Yearly Archives: 2007

A Big Apple Christmas

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Big Apple Christmas
by Gail Sattler, Carrie Turansky, Lynette Sowell, Lynette Sowell
Paperback
ISBN: 1597898198
Pub. Date: September 2007

I’m happy to feature an interview with the authors of this wonderful novel! I look forward to reading it this Christmas!

A BIG APPLE CHRISTMAS
By Vasthi Reyes Acosta, Gail Sattler, Lynette Sowell, and Carrie Turansky
A Contemporary romance collection that captures the sights and sounds of the Christmas season in New York City.

How did you come up with the ideas for your novella?

Vasthi: Growing up in New York City, as a small Puerto Rican girl, I loved the fact that Christmas didn’t end for me on Christmas day. We still had El Dia de los Reyes (Epiphany or Three Kings Day) to look forward to. We received gifts on that day as well. The night before January 6th, tradition dictates that water and grass be left out for the wise men and their camels. In return the wise men left us a small gift. I always felt special knowing that while my classmates enjoyed their Christmas gifts I still had more gifts coming after the new year. So naturally I wanted to write about our celebration of El Dia de los Reyes.

Gail: The hustle and bustle of New York City at Christmas time is special and unique, and fun! And most of all, crowded. Then I thought of what it would be like to be surrounded by such a crowd, with nothing but a list of fun places to go and fun things to do, and Shopping For Love was born.

Lynette: I think New York is a special place at Christmas time, and I’d always wanted to write a Christmas novella. Then one November, I saw a news clip of how the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center is selected. Enter my widowed heroine and her scheming children who surprise her with a trip to see her tree in Rockefeller Center.

Carrie: I love stories that bring characters together who are very different from each other, so the idea of matching a professional organizer and a free-spirited poet intrigued me. New York City is a wonderful place to visit at Christmas time, and I thought setting our story there would be enjoyable for our readers.

It’s often said that writers need to read, read, read! So tell us what you are reading.

Vasthi: I’m always reading more than one book at a time. Master Class in Fiction Writing by Adam Sexton and Courting Trouble by Deanne Gist.

Carrie: I always have a book or two on my nightstand. Recently I’ve read A Bigger Life by Annette Smith, The Restorer by Sharon Hink, In Search of Eden by Linda Nichols, Off the Record by Elizabeth White, and Remembered by Tammy Alexander.

Lynette: I have a couple of Love Inspired Suspense novels on my stack. I just got started on Christine Lynxwiler’s latest release, Forever Christmas.

Gail: A book by fellow author and friend, Lena Nelson Dooley.

What’s next for you in your writing?

Vasthi: I’m hoping to find a home for my trilogy and write the third novel in the series.
Carrie: I am just finishing Surrendered Hearts for Love Inspired. Next I hope to work on a Civil War story set in Richmond. I also have an international adventure/romance set in Kenya that I am just beginning to brainstorm with my daughter who just returned from working in Africa for several months.
Lynette: I love mysteries, and I love romantic suspense. I’m working on becoming a better writer in both genres.
Gail: I’m working on a chick lit, but it’s still in the beginning stages.

Are you a “plotter” or a “seat-of-the-pants” writer?

Vasthi: Both. I like to plot out as much as I can first to feel confident of the story I’m going to tell, but then I start writing and scenes appear that I hadn’t planned, and characters show up that I didn’t know, so I just flow with it.

Carrie: I am a plotter. I work on my characters and setting first, then I write a running outline that no one sees but me. (Thank goodness!) Then I revise that and write my synopsis. From there I begin writing and sometimes I deviate from the outline a little, but not too much.

Lynette: Both. I think the right amount of planning and plotting are necessary so I don’t write myself into a corner. But I also like to keep my brain open for any neat twists that come up with my characters.

Gail: Definitely a plotter. I have to know the ending before I write the first word.

What writing resources do you recommend?

Vasthi: Become a member of American Christian Fiction Writers–it is a fabulous group! Subscribe to Writer’s Digest, visit author web sites there is a lot of wonderful writing advice for free. Maybe someday I’ll have my own web site too.

