NaNoWriMo and Historical Fiction

So, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is 7 days old. I have 5950 words in those days. I'm feeling way behind, BUT I have discovered an important reason for such a problem.

I write historical fiction. DUH! I have to do research while I am writing. For example, in Colonial Dream, my hero and heroine have immigrated to the Colonies in 1773. They are about to celebrate Christmas. Well, I spent 12 years down the road from Colonial Williamsburg. They are all about a big Christmas observance with their Grand Illumination, natural fruit and greenery for wreaths, candles in the windows, etc. However, my story begins in Boston. I thought it would be a good idea to see if Boston traditions at this time were different.

That's when I ran into the big obstacle! If you remember your Thanksgiving lore, you remember that the Massachusetts Bay Colony was settled by Puritans. These Puritans came to America for religious freedom to worship the way they wanted, which they proceeded to force on the all of the members of the colony. One of the tenets of their faith required the NON-celebration of Christmas. In fact, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in Masschusetts until 1681! Even the changing of the law did not change the cultural beliefs of the area. Citizens were actively discouraged from celebrating Christmas.

Why? As always, all the reasons are probably unknown. One big reason involved the fact that the original celebration of the winter solstice was a pagan event. The greenery and other customs were brought into Christianity and mingled with a birth of Christ holiday. The pagan roots caused the Puritans to shun the celebration. In addition, the Bible does not record a celebration of the birth of Christ, so the "pure" reading of Scripture excluded such observance. In addition, the name of the holiday harkened back to Catholicism since it's meaning is "Christ Mass". Protestant groups rejected much that was tinged with Catholicism. Eventually the Puritans observed the religious significance of the holiday in church services

Another bit of research then concerns how the Welsh celebrated Christmas before coming to America. Some of their traditions included caroling, wassailing, taffy making on Christmas Eve, decorating with greenery (hanging the greens), burning a large yule log, and feasting. It sounds like the 18th century Welsh did it all at Christmas.

I think my characters will have to celebrate a Welsh Christmas behind closed doors. All of this research is quite interesting to read and to share with my readers. But none of it creates word count for NaNoWriMo! Even writing this blog doesn't count, though it does help me to be ready to write this afternoon.

Author Lynn Dove's Book Launch

                  

Lynn Dove is launching her new book, Love the Wounded, October 30^th. 

Love the Wounded  is the final and dramatic conclusion to her brilliant Wounded Trilogy  series that has followed the lives of teenagers Jake, Leigh, Mike, Dylan and Tim as they come to terms with a series of tragedies and events that have made each of them question why God allows “bad things to happen to good people.”

You can help her achieve ‘best seller’ status by purchasing the book at amazon.com TODAY – and receive all kinds of free gifts while you’re at it!

Here’s how:

1. Go to the Landing Page on Lynn’s Word Salt Website

2. Buy the book at amazon.

3. Go back to the Landing Page and fill in the {{{{{{{form}}}}}} with your name, email and purchase number.

It’s that easy! You’ll be directed to your free gifts and all you have to do is choose which ones you want.

About the book:

Leigh does not know who to choose...her heart tells her she will always love Jake, but he has changed so much since the death of their friend, Ronnie, and with his mother going through breast cancer; he has totally closed himself off from her emotionally. Now she is dating Dylan and try as she might to accept him for who he is, she can't stop thinking about Jake! Dylan has never gotten over the loss of his father and little sister, killed by a drunk driver when he was just a young boy.

After a horrific accident that has put both Tim and his little brother, Evan in the hospital, everyone knows that not only is he being bullied at school; he cuts himself to cope with it all. But meeting Cassidy has given him the courage to stand up to the bullies and at the same time give her what she so desperately needs...a life-giving bone marrow transplant. Jake's mother keeps telling him that "God works all things out for good" but with all the things going on in his life and with his friends, he's just not sure anymore. It is only after Mike is paralyzed in a car accident that Jake was partially responsible for that all the families and friends will be brought back together, not by coincidence, but by God's design and then Jake will finally believe that God truly does "Love the Wounded".

