Keep Me Accountable - Day 5 - The Duel!

My bud, Dianna Shuford, is still my guest blogger over on FAITH through this weekend. If you haven't gone over, drop by and say hi. You'll be entered to win a $25 Office store gift card and I'll announce the winner on Faith on Sunday. The address: www.thefaithgirls.com.

Now, I mentioned a duel in my title. You see, Dianna has challenged me  to a writing duel this weekend. I accept the challenge!  This morning I logged in about 500 words.

Here in Georgia, it's a beautiful fall day and I won't be home for long.  I need a little competitive spirit to join in this duel and see how many words we can get through this weekend. Are you in?

Since I last posted, my word count is 3,207. My stated goal, 80,000.


Good luck!

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{photo courtesy of http://www.movie-page.com/1999/StarWarsEpisodeOne.htm)

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Wonderland Creek Bethany House (October 1, 2011) by Lynn Austin

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For many years, Lynn Austin nurtured a desire to write but frequent travels and the demands of her growing family postponed her career. When her husband's work took Lynn to Bogota, Colombia, for two years, she used the B.A. she'd earned at Southern Connecticut State University to become a teacher. After returning to the U.S., the Austins moved to Anderson, Indiana, Thunder Bay, Ontario, and later to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

It was during the long Canadian winters at home with her children that Lynn made progress on her dream to write, carving out a few hours of writing time each day while her children napped. Lynn credits her early experience of learning to write amid the chaos of family life for her ability to be a productive writer while making sure her family remains her top priority.

Extended family is also very important to Austin, and it was a lively discussion between Lynn, her mother, grandmother (age 98), and daughter concerning the change in women's roles through the generations that sparked the inspiration for her novel Eve's Daughters.

Along with reading, two of Lynn's lifelong passions are history and archaeology. While researching her Biblical fiction series, Chronicles of the Kings, these two interests led her to pursue graduate studies in Biblical Backgrounds and Archaeology through Southwestern Theological Seminary. She and her son traveled to Israel during the summer of 1989 to take part in an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Timnah. This experience contributed to the inspiration for her novel Wings of Refuge.

Lynn resigned from teaching to write full-time in 1992. Since then she has published twelve novels. Five of her historical novels have won Christy Awards in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, and 2009 for excellence in Christian Fiction. And two of her inspirational fiction books were chosen by Library Journal for their top picks in 2003, and 2005. One of Lynn's novels has been made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel, starring actress Shirley Jones. Ms Jones received a 2006 Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Aunt Batty in the film.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Alice Grace Ripley lives in a dream world, her nose stuck in a book. But happily-ever-after life she's planned on suddenly falls apart when her boyfriend, Gordon, breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a world of fiction instead of the real world. Then to top it off, Alice loses her beloved job at the library because of cutbacks due to the Great Depression.

Fleeing small-town gossip, Alice heads to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to deliver five boxes of donated books to the library in the tiny coal-mining village of Acorn. Dropped off by her relatives, Alice volunteers to stay for two weeks to help the librarian, Leslie McDougal.

But the librarian turns out to be far different than she anticipated--not to mention the four lady librarians who travel to the remote homes to deliver the much-desired books. While Alice is trapped in Acorn against her will, she soon finds that real-life adventure and myster--and especially romance--are far better than her humble dreams could have imagined.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Wonderland Creek, go HERE.

Keep Me Accountable - Day 4

Not much happening in the way of expanding my manuscript and adding words. In the Literal Sense.
However, I am working on the Hero's Journey, by Christopher Vogler and using this to develop the path my character's take. More on that later.

(Photo from http://www.ebookcrossroads.com)

What tools do you use to develop your story or characters?






Current Word Count: 2,702
Goal Word Count:    80,000

Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Love on the Line Bethany House (October 1, 2011) by Deeanne Gist

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After a short career in elementary education, Deeanne Gist retired to raise her four children. Over the course of the next fifteen years, she ran a home accessory and antique business, became a member of the press, wrote freelance journalism for national publications such as People, Parents, Parenting, Family Fun, Houston Chronicle and Orlando Sentinel, and acted as CFO for her husband’s small engineering firm--all from the comforts of home.

Squeezed betwixt-and-between all this, she read romance novels by the truckload and even wrote a couple of her own. While those unpublished manuscripts rested on the shelf, she founded a publishing corporation for the purpose of developing, producing and marketing products that would reinforce family values, teach children responsibility and provide character building activities.

After a few short months of running her publishing company, Gist quickly discovered being a "corporate executive" was not where her gifts and talents lie. In answer to Gist’s fervent prayers, God sent a mainstream publisher to her door who licensed her parenting I Did It!® product line and committed to publish the next generation of her system, thus freeing Gist to return to her writing.

Eight months later, she sold A Bride Most Begrudging to Bethany House Publishers. Since that debut, her very original, very fun romances have rocketed up the bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere. Add to this two consecutive Christy Awards, three RITA nominations, rave reviews, and a growing loyal fan base, and you’ve got one recipe for success.

Her latest releases, Beguiled, Maid To Match, and Love on the Line are now available.

