Survey results!

Thanks so much to all of you who participated in our reader survey! With a growing number of readers, I found it interesting to hear what you had to say. Today, I’ll share with you a quick breakdown of people’s answers.

*Most of you found out about our site on line.

*64% of you are writers, 44% of you are published, and the majority are writing primarily historicals, children, YA, Romance, and women’s fiction.

*What do you prefer reading? 50% enjoy woman’s fiction. Historical and romance tied at 36%, and suspense was next at 21%. (You could vote for as many genres as you wanted)

*Our average reader reads 4 books per month and overall, setting isn’t as important as the characters and story.

*The geographical spread of our readers is literally from all over the world which is exciting. Readers who participated were from the USA, Australia, Zambia, Canada, Ireland, and Croatia, and 86% have traveled outside their home country.

The three top subjects readers enjoy seeing on our posts are writing related posts, author interviews, and book review.

That’s it in a nutshell! Thanks so much to those who participated in helping us out with the survey. We look forward to another year of sharing more about writing, travel, culture, and books.

Be blessed,

Lisa Harris

Book Review, Author Interview and Book Giveaway: Maureen Lang, Whisper on the Wind

Narelle here. I'm thrilled to welcome Maureen Lang to our blog. Today we're giving away an autographed copy of Maureen's new release, Whisper on the Wind.

Maureen Lang is a multi-published author and recipient of RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest and the Golden Heart Award, and American Christian Fiction Writer’s Noble Theme Award. Her work has also been a finalist for the Christy, ACFW’s Carol Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellent, the Holt Medallion and others. She lives in the Midwest with her husband, two sons and their lovable Lab.

Book Review by Narelle Atkins

Whisper on the Wind (Tyndale 2010) is the second book in Maureen Lang’s The Great War series. A powerful and gripping love story set in Belgium during the First World War.

Isa Lassone, daughter of a Belgium father and American mother, is a wealthy socialite who escapes with her family to America before the German occupation of Belgium in 1914. She leaves behind Edward Kirkland, the boy she has always loved, and his mother, who looked after Isa when her parents were too busy with their own lives to worry about their daughter. In 1916 Isa makes the perilous trek back across the border with the financial means to rescue Edward and his family.

Edward survives a German work camp, is assumed dead, and uses different aliases in his pursuit to liberate Belgium. He is involved in an extensive secret network that prints and distributes the underground newspaper La Libre Belgique.

Edward refuses to leave Belgium and Isa reclaims her stately family home in Brussels which is now occupied by an injured German Major. Isa and Edward’s mother move into a separate part of the house and are forced to co-exist with the Major. Isa insists on helping Edward, despite the massive personal risks if her involvement is discovered by the Germans.

An exciting tale unfolds as danger lurks in unexpected places and no one can be trusted. The German Imperial Army is determined to close down the paper and punish those involved. Edward’s weak faith is challenged and his growing relationship with Isa seems impossible since they are from different worlds and living under dire circumstances.

Whisper on the Wind is a heart wrenching and beautiful story of love and hope. The courageous characters undertake enormous personal risks in their pursuit of freedom. Loyalties are tested, and the faith of characters on both sides of the war are challenged as they deal with injustice and are torn apart by loyalty to their country and loved ones. The brutality of war isn’t glossed over in this realistic portrayal of characters dealing with the poverty, desperation and hardship of war. I would recommend Whisper on the Wind for those looking for an exciting and thought provoking historical romance.

Narelle: Whisper on the Wind is set in Belgium during the First World War. Please share with us a few of your research tips. Have you visited Belgium?

Maureen: I was incredibly blessed to take a trip to Belgium while I was finishing the editing process on this story. I cannot tell you how exciting it was to actually walk the same streets my characters would have walked! Measuring (in my mind at least) the distances between places, getting a flavor of the history (and how much Belgians themselves recall of all that took place on their soil) was very invigorating. It allowed me to add little details about the city of Brussels, where much of Whisper on the Wind takes place, that I never would have known to include had I not visited there.

