A delightful journey

I wonder how you discovered International Christian Fiction Writers and how those of you who blog here came to do so. In March 2010, I wrote a guest blog for ICFW, at the invitation of Mary Hawkins, another Australian Christian author. A few months later, I was invited to take a regular turn at blogging here—and have now contributed around forty posts in all. In that time too, I have enjoyed reading ICFW blogs from so many of you, scattered far and wide across the globe, and have been encouraged, enlightened and challenged by the thoughts you have shared.

During these years, I have also kept up my own weekly blog, which I began in mid-2009, and have now written well over three hundred of these. As well, I blog for two writers’ groups here in Australia—Australasian Christian Writers and Christian Writers Downunder.

I have often asked myself if all this blogging is a good use of my time. If I added together the number of words contained in those many blogs I have written since 2009, I would end up with well over two hundred thousand—about the equivalent of two of my full-length novels! Would my time have been better spent writing another novel or memoir?

I made the decision to stick to my blogging commitments for various reasons. As far as my own personal blog is concerned, I believe it is a good discipline for a wordy writer like me to have to express myself more succinctly in around five hundred words each week. This regular blogging has also helped me process the things God continues to show me through reading Scripture and in other ways, including life’s daily events. And, judging by comments I have received, what I have shared each week has at times helped others along the way—which leaves me feeling both humble and grateful. As well, my regular blog is a great place to share the joy of exciting life events, such as a book release or the birth of a new grandchild, especially when we can link these blogs to Facebook so easily.

As far as the three group blogs I am part of are concerned, I love encouraging other authors and sharing the ups and downs of our writing journeys, as well as giving readers an insight into how an author goes about creating his or her work. We enrich one another’s lives in this way—and this is especially true with our ICFW blog, where we can catch a glimpse of those different cultures we are part of and cheer one another on from the other side of the world.

Yet, despite feeling so positive about blogging and about ICFW in particular, I feel now is the right time for me cut back a little and withdraw from being a regular contributor here at least. I am grateful for the lovely overseas ‘cyber friends’ I have made through ICFW—thank you for being part of my writing journey for so long. I encourage you all to keep writing, in whatever way God calls and has gifted you, as I intend to do. And may you experience much joy and peace in the process for many years to come.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney, Australia. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

Those second hand treasures

Recently, I had several hours to while away at a hospital as I waited for my husband to be discharged. At first, I sat in a corner with a cup of coffee as I read and wrote. It was a bitterly cold day, however, so in order to feel my feet again, I decided to explore a little. Eventually, I found an area outside where various stalls were being set up in an effort to raise funds for the hospital. While most were food stalls, catering for the hungry lunchtime hordes, I also found a second hand bookstall. The two women running it were intrigued when I told them I was an author and wanted to know what sort of books I wrote. An interesting conversation ensued, during which I commented how I was happy to see any of my books in a second hand bookshop.

‘Of course,' I went on to explain, 'I always hope the person who initially bought or was given my book read it before recycling it—but at least he or she didn’t think it was bad enough to consign it to the rubbish bin straight away! Besides, it gives more than one person the opportunity to read my books, which is great from my perspective.’

I also told them how my novels contain strong faith themes, at which point the lady in charge told me they steer clear of selling any religious books.

‘It’s too risky for us. This is a very multicultural area and we don’t want to offend anyone.  Any Bibles we receive, we give straight to the hospital chaplain. Also, sometimes we get quite strange books donated to us and I refuse to put them on display as well. We don’t want to lead anyone astray.’

She proceeded to show me some they had just received—and I was glad of her decision not to display them. I began to wander around the stall and found many good books, ranging from classics to popular novels to cookbooks to children’s stories, all selling for less than two dollars. Then I noticed a book by Australian Christian author and radio personality Kel Richards, The Case of the Vanishing Corpse. Hmm. It seemed the ladies in charge did not realise it was about a modern day detective investigating the disappearance of the body of Jesus. Oh well!

I then noticed one of these ladies examining the book Surprised by Joy by C S Lewis.

‘I don’t know this book or author,’ she commented.

‘Oh, C S Lewis an excellent writer,’ I said blithely. ‘Very insightful and well worth reading!’

I hoped I hadn’t said too much. I prayed she would leave the book on display and was relieved to see her do exactly that. I bought a selection of books and chatted with them for a while longer in an effort to encourage them. After all, they were doing a great job for that hospital, standing in the cold to sell those books. And who knows what treasures they might pass onto others in the process?

How about you? Are you partial to second hand bookstalls? And how would you feel if one of your novels found its way onto one of these?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney, Australia. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

Creating those treasures

Recently, while at a meeting in someone’s home, one of the women present pointed at a bookshelf nearby and smiled at me. At first, I wondered what she was doing—I couldn’t see anything there that stood out to me.

‘Look, Jo-Anne—there are two of your books! I’ve got them at home too.’

I looked again then and finally saw my first two novels at one end of the shelf. Then someone else chimed in.

‘I have all of your books lined up in my bookcase,’ another commented, much to my embarrassment.

‘I have too, another person added. ‘See—you’re famous!’

I laughed and the conversation soon changed direction. But later, as I reflected on what had been said, I felt so thankful and humbled. How blessed am I to have had seven books published at this stage of my life—and what a privilege to have been able to enrich the lives of others even in some small way through what I have written! No, my books may not have been classics or best sellers or winners of great awards. But at least some people have been blessed through reading them and still treasure my books on their shelves.

Recently, I have been thinking about the treasures books in general are to us, as I have been asked to speak somewhere on that topic later in the year. So far, I have come up with the following ideas—and please feel free to share any of your own with me! Books enlarge our knowledge and understanding of the world around us, giving us insights into the way others live their lives and how the world functions in general. Books enable us to take in the wisdom of past generations and to experience situations way beyond our own space and time. Books give us the opportunity to walk in another’s shoes and hopefully develop greater understanding of and empathy for others. Books may help us understand spiritual things better too and be drawn closer to God in the process. And books may comfort or encourage us as we relate closely to what we read and realise we are not alone. Someone else out there understands where we are at and their voice reaches out to us through those words they have written.