Gist lives in Texas with her husband of twenty-eight years and their border collie. They have four grown children. Click here to find out the most up-to-the-minute news about Dee.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Rural switchboard operator Georgie Gail is proud of her independence in a man's world ... which makes it twice as vexing when the telephone company sends a man to look over her shoulder.

Dashing Luke Palmer is more than he appears though. He's a Texas Ranger working undercover to infiltrate a notorious gang of train robbers. Repairing telephones and tangling with this tempestuous woman is the last thing he wants to do. But when his stakeout puts Georgie in peril, he realizes more than his job is on the line.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Love on the Line, go HERE.

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Christy here..........

Wow, what an introduction for an author & an interesting road to publication!  

These books became parts of my life based on good ol' word of mouth. A friend of mine had already claimed Deanne's books as her favorite and told me I needed to check her out. Well, I did and I've read them all except one of the earlier, Courting Trouble, and her latest with J. Mark Bertrand Beguiled. But these are on the to-be-bought list!!!

Love on the Line was a fun story. Ms. Gist didn't disappoint with her latest release. As always, there is good humor, high caliber romantic tension and the story is peppered with characters which help make the world come to life. But wait, there's train robberies, bird watchin' and bird huntin' all packed in this story.  There's a story twist, too, that will definitely catch you by surprise. 

This is a book I recommend. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads!

Keep Me Accountable - Day 3 - Anything Goes

Anything goes in this challenge.

I'm making the rules and I think as long as we fill up a blank page, we will count toward our total word count. I keep thinking I can't revise a blank page. I can't revise a blank page.

I just added a scene to my current manuscript that I'd written several months ago. It's a flirting scene between my Hero and Heroine. I will have to revise the scene to fit into the location and current situation of this book - because things have changed since I actually wrote the scene!  Again, this goes back to having something within the body of the book to simply work with. I've labeled it the Kitchen scene and inserted a page break so that I know it is separate from the rest of the book.

This may appear I'm cheating, but like I said at the beginning of this post - anything goes. Cheat away!  As long as you have something on the page - whether it's a lot of telling, or it's a scene you want to happen between the characters but don't have a "place" for it yet, just put it in there! Add to your word count and be encouraged that you just wrote something!

So, here I am... I cheated. But my word count is now 2,702. I'm making progress toward that 80,000 goal!

HOORRAYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How are you doing? Cheated any?

Keep Me Accountable - Day 2

It's a new day and I'm juggling the creation of this story with reading a new book by Diann Mills, Attracted to Fire. Review will come in a couple of weeks, but it's hard to write when a book has captured your attention. However, another book has the other half of my attention and that's my historical.

I love to read historical novels. Its the feeling of stepping into another world that draws me. Another thing that draws me is a strong, plausible romance. The research for a different time period is quite daunting, however. My story is set in 1903. Right on the cusp of a new century.

There isn't enough time in the day to research and to write, so I find I must divide my time accordingly. Yet, research isn't limited to stories set one hundred years ago. I've found research is important in contemporary novels. If I only "wrote what I know" I wouldn't be writing very much. What I know tends to get boring pretty fast, so, I'm always learning something new. What about you?

Progress report:  
Word Goal: 80,000
Current Count: 1,095

Reclaiming Lily by Patti Lacy

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Reclaiming Lily Bethany House (October 1, 2011) by Patti Lacy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Patti Lacy, Baylor graduate, taught community college humanities until God called her to span seas and secrets in her novels, An Irishwoman's Tale and What the Bayou Saw.

The secrets women keep and why they keep them continue to enliven Patti's gray matter. A third book, The Rhythm of Secrets, released in January of 2011. Patti's, Reclaiming Lily, documents a tug-of-war between a Harvard-educated doctor and an American pastor and his wife for a precious child and explores adoption issues, China's "One Child" policy, and both Christian and secular views of sacrifice.

Patti also facilitates writing seminars in schools, libraries, and at conferences and has been called to present her testimony, "All the Broken Pieces," at women's retreats. She also leads a Beth Moore Bible study at her beloved Grace Church and has had a blast planning the September 2009 wedding of her firstborn, Sarah.

Patti and her husband Alan, an Illinois State faculty member, live in Normal with their handsome son Thomas, who attends Heartland Community College. On sunny evenings, you can catch the three strolling the streets of Normal with their dog Laura, whom they've dubbed a "Worchestershire Terrier" for her "little dab of this breed, a little dab of that breed."


ABOUT THE BOOK

A storm the size of Texas brews when Gloria Powell and Kai Chang meet in a Dallas hotel. They have come to discuss the future of Lily, the daughter Gloria adopted from China and the sister Kai hopes to reclaim. Kai is a doctor who had to give up her little sister during the Cultural Revolution and has since discovered that an inherited genetic defect may be waiting to fatally strike Lily.

Gloria's relationship with her daughter is tattered and strained, and the arrival of Kai, despite the woman's apparent good intentions, makes Gloria fearful. Gloria longs to restore her relationship with Lily, but in the wake of this potentially devastating diagnosis, is Kai an answer to prayer...or will her arrival force Gloria to sacrifice more than she ever imagined?

If you would like to read the first chapter of reclaiming Lily, go HERE.