That said, I think the first ingredient in effective research is to bring with it a passion for the subject. Of course that can be a double-edged sword, because if you bring enough interest and energy to find unique, interesting or little known facts about your subject, it can also lead to collecting an abundance of material—much of which will probably not fit into your story. I think it’s important to extend the feeling to the reader that an author has command of the setting and background, but that usually means collecting more data than we can possibly use. That’s okay if you love what you’re researching, but if that part of writing is a chore, perhaps another genre would be a better fit.

For me, the First World War era is fascinating. My grandfather fought in that war, and my grandmother used to talk about her childhood days when she would be transported by carriage from one place to another. (This seems like an impossibly long time ago, but in fact I’m one of the “younger” ones in my immediate family; my grandfather fought in WWI, my father in WWII. I grew up with a fascination for war stories!) Because of this early grooming, I cultivated an interest in this era over a long period of time. I gathered a lot of information about it via reading history books, documentaries as well as books and movies from that era.

Narelle: La Libre Belgique is a Belgium newspaper that circulated during the war. How has this newspaper provided inspiration for your characters and story?

Maureen: When I was reading about the First World War, I kept coming across references to this “bold, brave little newssheet called La Libre Belgique.” I was so intrigued I knew I had to investigate it, and the more I learned about this uncensored newspaper, the more I realized there was an entire book’s plot just waiting to be fleshed out—with characters of my own making.

During the First World War, after the Germans invaded Belgium on their way to conquer France, they occupied nearly all of Belgium. One of the first things they did was to take control of the news media, which at the time consisted basically of newspapers. Instead of submitting to German censorship, every newspaper in Belgium shut their doors rather than printing German propaganda.

Not long after the occupation began, La Libre Belgique first started circulating. A brave group of ordinary citizens did whatever they needed to gather real information about Allied successes, wrote inspirational articles to keep up the people’s hope, and basically snubbed its nose at the Germans. My characters are fictional members of that group.

Narelle: What do you find most fascinating about early twentieth century Belgium?

Maureen: Mainly that it seems to have one foot in really long-ago history, and yet the other in rather modern times. Those who lived in that era thought telephones and telegraphs were huge advancements in communication (and they were), as motorcars and trains and airplanes were in transportation (and they were, too). But all of that was in its infancy compared to communication and transportation of today.

That era also saw the first real progress of a lot of modern ideas about women’s role in society, too. Women were unable to vote before and during the First World War, which seems incredible to me. Few women worked outside the home, relatively few went to college, or had the freedom to choose a vocation outside of marriage and motherhood. All that began to change when the war broke out and women took the jobs men left vacant when they became soldiers. I suppose that’s why it fascinates me, because it’s history with a touch of modern.

Narelle: How did the church influence the life and faith of your characters in Whisper on the Wind?

Maureen: Because of the European setting, there is an interesting mix of church involvement in Whisper on the Wind. My characters have English and American heritages, but there was a very real Catholic presence in Belgium at this time. There were also a number of priests involved in the production of La Libre Belgique. So my characters have this wonderful sense of unity against a common enemy. Whisper on the Wind isn’t a story so much of salvation as it is of characters whose love, faith and courage are challenged, tested and ultimately triumphant, regardless of denomination.

Narelle: Please tell us about your upcoming releases.

Maureen: In March of 2011, Springtime of the Spirit will release, also from Tyndale. Each of my Great War stories is an independent read, with an entirely new cast of characters. This one is set as the war comes to a close, but this time—finally—it’s from a German point of view. Germany is in chaos; the government has basically been cast out, particularly in Munich where my story takes place. The people are ripe for revolution. My heroine, whose father profited from war goods, suffers from all the guilt she thinks he ought to feel. She leaves home for the city, where she’s quickly caught up in a socialist agenda, coming under the spell of a seductive revolutionary. When her parents send an old friend of hers after her—a soldier dealing with his own internal war wounds—she must decide if she wants to take up the faith (and love) she thought she left behind, or continue with the faithless revolutionaries even when things turn radically dangerous.

Also next summer, Look to the East will be re-released with a whole new look. It actually came out last fall but we decided to take the cover design in a whole new direction. So, despite that it won in the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest and is currently a finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Carol Award, the book is temporarily unavailable until summer of 2011 when it re-releases with a whole new look. That one is set as the war begins, in a small feuding town in northern France where a man is forced to take refuge—only to bring danger to the woman helping to hide him from German soldiers.

