one presents you with a story, what will you do? Will you praise his/her creativity, encourage a brainstorming session to enhance the story if it runs a little flat, or will you be marking up the page with comma's, question marks, periods, etc., tap them on their heads, and smile at their accomplishment?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Lucky Winner of A Valentine's Wish by Betsy St. Amant

2010-02-15T00:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, I admit it, I was too lazy on Valentine's Day to make ballots for each of the twenty-two entrants (number of comments at the time of drawing), so I had my youngest daughter pick a number from one to twenty-two. She picked sixteen, which makes Jessica Nelson the lucky winner!!

Jessica, I know you've won from this blog in the past, but I don't harvest addresses, so please do send me an email with your snail mail addy so I can send this book out to you. I hope you like it!

So, what all did you guys get for Valentine's Day from your sweetheart? Guess what my special guy got me? Don't be jealous now, but my wonderful hubby got me season one of Castle. Isn't that just the greatest gift for a writer? I love it, and since I'm one who falls asleep waaaay too early, I need these on DVD because I miss far too many episodes to sleep.

Blessings prayed for all and may the spirit of Valentine's Day live on all year long!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

A Valentine Book Giveaway!

2010-02-12T09:06:00.000-08:00

Hello, All:

Sorry I've been absent for a while here in cyberspace. Planning for possible renovations is taking far more energy and concentration than I ever expected. Good for the winter blues for sure, but costly on the writing and blogging. Now that a professional designer is on it, I hope to get life back into some semblance of normalcy around here.

But, hey, Valentine's Day is upon us. I've bought the munchkins and hubby a little something to celebrate, and I also bought an extra copy of Betsy St. Amant's A Valentine's Wish for a giveaway to one lucky blogging buddy. So leave a comment with your snail mail addy if you'd like to be entered in the drawing. I'll have one of the munchkins draw the lucky winner sometime on the big day and let you all know the winner on Monday, February 15th's post, which happens to be Family Day here in Ontario so I'll have the whole family home for three days straight this Valentine's weekend. Yippy!!! Love it when that happens.

Here's a peak at the first page:
Unemployed. Single. And out of brownie mix.
Lori Perkins tapped her nails against the open pantry door. Canned vegetables and peanut butter crackers were nowhere near sufficient for this kind of low. She rested her forehead against the frame and blew a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. It really wasn't her fault—well, maybe two of the three problems were. She probably shouldn't have quit her job at the aquarium gift shop before the administrative position across town was a done deal, and she definitely should have gone to the grocery store before her chocolate stash ran out. But her single status was most certainly not of her own choosing. Add the fact that Valentine's Day was mere weeks away, and it became official. She was broke, hungry and destined to be alone.

The cordless phone on the counter jangled a shrill ring, and Lori snatched it up while peering one more time at the contents of her bottom shelf. "Hello?"

"Lori? I can barely hear you. Are you in a tunnel?" It was her friend Andy Stewart, the youth pastor at her church, L'Eglise de Grace.

She stretched one arm toward the back of the shelf. "No. The pantry."

"Searching for chocolate, I assume."

"Funny." So what if she'd become a little predictable over the years? Lori fumbled around a jar of peanut butter and felt a crinkly wrapper. Maybe a forgotten candy bar? No, just another package of crackers. She let out a huff. Was a little chocolate too much to ask for a girl having one of the worst days of her life?

"Are you all right? I can call back."

Lori shut the pantry door with a loud click and rested her back against the wooden panels. "I need chocolate."

"You're out? How is that possible?"

"Gracie helped me finish the last of my emergency stash."

"And she didn't refill?"

"There wasn't time before the wedding." She supposed Gracie had more important things on her mind at the time, like planning a honeymoon. Excited as she was for her friend's new life, Lori couldn't help the flicker of jealousy in her stomach. Happily-ever-after endings apparently weren't meant for everyone—her ex, Jason, had proven that point well enough.

She slammed the brakes on her runaway train of negative thoughts. "Look, is there a point to this conversation, or can I finish my desperate search for relief now?"

"Ouch. Bad day?"

"Did you not hear me say I'm out of chocolate?" Men. The cute ones cheated, and the funny ones were dense. Take Andy, for example. They'd been practically best friends for how long now—two years? Three? And he'd never once considered Lori as anything more.

Though it was probably for the best. If bitter thoughts of Jason still crept in her subconscious, she wasn't ready for more. The need for chocolate intensified, and Lori squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe if she pretended hard enough she could—

Andy cleared his throat. "How about I bring over some chocolate doughnuts? I have something I need to talk to you about."

Lori stopped the no from automatically rolling off her tongue. She preferred to indulge in her chocolate bad moods by herself, but without the chocolate, the bad-mood part sounded pretty lonely. "Fine. See you in twenty."

Leave a comment for your chance to read the rest of the story!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Three Things

2010-02-03T08:23:00.000-08:00

First, I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful input regarding my single or double MC story goals. I have to say that in four out of the five stories I've written, I've give both my MC's a story goal, not always in contention with each other, but none the less they've each have a measurable story goal to work toward.

