All posts by Karen Collier

About Karen Collier

Karen Collier is an author and reviewer of Inspirational / Inspy / Christian fiction. A librarian too. Her twitter handle is @karencollier and her blog features book reviews and discussion questions, plus tips for book groups at karencollier.com.

Book Review: A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert

Book Reviews

abrokenkindofbeautifulTitle: A Broken Kind of Beautiful
Author: Katie Ganshert
Publisher: Waterbrook-Multnomah
Genre: Contemporary Inspirational Romance
Published: 2014

Sigh.

You know those books you have to ration as you approach the last page because you can’t get enough and don’t want the story end?  This was one of those books.  Except I lost that battle because I couldn’t stop turning the pages.  It was that good.

Here’s what it’s about (from publisher Waterbrook-Multnomah):

Sometimes everything you ever learned about yourself is wrong.

Fashion is a fickle industry, a frightening fact for twenty-four year old model Ivy Clark. Ten years in and she’s learned a sacred truth—appearance is everything. Nobody cares about her broken past as long as she looks beautiful for the camera. This is the only life Ivy knows—so when it starts to unravel, she’ll do anything to hold on. Even if that means moving to the quaint island town of Greenbrier, South Carolina, to be the new face of her stepmother’s bridal wear line—an irony too rich for words, since Ivy is far from the pure bride in white.

If only her tenuous future didn’t rest in the hands of Davis Knight, her mysterious new photographer. Not only did he walk away from the kind of success Ivy longs for to work maintenance at a local church, he treats her differently than any man ever has. Somehow, Davis sees through the façade she works so hard to maintain. He, along with a cast of other characters, challenges everything Ivy has come to believe about beauty and worth. Is it possible that God sees her—a woman stained and broken by the world—yet wants her still?

To learn more, visit the publisher’s Web site for news, reviews, and an excerpt.  But first…

Here are my thoughts:

I have a soft spot for stories that deal with forgiveness and redemption, particularly when done well, and this one handled those themes very well. Each of the characters had some tough lessons to learn over the course of the story before a happy ending could be had, but none of those lessons felt forced or contrived. Each of the characters went through gradual, sometimes painful, and definitely challenging growth, one step at a time. I absolutely loved watching it all unfold. And watch it I did. Smell and hear it too, thanks to all the vivid sensory details included.

One of the things that really got my attention was the way the author used visual items and circumstances within the surroundings as triggers and metaphors for some of the lessons the characters were learning.  It gave the book a literary quality that I really enjoyed and that tied everything together beautifully.  Here’s one of my favorite passages, drawn from pages 183-4:

“I’m glad God’s like those butterflies and not like that crab bait,” Sara said.

Davis took another bite of his peach and wiped at the juice dribbling down his chin.

Ivy raised an eyebrow. “You’re glad God’s not like a bloody chicken neck?”

He chuckled.

“I’m glad God doesn’t plunk Himself into the water and wait for us to find Him.  I’m glad He chases us like that butterfly.”

I think the butterfly vs. chicken neck metaphor illustrates an important point for the story in a way that’s vivid and memorable as well as surprising.  And I think this passage works even better in context.  You’ll just have to read the book, so you can let me know if you agree.  :)

That wasn’t the only instance where one of the characters made a meaningful point in an unexpected way.  I also thoroughly enjoyed the part on pages 260-1 where Pastor Voss looks at the familiar story of the Prodigal Son from a fresh perspective that suits this story perfectly.

A Broken Kind of Beautiful has compelling and loveable characters, a meaty subject dealt with in a touching way without becoming cheesy, and a powerful message that’s not intrusive, but feels like a natural outgrowth of the story. In some ways, this book reminds me of Francine Rivers’s Redeeming Love, and I think fans of that book will enjoy this one as well. As will anyone who enjoys a good contemporary inspirational romance. I’m so glad I had the chance to read it!

Now I need to go look for Katie Ganshert’s earlier books, Wildflowers from Winter, a Carol Award Winner and Wishing on Willows, currently an INSPY Award finalist.  If they’re anything like this book, I’m looking forward to reading them as well.

