This Friday Feature is my good friend, Gina Holmes’ Crossing Oceans. This is a beautiful story very befitting of Gina’s personality, as you will experience when you watch her interview. I hope you enjoy it and take a chance on some well written and compelling Christian Fiction. This book is available at your local bookstore, library and B & N online.
Dee
Reshonda Tate Bllingsley’s Holy Rollers
Patricia Haley’s Destined
I’m reviewing these two titles this weekend for Romantic Times. Wachooreading this weekend?
I don’t have a clue, so I’m seeking nominations from you. I will be compiling a Summer Reading Challenge of the most inspiring books of the summer for Christian Fiction Online Magazine and Christian Fiction Blog and I need your nominations. These are the categories:
This list will also be presented in a newsletter for libraries, bookstores and bookclubs to use.
How would I like to receive these nominations?
Send to Via email to deegospelpr at gmail dot com. Deadline for nominations are May 10.
I will make my selection based on my storytelling aesthetic. If you don’t know what that is, read this blog or check out my book reviews. Google Me. Or check out last year’s Summer Best Reads: http://christianfiction.blogspot.com/2008/05/2008-summer-beach-read-nominee-2-say.html
pic credit: me when i did weight watchers the first time. i’m back on the wagon yall. lol
Part 3 of the Contagious Joy Writing Series
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands
and my soul refused to be comforted.I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;
I mused, and my spirit grew faint.
Selah-Psalms 77: 2-3
For the past week, before I pull into my garage I am greeted by this gorgeous site. When the pangs and disappointments of life dig at your faith God brilliantly delivers a bright spot to keep you vertical.
A week ago I had to ask my editor for an extension, for my writing deadline. Oh, I was sick, we had a family issue, and every roadblock that could come up did. I felt like a heartbroken lover staring over a cliff. Becoming published is a childhood dream and an item on my sweetgrass basket list. I want badly for my story to introduce readers to the God I know. But honey, let me keep it real…I was ready to give up on it and resend the contract. I couldn’t see hope for completing my novel to save my life. Just before I threw up my white flag I remembered that God had given me a few life lines, who’s mission was to see me through this book.
Want to know what they were?
In honor of Earth Day 2010 I will share some great information regarding the publishing industry and how we can create a safer world.
1. At eco-libris blog today:The future of Publishing - a talk with media industry expert Scott R. Singer
Singer was asked….
Finally, we are going to celebrate Earth Day tomorrow - what should be done to make the book industry more eco-friendly?
Well, the e-reader is perhaps the best answer to saving trees and lowering the use of fossil fuels and reducing emissions. Fewer trees will need to be cut to make books, newspapers, and magazines. Fewer chemicals will need to be mixed to create ink. And fewer trucks will
need to roll to deliver these physical products assuming e-reading grows to the levels many expect. A great result for our planet overall
2. Disney’s Earth Day Book
In honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Disney Digital Books (DDB) is offering kids everywhere a 7-day free trial to four Earth Day themed books in addition to its robust online library of over 600 other classic Disney stories all available at the click of a mouse.
The four Earth Day themed books on DDB include:
3. Christian authors host creation simulcast
Joel Hunter--senior pastor of Northland, a Church Distributed in Longwood, Fla., and author of several books, including A New Kind of Conservative (Regal Books)--will host Hope for Creation, a free simulcast event Wednesday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m., EST.
To be held at Northland and co-hosted by Matthew and Nancy Sleeth, the event--expected to draw Christians from thousands of churches and religious leaders--will include live musical performances, interactive audience participation and biblical guidance on caring for creation on the eve of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
Also featured will be clips from the "Hope for Creation" video series (Zondervan) and talking points from Matthew Sleeth's The Gospel According to the Earth: Why the Good Book is a Green Book (HarperOne).
Click here for more information or to sign up for the gathering, sponsored by the nonprofit organization Blessed Earth.
The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull keeps spewing ash high into the atmosphere, wreaking havoc upon air travel and seriously dampening the global economy. One of the least obvious -- but far from least suffering -- victims of the volcano has been the book publishing industry. Source DailyFinance:
Did you know that Eyjafjallajokull impacted publishing this week?
When it comes to successful black women and marriage, it appears there's still plenty of room for debate. Strong opinions and good humor filled the air in Decatur, Ga., last week in the seventh installment of the "Nightline: Face-Off" series. An overflow crowd of 1,000 people piled into the Porter Sanford Performing Arts Center to watch an all-star panel take on the question: Why can't a successful black woman find a man?