On a somewhat more mundane level, books increase our vocabulary and our ability to communicate well via the written word. Books entertain us, perhaps even providing a way to rest or relax and escape for a while into another whole world. On the other hand, books can keep our minds alert, intriguing us with tricky plot twists or challenging us with new and deep thoughts that cause us to grow and become better people in some way.

Books can contain so many rich treasures, waiting for us to discover—precious and semi-precious gems of infinite variety and value. What a privilege as writers to be able to add our own unique creations to this literary treasure trove and to be given the opportunity to touch someone else’s life through our words, be they many or few. May we never take our writing for granted but stay close to God each day, receiving that true inspiration we all need as we apply ourselves to those works in progress.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney, Australia. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

Keeping our own writing counsel

Last year, I began meeting with a younger author at her request, in order to help bring her dream of writing her first work of non-fiction to reality. Her eagerness to learn was obvious from the outset. Whenever I referred to a particular book about writing, she would note its name and want to borrow or buy it. Whenever I mentioned an online writers’ group she might like to join or a writer’s blog she might like to check out, that is what she did. And when I told her about a Christian writers’ conference here in Australia, she was among the first to book in.

My young friend is a delight. I know she respects me and listens to my suggestions. But, much more importantly, she has a deep love for the Lord and is passionate about wanting her own experiences in life to count for the Kingdom. Believing God wants her to write her book, she has worked hard at mapping it all out systematically in a way I have never done with any of my own and has now completed some of her early chapters. I am in awe of her enthusiastic and thorough approach to it all.

But there is another way in which our writing approaches differ. I have discovered my friend is quite happy to show these early chapters to her writing group and to others who are prepared to critique her work, in order to receive as much feedback as possible. As we talked about this, she explained she has always been a collaborative worker, willing to use the skills and gifts of others to get things done. So she is happy to take on board any comments and criticisms, even at this early stage. I, on the other hand, cringed when I heard what she was doing. I felt it could be a little confusing for her and perhaps even hamper her from developing her own writing style.

But then I began to question myself. I had never shown my work to others in those early stages at least. Was it merely my pride and my inability to receive criticism that had caused me to keep my work to myself until it was almost complete? Imagine my recent relief then, when, on reading Dorothea Brande’s book, Becoming A Writer, written way back in 1934, I came across the following in a section entitled ‘Keep your own counsel’:

When you have completed a fair first draft you can, if you like, offer it for criticism and advice; but to talk too early is a grave mistake.  (p 52, 1981 Tarcher/Penguin edition)

The author reasoned that, if we share our work with others while it is still taking shape, we have already received their responses and will be less motivated to complete all the developing and polishing our manuscript needs. Perhaps this then accounted, in part at least, for my reticence in sharing my own work too early and the shudder that ran through me when my friend told me how freely she was showing those early chapters to others.

How about you? Have you found it is good to show your manuscript to critique partners early on so you can fix any key problems? Or do you, like me, prefer to ‘keep your own counsel’ until that first draft is complete?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney, Australia. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

Offering our gifts

Not long after my first novel was published, I decided I would love someone to invent a little book tracking device so I could see where all those copies ended up! As the years passed and a few more of my books were published, I became even more curious. This device need not be too intrusive, I decided—just a little microchip somewhere down the spine, perhaps, that would send a signal to my laptop to identify where it was.

I know I can find out from some Christian bookstore websites how many of my books have sold and in what part of Australia. I know the name at least of those who buy my books via my website and where they live. I can go online and discover which libraries stock copies of my books. And of course I can meet customers face to face at my book table after speaking somewhere or at some promotional event. But I find it fascinating how others get hold of my books in all sorts of roundabout ways. Perhaps a friend lends them a copy or someone sends one as a gift to the other side of the world or they see it on a library shelf and remember meeting me somewhere. A couple of times, I have received emails explaining how readers have found one of my novels in a second hand bookshop or in a pile of pre-loved books at a church fete! On those occasions, I always hope the original owner read the book first and enjoyed it enough to feel it should be recycled rather than thrown in the rubbish bin!

Recently, however, I have begun to rethink the whole ‘book tracking’ idea. Yes, it would be interesting. Yet, while we need to do our best to sell and promote our books, ultimately we have no real control over who buys them. So, rather than fret or speculate, I tend to feel now that it might be better to let those books go freely into whatever places they might wander and trust God much more in it all.

That is probably why some words I read recently in an email from author Joyce Kornblatt, commenting on novelist and short story writer Richard Bausch’s thoughts along the same lines, resonated with me:

   

May you all find the true heart of your work and send it out into the world, which might mean to one other person or a wider audience. Doesn't matter. Once you have released it, it is like a bird that will find its own way, branch to branch, tree to tree, land to land. You won't necessarily know how it has travelled, who has been reached and touched, but you have done your part: creating the work and releasing it.  Bearing witness to the life you have lived, and sharing something of what you have understood. Such a good gift to offer.

Beautiful thoughts, don’t you think? We write because God calls us to do so and because that is what we are gifted to do. Then we offer our gift to the world in whatever way opens up for us. And then we let it go free, knowing we have done all we can.

How do you as a writer respond to this whole concept? 

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney, Australia. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

On taking care and being thankful - Jo-Anne Berthelsen

Over recent months, several authors have contacted me, asking for advice about publication and promotion. My heart goes out to them because of the dilemmas in which some of them find themselves. Some decided to go with risky, overseas publishing deals which involved considerable cost on their part. Others spent less money but have little idea how to sell or promote their books. Some of these conversations left me feeling angry and helpless. There is little I can do for these poor authors, apart from giving them contacts and a few suggestions. But I fear for them in it all. It is not going to be easy.