Thanks very much for having me, Narelle!

Maureen, thanks for joining us today. It's been a pleasure to interview you and learn more about Belgium during the First World War.

By commenting on today’s post you can enter the drawing to win an autographed copy of Whisper on the Wind. The drawing will take place on Friday, October 8 and the winner announced on Sunday, October 10. Please leave an email address [ ] at [ ] dot [ ] where you can be reached.

"Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws."

To learn more about Maureen Lang, please visit her website.

Narelle Atkins writes contemporary inspirational romance. She resides in Canberra, Australia with her husband and children. To learn more about Narelle, please visit her website.

Tyndale House Publishers provided an Advanced Reader Copy of Whisper on the Wind for reviewing purposes.

Novel Opportunities

I’m delighted to be able to write this my first blog as an actual member. Last April, at Mary Hawkins’ invitation, I wrote a ‘guest blog’ about my own writing journey over the past eight years – it has been an amazing privilege to have my dream of writing novels unfold under God’s hand and to have four published novels - Helena, All the Days of My Life, Laura and Jenna (please see my website, http://www.jo-anneberthelsen.com/).

But one of the more surprising aspects of my writing journey has been the opportunities to reach out to others in ways I would never have envisaged. I had always felt a little awkward inviting my neighbours to church events, in some cases because I knew they would be very opposed to the idea and in others because of their busy lifestyles. However, I found they were very happy to accept my first novel to read at their leisure – especially when offered as a gift! Since then, some have accepted further novels, with one neighbour who walked away from the church years ago eventually buying three copies to send to relatives in New Zealand!

Another unexpected blessing from my novels has been the opportunity to speak at secular groups such as the Seniors’ Clubs that meet in major shopping centres here in Sydney. God is there anyway, whatever the group – my task is to tune in to how God wants me to speak at each meeting and to ‘seize the moment’ in a gentle, sensitive way. I give a far different talk than in a church setting, but I still manage to mention God quite a few times! And I feel very privileged when people come and buy my books afterwards. I always pray they will be drawn closer to God as they read and also that they will lend the book to family and friends.

But perhaps the most exciting avenue that has opened up is my becoming part of the ‘Living Library’ program run by a nearby public library. With a Living Library, people from the community borrow out people instead of books for half an hour or so! They read our ‘catalogue card’ to see which ‘book’ they would like to peruse and then we proceed to talk. In this context, I have had the privilege of engaging with all sorts of people, not only about writing novels and getting published, as my catalogue card advertises, but also what my books are about and how I came to begin writing. So the door is open to share a little at least about the things of God, hopefully in a natural, sensitive way. Recently too, I participated in a similar ‘one off’ event at a university here in Sydney. During their ‘Diversity Week’, I found myself seated in a large tent in the main courtyard behind a desk on which my ‘catalogue card’ was displayed. High school students visiting the campus, as well as uni students and staff, then ‘browsed’, with some interesting people sitting down to talk to me over the few hours I was there. What a privilege and opportunity from God!

How about you? Have you had similar adventures with God as you share your books and writing journey with others? I’d love to hear about them – it might encourage me to do the same ‘Down Under’ here in Sydney!

New Writers In Kenya by LeAnne Hardy

Aspiring Kenyan writers

Not everyone writes for an American audience.  A group in Awasi, Kenya, aspires to write for the children and young people of their own community.  That community experienced terrible violence following the disputed elections of December 2007.  Children who survived are scarred inside and out.  These Christians long to see them grow up without the animosities of their parents that led to violence against other ethnic groups.

On a day in mid-August I marveled at the patchwork of vivid green, sugar cane plots below me as I flew over Western Kenya.  The plane banked for a view of the harbor on Lake Victoria before landing in the city of Kisumu. 

Morrice Okeh and a friend picked me up at the airport. I met Morrice last year at the Litt-World conference for majority-world Christian writers and publishers.  When he heard about the writing workshop I did in Nairobi in April 2008 to produce stories for children affected by violence, he begged me to come to Kisumu where the violence was at its worst.