I was there. If you can see me, you’ll get a prize. Join me as in a live tweet chat tomorrow during the telecast. Viewers can watch the whole debate on "Nightline" Wednesday, April 21 at 11:35 p.m. ET . The hashtag to chat with me is #faceoff.
“Nightline’s” 7th Face-Off: Why Can't a Successful Black Woman Find a Man? Airs on ABC News “Nightline” tomorrow, April 21st. Nightline airs at 11:35 p.m. (ET/PT) weeknights on the ABC Television Network (check local listings). The program is anchored by Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran, and Martin Bashir. John Donvan and Vicki Mabrey are correspondents. James Goldston is the executive producer.
More about tonight’s debate show:
In the United States, black college-educated women outnumber black college-educated men 2 to 1. Considering all the factors that could lend to this disproportion, it's not surprising that people wonder why many successful black women cannot find a man.
Sherri Shepherd, Emmy award-winning co-host of ABC's "The View," and Jacque Reid, star of VH1's "Let's Talk About Pep," debated Hill Harper, "CSI" star and author of "The Conversation," and Jimi Izrael, author of "The Denzel Principle." Radio talk show host Steve Harvey and "Nightline"'s Vicki Mabrey co-moderated the debate.
The "Nightline: Face-Off" is a series launched two years ago in which hot topics are debated among prominent voices in their field.
Civil Rights Activist, President Emeritus of the National Council of Negro Women Dorothy Irene Height, who marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and led the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, died today. She was 98. Thank you for living your life in service to others.
Call it growing up, being prayed up, or living with a new kind of Crazy. I’m not going to let Blue Thunder’s forced benching ruin my day or my writegoal for today.
One thing I know for sure—some of you know I can personally attest to this fact—you can’t control the unlikely, but you can definitely control The Crazy.
Here’s a little MusicMonday sparkly to get you through the day.
Want to know behind the scenes info about my book sign up for Miranda Parker’s Stake Out Here. It’s free. It is an exclusive email to the first 100 responders. I will share the drama, my road to publishing, writer’s calls from my publisher and others, answers to your questions on writing, and, of course, The Crazy.
This week is National Library Week and I almost missed it. Sleep deprived, struggling to fix my manuscript caused me to forget one of my favorite times of the year—this. Why? '
1. Well for one- Neil Gaiman is this year’s spokesperson.
2. Libraries are the only institutions dedicated to reading, housing great literature, and supporting authors.
If you’re a novice reader, visit your local public library to check out a book. If you’re an avid reader, start a reading group at your public library. And if you’re an author, well…write well enough to become a spokesperson for them. LOL. just kidding. Really. If you’re an author, do I have to tell you what to do? How ‘bout you meet me there?
Congrats to Dakota Aycox, the winner of the 2010
at my local (Newton County) Library. Isn’t it cute?
Check out your local libary to find out what celebrations are going on today and tomorrow.
Selling My Soul Blog Tour
Sherri is co-founder of the Faith-Based Black Fiction Writers of Atlanta with Essence Best-Selling author Tia McCollors. Selling My Soul is the anticipated sequel to Sherri’s debut novel, My Soul Cries Out. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit Sherri online at www.sherrilewis.com.
Could you tell a little about the first book, My Soul Cries Out and why you decided to write the sequel, Selling My Soul?
My Soul Cries Out is about Monica Day, a newly married Christian woman, who comes home to find her husband Kevin, the minister of music in their church, in bed with another man. The book deals with a controversial issue whispered about in the pews but not dealt with in most churches – sexual identity and Christianity. In the book, Kevin was struggling with his sexual identity after being molested by two deacons in the church. The Bishop of the church wanted to cover up Kevin’s past and current indiscretion because Kevin is an awesome anointed worship leader whose music has exponentially increased attendance at his mega-church. To be honest, after dealing with such difficult, painful, taboo issues, I never wanted to see the characters from My Soul Cries Out again. However, readers enjoyed it so much, they pretty much demanded a sequel. Every email, every comment, every bit of feedback I got on the book wanted to know what happened to Monica and Kevin, whether justice ever come to the deacons, and did the Bishop get what he deserved. I finally gave in and wrote the sequel, Selling My Soul, to resolve off all the issues the readers asked me to address.