I wanted to use this experience—or rather, the experiences of these authors—to say two things here. Firstly, I would like to sound a warning to authors everywhere to consider well before embarking on any publication deal, especially if it involves paying out rather large sums of money. One author I spoke to lost over three thousand dollars when an overseas subsidy publishing company ostensibly went bankrupt. Yet a simple online check would have revealed many warnings not to enter into any business dealings with this company. Another has paid for her book to be published overseas with little thought as to how she will get those hard copies here to Australia at a reasonable cost. It is all very sad, in my opinion.

Connected with these publishing deals is the dilemma of how these authors are going to promote and sell those copies when they finally arrive. Yes, their books might be listed on publishers’ websites and even on Amazon, Barnes and Noble etc. But that is nowhere near enough. How are people going to know those books are available? This does not happen by magic. These authors will need to think of ways to promote their own books, learn about how to use social media to their advantage and be prepared to go to places and speak. It cannot even be taken for granted Christian bookstores will want to stock their books—or, at least, that is the case here in Australia. One reason is that, however good such books are, bookstores do not want to have to deal with endless single author accounts rather than a certain number of established publishers.

Secondly, for those of us who already have publishers we know and trust who have a good name and do all they can to get our books out there in the market, let’s be so thankful! As well, let’s be thankful for groups such as this one and for all the knowledge we have gleaned from others who have gone before us. Some potential authors I know have little idea how to use the internet well, let alone know of groups such as ICFW or similar Australian ones until we tell them. Some authors I know do not want to speak or promote their books or are unable to do this because of ill health or various life commitments. How thankful we need to be—for those publishers with integrity, for those who helped us along the way, for those around us now, supporting and encouraging us, and for the abilities and opportunities God has given us!

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney, Australia. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

A unique author challenge

At the end of this week, I will be facing yet another interesting challenge in my writing and speaking journey. I will spend four hours in front of four classes of high school students, one after the other! What’s more, they are each from different years, with the classes varying in size from twenty-five students to fifty. Yes, I was a high school teacher at one stage—but that was many years ago now!

The school I will visit is a Christian school in a large country town here in New South Wales, Australia, and I readily agreed to the idea when my contact in that town suggested it. At first, I was to give a one-hour workshop to two smallish groups of the more gifted writers—the first group from the younger classes and the second from the older. Then we decided on a two-hour workshop, involving more creative writing, with these same two groups. Now the concept has changed entirely. I have all students in these years—gifted and perhaps less gifted, interested and uninterested, lovers of English, haters of English!

Yet, despite the shape my input has now become, I would not turn this opportunity down for anything. Firstly, who knows who will be in one of those groups of students? Perhaps there will be some young people present who are voracious readers, who secretly love to write poetry or short stories and who one day dream of being published. Perhaps, like me in my early years, they do not quite believe such things ever happen to ordinary people like them.

Secondly, even if there are no such young people in these groups, I want to share my story with them of how I came to understand who Jesus is and believe in him at around the same age as many of them are and how this experience has motivated me ever since to be who God has called me to be and do what God has called me to do. I want to tell them about how God spoke to me through a passage of Scripture eleven years ago—and my writing journey began. I want to encourage them not to give up on their dreams. I want to remind them that each of them is unique and creative in some way because each of us is made in the image of our creative God.

And thirdly, I want to inspire them to write from the depths of their being and from their own experiences. I want them to think about the things they see and hear and touch and taste and smell all around them and write with imagination, originality and colour. Yes, I hope to give them a few pointers about good first paragraphs, about ‘showing’ rather than ‘telling’, about using dialogue and about so many other things. And yes, I will ask them to do some brief creative writing exercises. But I want them to enjoy the process and to realise no one else sees things quite the way they do and that they have something to say—even if others might say it better.

I hope I succeed. I am looking forward to the challenge! Have any of you experienced similar challenges to this in your writing journey?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney, Australia. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

Watching those leaves pile up

One day during the recent school holidays, I received a phone call from one of our granddaughters.

‘Hello, Nanna. Can we please come over and visit you? We don’t have anything to do! We can come before or after lunch. What would be best for you?’

Now how could anyone resist a polite request like that? After our two granddaughters and our son arrived and we had finished lunch, eleven year old Amy wanted to teach me some card games—but eight year old Olivia decided she would prefer to play outside. A little while later, however, she came back in.

‘Nanna, do you have a rake? I want to rake up all those leaves and petals on the grass.’

Again, how could anyone resist a request like that? I duly found the rake but felt bad that there was Olivia, working so hard outside all by herself, putting her whole heart and soul into raking those leaves, while we sat inside, playing games and enjoying ourselves.

‘Don’t worry,’ our son told me. ‘Olivia likes doing things like that. And she likes being by herself.’

A little later, when I checked outside, there was a neat pile of leaves right in the middle of our front yard. Olivia had really applied herself, removing her jumper as she sweated away, working so hard. But she had enjoyed every minute of it, she told me. And anyone could see her pride in that neat pile of leaves she had created.

As I watched all this unfold, I found myself comparing the task Olivia had undertaken so happily with the task that had occupied me all morning before my visitors arrived—that of piling up leaves of a different kind. I had been busy editing my current non-fiction book, carefully raking through all those words and sentences and gathering them into much neater shape. How satisfying it was to watch those completed ‘leaves’ of my own mount up! Of course, I knew there would still be more cleaning up to do on this manuscript, but at least I could see something emerging now from all those hours of work I have put into it so far.