But in the current manuscript I'm revising, I realized that my heroine doesn't have a story goal. And here comes my second thing for this post: The problem with my dear Fiona is that she is a free-spirit type. She has scene or chapter goals and some segment goals (ones that span several chapters/scenes) but not a big story goal. How does one take a free-spirit who refuses to box herself in, but rather takes life as it comes while trying to manipulate it to her own liking and give her an external, measurable story goal? And one that perhaps works against the hero's goal of generating more income at his church? Okay, there you have it, I'm shameless, but yes, I'm asking for some brainstorming help for this round of revisions. If something wonderful pops in your head while reading this to solve my problem, please, please, please, do share!!! I and Fiona will be eternally grateful!

Thirdly, a dear blogger friend really helped me to face facts this week and I must share. Check out Georgiana's post regarding how we're doing with our 2010 goals. She's holding herself accountable and so should I. It's February already, and if it's not bad enough that this month marks my forty-fourth birthday, Georgiana's reminder of assessing our goal journey has me seriously considering waking at 4:30 to 5:00 am to actually fit some heavy revising, critiquing, editing, writing, into my life regularly to ward off impending depression.

Winter is known to spark darkness in our life, which I'm seriously bending toward, so add to the vitamin D deficiency, frustration from not getting time to do what I love, write, has me needing to make a change...and fast. But, oh, that start time is so, so early. But if it gets rid of this spiral into depression, it will be so worth it. And just think, those 4:00 am starts for horse show days won't seem near as bad if I'm already in the habit, right? But will I actually do it?

Only time will tell.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

MC Goals ... One or Both?

2010-02-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

Hi, All:

I'm back to blogging after an unintended week off. I guess you could say I'm taking life as it comes in 2010. How about you, do you see any changes happening in your lifestyle this year as we begin February?

On a writing note, I've been pondering this MC External Goal thing that all we writers strive to reveal early in our novels. For all you romance writers out there, here's a question for you. There are generally two MC's in a romance, the hero and the heroine, and if you're writing your story in alternating POV do both the hero and heroine need individual measurable external story goals? Or would having one strong one for either the hero or heroine suffice?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Writing Inspires...

2010-01-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

Prayer!

Oh my, does it ever!

Writers, at least Christian writers, pray about their story premise, and how best to reveal the story for God's glory. Whether it's for the Christian Fiction/Non-Fiction market or the secular, we are prayerfully lifting our work to Him in hopes that He'll use it to His great Glory and that our written words become an instrument through which He can and will work wonders for His Kingdom.

But what about writers who are pulling back on time devoted to writing for honourable reasons? What special prayers might they lift?

Yes, I happen to have personal experience with this. When I wrote full-time my direction was clear--write because God calls you to, no matter that you have no idea if He'll use it to help anyone else but yourself, just write for Him. And, yes, it definitely fulfilled my own need for stretching my imagination and directing me to battle my own sinful ways and overcoming fears that God has no desire for me to be crippled with. But now...now that I have so very little time to devote to writing, I find myself running from it when I should be embracing those precious moments available for it.

Why am I running?

I want to be a blessing to others. If my writing is solely for my personal gain, if it will never be published for even one other to gain wisdom from, then what an absolute waste those brain-draining hours of editing and revising are, not to mention how emotionally difficult they are on me. Ahhh, but if it's God desire that I continue on, so be it. Amen.

I'm an all-or-nothing sorta girl. If I can't delve in and give it my full effort and time, accomplishing great gains with each session, then the rewards are too small for me to strive toward. Ahhh, but my daughter, what I'm trying to teach you is that there is great merit in perseverance and working with building blocks no matter how small each brick. Patience, my dear, break the task into the smallest of parts and set forth to accomplish one paragraph, one page at each session and rejoice in a small job well done. For those small jobs will accumulate much in one year compared to running from the task at hand completely.

I'm no good at it anyway. Why bother? It's probably time to quit, find a new challenge to stretch myself with, perhaps the girls and their horse time is what is to fulfill me now. When that last sentence reads: "It's time to quit, find a new challenge...", that's when I'll know it's God's desire and not my weakness calling me over to the dark side--to giving up. Indecisiveness is not of God. Think about it. When was Jesus ever indecisive?

Have you ever struggled with change and found yourself questioning if God is directing you elsewhere or if it's the "change" itself that you are fighting and thus you struggle to rid yourself of the work all together? If so, how do you handle it?

May our prayers be met with answers, clear, straight-forward answers that offer peace within, and direction to accomplish the truth. Amen.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Zapped!

2010-01-20T07:21:00.001-08:00

A head cold has slapped me hard and now I'm zapped.

Frustration is my newest best friend as I ponder the list of to-do's that is ever growing while my body is ever "unfruitful". When the body is weak and eyelids are heavy enough to break toothpicks, there is but one thing to do.

Pray.

I pray for the Haiti situation. I pray for family and friends and their individual circumstances. I pray for direction...for guidance...for a sense of knowing that I so richly lack at times. I pray for His presence to be ever felt in my life. And I pray for you, if you'll let me.

Please, allow me to make use of this tired body by lifting prayers for you. Amen!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Fiction Versus Non-Fiction?

2010-01-18T06:07:00.000-08:00

What effect does each have on you?

It's a well known fact that a really good novel has the reader daydreaming about the fictitious life long after the book is closed. And, oh, what a lovely way to work through menial tasks like cleaning out hamster and guinea pig cages. (Can you tell what I did this morning before logging on?)