A big thank you to publisher Waterbrook-Multnomah for providing me with an Advance Reading Copy of A Broken Kind of Beautiful as part of their Blogging for Books program for purposes of this review.  My review reflects my honest opinion.

New This Week in Christian Fiction (May 13)

New Releases

If you missed last week’s new titles, be sure to check them out.  The first Tuesday of the month ushered in a wealth of new books.  And this week brings four more exciting new inspirational titles to check out in the contemporary romance, historical romance, and young adult categories.

Spotlight on…

Somebody Like You by Beth K Vogt

Description (From Publisher, Howard Books):

Can a young widow find love again with her husband’s reflection?

Haley’s three-year marriage to Sam, an army medic, ends tragically when he’s killed in Afghanistan. Her attempts to create a new life for herself are ambushed when she arrives home one evening—and finds her husband waiting for her. Did the military make an unimaginable mistake when they told her Sam was killed?

Too late to make things right with his estranged twin brother, Stephen discovers Sam never told Haley about him. As Haley and Stephen navigate their fragile relation­ship, they are inexorably drawn to each other. How can they honor the memory of a man whose death brought them together—and whose ghost could drive them apart?

Somebody Like You is a beautifully rendered, affecting novel, reminding us that while we can’t change the past, we have the choice to change the future and start anew.

See More: Reading Group Guide ~ Heroine Interview ~ Author Interview

More New Titles This Week

Chateau of Secrets by Melanie Dobson

The Heart’s Pursuit by Robin Lee Hatcher

So Not Okay by Nancy Rue

Tangentially Speaking: Authorly Take-Aways from a Librarians’ Conference

For Writers, Miscellaneous
tangentiallyspeaking

Image Created Using ReciteThis.com

So, a quick poll:

Who among my readers knew that librarians not only need a Master’s Degree in Library Science (MLS) or in Library and Information Science (MLIS), but also require ongoing continuing education?

Okay, I guess that was more a rhetorical question than an actual poll… but anyway….

In point of fact, we do.  In order to remain certified as a Professional Librarian in the state of Maryland, I need ninety (yes, that’s 90) hours of continuing education every five years.  So, this past Wednesday through Friday I found myself in Ocean City, Maryland with a  hotel-ful of other librarians from Maryland and Delaware for the annual library conference sponsored by the Maryland and Delaware Library Associations.

Which was awesome.

I got to hang out with friends and former colleagues, as well as network and meet librarians from all over not one, but two states.  And attend a half dozen awesome learning sessions, a couple yummy banquets, etc.  And in the evenings, I had a quiet place all to myself in which to get some concentrated writing time in on my novel, distraction free.  Yay!

At this point, you’re probably thinking, “That’s great, Karen, but what’s the point?  Why do I want to read about the great time you had at that conference?”

I’m so glad you asked.  😉

What I want to do in this blog post is share a few things I learned in some of the sessions I attended that could be of interest to authors and bloggers.  More specifically, some awesome-sounding tools and resources mentioned that could prove useful in developing a social media presence and in other writerly areas.  A few of these tools I’d heard of or used before, but many  were completely new to me and I plan to check them out myself in the weeks and months to come.

The first two resources were mentioned in a session on User Centered Design for Web sites, presented by Ben Kutil.  You’d be surprised at the kinds of things you need to know as a librarian.  And yes, as a tech-enthusiast I was in my element.

  • uinames.com – At the touch of a button you get a randomly generated name.  You can ask for a particular gender or country of origin or go completely random.  What great inspiration for naming a character!  FYI, the “UI” stands for user interface, and it’s designed with User Interface Designers in mind, but I think it’s just as cool for authors.
  • uifaces.com – Real avatars people have shared for use in user interface mock-ups.  I’m thinking they could serve as inspiration for characters… not that there aren’t already tons of great pictures all over the web you could browse through.  But you get the idea.