"A life of working with youth has inspired Lynn Dove, a Cochrane mother to turn her experiences into a book trilogy...(the Wounded Trilogy) series that parallels the struggles of students...(and) covers the angst of some of the real serious issues that teenagers face today, particularly with bullying and gossip. " -Rocky View Weekly-

What others are saying:

“I couldn’t put the book down…(A) dramatic ending to a wonderful series about five teenagers and their families who are struggling through life,…Lynn Dove has created a cast of teenage characters we grow to love over this three book series,…It is a wonderful, good, clean book with twists and turns about issues on a young adult level that they will enjoy reading.”  - Readers Favorite–

“A personal story of honest truth – offer(s) an uplifting spiritual message” – Cochrane Times –

Author bio:

Lynn Dove is a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher and writer.  Winner of a Canadian Christian Writing Award in 2011, Lynn Dove's debut novel, Shoot the Wounded, written for teens and young adults was a finalist in the 2010 Readers Favorite Book Awards. Heal the Wounded, released in 2010, the second book in this series won the Bronze Medal in the 2011 Readers Favorite Book Awards in the Young Adult - Coming of Age category. Love the Wounded is the final book in the "Wounded Trilogy."

FREE STUFF:

Here’s just a sampling of the FREE e-gifts from generous supporters:

Free Kindle version of Tracy Krauss’s best seller: Wind Over Marshdale

Autographed copy of The Chamomile by Susan F. Craft

Autographed copy of award winning They Stood Alone by Sandra McLeod Humphrey

Free ebook Fit for Faith by Kimberley Payne

Free PDF copy of Live Without Stress by Shelley Hitz

First Three Chapters of The Legacy of Deer Run by Elaine Cooper

Plus more!

All if you buy your copy of Love the Wounded  at amazon.com on Oct 30! All links will be operational on the ‘Landing Page’ at the Word Salt website on that day only!

 

Check out the whole trilogy!

 

DISCLAIMER: This ‘Best Seller book launch’ has been coordinated with the help of the ‘John 3:16 Marketing Network’and many other generous supporters. The free gifts are deliverable electronically over the internet or by email (or mail) by individual authors and supporters. They are not in any way associated with, nor deliverable by, amazon.com 

On Being a Lighthouse for Christ

God has called me to be a light on a hill in a dark world. This calling is behind my fascination (some would say obsession) with lighthouses. As a teacher, I was often the only light in a middle schooler’s world. Relationship with those students was always about being light and, hopefully, showing Christ in that light.

Having retired from the classroom, I feel God has called me to accomplish my childhood dreams of being a writer. Embracing that call, however, feels like I’m setting myself up for failure. Am I good enough for traditional publishing? Am I wearing a mask of being a writer? Is writing historical Christian romance really a calling? The romance genre can feel inconsequential in a world filled with terror and with need for Christ. It’s an escape for women, at best, and called emotional porn at its worst. There are ungodly romances on the shelves at Wal-Mart!

God has called me to be a light in a dark world. His call leads me to be an author who portrays God’s Love to the world through historical Christian relationships. The world does not comprehend the Christian lifestyle or romantic relationship within a Christian worldview. Relationships in this post-modern world are typically unpure -  sexually, emotionally, and physically - because they are not centered around Christ.

Accepting the challenge to write and to succeed in writing requires dying to self so that Christ’s power can work through me to accomplish what HE wants. Ephesians 3:20 states “With God’s power working in us, God can do much more than we can ask or imagine.”(CEV)

God has called me to be light! He has called me to use my imagination and my abilities to bring forth a world where Christians relate to one another in a Christ-like way. To do this, I must set aside my twin fears of failure and rejection. To do this, I must believe that Christ will work to put OUR writings in front of those He wishes to reach with OUR imaginings.