Seriously, it's been far too long since I enjoyed reflecting on a good story and contemplating what it was about the story and characters that drew me in and continue to hold me to them long after the story end is complete. That contemplating brings out characteristics I long to discover and/or develop in myself. And of course the writer in me has me wondering when I can fit a second "educational" read in to dissect that baby and figure out how the author created such an enjoyable world to travel into.

Now, Non-Fiction on the other hand offers a more immediate opportunity for change, complete with suggestions, of course. Whether it's a book teaching you to write that gives suggested ways to up the conflict, deepen the character, or spin a twist in your novel in progress, or a faith-driven book that reveals how to live your life more purposely for God, you have something at your finger tips to guide you along having an immediate impact on your life whether in work or personal growth.

The knowledge driven Non-fiction books for one reason or another always seem slow going for me. I suspect it's because I want to apply the suggestions. Test the new knowledge. Whereas, those really good fiction books get read in no time, but they live on, offering a wonderful dreamland to go to whenever I so desire.

Do you experience the same effects from your reading stack, or is everyone different?

A blessed Monday and Tuesday prayed for you all.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Writing Inspires...

2010-01-15T00:16:00.000-08:00

Reading!

There's a lot of goal setting going on in blogosphere lately. I'm still not settled with my list to log mine for the world to see, but there is one that I would like to share now.

My reading goal for 2010.

One of my dear bloggers, Tabitha, has set her reading goal for 2010 at 50 books. That's an awesome goal, but for a slow reader like myself, I'm going a little lax and setting my goal at 36. That's three books a month. I imagine some months I'll go over and others I'll be under, but in the end as 2010 draws to its end, may my 36 in 12: Eileen's 2010 Reading Stack list on the sidebar reveal my reading goal met--ah, yes, sweet success--that's what I long for with at least one of my 2010 goals. And that's a measurable goal, for all you out there with your goal rules set in stone. Absolutely love how committed you all are to goal setting and defining the parameters around it all. [And, no, I'm not worried about any of you experiencing OCD. Really, I'm not!]

As noted often here in cyber space and even in books, many authors are adamant that to become a truly good writer, you must be an avid reader. I agree totally with them on this, but what concerns me is that many of us wannabe writers automatically think the reading element of that equation is limited to published works.

I'm attempting to squash that theory. Partly because I'm such a slow reader that I can't possibly keep up with the suggested reading goals flying around out there, but also because I doubt very much that these prolific authors are still in large critique groups, and reading and editing for dear friends, to help and learn along the way with unpublished works as well.

I mean, it takes time and brain-draining mental exercise sometimes to help other writers hone their craft. I'm not saying it isn't fun brainstorming better ways to pull something off on the page, but it is of value and I think it should count as part of a writer's reading quota. What do you all think? Should reading unpublished works count, or not?

I must add here that after a disappointing run with reading, I'm finally falling in love with it again. You see, I've been reading, errrr, attempting to read, many Steeple Hill Love Inspired novels as usual since it has long been my goal to write for that line, but sadly something has changed either in me, or in the quality of that line as of late.

I've come to the decision that I'd rather spend $10 to $20 on one novel that will likely please me, than $4 times 3 or 4 of the LI's each month that mostly seem to disappoint and I have no problem never finishing. They just don't grab me like they used to and I no longer route for the hero or heroine from the start. This is so sad, because truly, I love the concept of a concentrated sweet romance that can be read in a day for most readers, two for slow me, but my frustration has me drawn away from that line for now. However, I still plan to pick up the LI's written by choice authors I want to support and trust won't disappoint with their offerings. So hopefully you'll still see me recommending an LI here and there on this blog, but notice how rare they've been as of late? Now you know the reason.

Anyway, take a look over at my sidebar and see the 2010 Reading Stack list for what has me excited once more about reading. The fiction (F) book I'm currently reading is not at all what I expected, it's so much BETTER!!!! Thanks, Laura, for inspiring my love of reading once more!!! I appreciate you and your writing so very much!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I did get pictures of Penny up on the last post. If you didn't catch them, scroll further down for a peak at how beautiful this large pony is. She's so friendly, too, and loves receiving treats!! May your weekend be filled with cherished family and friends time, and when you find yourself smiling or laughing, may you lift your eyes in a tender moment of gratitude for our Heavenly Father for all the good He has given you. Blessings prayed for you all!

PS. If you're interested in entering a book giveaway for a hightly recommended YA novel. Check out Georgiana's post today. Sounds like a good one to me.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

As Writing Isn't for the Weak Hearted, Training...

2010-01-13T05:51:00.000-08:00

our cats that our furniture isn't beautified scratching posts just for them isn't easy, either.

We've tried spraying our furniture with perfume (an idea given courtesy of one of my sisters) only to cough and sputter due to a much too overpowering scent. As nice as it may be sprayed on a human body, let me tell you, it is not nice to inhale once sprayed over several pieces of furniture. And our house is open concept. Can't imagine what it would have been like if done in a closed room. Anyway, after nearly dying of massive headaches and raw-throat appeal, that didn't work, either.

In the interest of being humane to my pets and any other creature that roams this earth, I really don't want to send them for de-clawing, so if anyone has any great suggestions as to how to get these silly cats to use the scratching posts given to them rather than our furniture for their obvious need, I'd love to hear it, or read it, as the case may be in blogland.