The main character is Trina, Monica’s best friend, who left for a 2 year mission trip to Africa not long after helping Monica deal with the initial shock of her marriage falling apart. In the sequel, Trina returns just as the whole scandal with the deacons molesting young boys in Bishop’s church has broken into the national news. Trina has to return to her career in public relations when she comes home to discover that she’s about to lose her house and that her mother has terminal cancer and can’t cover her bills. Her first client is Bishop Walker whose first priority is to protect his name to keep his mega-church status intact. When Trina tries to refuse to help someone who’s allowed so much pain in so many lives, Bishop Walker threatens to out Monica’s husband Kevin. Faced with the cost of her mom’s medical care, the threat of losing her house and Kevin’s reputation being ruined, Trina has to decide whether to sell her soul.
When Trina Michaels steps off the plane after her two-year missions trip in Africa, she realizes that other than longing to see her mother and her best friend, her heart aches to fly back to the place that now feels more like home than anywhere she’s… ever lived. And to the man who’s stolen her heart.
Her dream of a quick return to Mozambique fades within hours when Trina discovers that her mother has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Trina is forced to go back to her job as a publicist to cover her mother’s health costs.
She’s assigned a damage control client, Bishop Walker, a megachurch pastor accused of covering up a church sex scandal within his church involving the molestation of young boys. Representing him could cost Trina her most valued friendship, the love of her life, and her soul.
View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/SellingMySoulBlogTour .
Contagious Joy Spring Writing Series, Part 2
I believe that there is a plan and a purpose for each person's life and that there are forces working in the universe to bring about good and to create a community of love and brotherhood...those who can attune themselves to these forces--to God's purpose--can become special instruments of His will.
- Coretta Scott King
It’s 1:30ish and I’m still up editing my novel. My manuscript has to be turned into my editor by the 15th and it still needs a good working. Surprisingly I thought I would be sick of this story by now, but the more I rewrite, the more joy I feel. Why?
Tonight I will be attending a televised debate hosted by ABC News Nightline. Watch the Youtube Video to get the gist of it.
The Debate: Arguing it is difficult for a successful black woman to find an equal match will be Emmy award-winning co-host of "The View" Sherri Shepherd and Jacque Reid, star of VHI's "Let's Talk About Pep." Arguing that single black women need to look beyond stereotypes when finding a man will be "CSI: NY" actor/writer Hill Harper and Jimi Izrael, author of The Denzel Principle. The tall task of moderating the fireworks required a tandem approach: comedian/self-styled romance expert Steve Harvey and "Nightline" correspondent Vicki Mabrey will be at the helm.
I will be meeting the debaters and moderators for a press brief before the event, because I’m covering it for Hope for Women Magazine(stay tuned for the article next week) But in the meantime I would like to get your responses. You could be included in the column, “Why aren’t Black Successful Women Married?”
So proud of author bud Cindy Woodsmall. Check out her Talk at Ohio State University. She shares her writing process and the hard work she puts in making her stories realistic and honoring the Amish community.
Nora at Psalm516 has a great contest with Cindy at her blog.
BIG GIVE AWAY - For your chance to win a Signed copy of WHEN THE HEART CRIES, Cindy's First book, a Signed copy of THE SOUND OF SLEIGH BELLS and TWO Pot holders made by Amish woman. Leave a comment about the interview and a way to contacting you if you win. DRAWING is on APRIL 12th
A coworker introduced Anne Lamott’s writings to me ten years ago while I was pregnant with Selah with her book Operating Instructions. Bird by Bird grounded me as a beginning Christian writer and Grace is a book I return to often when I need solace. So I’m excited to feature her latest novel Imperfect Birds as this Week’s Wednesday Read. I think this is one of the best books of the year so far.
Summary:
Rosie is the bright kid who lost her father in a drunken accident at age 4 in Lamott's second novel, Rosie. She resurfaced on the Northern California junior tennis circuit as a 13-year-old being stalked by a possible pedophile in Crooked Little Heart. Now, at 17, she's an A student on the last lap of her marathon to a prestigious college, but she's giving her worried mother and stepfather conniptions over the drugs they gradually realize she's abusing, and the lies they keep catching her in.
Imperfect Birds highlights the anxiety of parenthood in "a world aquiver with menace," as Lamott put it in Crooked Little Heart. She opens with a point-blank declaration few will disagree with: "There are so many evils that pull on our children." And as Lamott dramatizes in this tale of insidious addiction and inadvertent enablement, woe unto the parent not steady enough to set clear boundaries and provide firm guidance.