For an hour we drove east from Kisumu on a narrow, paved road with no shoulders, to the town of Awasi.  There I met for a week with fifteen students  to study plot, character development, and the use of dialog and the senses to develop scenes.  One was a widow with ten children, another an orphan with a seven-year-old daughter. 

Working in small groups

A pre-school teacher proved to be a gifted storyteller.  Two of the young people were the most effective writers.  Tracy wrote about teens bringing about reconciliation in their divided school.  Charlton wrote a rich account of the horror of fleeing a burning house and the joy of finding the character’s mother was alive and looking for him. The group has aspirations of printing their stories locally to circulate among their friends.  I left my postal address and e-mail and hope they will stay in touch, but Facebook from a cell phone is less than ideal for editing.

“Is it true that there is a law in America requiring every father to provide a new house for each of his sons?” someone asked as we sat around on the final afternoon.

“Uh…no.”

“Is it true that America is so crowded that the only way a son can have a home is to add another story to his father’s house?”

Again I answered, “no.”

I was reminded of nineteenth century myths that the streets of America were paved with gold.  They must have seemed no more far-fetched to those immigrants than these questions did to my new Kenyan friends.

“Do you mean to tell me that you have two daughters and no son, but your husband never took a second wife?”  This from the mother of a delightful seven-year-old girl.  How could I explain how much my husband adores his daughters and how little he cares that neither is a boy?

My students could only ask questions.  I had the privilege of being immersed in their world for a few days. 

I stayed in the home of Morrice’s father, Bishop Vincent.  Most of the time he was busy with a district church conference, but his wife was extremely gracious with the little English she knew.  Morrice’s  wife, Quinter cooked for us on a wood fire in an outdoor kitchen to keep the heat out of the house.  Her little daughter was tied to her back.  She served me their own eggs, papaya and bananas, homemade chapattis and mandazis (fried bread), as well as tasty stews with rice and ugali (the local cornmeal staple.)  No meal was complete without chai—hot tea boiled with milk and water.  Fortunately for this soft-stomached foreigner, the bishop has a fetish for boiled water.  I filled bottles daily to take with me to class.

The house was built of cement blocks, not as cool as the mud brick houses of Morrice and his married brothers that circled the courtyard.  I slept beneath a treated mosquito net to avoid malaria.  The spotlessly clean floor was cement, polished with red wax.  The lounge was lined with couches (4!), love seats (1) and armchairs (7), each draped with a matching embroidered cover—a suitable receiving room for a bishop.  A tiny pink and white lamb wandered freely in and out.  After I scratched his delicate neck, I had a friend for life.

“Are there mad people in America?”  my new friends wanted to know.  “Are there poor people in America?”

One of my students

Western Kenya is the homeland of Barak Obama’s father.  Needless to say, my president is very popular there.  “Is it true that many Americans believe that Barak Obama will be the one to fulfill the prophecies and unite the world?”  This question was asked with a hopeful smile, not the horrified accusation of anti-Christ that I have heard on the lips of right-wing detractors.  Peace and unity are very attractive to people who have seen their community torn apart by ethnic violence.  It would be a great honor for one they consider their own to accomplish that hitherto unattainable goal.  May their writing impact the next generation in their community with the gospel of peace.

----

LeAnne Hardy has lived in six countries on four continents. Her books for young people come out of her cross-cultural experiences and her passion to use story to convey spiritual truths in a form that will impact lives. Visit her at www.leannehardy.net or find out more about her recent trip to Kenya on her blog.

SUNDAY EDITION

Coming Up This Week

Monday

LeAnne Hardy: New Writers for Kenya

Tuesday

Jo-Anne Berthelsen: Novel Opportunities

Wednesday

Narelle Atkins: Book Review, Author Interview and Book Giveaway - Maureen Lang, Whisper on the Wind

Thursday

Lisa Harris: Survey results!

Friday Devotion

Shirley Corder: Living Parables

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New Book Release

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in China, Red Ink is an October 2010 release by New Hope Publishers.

They took her child, her family, and her freedom…but not her faith.

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Recent Book Releases

Lisa Harris' thriller set in Africa, Blood Ransom, is an April 2010 release from Zondervan.

Harry Kraus' book, The Six-Liter Club, is an April 2010 release from Howard Books.