In other words, be a lighthouse that God uses to steer others away from the rocks and into the narrow channel that leads to Him and, therefore, to life.

What has God called you to do?

What God did at ACFW Conference

My last post was full of my anxiety about attending the ACFW Conference in Dallas. Now I'd like to share what GOD did at conference.

• While I stood, still terrified, waiting on my first literary agent appointment with Mary Sue Seymour, two women, Stacey Monton and Valerie Comer, approached me and asked if I was okay. I replied that no, I was very nervous. The two of them wrapped me in a bear hug and prayed over me. I learned that this is not unusual behavior when almost 700 Christians get together to talk about Christian fiction.
• Buoyed by my personal prayer support, I had a great meeting with Ms. Seymour. She asked for the 1st 50 pages & synopsis of Gold Earrings, the 1st 50 pages & synopsis of my next book, Colonial Dream, and the manuscript & synopsis for A Time to Choose !
• My next appointment was with Ramona Richards of Abingdon Press. She wants to see Colonial Dream when it's done.
• While waiting for my next appointment, I struck up conversation with Jessica Kirkland, another 1st time attender. (We were all labeled with a brown ribbon that declared "First Time Attender.") She asked me what I was pitching (trying to sell). So I gave her my pitch, then she asked if I had a one sheet. I gave one to her. It was then that I realized she was also an agent! She took my one sheet and first 3 chapters for A Time to Choose, my series proposal,and a copy of Gold Earrings.
• My last appointment on Friday was with Melissa Endlich, editor for Love Inspired (a division of Harlequin). She wanted my complete manuscript of A Time to Choose!
• My appointment on Saturday was with Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary Agency. She seemed to be the agent for most of the people I met over this weekend event! She also wants to see Colonial Dream first.

Beyond the appointments and extra God-appointments, there were amazing times of worship and devotion! The workshops were fun and helpful.  Ken went with me and was so supportive. We also had the chance to see my brother Russ and his family while in Dallas.

I am happy to report that my manuscript has been sent to Love Inspired and all my 'stuff' has been sent to Mary Sue Seymour. I spent last week trying to put together the first 50 pages of a novel I started and wrote various chapters for in the 1990s! This work also required converting the word documents to .docx files!!

So God is working in my life to encourage me to pursue my childhood dream of being an author. He is also allowing me to write His message in my writing.  Jeremiah 29:11

Preparing for ACFW Conference

Several months ago I decided that moving to the next level in my writing career required attending the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Conference in Dallas in September. It's September! While I had attended the Greater Philly Christian Conference 2x in the past, the ACFW is much bigger! Here are things I am doing to prepare for ACFW in just a few weeks:

1. I reserved my hotel and airline. I completed the LONG conference form including the classes I plan to attend, the editors and agents I want to meet, and the meals I hope to eat. By the time I was done, I had no idea what I had signed up for! Hoping I made good choices, I made notes in my journal about what choices I had made, set the conference on the back burner, and paid the bills when they came in (EEK!!! WHAT HAVE I DONE?).
2. I signed up for the first timer's loop. I've been receiving hints about what I should do in preparation for the conference. Some of those things will be listed here. Unfortunately the loop also has a frightening effect, as in WHAT AM I DOING?
3. I prepared a "one sheet" describing my new book A Time to Choose in concise and intriguing form in hopes of finding a publisher or an agent willing to take me on. Several iterations later, I printed 6 copies on nice stationary. Why 6? That's how many options I had to list on the conference registration to get 2 appointments with publishers/agents. I'll load it on a flash drive in case I need more copies.
4. I printed business cards. Lots of business cards. With all conceivable ways to contact me! And with my picture. I also created a label with said contact info to stick on the back of my Gold Earrings business cards.
5. I have finished, almost, editing and reprinting my new book A Time to Choose. I plan to load the digital copy and several other pertinent documents on $4 flash drives to give to anyone who can help me find a publisher or agent! Prayer for this is much appreciated.
6. I bought flash drives on sale at Office Max.