Praying you all are inspired with something grand today that makes you smile lots!!!

(P.S. My daughters still haven't sent me any pics to upload of our dear equine Penny. Haven't forgotten, still working on getting it to show off their beautiful filly. Oh, and here's a line that hubby said the other night that really cracked me up "We need to save our pennies for Penny." Hee Hee! But boy is he right on that!)

Jan.14th update.

Thanks all for your great suggestions! Keep them coming as I head out to get tape that won't destroy my leather, more tinfoil, and more scratching posts. I'm good with the catnip for smothering on the posts as Santa seemed to have a huge supply of that this year. Thanks too, to all who comment with or without suggestions for this problem of mine. I love reading all your comments! Thanks so much!

Now, onto the pics. Meet Penny. Isn't she beautiful!

Penny and Sabrina.

Penny and Alisha.

Aren't they all beautiful together?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Monday...Again!

2010-01-11T05:34:00.000-08:00

2010 is already going way too fast for me. How about you?

The Watson household is in deep alteration this year. Not just physically with a hoped-for major main floor renovation, but mom and dad (being Phil and I) after years of skirting it have finally plunged into the leasing-a-horse mode for our two oldest daughters. It's actually a large pony they are leasing and preparing to show in the A-circuit around here. This means major change around the home-front.

It means that mom is at the barn five afternoons a week watching said daughters ride Penny, said large pony, and girls are building major thigh muscle and toughness with a new coach who loves no-stirrup work. My crock-pot is getting work-out in all of this, too.

So, not only am I busy drawing up possible floor plans for our new kitchen and location of current kitchen, family room and dining room, along with scouting possible contractors, I'm at the barn way more (starting to sound like my teenage daughters here--scary!)

The interesting thing about all this is that I am at peace with it all even though it has put my writing on the back burner. So I've deemed 2010 a year of horses, renovation inside the house and renovation of old works of writing. Although I'd planned in late 2009 to write a teen novel for my girls early this year, that's going to have to wait. The plot wasn't meshing like I'd hoped in my mind and so it needs more time to knit together as I continue on with 2010. Who knows, perhaps I need to experience the A-circuit living to find the missing pieces since it definitely has equestrian life in it for my girls to enjoy.

I'm starting with revisions and edits of The Unlikely One (that's the story that finalled in the Genesis contest). It'll go slow, I have no doubt, but again, I'm at peace with that. If I get it polished and ready for submitting by the end of the year, I'll deem my writing for 2010 a success.

Of course, that's what I say and feel today. God reserves the right to drive me differently at any point in time. And I say to God, "Bring it on my Master. Lead me, mold me, use me to Your Good Works. Amen."

My question for you all today is this: What are you feeling peace about lately?

(P.S. I'll try and get my girls to send me a picture of beautiful Penny and add it to this post tonight so you can see the newest addition to our family that is becoming very time-consuming.)

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Desires of Thine Heart

2010-01-08T05:56:00.000-08:00

Since I don't seem to be alone in the fog of early 2010, I thought I'd share a devotional I read just this morning that's really helping me.

This comes from Joyce Meyer's New Day New You, and January 8th's devotional is based on Philippians 2:13.

"It is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight."

Isn't that beautiful and so very freeing? It is to me. What it says to me this morning as I snatch glimpses of what lies outside my kitchen slider doors (see picture above--taken only minutes ago--it's so beautiful, but had I been submersed in some great plan already, I might have never paused at all to really appreciate it) is that since I'm in prayer as I attempt to plan, organize and make goals for myself, perhaps right now my desire for rest and working in slow motion is actually God-driven. And who am I to deny His will?

I rest easy now as God takes His time setting me up for what is next to come. For His will for me is far greater in His Kingdom than anything I could possibly create on my own. I may never see it that way in this scarred human body in which I am, but I trust God to make a good work of me for His Glory even when I don't see where or how it all leads.

I am desperately trying to get around to visit all my blogging friends, but that too is going in snatches and slow motion for me. Forgive me for taking so long if I haven't gotten over to your Cyber pad yet. I do intend to soon. I have a thyroid ultrasound to tend to today at the hospital which always rolls into a half to full-day excursion with how behind diagnostic imaging always is. So I'll steal snatches of Internet time over the weekend to catch up with you all. Hubby is feverishly studying for a new six-month course he's taking for work, and the girls are busy with the horses for a good portion of this weekend to make this deviation possible. Wow, some "me" time when technically it's supposed to be "family" time. That doesn't happen often around here.

May you all have a wonderful weekend and may God impart His desires in you...and may we all follow through with them for His Glory!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Definitely Not a Good Start, But there's Hope!

2010-01-07T08:03:00.001-08:00

Okay, so 2010 is proving difficult to get into for me. My mind is jammed with wanna-do's and organizational how-to's and baking ideas and lots of guilt because nothing seems to be getting done. I just keep spinning in sphericals. (Oops, sorry, trying not to be cliche. Oh, well, it's an attempt at least.)

Anyway, I got news of a contest that might just help me get my writing mode back into play. What better way than to win a critique from an impartial, educated duo in fictional writing. Here's the link to check it out yourself. Good luck, everyone!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Does the Quiet get to you?

