February 2010

Booksigning photos and other thoughts…

The booksigning in Brighton was nice. It was especially fun to see some dear friends and to meet some new ones. Here are a few photos from the event. The first one is me sitting in the quiet store hoping for a few visitors! I am grateful for everyone who made the effort to come out! The store wasn’t very busy the first hour, but picked up a little during the second one. I’ve discovered that children have eagle eyes for candy dishes. At every signing they come asking (or just taking) either the mints – or more often – the Dove dark chocolate. :)

In the last week I’ve signed about 80 books, which is pretty amazing! (Not all from the book signings – some others in between.) I have to admit, it’s taken some time to figure out what to say and at times how to personalize notes of this kind. I prayed about what verses to put under my name and have one for Michal - Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

For Abigail God showed me the blessing that Aaron was to say over the people of Israel found in Numbers 6:24-26. ”The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

I also found a Hebrew phrase I like to use, but it took a cheat sheet to help me spell it correctly. Even then, I messed up the meaning just a bit. (Don’t tell anyone!) The phrase is Shalom Aleikhem which means “Peace be upon you.” I can now spell it without looking but for several books I wrote the meaning as “Peace be unto you.” So for those of you with the wrong meaning, my apologies! I really shouldn’t try to talk and write at the same time. I misspelled my own name at the Woodside signing! Fortunately, that only happened once!

I spent the weekend brainstorming with my crit partner for a new series, and studying Abram and Sarai’s life for my current work-in-progress. I’m starting to get a better handle on Sarai, starting to get inside her head and heart, so to speak. I takes me a while, but once the story gets going, I gain more confidence. I have to go back to the beginning and fix a lot, but will keep going until I finish the first draft now that I’m starting to see the story.

I’ve been also thinking a bit about Christian witnessing and the examples our lives leave. I didn’t grow up in a legalistic church, but Christians still tended to define themselves by what they didn’t do rather than by what Jesus Christ had done for them. And I wonder how effective such a witness like that is.

For instance, if you know me as someone who does not drink or smoke or swear or dance or attend certain movies or read certain books and so on…and I tell you I don’t do those things because I am a Christian, doesn’t that make you think Christianity is about rules? And doesn’t it also lend itself to making people who are not Christians think that to become a Christian I would have to adhere to the same things?

But that’s not how Jesus approached those he came to save. He condemned the rule-keeping Pharisees. That’s not to say Jesus was a law breaker. Far from it. He was the perfect law giver and law keeper. And he came to fulfill the law. But he also came to build relationships, to show people who he was and what he came to do for them, how he could forgive all the wrong things they’d done before they ever tried to change or fix themselves.

And I was thinking that I would rather not be known by what I don’t do. I would rather be known by what Jesus did for me. How he took a lost little girl and made her his own, how he loved her and called her by name, and carried her burdens, forgave all the wrong things she’d done, and gave her more blessings than she could begin to count. Ask me, and let me tell you about the hope that is in me because of what Jesus did for me. Whether I drink or smoke or swear or dance or go to the movies, etc., etc., isn’t the point at all. It’s that He came. And He came for you and me.

Selah~

Posted in Musings on February 8, 2010 |

Booksigning reminder – tomorrow…

Tomorrow, Saturday, February 6, 2010, from 12-2 p.m.

I will be signing copies of Abigail and/or Michal at
His Bible and Book House
106 W Main St
Brighton, MI 48116
(810) 227-2925

If you live in the area, please come and introduce yourself! I’d love to meet you!

I had lunch with a friend today – it’s always great to catch up with people you’ve known for years. The rest of this week I’ve been busily working on a new book proposal, and tonight went back to the drawing board after some very observant comments from my critique partner. One thing I know for certain – no matter how many books I may write, I do not write them well alone. I need lots of prayer and good insight from good craftsmen. You know you have a great critque partner when they tell you the truth and you love them for it! :)

I’m already excited to get started at that drawing board again. And I’ve been mulling over my characters for Sarai’s story too. Praying about depth of motivation. Amazing how much difference it makes when I seek God first!

Watched Miss Potter tonight, the story of Beatrix Potter. I love stories about authors. So easy to relate to people whose characters dance in their heads. Who else can talk to imaginary people and make up new words and worlds and not be locked in a special room for it? :) Writers of fiction, of course! Loved the movie!

Shalom~

Posted in Musings on February 5, 2010 |

February 2010 Christian Fiction Releases

I don’t know if the groundhog day website from Pennsylvania is right – they’re claiming six more weeks of winter, while apparently Buckeye Chuck from Ohio is saying Spring is just around the corner. Michigan is closer to Ohio, and I like Buckeye Chuck’s prediction better. :)

In any case, cold or warm, there is always a reason to snag a good book and live the story vicariously, right? Fiction makes some great downtime and many of the choices on this list look inviting! Of course, Abigail is at the top (alphabetically) and one I’m happy to suggest. :)

BPG_Abigail_3-31_small 1. Abigail: A Novel,The Wives of King David, Book 2 by Jill Eileen Smith from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Turmoil marks her life – what price will she pay for love?

