When Your Fictional World Takes Shape

I got my edits for A Good Excuse to Be Bad last Saturday. I was so excited, because it meant for me that this book is actually coming to a store near you. This dream is really coming true.

I’ve supported so many musical artists, actors, and authors in the past. But I was on the outside looking in. It’s not the same when you’re the artist.

And the fact that I had such a major setback ten years when I had to walk away from my dream of being an architect. It’s a little scary trying to make another dream come true…

So I opened my package from Kensington. My edited manuscript spills out. The thing that struck me the most is the style sheet of my novel. My characters were laid out, described, and indexed, as well as different locations/settings. My fictional world was taking shape.

That floored me and it made me realize that I need to share more of my world with you.

I hope you’re as excited.

Book Preview: Steppin Into the Good Life

About the Book

PODCAST 2 - For Readers

Shelia Rushmore thought she’d be the last woman standing when it was time to fight for her man. Instead Ace, her boyfriend of two years, chose to reunite with his ex-wife, leaving Shelia emotionally devastated. It’s a year later when Sheila is convinced that sneaking into their wedding ceremony will put closure on the gaping hole in her heart.

But it’s on the back pew of the church where a new relationship begins for Shelia. She can’t explain the touch she received from God on that day, but she’s determined to be a better woman-a woman of faith. Since high school, Shelia has been chasing her definition of the good life – it’s left her with no home, no man, and no money. But now that’s she’s living life for God, things should get better, right? Shelia learns that living a faith-filled life isn’t always easy.

With faith, tough love, and some tough decisions, Shelia realizes that the life she’d been praying for she could have for herself is actually attainable. Being wrapped in God’s arms, she decided, was by far the safest place she’d ever been.

About the Author

TIA MCCOLLORS is a national bestselling author who secured her spot in the publishing industry with the release of her debut novel, A Heart of Devotion. Her other titles include The Truth About Love, Zora’s Cry, A Million Blessings and The Last Woman Standing. She lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area with her husband, son and daughter. Visit her online at www.TiaMcCollors.com.

 

Buy it online via your local bookseller here.

 

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Madea’s Happy Family Movie set for April 2011

Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family releases to theaters on April 22, 2011.

It will star: Tyler Perry, Shad “Bow Wow” Moss,Loretta Devine, Cassi Davis, Lauren London, David Mann, Tamela Brown Mann, Isaiah Mustafa, Rodney Perry, Shannon Kane, Natalie Desselle Reid, Teyana Taylor, and written & directed by Tyler Perry.

Synopsis: When her five grown-up children fail to answer her call for a family gathering, exacerbated mother Shirley calls on outspoken force of nature Madea to see that everyone comes together to discuss some rather important issues in this filmed stage play written and directed by Tyler Perry. With everyone finally assembled thanks to Madea's tenacity, Shirley addresses some important family secrets, reveals that she's in the midst of a financial crisis, and engages her sons and daughters in a serious talk about drugs. Through it all, Madea makes it a point to emphasize the importance of faith in helping her family weather the rough waters ahead, and stay true to their values.

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Spotlight: Patti Lacy The Rhythm of Secrets

Sheila Franklin has lived three separate lives. Now a conservative pastor’s wife in Chicago, she is skilled at hiding secrets—a talent birthed during  childhood romps through the music-filled streets of New Orleans. But when the son she bore at the age of eighteen comes back looking for answers and
desperate for help, her greatest secret—and greatest regret—is revealed.

Eager to right past wrongs, Sheila’s heart floods with memories of lyrical jazz music and a worn-out Bible. But when her husband learns of her shady history, Sheila is suddenly faced with an impossible decision: embrace the dream—and son—she abandoned against her will or give in to the demands of her safe but stifled life. As she struggles to reclaim both her son and her identity, Sheila soon realizes that God’s grace spans both seas and secrets and that He is all she really needs. With dynamic writing that makes the reader feel the heartache of a teenage mother, struggle with the disillusionment of an abandoned boy, and revel in the idea of grace despite flaws, rising star Patti Lacy takes her fans on a journey they won’t want to end—and won’t soon forget.