Excerpt:
There are so many evils that pull on our children. Even in the mellow town of Landsdale, where it is easy to see only beauty and decency, a teenager died nearly every year after a party and kids routinely went from high school to psych wards, halfway houses, or jail. Once a year a child from the county of Marin jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge.
Elizabeth Ferguson looked around at the Saturday-morning comings and goings of townspeople, and saw parents who had lost or were losing their kids, kids who had lost or were losing their minds. Read full excerpt here.
Best Review snippet: From Ron Charles of the Washington Post…
Not only is it a moving and perceptive portrayal of raising a substance-abusing teenager, but it implicitly offers the kind of advice that many parents need to hear. One hopes that concerned friends and school counselors will begin passing "Imperfect Birds" to beleaguered moms and dads just as they've long given copies of "Operating Instructions" to expectant parents. (Roxanna Robinson's "Cost," about a mother dealing with her heroin-addict son, is a better novel -- one of the best I've read in years -- but it's so devastating that giving it to any parent in the throes of that trauma would be cruel.)
This week’s Trailer Park Tuesday is Richard Paul Evans’ The Walk (Simon & Schuster).
Synopsis: What would you do if you lost everything—your job, your home, and the love of your life—all at the same time? When it happens to Seattle ad executive Alan Christoffersen, he’s tempted by his darkest thoughts. A bottle of pills in his hand and nothing left to live for, he plans to end his misery. Instead, he decides to take a walk. But not any ordinary walk. Taking with him only the barest of essentials, Al leaves behind all that he’s known and heads for the farthest point on his map: Key West, Florida. The people he encounters along the way, and the lessons they share with him, will save his life—and inspire yours.
Richard Paul Evans’s extraordinary New York Times bestsellers have made him one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. A life-changing journey, both physical and spiritual, The Walk is the first of an unforgettable series of books about one man’s search for hope
I don’t know if it’s because of spring fever, desperation or just not knowing what to do, but weird emails from novice authors must stop. Today and over the weekend I’ve received very bad emails from authors either seeking a book review or seeking literary pr representation. Usually I either flag the email for a later response, which unfortunately may mean that I forget to respond. So today I want to share a few reasons why your email is getting no play with me or with anyone like me, not to put you on blast, but to educate you on best practices for reviewers. Moreover for my clients and past clients, please save this document. I do not want you to commit these wrongs.
hope this helps less than it may hurt. if you would like a review, check my sidebar and complete my book review submission form
dee
![[chesapeake+weddings.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzThuy6ZrW89MR0cyqC8YDlSm3utTDhJbWUzFWqV1OcndsR6H8FRip6USDmZq77FcLsy0GRBxbZNFPnNTOUzUkW4KiAmAqopW4DVYdqo7EWMKrdDwdyteOSX1JCYGmt2TWFMG/s1600/chesapeake+weddings.jpg)
Christian Fiction Blog is pleased to announce our April Top Ten Selected Releases
1.
Chesapeake Weddings (Romancing America)
Cecelia Dowdy (Paperback - Apr 1, 2010)
2. 
The Telling (Seasons of Grace, Book 3)
Beverly Lewis (Paperback - Apr 1, 2010) remove product
3. 
The Six-Liter Club: A Novel
Harry Kraus (Paperback - Apr 6, 2010)
4. 
The Last Song
Nicholas Sparks (Mass Market Paperback - Mar 1, 2010)
5. 
Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther (Lost Loves of the Bible)
Ginger Garrett (Paperback - Mar 1, 2010)
6. 
The Clouds Roll Away (Raleigh Harmon)
Sibella Giorello (Paperback
7. 
Yesterday's Promise (Second Chance at Love)
Vanessa Miller (Paperback - Apr 6, 2010)
8. 
Chosen (The Lost Books)
Ted Dekker (Paperback - Apr 13, 2010)
9. 
Blood Ransom (Mission Hope Series)
Lisa Harris (Paperback - Apr 1, 2010)
10. 
God Alone Is Enough: A Spirited Journey with Teresa of Avila
Claudia Mair Burney (Hardcover - Apr 1, 2010)
Today I will be heading to the movies to see Why Did I Get Married, Too? WachooWatching?
I am grateful to be sharing this month’s column with you during the Easter season, because Christ has risen and He is alive. To celebrate this momentous good news, we are spotlighting three storytellers who share how their works aren’t just great reads but evangelizing tools to share the gospel with the world: Lea Ann McCombs, Dr. Sherri Lewis and Cathy Liggett.