2010-01-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hi, All:

I'm feebly inching my way back into what is known as "normal" living in my little world.

How about you? Do you come back after a healthy dose of family and loving feeling raring to go, or a little remorseful that the time has passed all too quickly?

As I work to find balance once more and an energy conducive to creative thinking, I'm blog hopping again and so looking forward to absorbing the wonderful nuggets all you lovely bloggers offer up so freely. Pray your time of celebration was met with love and much joy!

May we all find 2010 to be a year of growth and further understanding with God guiding each and every step we take. If He but tug hard when we tend to stray, we'll be truly blessed!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T00:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

May the Spirit of Jesus guide each of us to be an instrument through which He can do His Great Works!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Tagged!

2009-12-23T06:02:00.000-08:00

Jeannie Campbell tagged me a while back, so here is my attempt at answering the first half of the questions.

1. What's the last thing you wrote? What's the first thing you wrote that you still have?

The last thing I wrote was a quick edit of that Mistletoe piece posted on Monday from my current wip. The first thing I wrote (not including school projects for English class) are still tucked away deep in my hope chest, written in Pitman shorthand that I can no longer decipher.

2. Write poetry?

Almost never. Poetry is the most concise writing I've ever read, and I have issues with that. LOL

3. Angsty poetry?

Never.

4. Favorite genre of writing?

Contemporary Inspirational Romance

5. Most annoying character you've ever created?

I'd have to go with Katrina's mother, Martha, in my very first novel. She is one obnoxious character at times, even though she means well.

6. Best Plot you've ever created?

That would be the plot in my second novel, My Gift. I can't really explain it without giving the ending away, other than that it's a twist on a frame story.

7. Coolest Plot twist you've ever created?

Oh, my, I think it might be that I actually did send one of my characters off to Cambodia when it seemed as though the whole mission trip would fall through. That extended that book for more pages then expected.

8. How often do you get writer's block?

I don't know if it's writer's block as much as a needed writer's rest. Sometimes my fingers just need a break while my brain keeps going.

9. Write fan fiction?

Okay, I'm going to look stupid here, but what exactly is fan fiction? Fantasy Fiction? If so, no, my brain doesn't seem to work that way, it can only handle earth as it appears to be.

10. Do you type or write by hand?

I type, but have been known to scratch out scene thoughts on any spare piece of paper that happens to be in reach when a thought comes to mind.

11. Do you save everything you write?

Most definitely. I create a new copy each day.

12. Do you ever go back to an idea after you've abandoned it?

Of course. My ideas often come as mustard seeds. I write the bit that surprises me and then my brain and creative spirit waters it sporadically as I'm working on something else, and eventually it's time for that seed to sprout and start growing in leaps and bounds.

13. What's your favorite thing you've ever written?

Sadly, my very first novel is still nearest and dearest to my heart, but it was so badly written that it's taking me forever to revise and get it written well. But I can't seem to leave that one alone, whereas the ones after it, I have been able to set aside for years without stewing over them.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas with The Babe's Spirit swirling around you in awesome wonder. May His presence bring you much peace and joy, friends!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

2 Days until we widely celebrate Jesus's Birthday on Christmas Day around the World!

Mistletoe Madness Monday

2009-12-21T06:48:00.000-08:00

A snippet from my most recent writing of The Innkeeper's Christmas for 2009's Nanowrimo project.

Matthew finished tucking the sheet under like she’d taught him, then stepped next to her. Her heartbeat stormed to life as he grabbed her hands into his and pulled her close to him. A foot taller than her, she folded into him like a teddy bear to a child. She remembered this feeling. The security it provided that night of the break in. How he’d been there for her. Allowed her to fall to pieces in his arms. Well, as many pieces as she’d ever allow herself to crumble into in front of anyone.

But what was he doing...now?

Matthew shifted his feet in some strange manner. He wrapped one hand around her to rest gently on the small of her back. With his other hand he held hers out to the side, raised. Oh, my. She gasped and pulled away. Matthew was trying to waltz with her?

The hilarity of it filled her with child-like giggles. The seriousness of his expression chastised her laughter. She blinked, willing herself to get under control.

“Cut me some slack. I embarrassed myself with a teacher to try and learn these steps, Beckah.”

She grabbed his arms and started dancing like she did when alone. Wiggling her booty, with no planned steps at all, she bounced, dipped, swirled in his arm and even bumped her hip to his. Only her hip met his upper thigh, which felt firmer than she'd expected. “See, this is how I dance for fun.” To his ashen face, she gave him a peck on his cheek. “Why on earth would you ever imagine I waltzed while cleaning?”

“Everything is either animals with you, cooking, or Victorian era.” He held his hands out. “I just assumed you ballroom danced while changing sheets.”

“And you took lessons just for me?”

“If that’s how you have fun, I wanted to give it a try. I know how busy you are, and figured getting you to go out would be more burden than anything.”

She stepped back, stunned by his thoughtfulness. No one had ever understood her needs before. Matthew may not approve of how she lived, but at least he tried to work within parameters to make life easier on her. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me. Thank you. And thank you for staying and helping me get the rooms cleaned up.” If one could fall in love in an instant, this one would be about perfect.

“You’re welcome.” He took her hand in his. A current travelled down her fingers, up her arm. “How about a modern day slow dance for a minute, then we can get back to bed-making duties?”