Purchase the Book Online at:

• Available Now on Amazon.com
• Available on BooksaMillion.com
• Available on BarnesandNoble.com
• Christianbooks.com

Learn more about Patti Lacy at http://www.pattilacy.com.

View the blog tour schedule at http://bit.ly/TheRhythmofSecrets

Monday Reading Moment: Softly & Tenderly

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Softly & Tenderly a Songbird Novel

 

By Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck

Maybe out there in the country she could catch her breath, learn to breathe again…

Happily married, and owner of two successful boutiques, Jade longs to begin a family with her husband, Max. But when she discovers that Max has an illegitimate son – who he wants her to help raise – Jade’s life is turned upside down.

She flees to her childhood home, a rambling Iowa farmhouse, with enough room to breathe. There – while her mother’s health grows fragile, and the tug of her first love grows stronger – Jade begins to question everything she thought she knew about family, love, and motherhood.

In the wide-open landscape, Jade begins to see a future that doesn’t rest on the power of her past, but in the goodness of God's tender mercies.

An excerpt…

Along the first of spring, when winter began to ease its grip on Whisper Hollow mornings, the word barren began echoing over the shadowy recesses of Jade’s mind.
“You’re quiet.” Her mother-in-law peered at her from the passenger side of Jade’s truck. She looked out of place perched on the faded red, torn vinyl seat wearing an haute couture pink suit.
“Thinking.” Jade forced a smile just as the tires hit a bump in the road, jostling the passengers from side to side.
June grabbed the dashboard. “Mercy me.”
“Sorry . . .” Jade urged the truck up the hill to Orchid House, her husband’s childhood home. “You feel everything in this truck. No matter how new the shocks.”
Truck shocks aside, Jade had managed to hit all the holes today. Holes in the road. Holes in her business. Holes in her heart. With a slow exhale, she propped her elbow on the door and pressed her fingers against her forehead.

Get the novel here and get a free download of The Sweet By and By here:

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Did Amazon.com Kill the Dinosaur, Too?

Today, I received news that The Mystery Bookstore in Hollywood was closing. Argh!!

The Mystery Bookstore was known for its author events, sometimes hosting up to three a day on the weekends, and showed consistent support for first-time crime novelists. Stephen Jay Schwartz, author of Boulevard and Beat, laments the closing of the store. “This is terrible – it’s the end of an era,” he says. “My career began at the Mystery Bookstore and I count the owners and booksellers as personal friends.  There is a loyal community of authors and readers who will simply not recover from the loss of this iconic bookstore.” The Mystery Bookstore to Close

 

The reason for the closing is a coupling of losing to book buying clients to Amazon and the decline in store client’s pockets because of the economy.

I’ve participated in discussions both on and offline about the extinction of bookstores and what can be done to stop it. Everything we suggested The Mystery Bookstore has done since its opening in 2008: hosting great events, staffing knowledge & passionate readers, using PR to build community value, change…mys

This sad news has kicked the bricks against my confidence now.

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Protecting The Master’s Art

This is a photo exhibition piece of Detroit, Michigan’s Woodward Presbyterian church. It was built in 1911. Today it is in ruins. Not because of war or arson, but poverty and a choice. 

When I saw this photo I was reminded of my senior seminar in architectural history. My concentration in undergrad was Koln [Cologne Cathedral]: How God’s Art was built despite of poverty and death,and because of the perseverance of a city of people of faith.  Back then—and even now in my writing—I’m very interested in what motivates God’s people to step outside of themselves for the glory of God. Koln [the church and its citizens]exemplified that statement for me.

Detroit, unfortunately, is its antithesis. More here…

Bubble Bath & a Good Book

In honor of National Bubble Bath Day tomorrow, Saturday January 8, 2011 I am sharing a great bubble bath to try and an even hotter bubblicious book to read while relaxing. 

