Introducing Andrea Grigg - a new Aussie author

About three years ago, I received an email from Andrea Grigg. After introducing herself. She wrote, “I've had a dream about writing a Christian romance novel for years and finally got around to starting it back in March of this year.”
Our contact since then was spasmodic until twelve months ago when I met her at last year’s Word Writers Fair in Queensland and discovered she is a truly beautiful woman inside and out! I have been privileged to read her manuscript, A Simple Mistake, she has been working hard on and am thrilled she has now signed a contract for it to be published. I have discovered that besides writing, Andrea is a woman of several talents and I have asked her to share with us a little about herself and especially her writing journey so far.

So, do tell us what keeps you the busiest these days, Andrea.

I wish I could say it was writing, but it’s not! I teach part-time, and when not in the classroom, preparation and marking take up a good portion of my week. Great job though!

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?

My three children – all grown-up now. Two girls and a boy. They are wonderful people, and my husband and I love spending time with them.

Tell us the range of the kind of books you enjoy reading.

Women’s fiction, various genres, but they all need to have an element of romance to keep my interest.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

When I was at primary school. I would write stories at home, just for the fun of it and ask my teacher to read them – it must have driven her mad! I can remember having an awful lot of ‘and then’ in them.

What is the problem with writing that has so far been your greatest roadblock, and how did you – or are you - overcoming it?

Apart from having enough time you mean?
I’m a ‘plotter’, not a ‘pantser’. If I was a ‘pantser’ (someone who flies by the seat of their pants) I could just sit down and write and write. Because I’m a plotter, I like to have it all sorted in my head before I start typing. I have to tell myself that I can’t go back and edit a blank page, so just get on with it. I’m getting there.

What advice would you give to an author just starting out?

Read lots of books in the genre you’d like to write in.
Have fun creating your characters and getting to know them.
Write about something you’re familiar with (my first protagonist is a teacher, like me).
Get in contact with a writers’ group and/or have some book buddies to read your work and encourage you.
Just start writing!

How do you choose your settings for each book?

 I like to use what I’m familiar with, so I can get the atmosphere right. I tend to use Sydney, or Auckland (where I’m from originally) and the Gold Coast (where I’ve lived for 26 yrs).The details are the creative part, like what type of house my characters live in etc. That often comes from junk mail, glossy magazines, places I’ve visited, or images off the internet.

Do you have another story waiting to be told?

Too many! My major problem is I keep thinking of new plots and characters. I’ve got about nine folders on my computer, complete with character profiles, a story plan, and several thousand words each. My husband tells me I’m doing what I used to do with my knitting – I’d get bored with a project and start another. But guess what? I always finished them eventually. I’ve got enough to keep me going until I’m ninety but I’m worried I’ll think of some more!

What would you like to tell folk about the manuscript you once sent to me?

It was my ‘baby’ and I was sending it to a very qualified someone for inspection! Scary yet thrilling. I knew it was too big, (originally it was huge!) and it was wonderful having someone help me to hone and shape it into something I’m now very proud of.


I understand how you felt about a published author reading your manuscript, Andrea, as I have experienced that many times over the years and still do when I know one is reading one of my books! I am thrilled to have been able to help you a little on your road to being published.

And to tease readers, here is more about A Simple Mistake, an inspirational romance which has been contracted by Even Before Publishing and for release next year.

Nick broke Lainey’s teenage heart when he left to embark on his music career – despite his promises to keep in touch, she never heard from him again.
 When she runs into him while playing her violin at a wedding and Nick asks to see her again, Lainey is wary but thrilled. And when they discover the truth about why their relationship ended, everything changes.
 What’s a girl to do? Nick is an international celebrity, and she’s just a school teacher; his faith in God is minimal while she’s a dedicated Christ-follower. Not only that – now they’ve met up again, she must tell him her secret, the one that could rip them apart, the one Nick has every right to know…
Lainey can feel her life spinning out of control.
Andrea is on Facebook and you can find her on my Friend's list there - or the photo above of course!. With the help of a clever daughter, she is working hard on getting a blog up and running. Stay tuned. We are going to hear a great deal more from this very capable new Australian author!

And I already want to read the sequel to A Simple Mistake, Andrea, so get writing - in between church, family and teaching responsibilities of course!
I know she will be encouraged by any comments you'd like to share.

Mary Hawkins is a best-selling inspirational romance author. A Queensland farmer’s daughter, she became a registered nurse before going to Bible College. She and her minister husband have three adult children and five grandchildren, enjoyed over 46 years of ministry including church planting in Australia, two years in England, three short term mission trips to Africa and now live in Tasmania, Australia's island state. Her 19th title, Justice at Baragula, was released May, 2011

Read more about Mary's writing journey, her husband Ray and his devotional books on their blog from the website: http://www.mary-hawkins.com/

 

STORY BEHIND THE COVER OF SHADOWED IN SILK--By Christine Lindsay

Some might say there are disadvantages in being published by a small press. WhiteFire may be small---and I certainly am---but that means we need to lean on God all the more. Because of that, I’ve been astounded by what He’s done. But nothing could have amazed me more than the way the Lord arranged the front cover of my book.