She stepped into his embrace and breathed in the orange and musk scent unique to him. It felt good to savor the smell, rather than deny its appeal once again. He slowly moved her around the room. If chore time was slipping away, she didn’t feel it doing so. Wouldn't allow it to spoil the moment. “Are you aware of how good you smell?”

Bending his head, he looked down into her eyes. His golden irises had dark flecks she’d never noticed before. “No, do I?”

Nodding, she couldn’t pull her eyes away from his…until she realized his focus shifted to her mouth. Oh, no, this can’t be. They couldn’t be about to...

She should step out of his hold. Stop this from happening.

Rewind? Couldn’t she just rewind time and never have stepped into his embrace in the first place?

His lips caressed hers, gentle, as if asking permission. They travelled to the softness of her cheek, then slowly back to her mouth. She tasted peppermint. The one he stole from her candy dish on the side board just before following her upstairs to help with the Inn’s chores. The gentleness of his touch had her insides diving and flipping. How could something so wrong, feel so heavenly? Returning his kiss, she pulled him closer, feeling his warmth transfer to her whole being. Could two opposites such as them really make a relationship work?

“Whoa.” He stepped out of their embrace with tenderness that made her long for him more, but the strain on his face caused a vice-like grip to take hold of her heart. Matthew regretted kissing her.

Merry Mistletoe Everyone! I look forward to reading all the wonderful snippets out there soon!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

4 Days until we widely celebrate Jesus's Birthday on Christmas Day around the World!

Writing Inspires...

2009-12-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

FUN!

Since writing with the intent to learn how to write, I must say I've had some fun times due solely to wanting scenes to be authentic. Have you ever had your characters take you where you haven't gone before? Or at least not recently enough to conjure up a scene that really comes to life?

When that happens to me, my family tends to benefit with a little excursion. And it usually means fun. Sadly, I have no trouble tapping into experiences that are more of a serious nature. It seems to be only the fun ones that stump me. Mmmmm...wonder what that says about me? Me thinks I need to write to include some fun in my life. Perhaps that's why God called me to this challenge. Interesting!

Anyway, I was tagged by Jeannie Campbell to do a very long questionnaire. I promise, I will do this next week, right after our Mistletoe Madness Monday, but I think I'm going to split it into two separate posts. So get ready, you'll learn a little more about boring me just in time for Christmas. How's that for a cyber Christmas gift from little old me?

So what fun times have you enjoyed due to your writing?

P.S. I just scanned my blogroll listing and I'm in awe at how many great posts are out there for me to read. The little topics and snippets have me wanting to rush over. Just wish there was way, way, way more time in a day to do so! It'll take me all weekend, stealing some comp. time, to take them all in.

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

7 Days until we widely celebrate Jesus's Birthday on Christmas Day around the World!

Imagery--A must?

2009-12-16T02:24:00.000-08:00

As I struggle to get writing time in, I am at least getting some educational reading in in snippets. I came across this interesting paragraph in Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon.

"Imagery adds so much to a writer's style that with all practicality and crassness, I advise you to make sure to add analogies, similes, or metaphors to any pages requested by an agent or editor. Without question, make sure your revision includes imagery on page one." (pg. 48)

So, are you sparce with imagery, or do you wield it liberally? Are you making agents and editors smile, or flip pages struggling to find imagery that doesn't exist?

On a fun note:

Curtesy of Sherrinda, it's official, the Official Kissing Day Blogfest will be held on Monday, December 21st as a Writer's Tribute to Mistletoe!

I absolutely love this idea.

Hope you all will join in on the fun and post a snippet of your work where a kiss, or an almost-kiss is experienced. If you haven't written any such scenes, have you read one lately that you could share on your blog? The mistletoe will be floating around cyberland on Monday. Be ready!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

9 Days until we widely celebrate Jesus's Birthday on Christmas Day around the World!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2009-12-14T00:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas!

Can you believe that there are only eleven days before Christmas Day arrives? And, for me, only five days left before the kiddos are home for their two-week Christmas break? Astonishing!! Really, that's how it feels to me. The days are whizzing by at top speed.

We celebrated my eldest daughter's sixteenth birthday this past weekend with a surprise sleepover for her. It seemed to go over very well. Planning for that while dealing with a whole revamp of our laundry room stole all my writing time last week and I'm missing it. Feeling guilty, but yet, I know the sacrifice had to be made. Do you ever feel that way? Wishing you were two people so you could fit all you want and need to do in? This time of year makes me with for that often.

These next two weeks are looking to be just as busy as last, but somehow I'm going to see that word count start rising again to finish my Nano story. How about you guys, will you be taking a well-deserved break from writing during the Christmas break, or will you pressing onward, getting those words in?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

11 Days until we widely celebrate Jesus's Birthday on Christmas Day around the World!

General Consensus

2009-12-09T03:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks all for your ever-present encouragement regarding my contemplating to write a YA novel for my girls!! It may never see the light of day outside our home, likely won't, but I do believe I'd regret not doing this for them, so I'm going to give it a try early next year.

So, since the majority of you say "go for it", guess what I'm going to ask next.