I had been happy to work on it by myself too, just as Olivia had been as she raked away. But had I been as joyful about it as she had? Her little face almost shone with delight at the change she had wrought in our yard. It was obvious she had truly enjoyed herself as she slaved away for our benefit. She even seemed to regard this task as a great privilege—to be allowed have fun while making Nanna and Granddad’s yard look so much better! Was that something I had lost sight of in my writing—that awareness of the privilege of doing something I love for God?

I wonder how you have felt lately as you try to amass those ‘leaves’ of your current writing project. It can be hard work, requiring much perseverance. But may you and I not lose that sense of privilege of serving the Lord in the unique way we have been given. And may we each continue to be filled with that same joy I saw in our granddaughter as we apply ourselves to our writing.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.

Which would you recommend?

Picture the following. There I am, standing behind my book table during a conference break at a large church. I am a little tired, not only from being on my feet for some time but also from having to explain to one person after another that I am the author of those books in front of me and then having to answer their questions. Now another lady approaches. Once again, I point out my non-fiction book and briefly talk about my novels. She seems to listen well but then fires a question at me.

‘Which one would you recommend?’

For a moment, I am dumbfounded. Did I hear what I thought I heard? Did she really ask me which of my own books I would recommend? Does that mean she thinks I would waste my time writing and selling books I would not recommend?

I take a deep breath and try to calm down. She didn’t think about what she was asking, I tell myself. But how can I best respond? Perhaps I need to ask her a few questions to see what sort of book she’s looking for. I try that, but the only further light she sheds is that she would like something her eighteen year old daughter might want to read. I decide to recommend my novel featuring my youngest heroine—perhaps that might connect the best. The lady peruses it, then moves on to my other books. In the end, she does buy one, although now I don’t remember which.

How would you have responded? I have been asked before which of my books I like best—and even that’s a hard one to answer. I love them all for different reasons. Granted, my earlier novels are not my best writing. And yes, my memoir Soul Friend holds a special place in my heart because I share my true self in those pages. But I can’t honestly say which one I like best. Perhaps that is the question this lady was actually asking, I realise now.

Just a few days earlier, as I sold my books after speaking at a secular women’s club, I was asked a different and much more heart-warming question. There I was on this occasion, wondering if I would sell any books, when a lady came up to me with tears in her eyes.

‘I need that book of yours you mentioned about forgiveness,’ she told me straight up. ‘Which one would that be?’

Again, I was a little dumbfounded. Several of my novels include something about forgiveness—which one had I mentioned in my talk? Then I suddenly remembered explaining that my latest novel explores the theme of holding onto anger and bitterness and the trouble that can come as a result. She quickly agreed that was the one and bought it. And as I signed her copy with my usual ‘God bless’, I prayed in my heart that she would truly be blessed as she read it and set free from whatever was troubling her.

I know I need to answer any questions thrown at me at my book table with patience and grace—and I continue to ask God to enable me to do that. Still, I’d much rather be asked which of my books talks about forgiveness than which one I would recommend!

How about you? Have you perhaps asked or been asked some interesting questions at book tables too?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.

To listen or not to listen?

Recently, during a promotional visit to a bookstore in Melbourne, I received a wonderful surprise. A lady

with whom I had connected only via email in the past made a special effort to drop by and meet me in person. This lady works for an organisation that helps those with visual impairment or ‘print disability'--her role includes acquiring books for possible recording for the audio lending library this organisation runs. A few years ago, an elderly friend badly wanted to read my first two novels but the print was too small for her. She told this organisation about my books and asked if they could record them. After some time, they contacted me and the upshot was that, over the next little while, my first three novels were produced as audio books. I was sent a copy of each in their special DAISY mp3 format—and I thought that was the end of it all.

However, when this lady met me recently, she told me they had now completed my fourth and fifth novels and were about to start on my memoir Soul Friend. As well, she also wanted to purchase my latest novel The Inheritance, with a view to recording it. A few days later, she emailed to say she was forwarding the recordings of my fourth and fifth novels so I would have all my books they had produced so far.

But here is my dilemma. While I love having these copies, I have not as yet been able to bring myself to listen to any of them! I know they are  professionally produced—the person who narrated them is a well known and very gifted actor from stage and screen here in Australia and has a beautiful speaking voice. But I am certain that, because these were my first novels, I would want to change so much of what I would hear, which would definitely dampen my enjoyment of the whole experience. I imagine it is a little like artists might feel when viewing their early efforts at painting. Surely their fingers must itch to alter or touch up this or that!

Perhaps the best way to approach it all is for me to listen to those recordings with an accepting heart and mind, acknowledge the stylistic changes I would now make, and simply be thankful for how far I have come since those earlier writing efforts. We all learn as we go and we all have to begin somewhere. And, stylistic issues aside, the stories they contain still touch readers, I have discovered, who are often not as critical as those of us who write! Then again ... is it better not to listen and instead to keep moving forward, writing the best I can at this point?

What would you decide in this instance? Would you listen or not?

All questions aside, I am honoured and grateful that those recordings have been made—especially my third novel Laura, which is the story of a girl who becomes blind as a child. I love the idea that those for whom most books are inaccessible can choose to hear my books, if they so desire. God has ways of blessing us far beyond what we could ever imagine, don’t you agree?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.

The continuing saga of choosing those names


Choosing just the right name, whether it be for a real child or a ‘book child’, can certainly be a torturous journey. A couple of weeks ago, Marion Ueckermann posted her blog ‘What’s in a Name?’ here where she shared the journey of choosing her new grandson Liam’s name and also that of her novelette, Helsinki Sunrise. I was so interested to read her blog, as our daughter was then days away from having her second child and still struggling with choosing a name. Now it is all over and she and her husband are the proud parents of a new baby girl, but watching their journey reminded me of my own struggles in choosing the titles of some of my books.

Maxine and her proud Nanna!