I'm sure I'll find many more ways to drive myself crazy in these few coming weeks. Please pray for my anxieties and fears. Please pray that God puts the correct people in my path to allow A Time to Choose to be published. Pray that I feel I received professional contacts and instruction that is well worth the time and cost to go to ACFW Conference. Finally pray for my health, that I would be able to make the most of the time in Dallas, including seeing my brother and his family.

Writing Contest Winner!

Fourteen-year-old Cameron Presson of Thompson Station, TN, claimed first prize in the 2012 New Christian Books Summer Writing Contest. He entered a modern Jonah story entitled “In the Belly of a Jail” about a 16-year-old arrested for driving while intoxicated, who surrendered his life to Christ after being incarcerated.

 “I think all the entries are beautifully creative work. All these writers should be encouraged to keep writing,” remarked one of the judges, Katherine Harms. She is author of Oceans of Love, a book with 30 days of meditations on God’s love built on texts relating to oceans and water.

Second place went to 11-year-old Victoria Rifa of Yakima, Washington, for her wail tale, Double Trouble, involving squabbling twins who turned to God after an earthquake.

Third place went to 14-year-old Maisie Lay of Marshall, IL, for her story, “To Learn Responsibility,” about a girl who was sent to military school for a day after leaving her baby brother alone.

Receiving Honorable Mention Awards were Nathan and Daniel Bae, of Irvine, CA, and Stephen Gordon, Tampa, FL.

New Christian Books, an online magazine serving the Christian reading and writing communities, sought modern Jonah stories from 10 to 14 year olds for its summer contest held in conjunction with the John 3:16 Marketing Network. The network is a group of Christian authors who have bonded to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

"It was my goal to teach and reinforce the lesson of Jonah: there is price to pay when you disobey,” says the magazine’s publisher Cheryl Rogers, “while at the same time introducing the magazine and the work of Christian authors to new readers.”

Rogers has penned a number of ebooks, including the short story collection Just Like Jonah Wail Tales that inspired the contest. The ebook involves characters who land in a whale of trouble for making the wrong choices, but who seek God and are restored.

The judging was done by a panel of Christian authors including Harms and Acacia Beumer, author of Launch Out Into the Deep; Lisa Lickel, author of First Children of Farmington to be released later this year; Diane Tatum, author Gold Earrings; Cheryl Rogers and her son David Rogers, a 13-year-old Williams Middle School student in Tampa, FL, as junior judge.

The contest was sponsored by Samantha Ryan Chandler, author of A Love Story: How God Pursued Me and Found Me, An Impossibly True Story; Linda Yezak, author of Give the Lady a Ride; Jairus King, author of Men's Ministry Handbook for Christians; Mike Lynch, author of After the Cross; Tom Blubaugh, author of Night of the Cossack; and Sana Edoja, author of Knowing God.

 
The winners received cash and other prizes, including books by Christian authors Acacia Beumer, Laura Davis, Lorilyn Roberts, the founder of the John 3:16 Marketing Network; and Cheryl Rogers.

Middle School Writing Contest!

Wanted: Young Readers and Writers

The New Christian Books Online Magazine is recruiting readers and writers for its 2012 Summer Writing Contest. Readers will be junior judges and writers will submit short stories that teach the lesson of Jonah: There is a price to pay when you disobey.

The first place winner will receive $100 and a $50 Walmart gift card, plus free books from Christian authors Acacia Beumer, Laura Davis, Lorilyn Roberts and Cheryl Rogers.

Entries will be accepted from June 1 though July 15 at contest.newchristianbooks@earthlink.net .  All stories must be wail tales, or short stories between 1,000 and 3,000 words that teach the importance of obedience to God.