Any suggested readings? What my girls are after is not a sci-fi, fantasy type novel, but rather a contemporary normal-to-life one. Of course it needs to have horses in it somewhere and high school. I have a basic idea, with my girls help, of how to start plotting, but I really should read a few books in this genre before I come up with the 2 to 4 page synopsis that gets me going. So any suggested readings for a contemporary, no sci-fi, no fantasy, YA novels that I should pick up and devour and study?

Some of you were so kind to send me your suggestions via email after my Monday's post. Thanks so much. I'm wondering if I'll see any repeated titles to help me get started by asking here too.

In other news:

Writing has halted for me this week with Sixteenth Birthday Planning, Christmas planning, Clothes dryer on the fritz which resulted in a huge reworking of the laundry room, so if you've noticed that my novel word counter hasn't changed, that's why. I'm brewing the ending in my mind as I clean, organize, bake and plan away. Now let's hope that snowball effect we talked about last week doesn't sweep me in and roll all over me, right!!!

Also, my girls are totally bummed. They really thought they'd have a snow day today with the snow and freezing rain we're getting, but alas, the school board feels they can bear it. Huge Bummer!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

16 Days until we widely celebrate Jesus's Birthday on Christmas Day around the World!

A Story Just For ?

2009-12-07T00:05:00.000-08:00

My girls have asked me several times to write a YA story. They even offer suggested story lines--very bare bones story lines, mind you, that I have no idea how to build a whole novel from, but their eagerness exhilarates me for sure.

So would you attempt to write a story outside your chosen genre if your teen asked you to? Would you ponder doing so for more than a moment's passing?

So far I keep putting the task off, but the seed of a YA story has been drawing in nutrients for a while and I'm now debating if I should let it have some sunlight in January as my next new project. Seriously, would you devote a couple months minimum to tackle a story for your children? Or would you leave it to the pros who actually know how to write in that genre and keep honing the craft with story writing you know best?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

18 Days until we widely celebrate Jesus's Birthday on Christmas Day around the World!

Writing Inspires...

2009-12-04T00:04:00.000-08:00

Time Management!

Every year seems to go by faster for me. I can remember as a kid the summers alone seemed to last forever with endless nights of neighbourhood hide and seek, bike rides, and family events filling my hours. But now, summers whiz by without warning. In fact, the whole year seems to run in fast forward mode, but yet I'm told the twenty-four hours in a day now, is the same length as the twenty-four hours in any given day back then.

So what's changed?

I believe it's that as we get older our responsibilities multiply.

And as writers, one more important thing gets added to our daily to-do list. The wonderful act of crafting stories--bringing characters, dilemmas, and settings hidden deep within our psyche to life on the page becomes another responsibility. It's not a grueling responsibility by any means, though it takes hard, dedicated work, and time management to accomplish this task.

What amazes me most with writing is how much can be accomplished if I consistently keep working at it, AND how little can be achieved if I put it off until tomorrow. Know why? Because, if we aren't careful, those until-tomorrows very easily multiply if we don't crack our own whip and get back on track immediately. Ever notice that about taking a break with your writing? Or is it just me that lets those breaks snowball on occasion?

When I think of my writing 50k words in one month and that I've been writing for near seven years now, but only have five stories to show for it, something doesn't add up. I know, I know, there is all that editing time required, too, and study hours as well. But still, I need to be more consistent with my time management and logging that needed daily writing time, and not letting just a little break turn so easily into a week or two-week break from writing that first draft or editing for the umpteenth time.

So, what about you, how do you force yourself back on track, fitting writing into your daily list of to-do's when the breaks seems to roll into one another?

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

21 Days until we widely celebrate Jesus's Birthday on Christmas Day around the World!

Winner & A Deep Question

2009-12-02T00:05:00.000-08:00

First, the question.

How does a mother prepare her young children for her own death while still grasping for a miracle? By the mere work of preparing for death, do we forfeit the miracle God might have provided if we had only just believed fully, intentionally, without a speck of doubt, that it was His will for us to be cured?

These are questions I've grappled with in the past, and once again find myself asking in the midst of news discovered during this past Sunday's service. I have asked myself many times why my husband's mother never informed her sons about her grave condition. From what I know, she knew well in advance of her death that her days were severely limited, and yet her death came as a complete shock to my husband, and likely his brother, too. I've never asked my husband's brother about this. He's far too fragile a man to ask, so I suspect he had no idea either.

For either of them, would the pain of losing their mother have been any easier if she'd have talked to them about what was to come? If she'd let them know that each visit they made to the hospital may have truly been the last time they'd get to talk with her, hold her, tell her they loved her, would their mourning process have been healthier, easier on them had she been open with them about her condition? Did she not have so much love to pour out on them to last them their lifetimes, but held back in seeking a divine miracle? That's the only explanation I have. She must have refused to accept the possibility of her imminent death, in belief that she'd be granted a miracle. Otherwise, surely she would have at least written her sons a letter filled with love and hope for their future. If she thought they were too young to speak of death to them at ages ten and twelve, then wouldn't a letter have been the least she could do for closure? After all, they'd already suffered the death of their father five years earlier. They'd experienced great loss once already in their short lives. I can only imagine how she must have clung to the belief of a miracle of healing. That God wouldn't leave her boys orphaned on this earth, that she'd endured enough heartache with the death of her husband, and that her sons had endured enough heartache already that God wouldn't take her just yet--submersing them into further heartache. Not yet, for the sake of her boys, I'm sure she clung to the belief that God would intervene with a miracle of healing her cancerous body.

