January 2009

The following post is a press release for a Christian devotional book that carries a unique sense of humor. Author Tim Fausch is one of those rare authors that can make me laugh because he laughs so easily at himself. He looks at life in a way that filters out the gray and brings the color of humor to each situation.

I’ve had the privilege of knowing Tim for the past year and have read his devotionals with anticipation, looking forward to laughing with him as he describes his life in slightly wacky detail. He recently compiled those devotionals in one volume and released it a few months ago. I am pleased to announce it here:

New Christian Humor Book Offers Unique Reading

If you’ve ever searched for humor books with a Christian perspective, you know they are extremely rare. That void has been filled with a new book, The Great Cheese Sandwich War: Thirty Humorous Devotional Stories and One (Really) Inspiring One.

In this just-released book, author Tim Fausch places his slightly warped and wacky microscope on the trials of everyday life. Fausch’s storytelling pokes fun at family relationships, home ownership, sports madness, vacations, and baffling cultural situations.

The book compiles 30 humorous stories, each with a reflective summary, and concludes with an intriguing inspirational story. Published by VMI Publishers, The Great Cheese Sandwich War is 189 pages, illustrated, and provides lots of funny moments supported by biblical perspective.

“I wrote The Great Cheese Sandwich War to make people laugh and to leave them encouraged,” Fausch said. “There are countless books on doctrine and Christian living, but amazingly few that use humor as a foundation.”

The book gets its name from the story about a missions trip to Ecuador and how a simple event – making 3,000 cheese sandwiches for a Christmas party – turned into comedy. This is typical of all the chapters in the book.

The Great Cheese Sandwich War: Thirty Humorous Devotional Stories and One (Really) Inspiring One is available at Christian book stores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, Powell’s Books, Borders, and Books-a-Million.

Media review copies of The Great Cheese Sandwich War: Thirty Humorous Devotional Stories and One (Really) Inspiring One are available upon request by contacting New Voice Media. To sample the stories, visit the Humor Blogs.

To contact author Tim Fausch for an interview, write him at tfausch @ wowway.com or call
248-212-6448.

Happy reading ~

Romantic Times Magazine (scroll to the bottom, to page 9) posts reviews of various books each month in a number of different categories. “Inspirational” fiction is classified as “Books that incorporate Christian beliefs and values into the plot with various degrees of religious content. Published in both contemporary and/or historical settings.”

Their rating system is as follows:

4 1/2 Gold: Phenomenal. In a class by itself.
4 1/2: Fantastic. A keeper.
4: Compelling. A page-turner.
3: Enjoyable. A pleasant read.
2: Problematic. May struggle to finish.
1: Severely Flawed. Pass on this one

Only 20 books in the Inspirational category releasing in March 2009 were picked for review. As far as I know, publishers don’t have any control over which of their books get picked. We didn’t know in advance if Michal would even rate a review, and then I wondered what the reviewer would think of it. I’m still not used to the idea of hearing positive things about my work – well, unless it is accompanied by a “but…”

But the review didn’t have anything negative in it and the reviewer gave Michal 4 stars! Compelling. A page-turner. Wow! Cool!

I hope I don’t sound like I’m bragging. I promise I won’t share every review Michal receives. But the first one – well, it’s nice to know that the first one was a positive one. The really fun part was that two of my crit partners were reviewed with me – Tammy Alexander got 4 stars for The Inheritance, and Meredith Efken got 4 1/2 stars for Play It Again, SAHM!!! Other friends – B.J. Hoff got 4 stars for American Anthem, Robin Lee Hatcher got 4 stars for When Love Blooms, DiAnn Mills got 4 1/2 stars for Breach of Trust.

And Angela Hunt got TOP PICK for She’s In A Better Place. I feel lost in all of the great company! (There are more, so check out the page with the complete list.)