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in Mexico, More than Conquerors, is an April 2010 release from New Hope Publishers. Will Pastor Hector Rodriguez continue to take Bibles into the dangerous Mayan area surrounding San Juan Chamula, even after his mother disappears and his little congregation is threatened by unimaginable violence?

Kathi Macias' contemporary set in South Africa, No Greater Love, is an April 2010 release from New Hope Publishers. Chioma discovers forbidden love amidst the hatred and violence of Apartheid—and then must decide exactly what it is she’s willing to die for…

Kathi Macias' historical set in Rome, Valeria's Cross, is a September 2010 release by Abingdon Press. Amidst lost love, torn loyalties, and a dangerous faith, Princess Valeria discovers that all the riches of Rome can't protect her from the evil that encroaches at every turn...

Legendary Space Pilgrims by Grace Bridges

If Pilgrim's Progress happened in space, this is what it might look like...

On a planet that has never seen the sun, a harvester hears a Voice from beyond. It's time to leave the oatfield. Mario and Caitlin escape the mind control of Planet Monday, following the Voice to unknown worlds where wonders and challenges await. Have you got what it takes...to be a legend?
http://www.amazon.com/Legendary-Space-Pilgrims-Grace-Bridges/dp/098645172X/

Also available at a discount direct from the publisher: www.splashdownbooks.com

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Contest News

Jeanette Windle's book, Veiled Freedom (Tyndale) is a 2010 Christy Award Nominee and a 2010 ECPA Christian Book Award finalist - congratulations Jeanette!

Tom Davis' book, Scared (David C. Cook) is a 2010 Christy Award Nominee - congratulations Tom!

Harry Kraus' book, Salty Like Blood (Howard), is a finalist in the suspense/thriller category of the ACFW 2010 Carol Awards and the romantic suspense category of the Faith, Hope and Love Inspirational Chapter of Romance Writers of America's 2010 Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest - congratulations Harry!

Christine Lindsay placed second in the historical category of the Faith, Hope and Love Inspirational Chapter of Romance Writers of America's 2010 Touched By Love Contest - congratulations Christine!

DEVOTION: Thin Spots - Marcia Lee Laycock

The day shone glorious, full of sunshine and light, full of fellowship and a strong sense of belonging. It was all the more significant to me because I was over five thousand kilometres away from home, in a beautiful little church in a tiny village in Nova Scotia Canada. And I felt right at home.

I joined with the congregation as they sang, led by the pastor and a worship band, then one of the leaders stood to talk about all the upcoming events. He did so with a flourish, then he grew a bit more serious and said he knew of an old Scottish legend about “thin spots.” They are described as places where we sense we are close to heaven. He sincerely prayed we would all feel that we’d been in a “thin spot” by the end of the service. As the time grew to a close we celebrated communion and his prayer was answered.

As I left the church that day I realized that it is the “thin spot” that I am trying to achieve in my writing. My goal is to draw the reader into a place full of sunshine and light, where he or she will sense the presence of God, ponder His mercy and grace and respond. I realized too that in order to achieve that goal I must find myself in that place often. In order to draw my readers there, I must have been there myself. It’s part of the often heard, “write what you know.”

The good news is that we already exist in that place, whether or not we feel it. By God’s sovereign design, we are continually in His presence, indwelt by His Spirit and guided by His hand. As writers I believe we need to understand that profound truth and live in it, acknowledging the longing in our own hearts and expressing it as best we can in words, sentences and paragraphs that sing with truth.

The Bible tells us that we must train our minds. I believe we must also train our eyes to look for God’s signature in the ordinary, hear His voice in the intonations of those around us, His glory in the spill of light on the door of a village church.

We can stand in a thin spot every moment of the day. Then it is our privilege and our responsibility to write that experience. All to the glory of God.

Marcia’s inspirational writing has won awards in both Canada and the U.S.  Her devotionals are distributed to thousands and her novel, One Smooth Stone, won the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award in 2006. Marcia is also a sought-after speaker for women’s events. Visit her at www.vinemarc.com

The Farmers' Market

My husband and I have just returned from Sedgefield, a seaside town just over three hours by car from our home town of Port Elizabeth. We went to house and doggy-sit for our son and daughter-in-law who were in America. We looked forward to attending the local Saturday farmer's market.