But He didn't. She passed away without ever saying final heartfelt words to her boys either in person, or in a letter.

Surely God does not deny us His desire, even a healing miracle, because we strive to prepare our loved ones for what might be. I've seen the heartache that lingers decades after a death that loved ones could have been forewarned about, and am convinced that if I knew my condition was grave, I'd not deny it to my family. Oh, I'd be praying, seeking that miracle, but even if I knew that I would forfeit a possible miracle by preparing my children, I'd still prepare. Because that's all a miracle is before it's delivered.

Only a possibility.

We have no way of knowing what is God's will. But I do know that my children are worth more than my life, and leaving them with final words, final acts of love, for them to cherish all their life, is a miracle in itself that God provides just by giving us notice that our days on this earth are severely numbered. Is it not a gift we need to accept, no matter how difficult?

What would you do if you were told your days were numbered, but fought for God's miracle of healing? It's not an easy question. And what is right for one, would not work for another, depending on the individual's faith walk. It's not something we like to think about. But it does make me ponder creating/updating those letters to be hidden deep within the file cabinet. Does it you?

Okay, now that I've cried a tub full, onto the winner of Erica Vetsch's The Bartered Bride.

Congratulations, G.R.I.T.S!!! I've sent you an email, please email me your snail mail address. Thanks to all who entered!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

23 Days until we widely celebrate Jesus's Birthday on Christmas Day around the World!

The Bartered Bride and Book Giveaway

2009-11-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

I'm so pleased to be a part of Erica Vetsch's blog tour for her debut novel, The Bartered Bride. Please read on to learn more about Erica's publication journey and a chance to win a copy of The Bartered Bride.

1) I understand you wrote the first draft of The Bartered Bride in five weeks. I'm curious, were there any scenes that you had to force yourself through in that time? If so, do they remain in the published version and did they require major rewriting?

Erica: This book fell together in a really amazing way for me. I don't remember struggling with any particular scene in the first draft. I've struggled more with subsequent books, and there are scenes from those that have gotten major revisions or cut altogether, but for The Bartered Bride, it survived the editing process intact.

2) You took about one month for revisions of The Bartered Bride to polish it before sending out to your critique partners, was there much revision required after seeing their critiques? How much longer did you work on it before submitting to Heartsong Presents?

Erica: I do remember getting dinged by my crit partners on one scene in the book where my heroine was coming across as too juvenile and petulant. And one scene I reworked myself to make it more realistic in my own mind. Those revisions took about a week or so, then it was off to the ACFW Conference to pitch it to an editor.

3) Publishing success has come full force at you since signing with HP.. Congratulations Erica on having six books contracted. How many of those books are ones you had completed before The Bartered Bride, and how many are slated to be written yet? Are you now selling on proposal?

Erica: The time line went something like this: The Bartered Bride written the summer of 2007. The sequel, The Marriage Masquerade was written the Spring of 2008 while waiting to hear back on The Bartered Bride. And because I thought the long silence from the editor indicated a strong possibility of a 'no sale' for The Bartered Bride, I began working on the first book in a new series called Clara and the Cowboy in the summer of 2008.

In the fall of 2008, The Bartered Bride was contracted at the ACFW Conference, and a few months later, Heartsong aquired five more titles from me. I'm currently working on the final book in those two series.

I am selling on proposal now, which has its upsides and downsides. Upside, I don't have to write an entire book then hope that someone is interested in it. Downside, I have to know more in advance what's going to happen in the book, and as a reforming seat of the pants writer, this is difficult.

Thanks so much Erica for sharing a little of your publication journey with us.

Now, before I share the back cover blurb of this fast paced, wonderful novel, I just have to toot a horn for this story. Really, I can't say enough about this novel. I'm not a huge historical fan myself, and I'm the universes slowest reader, so when I read this book in under a 30 hour time span, which included sleep, the usual family and household responsibilities, and writing over 4000 words into my own manuscript, you've got to know it's a good one. And as a writer, it's one I intend to dissect for sure. But certainly couldn't the first time through because it just kept me glued with its entertainment value. Seriously, if you haven't got a copy yet, pick one up, order one, or hopefully win one (which you can do by leaving a comment with your email addy in this post by Wednesday morning when I'll do the drawing.)

Back Cover Blurb of The Bartered Bride: Jonathan Kennebrae is furious when his grandfather informs him that his future has been decided. He will marry Melissa Brooke or be disinherited. Jonathan has invested years of his life in Kennabrae Shipping, but heaven help him if Grandfather decides to take it all away for this.

Melissa, too, is devastated when her parents make their announcement. As little more than a bargaining chip in her father’s business maneuvers, she feels her secure world slipping away. Engaged to marry a man she has never met—someone “considerably older” than herself? What have her parents done?

Can Jonathan and Melissa find a way out of this loveless marriage, or must they find a way forward together?

You can order a copy of this wonderful novel by clicking here.

Book Giveaway: Don't forget to leave a comment with your email addy to be entered into the drawing. I'll draw a name late Tuesday and announce the winner on Wednesday, Dec. 2nd. Good luck everyone!

This giveaway is closed now. Thanks all for entering!

Surrendering to Him,

Eileen