And there were a ton of useful resources mentioned in the session I attended on Social Media, which was presented by Erica Jesonis from the Cecil County Public Library.  The focus of the session was on increasing engagement on your current social media outlets, which is wildly pertinent not just to librarians, but also to authors, and really anyone on social media.  So here goes.  I haven’t personally checked these all out myself, so if you’re familiar with any of them, I’d love to hear what you think.  And of course, if you find one here you come to love, I’d be thrilled to hear about that too.

  • HootSuite – a tool for scheduling social media posts, as well as for following search terms to see what’s popular at the moment and for finding content to share of interest to your own followers.  It calls itself a “Social Media Management Dashboard.”  I’ve heard good things about HootSuite before, but have yet to give it a try myself.
  • Hashtagify.me – a great tool for digging up related hashtags and seeing which are the most popular, for use in deciding how best to “hashtagify” your own social media posts.  I’ve used this one a little before, but it looks like it’s capable of so much more than what I’ve used so far.  Will have to explore it some more when I find the time.
  • Topsy – for use in searching “the social web” (photos, videos, posts, links, etc) as well as analyzing trends in what’s popular.
  • Keyhole – for tracking hashtag, keyword, and URL use on popular social networks in real-time.
  • Snapseed – a photo editing app available from both the Android and iOS App stores.
  • InsText – another app available on both platforms (Android and iOS) for editing photos, with a focus on easily adding text to your pictures.
  • Recite This – Lets you convert text to beautiful images quickly and easily.  Sounds great for use on Facebook, where images get preferential treatment.  😉  The site’s tagline is “Turn a Quote into a Masterpiece.”
  • Canva – a web-based tool for graphic design, supposed to make great looking results incredibly easy.
  • Picframe – an App available on multiple platforms for easily combining and framing photos and sharing them socially.
  • Infogr.am – a web based tool for creating your own infographics and charts.
  • Lapse It – an App for Android and iOS that allows you to create time lapse videos with your mobile device.
  • Animoto – can be used for making video slideshows out of still pictures and video clips.
  • Storify – for creating a mashup of related social media posts that come together to tell a story.

As I said, I’d love to hear if you find any of these tools useful.  I expect I’ll be experimenting with some of them as I find the time.  Thanks for stopping by.  :)

New this Week in Christian Fiction (May 6, 2014)

New Releases

It’s the first Tuesday of the month.  Know what that means?  A huge selection of new releases to choose from.  The biggest categories this month are Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, and Romantic Suspense.  Or in other words, if you love romance, you’re in luck.  But there’s also a smattering of books in other categories too, including one with a movie coming out soon.  See if you can guess which one.  (Hint: There’s a link to more info about the movie right next to the title.)

Spotlight on…

One Perfect Spring by Irene Hannon

Description (from Publisher, Revell):

Independent single mom Claire Summers is doing her best to make lemonade out of the lemons life has handed her. Workaholic Keith Watson is interested only in the bottom line–until a letter from Claire’s eleven-year-old daughter reaches his desk and changes everything.

As the executive assistant to a philanthropic businessman, Keith is used to fielding requests for donations. But the girl isn’t asking for money. She wants help finding the long-lost son of a neighbor. As Keith reluctantly digs into this assignment in his usual results-oriented style, he has no idea how involved he and Claire will become–nor how unusual the results will actually be. Who could have guessed that a child’s kindhearted request would bring love and hope to so many lives . . . including his own?

Through compelling characters and surprising plot twists, fan favorite Irene Hannon offers this tenderhearted story that demonstrates how life is like lilacs–the biggest blooms come only after the harshest winters.