Because our son-in-law Kofi is from Ghana, there are added complications when choosing a baby’s name. Often, Ghanaians are named after the day of the week on which they were born—and these differ according to whether the baby is a boy or a girl. ‘Kofi’ means ‘Friday’, the day our grandson was also born. However, to avoid confusion, Kofi and Tina opted to call their son Zain Kofi. Already they have various friends called Kofi as well, except one is called ‘Kofi Plumber’ and another ‘Kofi Junior’ and so on! So when it came to their daughter, they chose not to use the Twi word for Tuesday. Instead, along with the names Maxine Marie, they decided to include Kofi’s mother’s surname—which is different from Kofi’s because, in Ghana, you can choose a different surname for your children!

Phew—so you thought choosing book titles was complicated?! Compared with that, naming my books was nothing really. My first novel had to be Heléna, the name of the Czech migrant we had known years earlier who inspired the book. I then decided I would use another girl’s name ending in ‘a’ for my next novel and chose Laura, soon to be followed by yet another, Jenna. But then it was decided my first novel needed to be divided into two, which put paid to my little plan! Eventually, I called this second half of my first novel All the Days of My Life, from Psalm 23:6, since I felt this verse encapsulated the attitude of my lovely heroine Heléna.

Having messed up my run of names ending in ‘a’, I decided to abandon that idea entirely. I called my fifth novel Heléna’s Legacy and my sixth The Inheritance—despite the fact that there are umpteen books out there already entitled The Inheritance! I still felt it summed up key issues in the book—the ungodly inheritance of anger and bitterness passed down to the main male character from his family, along with his material inheritance, with all this contrasting to our heavenly inheritance. With my memoir Soul Friend, I was well aware another book with that title already existed but went ahead anyway. The ancient Celtic term ‘soul friend’ describes my lovely spiritual mentor Joy to a tee and seems to have captured the hearts and minds of many of my readers, for which I am very grateful.

How have you fared in your own book titling journey? Maybe your publisher has the final say—and I did listen to my publisher with my last two at least—but I’m glad I had the final choice. They are my babies, after all! 

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.

An unexpected outcome

Early last year, I received a friend request on Facebook from someone whose name had been mentioned to me by a mutual friend. This mutual friend had given my new Facebook friend Jo a copy of my memoir Soul Friend for Christmas and she had apparently loved it. Jo and I conversed briefly via Facebook from time to time as she began sending me little comments about my weekly blogs and I soon saw we were on the same wavelength in so many ways. At one stage, she told me how, after reading Soul Friend, she decided to check out some of the books I had quoted or referred to there. Then from time to time, she would post little snippets she particularly liked from these on Facebook and I would always click the ‘Like’ button! It was uncanny how many of the passages she chose were my favourites too!

Recently, I read on Facebook that she and her husband had purchased a beautiful property in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney be used for holidays and retreats and had named it ‘Dadirri’. From the photos, I could see it was a large, tastefully furnished house, surrounded by trees and close to excellent bushwalks. Then just yesterday, Jo messaged me to tell me the story of how this beautiful home had become theirs and why they had chosen the name ‘Dadirri’.

It turned out that she and her husband had long wanted to buy such a property and make it available for retreats for those seeking to be quiet and be refreshed by God. Then one day last year, after stumbling across this house and noting it was for sale, Jo sat down to continue reading the book Lost in Wonder by Esther de Waal—one of those I had quoted in my own book Soul Friend. There she discovered the word ‘dadirri’, an Australian Aboriginal word for deep silence or ‘the open-eyedness of someone who explores where he or she has always belonged’ (p 43) and read how the Christian aboriginal artist, Miriam-Rose Ungummer, describes it ‘tapping into a deep spring that is within us all’. This confirmed to Jo and her husband that God intended them to have that particular property and that its name was to be ‘Dadirri’.

They immediately made an offer and the owners asked to meet them. Jo and her husband discovered this elderly couple were Christians and were having a hard time letting their beautiful property go. But on hearing that Jo and her husband were also Christians, the owners were overjoyed and the deal was soon done.

Jo purposely shared this story with me to show me how my little book had played such a vital part in her family’s dream of seeing a retreat house become reality. Through Soul Friend, she discovered Lost in Wonder. And from that book came the wonderful, meaningful name they chose—‘Dadirri’. A further lovely aside to this story is that my own dear ‘soul friend’ Joy, who inspired my book, lives in the Blue Mountains herself, not far from where ‘Dadirri’ is located!

May this story encourage and inspire you all, as you begin another writing year. When we commit our books to the Lord, be they fiction or non-fiction, God can certainly use them in wonderful and unique ways we could never ever have dreamt up in any plot!

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.

Writers supporting other writers

I have had various occupations in my life. Both before and after having our three children, I was a high school teacher. In that role, I came to value those brief times in the staff room during our lunch breaks in particular when we would be able to sit back, catch our breath and perhaps share how our day was going. Sometimes, those teachers dealing with similar topics in their classes would discuss their particular approach and perhaps share resources. But time was precious and we were all preoccupied, so those moments were fleeting.

At another stage, I worked as an editor for an organisation that supported Christian schools across Australia. I related to around eight other employees on a regular basis to produce classroom material and a small magazine for parents and students. While this was a Christian environment, I found we were often a little removed from one another and even at times a little critical of our co-workers. I remember I instituted something called ‘Jo’s Little Black Book’, in which I jokingly wrote anything that should not be repeated, then threatened to read it out at our Christmas staff celebration—although only funny rather than hurtful things were included. To my amazement, that talking behind others’ backs lessened considerably as a result!

At two different stages, I worked in a local church. While relationships were regarded as important there and time was put aside for team meetings and for sharing what was happening in our roles, we still made mistakes. Misunderstandings occurred and different personalities clashed at times, but we all learnt so much in the process. And eventually, God in his grace guided some to stay and some to move on.