Every week, farmers come from miles around to set up their stalls and people likewise travel many miles to attend.

As we joined the throng of people walking towards the entrance, we were caught up with the toe-tapping sound of a minstrel band. Their music hooked us in with the promise of a fun-filled morning. An open guitar case invited us to show our appreciation.

Inside a large cordoned-off area, hundreds of people mingled with one another. They queued for Russian hot dogs; braaied boerewors (spicy traditional sausage cooked over an open fire) and homemade chicken, beef, and venison pies.

Long lines formed in front of stalls that sold freshly cooked pancakes dripping with lemon juice and cinnamon sugar; home-baked goodies, including melktert (a S.African favourite) and koeksisters (plaited pastry in home-made syrup). The farmers supplied something for every taste, and isn't that true of this group of writers?

Some write historical novels while others intrigue with cozy mysteries. Spine-chilling thrillers come alongside light-hearted chic-lit. We write from, and about, Australia and America, Africa and Asia, and other initials too. All sorts of writers with a variety of gifts, yet we share one thing in common. We love to share our abilities with those who want what we have. Just like the farmers.

Rob joined the queue for breakfast and I went to find coffee and a table (tree trunk) under the trees. We started on our breakfast of huge bread rolls split in half, piled high with bacon, boerewors and scrambled eggs covered in a home-made tomato and onion sauce. Yummy—but very messy. As I wiped away tomato from my chin, I gave thanks that out of the thousands of people, no-one knew us. The thought wasn't out of my mind when, "Shirley—and Rob!  My goodness! What a surprise."

The twist in the tale turned out to be a couple from a previous congregation. Our breakfast plot veered off course as I hastily trying to swallow a too-big mouthful of roll. Hoping I'd got all the tomato off my chin, I jumped to my feet and disappeared into an enthusiastic hug. What are their names? The couple had been at a holiday resort a short distance away and were now on their way home to Cape Town, five hours away. They had popped into the market for breakfast. How strange that in that mob of people, we would suddenly spot each other.

Isn't that what we do as writers? We bring together a group of vastly different people, often not known to one another, and put them in the same place. Then we make one or two stand out. Think of the thousands on the luxury liner, the Poseidon. Nameless people, all having fun together, when suddenly, along comes a 90' tidal wave and the ship turns upside down.  A handful of people stand out—the survivors. They are the ones that the story is really about.

Mercifully, we didn't face a tidal wave. In fact it was really very tame, probably in part because neither of us could remember their names until they were half way to Cape Town. After a few minutes, they went their merry way and we finished our meal and went back to exploring the stalls.

The "Red Berry" table groaned under the weight of freshly picked strawberries. The fresh meat stall supplied everything from the normal to the exotic, including kudu and ostrich. There was even a nut stall, and one that sold smoked fish.


The plant stall sold cut-flowers, pot-plants, and had buckets filled with bunches of magnificent proteas.

Although there seemed to be a vast assortment of random stalls, I realised a lot of thought had gone into their placing. The smoked fish stall was nowhere near the home-made cakes. The boerewors cooking over a smoky braai was nowhere near the red berries.

There was something for everyone, but not everyone has the same taste. Each stall-holder knew their strengths and what they could best supply. And as with our writing, each one had its own place, and together they created an atmosphere of interest and entertainment.

Opposite the flowers stood a statue, or so it seemed until a child threw some change into an upside down hat. Immediately the figure's arms and body twisted and jerked , then froze in a new position. The living statue provided nothing of great value, yet he entertained. Sometimes it's good for us to provide a character to bring light relief. Perhaps someone who isn't quite what he first appears to be.

By the end of the morning, our tummies were full, our legs ached, our arms were laden with goods we hadn't realised we needed, and our pockets were empty. But we'd had a good time. As we walked past the same minstrel band, we threw the little cash we had left into the open guitar case and headed for home.

We hadn't learned any amazing facts. We hadn't experienced any drama. But we'd been entertained. And surely that's what a good farmer's market is all about. Just like a good book.

What's My Brand?