Amish / Mennonite

First Impressions by Sarah Price
Rumspringa’s Hope (The Spirit of the Amish #1) by Beth Shriver

Apocalyptic

Godless by Dr. James Dobson and Kurt Bruner

Contemporary Romance

One More Last Chance by Cathleen Armstrong
Until I Found You by Victoria Bylin
One Perfect Spring by Irene Hannon
Dixie Belle by Debby Mayne
Here to Stay by Melissa Tagg
Meant To Be Mine (Porter Family #2) by Becky Wade

Historical Romance

Out of the Ruins (Golden Gate Chronicles) by Karen Barnett
Falling for the Rancher Father (Love Inspired Historical) by Linda Ford
The Horseman’s Frontier Family (Love Inspired Historical) by Karen Kirst
The Baron’s Honourable Daughter by Lynn Morris
Through the Deep Waters by Kim Vogel Sawyer
While Love Stirs by Lorna Seilstad
Daisies are Forever by Liz Tolsma

Romantic Suspense

Bodyguard Reunion (Love Inspired Suspense) by Margaret Daley
Family in Hiding (Love Inspired Suspense) by Valerie Hansen
Fatal Exchange by Lisa Harris
Grave Danger (Love Inspired Suspense) by Katy Lee
Gathering Shadows (Finding Sanctuary #1) by Nancy Mehl
Silenced (Alaskan Courage #4) by Dani Pettrey
Double Agent (Love Inspired Suspense) by Lisa Phillips
Trail of Secrets (Love Inspired Suspense) by Sandra Robbins
Treasure Point Secrets (Love Inspired Suspense) by Sarah Varland

Suspense / Thriller

Persecuted: I Will Not Be Silent by Robin Parrish – Movie coming soon.

Women’s Fiction

All My Belongings by Cynthia Ruchti

Young Adult

Marvelous (Books of Marvella #1) by Travis Thrasher

New this Week in Christian Fiction (April 29, 2014)

Miscellaneous

I’ve been reading and writing a lot of romantic suspense lately, so the new releases coming out by Dee Henderson and Ronie Kendig have caught my attention.  Take a look at this great list of new releases and tell me, what looks good to you?  :)

Spotlight on…

Undetected by Dee Henderson

Description (From Publisher, Bethany House):

When asked what he does for a living . . .

Commander Mark Bishop is deliberately low-key: “I’m in the Navy.” But commanding the ballistic missile submarine USS Nevada, keeping her crew trained and alert during ninety-day submerged patrols, and being prepared to launch weapons on valid presidential orders, carries a burden of command like few other jobs in the military. Mark Bishop is a man who accepts that responsibility, and handles it well. And at a time when tensions are escalating around the Pacific Rim, the Navy is glad to have him.

Mark wants someone to come home to after sea patrols. The woman he has in mind is young, with a lovely smile, and very smart. She’s a civilian, yet she understands the U.S. Navy culture. And he has a strong sense that life with her would never be boring. But she may be too deep in her work to see the potential in a relationship with him.

Gina Gray would love to be married. She has always envisioned her life that way. A breakup she didn’t see coming, though, has her focusing all her attention on what she does best–ocean science research. She’s on the cusp of a major breakthrough, and she needs Mark Bishop’s perspective and help. Because what she told the Navy she’s figured out is only the beginning. If she’s right, submarine warfare is about to enter a new and dangerous chapter.

Amish / Mennonite

Plain and Fancy (Brides of Lancaster County, #3) by Wanda E Brunstetter

Biblical Fiction

The Sons of Isaac by Roberta Kells Dorr

The Advocate by Randy Singer

Contemporary Romance

Rise and Shine by Sandra D. Bricker

Tumbleweed Weddings by Donna Robinson

Historical Romance

Mark of Distinction (Price of Privilege #2) by Jessica Dotta

Lost Loves of World War II Collection by Bruce Judisch and Sharon Bernash Smith

The Surrender to Destiny Trilogy by MaryLu Tyndall

Romantic Suspense

Undetected by Dee Henderson

Raptor 6 (Quiet Professionals #1) by Ronie Kendig

New this Week in Christian Fiction (April 22, 2014)

New Releases

I’ve been really busy lately with writing to a deadline, and so I’ve had less time than I normally do for reading and writing reviews, but some of the titles releasing this week look outstanding.  I can’t wait to catch up on my reading!