I have to go back 32 years to when I gave birth to a little girl. Not married at the time, I felt God urge me to relinquish her to a Christian couple unable to have children. I named my baby, Sarah, in the hope that one day I would see her again.

Twenty years later Sarah and I were reunited. But though our reunion was a good one, I began to relive my original loss of relinquishing her. My husband encouraged me to work out my emotional pain by writing. A little later the Lord urged me to write out the emotional healing He had given me in fictional stories to help others.

And now my debut novel about the British Raj in India will be released May 1, 2011—a story that has nothing to do with adoption (at least not much).

WhiteFire and I were excited as we discussed the design of the cover. One day I suggested the sari material I had purchased in India on a missions trip. Roseanna and David White loved the idea but said to hold off on mailing the silk across the country as it was pretty heavy with gems and beading.

It was then I noticed that the model they suggested resembled my birthdaughter. On a whim I suggested Sarah for the model, and the publisher agreed. Sarah was shy at first, but she pitched in on this step of faith with me.

WhiteFire wanted 2 costumes—-a western one for 1919 and the sari that my character Abby wears in the novel. A friend loaned me a straw boater hat, and I was sure I had a tan linen skirt up in my closet. But when I went to look . . . it was gone. I’d forgotten that when we moved last year, I’d given the skirt to a charity. On another whim I decided to go to the local second hand store to search for something similar.

As I walked across the parking lot I prayed the Lord would help me find the perfect skirt. I was not 5 minutes in the store, walking down the aisle and I found my very own skirt which I then purchased back for $9.99.

I could go on and on about the details that just seemed to come together---the background photos taken by a friend in India...and so much more. I’d asked the Lord to put His fingerprints all over it, and He did.

It wasn’t until later that I realized—that without my ever planning or imagining it—He had not only inspired me to write because of my sadness over losing my first child to adoption, but He then placed the face of my beautiful muse on the front cover of my book.

Only our Heavenly Father can do something so intricately tender.

We have to remember that we serve a God who delights in working with little people and small things—-a shepherd boy and a few smooth stones. A child with a lunch of fish and bread for one. A babe in a womb that rocks the world.

If you’d like to read more about my journey as an unwed mother, the relinquishment of Sarah, and of our emotionally racking reunion, go to www.christinelindsay.com

And here for the fun of it is the back cover of Sarah as Abby wearing the Sari.


And thank you to George and Ashley Weis of Tekeme Designs for the awesome job of designing this cover.

Sold!

On this blog of international authors, what's a Canadian doing with an upcoming novella set in the USA? It's an interesting conundrum, and one I hope won't get me sent packing off this blog. (I'm just kidding…I hope!)

To put it simply, I have stories to tell, and in order to do so, I've decided not to push the boundaries of conventional wisdom: ie, that nonAmerican settings don't sell. Many of you have placed your stories in exotic and unique settings--China, the Middle East, South America, Africa--and here I am. Is it perhaps that Canada is not seen as exotic enough? That may be it.

Whatever the reason, I'm thankful and thrilled to announce my first sale, that of a contemporary romance novella to Barbour Publishing. It will appear in a collection with those of three other authors: Nicole O'Dell, Cara Putman, and Annalisa Daughety.

Barbour's call for proposals in December 2010 had clear guidelines, one of which was a 'unique American setting.' When I saw the invitation to submit, I knew it was a better opportunity to make a sale than any others I'd seen in awhile. Barbour was soliciting writers, asking them to team up, experienced and inexperienced together, to create these proposals. At least I knew this was one time not to push for a Canadian setting! The parameters had been set.

Nicole, Cara, Annalisa, and I chose the Lake of the Ozarks area in Missouri. It's a place I've been to several times years ago and where members of my family frequently visit, so I'm not coming to this setting completely cold. We added a geocaching theme to link the novellas together. Not familiar with the term? Here's the definition from geocaching.com:

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS (global positioning systems) devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.

My husband and I have done a bit of geocaching in our region of British Columbia, so adding this familiarity is a big help. One less thing to research! And taking the concept of treasure hunting into our novella collection gave us a scripture to base our common theme upon: Matthew 6:19-21 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The concept of the anthology is: Treasure seekers unite at the Rainbow's End geocache hunt along Lake of the Ozarks, but some discover more challenges than they expected.

Besides the huge thrill and benefit of landing my first ever book contract, I'm blessed to accept representation by Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary Agency. We're working together to fine tune my proposal for a series of novels set in Northern Idaho, close to home for me. At this time, the universal themes of my stories are more important to me than where they're set. Though I have to admit, I wouldn't say no to writing stories set in the Canadian west!

At Rainbow's End will release in March, 2012, from Barbour Publishing.

Valerie Comer writes contemporary romance with green themes. Her day job is split between flooring sales and writing, and her not-day job is split between family, local food action, and farming. She lives on a small three-generation farm with her husband, her in-laws, her son and daughter-in-law, and an assorted menagerie. Visit her website and blog to find out more.