Wail tales are, in essence, exaggerated tales of woe involving a youth who has made bad choices and lands in a whale of trouble, just like Jonah in the Bible. In the end, the youth must call upon God and be restored through his grace.

The contest is being held in conjunction with the John 3:16 Marketing Network, a group of Christian writers who have bonded to promote the gospel through their writing.

 “I believe the contest is a fun way reinforce the lesson of Jonah,” says Cheryl Rogers, publisher of New Christian Books Online Magazine. “It’s also a chance for budding writers to practice their craft.”

Rogers authored Just Like Jonah Wail Tales, a storybook collection featuring modern Jonahs who make mistakes but turn to God and receive his mercy.

Judges include:

* Acacia Beumer, who was awarded the Dove Foundation’s “Family-Approved” Seal for ages 12 plus for her book Launch Out Into the Deep!  Beumer also is a recipient of the prestigious Mom’s Choice Award Gold Medal for the Most Outstanding Religion and Spirituality Book.

 * Katherine Harms, author of Oceans of Love, a book with 30 days of meditations on God’s love built on texts relating to oceans and water;

 * Lisa Lickel, author of First Children of Farmington, six stories of settler children and their families, which is illustrated by Brenda K. Hendricks, slated for release in time for Christmas 2012;

 * Diane Tatum, author of the historical love story Gold Earrings, who taught middle school Language Arts for 11 years in Tullahoma City Schools; and

 * Cheryl Rogers, publisher of New Christian Books Online Magazine.

 Junior judges are volunteers ages 9 through 17, who will receive free copies of Just Like Jonah Wail Tales and the John 3:16 Marketing Network's sampler book, Taste and See.

Here is a list of prizes:

First place: $100, $50 Walmart gift card, a paperback and audiobook CD of Acacia Beumer’s Launch Out Into the Deep, a copy of Laura Davis’ novel Come to Me and the accompanying Bible Study Guide Learning from the Master: Living the Surrendered Life, a copy of Lorilyn Robert's upcoming young adult novel Seventh Dimension slated for release later this year, an autographed paperback copy of Fast Track to Victory, A Christian Guidebook, a devotions book by Cheryl Rogers; an e-copy of Just Like Jonah Wail Tales by Cheryl Rogers; and an e-copy of John 3:16 Marketing Networks’ sampler book Taste and See.

Second prize: $75, $25 Walmart gift card, a paperback and audiobook CD of Acacia Beumer’s Launch Out Into the Deep, a copy of Laura Davis’ novel Come to Me, a copy of Lorilyn Robert’s upcoming young adult novel Seventh Dimension slated for release later this year, an autographed copy of Fast Track to Victory, A Christian Guidebook, a devotions book by Cheryl Rogers; an e-copy of Just Like Jonah Wail Tales by Cheryl Rogers; and an e-copy of John 3:16 Marketing Networks’ sampler book Taste and See.

Third prize: $25, a paperback and audiobook CD of Acacia Beumer’s Launch Out Into the Deep, a copy of Laura Davis’ Bible Study Guide Learning from the Master: Living the Surrendered Life, a copy of Lorilyn Robert’s upcoming young adult novel Seventh Dimension slated for release later this year, an autographed copy of Fast Track to Victory, A Christian Guidebook by Cheryl Rogers; an e-copy of Just Like Jonah Wail Tales by Cheryl Rogers; an 18" x 12" Scripture poster quoting John 3:16; and an e-copy of John 3:16 Marketing Networks’ sampler book Taste and See.

Honorable Mention Awards will be given if the judges choose to recognize one or more excellent wail tales not chosen for the other awards. These award winners will receive e-copies of Just Like Jonah Wail Tales, the John 3:16 Marketing Network sampler book Taste and See, and Finding God: Biblical Answers to Questions about our Maker by Cheryl Rogers.

All of the award winners will have their wail tales published in either the New Christian Books Online Magazine, an ebook, or both.

Learn more.