And now, here I am in the much more lone role of writer and speaker—although perhaps ‘lone’ is not the correct word to use. True, no one else is going to write our stories for us and we do usually need to be alone to write them. Yet for novelists in particular, in one sense we can never be lonely, with all that conversation going on between those characters inside our heads, as Dirk Bogarde one pointed out! Nevertheless, I have found it so encouraging to have that contact with other authors from time to time, either face to face or via the net through groups such as ICFW. We speak the same language. We understand the issues involved in writing and publishing and promotion. We want to see others succeed and be fulfilled in their writing. We rejoice as God is honoured through one another's books.

And that’s why this very day, I will be busy selling my books, in cooperation with around a dozen other local Christian authors here in Sydney, at a book market one of us has organised in a nearby church hall. We have each agreed to promote this event as much as possible through our own networks. And we will all be there, cheering one another on, as books are sold. Yet, whether those crowds appear or not, I know this will be a precious time of sharing together, of hearing one another’s journeys and of supporting one another as best we can.

Writers supporting other writers. What a lovely thing—and what a privilege!

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.
 

A TRIBUTE TO THE "JENNY BLAKES" -- WRITERS' HELPERS

A few years ago, I heard online about a lady called Jenny. I can’t even remember now just when and where I started to hear of her.  At first she was often just mentioned as “ausjenny” and it was some considerable time before I discovered more about her.

Many authors overseas as well as in Australia now know her through her blog,  Come Meet Aus Jenny where she has featured many on interviews, told about their books. This kind of exposure is invaluable to published authors. I noticed that Lisa Harris mentioned in her post on ICFW last Tuesday that it is essential for a writer to "get the word out" about her book, and "ausjenny" may not even realise how much help she has been to us.

In the last few years, things have changed a great deal with many more blogs now available to try and follow. However, at that time I personally had a very heavy schedule and found it difficult to keep up with the internet writing scene, especially blogs, but this “ausjenny” was one of the first I heard about as being an Australian in this Christian fiction blog arena. Okay, so I know now I was  rather slow to catch on as she has had her blog for the last five years.  

For some time I did not even know her real name, did not know until this wonderful woman who was supporting authors overseas began to help and focus more on the increasing number of Australian authors published in Christian fiction. Then I discovered this prolific “Writers’ Helper” was not a writer herself, has no ambition to be a published author. Eventually the news filtered through that “ausjenny” was a Jenny Blake who loves books, especially Christian fiction and was a volunteer at an Australian Christian bookshop. That was only the beginning of my discovering her many and varied talents.

I know that the last few years have been a very tough time for dear Jenny with health and family, including the passing of her mother. But has that stopped her doing what she can where and when she can to help authors? No way!

This is just one personal example. My husband’s publisher told him he really needed to do more promotion for his 31 Day Devotional series. While I’ve had a website  for a while now and finally ventured into having a blog, Ray and I are both technically challenged in this whole modern era of the internet. A writer friend told me how good Jenny was at setting up blogs,  so who did we turn to for help? Jenny Blake of course and she was wonderful.

Since then Jenny has been very involved in helping start online ventures for Australian writers. Currently, with Narelle Atkins, she is one of the administrators of our Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance , and the last few weeks the new Australasian Christian Writers Yahoo group and the new Australasian Christian Writers  blog.  What would we do now without you, Jenny?

I believe there are other Writers Helpers that so often we never really know about. These days, published authors simply have to be involved on the World Wide Web and promotion in all kinds of areas so readers know our books are available.  There are others like Ray and I who need heaps of technical help. I know I still have to spend far more time on social media and promotion than I want to. It takes up valuable time I’d much rather spend writing my books. How much harder it would be without our Jenny Blake.

So, here’s a very big “Thank you” to all those folk who love books, who have no ambitions to be writers themselves but seek to support us in practical ways  - as well as praying for us. May we never be tempted to take your help for granted or forget to thank God for you.

And, dear Jenny, this is my personal thank you for all your support and prayers for Ray and I as well as the heart you so obviously have for Christian writers.

Would love to hear comments from other writers around the world about their own invaluable  “Jenny Blakes”.  Perhaps there are other readers who would love to help writers "get the word out" about Christian novels. There may be some authors reading this who personally have been also helped by our Aus Jenny Blake over the years.

Mary Hawkins lives in Tasmania, Australia, with her retired minister husband. They have three adult children and six grandchildren. She is the author of 19 titles and is delighted her Heartsong Presents contemporary Search series and historical Great Southland series are now  available for readers again as e-books through Truly Yours Digital Editions 

Those launching emotions

 

This past week, my sixth novel The Inheritance was officially released (see my book trailer here)—and yet again, the emotions involved have taken me a little by surprise. It was only last October that my first non-fiction book Soul Friend was released, so one would think I would remember how it all felt. Granted, launching another novel is different. The Inheritance is, after all, fiction, while releasing my memoir Soul Friend like personally serving myself up on a platter! But again, I have felt those nervous flutters inside as I have posted off those advance copies already purchased. Will this novel of mine be well received? Will those readers who have stuck by me through all seven of my books enjoy this one as much?

The Inheritance is, in essence, a story of family secrets, forgiveness and faith. It explores one man’s struggle to come to grips with the past, be reconciled with himself, his family and ultimately God, and face the future with courage and integrity. At the same time, it also explores a woman’s struggle to stay true to her faith in God and pursue God’s purposes for her life. In writing this novel, I attempted to focus equally on each main protagonist much more than I did in my earlier novels. And this brought with it new challenges such as being careful to stay in in one character’s point of view for a whole scene or chapter and balancing how often I changed from one to the other. I was very aware of the importance of point of view prior to this, but the approach I chose with this novel has meant I had to be particularly careful in this regard. The Inheritance is my first work of fiction with my new publisher, Even Before Publishing, and I am grateful for the assistance I was given to see the mistakes I was making with point of view and to learn so much more in the process.