Philosophy’s Fresh Baked Apple  Pie Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath

This bubble bath smells fresh, crisp and warm and fuzzy at the same time. It lathers up great and contains no: Parabens,Sulfates,Synthetic Fragrances, Phthalates, GMOs-, or Triclosan. Good for me, because I’m allergic to sulfa based products. Right now it’s on sale. Click the link for the cheaper price.

If you don’t want to buy bubble bath, but make your own. Here is a simple Apple Bubble Bath Recipe Courtesy of Bath and Body Recipes

You will need:
5 drops green apple fragrance
1 quart (4 cups) distilled water
1 (4oz) bar castille soap (humectant) (grated or flaked)
1 1/2 ounces liquid glycerin (skin moisturizer)
5 drops green food coloring (optional)
Mix all ingredients together. Store in a container. Pour in running water.

Now the book I picked for January was Tosca Lee’s Havah: The Story of Eve.

Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review of Havah:

“Lee surprised the evangelical Christian literary world with her acclaimed Demon: A Memoir. Her fans will be equally pleased with her newest, a passionate and riveting story of the Bible's first woman and her remarkable journey after being cast from paradise. Havah, Adam's chosen name for Eve, recounts her life from a singular vantage point. From having known only blissful innocence, she must struggle through every post-Garden moment. Frustration compounds her plight as she repeatedly attempts to regain her former idyllic existence and repeatedly fails. Havah's life becomes a fight for survival once she and Adam are cast from the Garden, and Lee's poetic prose beautifully depicts the couple's slow surrender to a world tending to destruction. Havah gives birth, raises a brood of children, watches one son kill another, observes disease and death. Yet all the while, she waits for the fulfillment of "the One" (God) who will bring reconciliation and redemption through her seed. Lee's superior storytelling will have readers weeping for all that Havah forfeited by a single damning choice.”

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Holy Rollers Makes 2010 Reviewers’ Choice Shortlist

Last year RT Book Reviews Magazine reviewed more than 250 books in each issue and more than 3,000 titles the entire year. Each year the reviewers—myself include—handpick titles that stood out of that pile for our annual Reviewers’ Choice Awards. So, of course, I was more than pleasantly surprised when ReShonda Tate Billinglsey’s Holy Rollers made the shortlist for our 28th annual award Best Multicultural Fiction. It was my highest rated review ever for RT. I’ve written for them for five years. Therefore, congratulations to ReShonda. Below is the list of theother authors who made the short list. The winner will be announced at the 28th annual Booklovers Convention in Los Angeles, California April 6-10, 2011.  To read my review of Holy Rollers read it here.

Best Multicultural Novel 2010 Shortlist

• ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Holy Rollers (Gallery)
• Beverly Jenkins, A Second Helping (Avon)
• Lutishia Lovely, Heaven Forbid (Dafina)
• Trisha R. Thomas, Un-Nappily in Love (St. Martin’s Griffin)
• Carl Weber, Big Girls Do Cry (Dafina)

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The Most Anticipated Novels of 2011

Happy New Year! I’m so excited about 2011, not just because my mom is on the road to recovery and cancer survivorship, or that my debut novel, A Good Excuse to Be Bad, releases just in time to be your summer fun beach read, but because I am not alone in looking forward to reading some of the most anticipated novels—in not just my opinion—to date.

For the past three months I’ve thumbed through publishing house sneak peak flyers, chatted with book club presidents, polled my thousands of subscribers at Christian Fiction Blog, chatted with my Twitter and Facebook buds, and have found something startling: The two most anticipated novels of 2011 are written by Christians.

Therefore, I’m ecstatic to share quick interviews with both Tosca Lee (Iscariot) and Reshonda Tate Billingsley (Say Amen Again) about their strong, buzzworthy, upcoming titles. Click Here to read the full interview at Christian Fiction Online Magazine.

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