Whether an author gets a 3 or 4 or 4 1/2 or even a 2 isn’t what counts though, as much fun as it is to share such news. As Angie Hunt once said, “There will always be authors better than you and always be authors worse than you. You will be somewhere in the middle.” Middle is nice. Compelling is nice. (Chocolate is better.) :)

Mostly, I’m just plain honored that they picked to read Michal at all! I am fairly certain I owe that to my publisher for designing such a fabulous cover! I cannot wait for the UPS man to stop at my door with my copies of the book – to hold it between the fingers that rewrote it so many times – to read the pages that are pretty much already memorized, emblazoned on my heart. I wonder if that will feel as surreal as this review does today.

In any case, I hope you all get a chance to read the book and if you like it, I hope you’ll let me know. I love to hear from my readers. And I hope Michal’s story touches your heart.

Shalom~

I was tagged for this on Facebook, but decided to do it here. Not sure if I’ll tag anyone else or not, but we’ll see…

25 Random Things About Me…

1. I’ve been married 13 years longer than I lived with my parents – how old does that make me? (I’m not telling.) :)
2. We owned a dog when I was growing up.
3. We’ve owned cats since the first year of our marriage.
4. Our first cat lived to be 21 and was named for my husband’s first cat.
5. We each had one grandmother living when we got married.
6. My husband and I are both 3rd born children.
7. We have three grown sons.
8. I was in a water ballet group in high school.
9. I taught swimming at summer camp.
10. My first attempt at writing was bad poetry.
11. I love studying the Bible, to ponder God’s truth.
12. I didn’t drink coffee until a heroine in a suspense novel I was writing a few years ago was addicted to Starbucks cafe mochas.
13. I am addicted to very dark chocolate.
14. I never eat alone. If no one is home, I always have a book with me.
15. My favorite colors are blue, green, purple, and brown.
16. I would love to visit Europe, but I would go back to Israel first if I could.
17. I enjoy jigsaw puzzles and Sudoku (easy version) and Spider Solitaire.
18. If I don’t write fiction, I get crabby.
19. One of my first dates with my husband was drag racing in his Mustang.
20. I love nature, but not bugs.
21. I like Disney World, but not roller coasters.
22. My favorite scented candle is Cafe Au Lait (Yankee Candle).
23. I have no idea what my dad looked like as a kid. No pictures of him then.
24. I have relatives in California, Massachusetts, Virginia, New York, Indiana, Wisconsin, and more I can’t think of right now.
25. My birthday is the most romantic holiday of the year.

Now that I’ve shared my random things, how about you? If you want to blog about yours, please email me and let me know or email me with your list, just for fun.

Time to go light my candle and find a cafe mocha or some chocolate and phone a friend.

Happy random reading~

The journey to seeing my work in print has been a long one. Now that the first book’s release is about five weeks away, I’ve been praying more, and noticing a new, yet rather old feeling coming with the anticipation. Fear. What a strange thing to feel when a dream is about to come true.

So I asked myself, what are you afraid of? I was not surprised to find my fears were normal, something artists feel to varying degrees whenever they put their work out there for the world to see. The thing is, every work of art shows at some level the heart of the artist. The work is usually a labor of love, a pouring forth of themselves into the piece. Some artists work in private and in silence, unable to share what they’ve created. But most, if they are truly honest with themselves, want to see what others think of their creation.

God Himself shared His creation with the creatures He made, and He is pleased when we appreciate the beauty He’s designed for us. Is it any wonder then, that we as human beings want others to appreciate the beauty we design as well?

Trouble is, beauty tends to be subjective, depending on where you’re coming from. A mountain climber might find the snow caps at the peaks striking and gorgeous from a distance, until an avalanche brings that snow down on his head and buries him beneath the icy rubble. Snow isn’t so beautiful when it causes car accidents or takes lives, but from inside a cozy home where all is safe, the scene takes on a whole new perspective.

When an author writes a book or article or poem and shares it with the world, they’re hoping for a good reaction. They want their words to refresh, to challenge, to cheer, to help. They don’t want to be compared to other artists. They hope their work stands on its own. They hope those who see it or read it like what they see or read. They prefer accolades to criticism.