Spotlight on…

Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers

Description (From Publisher Tyndale House):

To those who matter in 1950s Hollywood, Lena Scott is the hottest rising star to hit the silver screen since Marilyn Monroe. Few know her real name is Abra. Even fewer know the price she’s paid to finally feel like she’s somebody.

To Pastor Ezekiel Freeman, Abra will always be the little girl who stole his heart the night he found her, a wailing newborn abandoned under a bridge on the outskirts of Haven. Zeke and his son, Joshua—Abra’s closest friend—watch her grow into an exotic beauty. But Zeke knows the circumstances surrounding her birth etched scars deep in her heart, scars that leave her vulnerable to a fast-talking bad boy who proclaims his love and lures her to Tinseltown. Hollywood feels like a million miles from Haven, and naive Abra quickly learns what’s expected of an ambitious girl with stars in her eyes. But fame comes at an awful price. She has burned every bridge to get exactly what she thought she wanted. Now, all she wants is a way back home.

Want to learn more?  Check out the review from RT Book Reviews.

And More Good Choices…

A Lady’s Honor (Cliffs of Cornwall #1) by Laurie Alice Eakes

Moms’ Night Out by Tricia Goyer

A May Bride by Meg Moseley

New this Week in Christian Fiction (April 15, 2014)

Miscellaneous

It looks like there are some great new Christian fiction titles releasing this week!

I see one here that I’ll definitely be reading soon, and several others I’d love to try to sneak into the gaps in between writing chapters of my own novel in progress.

Do you see any on this list that look good to you?

Amish / Mennonite

Jedidiah’s Bride (Love Inspired) by Rebecca Kertz

Seasons of Tomorrow (Amish Vines and Orchards #4) by Cindy Woodsmall

Contemporary Romance

Forever Her Hero (Love Inspired) by Belle Calhoune

Her Unlikely Cowboy (Love Inspired) by Debra Clopton

A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert

Loving the Lawman (Love Inspired) by Ruth Logan Herne

The Fireman Finds a Wife (Love Inspired) by Felicia Mason

North Country Mom (Love Inspired) by Lois Richer

Historical & Historical Romance

The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benton

The Pelican Bride (Gulf Coast Chronicles #1) by Beth White

Some Thoughts on Writing My First Synopsis

Author Updates, For Writers

Two weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about entering Harlequin’s Killer Voices competition with the first page of a novel I’m working on.  Today, I’m happy to report that not only did I get selected to advance to the next round of the competition (Yay!), but I was also able to get a 3-5 page synopsis describing my plot and characters in to my editor on time (Whew!).

As an aside, I love the fact that entrants have each been assigned to a given editor’s “team.”  That means, besides having teammates to cheer on, I can refer to “my editor” in posts like this.  Technically, I suppose I can’t claim to have an editor since I don’t have a contract, but I prefer to overlook that technicality for the moment.  😉

Anyway, writing a synopsis of my novel in progress has been quite a learning experience for me, and I hope my readers don’t mind if I talk a little about that in this post.  (Sorry if you do mind.  For anyone experiencing book review withdrawal, allow me to direct your attention to Megan Besing’s review of The Pelican Bride by Beth White; it sounds fantastic!)

Okay, I promise, no more asides… I think.

Since writing a good synopsis has the reputation for being particularly challenging, the prospect of writing my first synopsis was a little, um, daunting at first.  I had a week in which to write it, and I spent the first half of that week researching what was expected in a synopsis and hammering out kinks in my plot.  My early attempts at synopsizing were thwarted by some remarkably convoluted explanations as to why particular details had to occur in a particular sequence.  Which stopped me cold.  Yuck!

I wanted to focus on action and emotion, not the nitty gritty details.  I realized I had to back up and allow myself to tell, rather than show.  Ground breaking, right?  It was for me.  I think “Show; don’t tell,” has got to be the most commonly offered bit of writing advice out there, or close to it, so telling felt a little unnatural.  But I told myself to get over it.   And when I gave myself permission to tell, the process got a whole lot easier.