I attended the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Conference last week and attended a little seminar on marketing. According to the leaders, marketing can be thought of as simply getting people to like you. They talked about brand, the necessity of having a brand so that people will always know what to expect when they pick up a book by an individual author.

Hmmm. I've been in the business for a long time (a dozen published novels and three works of non-fiction) and I've spent very little time (perhaps my sales reflect this!) thinking about marketing. I think I've been one of the writers guilty of thinking my job was to write the book and someone else's job was to market it.

Evidently, this isn't true. The scariest thing I heard in the seminar was a description of how a salesperson goes out to meet a bookseller. He or she pulls their top novel out of a large bag containing all of their titles and brags about that particular author. Then perhaps another novel gets a named mention and the remainder get dropped on the table in a load.

I didn't like hearing that. I'm sure most of what I do (and have spent the best part of a year doing for each individual book) is dropped on the table with little mention.

So what can I do? It doesn't really seem like a Biblical concept to strive to get people to like me, does it? But of course, if I'm reflecting Christ in my life, and he's beautiful, I think people will be attracted to that somehow.

They said you need to figure out what your brand is and pretty much stay true to your brand. A brand (like Coca Cola, hence the logo) will be what I do best, or at least help my reader know exactly what to expect.

What should readers of Kraus fiction expect? (I'm figuring out my brand here, so bear with me). Contemporary. A real person struggling with some major life issue. A grace encounter. A medical "stripe" of realism in the story somewhere. Drama. Suspense. And a little romance.

That's what I write.

But is it my brand?

I don't expect you to know, 'cause I haven't got this figured out yet either. If you've got it together, let me know.

I've been thinking of one of the other contexts for branding: putting the ownership mark of a ranch on the backside of a cow. Looks painful. If someone was going to put a hot iron brand on the cover of one of my novels, what would it say?

I'm thinkin' it should just be a nice "G".

"G" for grace.

Yea. I'm liking that.

Grace,

Harry

New Vision

I've been in transition mode. In fact I feel as though I'm in limbo, neither here nor there. This time last year I was at the ACFW conference in Denver, extremely expectant about the start of a brilliant writing career. Somethind did get started, but it certainly wasn't my writing career. Six months later, the last thing on my mind was writing. I won't bore you with the reasons why, suffice it to say that life got in the way and I didn't have the emotional strength to live my life, much less "live" the life of characters that I didn't seem to care much for.

No, it's not all bleak. I promise.

I've been spending some time meditating on Isaiah 43:18-21

18 “Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
20 The beast of the field will honor Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I give waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My people, My chosen.
21 This people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My praise.

The Lord gave my church family this rhema about a month or so ago. And we've been praying and standing on this word for the Lord to manifest the new in our lives. But God is so personal, so I've been seeking Him for what "new" means in my life; what His vision is for my life. He sees the end from the beginning and His actions are motivated by His great love.

So, what's the connection between the new and the vision? When God tells you that He is doing something new in your life and things look "the same" or even worse, it strengthens your faith to have a picture to focus on. Much like God told Abram that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, which helped Abram continue to trust God when things looked bleak. So I've been praying for God to give me His vision for my life and to cause me to walk in that vision. I have a very strong desire, a desire so strong that it literally defined my life for the past year and I saw no reason not to equate my desire with God's vision for me. Last week I decided to give that desire to God; to let it go and trust God to work things out the way He knows best. But lettting go left an emotional void in my life. I had to go back to God and ask Him to , lease give me His vision.

Thinking about vision, made me think about gifts. I believe there is a strong and direct correlation between your gifts and your calling. And the vision for your life is defined by your calling. Where we get into trouble is when we don't have a clear idea of what our gifts are. This can be especially problematic for people who have many strong gifts, because which gift do you focus on? I digress. Thinking of gifts made me think, with some sadness, about my writing, and how I haven't felt connected to it in a long, long time. I then wondered if I really have a gift. At the moment I don't know the answer to that question, but what I do know is that I have stories in my head; stories in my heart that I want to tell. Maybe I need to leave my first novel and work on my story idea about the relationship between a Cameroonian and a Nigerian, whose love is tested when a government policy tries to keep them apart. I see rich, vibrant colour and textures of every kind when I think about this story. Maybe that's the vision...