But the reality is, artists of every type will receive both praise and criticism. No one is liked by everyone, and neither the praise nor the criticism will be completely accurate. We can’t believe the good press or the bad. Both probably hold a bit of truth. Both go with the territory.

Michal will soon be out there for the world to see. (Chapter one is available to read here. Click on “excerpt” on the bottom right corner.) And that thought scares me just a bit. But on the flip side, what a journey this has been! Twenty years in the making. I wonder what that looks like from God’s perspective. I hope the book does well, of course, but mostly, I hope it succeeds as God intends. Nothing more, nothing less.

I have no idea why, because I’ve been careful about typing and lifting and other such things I do throughout the day, but my carpal tunnel and tendinitis have decided to flare up again. Mainly in my right hand, the one I use the most, of course. But one hand and both wrists are complaining quite often. Prayers are most appreciated.

I finished edits on Abigail and now await my editor’s comments. In the meantime, the titling questionnaire came through on Abigail as well, so the process for the next book begins. Michal releases 40 days from today and publicity is starting with interviews and such. And in the meantime, I’m hoping to finish a first draft of Bathsheba by early summer so I have time to let it sit before I rewrite.

I read some great advice from author B.J. Hoff about mistakes new authors can make. Her advice is sound and quite helpful. When a book first sells, an author doesn’t really know how much time it takes to bring that book to print. And when more than one book is involved, the process of writing one book is interrupted with edits on another, publicity and marketing on the one before, and more things I have yet to understand. It’s wise not to bite off too much at once or to suggest we can write faster than we can. Maybe some authors can do such things, but I’m not one of them. One book a year is indeed a blessing. I am very grateful for the spacing – less stress that way. :)

In the meantime, I’m amazed at how fast things are moving. If things go as I think they will, I’ll likely get my author copies before the book releases, which means I might get to hold Michal in a month or so. How surreal that will feel!

A man at our Bible study tonight told me he and his wife had ordered a copy of Michal. Wow! That is just the coolest thing to hear. :) And the most surprising because I still have a hard time realizing that very soon people will actually read my book.

The feeling isn’t nearly as exciting as it must feel for the Obamas to enter the White House as President and First Lady, but it’s pretty cool in its own way. And speaking of the new President, I wish I’d seen more of the inauguration today. From what I saw though, it was quite impressive. My prayers are with him. May God’s grace rest on them both.

Shalom~

Ecclesiastes 7:1-2 says, “A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart.”

Today we went to a house of mourning. One of our dear friends lost his mother. I remember his mom, used to talk to her when we went to the same church and saw her at numerous baby and bridal showers for her grandchildren over the years. She was born in Germany, so we have similar roots. (My great-grandmother was born there too.) Her husband died many years ago – I remember him, so outgoing and friendly, always quick to give a giant bear hug. What a shock it was to lose him. What a joy for her to finally be with him again!

Her death was less of a shock than his, but it came the week before her granddaughter’s wedding, so the family will have two celebrations in a week’s time. I say celebration because this death is not a tragedy but a home-going. She is now with her beloved Lord and reunited with her husband, and they will see her again some day.

When I heard the news, I must admit, I felt the slightest twinge of jealousy. Does that sound strange? No, I don’t have a death wish. I love life and want to enjoy all that God has for me. But I long to be where she is, to see Jesus face to face. In that, I rejoice with her, and I feel the pull of heaven, for that wonderful day when we will all be reunited with believing loved ones who’ve gone on before.

Pondering this today, I realize that Solomon had it right. So why is it better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting? The answer, put succinctly, lies in an epitaph from 1715, Wiltshire Notes and Queries -

Remember Man as you Pasby (pass by)
as You Are Now So once Was i
as i Am Now so Must You Bee (be)
Make Peace With Christ And
FOLLOW ME

The house of mourning shows us the earthly end of all men…there comes a day when we will shed this body and move to another residence, either rejoicing as my friend’s mother is today in heaven or weeping and gnashing our teeth in hell. Hard as that is to swallow, it will happen. It is reality…and the living will take it to heart.

Indeed…