I also realized that Act Two of my plot as I originally envisioned it really was a little convoluted, and if I couldn’t explain it succinctly, then maybe I should rethink that part.  I got out some three by five cards, wrote plot points out on them, spread them across the dining room table, and started rearranging.

That and beating my head on the table, but we won’t talk about that part.  😉

I thought long and hard about which plot points were essential, pivotal moments for the characters and their relationship, and which ones were moveable or expendable.  In the end, I removed one plot point that didn’t really make sense and moved two other plot points to different locations within the narrative.  With those minor changes, everything else fell naturally into place.

After picking my jaw up off the floor, I ran to tell my husband that my plot wasn’t broken anymore, so he would no longer be asked to stare at a jumble of three by five cards with me.  (Have I mentioned he’s incredible?  He really is.  And back to the point….)

Once I had the sequence nailed down for my plot, I found to my delight that the synopsis flowed.  I wrote systematically from beginning to end, just telling the story, one step at a time, leaving out nonessential details.  And when I reached the end, and my synopsis was two pages too long, I went through again, looking at each sentence to see if it was really essential to understanding my story, or if it could be removed or shortened.  When I was done pruning, I set it aside for a day, read it through, and discovered that I liked it.  And breathed a big sigh of relief.

I’m glad to have that synopsis done, but I think I’m hooked.  Forcing myself to write a synopsis of my novel before writing it, really helped me distill the plot down to its bare essentials and get a better view of how the various pieces interact with each other.  As a result I think I have a much better understanding of my story, and it will be stronger in the end than it might have been otherwise.  Frustrating as the process was at times, I’m fairly certain I’ll be doing this again with future novels, whether I have to or not.

Does that mean I’m crazy?  😉

New this Week in Christian Fiction (April 1, 2014)

New Releases

Spotlight on…

Scarlett Says by Julie L Cannon

This romantic comedy’s description caught my attention as I was browsing new releases, so I thought I’d feature it here along with a list of this week’s forty (yes 40!) new releases in Christian fiction.

Description (From Publisher, Abindon Press):

One woman’s love of literature inspires dreams she never knew she had.

For 30-year-old literature lover Joan Meeler, there is no heroine so admirable as Gone With the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara. Joan, with her quiet nature and love of good food, falls shockingly short of Scarlett’s outspoken passion, strength, and 17-inch waist. Yet as the secret hostess of an advice blog called Scarlett Says, she discovers she’s quite adept at dispensing advice in Scarlett’s devil-may-care tone.

Joan is happy to live vicariously . . . until she meets Charles, a Christian and faithful Scarlett Says reader, who suddenly has Joan dreaming of something more. Since Scarlett has never let her down, Joan digs deeper and deeper into her heroine’s mind, searching for something to calm her rising insecurities. But her search falls short, and Joan realizes that she must look within herself—and to God—to uncover the inner confidence she never knew she possessed.

Amish & Mennonite Fiction

Looking For A Miracle (Brides of Lancaster County #2) by Wanda E Brunstetter

The Plain City Bridesmaids: Three Ohio Mennonite Romances by Dianne Christner

A Plain Man by Mary Ellis

The Kissing Bridge (Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors #3) by Tricia Goyer

The Last Bride (Home to Hickory Hollow #5) by Beverly Lewis

The Amish Groom (The Men of Lancaster County #1) by Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner

The Wounded Heart (Amish Quilt #1) by Adina Senft

Contemporary Romance

The Mistaken Heiress (Heartsong Presents) by Shelba Shelton Nivens

Rodeo Song (Heartsong Presents) by Shannon Taylor Vannatter

Historical Fiction

For Such a Time (Women of Valor #1) by Elyse Larson

What Follows After by Dan Walsh

Historical Romance

Rainy Day Dreams (Seattle Brides #2) by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith

The Lone Star Romance Collection: Five Stories of Untamed Love in a Wild State by Cathy Marie Hake & Kimberley Comeaux