But will my faithful readers—and hopefully some new ones—like the somewhat different style I have employed in The Inheritance? Will they relate to my initially very angry and aggressive hero Michael Trevelyan and my equally determined heroine Alexandra Hope? Will they track with these two people I have grown to love as they experience so many ups and downs in their personal lives and in their ongoing relationship? What if they feel one character is not quite believable—or, worse still, both? What if they decide Alexandra is just too ‘good’ a heroine, an opinion some expressed about my main female protagonists in my earlier novels?

Yet, while I still have doubts and questions like these, the counterbalance to it all is that I do believe it is my best novel so far! Please understand I don’t say that in any boastful way, however, but rather with thankfulness to God for enabling me to keep on writing and learning and also with gratitude to my publisher who challenged me to grow.

What about you other authors out there? How have you felt when your own new novel has been released? Is it a huge mixture of emotions such as it has been for me? For those not yet published, how do you plan to tackle this whole book launch experience?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.

The benefits of bookstore appearances

When my first novel was published in 2007, author appearances at our nearest Christian bookstore here in Sydney were not overly encouraged, so I gave up the whole idea. In recent years, however, the situation has changed and the store manager now warmly welcomes author visits. I have made several and enjoy them immensely.

For starters, it feels special when I arrive to find a table strategically placed near the main entrance ready for me, along with whatever stocks of my books are available, promotional posters, pens, notepads and even a bottle of water! I am always provided with a comfortable chair as well and asked if I need anything else. Then at intervals during the day, a staff member makes an announcement over the PA system, encouraging customers to come and chat with me. At first, I wondered if I enjoyed all this simply because it was feeding my ego! Yet now I believe it’s more about feeling acknowledged and respected in a healthy way and allowing that to encourage me in my writing journey. For me, it’s about sensing God’s grace in the way these staff members look after me and allowing myself to be blessed in the process. And I hope and pray I bless them in return.

This whole experience also makes me realise God’s faithfulness and grace in my life in an even deeper way and to be so thankful. I often almost pinch myself in amazement as I see all six of my books published so far on display on that book table. Back in 2004, when I began writing in earnest, I could never have envisaged the day when I would be standing in a bookstore, talking about my writing and offering to sign my books for customers. That was the stuff dreams were made of! But God brought it about, enabling me to fulfil those dreams—and I am so grateful.

But there are also other benefits that flow from these author appearances. I do think they are a valuable way of promoting my books and obtaining higher sales than would otherwise be the case. It’s about making my books more visible among the thousands and thousands of others in that bookstore and enabling potential readers to put a face to that author’s name on the cover and to glimpse my heart in writing my books. Then hopefully, as more customers buy them, the store will order more from my publisher, which will eventually result in more royalties for me.

As well, I always give many of my business cards out to customers, whether they come up to my book table or not. It can be done in a polite, non-intrusive way and often leads to interesting conversations and connections. At my last book signing event, I approached a young woman, who, on taking my card, immediately looked up with a delighted smile and exclaimed, ‘Jo-Anne Berthelsen!’ I had known her years ago in a mentoring group and her excitement at hearing about my writing journey since then was so heart-warming for me. Giving customers my card also provides them with a way of connecting with me, should they ever be looking for a speaker.

How have you found your own author visits to bookstores? Do you feel they are worthwhile? Does the way they are conducted perhaps vary from country to country?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of five published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Her sixth novel, The Inheritance, will be released in September. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.

Letting those early novels go

In September, my sixth novel, The Inheritance, will be released. I’m excited about that as I think it is my best yet—plus I love the two main characters in it! But this novel brings with it two dilemmas for me that I am currently trying to think and pray through.

The first one is this. I wrote this particular novel before my first non-fiction book Soul Friend which was released last September and was given the choice as to which would be published first. So now it’s time to release the novel. But which direction should I head next? Should I alternate my books and aim to complete another non-fiction book this year? Or should I stick to novel writing?

But my second dilemma is the more pressing one at the moment. I feel so blessed, having six books published when I never thought I would have any. My first novel Heléna was released early in 2007 and since then, I have had one book released each year. It’s not that I am particularly prolific, however. It’s just that while I waited to find a publisher for my first novel, I decided to begin the next. So until now, I have always been in the happy place of having another novel completed by the time the previous one was released. But now the question is—do I let those first two novels go and not try to promote them anymore? Although the first one has just become hard to find in most bookstores, there are still a handful of copies of the second around. And small numbers of orders still seem to come in for them via the bookstores, plus I have people contacting me as well for copies from time to time. Also, wherever I speak, it seems people are still interested in those first two novels. I sell almost as many of those as my later ones—which leaves me a little reluctant to run out of copies myself. Yet, if I did, would I sell more of my later novels? It’s a puzzle!

And of course, there is a limit to the number of books I can carry around with me wherever I speak. Often, I am unsure which book people will go for, so I need to take a good number of each. I could no doubt get back the rights of those first two novels and attempt to make them available as e-books only, but to me, that seems to answer only half the question. Also, I know if I did this, I would need to re-edit both novels severely! After all, they were my first two attempts at writing—and back then, I knew nothing about the current anathema against using omniscient point of view or the evils of ‘head hopping’! And my very long sentences are liberally sprinkled with lots of lovely ‘ly’ adverbs! Yet do I want to invest time in re-writing these books? I’m not sure.

So ... you see my dilemma. Any suggestions? I know some of you have had many more novels released over the years than I have, so would you have any wisdom to offer from your own experience?

Meanwhile, I will keep thinking and praying about it—and writing that next best-seller!

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney, Australia. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher and editor, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of five published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Her sixth novel, The Inheritance, will be released in September. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.

Supporting one another in the writing community

The life of an author is never dull, is it? Our writing might take some interesting turn or other we perhaps did not quite foresee, for example, or some new challenge pops up that stretches our current knowledge and abilities and keeps us on our toes. At least, that’s what I’ve found lately—particularly on the promotional side of things.

