Cooking with Cyndy Salzmann

OK. God is really good, because lately, baby...books have been showing up at my door that is more than what I was praying for.

Case in point: Cyndy Salzmann's new novel, Crime and Clutter (A Friday Afternoon Club Mystery).

It' almost spring and Dee's duplex has way too many things in it. I need to declutter. You know?

So I'm skimming through this novel(something I always do to decide on which books to review,) and low in behold there are household cleaning tips in here. Yes, Ma'am! You want to know how to make your house smell spring clean you gotta read the book.

But what's interesting is that I'm not asking myself why are there recipes and cleaning tips in a novel? No. Not this book prude. I am excited. I love the break in monotony and I love how it all ties in the novel. Believe. Cyndy is making a point here. Actually she's solving a mystery.

Book summary:
The Friday Afternoon Club(FAC)--a cross between my girlfriends Ladies Night out and Bunko Friday Club-- are six women(Elizabeth, Lucy, Marina, Jessie,Kelly, and Mary Alice who get together Friday afternoon to unwind, gripe and get into more trouble. :) Disclaimer: The Marina in this novel is not our Christian Fiction Blog's Marina. Hee Hee.

The book is written in Elizabeth's point of view. She's a lifestyle columnist, who is having an identity crisis, because she can't seem to keep her household in order like she writes. Sounds familiar? Marina begans to notice that galpal Mary Alice, the domestic diva-- which attributes to the Martha Stewart like recipes and tips throughout the novel-- is hiding an old van chopped full of junk. The VW is all Mary Alice has left of her father. As the ladies try to clean the thing out, they uncover a mystery that sends them back to the 1960's to discover forgiveness, redemption and what matters more than a clean house.

One of my favorite lines in the novel is:

"My mom used to tell me that a woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she's in hot water."

I love that line.

So if you want to help the FAC solve their mystery, get the recipe for five-minute fudge or getting that house smelling lemony flesh or better yet, discover God under all your clutter. Read this book.It comes out in April 2007. It's a nice, nice read.

Dee

JUANITA BYNUM is Back! Learn How to Love God the Way He Loves You in Her Latest Release

Enjoy!
Marina Woods
Good Girl Book Club Online

Want to stay update with Juanita Bynum's New Domestic Violence Mission? Subscribe to christianfiction by Email

Christian Retailing Asst. Editor Position Announcement

Position: Assistant Editor

Department: Editorial

Salary: Not specified

Position Overview: Experienced Editor needed for Christian Retailing magazine to handle the book news section including book reviews, first-time author pages, content editing and writing feature articles.

Qualifications: Requirements include: 2+ years editorial, writing and journalism experience, BA Degree in communications, Journalism or English, strong proofing ability, strong organizational skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office including Word and Outlook

Contact: Tamarrah Phillips

Posted on: Mar 09, 2007

Apply online for this job

Abraham's Well Best Inspirational

Congratulations to Sharon Ewell Foster. My mag, Romantic Times voted Abraham's Well as 2007 Best Inspirational. Ha!! I told ya, Sharon. When you tell the truth God has your back.

Congrats again. :)

Abraham's Well By Sharon Ewell Foster / Bethany Inspired by true events, authentic slave narratives, and other historical accounts, Abraham's Well is the profoundly moving story of the Black Cherokee--African Americans, both slave and free--who, along with native people, walked the Trail of Tears. It is the story of their forced removal from the Southeast to Indian Territory--modern day Oklahoma--and of the courage and faith of one woman as she struggles to overcome her desperate circumstances.

Renovating Dee Stewart Oops Becky Miller

Becky Miller must be me! Honey, at the beginning of this book she nailed one of my morning daydreams in the carpool line. I want some excitement. But I'm afraid to step off that cliff if you know what I mean.

Renovating Becky Miller

Synopsis: Becky Miller's wild imagination has gotten her way over her head again. Her family has decided to restore a home outside of town. But she can't just tackle that little project. No! She has to try to fix every thing else, but herself and that house.

The cutest thing about this book and the whole story is very cute. But I love the Guide to Home Repair on the back cover. It sums up the story and the God lesson Sharon Hink wants you to get.

We are about to start spring cleaning. I think this book is a great book to read when you're resting. It's also a great book to launch a Renovating Me Club. Something I think I really need to do. My life is in need of deep repair right now.

Y'all pray for me and pick up this book.

Deevotions: Lent

I am building a superblog for Gospelfiction.com. Stay tuned for its relaunch. A part of this relaunch is my new blog-Deevotions. From now until Easter it will feature my own Lent Devotions. Please stop by and use it as a spiritual tool. If you would like to contribute to the 2007 Lent Devotion please leave a comment or email me off loop.

Dee

CWMG: Fillers Pay Big

When a writer asks me how do you get paid writing gigs. The first thing I tell them is that you need to build a relationship with every magazine you love. The best way to do that is to introduce yourself to the editors who handle snippets or fillers.

What are fillers? letters, jokes, tips, anecdotes, prayers, news briefs, statistics and recipes. If you think about when you blog those are fillers you can sale or give to a nonpaying periodical( like your local Christian newspaper, your church newsletter or the local papers.) I've been paid anywhere from $10-$100 for fillers.

Where can I get filler work?

If you take a deeper look at Sally E. Stuart's 2Christian Writers' Market Guide 2007: The Essential Reference Tool for the Christian Writer (Christian Writers' Market Guide), you will find the filler section around page 267. Here she provides a listing of which magazines take fillers. She even breaks it down into what type of fillers each periodical tape.

Let me give you a tip that isn't in her market guide.

Publicists need writers to provide fillers for their clients. They don't have the time to review every book and CD that their clients produce. So they will pay you to read and provide a review. The trick is to make sure they use your byline and pay you for the review. Because sometimes they may submit your review to a major magazine. You can also find Christian publicists in the Christian Writer's Market Guide.


Anecdotes