Carrie: I agree with Vasthi. Joining ACFW has helped me tremendously. I’ve also gained a lot from attending writers’ conferences. I often consult Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King.

Lynette: James Scott Bell ~ Plot and Structure and Brandilyn Collins ~ Getting Into Character.

Gail: Other authors are the biggest resource. Join a writing group, either in person or online, and get involved.

Who has been one of your best encouragers on your writing journey?

Vasthi: My family. They are my cheerleaders.

Carrie: My mother-in-law and my daughters.

Lynette: My husband. He won’t let me quit.

Gail: My husband. He indulges me and takes care of everything he can so I can write.
Please stop by the special new web site we created for this book. You can read excerpts of each novella, learn more about the authors, see some of our favorite Christmas recipes and enjoy photos of New York City. We have some fun giveaways planned for our readers, so pick up a copy of A BIG APPLE CHRISTMAS and get ready to answer the questions and enter the draws starting in October.

www.abigapplechristmas.com

I’d also like to add that there’s a cool video book trailer on the Big Apple Christmas website, so check it out!

You can learn more about the authors at their websites:
Gail Sattler: www.gailsattler.com
Lynette Sowell: www.lynettesowell.com
Carrie Turansky: www.carrieturansky.com

Thanks for the wonderful interview ladies!

Cecelia Dowdy

ACFW Conference…Aftermath!!

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I’m still recuperating from the conference. Believe me, it’s a positive recuperation! The conference was great! I did my best to blog about it, but it was hard since I was up late some nights and was too tired to blog effectively the following morning.

My thoughts? The conference was way big! Much larger than last year! I almost feel safe to say it was twice as large as last year’s conference. The food was good and the fellowship was awesome! I enjoyed meeting new friends and visiting with some old friends.

It was great overall, and the end was fantastic. They announced that next year’s conference will be in Minneapolis and the booksigning will be held at the Mall of America!! Yes!!

Cecelia Dowdy

ACFW Conference Day Two

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I’m typing this blog entry on Saturday morning. I was too tired to blog last night. We started off the yesterday morning with scrambled eggs fahitas, coffee, juice and muffins. I sat at the table with Natalie Hanemann of Thomas Nelson. Each table has an editor, agent, or speaker assigned, giving attendees a chance to sit and speak with them during meal times.

Natalie kindly told that we needed an agent to submit to Thomas Nelson.

There was praise and worship afterwards, and I attended Randy Ingermanson’s workshop on marketing on the internet.

For lunch I sat at Beth Jusino’s table. Beth is a fairly new addition to the Alive Communications. I started off the meal by pitching my book to her. She invited me to submit a proposal.

After lunch there was more praise and worship time.

I had an appointment in the afternoon with Wendy Lawson of Books N Such agency. She invited me to submit my proposal to her.

I attended an afternoon workshop for taxes for writers.

Dinner last night was free time, so I went with the rest of the Barbour authors to the annual Barbour author dinner. Barbour does this as a treat for their authors and we were also given a small gift from Barbour.

When I returned to the hotel, I attended the workshop: Why We Write For Steeple Hill. It was interesting to hear the authors’ experiences as to how they came to be writing for Steeple Hill.

There are other posts about the conference here:

www.acfwconference.blogspot.com

ACFW Conference Day One

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I arrived in Dallas this morning. At 3:30, there was a worship service as well as a comical skit given by the ACFW board.

After enjoying a rather surprisingly tasty lasagna dinner, there was an agent panel. Allen Arnold, VP of Thomas Nelson served as our emcee. He said that Thomas Nelson plans to expand more into women’s fiction, romance, and softer fiction and young adult.

He asked all agents what they were looking for and they responded.

People in the audience asked questions and the agents responded. There was also an editor panel and we were able to ask the editors questions.

James Scott Bell, our keynote speaker gave a speech about the craft of writing.

I attended a late-night chat with Rebeka Nesbit of Tyndale and Jan Staub(sp?) about getting noticed in a saturated market.

A fellow ACFW conferee had a great chocolate party in her room, allowing me the opportunity to network.

I know the above summary was brief, but I’m tired and have to go to bed in order to get up for breakfast in the AM. Feel free to comment with your questions, and I will post responses in the comment section.

Defining Moments By Jacquelin Thomas

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Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: NAL Hardcover (April 4, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451217756

Book Description – from Amazon.com
From the Essence bestselling author of The Prodigal Husband comes an inspiring novel about one woman’s spiritual journey to overcome the mistakes of her past-and face the truths of an inescapable future. A year ago, successful career woman Sheila Moore left her home on the South Carolina coast to escape the pain of loving a man who would never love her back-her married business partner, Jake. Now Sheila has returned to Charleston and the past, into the guarded lives of Jake and his suspicious wife, Tori, and into an unexpected journey to find peace, joy, and love.

This was a good cozy read to enjoy on a nice day. I was familiar with Sheila from the novel, The Prodigal Husband.

Her relationship with the co-owner of her company, Jake, caused a disastrous rift in Jake’s marriage, a rift that was eventually healed. Sheila is bitter because of the amount of hard knocks she had to endure in life. She’s always felt like an ugly person, a person whom God does not love. Nicolas encourages her to read her Bible and to accept God’s love, however, Sheila has a hard time doing this because she is now facing a major battle in her life: multiple sclerosis (MS).

Since she is now suffering from MS, she needs to rely on others to help care for herself. She also finds the need to forgive others in her life whom she felt have done her wrong. She nurses hatred in her heart for her father, who abandoned both Sheila and her mother when Sheila was five. She’s upset with her mother for raising her in a poor neighborhood, while speaking a dialect that brings Sheila much shame.

Since this is an inspirational novel, you can probably guess how it ends.

This book reminds me of another Jacquelin Thomas novel entitled A Change Is Gonna Come:

The reason why Defining Moments reminds me of A Change Is Gonna Come is because of the illness battle. One of the characters suffers a stroke in this novel, and she has to lean on her faith in order to see her through her ordeal.

Defining Moments also reminds me of an old Heartsong Presents title by Kristin Billerbeck entitled To Truly See:

The reason why Defining Moments reminds me of To Truly See is because of the MS battle. Like Sheila in Defining Moments, the main character (can’t recall her name) in To Truly See is unsaved in the beginning. She’s forced to learn to lean on others when she’s diagnosed with MS, and must rely on a wheelchair for her mobility. She must learn to accept God’s grace and learn to lean on Him.

Cecelia Dowdy

Blueberry Muffins

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My family and I enjoyed this recipe yesterday with our breakfast. I served them with scrambled eggs and deli ham. My two-year-old loved them! He had margarine and grape jelly on his!

Blueberry Muffins

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I added this ingredient to original recipe)
1 pint fresh blueberries

Grease 12 large or 18 smaller muffin pans. (I used a cast-iron muffin pan with six large muffin cups. The recipe still works fine with this size muffin.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine the sugars, eggs, sour cream, butter, buttermilk, and vanilla. Toss the blueberries with the flour mixture. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Fill the muffin cups two-thirds full. Sprinkle top of muffins with granulated sugar and bake for about 25 minutes, until a cake tester or straw inserted in the center comes out clean or the muffin feels springy when pressed gently with your finger.

Serve warm with butter or margarine and preserves.

Cecelia Dowdy

2007 ACFW Book Of The Year Finalists

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Here are the ACFW 2007 Book Of The Year Finalists. The winner will be announced at the awards banquet this coming Saturday, September 22nd.

I will try and post a blog entry with the winners after the banquet is over, however, I might not post the winners until the following week. The winners are also listed on the ACFW website:

2007 BOTY Finalists

Contemporary Novella

A Recipe for Romance by Vickie McDonough
Diamond Place by Robin Lee Hatcher
Dreams of Home by Kathleen Miller Y’Barbo
Home for the Holidays by Christine Lynxwiler
Tea for Two by Carrie Turansky
A Carol for Christmas by Robin Lee Hatcher

GENERAL FICTION/SFF/YA

The Encore by Sarah Anne Sumpolec
Through Every Storm by Sharlene MacLaren
A Bigger Life by Annette Smith
Feather by Susan Page Davis
DragonKight by Donita K. Paul

HISTORICAL NOVELLA

Reuben’s Atonement by Lynette Sowell
A Gamble on Love by Tamela Hancock Murray
To Do Justice by Cathy Marie Hake
Joie de Vivre by Lynette Sowell
I Saw Three Ships by Pamela Griffin

LITS

Front Porch Princess by Kathryn Springer
At Home for the Holidays by Meredith Efken
The Secret Life of Becky Miller by Sharon Hinck
RV There Yet by Diann Hunt
Hot Tropics and Cold Feet by Diann Hunt

LONG HISTORICAL

Leather and Lace by Diann Mills
The Measure of a Lady by Deeanne Gist
Waiting for Summer’s Return by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Son of Perdition by Louise M. Gouge
William Henry is a Fine Name by Cathy Gohlke

SHORT CONTEMPORARY SUSPENSE

Season of Secrets by Marta Perry
Hearts on the Line by Margaret Daley
Stormcatcher by Colleen Rhoads (Coble)
Strictly Confidential by Terri Reed
On Wings of Deliverance by Beth White

SHORT CONTEMPORARY

No Place Like Home by Debra Clopton
A Season for Grace by Linda Goodnight
That Wilder Boy by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Christmas Homecoming by Lenora Worth
My So-Called Love Life by Allie Pleiter

SHORT HISTORICAL

A Bridge across the Sea by Pamela Griffin
Spoke of Love by Cathy Marie Hake
The Prisoner’s Wife by Susan Page Davis
A Daughter’s Quest by Lena Nelson Dooley
Bayou Dreams by Kathleen Miller Y’Barbo
Spinning out of Control by Vickie McDonough

SUSPENSE

Fire Dancer by Colleen Coble
Alaska Twilight by Colleen Coble
Widows and Orphans by Susan Meissner
Dangerous Depths by Colleen Coble
Hazardous Duty by Christy Barritt

WOMEN’S FICTION

Coldwater Revival by Nancy Jo Jenkins
Wishing on Dandelions by Mary DeMuth
Watching the Tree Limbs by Mary DeMuth
The Fragrance of Roses by Nikki Arana
Promise Me Always by Christine Lynxwiler
Reclaiming Nick by Susan May Warren

CONGRATULATIONS FINALISTS!

Cecelia Dowdy

Fiction Fellowship

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I had a really nice time with my local ACFW members today. We had lunch at the Olive Garden in White Marsh, Maryland. Today’s topic was agents! Our member leader, Dani, interviewed some agents and we discussed the different criteria that agents were seeking for submissions. I was going to bring my camera with me to take a picture like I did the last time:

April, 2007 ACFW Local Meeting

However, I forgot it, so I don’t have a photo for this time.

Interesting that one of the attendees is a Christy award winner! When she told me the title of her book, I proudly told her, “I blogged about that!” She wrote the YA novel, William Henry Is A Fine Name.

Here’s the link with the Christy Award winners:

Christy Award Winners

We also talked a little bit about the upcoming ACFW conference. Since I’ll be attending, I’m hoping that I can blog about it each day. I’m looking forward to this conference!

Cecelia Dowdy

McCormick And Schmick’s Restaurant

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Many of you know that I blog about books, writing and recipes. Since I like talking about different foods, I thought I’d mention a great restaurant that I recently “discovered.” My hubby and I recently celebrated our anniversary. We went out to dinner at McCormick And Schmick’s restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland.

The seafood was awesome! I had a seafood medley dish in a sherry-based cream sauce and my hubby had salmon. It was simply divine!

I highly recommend this place for a nice meal! It’s a bit pricey, but it’s not too expensive. We’ll probably keep it on our list of eating places to use for special occasions.

Cecelia Dowdy