My latest challenge was to be a part of my very first ‘blog tour’ ever. It was organised by the Australian Christian Readers’ Blog Alliance, under the auspices of our own Narelle Atkins and also Jenny Blake (see http://acrba.blogspot.com.au/). I was a little tentative about this at first, to be honest. I had read about such tours in the USA, but couldn’t seem to wrap my brain about what they were all about. Now here was our very own ‘home-grown’ one, inviting me to be part of it, as an author or as a reader and reviewer.

In the end, I took the plunge and chose to have my non-fiction book Soul Friend: The story of a shared spiritual journey included in a tour last month. What an interesting experience that was! Some reviewers in this alliance chose not to review my book, since they prefer to stick to fiction, which is fine. But those who did choose to read and feature it, either with a review or some thoughtful response to the book, did a wonderful job, for which I am truly grateful. One alliance member who reviewed the book even went to the length of buying another copy via Amazon and posting her review there, which I found amazing—especially since it was such a positive review! As well, some interviewed me with interesting questions or suggested a topic about which I might write a guest blog for them.

I enjoyed all the liaising involved in being part of the tour. Yes, it took some time on my part to write those interview responses and guest blogs, as well as the various emails necessary to expedite matters. But these readers and other authors were doing me a favour, when all is said and done. They were providing me with an opportunity to promote my book amongst their own friends and blog contacts that might never come my way otherwise. It cost me nothing, except my time—my publisher, Even Before Publishing, very generously provided the necessary copies of my book for the reviewers involved. On top of that, I feel I have got to know some of these authors and readers just that little bit more as I have read their feedback and emailed them back and forth.

All this has opened my eyes more to the vital role supporting each other in our writing journeys can play and caused me to be very thankful for such help. Blog tour or no blog tour, we can encourage one another so easily these days through a brief email, blog comment, Facebook post or the like. And this International Christian Fiction Writers group itself is an obvious way we have to share our journeys as well as let the world know what we write.

So today as you read this, may you be encouraged to keep on persevering, not only in your writing but in exploring new promotional opportunities that may come your way. And may God bless and encourage you even more in the process.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of five published novels – Heléna, All the Days of My Life, Laura, Jenna and Heléna’s Legacy—and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Her sixth novel, The Inheritance, will be released in 2013. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.

Introducing debut Australian Author Ian Acheson

If you're a fan of Frank Peretti's Darkness novels, you'll want to check out Ian Acheson's debut novel, Angelguard, from Kregel publishing which releases this month in the US and Canada and soon internationally.

I've invited Ian here today to tell us a little about himself and his new book.

Please tell us about yourself, Ian.

I’ve lived in Sydney, Australia, all of my 49 years. I have a twin brother, and two older siblings. I’m married to Fiona, and we have two sons, one has just turned 20, and the other is 17. I first came to know the Lord when I was a teenager, however, went through a rocky stage during my 30s. The Lord called me back 10 years ago.

I’m a freelance strategy consultant with a background in professional services, telecommunications and health.

How many years did it take to sell your first book?

10 years. Angelguard is my first novel. A number of people have told me my journey to publication is really interesting. I actually wrote a four-part post on the journey as it has paralleled my reawakening as a Christian. During these years I’ve sensed God’s active pursuit.

One key revelation I had on signing my contract was that our stories are God’s and He invites us to write them. Which is kinda cool, especially knowing that we have the Creator of the universe as our Executive Editor.

That is really cool. Tell us about Angelguard

Angelguard reveals the timeless supernatural war that continues unabated and how it intersects with our physical world. In bringing the warring angels and demons to the forefront of a rollicking tale that crosses the globe, I wanted to highlight the ferocity of this conflict. The physical story focuses on three acts of terrorism that occur within weeks of each other. 

Yikes, not for the faint of heart, then. What inspired you to write Angelguard?

Every week we hear of some natural disaster or act of war or terror being inflicted on the innocent. Increasingly, people are searching for spiritual answers amongst all the confusion, fear and mistrust created by these events. At the same time, we’re seeing an ever-increasing release of vampire, zombies, and other supernatural-type productions across all media channels.

I think many of us, both Christian and non-believers, don’t fully appreciate the battle that Jesus, Paul and Peter talk a lot about in the New Testament.

I expect most of you are familiar with Frank Peretti’s “Darkness” novels of the late 80s. These, together with the classics of Tolkien and CS Lewis, inspired me to write fiction that demonstrated the intersection of the physical and supernatural realms.

What are you working on now?

The sequel to the Angelguard Chronicles: Wrestling with Shadows. This novel will get a lot closer to the struggles we as individuals have with sin and the core influences that drive each of us.

I also spend time each week writing for my blog, ianacheson.com. This is a relatively new thing for me so I’m madly trying to produce, whilst learning all those new skills that are probably second nature for those of you experienced bloggers.

Where can fans find you or your books on the internet?

All the usual places you find Christian books on the web, such as Amazon, ChristianBooks.com and so on. The novel launches in the UK in late March and then in Australia around May. However, all ebook forms are available now.

Also, you can find Ian at his website: http://ianacheson.com/

And on Twitter: @achesonian

And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ianachesonauthor

Thank you for visiting with us today, Ian. I'm looking forward to reading your book!

Sandra Orchard is the award winning author of several romantic suspense novels, including the RT’s Reviewer’s Choice award nominee, Critical Condition. She writes for Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense line, and her upcoming June release, Deadly Devotion, debuts her new mystery series with Revell Publishing. A member of ACFW, RWA and The Word Guild (Canada), Sandra loves to encourage other writers in their journey. She hails in Niagara, Canada. You can learn more about Sandra and fun bonus features for her books such as deleted scenes and location pics at www.SandraOrchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard