Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Lightkeeper’s Daughter: Preview

Colleen Coble’s The Lightkeeper’s Ball is coming to my book review table any day now. Enjoy the cover. The novel releases in May.

Monday, March 28, 2011

2 Reasons Why Book Reviewers Help Authors

rtbookreviewapril 001 I just submitted a book review for RT Book Reviews. There were some things I did for this review that I thought I should share with my writing buds. My first novel releases in July. However, I’ve been a reviewer for over ten years (been at RT for six.) So when I hear writers gripe about reviewers, I will always be pro book reviewer, and this is one reason why.

 

Today I submitted a book review for a book that had two challenges:

  1. It was pitched for the wrong department
  2. The character names and the story titles had change since the publicist had created the press release that accompanies the (ARC) advanced reader copy.

At RT the reviewer has a responsibility to place the books in the proper department where we know the book’s ideal readership lives. So if a book is pitched Christian Fiction, but is actually mainstream, we move it there.

We also know that ARCs and Press Releases don’t always match. Sometimes the publisher and author have revamped the story during the editing stage, while the publicist have moved onto pitching another set of books on the editorial calendar. So when we create the review we double check with the publisher for accuracy, especially character names and book titles.

Thought I would share before I get back to writing my novel.

Also check out the April Issue of RT. My client Trice Hickman has a great review for Unexpected Interruptions in there. My bud ReShonda Tate Billingsley(who endorsed my novel) also has a great review for A Good Man is Hard to Find, as well. 

Question: In what what have book reviewers helped your platform?

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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Elizabeth Taylor Philanthropist, Health Advocate, Movie Legend Passes

el

 

So much to do, so little done, such things to be.


Elizabeth Taylor has passed of complications with congestive heart failure. She was 79.


Elizabeth Taylor Biography

Watch this video biography of her. Read her IMDb profile here.  She is most well known as a movie legend, one of the most beautiful people in film, cosmetics business giant, and her relentless work in AIDS Education and Advocacy. She will be greatly missed.You can send condolences to Elizabeth Taylor Tribute Facebook Page and in lieu of flowers or gifts to the family, please donate to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

More of my favorite pics:

 

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

TPT: Bound by Guilt

Good Tuesday. This month's Trailer Park Tuesday spotlight is



Bound by Guilt
by C.J. Darlington
Published by Tyndale House

Shuttled between foster homes, Roxi Gold will do anything to fit in. Soon she’s traveling the country stealing rare books from unsuspecting bookstores. Police officer Abby Dawson has seen the worst of society—and not just at work. One fateful night, both their lives are changed forever. One searches for justice, the other finds herself on the run. Will the power of forgiveness set them free?

Check out the book. CJ is a brilliant writer!

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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

How Partnership Can Help Your Success

2011 Lent Devotional Guide

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 (New Living Translation)

9 “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

  My friend Cathy and her husband Rick are repainting their home interior. Cathy told me that she’s good at trimming and Rick is a pro at rolling the paint. I thought her story perfectly exemplified this week’s Lent message.

We were created to be the Body of Christ. All of us having an important role to play and loved equally by the one living God, our God. As you prepare today, ask yourself this question?

Who have partnered with lately? And has that partnership proven fruitful? If not, why do you stay?

A great novel that speaks on partnership, Claudia Mair Burney’s Murder, Mayhem & a Fine Man.

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Thursday, March 10, 2011

What is the Selling Price for Your Soul?

Barbie
 
 
 

The Day after Ash Wednesday Lent 2011 Devotional Guide

 

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?" Luke 9:25

Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 1:4, 6
Luke 9:22-25

Today think about the past year and the decisions made that separated you from God? Did you realize it after it happened? What did you do to return? And what will you the next time a tempting offer makes you question whom you belong to.

This summer my friend Victoria Christopher Murray releases The Deal, The Dance, and the Devil, a christian fiction novel that exemplifies this theme and can serve as an entertaining, yet cautionary tale and reminder when you forget your way.

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

What does your life say to the world about God?

Ash Wednesday Lent 2011 Devotion Guide

 

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[a]for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

Scripture:

Joel 2:12-18
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Today think about what you’ve done to show who God is in the past year and then think of how you can do a better job this year. Share your comments here.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

March Christian Fiction TBR List

 

Love Amid the Ashes, Mesu Andrews, 978-0-8007-3407-7

 

Hi, Christian Fiction Buddies. This month there are many great Christian Fiction novels releasing. I want to spotlight five that you should consider to add to your To Be Read (TBR) List. Enjoy!

  1. Leslie Sherrod’s Secret Place.
  2. Sibela Giorello The Mountains Bow Down
  3. Nicole Seitz The Inheritance of Beauty
  4. Siri Mitchell A Heart Most Worthy
  5. Deborah Bedford His Other Wife
  6. Lisa Harris Blood Covenant
  7. Jill Eileen Smith Bathsheba
  8. Kendra Norman Bellamy
  9. Mesu Andrews Love Among the Ashes
  10. Gilbert Morris The Crossing

Friday, March 04, 2011

Thrilling The Romantic Reader’s Soul

My article "Thrilling the Romantic Soul": An Interview with Sibella Giorello is now live at here. She gives a great tip on writer's block when your character is stuck in plot. Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Black Swan vs Buffoonery

Love the poster. Whoever did it, Kudos to you. Hilarity.

On the flip: Best quote of the day.

“Can I be candid?” he asks before turning to face the audience directly. “I don’t like all of Tyler Perry’s films. Yes, I did work with Tyler for “Daddy’s Little Girls” because it portrayed a positive image of a black father. I am happy for Tyler’s success…we need Tyler Perry…by going to support his movies, we need to show economic strength. But we are also responsible for elevating film. I’m not with buffoonish characters like Madea or Big Momma.”

-Idris Elba’s Interview on the Urban Daily.

 

Your two cents…

March 2011 Top 10 Fiction

Crossing Oceans

Compiled and distributed by the
Evangelical Christian Publishers Association
(ECPA)

1. The Amish Midwife by Mindy Starns Clark/Leslie Gould
2.  Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes (woohoo, Gina)
3. Breach of Trust by DiAnn Mills
4. Whispers on the Wind by Maureen Lang
5. Almost Heaven by Chris Fabry
6. Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury
7. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
8. Vanish by Tom Pawlik
9. The Brotherhood by Jerry B. Jenkins
10. The Shack by William P. Young

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