2. A Valentine Wish by Betsy St. Amant from Steeple Hill. Lori, chocolate-lover extraordinary, is unemployed, single, and out of brownie mix. But when a secret admirer pops up at her new job running a chocolate boutique, she might have the ingredients for a special Valentine’s after all!

3. Deliver Us From Evil by Robin Caroll from B&H Publishing. When a female helicopter rescues a US Marshal escorting a heart, they must race against time to uncover the largest child trafficking ring in history.

4. Hometown Promise, First in the Kellerville Series Merrillee Whren from Steeple Hill. Kellerville: Finding family, community and love in one small town.

5. Love’s Winding Path by Lauralee Bliss from Heartsong Presents, Barbour Publishing. A prodigal’s life is never out of God’s reach and His love as two lonely adventurers are about to discover.

6. The Marriage Masquerade by Erica Vetsch from Heartsong Presents, Barbour Publishing. Sometimes running away brings you right back where you started.

7. Meander Scar by Lisa Lickel from Black Lion. When Ann is ready to jump back into life with a new love, she discovers the devastating truth behind her husband’s disappearance.

8. My Deadly Valentine by Lynette Eason and Valerie Hansen from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense. Two suspense filled stories about stalkers and the men determined to protect the women they love.

9. On Wings of Love by Kim Watters from Steeple Hill Love Inspired. A dedicated nurse devotes her life helping others, only to discover the man who steals her heart doesn’t want her help.

10. The Pastor’s Wife by Jennifer AlLee from Abingdon Press. A woman must face the husband – and the congregation – she ran from six years earlier.

11. Walking on Broken Glass by Christa Allen from Abingdon Press. Leah Thornton stops numbing her pain with alcohol, but discovers the road to redemption might still be under construction.

Happy reading~

Posted in Abigail, Announcements, Books, Musings, New Releases on February 2, 2010 |

Booksigning pics and other thoughts…

Yesterday was my first booksigning for Abigail at Woodside Bible Church in Troy, Michigan. We had a good turnout. Met a woman who came because of the announcement she saw on this blog, which was way cool, because it’s always nice to know when someone reads these things! And it was nice to meet her as well. :) Met another woman who came from a different church nearby because she saw it advertised in The Woodside News – the church’s newspaper.

It was an honor to meet everyone who came, both old friends and newly made acquaintances. The signing took place between services, which is why this first picture doesn’t show anyone near the tables. Randy took them while church was in session, but then a friend took one of us together while I was signing a book, which was nice of him. (I would not have thought of it as I was too distracted.) :) During the last service, I slipped into the sanctuary and got to hear most of the sermon, but talked with some passersby in between the others.

One man stopped to chat and made some interesting comments I’ve been chewing on a bit since. He said he didn’t think people could understand the Bible. In other words, he seemed to think the average person could not pick up a Bible and just read and understand its meaning, that the reader would need someone else to explain it to him. I found this a bit disconcerting coming from someone standing in the church foyer. Perhaps on a street corner or a restaurant or out in the rest of the world. But somehow you expect people in church to read the Bible, or to at least aspire to read it.

Not so with this man. And another woman nearby agreed with him. She was not like him in that she did make a point to read her Bible, but she admitted it was hard for her to understand. I had a good talk with her afterward, and came to realize we all sees things differently. I could relate to her because I remember days past when I read my Bible because it was something I was supposed to do. Checked it off my “to-do” list and kept on with the day. I’m not sure at what point I realized I wanted more, that God was someone I wanted to know, and that reading God’s Word became food I craved rather than like eating vegetables because they were good for me.

David said in Psalm 63:1 – “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

And Psalm 42:1-2 says – “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

I think oftentimes people do not think they can understand the Bible simply because they have not picked it up and tried. It also helps to ask the Author for guidance along the way. And if we have fallen into the trap of reading just to mark the chore off a check list to satisfy our spiritual guilt, then it is time to ask the Author to change our desires – to give us that hunger and thirst a deer has who longs for water, to thirst in the same way for God my Savior. He waits for us to ask Him for such things.

The past week has been an exhausting one, both physically and emotionally. The introvert in me needs her down time after lots of social interaction. But more importantly, I know when I’m struggling with this or that in my life, my heart longs mostly for Sabbath rest, time to spend with Jesus, studying, reading, and pondering His Word. It makes all the difference in my outlook, and gives me hope for each new day.

Selah~

Posted in Musings on February 1, 2010 |

Spotlight on Jerry Jenkins

Jerry B. Jenkins, the former vice president for publishing and current chairman of the board of trustees for the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, is the author of more than 175 books, including the Left Behind series. Dr. Jenkins’s writing has appeared in Time, Reader’s Digest, Parade, Guideposts, and dozens of Christian periodicals, and he is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest magazine. He owns Jenkins Entertainment, a filmmaking company, as well as the Christian Writers Guild, which has nearly two thousand members worldwide. Jenkins and his wife, Dianna, live in Colorado Springs.