Plots and Pans by Kelly Eileen Hake

An Unconventional Lady (Heartsong Presents) by Cynthia Hickey

Caught in the Middle (Ladies of Caldwell County #3) by Regina Jennings

The Preacher’s Bride Claim (Love Inspired Historical) by Laurie Kingery

Sincerely Yours by Jane Kirkpatrick, Amanda Cabot, Laurie Alice Eakes, and Ann Shorey

Beloved Protector (Heartsong Presents) by Darlene Mindrup

Wyoming Promises (Love Inspired Historical) by Kerri Mountain

A Sensible Arrangement (Lone Star Brides #1) by Tracie Peterson

The Soldier’s Secrets (Love Inspired Historical) by Naomi Rawlings

The Husband Campaign (Love Inspired Historical) by Regina Scott

Willow Creek Brides: Three Loves Are Sweet Surprises in Historic Iowa (Romancing America) by Connie Stevens

Circle of Spies (The Culper Ring #3) by Roseanna M. White

Romantic Comedy

Scarlett Says by Julie L Cannon

Romantic Suspense

Top Secret Identity (Love Inspired Suspense) by Sharon Dunn

Perilous Waters (Love Inspired Suspense) by Sandra Orchard

Wrongly Accused (Love Inspired Suspense) by Laura Scott

Words of Conviction by Linda J White

Lancaster County Target (Love Inspired Suspense) by Kit Wilkinson

Speculative Fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Apocalyptic)

The Turning by Davis Bunn

The Fearful Gates (Ancient Earth Trilogy #3) by Ross Lawhead

Women’s Fiction

For Such a Time as This (Women of Hope #1) by Ginny Aiken

The Road to Testament by Eva Marie Everson

Paige Turned (Paige Alder #3) by Erynn Mangum

The Welcome Committee of Butternut Creek by Jane Myers Perrine

Reunion by Lauraine Snelling

Stardust by Carla Stewart

A Promise in Pieces (Quilts of Love #17) by Emily T Wierenga

Writing Update: Devising Devious Deeds (or Plotting Romantic Suspense)

Author Updates

If you’ve been following my writing journey thus far, you know that I’m approaching the end of my first draft of my first novel.  (Yay!)

But I’ve put that on hold for a while to plot murder and mayhem (the fictional variety of course).

IMG_7917c

Which is to say, Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense (LIS) line is having a contest that they’re calling “The Search for a Killer Voice” (Twitter hashtag #KillerVoices).  The contest is designed to find talented new authors of inspirational romantic suspense, who just might wind up with publishing contracts with LIS.  At first, I was hesitant to enter because I didn’t want to set aside my first novel until it was complete.  But the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that my first novel will still be waiting for me when I get back to it.  And this opportunity was one I simply could not refuse.

See, the idea I’ve had for my second novel, that’s been percolating for a very long while now, is one I want to target for the Love Inspired Suspense line.  And this contest is just the nudge I need to get it written.

Best case scenario, it may catch an editor’s eye and garner a contract offer (which would be AWESOME!)  And if I don’t make it that far in the contest?  No harm done.  I may even get some helpful feedback from the editors along the way that could benefit my writing in the long run.

So yes, I entered the first page of my next novel, and now I’m waiting with bated breath for the editors to announce which entrants will be advancing to Stage 2 of the contest.  Supposedly the decision has already been made, but we’re being kept in suspense until March 28th.

Meanwhile, I’m reading, plotting, and writing at an intense pace, because the deadlines in this contest are no walk in the park.  Unless that walk in the park happens to take place while pursued by a serial killer….  😉

That, in and of itself, could make this contest worth entering, for the productivity boost that comes with a deadline!

As an aside, I’ve really enjoyed plotting the suspense in this book.  It feels kind of like playing both sides of a game of chess, where the stakes are life and death.  The mental exercise of considering what villain, hero, and heroine would do, and how each would respond to the other players’ moves, as well as how they would each expect the others to respond has been intense.  And a whole lot of fun!

So tell me, how do you feel about deadlines?  Appreciate or dread?  Or somewhere in between?