Sharon Speaks

Gina Holmes is chatting with Christy and Rita Award winning novelist, Sharon Ewell Foster today at Novel Journey.

An excerpt...

I hate this thing they do in some publishing houses, writing by committee. A book is an artist’s vision. You don’t willy-nilly tell people take out this character and that character. Scripts are treated that way because movies are a collaborative effort. But a book is like a painting, you don’t say, “Monet, I don’t think you should use that pink. The focus group likes green. So, we’d like to see you use more green.” Yuck. If you listened you’d have a completely green canvas.

-Sharon Ewell Foster

Read Her Now: Passing by Samaria

Off-topic Tuesday: GirlTalk, Marines& Madea

Lately I've been feeling bloggy,so I've been blogging more here. I had some christian writing stuff to talk about, but a few items have come to my attention that I thought you all would get a kick out of or at least its interesting news to me. :)


Marines No MySpace
The U.S. Defense Department has banned troops in Iraq from social networking. No blogging, no Youtubing and definitely Marines, No more MySpace for you. Why? According to them, social networking drains the defense computer network and they can't track who says what to whom. A security issue. Yet, if you're thinking about joining the U.S. Military, you can log onto the Marine Myspace page and talk to a recruiter.
What do you think?
A Youtube site military site I like: Multi National Force-Iraq

Madea, Bully & the Beat
Tyler Perry will guest star as his beloved Madea on "House of Payne." The new season will begin on June 6, 2007 on TBS with this episode titled, Bully & the Beast.

You look like a candidate for a beat down."
- Madea in Bully and the Beast

Don't expect to see Madea often on the show. OTOH: I'm excited that Keke Palmer will also star on the show this year.
Question: Do you love his new site? It's so nice!!

TP Auditions
Tyler Perry is looking for singers. Check out his site for details.

Georgia Girl Honored
Congratulations to Haley Kilpatrick of Girl Talk. CNN honored her with a Young People Who Rock Award. She's featured on CNN today. She's an Albany native, who is now in college at Kennesaw State in Cobb County. As a girlscout leader, I have to say that her organization is a God send. Most girls leave Girl Scouts around middle school, because it's no longer "cool." This organization pairs middle school girls with highschool girls. Great! And GirlScouts can tap into them. Wonderful!!

Readers Entertainment Channel TV

Found a site dedicated to book videos. It's called Readers Entertainment Channel TV. Instead of visiting an author's website. You can go there select the genre you're interested in and check out new books that are available.

I sort of like the idea of book trailers. But then I also wonder will these things stilt the reader's imagination. For me I like to imagine what my hero or heroine look like as opposed to now having some models face stuck in my brain as I read. The only exception to that rule of course is Denzel Washington as Easy Rawlins in Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins Mysteries.

How do you feel about book videos?

CD Review - Darlene McCoy

EMI Gospel May 8, 2007 CD Release

Genre: Urban Inspirational/Gospel

Last fall Atlanta urban inspirational artist, Darlene McCoyspoke with me about her debut CD, her journey and her purpose. I'm pleased to tell you that her CD drops tomorrow. You can hear her live tomorrow at 7pm at The Underground Atlanta's Sugar Hill.

Who is Darlene?

She isn’t a novice to Christian entertainment, but an industry innovator. She co-hosts The Spirit of Hip Hop Sunday Morning Show on Atlanta’s Hot 107.9 FM Radio, and MC’s Atlanta hottest Saturday night gospel club- The C Room Gospel Cafe. Her hit single, “Fallen in Love” was featured on Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman Soundtrack. She serves as praise leader New Birth Missionary Baptist Church (Bishop Eddie Long) and is one of the flagship artists for a new genre of Christian contemporary music—Urban Inspirational.

HER CD:
Industry leaders collaborating on this project transcend religious ties: Dallas Austin, Tommy Sims, and PAJAM to name a few.

My Review:
This CD has a quality produced sound. It's crisp and you can hear every nuance. Her voice is soothing and hip and inspired all at the same time. The sound is urban, much needed in the gospel industry, and the kind of music you can hear on any radio station. She has cross over ability and a classic sound. My best songs on the CD are:
Fallen in Love, Simply Because...Actually...I like them all. :)


Other Endorsements

“God has charged her to be a voice singing in the wilderness of this world, outside of the normal means of ministry.”
-Bishop Eddie Long,
New Birth Missionary Baptist Church

“I haven’t been this excited about working with a new artist in years”
-Music Producer, Dallas Austin

“Darlene’s sound and the way she ministers is a refreshing approach to worship.”
Gospel Recording Artist, Pastor William Murphy

2007 Christy Nominations are Up

I'm excited. The 2007 Christy Book Awards Nominations are now online. Michelle McKinney Hammond will be hosting the annual banquet. Lauren Winner is giving the keynote address, "Why I Love Christian Fiction." And I will be there. Yep. Representing for The A. But what I'm most excited about is that I read most of all the books nominated, and a few of my writing buddies are on that list.

This is great news for two reasons:
1. It means that Christian publishers support their best authors. (I'm telling you these books nominated are some of the best books I've read in our industry.)

2. It encourages me to keep at plugging away at my novel.

Question: What does book awards like the Christys mean to this industry?

Sunrise: GF Summer Read Nominee

My galpal, Denise, who is a Karen Kingsbury fan wants you to read Sunrise (Sunrise Series #1).

Publishers Weekly Synopsis

Hunky actor Dayne Matthews and the lovely Katy Hart are engaged to be married, but they face a dilemma: how to plan a private wedding that won't be overrun by reporters desperate for a shot of the Hollywood heartthrob tying the knot? Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An excerpt

A W I N T R Y W I N D blew across Bloomington the day after Thanksgiving, and it reminded Katy Hart that the seasons had changed. Not just in the air around town but in her life as well. After all they’d been through, after every good-bye they’d ever told each other, this time Dayne Matthews wasn’t going back home.

He was home.

The walk around Lake Monroe was Dayne’s idea—returning to the place where their hearts first connected, the place where they could always find their own world no matter what paparazzi or media circus waited for them at the other end of the wooded path.

They held hands, their pace slow and easy. The shock of the past week’s events wasn’t wearing off, but it was sinking in. For the first time in his life, Dayne had a family waiting for him around the corner, people he could visit after Sunday church services or invite over for a barbecue. Sisters and a brother and a father who would welcome him and listen to him and laugh with him. People who saw him not as Dayne Matthews, Hollywood star, but as Dayne, the missing member of the Baxter family.

Katy breathed deep and looked up through barren branches to the bright blue sky beyond. “We’re dreaming, right?”

My Review

Coming soon...

2007 GF Best Summer Read Nominations Open

Folks, its that time again when I submit to you nominations for this year's Gospel Giction's Summer Reading Fest. Starting today for the next ten days I will announce your nominations for the best summer reads of 2007 by genres: supernatural, romance, mystery, historical, and absolutely, unequivocally holy-ghost-filled, dang good writing. And I will pick my favorite from the list. So send in your nominations. In June we will begin our summer reading fest and start talking books. If you belong to a book club, hit me up I have some author friends with freebies for you.

What book would you recommend for me to read this summer?

Related articles:
2006 Best Summer Reading Fest